Malfoy's Foresight, the Sorting Hat's Warning

More than an hour later, the Prefect' meeting officially ended.

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Prefect left the Prefect box one after another, while the four Gryffindor and Slytherin Prefect remained there.

"Hermione, we should go," Ron reminded her. "Harry is still waiting for us!"

Hermione glanced at Aaron, then hesitated, "Want to come along?"

"Granger, Gaius is a Slytherin Prefect," Pansy sneered.

"I didn't ask you."

"Hmph!" Pansy snorted. "He won't go with you guys. Malfoy is still waiting for him."

"Draco?" Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise. "He... want to see me?"

Pansy nodded. "It should be very important, but he wouldn't have specifically asked me to inform you."

"Is that so?" Aaron pondered for a moment, then slowly stood up. "Take me across the river!"

Hermione hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Pansy, beaming with pride, gave Hermione a defiant look and led Aaron away from the private room.

"Let's go!" Ron said meaningfully. "He's a Slytherin Prefect now, and Malfoy is his friend, so it's reasonable to approach him first."

"I know, I don't need you to remind me." Hermione glanced at him and then walked out on her own.

Draco was sitting in a box with his two henchmen.

"What do you want?" Aaron asked as he opened the door to the private room.

"Come in and we'll talk." Draco pursed his lips, then looked at Crabbe and Goyle sitting opposite him. "You two go in first."

"Huh?" Goyle opened his mouth in surprise. "But where do we sit?"

"Good heavens! How did I end up with such stupid followers?" Draco said dejectedly. "Get out, don't come in unless I call you."

The two exchanged a glance before realizing that Draco wasn't trying to kick them out, but simply wanted to speak with Aaron alone.

"We'll be there now."

"Just let us know if you need anything."

The two rushed off, and Pansy looked at Draco and Aaron, wondering, "Can't I stay either?"

"This is not something that should be known to a third person," Draco said very seriously.

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

Aaron placed Abei 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. "Muffliato."

"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 my dad's request makes me feel particularly uneasy.

Aaron looked at the scenery rushing past the car window and said, "You know the Dark Lord is back!"

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

"But the number of Pure-blood wizard died at his hands was by no means small." Aaron said meaningfully, then took out a transparent glass bottle from Abei's pocket, inside which were wisps of silver light. "This is a small fragment of your father's memory. It will tell you the reason why your father has been acting strangely during this period."

Gollum!

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

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

"You're not in a position to know too much right now," Aaron said seriously. "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 established a relationship with the Dark Lord, but 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 her. "The Malfoy are Pure-blood nobles, and their influence is enormous."

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

"And then what?"

"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. "However, your father is no pushover either, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed in the last Warlock 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 Malfoy family!" Aaron explained with a wry smile. "You don't think it's a coincidence that the Malfoy have always done so well among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, do you?"

From the time Armand Malfoy built Malfoy Manor to the present day, the Malfoy family has almost never declined.

Starting from humble beginnings, Malfoy's wealth grew exponentially, eventually reaching a level of immense riches comparable to that of a nation. His influence also steadily increased.

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

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

"I'm not worried about my father's health for the time being, 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 silently. "Thank you."

"I won't say that. If you really want to thank me, just tell Professor Snape when you get to Hogwarts not to make me Prefect."

"Why?" Draco paused, "The Prefect ' 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 Warlock of all ages dragged their heavy steps out of the carriage.

Aaron reluctantly put on the Prefect Badge and maintained order at the platform, while also arranging for the junior Warlock to board the carriages.

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

Familiar lines, but different voices.

The one leading the first-year students across the Black Lake by boat was not the Half-Giant Hagrid, but Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Has the person been changed?"

It seems Hagrid isn't at Hogwarts, otherwise she wouldn't be the one greeting the first-year students.

"We should fire him," Pansy said unhappily. "Last year he actually made us raise Blast-Ended Skrewt, which was disgusting and dangerous."

In comparison, Grubbly-Plank's Unicorn course is infinitely better.

"It's better to show some respect to the professor. Hagrid's knowledge of Fantastic Beasts 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 you have to 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 a class matter, but the Prefect's duties do 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. "Such as letting Dumbledore know that I invited you to join..."

"Hey you," Aaron immediately pointed to a first-year Slytherin, "The wooden boat is for first-year students. First-year Warlock 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 Thestral.

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

Let's talk about it later!

Aaron spoke as he strode quickly toward several junior Warlock 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 Slytherin in Year 1 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 would 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 Care of Magical Creatures.

"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 Great Hall 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 Grubbly-Plank 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 Wizengamot, she dressed like a Warlock, but here she wore a fluffy pink cardigan, her face was covered with a thick layer of foundation, and she wore 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 Ministry of Magic, and was specifically assigned to her by Fudge."

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

"Is it that bad?" Pansy asked skeptically.

"If you've read our lessons this year, you should know that there isn't a single decent spell in the book ' Defensive Magical Theory '."

To put it bluntly, an ordinary Muggle could teach us a lesson with this book, because it has absolutely no practical application.

A short while later, the Great Hall 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 House Hat deciding which house they would go to.

The mouth-like opening on the shackle on the shackle hat slowly opened, and then an exaggerated song was sung:

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

The four founders of Noble Academy believed they would never go their separate 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.

Ravenclaw said, "The students I teach must be intellectually superior."

Gryffindor said: The students I teach must be brave and fearless, and willing to risk their lives.

Hufflepuff said: I want to teach many people and treat them all the same.

Each of the four founders owns an academy, admitting only the boys they want.

Slytherin are purebred and cunning; Ravenclaw are sharp-witted and exceptionally intelligent; Gryffindor daring and adventurous; and the rest are taken in by the kind-hearted Hufflepuff...

The long ballad vividly explains the founding of Hogwarts, the connections between the four houses, and the duties of the House Hat.

But in the end, it issued a warning to everyone that it hadn't given in the previous four years:

Hogwarts is in danger, with enemies outside the school eyeing it covetously.

We must maintain close internal unity, otherwise everything will crumble from within.

I have warned you, I have sounded the alarm for you...