64. Wayne: I Recommend Snape As Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor!

Boom!

Cho pressed Wayne against the oak door of the castle, displaying such unexpected strength that even Wayne was taken aback.

"Are you crazy, Wayne?"

Contrary to her usual gentleness, Cho now resembled a cat with bristling hair, anger, and impatience written all over her face.

"Why do you need to be in the spotlight? Even if you're reporting, you can do it alone."

"Why involve others?"

Cho was genuinely infuriated. She was angry at Wayne's recklessness.

Once things get serious, the nature of the issue changes in the eyes of those in authority.

Even if Wayne was right and had his reasons, inciting others would disrupt harmony and stability, without considering the bigger picture.

What would Dumbledore think of Wayne then?

Wayne could see the tear in Cho's eyes.

My heart trembled.

Without a word, Wayne raised his arm, and a fallen leaf transformed into a tissue, gently wiping the corners of Cho's eyes.

The young man's intimate gesture caused Cho's face to blush slightly, but she quickly composed herself.

"Don't interrupt. What should we do now?"

Wayne smiled. "Don't worry, Cho."

"I understand your concerns, but I wouldn't do this if it were a different headmaster."

He looked up and gazed at the tower in the night.

"But the current headmaster is Dumbledore, and he won't be angry."

In this world, Wayne is the second person to know Dumbledore. The first one is imprisoned in Nurmengard Tower.

Confident as he was, Cho was at a loss for words. She looked around and then asked:

"Where's Hermione? Something this big happened, and she didn't get angry with you?"

"Why would she?" Wayne smiled bitterly and rubbed his waist with his hand. "It took me a whole class to get Miss Granger to calm down."

"It still hurts now."

Observing Wayne's movement, Cho chuckled. Just as she was about to scold him, fire suddenly materialized in the air.

This time, it wasn't the fox that flew in, but Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix.

Fawkes circled before landing on Wayne's shoulder.

"Chirp!"

"You said the principal is looking for me?" Wayne nodded and glanced at a slightly pale Cho, offering reassurance:

"Don't worry, I'll come back as soon as I can. Nothing will happen."

The principal's office.

The massive desk was already covered in various envelopes.

Dumbledore held a letter, thoroughly engrossed in reading it.

"It claims that I accepted money from Quirrell as a gift to make him the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"What a shame, old man. I haven't stooped to such a level yet."Snape, who was sitting on the other side, sarcastically said, "If 600 galleons can make you change your mind, I can fill your office with gold galleons at any time."

To be honest, Snape was somewhat happy now. He had been applying for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position for years, and with Harry's arrival this year, the urgency increased. However, Dumbledore gave it to Quirrell. Well, now the young wizards below were going to rebel!

"Sorry, Severus," Dumbledore read one letter and opened another, "Your Defense Against the Dark Arts skills are equally excellent, but the Potions class at Hogwarts needs you more. Well, this letter explains it. Quirrell deceived me somehow, but why a love potion?"

Dumbledore put down the letter and showed a relieved smile, "I'm glad no one sent an angry letter. My old bones can't handle the volume."

"Don't tell me this is all that's available," Snape interrupted irritably. He always felt tired after long conversations with Dumbledore that never seemed to get to the point.

"What are you planning to do about it?" Dumbledore looked confused.

"What do you mean, who to deal with?" Snape raised his voice, "Of course, it's Wayne Lawrence! Didn't you hear what that fat monk said?"

"With his incitement and his terrifying magical talent, are you not afraid he will become the next..."

Snape took a deep breath, "The next Voldemort?"

The portrait, which had been pretending to be dead, suddenly came to life. Phineas Black even shouted, "That's right! I support Snape!"

"You dare to complain about the professor and incite so many people to act with him."

"This is a deception!"

"Expelled! He must be expelled!"

"If this were my time as principal, I would have expelled all the Hufflepuffs!"

The red-nosed Principal Hufflepuff couldn't take it anymore and jumped into Phineas' portrait, throwing a punch.

"Shut up, you idiot!"

The daily beatings of Phineas began.

To avoid further disturbance, Dumbledore waved his hand and the red curtains covered all the portraits, silencing the annoying shouts once and for all.

"Severus," Dumbledore placed his hands together on the table and leaned forward slightly, making a series of intimidating movements that took Snape's breath away. "Don't view our student with malice. He is only a first-year wizard."

