In the staff lounge, a moment of silence descended.

As Professor Sprout's words faded, everyone turned to look at Dumbledore, awaiting the final decision from the wisest wizard in the magical world and the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Nearby on the smooth tabletop, the Sorting Hat continued to open and close its brim, showing no signs of recovery.

In the shadows beyond the reach of the candlelight, Aileenna sat obediently on a chair beside the table, a playful look in her eyes as she scrutinized Dumbledore's wrinkled old face—such a melancholic expression was a rare sight on him.

Aileenna hadn't forgotten the "summer homework" that the old ginger root had sent her over the summer holidays.

In that case, she would let Professor Dumbledore taste what it felt like to reap what you sow, what it felt like to be faced with multiple-choice questions.

"...My opinion? That is indeed a difficult question to answer."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, shaking his head helplessly. "If I had to choose, I would most likely favor the option of sending Miss Aileenna Kaslana to Gryffindor—but—"

He looked at the excited professors and raised his voice slightly, shrugging.

"That is only because I know that house better. As a former Head of Gryffindor and a Gryffindor student, even if I try to remain neutral, I am still limited by my own life trajectory. My understanding of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw comes more from the perspective of an observer, rather than as a participant within them, to understand and experience the unique charm and valuable qualities of each house."

With Albus Dumbledore's explanation, the expressions on the faces of the four heads of house gradually softened.

"I understand your meaning. So, Professor Dumbledore, do you have any good solutions at the moment?"

After a few seconds of silence, Professor Sprout asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Of course, among us, there are a few professors who are wiser and more neutral than I."

Dumbledore nodded generously, turning his gaze to the corner of the staff lounge, to those Hogwarts staff members who had been somewhat "special" and had not offered much of their own opinions this evening.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, you are too kind. I only possess a few insignificant bits of wisdom."

Noticing Dumbledore's gaze, Gilderoy Lockhart grinned, speaking with some pride.

"However, I do have some good experience in dealing with this. In my opinion, when logic cannot judge something, we can leave everything to luck to choose. I can introduce everyone to a very simple and fun little game, just reach out your hands at the same time, and see if it's palms up or..."

"Gilderoy, thank you for your suggestion. And, I wasn't talking about you just now."

Dumbledore said softly, "If I remember correctly, you graduated from Ravenclaw, so in terms of this issue, you, like myself and the four heads of house, are not so objective—as for luck..."

"Professor Lockhart, why don't you just suggest flipping a coin?"

Severus Snape raised his eyebrows, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm.

"Why not just have the students come up and flip a coin every year at the start of term? How easy that would be."

"Uh... because a coin only has two sides? Not enough if you flip it once?"

Lockhart blinked, answering somewhat uncertainly. "Of course, I think that's not a bad idea, but it might need a little optimization, such as flipping the coin twice in a row, so that there are four possible combinations of results."

"Gentlemen," Professor McGonagall harrumphed, "I seem to remember that this is a school, not a bar or a casino."

At the same time, Dumbledore's voice rang out again, interrupting the three men's argument.

"Professor Apollyon, Professor Alexey," Dumbledore said, "The two of you must already have a good understanding of the general situation. I wonder, from an outsider's perspective, do you have any good suggestions?"

"Let her do what she wants, as long as the child is happy..."

Grindelwald raised his eyebrows nonchalantly, smiling in an old-fashioned way. "In my era, there weren't so many rules and regulations. Every wizard was free, and the more outstanding a person is, the less they should be defined."

Not to mention that he was currently wearing the "mask" of a legendary grand alchemist who had lived for hundreds of years.

Just because the girl had another name called "Theresa Apollyon," Grindelwald wouldn't be so kind as to help Dumbledore out of the predicament—he didn't want to be assigned "senior health meals" from the beginning of the new semester.

Although he wasn't sure how Aileenna had managed to do this, he was at least 90% certain that these were not accidents.

As for the principles behind it, that wasn't important.

In short, his little granddaughter, the third-generation little demon king, was the best!

He glanced at the somewhat bewildered Dumbledore, as well as the confused professors, and secretly winked at Aileenna, who was sitting on the other side of the table. Then, he straightened his face and said seriously.

"In my opinion, why not just give Miss Aileenna Kaslana the privileges of all four houses? As for her own points, deductions, and rewards, they should be removed from the student sequence and added to the staff sequence—in fact, as the assistant professor of Potions and the head chef of Hogwarts, Miss Kaslana should no longer be regarded as an ordinary student."

"So..."

Albus Dumbledore frowned, about to speak.

"Young man, don't rush to draw conclusions. Hear me out first."

Grindelwald shook his head, raising his hand and waving it, continuing unhurriedly.

As time went by, Grindelwald increasingly felt the superiority of having a "living fossil-level" elder persona. This feeling of being able to teach people with the demeanor of an elder so easily was too addictive and too enjoyable.

"I don't intend to ask you and the professors to change the way you address Aileenna, nor am I teaching you how to do things. I just want to remind everyone of one thing: Miss Aileenna Kaslana has already obtained the permission of most of the Hogwarts houses. Under these circumstances, adding one is obviously much easier than removing two."

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Chapter 1! Make up for yesterday's update!