[Hereby appoint Wayne Lawrence (Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, First Class Merlin Medal recipient) to succeed Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]
[The above complies with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight]
[Signed: Minister for Magic — Cornelius Fudge]
This notice had been posted throughout the entire school overnight. It seemed everyone in the castle had heard about last night's conflict, knowing Dumbledore had subdued five Aurors, the Senior Undersecretary, the Minister for Magic and his assistant before escaping.
Yet the notice offered no explanation whatsoever. Countless people rubbed their eyes and stared repeatedly, hoping to see if the name on the notice was somehow incorrect.
But even when their eyes were nearly rubbed raw, Wayne Lawrence's name remained clearly displayed there.
If not for the two titles following it, they would have thought it was someone with the same name.
"Have I gone mad, or has the world gone mad?" a Slytherin student murmured after reading the notice. "Lawrence is really the Headmaster now?"
"It's true," Malfoy declared, holding up the freshly delivered Daily Prophet.
On the front cover, Wayne sat in the Headmaster's Office, waving cheerfully at the camera (hurriedly taken last night). Below the photo was a bold headline—
'The Youngest Headmaster in History, Hogwarts Welcomes a New Era'
Inside, two full pages were dedicated to praising Wayne, with special correspondent Rita Skeeter confidently asserting that under Headmaster Lawrence's leadership, Hogwarts would undoubtedly develop better than ever and become the world's finest magical school.
The Ministry of Magic should have made this decision long ago, driving out the senile old fool Dumbledore.
Further in was Dumbledore's wanted notice.
The charges were conspiracy to rebel and violent resistance, with a bounty of a full 100,000 Galleons. Fudge had certainly vented his frustration thoroughly.
However, this amount was merely for show. Unless Dumbledore was short on money and had colluded with someone to split the reward fifty-fifty, no one would ever claim it.
Just as everyone was buzzing with discussion, Wayne emerged from a side door with a group of professors and took his seat at the High Table.
The sight of the handsome young man sitting in Dumbledore's former seat created an overwhelming sense of dissonance.
Not just the students—even many professors were still in a state of bewilderment.
When Professor McGonagall had gathered the staff earlier to announce this news, Snape had thought she must be under Lawrence's Imperius Curse.
It wasn't until Wayne produced the Ministry's notification that he finally gave up hope.
This damned school was finally going to ruin.
He couldn't imagine what mental state Fudge had been in when making this decision. Handing the school over to Lawrence? He might as well have given it to him instead!
If he couldn't be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, being Headmaster would do!
Of course, Snape didn't dare express his dissatisfaction openly. He knew perfectly well that the boy's heart wasn't much wider than a needle's eye.
The meeting's content was quite simple. Wayne reassured the professors, asking them to continue with their respective duties and not worry about the pressure from Umbridge.
That woman wouldn't be causing trouble much longer. With old Dumbledore gone, the school had become his territory.
How could he possibly let a toad like her keep jumping around here?
As for points...
Last night's gains had been quite substantial indeed.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the highest achievement of the Defying Heaven series — 'I Call You Teacher, You Call Me Headmaster'. Reward: 10,000 points, one critical hit gift pack.]
[Detected host's identity change. Point acquisition mechanism has been correspondingly adjusted.]
Perhaps to prevent him from cheating to farm points, house points increases and decreases are no longer provided to him. However, as long as he stirred up trouble... no, reforms Hogwarts, the system will reward him with points based on his influence.
Thus, even Umbridge's sole advantage of point-farming had now disappeared.
It was time to retire after accomplishing her mission.
In the Great Hall, the number of students kept increasing, and soon all four long tables were nearly full.
Wayne cleared his throat and stood up.
Immediately, the Great Hall quietened, becoming utterly silent, as all teachers and students focused their attention on him.
"I believe everyone has seen the notices in your common rooms and the entrance hall. That's right, from today onwards, I am the new Headmaster of Hogwarts."
Silence still prevailed.
Young Master Lawrence was dissatisfied, casting a dangerous look towards Cedric.
Young Cedric began clapping woodenly, followed by the entire Hufflepuff house, and then all teachers and students joined in the applause.
After a full two minutes, Wayne finally gestured modestly with both hands pressed downward: "Thank you for your support, though such enthusiasm really isn't necessary."
Newt's eyelid twitched - his hands were nearly numb from clapping!
Professor McGonagall was exceptionally headache-ridden, watching the smiling young man waving around, unsure what to say.
When she learned last night that Wayne had become Headmaster, she already had a bad feeling, but judging by his current performance, she had been too conservative in her estimation.
Glancing at the only empty seat at the High Table, Professor McGonagall felt slightly better.
No matter how bad things were, it was still better than that woman becoming Headmaster, right?
Wayne's speech continued: "I believe everyone has heard many rumours about last night. Let me clarify here - those aren't rumours, they're all true!"
Whoosh!
The hall immediately erupted in noise, students whispering among themselves, seemingly unable to believe Wayne would admit it so readily.
"Professor Dumbledore really defeated five Aurors?"
"I heard it was ten?"
"I heard Fudge was involved too - his head is still a pumpkin, receiving treatment at St Mungo's hospital bed."
"What about Umbridge? I don't care about the others, what about her?"
"Can't you see all the seats are empty? Probably done for."
"No wonder today's breakfast is so lavish..."
The dark lines on Wayne's forehead multiplied. He hadn't expected rumours to become so distorted in just one night. He could only raise his voice to drown out all discussions.
