Chapter 280: The Banquet and Personnel Changes

After returning to Hogwarts, it was already evening.

John spent some time at home with his parents before returning to school.

When he pushed open the oak doors of the Great Hall, he found it filled with people.

Even the professors, and Dumbledore, were seated at the highest spots.

Is this an impromptu school‑wide dinner?

At that moment, everyone in the Great Hall turned to John.

Hermione suddenly sprang up from the bench and rushed toward John.

She grabbed John in a hug so forcefully that he staggered half a step.

"John!"

Her voice was choked with sobs as she shouted his name.

"What is this?"

John held Hermione's waist with one hand, and with the other he stroked her hair, soothing her.

"I heard from Harry that you almost got killed by Voldemort."

"The Killing Curse was less than a meter away from you then; your ears were still deaf, right?"

Hermione, her eyes reddened, lifted her head from his arms and gently cradled the right side of John's cheek.

"Ah?"

"No, Harry (Senior), you wouldn't just say the good parts!"

"What do you mean I almost got killed by Voldemort!"

"Clearly I, by my own power, defeated all the Death Eaters, and then went toe‑to‑toe with Voldemort."

In the end I was narrowly defeated.

"It wasn't that exaggerated; I could have handled it completely. If Dumbledore hadn't arrived, I might have even shown him a move."

"Besides, my ears were just a bit buzzing; they'd be fine in a couple of days, not deaf at all."

John brushed the moisture from Hermione's eyes and, helplessly, reassured her.

"Really?"

"Really."

At that moment, Titus, Ryan, Ethan and the others arrived.

Their faces showed varying degrees of worry.

"John, it's so good that you're still alive..."

Titus said, sniffling and crying.

"......"

That concern seemed a bit too ominous.

"What exactly did you hear from Harry (Senior), and why is everyone staring at me...."

John, feeling mentally exhausted, massaged his throbbing temples.

Seeing the whole Great Hall looking at him, he said speechlessly.

"Harry (Senior) said that when they were almost wiped out by a swarm of Death Eaters, you descended like a divine weapon, pressing a dozen Death Eaters into the ground."

"In the end Voldemort appeared, and you even fought him back and forth, but you almost got killed by him, which was a bit of a loss of face."

"But fortunately, at the critical moment, Headmaster saved you."

"Now the whole school knows."

"You are the 'Hogwarts Rising Star' who turned the tide single‑handedly!"

Sss....

Harry (Senior) really knows how to brag?

But what he didn't know was that, from Harry's perspective, he truly was the war god who turned the battle.

He faced a swarm of a dozen Death Eaters that even he and three adults couldn't handle.

He dispatched them with overwhelming force.

Even Voldemort couldn't get the better of him.

While the few were talking,

Ding—

Professor McGonagall, seated at the teachers' long table, lightly tapped his glass with a silver spoon twice.

"Dinner time has arrived; please take your seats,"

Professor McGonagall's voice rose slowly.

He had just given them a moment for small talk, and now it was clearly addressed to those few.

"Oh, you'll find out soon; tonight is a dinner specially convened by the Headmaster."

Titus said that and walked toward the long table of Hufflepuff.

Hermione, in front of everyone, planted a kiss on John's cheek before heading toward Lion House.

Then Ryan and Ethan grabbed John's arm and led him back to sit on the Ravenclaw side.

After taking his seat, John also greeted Luna.

Even she knew about John's deeds.

At that moment, Dumbledore finally walked up the platform at a leisurely pace.

All the students turned to look at him.

Although when Harry had just returned, he had already told everyone about the battle with the Ministry of Magic.

Even many people have also received letters from the outside.

But at this moment, they are all waiting for Dumbledore, the most authoritative voice.

"Good evening, everyone."

"I believe you have already heard about the recent events at the Ministry of Magic."

"The detailed situation will be featured as the front‑page headline in tomorrow's The Daily Prophet."

"But tonight, I would like to repeat once more."

"Voldemort has indeed returned."

It is not a proclamation, but a statement.

Dumbledore paused, his blue eyes sweeping over each young, tense face, and then he spoke again slowly.

"Today Voldemort launched an attack on the Ministry of Magic and on Muggle Street."

"Dozens of Wizards and Muggles were killed or injured as a result."

"Here, I must extend my deepest respect to Harry Potter and to John Merick."

"They bravely stepped forward to fight the Dark Evil Force."

"Harry, with calm judgment and decisive decisions, secured his companions' safety and the decisive battle opportunity."

"John, with fearless spirit and refined Magic, faced the most perilous battle without retreat, and single‑handedly crushed Voldemort's elite Death Eaters."

"Let us give our most heartfelt applause to the two of them."

The next moment, applause in the Great Hall rose like a tide.

Harry and John became the protagonists of this incident.

Except for a few from Snake House, who did not clap.

Because some of their fathers or family members were the elite Death Eaters that Dumbledore just mentioned, whom John had defeated.

After the applause lingered for a while, Dumbledore finally raised his hand to quiet everyone.

He looked at the crowd and said again.

"And there is one more matter, concerning the professor of the Dark Arts Defense Class."

"Ms. Dolores Umbridge has returned to the Ministry of Magic and will no longer hold any teaching position at this school."

Upon hearing this, the audience immediately erupted in a long‑suppressed cheer, and Dumbledore did not raise his hand to stop it.

Although Umbridge had long lost real authority, she still retained the title of professor.

In the Dark Arts Defense Class, she taught nothing useful at all.

She even often gave disobedient students extra, meaningless copying punishments, euphemistically called "enhanced discipline."

Moreover, she really didn't look good at all—pure visual pollution.

Now that she's gone, they are naturally overjoyed.

Only after their cheering subsided did he give a light cough and continue.

"For the remaining class periods this semester, Professor Severus Snape will temporarily take over."

At those words, the audience's cheers abruptly stopped.

Only the side of Snake House produced sparse applause.

"Of course, because Professor Snape also serves as the Magic Potion Class professor, Dark Arts Defense meets only once a week, with the remaining periods handled by teaching assistants for self‑study."

Hearing that Snape's class would be only once a week, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.