She thought for a moment and decided to show the current Headmaster a little something.
Not far off, Rhys watched coldly from the sidelines.
When he heard Helga claim to be "well-rounded," he couldn't help but find it amusing: Alchemy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and even Culinary Magic—fine. But to say she was qualified to teach Care of Magical Creatures?
Out of the four founders, which of them didn't have magical creature blood on their hands?
Did she really think the Forbidden Forest came complimentary with the castle?
Why had these magical creatures ended up needing "protection" in the first place? Did Helga not have a clue?
"I won't demonstrate food magic," Helga said. "I'll just give a brief demonstration of alchemy."
Dumbledore nodded—he already fully acknowledged her mastery of food magic.
Helga drew her wand and pointed it at the ground. A paving stone was flipped up by a bulge of rising earth, and from the soil emerged two little clay figures.
Each clay figure was only about a foot tall. To save time, Helga hadn't sculpted any facial features, but each had been outfitted with a miniature wand.
The two clay figures jumped up onto the table in front of them and launched into a duel, clinking and clattering in a lively skirmish.
From time to time, they even cast Transfiguration charms on the pastries on the table to aid in their battle.
Watching the intense duel between the two tiny clay figures, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow—Miss White might even be qualified to teach Transfiguration.
In the end, one clay figure blew the other into pieces.
Clumps of dirt scattered everywhere, and if Dumbledore hadn't reacted quickly, the plates of desserts in front of him would've been ruined.
"Take a look at this too." While the duel had been underway, Helga hadn't been idle either—she had crafted a simple alchemical tool using a small spoon from the dessert shop.
"What's this?" Dumbledore took the spoon and narrowed his eyes, quickly guessing its function.
"It's enchanted with a mild freezing charm," Helga explained. "It can speed up food cooling or keep ice cream from melting." She pointed to the bowl of ice cream in front of Dumbledore.
Since it was made purely from dairy and the weather was hot, the ice cream had mostly melted into a sticky, unappetizing mess.
Dumbledore stirred the spoon Helga had given him into the bowl, and wisps of white mist rose from the edges. In seconds, the melted mixture refroze into solid ice cream.
After these two "simple" magical demonstrations, Dumbledore no longer had even the slightest doubt about the capabilities of the woman before him.
She was qualified to teach multiple subjects: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Alchemy, Transfiguration, and even Culinary Magic.
Now, it was simply a matter of which subject she wished to teach.
Dumbledore laid out the currently available teaching positions and their status, and told Helga she could pick whichever one she liked—he'd make the arrangements accordingly.
After thinking it over carefully for a while, Helga asked a question.
"Professor Dumbledore, I've heard—just a rumor, of course—that the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is cursed, and that no one can hold the post for more than a year?"
Upon hearing Miss White's words, Dumbledore instinctively glanced at Rhys: It must have been you who let that slip!
Otherwise, how could someone who traveled here from centuries ago possibly have heard about that rumor?
Dumbledore hesitated—a rare thing for him.
In recent years, it had become increasingly difficult to recruit professors for Defense Against the Dark Arts, precisely because the rumor of the curse had spread far and wide.
Just look at the candidates hired since Harry started school: Quirrell, a suspicious character who switched from Muggle Studies; Lockhart, a man only interested in polishing his own fame for a year; and Lupin, who is good but only wanted to join because he was completely broke.
With a lineup like that, you could honestly say: What self-respecting person would even want to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts?
Every summer, Dumbledore had to rack his brain to find someone—anyone—to fill the position for the following year.
Hogwarts positions were typically quite appealing, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Most people cared too much about their physical and mental wellbeing to take the risk.
The reason Dumbledore had arranged today's interview so quickly was precisely because Miss White had written in her application that she was "qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Still… hiding the truth from her didn't sit right with him either.
So Dumbledore could only brace himself and admit to Helga that, yes, the professor who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts was indeed replaced every year due to various reasons.
"What kind of reasons did the professors have for quitting the position?"
Dumbledore answered truthfully, and Helga fell silent.
The reasons really were all over the place—some had died after being possessed by the Dark Lord, some had been arrested, though there were also a few who'd had relatively good endings and transferred to other posts voluntarily.
After a moment's thought, Helga decided to become Hogwarts' next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The reason was simple: she wanted to challenge herself and personally experience this so-called "curse."
She had never encountered a curse of this nature before, and now that the opportunity was right in front of her, how could she not try it out? She didn't believe this curse could do anything to her.
"It's time for this so-called curse to end with me," Helga said confidently.
Dumbledore: ehm...
He'd heard that line many times before.
"In addition to the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, I'd also like to teach the children some Alchemy. It doesn't need to be a formal class—just give me a classroom, and I'll hold the occasional lecture!"
Helga added her request. She believed it was truly a shame that modern wizarding education had done away with Alchemy.
Even if the children didn't study it in depth, simply gaining some basic understanding would already be wonderful!
"You could start an Alchemy club—set a time each week for students to gather. Professor Lupin and the others previously ran a Dueling Club, and it was very well received," Dumbledore suggested after a moment of thought.
Seeing that Miss White was willing to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, Dumbledore was genuinely pleased. However, considering how heavy that responsibility already was, he tactfully declined her offer to also serve as Alchemy professor. Instead, he proposed she lead an extracurricular Alchemy club.
"That works too." Helga agreed with Dumbledore, and the two reached a consensus. Then, like performing a magic trick, Dumbledore produced two copies of a contract—an official one-year appointment as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Helga took the contract, skimmed it, and promptly signed her name—the offered conditions were quite generous: room and board included, a monthly salary of one hundred Galleons, fifty Galleons in teaching funds, and the option to request more if needed.
It also clearly stated that all medical expenses would be covered by Hogwarts.
As Helga signed her name, Dumbledore felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders: finally, this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was secured!
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