Hogwarts: My Yorozuya has no taboos!

Chapter 58, I'm hooked!

As night deepened, Minerva, dressed in a plaid morning suit and with her small, round bun at the back of her head held firmly by a hairnet, was working at her desk, piled high with parchment papers in front of the window.

The flickering candlelight made her eyes sore. Minerva blinked hard and pushed her black-rimmed glasses, which had slipped off one side of her nose, closer so she could see the unrestrained words on the application form in front of her.

It came from one of Minerva's colleagues—Professor Sybil Trelawney.

Objectively speaking, she did not appreciate her colleague's teaching style... or to put it bluntly, she did not think that Professor Trelawney's approach in divination classes was teaching, but rather a farcical performance.

That's an apt description; it's simply ridiculous—just like the "application form" she's handing over right now.

"...The seventh-grade NEWTs advanced class students need to learn about some regionally specific divination methods—apply for a batch of sherry...oh, preferably vintage?"

Minerva pursed her lips.

"Oh, come on, Sybil, I saw right through you...liar!"

Minerva stared coldly at the parchment, using scathing words she would never normally reveal to outsiders to comment on her colleague.

The candles on the candelabra were shortened.

After sitting blankly at the parchment for half a day, Minerva suddenly sighed, dipped her quill in ink, and wrote on the application: [Approved (Note: Year not necessary.)]

After approving the document, she put the parchment into a stack on her right... those all required the principal's signature.

Afterwards, she flipped through the documents awaiting her review:

Poppy needs to buy a batch of hemostatic medicine, Pomona needs to purchase dragon dung, Silvanus applies for retirement, Ares wants a raise... even Argus submits a report on purchasing polish to repair the portraits inside the castle.

It will probably take her another hour or so to process these reports. After that, she will have to write back to some students' parents and people in the wizarding world, responding to their concerns about the Hogwarts Express going out of control.

This will probably take another hour.

Finally, she was to write comments on two transfiguration papers as an external expert for "Transfiguration Today"... If she worked quickly, she should be able to get to bed before midnight!

This made Minerva feel a little better... She wouldn't be able to enjoy this 'leisurely' life for long.

Since school has just started, she doesn't need to deal with homework and lesson preparation for each grade yet. Wait until—oh...

Suddenly, Minerva, who was working at her desk, twitched her nostrils.

She could smell the dampness in the air of Hogwarts under the summer night sky.

It might rain tomorrow—a thought flashed through Minerva's mind.

She has lived in this school for decades and is intimately familiar with all the changes here.

So—

Let's talk about the rain first... oh no, I mean Bobby's application—this is something she absolutely has to support. The disaster a few days ago probably wiped out all of Bobby's resources, so—

Ah, thinking about it that way, the bill from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries will probably be due in the next couple of days... or maybe it already is!

Owls have been arriving at Hogwarts in droves these past few days, and Filch is trying to manage them all... He doesn't have magic, so he's inefficient and might make mistakes...

Should we try looking in Argus's office?

The thought had barely crossed Minerva's mind when... she seemed to actually hear Argus's voice in her ear?

It sounds like someone is shouting or yelling?

With a furrowed brow, Minerva stopped swirling her pen and listened intently—

It was definitely Filch's voice... What was he shouting?

Minerva blinked hard and glanced at the clock on the wall—nine o'clock sharp, curfew time?

So, Filch found the students who were still wandering around?

Minerva moved her tightly pursed lips—she was about to get up and check on the situation... but before doing so, she abandoned the idea.

Now that Filch has discovered it, he will handle it.

Although she didn't appreciate Filch's habit of scaring young wizards who broke the school rules, since the student dared to break the rules on the first day of school, it wasn't unreasonable for him to suffer a little at Filch's hands.

With that thought in mind, Minerva focused on her work again.

However, the commotion outside did not subside.

Filch's shouts grew louder and louder... as if he wouldn't stop until he woke everyone in the castle.

In addition, some other noises have occurred.

Minerva frowned and looked at the candlestick in the upper right corner of her desk—the candlelight was flickering more and more violently.

She glanced up at the window—it was closed, so it wasn't the wind.

That's... oh, the ground is shaking!

Minerva finally came to her senses. Her expression was horrified. She dropped her quill, knocked over her chair, and opened the office door!

The vibrations seemed to amplify a thousandfold in an instant, and the ancient stone wall in front of her trembled slightly.

"The students are all rushing to the auditorium!"

Minerva looked down the corridor and saw Filch running towards her in a panic, gesturing wildly and muttering incoherently.

"The students have rebelled!!!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, Filch!"

Minerva rebuked her sternly.

"Professor McGonagall!"

Filch, with a string of snot hanging from his big nose, stopped in front of Minerva, clinging tightly to his cat, looking utterly terrified.

"The students have rebelled! They're refusing to sleep and won't listen to discipline; they've all gone downstairs to the auditorium!"

"all?"

Minerva's eyebrows were raised so high they almost touched her hairline, and she wore an absurd expression.

"Are you talking nonsense, Filch? What are they all doing in the Great Hall... The school isn't going to provide them with supper!"

"You—you can go and see...hurry, before those brats turn the school upside down!"

Filch knew he couldn't explain himself, so he could only speak through tears and snot.

Minerva glared at Filch, who couldn't even explain himself clearly. She didn't have time to change and rushed down to the auditorium in her dressing gown.

Along the way, the chattering of the portraits hanging on one side of the spiral staircase made Minerva's face grow increasingly grim.

Filch doesn't seem to be talking nonsense—

Indeed, when it was time for students to go to sleep, many students rushed out of their respective lounges and headed straight for the auditorium.

Moreover, it seems that the largest number of students are from her house—Gryffindor!

Did something happen that she doesn't know about?

In her nearly half-century coaching career, nothing like this has ever happened before!

For some reason, the face of Ares Delfino suddenly flashed before Minerva's eyes...

But that doesn't make sense. Apart from the time he was expelled, this student had never deliberately caused trouble while he was at Hogwarts!

Minerva's face was tense as she rushed toward the auditorium, leaving a trail of wind in her wake.

The Great Hall was indeed filled with ghosts, some of whom were students... but not a single Gryffindor could be seen. These students crowded into the brightly lit foyer, craning their necks excitedly to peer into the surrounding area!

"What's going on? What kind of tricks are you playing?!"

Minerva sternly reprimanded those students.

"Get out of the way!"

A passage suddenly appeared in the surging crowd, allowing her and Filch to pass through.

She walked to the marble platform outside the castle gate, looked into the distance, and with just one glance, her expression froze!

"Professor Delfino, make the scene even more moving!!!"

Minerva heard Fred Weasley shout, and then George Weasley.

"Let's make this even more lively, Professor Delfino!!!"

"Watch closely!"

Ares said with a smile.

He suddenly raised his hand, his palm facing the night sky illuminated by the dazzling fireworks, and the golden flame that emanated from his palm flew into the night sky!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like a thunderous roar, the main building of Hogwarts Castle, the Gryffindor Tower, the Ravenclaw Tower, and the school's tallest Astronomy Tower...

It's on fire!