After the sorting ceremony, a sumptuous welcome dinner began.
Because another group of freshmen arrived, the long tables in each house seemed more lively than usual, even those Slytherins who were often prudes were no exception.
And now that the ceremony has been completed, those wizards affiliated with the International Federation of Wizards who came from afar naturally no longer have to wait in the side hall. Maka brought those people in and invited them to sit down at the newly added round table without introducing them to the students.
Needless to say, these wizards are here to discuss the alchemy competition again. According to the original plan, this world-class competition will be held at Hogwarts in a while. As long as preparations are sufficient, it will definitely be an unprecedented alchemical feast.
However, the competition may be exciting, but most of the preparation before the competition is boring. Instead of going to their table and listening to some boring social talk, it would be better to focus on the little wizards.
In fact, an inconspicuous secret love drama was taking place right in the middle of the Slytherin table.
This time when school started, Malfoy finally appeared in a low-key manner! But because he missed a lot of classes and couldn't even take the OWLs exam, he had to stay in fifth grade for a year this school year.
As for the so-called "secret love", of course it refers to Miss Pansy Parkinson who often hangs around Malfoy.
"Oh...Draco, I know you must be very disappointed. But it doesn't matter. Everyone understands that with your intelligence, it is completely possible to go directly to the sixth grade..." Pansy carefully sat on Malfoy's right hand, connecting the table. He didn't even look at the delicious food, but tried every means to comfort the other person, "I'm serious, Draco! In my... our hearts, you will always be the most... um, the most powerful one in our generation!"
Her words were obviously so contrary to her will that when she said them, she subconsciously glanced guiltily in Maka's direction.
But Malfoy didn't have any feelings for her, and he wasn't listening carefully at the moment. He just ate the food on the plate one bite at a time without saying anything, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.
It is worth mentioning that now his two silly followers, Crabbe and Goyle, are no longer hanging around behind him. Because even with the IQ of those two idiots, they also understand the importance of being a human being with one's tail between one's legs.
After all, both of their fathers were loyal Death Eaters who followed Voldemort. And now, those two idiots from the older generation were both captured alive and sent to Azkaban in the final battle when the Order of the Phoenix raided the Death Eaters' lair.
During the welcoming dinner, which was full of laughter, Malfoy silently finished the food on his plate, then put down his knife and fork and left the auditorium early.
The weather has been pretty good recently, with sunny days and breezy nights, but when Malfoy walked in the corridor, it felt like he was in the middle of winter. There was endless hesitation and depression hidden in his heart, which was tormenting him every minute and every second.
Yes, in the end Snape went to check him out and gave him a specially formulated potion to suppress dreams while sleeping. Although that kind of magic potion was expensive and had to be taken regularly and rationed every day, it was really effective. At least he never had nightmares after that.
Unfortunately, it wasn't until the days before school started that he realized that he might not be able to escape.
Although the nightmare did not reappear, an emotion clearly came to his mind. He could even feel that it was some kind of desire that went directly to his heart - some kind of desire for strength, power, and the reverent gaze of others.
More importantly, that kind of greed is increasing day by day and affecting him step by step. It happened that he himself felt this subtle change clearly, but he still couldn't refuse the strange power that grew in parallel with his desire.
He knew that he might be able to use that dark energy now, but he never dared to use it even once. He was worried that once he used it, he would no longer be himself.
Unconsciously, Malfoy suddenly found that he had arrived at the top of the Astronomy Tower in a trance. This is the highest place in Hogwarts Castle. Standing by the railing, the high-altitude night wind was surprisingly strong, making his coat rustle in waves.
Looking around, there are endless shadows in the distance, all of which are the mountains that are swallowed up in the night. Looking up, the whole field of stars is shining with a different kind of brilliance, as if you can reach out and touch it.
This was a beautiful scene, but in Malfoy's eyes at this moment, it looked so manic and unsettling.
"Hiss..."
He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, then punched the stone railing. The pain in his hand distracted him somewhat, but it was only enough to calm his tired heart.
