A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"Okay!" Pansy didn't mind and consciously closed the sliding door of the carriage.

Aaron placed Abe on the table and then sat down by the window.

"Can you tell me now?"

"Why did Uncle Lucius send you to see me?"

Draco remained silent for a while, and was about to speak when Aaron interrupted him.

"Wait a moment." Aaron took out his wand and waved it gently. "Close your ears."

"That's fine. No one else will hear our conversation from now on."

"Hmm!" Draco nodded slightly and continued, "My dad didn't say anything, he just asked me to inform you before doing anything, and he also told me to follow your arrangements in important matters."

"Heh!" Aaron couldn't help but click his tongue. "As expected of the head of the Malfoy family, he's quite cautious. He'd rather do nothing than make a mistake!"

“Tell me what happened?” Draco asked nervously. “I can feel that everything has changed this holiday. My parents haven’t even smiled in the past two months.”

Adding to that my dad's request, I felt particularly uneasy.

Aaron looked out the car window at the scenery rushing past, "You know the Dark Lord is back, right?"

Draco nodded. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Dark Lord is protecting the interests of purebloods."

“But the number of pure-blood wizards who died at his hands was by no means small.” Aaron said meaningfully, then took out a transparent glass bottle from Abe’s pocket. Inside, there were wisps of silver light. “This is a small fragment of your father’s memory. It will tell you the reason why your parents have been acting strangely during this period.”

Gulu!

Draco's heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed hard.

He reached for the glass bottle, but Aaron snatched it away first.

“It’s not appropriate for you to know too much right now,” Aaron said with a serious expression. “I brought this up for no other reason than to hope that you will trust your father’s arrangements.”

Uncle Lucius considered the worst-case scenario; he specifically sought me out to leave you a way out.

Draco fell silent upon hearing this.

He wasn't completely ignorant; the Malfoy family had already become involved with the Dark Lord, but now it seemed that this relationship was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

"Is my parents in a situation...?"

“I can’t answer that for you, but don’t be too pessimistic,” Aaron comforted. “The Malfoys are pure-blood nobles, and their influence is enormous.”

At least until the Dark Lord decides to openly appear in the wizarding world, the Malfoy family is quite safe.

"What happens after that?"

"After that... there shouldn't be any major problems."

"What do you mean by 'should'?" Draco couldn't accept it. "Can't you be more specific?"

“No, because their allegiance is to a capricious person,” Aaron said bluntly. “But your father is no pushover either, otherwise he wouldn’t have escaped unscathed in the last Wizarding War.”

Draco's expression remained uncertain. "Even if you say that..."

"Come on, you're the heir to the Malfoy family, you should have some confidence in them!" Aaron explained with a wry smile. "You don't think it's a coincidence that the Malfoys have always done so well among the Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families, do you?"

Since Armand Malfoy built Malfoy Estate, the Malfoy family has almost never declined.

From humble beginnings to immense wealth, Malfoy's fortunes snowballed, and his influence continued to grow.

To achieve these things, besides having excellent investment acumen, one also needs the ability to protect oneself wisely, and these are precisely the two things your father has in abundance.

Hearing Aaron say this, Draco felt much better, and most of the worry in his eyes disappeared.

"I don't need to worry about my parents for now, so what should I do?"

"Don't do anything unnecessary. Keep things the way they were before."

But if you really feel helpless, you can come to me for help.

Draco nodded emphatically. "Thank you."

"No need for that. If you really want to thank me, just tell Professor Snape when you get to Hogwarts not to make me a prefect."

"Why?" Draco paused, "The prefects' authority is second only to the headmaster and professors."

"It's too tiring and a waste of time."

“Uh… I’ll try my best!” Draco said somewhat awkwardly, “but I don’t think Professor Snape would agree, and no one is more suitable to be the Slytherin prefect than you.”

"Many people think this way, except myself."

......

The train headed north, with raindrops occasionally tapping against the window.

But the rain didn't last long; it ended before the train arrived at the station.

The air was filled with the damp smell of earth, and wizards of all ages dragged their heavy steps out of the carriage.

Aaron reluctantly put on the prefect badge and maintained order among the students at the platform, while also arranging for the second-year wizards to board the carriages.

"First-year students, come here! First-year students..."

Familiar lines, but different voices.

This time, it wasn't the half-giant Hagrid who led the first-year students across the Black Lake by boat, but Professor Grappleland.

"Has the person been changed?"

It seems Hagrid isn't at Hogwarts, otherwise she wouldn't be here to greet the first-year students.