"Quiet! When I said 'true', I meant there was a small misunderstanding between Dumbledore and the Ministry. There were no casualties last night, and as for Professor Umbridge..."
Wayne paused before saying, "Unfortunately, she remains perfectly safe and sound. You'll see her in your classes later."
A wave of disappointed sighs swept through the hall.
Professor Sprout nearly buried her face in her plate, barely restraining her laughter.
"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone should head to class now. Rest assured, even without Dumbledore here, Hogwarts remains the safest place in the world."
"And..." Wayne hinted meaningfully: "Throughout the entire school, only the Headmaster holds the authority to expel students. If anyone uses their power to threaten you, feel free to come to me. This Headmaster will stand up for you."
Boom!
"Long live Headmaster Lawrence!"
"So cool! So domineering!"
The Great Hall erupted into applause several times more enthusiastic than before. It took quite a while for the students to leave the room and head to their respective classrooms.
Wayne also took the schoolbag that Hermione had handed to him, and they walked together towards Greenhouse Three.
"You still have to attend classes?" Norman asked in surprise.
"I'm only a part-time Headmaster; my main role is still being a student," Wayne said naturally. "Even as Headmaster, I still have to take OWL and NEWT exams."
"Otherwise, if my qualifications end up worse than the students', how could I lead the team properly?"
"Then how should Professor Sprout address you later?"
"Simple. We'll each use our own titles."
...
Hundreds of miles away from Hogwarts, in a small town.
Dumbledore sat in a café, holding a newspaper.
To ordinary people, it appeared to be just that day's morning paper, but in reality, it was today's Daily Prophet.
Staring at the beaming young man on the cover and the all-too-familiar office, Dumbledore had been lost in thought for fifteen minutes.
At this moment, the century-old man had fallen into a state of questioning his life.
He had originally thought that after his departure, Umbridge would inevitably become Headmaster.
The reason he had asked Wayne for help was to have him look after things and prevent Umbridge from harming Professor McGonagall and others, or turning the school into a complete mess.
But now he had a strong intuition.
Even if he hadn't made any request, Wayne would have gone to great lengths to drive him out and take over his office...
'I've been used as a pawn...'
After a long while, Dumbledore let out a bitter laugh.
Although he realised he had been used by Wayne, he didn't feel much anger in his heart.
After all, his objective had been achieved. At least the students' education and the professors' safety wouldn't be affected, so he could rest assured and focus on his own tasks.
Leaving nine pounds and fifteen pence on the table, Dumbledore walked briskly out of the café, found a secluded spot, and summoned Fawkes.
He intended to go to Russia himself to see what Tom was plotting. If the opportunity arose, he would take care of the problem directly while the other's power was still weak.
As for the office, he'd let Wayne use it for now. He could always reclaim it when he returned.
...
That afternoon.
Though Wayne had become Headmaster, his life didn't seem to have changed at all.
He still attended classes as usual.
He didn't even consider skipping Umbridge's Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
Arriving a few minutes early, the Slytherin students obediently kept their mouths shut, not even daring to whisper.
Who knew if Lawrence might use this chance to make things difficult for them?
The Hufflepuff students, however, remained as casual as ever. Having attended classes with Wayne all day, they had already accepted the premise of having their Headmaster accompany them in lessons.
Macmillan and Toby were still discussing how to get back at Smith, with others gathering around to offer suggestions.
Smith was still lying in the hospital wing today—not because of Dumbledore's magic, but because he had been kicked hard enough to fracture a bone the previous night.
But this didn't mean everyone would let him off because of it.
This time, Smith had offended students from three houses—he'd be lucky to get through this term unscathed.
Soon, the class bell rang, and Umbridge walked in with a dark expression.
She had worn this expression all day, not giving anyone a pleasant look.
After going through all that trouble to drive Dumbledore out, not only did she not become Headmaster, but she ended up paving the way for Lawrence instead.
No wonder she was in such a foul mood.
Umbridge wanted to confront Fudge, but she didn't dare, because all her authority came from Fudge, the Minister for Magic, without any foundation of her own.
If she fell out with Fudge, forget about becoming Headmaster - she might not even keep her position as Senior Inquisitor.
After all, the bird was gone, and the bow could be stored away. With Dumbledore gone, her value had diminished accordingly.
"Turn to page three hundred and forty-six," Umbridge said weakly to the students. "Your task today is to read the next forty pages."
"And what about you?" Wayne suddenly asked.
"What?" Umbridge didn't comprehend.
"What's your function?" Wayne leaned back in his chair. Though Umbridge stood at the elevated podium, she still felt as if Lawrence was looking down on her from above.
"What is your function as a professor?" Wayne repeated. "If reading alone could teach us everything in these books, what's the point of Hogwarts paying you to be here?"
Many students nearly applauded in agreement.
Umbridge's face turned purple with rage. "As a professor, I only need to plan the study schedule for students. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. That is my job."
"Furthermore, my salary is paid directly by the Ministry of Magic and has nothing to do with Hogwarts."
"Headmaster, is that clear enough for you?"
"Quite clear." Wayne nodded. "Your function is equivalent to a fart - we're better off without you, and your presence only makes the classroom stink."
"Pfft!"
Toby couldn't help himself and burst out laughing.
Just as Umbridge was about to erupt, Wayne pointed toward the door. "Now, please leave. Since you're of no help to the students, there's no point in your staying here."
"Please... piss off."