"Strength... Ridiculous power..." Malfoy leaned on the railing with his elbows, lowered his head and murmured in a low voice, "Even if I could have this power, would I still be able to defeat McClane? As powerful as Voldemort -"
That's what he said, but wasn't he himself the one who harbored illusions from beginning to end? Otherwise, if Maka bows his head and explains, with the ability shown by Maka, maybe this trouble will be gone from him long ago.
"boom!"
He hit the railing again, and there was a roar that was deliberately suppressed. The unwillingness contained in the roar was obvious.
…
"...Okay, this is our Hufflepuff common room. Here you can do homework, read books, chat, eat snacks, play wizard war chess, etc... No matter what you want to do, you can't come here." You will be wrong. Yes, I still remember that our Professor MacLean created the wizard war chess here - right there, on that table by the window!"
The dinner was over. As usual, the prefects led the freshmen of their respective colleges back to the common room and introduced them to how they should enter and exit in the future. Right now, Enns, who was assigned to Hufflepuff House, was looking around the circular room, hearing fragmentary explanations from his seniors.
In Hufflepuff, the most worthy thing to tell the new students is the glorious history of Maka. Just think, what could be more topical than a former classmate who is now a world-class celebrity
"Oh... are you talking about that particularly young gentleman? Is he really our professor?" After hearing the senior mention Maka, a small girl immediately asked.
"Yes, that's right!"
That senior was actually Maka's former roommate Ernie. Since he became a prefect last year, he has gained a bit more of a leader's temperament. The thing that makes him most proud now is of course his good friend Maka. He is full of pride when talking about it with his junior classmates.
"He teaches ancient magic literature..." Ernie said cheerfully, "Do you know? Our class took an important exam last year. We reviewed for it for a long time, and it was still very difficult! But guess what? ? Those guys who took the magic literature elective all passed the exam with good grades or above, and most of them were excellent!"
At this point, he looked around exaggeratedly, and then whispered: "... You know, in Maka... Oh no, look at my mouth! You know, I have a very good relationship with him... I am Said, before Professor McLean was in charge of Magical Literature, not only were few students selected for this course... even if they were selected, no more than half of the students would pass!"
"Oh! This sounds really awesome..." The little girl nodded repeatedly.
"Of course he is awesome!" Ernie said excitedly, "Perhaps many of you have heard of it, but I will tell you the truest side from the perspective of a person who has experienced it myself - do you know the Dark Lord?"
"I know!" There are few children who come from wizarding families who don't know this. What's more, there was a turmoil a while ago. Even if they are still young, they have already heard about it from their elders. "It must be Voldemort! Listen to my uncle. , but no one dared to mention his name before!"
"No, it's not just that!" Ernie said mysteriously, "The Dark Lord doesn't just refer to one person... Yes, there are many people who know Voldemort now, but many older people still remember that before Voldemort there was The first generation of Dark Lord exists! I think back then... "
His words "think about those days" were equivalent to holding a personal lecture. Not only did he make up the information he found into stories and tell them to the freshmen, he also made up some stories that did not belong to Greenwald at all. The "dark history" came out, which made these little guys feel horrified.
In the end, he paused deliberately and refused to continue speaking until he had whetted everyone's appetite.
"... Think about it, what would happen if the two generations of Dark Lords got together?" Ernie said, slamming the table and frightening the freshmen, "Does that need to be said? Then It’s death! It’s destruction! It’s ruins and blood everywhere!”
"That's really scary..." At this point, he swallowed, creating a subtle sense of tension. "But no one expected that when Maka protected all the teachers and students in the school and returned to the castle, He was left alone outside like that!"
"and after?"
The voice of this inquiry was much calmer than that of the previous freshmen, but the tone was still raised a lot because of the desire to know. That was when Enns turned around and spoke.
"Later?" Ernie grinned. "When the door to the castle was opened again by Professor McGonagall, we found Maka lying at the door. Except for her face being a little pale, even the wizard's robe was intact. And that The two powerful Dark Lords have all fallen into the snow without breathing!"