“We should fire him,” Pansy said unhappily. “Last year he actually made us raise blasting snails, which was disgusting and dangerous.”

In comparison, Glapland's Unicorn course is infinitely better.

"It's better to show some respect to the professor. Hagrid's knowledge of magical creatures is enough to make him a teacher."

“Aaron, I know you two are close,” Pansy said speechlessly, “but I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Many people hope that Hagrid will be fired and just stay as his forest ranger.”

"What did you say?" Ron asked angrily.

“That’s true, Weasley,” Pansy said bluntly.

"Enough," Aaron interrupted them impatiently. "We'll talk about Hagrid at Hogwarts. For now, let's maintain order. At least be worthy of the badges you wear."

The two exchanged a glance, each snorted coldly, and went in opposite directions.

Aaron was utterly speechless. Luckily, it was him standing there, not Draco, otherwise he and Ron would probably have started fighting.

"You must be feeling pretty exhausted!" Hermione teased.

"Maintaining order is our duty, but a prefect's responsibility does not include mediating fights."

"Um... how was your holiday?"

"Not so good," Aaron said, pouting. Ever since he started school, his holidays had been a series of bitter experiences.

Progress is a good thing, and he naturally longs to become stronger, but being forced to move forward by a group of people is another matter entirely.

“There are some things I think I should tell you.” Hermione hesitated for a moment, but quickly hardened her expression. “If Dumbledore knew I invited you to join…”

“Hey you,” Aaron immediately pointed to a second-year Slytherin, “the wooden boat is for first-year students. Second-year wizards should take the carriage and go that way.”

"Understood, senior."

A little witch said shyly, and soon followed the others into the carriage pulled by Thestrals.

"Sorry, Hermione, I'm quite busy right now."

Let's talk about it later!

Aaron spoke as he strode toward several second-year wizards who were some distance away, and only breathed a sigh of relief after putting some distance between himself and Hermione.

No matter the topic, anything involving Dumbledore is bound to be bad; it's best to keep your distance.

All the second-year Slytherins boarded the carriage. Aaron carefully counted the number of people and, after confirming that no one was missing, he and Pansy boarded a carriage that Draco had reserved in advance.

"Draco, do you think Hagrid got fired?" Pansy asked impatiently.

"how could I know?"

“No, it won’t,” Aaron said confidently. “Don’t forget that Dumbledore is still the headmaster!”

As long as he remains the principal, Hagrid will continue to be the professor of the Magical Creatures Protection class.

"Heh!" Draco sneered. "He won't be the headmaster for much longer, the Ministry of Magic..."

"Draco." Aaron glared at him.

"Fine, I won't tell you!" Draco waved his hand helplessly. "But everyone will find out sooner or later."

The carriage moved slowly through the night, getting closer and closer to Hogwarts Castle.

At the oak door, several people jumped off the carriage and walked up the steps toward the auditorium door, where the opening banquet would be held.

Four long dining tables, a ceiling that appears to be enchanted and looks exactly like the sky outside, and rows of lit torches and candles...

Unlike before, Hagrid was not in the faculty seats; Professor Grapland was sitting in his place.

As expected, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor changes every year, but this year's Professor Umbridge is definitely not here to teach.

In Wizengamo, she dressed like a wizard, but here she wore a fluffy pink cardigan, a thick layer of foundation on her face, and a large pink bow on her head... It was truly an eyesore.

“She is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor,” Draco said with a meaningful smile. “She is also the Minister for Magic, and was specifically assigned to her by Fudge.”

"Show-off," Aaron said, somewhat speechless. "Being able to become the Deputy Minister of Magic is somewhat of an achievement, but I really can't say anything good about her teaching ability."

"Is it that bad?" Pansy asked skeptically.

"If you've looked at our textbooks this year, you'll know that there isn't a single decent spell in the book 'Defense Against Magic Theory'."

To put it bluntly, an ordinary Muggle could teach us a lesson with this book, because there's absolutely no practical experience required.

A short while later, the auditorium doors opened again.

Professor McGonagall led the first-year students in, and just like last year, she took out a long piece of parchment to call roll, with the Sorting Hat deciding which house they would go to.

The mouth on the Sorting Hat, resembling a gaping wound, slowly opened, and then sang an exaggerated ballad:

Long ago, I was a new hat, before Hogwarts was even built.

The four founders of Noble Academy believed they would never part ways; a shared goal bound them together, leading them to build the school and teach together.

Slytherin said: The students I teach must be of pure blood.