Through hard work and loyalty, we forge the bonds that make us strong.
He glanced at the quote that was hanging proudly above the huge badger logo placed on the wall in the Hufflepuff common room. This was the motto adhered by everyone wore black and yellow robe in Hogwarts, the house where losers and those who were abandoned by the god of magic gathered.
Even though it was a joke inherited from generation to generation to mock Hufflepuff and nobody took it seriously anymore, there was some truth left behind it.
It happened about a thousand years ago, when Hogwarts was formed for the first time. The bold Godric Gryffindor was the first to claim what kind of students did he want. At that time, without hesitation, he picked two traits that suited him the most, bravery and chivalry. After that, the genius Rowena Ravenclaw also picked two traits, wisdom and intellect. She chose the most studious students to be on her house. Next to her, the ever calm and cautious Salazar Slytherin chose his two traits, resourcefulness and ambition.
So, what about the students who were not suitable for the traits from those three houses? Should they get their memory wiped out and their magic core bound because they couldn't enter the school?
No, this was too cruel. The lowkey Helga Hufflepuff decided since her three friends had already picked their traits, she would accept all the students who weren't chose by them. That way, everyone would have the same chance to taste the education from Hogwarts.
She also chose the trait for her students carefully. Since they were left out students, they had to work harder than anyone else. And since they were abandoned by the others, they had to stick with each other, moving forward together and not letting anyone left behind. Thus, she chose the two traits, hard work and loyalty.
PLOP!*
Suddenly, a loud, sharp noise was heard, followed by a burst of sparks and a flash of light. When the light faded, a small, scrappy-looking creature with a wild look in his eyes was standing before him, bouncing ups and down showing his happiness.
"Master Shafiq! You is back!" The creature grinning ear-to-ear, couldn't hide his happiness. "Oh, Inky is so happy!"
"Happy to see you too, Inky." He smiled, kneeled down and hug the creature warmly.
"Is Master Shafiq going to be professor Shafiq? Should Inky prepare the quarter for Master Shafiq? What about dinner? Inky is going to prepare Master Shafiq's favourite! Is it still a roast chicken and Yorkshire pudding?"
"Woah, hold on, Inky!" He stopped the poor creature from his babbling, chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Yes, I am going to be a professor. And don't worry about the quarter. I have already prepared my belonging before I went here. As for food…. Well, you know my preference." He winked playfully.
"Oh, Inky understands! Inky will prepare professor Shafiq's favourite!"
PLOP*
With another sharp noise, the creature disappeared, leaving him alone, smiling amusedly. Thinking about Inky, the loyal house elf who would always treat the student nice and enthusiastically, memories flashed in his mind, bringing him back to the past. Whenever he had his night escapade, he would always ask Inky to shadow him, following him for the backup plan when he encountered a problem.
At that time, even though he was young and had a big thirst for adventure, that didn't mean he was stupid. He always knew that Hogwarts was still full of unknown dangers. Having Inky followed him was to ensure that his night adventure went smooth and if anything happened, there would always be someone to tell the professor.
Fortunately, Inky who at that time was still a young elf didn't shy away from adventure. Together, they explored the entire Hogwarts, encountering a herd of centaurs in the forbidden forest, and even trying to find all the secret passages in Hogwarts. Thinking about that time and now that he had the role to prevent that kind of escapade, he chuckled silently, thinking how ironic this was.
'Tempus.'
He waved his wand while muttering a spell softly. Suddenly, in front of him, a set of numbers appeared, could only be seen by him as the caster.
20:16:11
'Hmm.. The sorting ceremony should be over by now. I better go to the great hall first before the headmaster starts his speech.'
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school stood up, starting his speech after the sorting ceremony was over. Even though he was full of smile, his tall, imposing figure commanded attention.
However, Hermione Granger couldn't put her mind on the speech right now. Her bright brown eyes gleaming with concern, her bushy hair expanded slightly as her worry kept growing. This was all because her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were nowhere to be seen since she was on the Hogwarts express.
