"Dumbledore, I have filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Magic against that ugly, abominable, dangerous beast that attacked my son!"
Lucius pushed the door open and entered the conference room. He pulled out his chair with anger on his face. The solid wood legs of the chair hit the ground with a dull sound.
"Not only that, on behalf of the school board, I would like to question the quality of the professors hired by the president this academic year." He sat on the pulled-out chair, crossed his legs, and supported his cane with one hand, looking very impressive.
"I have checked the records. Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year because he privately raised dangerous magical animals. Is such a bad wizard really suitable to be a professor? I doubt it."
Lucius proudly smoothed his gorgeous collar and continued, "Not only that, but there's another problem with dropping out of school in the third year... That is, Rubeus Hagrid himself doesn't even have an Ordinary Wizard Level Examination certificate for Care of Magical Creatures."
"Can such a person really be chosen to be a professor at Hogwarts?"
He leaned forward and gazed smugly at Dumbledore, his tone full of pleasure.
"Mr. Malfoy, I have already explained clearly to the Ministry of Magic about Hagrid being expelled from Hogwarts. He is innocent, and someone framed him." Dumbledore's expression did not change at all, and he began to defend Hagrid seriously.
The headmaster was very skilled at this kind of deception. He easily brushed aside Hagrid's behavior of raising dangerous magical animals and lightly attributed the reason for expulsion to the person who framed him.
As a "young man" in his thirties, Lucius obviously did not know the truth of fifty years ago and did not doubt Dumbledore's statement.
"Even if we ignore this, there is nothing wrong with the fact that Rubeus Hagrid did not pass the Ordinary Wizarding Level Examination, right?" Lucius's face darkened, and he said coldly, "There was a teaching accident in his class, so there is nothing wrong with this, right?"
"Dumbledore, I want to see how you can defend him!"
Dumbledore calmly adjusted his glasses. Far from being flustered by Lucius' questioning, he chuckled softly.
"Mr. Malfoy, Hogwarts has never stipulated that the recruited professors must pass the Ordinary Wizarding Level Examination." He chuckled.
"Hagrid has been the gamekeeper at Hogwarts for fifty-two years. During this time, he has managed the magical animals within the school in an orderly manner, with few accidents. At the same time, he has maintained friendly relations with various magical animal groups, including the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, and has made an indelible contribution to neighborhood harmony."
"In addition, Hagrid discovered and raised a pair of Thestrals himself, which later developed into a fairly prosperous group. Therefore, every carriage at Hogwarts was replaced by Thestrals instead of the white horses originally purchased specially, saving the school's directors a great deal of cost."
"Besides, I have learned that no other students in Hagrid's class had any accidents. It was only your son who did not follow the professor's instructions and rashly came into contact with the Hippogriff, which led to the teaching accident. It is not reasonable for Hagrid to bear all the responsibility for this teaching accident."
"Mr. Malfoy, do you still think that Hagrid is not qualified to be a professor at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore looked at Lucius deeply and asked word by word.
Lucius looked a little unhappy.
It was the first time he knew that this usually inconspicuous game keeper had made so many genuine contributions to Hogwarts, which was something he could hardly refute.
But Lucius was unwilling to let go of the big man who allowed the Hippogriff to hurt his son.
"These contributions only prove that he is a qualified gamekeeper, but they do not prove that he has enough qualities to be a professor at Hogwarts!" He said firmly, "I cannot believe in the comprehensive qualities of a wizard who has not passed the wizard level test."
"Are you sure you want to talk like that, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore suddenly laughed cheerfully, leaving Lucius looking puzzled.
"Of course, I stick to my point of view." Lucius frowned and looked at Dumbledore in confusion.
He didn't know and didn't care what Dumbledore was laughing at. He just wanted to vent his anger for his son.
Lucius thought he had the capital.
This is because, after Dracula reorganized the Hogwarts Board of Directors and drove away several troublesome pure-blood directors, the Malfoy family had become the only two financial sponsors on the board who paid for the daily operations of Hogwarts. The other one was the Ministry of Magic's financial department.
Lucius felt that he had the advantage. After all, Hogwarts couldn't be without a sponsor, just like the wizarding world couldn't be without JK Rowling!
"Well then," Dumbledore finally stopped laughing, with a hint of ridicule in his eyes, "Mr. Malfoy, can I assume that... you are questioning Professor Dracula's overall quality and teaching ability?"
Lucius's face froze, and cold sweat immediately flowed from his forehead.
He subconsciously glanced at the empty seat at the front of the conference room. That was the seat reserved by the board of directors for Dracula, who was the nominal chairman of the board of directors.
Dracula was too lazy to attend meetings, so after the novelty of it wore off, he basically never came to this meeting room.
But the school directors here cannot just pretend he doesn't exist.
What if this unpredictable professor suddenly comes to the meeting on a whim one day? Will the chairman have no seat and have to stand to meet with the school directors
What if this moody professor gets angry and beats up the school directors present
So the school directors reserved the seat for Dracula.
Lucius breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the empty throne. He didn't have time to wipe away the cold sweat that was running down his eyes and stinging them. He immediately said righteously:
"Nonsense! How could I possibly question Professor Dracula? Professor Dracula is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with the best teaching ability and personal overall quality that I have ever seen. No one would question him!"
Even though he knew that Dracula was not at the scene, Lucius still adhered to the principle of being cautious in words and actions regarding Dracula, and immediately expressed his opinion, fully demonstrating his identity as a die-hard fan of Dracula.
He was now ready to abandon Voldemort and turn completely to Dracula. It would be a shame if Dracula disliked him because of such a small matter...
"So why is it that Professor Dracula, who has never taken the wizard level examination, is the professor with the strongest teaching ability and comprehensive quality, while Hagrid, who also has not taken the wizard level examination, can only be questioned?" Dumbledore asked sharply, pressing on step by step.
