Hogwarts: My Yorozuya has no taboos!

Chapter 60 The Burning Flames!

"It was you who insisted on bringing him here, Professor Dumbledore."

Severus's words made Dumbledore uncomfortable.

He could have ignored the sarcasm... to be honest, given the ups and downs he had experienced in his life, Severus's 'witty remark' would not have stirred any emotion in him at all.

What he cared about wasn't Ares Delfino's actions, but rather the purpose behind them.

He knew very well that Ares Delphinor was not just a simple wizard... He had been convinced of this ever since he had a brief conversation with the boy the night Delphinor was expelled.

even-

This boy, whose many peculiarities caused him a subtle unease, was far more complex than Tom—he was not purely evil like Tom, but neither was he good.

If he had to evaluate Ares's character and personality... this boy, who grew up in the Muggle world, doesn't have such strong principles or boundaries regarding good and evil, or rather, he doesn't care whether others judge him as "good" or "evil".

Such a personality should be defined as—[weird].

What is the real purpose behind Ares Delfino's actions tonight?

Dumbledore's deep pupils reflected Ares's figure and the group of lively young wizards behind him...

Admittedly, being portrayed as a villain and thus met with resistance is not a pleasant experience.

Dumbledore's eyelids twitched slightly; the beast locked deep within him roared... telling him he should punish these people... he had the power, and the right...

Do not!

But the moment the thought crossed his mind, Dumbledore awoke with a start.

His breathing eased slightly, and his constantly moving beard stopped.

"I think you know very well, Professor Delfino, that the reason I forbid first-year students from participating in your unconventional teaching is—"

"Security Question."

Ares bowed slightly and said with a smile,

"But I don't think that reason is valid—you've all seen the competition I designed; I made ample preparations to ensure student safety, and besides—"

Under the watchful eyes of the entire school's teachers and students, Ares suddenly turned to look at the crowd and shouted,

"Mr. Potter, come out and help!"

Harry, standing in the crowd, stared nervously at Professor Delphinor and Professor Dumbledore as they confronted each other... The atmosphere between the two wasn't exactly tense, but it was enough to make Harry's heart race.

He hoped that Professor Dumbledore would lift the ban on them, but he absolutely did not want Professor Dumbledore, whom he liked, and Professor Delfino, who led them, fought for their rights, and was also very interesting... to become enemies.

He hopes the whole thing will have a good outcome and then land smoothly.

Harry was anticipating all of this... completely unaware that Professor Delfino would suddenly call out his name.

"W-what's wrong?"

Harry stood there stunned for several seconds until Neville poked him in the ribs from behind, finally snapping him out of it. He hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and stammered, "..."

"Professor Delfino?"

Ares could feel Dumbledore's suddenly serious gaze, yet he still smiled.

"Tell everyone, Mr. Potter, have you ever tried riding a flying broomstick?"

"no."

This question was not difficult to answer, and Harry answered it readily without any psychological burden.

"Okay then—"

pat!

Harry saw Professor Delfino nod in satisfaction, and then suddenly snap his fingers.

A flying broom appeared out of thin air in Harry's hand... It had a smooth handle and a broom head that was trimmed almost perfectly.

Nimbus 2000!

Harry's bright green eyes widened immediately... He had seen this type of broom before, standing outside the window of the Quidditch boutique the first time he went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid!

Harry stared at the broom, which was practically a work of art, until a while later he realized what kind of environment he was in!

"You mean... uh, you want me to?"

Harry looked up hesitantly at Professor Delphinor—given the current situation, it wasn't hard to guess what the professor intended to do.

Harry looked at the young professor and noticed that the professor also had a red ball in his hand that had appeared at the same time as the broom.

"That's exactly what you think!"

Ares nodded, and then suddenly threw the Quaffle into the dark night sky.

"Go, bring it back, Mr. Potter!"

Harry didn't have time to correct Professor Delphinor's choice of words, and ignored Professor McGonagall's shrill cry of "No, that's too risky, Ares!"... He had even less time to care about the surprised or amused looks from others.