"Hermione, where is Harry and Ron?" Nevile Longbottom, a shy, chubby boy asked.
"I don't know." Hermione answered with a whisper. "I don't see them at all on the Hogwarts express! Is it possible that they missed the train?"
"It shouldn't be." Neville shook his head. "I mean, look. All of the weasleys are already here. Do you think they will forget the presence of their brother?"
"I don't know…" Hermione bitted her lips nervously.
Just when she was about to say something again, Dumbledore announced something that caught her off guard.
"This year, we will welcome two new professors into our school." The old headmaster paused for a second, letting his word sipped in while also creating a dramatic effect for the students. "First, let's welcome our defense against the dark arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Cheers and screams from the girls all over the hall reached a fever pitch as gazed up at him in awe. Some were waving their arms wildly, and a few were even fainting from sheer excitement. The cheers exploded into a new height when Lockhart smiled brightly, showing off his clean, white, set of teeth to everyone. Several female professors could only sigh and shake their head helplessly when they saw the teenage girls cheered for their new professor.
Hermione also clapped politely. Even though having a writer as her professor was an exciting thing, the girl had already predicted about his appearance since she knew the DADA course would use seven of his books. What made her curious was the next new professor that would come. She tried to think what course would this new professor teach.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait for too long. After Lockhart greeted them all with his bright-and slightly narcistic smile, Dumbledore raised his hand, signalling everyone to stop talking.
"Unfortunately, for some reason, Professor Snape wouldn't be able to teach you all this year. So, he will put all his energy only for the NEWT students. Therefore, we will have a new potion professor to teach the first grade to the fifth grade."
This second announcement was followed by silence for a moment as everyone tried to digest Dumbledore's words. But it only lasted for a few seconds, as when they all realized what the headmaster said, cheers exploded, far more exaggerated than the Lockhart's announcement before.
"FREEDOM! WE ARE FREE!" One of the Weasley twins screamed in joy while the others waved his wand, making a bunch of confetti exploded from it. And it wasn't just them. Almost everyone below the sixth grade murmured excitedly, some high-fiving their friends in celebration.
Hermione also saw Neville besides her had his shoulder slumped in relief, as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulder. Thinking about Neville's horrid experience with Snape last year, Hermione was happy for her friend.
However, what she was curious about was Snape's reaction. The potion master was always prideful about this subject. Having half his job snatched out of nowhere, would he make a fuss about it?
Unfortunately, when her eyes fell into the professor, his flat, cold expression didn't give her a slight hint about his feeling. Snape who sat on the staff table remained silent, his expression as flat as stone. It was as if he was trying to make himself invisible, to blend in with the background and avoid any interaction with anyone.
However, the cold feeling radiated from him could be felt by everyone, making the students restrained their celebration a bit. Now, what they waited the most was who will be their new professor?
"Well, without further ado, let's welcome our new potion professor, Albert Shafiq!"
All the eyes suddenly were drawn to the doorway, where a tall, dark-haired figure stood framed in the entrance. Albert Shafiq, the new potion professor, had just arrived, and his striking features commanded attention. His piercing blue eyes scanned the room, killing the whispers and giggles from the students.
His dark hair was styled naturally, not the pompous one like Lockhart. Yet this only created a good impression for the other professors as they were glad they only had one new peacock this year. Coupled with his perfect sharp jawline, his appearance alone could make any girls faint on the spot.
He exuded an air of quit confidence, as if he knew secrets that only he understood. This demeanor left everyone in awe as the whispers began to rise once more. Just like the other girls, Hermione felt her face hot, her cheeks growing even redder, flustered when she saw his handsome face. But when she saw the new professor nodded at Snape as if they knew each other, she had her jaws dropped in shock, not expecting this kind of development.
'What is happening there?! I have to tell Harry and Ron quickly!'
"Long time no see, professor McGonagall." Albert nodded politely.