"How can Professor Dracula and Rubeus Hagrid be the same..." Lucius wanted to refute, but was interrupted by Dumbledore before he could finish his words.
"Is it because Professor Dracula is the chairman of the board of directors?" Dumbledore stared into Lucius' eyes and said in a deep tone, "Does the board of directors have privileges that others don't have?"
Dumbledore's words pierced Lucius' heart.
Obviously, his words were not directed at Dracula, but he was using this matter to question Lucius.
Lucius's expression changed and he hesitated for a long time.
Dumbledore just stared at him without any unnecessary movements or words. The other school directors did not say anything more either, as they did not want to get involved in the dispute between the head of the pure-blood family and the headmaster of Hogwarts.
After a long moment, Lucius took a deep breath.
"Okay, then I'll give the headmaster a favor today." He gritted his teeth and said, every word seemed to be spit out from between his teeth, "I can not appeal to Rubeus Hagrid..."
After saying this, Lucius raised his head and met Dumbledore's deep eyes. "Are you satisfied now, Dumbledore?"
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction and stood up from his seat. "Then, this matter has passed happily..."
He turned to look at the other board members, "Is there anything else for the board? If not, I still have some official business to attend to, so I'll leave for now..."
"Wait a moment." Lucius also stood up and stopped Dumbledore with a gloomy face as he was about to leave.
Dumbledore turned his head in confusion, "Anything else, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Although I let the big guy go, the beast that hurt Draco must pay the price." Lucius said, "I have contacted the Dangerous Creatures Disposal Committee, and they will send the resolution to me in a few days."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dumbledore also frowned.
"Of course, an explanation must be given for the harm suffered by Draco." Lucius leaned his cane on the ground, his expression returning to that arrogant look again.
"Well, since you are so stubborn, I will have to find a reinforcement." Dumbledore sighed.
He suddenly stretched out his wand and waved out a silver-white phoenix, which flew through the wall to the third floor of the castle.
That was Dumbledore's Patronus, which he modified to convey messages.
Lucius's face didn't look good.
He recognized that the direction the silver phoenix was flying was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office on the third floor of the castle. Dumbledore probably wanted to ask Professor Dracula to come over and support the hippogriff.
Lucius was ready to bend and stretch—
If Professor Dracula had really been called over and sided with Dumbledore and Hagrid, he would have immediately written a letter to withdraw his complaint against the animal, and said with a smile that it was just a misunderstanding...
But at this moment, Dumbledore was stunned. His expression was a little surprised at first, and then turned into helplessness.
"It seems that Professor Dracula is not in Hogwarts Castle, right?" Lucius breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.
"How unfortunate." Dumbledore shook his head.
"Then let's wait until Professor Dracula comes back." Lucius curled his lips. "If Professor Dracula has no objection, the resolution of the Dangerous Organisms Disposal Committee will be delivered as usual in a few days. You can ask the big guy to wait."
After saying that, Lucius swung his cane and left the board of directors meeting room in high spirits.
After all the school directors had left, a hint of doubt quietly emerged in Dumbledore's eyes, and then he summoned a Phoenix Patronus again.
He closed his eyes and controlled the silver phoenix to fly all over the castle, exploring every unusual inch of the castle.
After a moment, Dumbledore suddenly opened his eyes, with a complex look of surprise, shock and anger in his eyes.
…
Let’s go back to a few hours before the school board meeting.
It was just dawn, and at the end of the Black Lake, a golden light cut through the curtain of starlight, quietly illuminating the darkest moment of the day.
The sky was still dark, which was exactly the time of the day that Dracula appreciated most.
There is no dazzling sunlight, nor eternal darkness; a best balance is achieved between light and darkness.
He stood on the shore of the Black Lake, with a wine-red light flowing in his eyes. He looked through the slightly rippled lake water and watched with interest the giant squid in the lake teasing the little snakes that were playing all night in the Slytherin common room.
Just as Dracula was watching with great interest, a red light suddenly flashed past him.
A sense of alertness and excitement that he had not felt for who knows how many years suddenly hit Dracula's lonely heart.
He subconsciously tilted his neck and barely avoided a deep red blade of light.
The tip of the light blade narrowly brushed past the throat and flew into the water without stopping, splitting the lake in two in an instant. The dividing line drawn by the air on the lake surface did not disperse for a long time.
On the dividing line, many fish were cut into two parts, and the cut surface was as smooth as a mirror.
Dracula felt something strange on his neck, so he raised his hand and gently brushed over the place where the tail of the crimson light blade had just passed.
Suddenly, he touched a touch of cold liquid.
"How many years have passed..." Dracula turned over his palm and looked at his slender fingertips with a dazed look.
There was a drop of bright red blood on his pale fingertips, and that drop of blood seemed to be emitting a strange luster.
"It's been so many years since I last felt what it feels like to be hurt." Dracula licked his fingertips inconspicuously, savoring the fishy smell of blood, and unconsciously curled up the corners of his mouth.
"Then I want to know who you are?"
The four sharp fangs on his lips were already clearly exposed, his nails were extended, the wings behind him were spread out, and the evil in his eyes was no longer hidden.
Dracula's evil eyes looked at another person who appeared at the shore of the Black Lake.
It was a strange figure.
She was wearing a gorgeous red cloak with a long hood that covered her face, leaving no trace of skin exposed to the air.
But in his hand he held a wand that couldn't be more ordinary, as if it was a branch picked up from the ground.
Under the hood, no trace of the figure's expression could be seen, but Dracula could keenly sense the underlying emotions in that person's heart -
There is not a trace of malice, but it is full of murderous intent!
…
…