When Adrian arrived at the Great Hall, some students were already there.
Of course, there were almost no first-year students among them.
This wasn't surprising; after all, Hogwarts was like a maze to them, and those floating, unpredictable staircases gave most new students headaches.
Unless accompanied by older students, few could find their way to the Great Hall accurately on the first day of school.
It was the same every year. However, this year seemed somewhat different.
Halfway through enjoying his breakfast, Adrian suddenly noticed a change in the atmosphere of the Great Hall.
Students everywhere looked up, directing their gaze toward the entrance as whispers rippled through the crowd.
Harry Potter had arrived.
At that moment, Harry was entering the Great Hall with Ron.
Notably, Harry was holding a dusty piece of parchment in his hand.
"I can't believe we actually found our way! Who on earth designed Hogwarts' staircases like this?" Ron asked with a puzzled and somewhat angry expression.
"I think it's rather interesting," Harry said with a casual smile.
But when he looked around, his expression stiffened slightly.
Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt uncomfortable when he noticed everyone's eyes focused on him.
Ron also felt the surrounding gazes and shrank his neck a little, leaning toward Harry to whisper: "Harry, where did you get that map from?"
"It's a secret," Harry replied mysteriously.
Indeed, Harry's ability to find the Great Hall so quickly with Ron was all thanks to the map in his hand. He had found it in the small pouch Adrian had given him.
Harry marveled inwardly that Mr. Westeros although now Professor Westeros had even prepared a map for him, and felt somewhat fortunate as he looked back down at the map in his hand.
The map looked quite old, with the edges of the parchment slightly yellowed, clearly having been around for some time.
But the routes and text on it were very clear, and it even marked some secret passages.
In the upper right corner, there was a small line of text that read: Hogwarts Map—7th Edition, produced by a Hufflepuff who wishes to remain anonymous.
It was obvious that Adrian had made it himself.
Putting the map away, Harry and Ron carefully walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down.
By this time, many of the stares and whispers around them had subsided; evidently, the students also considered it impolite to disturb others during breakfast.
This clearly made Harry breathe a sigh of relief.
Next, Harry picked up a piece of golden toast while Ron had already begun to devour his food, mouth stuffed with sausages, mumbling something incomprehensible.
While eating, Harry finally had time to look around.
He casually scanned the Great Hall and finally noticed Adrian at the professors' table, as he did not immediately noticed him.
Only when Adrian waved at him did Harry suddenly snap back to reality.
Harry hurriedly put down his half-eaten toast, wiped his hands, and said softly to Ron beside him, "I'll be back in a moment."
Ron, still biting a piece of bacon, asked unclearly, "Huh? Where are you going?"
Before Ron could get an answer, Harry had already stood up from his chair.
Under Ron's curious gaze, he got up and quickly made his way around the long table, heading toward the professors' table.
Adrian remained seated, leisurely sipping his tea.
When Harry reached him, he finally spoke slowly, "Good morning, Harry. Looks like you slept well."
"Er….Professor," Harry said hesitantly, "how did you..."
"End up at Hogwarts, right?" Adrian smiled, finishing what Harry wanted to ask.
Harry nodded.
Adrian gently put down his teacup, the corner of his mouth curving into a faint smile as he said nonchalantly, "I suddenly developed an interest in teaching, so here I am."
Harry blinked, looking at Adrian with disbelief: "Just... like that?"
"Of course," Adrian shrugged, his tone light, "You know I'm good at teaching. And Professor Kettleburn trusts me a lot—you've probably heard of him, the former Care of Magical Creatures professor."
Hearing Adrian's response, Harry nodded with understanding.
Indeed, Mr. Westeros was skilled at teaching. He had already learned quite a bit about Potions and Charms from Adrian. So, this experience had proven that Adrian was a good teacher.
Harry hesitated slightly before asking, "So... Professor, will you still teach me Potions and Charms?"
Adrian laughed and tapped Harry's head with his wand.
"Professor Flitwick is much stronger than me in Charms—he's your Charms professor. And Professor Snape... well, let's not talk about him. Anyway, you don't need to worry about the teaching quality at Hogwarts at all. Of course, if you have any questions, you can always come to me."
"What about Care of Magical Creatures?" Harry asked next. "Can I take that class?"
"That's only available from third year," Adrian shook his head, "and besides, I've already seen your schedule—it conflicts with your Potions class."
"I see," Harry said, feeling quite disappointed, but still nodding.
However, in his mind, he was already planning when he might be able to sneak into Adrian's class.
Occasionally missing a Potions class... shouldn't... be a problem, right?
What was his Potions professor's name again?
Ah, right, Professor Snape. He had seen him on the first day.
He hoped this Professor Snape would be somewhat reasonable...
When Harry returned to his seat, Ron had already devoured all the food in front of him.
"Do you know Professor Adrian?" Ron asked eagerly as soon as Harry sat down. "I saw you chatting happily with him."
"More or less," Harry replied after thinking for a moment.
This didn't seem like something he needed to hide.
Ron's eyes flickered as he lowered his voice excitedly, "Hey, mate, you know a professor! That's really something to be envious of."
Harry looked at Ron with confusion, furrowing his brow: "What's the big deal about that?"
"What's the big deal?" Ron's eyes widened. "That's a professor!"
Ron seemed rather excited as he whispered, "It could give you all sorts of advantages! Think about it—when you make mistakes... I've heard from my two brothers that they often get caught by professors for pranks, but if you have a good relationship with a professor, you could..."
"Stop!" Harry quickly interrupted Ron, shaking his head. "I don't want to trouble Professor Westeros. That would cause problems for him."
As he spoke, Harry looked toward Adrian again.
By this time, Adrian had stood up, holding a gleaming silver pocket watch in his hand, seemingly checking the time.
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