"Professor Shafiq, I haven't heard about you for more than ten years." The older witch replied with the same politeness.
"Family circumstance, I am afraid." The professor who overheard the conversation nodded along, yet didn't inquire the situation too much knowing that it was Albert's privacy.
"You might as well call us by our first name in private, Albert. We will be colleagues by now, after all." The short-bouncy Fillius Flitwick smiled enthusiastically. Albert returned the smile, knowing very well this would be the reaction of his most favourite professor in Hogwarts.
"Well then, I won't be polite in the future, Fillius."
Professor Flitwick chackled at the teasing tone directed at him. Then, Albert turned his attention to the other side, when his eyes landed perfectly on his fellow potioneer.
"Severus." He greeted politely. The man he was greeted nodded back, still with his usual cold expression. There was no hint of what was he feel right now. However, the interaction between those two surprised most of the professors who witnessed this.
"You two know each other?" Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Well, we both gained our mastery from master Slughorn. The difference is when I was done, Severus just came to fill my position. But we still exchanged correspondence a few times before." Albert explained, taking a seat next to his former head house. "Good to see you again, professor Sprout."
"Don't smile at me like that." The herbology professor slapped his shoulder playfully, heer face full of smile. "And don't you dare encouraging the fellow Hufflepuff to follow your path, you hear me, young man?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Albert chuckled. As his head house, professor Sprout was probably the only one who knew about his night escapade. The first time she noticed he was gone at night, she almost had a heart attack. Fortunately, before she could panic and told the other, he was back at the common room and explained where he just went.
Albert still remembered how professor Sprout scolded him mercilessly before giving him one month worth of detention. No roommates of him knew why he deserved the punishment, and that small episode had become a funny history between him and the older woman.
"So, are you really willing to help me?" Professor Sprout leaned her body forward, whispered so that nobody overheard the conversation.
"Don't worry, professor. Since I am here, I am willing to help my fellow Hufflepuff. I even asked my room to be near the kitchen, so everything would be alright."
"Good." Professor Sprout sighed in relief. "You don't know how bad professor Snape bullied our house. There was at least one student crying in the night after two hours in dungeon. I still don't know why professor Dumbledore keeps him here with all the complains from the parents."
A small smile curled on Albert's face, feeling a bit nostalgic after hearing about Professor Sprout's rant. Even though normally, she was a very sweet woman, there was several occasions where he would find his head house venting out her emotion like this, and most of it was because someone dared to bully her student.
He could still remember in 1973, the years he graduated from Hogwarts, he received professor Sprout's rant about four Gryffindor's little rascals dared to throw a dung bomb straight to the Hufflepuff house in the great hall. He didn't know what was the consequence for the four Gryffindor's little rascals faced, but from what rumour said, they couldn't eat any meat food without vomiting for more than two months.
So, yeah, when her subjects were bullied, the sweet caring professor Sprout would turn into a mama bear for the Hufflepuff.
They exchanged conversation for a while until a commotion happened. Fawkes, Dumbledore's beautiful phoenix suddenly flashed on the great hall, letting out a thrill cry that made the headmaster frown. Everyone looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what happened.
"We have some accident outside." The headmaster murmured lowly, yet not low enough to not be heard by everyone on the staff side. "On the whomping willow, to be exact." He added.
Albert winced subconsciously at the mention of the violent tree. The one outside of the Hogwarts was planted in 1971 when he was in his OWL year and he could still remember some idiots dared to approach it recklessly. Needless to say, it ended up poorly with some was fortunate enough to only have bruises on their body, yet most of the idiots had to go to the infirmary with at least one or two broken bones needed to mend, not a fun experience for those who were involved in the accident.
"Fillius, do you mind if you take care of the students while me, Minerva, and eaverus check what happened?"
"Sure." The charm professor nodded before taking over the situation.
Albert who heard the conversation raised his eyebrows slightly, finding the decision Dumbledore took was a bit interesting. If it was only professor McGonagall, he would understand since the transfiguration mistress had been his deputy since a long time. But Dumbledore trusted Snape, the potion master with a bad reputation among the students that much?
