Chapter 15
Just as Alan sat down on the chair, he noticed frowns appearing on the face of Professor Flitwick while at the same time the same reaction could be seen on Professor Trelawney and others. All of them seemed to be dissatisfied with one person, and Alan didn't have to take a guess because that person was already sitting beside him.
Alan, ignoring the heavy tome on the professor's table, looked at the empty large chair situated in the middle. Professor Dumbledore was yet to arrive, and McGonagall had gone to fetch the first-year students, but then suddenly his gaze fell onto a wizard with a gloomy face, who was glancing around the auditorium without leaving a trace, and suddenly a strange glint flashed in his eyes.
'Severus Snap'e Alan looked at Snape. This guy is a double agent in the story and could be called a guy who was loved by many fans. At the same time, he was an affectionate and tragic figure who died at the hands of Voldemort or his snake's venom while changing Harry's perception about him in the end.
Snape, with his greasy hair and gloomy expressions, felt that someone was looking at him, so he turned toward a certain direction and noticed that it was Hogwarts' new combat professor, Alan Smith, but the next second he just frowned, as he couldn't read the expression on that man's face.
But soon enough the missing Harry Potter subject got hold of his attention once again, so he once again looked around in the Great Hall, hoping to see that lousy green-eyed boy who he both loathed and was disgusted by, but at the same time sworn to protect to the death.
But even after a few minutes, the boy he was looking for never appeared in the great hall.
Alan, who was watching this from his seat, couldn't help but smile. 'Professor Snape, unless you leave the Great Hall, you will be disappointed.' And just as he had thought that, Snape abruptly stood up and left the great hall.
'Did he just read my mind?' Alan joked as he watched Snape flying across the Great Hall like a large bat and leaving through the large door.
Thinking about how hard Snape will try to kick Harry and Ron both out of Hogwarts, but ultimately failing, Alan couldn't help but let out a smirk and then focused his attention on a dirty, patched, and worn pointed wizard hat, "The sorting hat."
Looking at this hat, Alan couldn't help but desire to study it, as according to his knowledge this hat had accompanied Godric Gryffindor, though the man preferred to use his sword most of the time, but still there could be some insight he could get from this hat about those old combat styles.
If he can get those insights, he might achieve a new understanding of combat, and at the same time he could perhaps know the perception of those old monsters that had fought Godric Gryffindor.
Alan was getting lost deep in his thoughts; however, suddenly a voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Professor Smith, what are you looking at? I can sense a strong sense of desire around you."
It was Professor Trelawney who had talked in Alan's ear out of nowhere. Looking at her, Alan couldn't help but feel that her sense of fashion was quite weird, as she was quite thin but wore a pair of big glasses, and those chains and beads—they were quite something.
Alan calmly took a deep breath, looking at the big bulging eyes behind the glasses, and said with a smile, "I was just wondering when we would start eating. I haven't eaten since morning, so I'm starving."
"Really??" Professor Trelawney frowned immediately, as she didn't find anything interesting in Alan's reply; though at the same time, she was also slightly hungry, so she couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "Dumbledore seems to be late today; I believe Professor McGonagall is already waiting outside the Great Hall with the first years."
"Oh Sybil, forgive me for being late." Suddenly a deep voice came softly from behind the two of them, making Professor Trelawney tremble a little in surprise, at the same time her face becoming a little uncomfortable.
Alan turned around to see the white-haired old wizard striding towards his seat.
"He's always like this." Professor Trelawney lowered her voice and said while looking at Alan, "Professor Smith, I think I need to share something with you."
Alan, hearing that, was a little surprised but said anyway, "I'm all ears, Professor."
Professor Trelawney smiled as finally someone was willing to hear her thoughts and said, "Professor Smith, Although Dumbledore doesn't say it out loud, I feel he also doesn't believe in prophecies, just like most of the world. Those mediocre people, they can never understand what prophecies really are and are always unwilling to believe in them." Saying that she fell silent for a few seconds, then added, "But, you, Professor Smith, I can sense that you are different from all those people."
"About that..." Alan pondered for a moment, looking at the current Trelawney; he too felt that she's just a quack, but since he had seen the original plot, those harsh words didn't come out of his mouth. Instead, he said, "You are right, professor; I believe in the prophecies most of the time."
Though normally he would've ignored such talks, this was a wizarding world, and the chances of his actions causing butterfly effects were quite high, so having a person like Professor Trelawney by his side was very much important, and at the same time, there were many things he could learn from her if he gave her more attention than other professors.