"Do you still see him as an ordinary first-year student?" Snape looked at Dumbledore in disbelief.

"Don't you see his talent? He's mastered multiple transformations, possesses magic skills that are sufficient for graduation, and even his potions are at the level of NEWTs. And that Celia shop that Laurence was tinkering with made thousands of Galleons from my students!"

Snape became very excited, "If he's just an ordinary first-year wizard, what does that make Potter, a preschooler?"

"I'm delighted that the school has produced such a talented young wizard," Dumbledore remarked, rubbing his temples. Snape always sensed that the old man took every opportunity to indirectly criticize him.

"You're correct. Mr. Lawrence is truly remarkable. He possesses more talent than Tom," Snape agreed.

"But comparing the two is a crude analogy," he added.

Dumbledore carefully examined Snape before responding, "Mr. Lawrence may have been born into a Muggle family, but they hold a prominent position among Muggles. He has a bright and lively personality, and..."

Snape's mind wandered back to his investigation of Wayne's activities during elementary school.

Dumbledore struggled to find a positive adjective and eventually settled on, "A very fulfilling childhood."

"His family background and intelligence will prevent him from following in Tom's footsteps," Snape concluded.

"Furthermore, Mr. Lawrence's popularity extends across all the houses, contradicting Tom's pure-blood ideology."

"To be honest, I must admit that I'm a little envious of his popularity," Dumbledore confessed.

Snape remained silent, but his expression softened.

The office fell into a momentary silence, and Snape was the first to break it.

"What will you do? Just pretend nothing happened?"

"How is that possible?" Dumbledore looked at Snape with surprise, gesturing to the stack of complaint letters on the table. "We've never received this many complaints in the history of Hogwarts. After this incident, I could go from being the greatest principal to the most notorious, even surpassing Phineas."

"Yes, I have to handle it carefully," Dumbledore replied.

"Of course," he added, suddenly smiling. "But before dealing with Quirrell, I need to ask the person involved for advice. Fawks, can you help me bring Mr. Lawrence here?"

The scene remained the same in the principal's office, although Snape was now gone and Wayne sat in his place.

Wayne had a wide smile across his face that he couldn't hide.

The reason was simple - the notifications in his mind were off the charts. This wave of events had made him a lot of money.

"Mr. Lawrence, you seem quite happy," Dumbledore said curiously.

"Of course," Wayne replied with a shy smile. "Seeing that you're not angry, principal means my punishment shouldn't be too severe. My classmates are innocent too. They supported me. Please don't punish them."

Dumbledore looked at the boy sitting across from him, relief in his eyes.

"Mr. Lawrence, you are a true Hufflepuff, and I'm glad the Sorting Hat saw the spark in you."

The Sorting Hat, still on the high stool, wanted to say something.

I don't see how he belongs in Hufflepuff at all. I was fooled.

Most importantly, the young wizard hadn't received the care tools he was promised...

But let's move on!

"But I think you misunderstood," Dumbledore reassured. "I have no intention of punishing you or the other students."

"On the contrary, I want to sincerely apologize to all of you. Because of my negligence, everyone's magical progress has been delayed."

"I came here to ask for your opinion."

"My opinion?" Wayne said in surprise. "Professor, my opinions are all in the letter."

"Either Professor Quirrell teaches useful spells in class, or we find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"But..." Dumbledore frowned, feeling a bit embarrassed. "The semester has already started, and it would be difficult to change teachers so hastily..."

"Professor," Wayne interrupted smoothly. "I've heard about the curse on Defense Against the Dark Arts. You have people die... Well, I mean the class is very challenging."

"But the school year has already begun. If you change teachers from Christmas, find a substitute, and only teach for half a year, the curse will not take effect, right?"

Noticing Dumbledore's expression, Wayne continued to strike while the iron was hot. "If it doesn't work, you can find a teacher from the school to take over."

"I recommend Professor Snape..."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Dumbledore quickly grabbed Wayne and said, "Professor Snape has already worked hard enough, and it is unrealistic to ask him to take over the class."

Old Dumble felt a cold sweat in his heart.

This is to send his right-hand man away directly.

The same goes for these two people. One of them disliked the little wizard and wanted to punish the other in some way.

The other one was even more ruthless and directly made him a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

There is a saying now circulating in the British wizarding world.