The moment Professor Delphinor threw that dark red ball, Harry's emerald green eyes narrowed sharply, and deep within his pupils, only the image of the thrown ball was reflected!

During the time of infinite mental focus, the ball's trajectory seemed to slow down in Harry's eyes... Under the night sky illuminated by the firelight atop the four towers, Harry saw the ball reach its highest point, and then begin to fall—

Harry's next action was entirely instinctive—he lifted his leg, slung the Nimbus 2000 over his shoulder, lowered his body, and slightly pushed off the ground with his feet!

call out!

Like a gentle breeze, Harry left the ground and chased after the ball, following its trajectory!

Everything ended quickly. By the time Harry realized what he had just done, he was back on the ground, gently flipping off the broom, rolling over, and standing up, with the Quaffle still firmly tucked under one of his arms!

The scene seemed to have been muted. Apart from Dumbledore, who looked slightly surprised, Snape, whose expression was somewhat gloomy, and Ares, who was still smiling, everyone else was dumbfounded.

Harry didn't notice the strange behavior of the crowd for the time being; he was only happy that he had successfully completed the task... very easily. This should be enough to convince Professor Dumbledore that even freshmen who had never touched a flying broom before could easily control it on their first try!

"Here you are, Professor Delfino!"

Harry walked lightly to Professor Delfino, his voice cheerful.

"I got the ball back."

"Well done, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, and your broom is excellent too, Professor!"

"Oh—yes, it's one of the best on the market right now... Want it, Potter? I can sell it to you at a discount, it's 90% new... considering you did me a favor."

"Uh... how much is it?"

"300 Galleons, no bargaining."

"Hmm... I need to think about it."

"No problem, come find me once you've thought it through."

Ares said, taking the broom back from Harry's reluctant hands.

"So—"

Ares looked at Dumbledore with a lighthearted expression.

"I think I've proven something, Professor Dumbledore?"

Riding a flying broom is no easy feat; it's just that—it just so happens that a genius was found to give it a try!

Many people present were internally roaring with anger.

I think so.

Surprisingly, Professor Dumbledore seemed completely oblivious to Professor Delfino's "good luck." He simply looked intently at Professor Delfino and calmly nodded.

"I think you've presented compelling evidence to persuade me to change my decision... Professor Delfino, you can involve the freshmen—of course, I still insist that they take at least one flight lesson beforehand... Oh, and there should be a professional to assess them... Mrs. Hodge?"

"Wh-what... Oh, okay, Professor Dumbledore, no problem."

Mrs. Hooch was still stunned by the clean and efficient way Harry caught the Quake in his Nimbus. She mumbled a few words and turned around.

Many timid young wizards stared at Professor Dumbledore in disbelief!

They actually did it... they really forced Professor Dumbledore to change his mind with a ridiculous demonstration?!

Looking at those astonished and innocent faces, Dumbledore's eyes softened with a smile.

"We have classes tomorrow, so I hope your celebration won't last too long."

Dumbledore said this, then he flicked his sleeve to catch the slipping wand, turned around, and shook the wand at the four burning towers—

hiss!

The sound of cold water being splashed onto the flames—

The flames atop the four towers seemed to have been struck by a heavy blow and immediately waned... but after only a breath, the torches blazed up again and became blazing once more!

Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"I'll 'turn off the lights' after the celebration, Professor Dumbledore."

Ares curtsied slightly, responding to Dumbledore's gaze with a smile.

But deep down, Ares still harbored some doubts.

Dumbledore... Is Dumbledore really just going to let this farce he started go?

They won't even deduct your salary?!

So—

Dumbledore left, and a group of young wizards looked at each other in bewilderment on the windswept ground.

"What are you waiting for?"

Ares put aside his 'dissatisfaction' and smiled lightly at the young wizard.

"You can cheer for yourselves—oh, Mr. Ron Weasley, honesty is the best policy in business, and don't forget to settle your Nat with me as soon as possible!"