However, he didn't have any intention to ask about that. One thing he learned since he graduated from Hogwarts was to not meddle in people's business until he was asked to since it was a spell of trouble.
"Well, since the dinner time is about to be done, let's let the prefects from each house to lead the first year to the dormitory first. They should be tired right now." Professor Flitwick said.
"I will call the Gryffindor prefect first." Professor Sprout took initiative. "Albert, do you mind sending the fellow Hufflepuff to our common room first?"
"Sure."
Since the path taken by Hufflepuff and Slytherin students was the same, Albert decided to let the snake students followed him too. He snorted in amusement when he noticed several students with green and silver secretly glanced at him, as if trying to figure out his position here.
Unlike the naïve Hufflepuff students who looked at him blatantly and talked about him curiously behind his back, the Slytherin students who the majority were raised up in the pureblood society knew how to restrain themselves. However, this didn't stop them to try to figure him out as a new professor. After all, the name Shafiq had a pretty well reputation among the pureblood circle.
"Why are you all looking like an idiot?" A voice suddenly appeared from the back of the Slytherin line, making all the head turned around. "He is just a new professor, and he is a bloody puff! Why are you so curious about him?" A boy with a pompous blonde hair said disdainfully.
Albert rose his eyebrows slightly before turning his head toward the Slytherin prefect and asked, "Who is he? Is he really a Slytherin?"
The boy's face flushed red in embarrassment as snickers and laughter could be heard from his fellow Slytherin. Hell, even some of the older Hufflepuff students also laughed at him, making this situation worse. Couldn't stand with the humiliation, one of the Slytherin older students stepped up, looking at him cooly.
"Yes, Sir. He is a Slytherin student. His name is Draco Abraxas Malfoy, the son of Lucius Malfoy."
"Oh? The son of Lucius Malfoy?"
To be honest, Albert had already known about it before. However, the fact that someone dared to step up for the boy caught his interest. And the fact that not only the older student was willing to defend the Malfoy boy, but also took the initiative to intimidate him in the power play made Albert wonder, are Slytherin students today getting bolder than Gryffindor?
"Yeah, and when my father hears about what I said, you can say goodbye to your job." The blonde boy said arrogantly.
"Really?" Then, a playful smirk formed on Albert's face, making several female students blush on the spot. "Then, please do mention my name to him. And don't forget to add, he still owed me his life to what happen in Giant Village in Vosges fifteen years ago. Oh, and do tell Narcissa I said hello, okay?"
All the Slytherin students suddenly stopped walking, looking at Albert with wonder. Lucius Malfoy was the leader of the pureblood fraction in the Wizengamot and the head of one of the wealthiest family in the UK. To hear him owe life debt to their new professor wasn't something Slytherin expected in their wildest dream.
However, looking at Draco who had his face pale as if all the blood was drained from his body, all the Slytherin students knew that there was more truth on Albert's word than the bragging. And the fact that he was also in a first-name daily basis with Narcissa Malfoy, the daughter of the black family told them how well-connected their new professor was.
They couldn't wait to go back to their dormitory and sent a letter about this development to their parents. If anything, this would shake the dominancy of the Malfoy family at least in the Wizengamot.
"Well, we are here." Albert's voice snapped the Slytherin from their thought. Without noticing, they had already arrived at the intersection that separated Slytherin dungeon from the Hufflepuff common room. "Before you go, Slytherin, I will give you one lesson. Always be careful with your words and don't offend someone that easy again. You are Slytherin, the suppose students full cautious and resourcefulness, not the brash and reckless Gryffindor. You got it?"
All the Slytherin students stiffened a bit, especially after they were compared with Gryffindor. Albert nodded, satisfied with the result of his speech. He decided to let them go, knowing he had already made a big commotion outside with his remark about Lucius Malfoy. He knew that tonight bounded to be a restless night in the Snake pit.