If you hate someone, recommend that they teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

"Okay, Mr. Lawrence." Dumbledore said softly. "Thank you for the suggestion you just made, it was a great inspiration to me.

"But firing a teacher is not a simple matter and requires the approval of the board of directors."

"Usually teachers in this position leave voluntarily."

Wayne's mouth twitched slightly.

Automatic resignation... what a novel way.

"I will have a good chat with Quirrell before deciding which approach to take."

"For your unity and courage, I will add fifty points to Hufflepuff."

Dumbledore comforted Wayne for a moment and then let him leave.

Wayne stepped out of the principal's office, and Snape pushed open an invisible door, walking out with a terrifyingly gloomy expression.

He had overheard their conversation just now.

Although he also wanted to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Wayne was not here to help him achieve his wish.

This kid...

After leaving the office, Wayne descended the stairs quickly. Cho was still waiting for news from him in the auditorium.

The auditorium was still packed at this time. Everyone already knew that Wayne had been taken away by Phoenix, and they were anxiously awaiting his return.

As soon as he entered the room, Wayne was met with countless pairs of eyes. The hall fell silent, and even the professors couldn't help but be curious.

Wayne didn't hold back; he grinned widely and delivered the words everyone had been eager to hear:

"Professor Dumbledore has assured us that he will take our opinions into consideration and has granted Hufflepuff fifty points!"

Boom!

Thunderous applause and excited cheers filled the auditorium. It felt as if even the stars on the ceiling trembled.

Everyone embraced their classmates joyfully.

Finally free of worry, Cho smiled at Wayne.

Hermione let out a soft snort, closed her thick book, and turned to leave. Unaware that the books were turned upside down, she didn't bat an eye.

"That's so awesome!" Ronald's hands turned red from clapping so hard. He looked at Wayne, who was surrounded by the Hufflepuffs, and shouted:

"So, turns out reporting is effective!"

"Harry, let's file a complaint against Snape!"

"Get rid of that old bat, and our lives will be easier!"

When the other Gryffindors heard Ronald's words, their eyes lit up.

Yes!

If complaining about Quirrell worked, then why not complain about Snape? He favors Slytherin every day and even deducts points from Gryffindor.

If Snape is gone, don't we have a chance to win the House Cup?

Not only Harry, but the other Gryffindors were also eager to give it a try.

They planned to replicate what the Hufflepuffs did and fill the gargoyles at the entrance to the headmaster's office tomorrow morning.

With so many people surrounding Wayne, it was difficult for him to escape.

He could only briefly speak with Cho and arrange to meet at the Black Lake after class tomorrow, but he was stopped by his two roommates and brought back to the common room.

Not only did Wayne avoid punishment for his actions today, but he also earned fifty points for the students, which warranted a celebration.

As a Hufflepuff, celebrating came naturally.

Right next door was the kitchen.

Several senior students went inside and ordered a variety of snacks and cakes. They also asked the house elf to fetch some butterbeer.

"Here's to you, Wayne!"

Pierre, the seventh-year prefect, raised his glass and clinked it with Wayne's.

"Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have said that if you weren't so brave."

"Finally, we can be rid of...that imposter Professor Quirrell!"Pierre's face flushed with excitement, and Wayne, although smiling and agreeing, lacked confidence in driving Quirrell away. Was it really necessary to sacrifice a whole year of the young wizards' Defense Against the Dark Arts course or to observe Voldemort's movements right under their noses? Dumbledore's choice seemed obvious, and it aligned with what he had previously said about doing whatever was necessary for the greater good.

However, Wayne chose not to spoil everyone's interest by speaking out.

Perhaps in the future, Quirrell would need to make some changes, as even Dumbledore may not be able to convince the public without them.

The celebration continued until eleven o'clock, at which point everyone dispersed. Wayne also returned to the dormitory where Toby and Norman eagerly asked about his conversation with Dumbledore.

Wayne didn't hold back about recommending Snape for the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Toby, speaking seriously, said, "Wayne, how could you do this?"Norman expressed his dissatisfaction as well, saying, "Professor Snape can't be a substitute professor; he must attend the entire semester!" Wayne suggested that they all write a joint letter next semester to recommend Snape as the permanent professor.

Wayne, taken aback, responds, "You guys are relentless..."