There was light snow falling around Hogwarts, adding a sense of homecoming to the little wizards walking in a line on the white lawn.
The Christmas holidays are finally here!
The young wizards happily carried their bags to the main entrance of the castle, took a carriage to Hogsmeade Station, and then took the same Hogwarts Express to King's Cross Station.
Harry sat in his dormitory in Gryffindor Tower, looking out the window beside his bed. He saw his classmates winding their way to the carriage, and he couldn't help but feel a little envious.
“Hoo—Hoo—”
There was a snoring sound in the dormitory. Harry turned his head and looked at Ron who was still sleeping soundly.
A smile appeared on his lips, and he suddenly felt that there was nothing to envy about those little wizards who went home for Christmas.
Because Hogwarts is his home, he will spend Christmas at home this year!
Suddenly, a hint of surprise flashed in Harry's eyes—
On the snow-covered lawn, he actually saw a little wizard walking back against the crowd.
By the special platinum hair color, Harry judged that the little wizard was Draco Malfoy. At this time, there was an adult wizard with the same hair color next to Draco, who was walking towards the castle with Draco.
…
"Draco, are you sure the one bullying you is a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
Walking on the snow-covered lawn, the wizard with the same hair color as Draco looked at Draco walking beside him and asked.
Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, had the same platinum-blond hair as Draco, cold grey eyes, and carried an extravagant snake-head cane.
As if guessing what was going to happen next, Draco twisted his body a little uncomfortably.
"It's Professor Dracula of Defense Against the Dark Arts." He whispered, "Dad, are you really going to fire him?"
"Of course, isn't this what you want?" Lucius looked at Draco's cowering expression and said angrily, "Draco, you have to know that we are the Malfoy family, one of the twenty-eight holy families. When facing those who dare to provoke us, we must fight back head-on, so as not to lose face for the family!"
"But...but his lectures are really interesting, and he seems to be very strong. There have always been rumors in Hogwarts that he is not afraid of the Dark Lord at all..." Draco said hesitantly.
When he heard the word "Dark Lord", Lucius's eyes twitched suddenly.
He had just disposed of the very important diary that the Dark Lord had given him not long ago. Although he could not see it on the surface, he was actually very guilty and worried that the man who must not be named would make a comeback.
"Listen, Draco, the Dark Lord is dead, we have to move on!" Lucius whispered to Draco, and also to himself, "The rumor that your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is not afraid of the Dark Lord is probably just a rumor, and even if he is not afraid, he said it is only because the Dark Lord is dead, so he has inexplicable confidence..."
Draco nodded, not quite understanding.
At this time, a man wearing a purple turban just walked over. For some reason, when Lucius met his eyes, he felt a tremor from his soul.
"Good morning, Mr. Quirrell." In front of his father, Draco was happy to be polite, so he greeted the man in the turban.
"Good morning, Malfoy," Quirrell said in a vague voice. "May I have the honor of knowing what you were talking about?"
"What we are talking about has nothing to do with you!" Lucius suppressed the fear and trembling in his heart and refused coldly.
Quirrell gave him a deep look, then turned and walked towards the gate of Hogwarts Castle.
What Lucius didn't realize was that in Quirrell's pocket, there was a blank diary that was emitting a strong dark aura, which seeped into Quirrell's body and controlled his consciousness.
"Strange, why doesn't Mr. Quirrell stutter anymore?" Draco looked back at Quirrell in surprise.
"Let's go, Draco." Lucius urged, trembling a little.
"coming!"
Seeing this, Draco put aside his doubts and quickly followed Lucius's pace.
…
When Malfoy and his son arrived at the Hogwarts school board meeting room, all twelve directors were already present.
They sat in a circle around a long round table, staring at each other in silence.
"Lucius, so you called us here today just to fire a professor?" One of the school directors broke the silence first.
"Yes." Lucius placed his cane on the round table and stared at the board member who spoke first. "I think that the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Dracula, has problems with his teaching methods. His courses often put students in danger and disregard their safety. If a teaching accident occurs one day, Hogwarts will hardly be able to bear such a serious responsibility."
"In addition, I have surveyed several students who are aware of the situation, and they all said that Professor Dracula often physically punishes students."
He pulled a questionnaire for students from his pocket and showed it to everyone present.
In fact, the people who filled out the questionnaire were Slytherin students including Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco's friend Parkinson.
The members of the school board quickly passed the questionnaire around and frowned slightly.
"Principal Dumbledore, what do you think of Professor Dracula's actions?" One of the school directors looked at Dumbledore who was dozing off in the main seat and asked.
Dumbledore glanced at him, then said with a smile: "I think Professor Dracula is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with the highest teaching level and personal qualities in recent decades."
Upon hearing Dumbledore's comments, the eleven school directors except Lucius were all a little surprised.
After all, although Dumbledore is old, his reputation and personal charm are still the sun that never sets in the wizarding world, and have not declined in the decades since defeating Grindelwald.
The elder gave such a high evaluation that the school directors had no choice but to take it seriously.
"Principal Dumbledore, you can't deny that Professor Dracula used corporal punishment on students, right?" Lucius saw that the situation was not good, and quickly added, "The Education Act formulated by the Ministry of Magic stipulates that no group of teachers may impose severe corporal punishment on underage wizards."
"And my child Draco suffered severe psychological trauma after being physically punished by Professor Dracula. This alone is enough for the school board to expel him!"
He looked Dumbledore in the eye and sneered.
…
…