LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 40: Expelled
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"Lucius, perhaps you'd like to hear from the person involved?" Dumbledore's voice was soft, almost absent, as he glanced toward the seat by the window.
Lucius furrowed his brow, momentarily distracted by Dumbledore's lack of focus.
"Principal Dumbledore," Lucius began, his voice edged with disbelief, "you don't seem to be too concerned about the fate of this Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" His doubt was clear. He had expected Dumbledore to take swift action after sending his letter demanding Dracula's expulsion. Yet here they were, sitting in a room full of directors, with Dumbledore still passive.
"I really don't care," came a voice, smooth and clear, cutting through the tension like a blade.
Lucius's eyes snapped to the window where, leaning casually, was none other than Professor Dracula. His silver hair gleamed in the dim light, and his burgundy eyes gleamed with curiosity as he observed the school board, lollipop lazily hanging from his lips.
"Who are you? How dare you eavesdrop on a school board meeting?" One of the elder directors slammed his fist on the table in outrage, glaring at Dracula.
"Eavesdropping? That's not quite right," Dracula smirked, clearly entertained. "I was here before your little meeting started. Didn't you tell me this yourself?" His voice carried a playful mockery, his words sharp as a dagger. "Or are the school directors of Hogwarts now too blind to see? If it were left to you to manage, I'd be concerned about the future of Slytherin."
The old director, anger rising, hissed, "You impudent child! Who are you??!! I will have you expelled right this moment for your lack of respect."
Dracula raised an eyebrow, his expression suddenly shifting to something more sinister. "Oh, you old men really do have a way with words. I must say, I'm quite fond of you." His smile was cold, almost knowing.
The director sputtered in disbelief, about to retort, but Draco, standing behind Lucius, interrupted. "Sir," he spoke softly, his voice filled with a strange mixture of respect and unease. "This is our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Dracula."
The old school director, momentarily stunned, slammed his hand on the table and loudly declared, "I don't think this man can properly teach students if he can't even respect his elders! I vote to expel him!"
As the first to raise his school board badge, Lucius secretly smiled and followed suit, raising his own badge.
One by one, four other school directors hesitated for only a moment before raising their badges in agreement.
The decision to approve or reject resolutions in the school board is made through voting. Each director's badge is magically linked to Hogwarts Castle, and once a vote succeeds, a magical contract is formed. A majority of seven or more votes is required for the resolution to pass.
However, the dismissal of a headmaster requires unanimous approval from the board, a rule that doesn't apply to this vote about expelling Dracula. With six directors voting in favor, Dracula's position as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was now at risk.
Despite this, Dracula showed no sign of concern. His excitement shifted to boredom as he observed the voting process.
"Why does something as simple as voting have to be so complicated? Why not just end the vote and fire me already? It's such a hassle," Dracula said with a smirk.
Lucius, taken aback, stared at him in disbelief, not noticing how his badge accidentally poked Draco in the face.
"You mean you're actually agreeing to be expelled?" Lucius asked, his voice filled with confusion.
Dracula took the lollipop from his mouth, looked at Lucius, and grinned. "I think you've misunderstood, Mr. Malfoy," he said. "What I mean is— I'd rather just get rid of the entire school board."
"?!"
The members of the school board stared at him in confusion, unsure how to interpret such an outrageous statement.
"Expel the board? Hahahaha!" one of the older directors laughed. "Young people today think they can control everything. What a joke."
The laughter spread among the other board members as they looked at Dracula, mocking him.
Dumbledore, sitting quietly at the head of the table, observed the scene with great interest, occasionally casting pitying looks at the school directors, though none of them thought he was pitying them. They assumed he was interceding for Dracula.
As the laughter continued, Dracula calmly pulled out an old parchment—the deed to Hogwarts itself. Infusing the parchment with his vampire magic, he activated the ancient symbols, revealing the castle's magical nodes.
He compared Lucius's raised badge to the magical map and easily found the corresponding node.
The mood shifted abruptly, and the board members' laughter turned to shocked silence.
As they tried to activate their badges to expel Dracula, they found that the magical connection had been severed. All the badges had lost their power.
"The school board badges seem to be broken," Lucius muttered as he tried, and failed, to get his badge working. He turned to Dumbledore, asking, "Headmaster, can you fix the badges? They seem to have malfunctioned."
Dumbledore glanced at him with a cheerful expression but didn't respond. Instead, he looked back at Dracula, who was watching the scene with an expectant smile.
The next moment, Dracula's voice broke the silence: "The magical link between your badges and the castle has been severed. Congratulations, you're all expelled!"
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