Cassandra's Strategy, or Rather, Her Codebook?

The remaining days passed quickly, and almost in the blink of an eye, it was almost time for the holiday to begin.

Inside the Great Hall, the classic gold and red Gryffindor colors were on display. Thanks to the visible influence of school board member Pabbie Miss Sweeting, Professor Snape's precise control over the grades was effectively curbed, resulting in Gryffindor's scores far ahead, leading by a significant margin of 124 points.

The three houses sat jubilantly in the Great Hall, a stark contrast to the somewhat somber Slytherin.

Miss Farley, the Slytherin Prefect, sat on the bench with a gloomy expression, staring sullenly at the Gryffindor lion flag not far in front of her, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Seeing Miss Farley looking sad, Draco picked up a glass of Pumpkin Juice and said, "Don't look so sad, Miss Farley, have a drink."

Miss Farley took the Pumpkin Juice, stared intently at the lion flag, and drank Pumpkin Juice all in one gulp.

"We are champions again."

This is what the Gryffindor students said.

"Slytherin isn't the champion."

This is what Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students said.

The other two houses are actually quite united in their opposition to Slytherin.

As long as Slytherin doesn't win the House Cup, it's acceptable.

Amidst the whispers in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall tapped her glass, the clear sound echoing throughout the entire Great Hall.

"Quiet down, everyone, please quiet down," she said.

The buzzing in the Great Hall disappeared.

Dumbledore stood up, cast an Amplifying Charm on himself, and then said to everyone, "In the new summer, we welcome another delightful summer vacation."

"After all, for children, the happiest days are when they don't have to go to school, aren't they?"

A burst of laughter erupted in the Great Hall, especially from Draco's two Troll brothers, Crabbe and Goyle.

Miss Farley glared at the two of them fiercely, at their heartlessness.

Merlin, Slytherin's House Cup has been snatched away by Gryffindor, and you two Troll brothers are still laughing?

"In the new school year, we have had a few mishaps," Dumbledore announced loudly. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, and an unfortunate student and a poor cat have been petrified."

"What you should know is that the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, but the victim—Miss Elizabeth Warren, also known as the Moaning Myrtle —was not so lucky and was killed by that monster."

"Fortunately, Mr. Harry Potter of Gryffindor bravely resolved the little trouble in the Chamber of Secrets of Chamber of Secrets for us, preventing the monster from threatening Hogwarts again... Therefore, on behalf of the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the entire Hogwarts Board of Governors, I hereby present him with the Special Contribution to the School Award!"

The Special Contribution to the School Award is given to Hogwarts students who have made outstanding contributions to the school. It is a gold medal with the recipient's name on it.

One student once received this award; his name was Tom Marvolo Riddle.

In June 1942, he received the award for catching the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets. His medal was placed in a display case in the corner of the Trophy Room, but the reason for his award was not explained.

A moment of silence fell over the Great Hall, followed by a burst of enthusiastic cheers from the long tables of the three colleges.

The Slytherin students, on the other hand, were much more reserved, clapping for Harry in a very polite and orderly manner.

We had to applaud! Prefect Miss Farley and Harry were on good terms, and that horrible transfer student seemed to be on good terms with Harry too—didn't you see? She was sitting on the Gryffindor long bench, her narrow eyes squinting as she scanned the Slytherin's long table.

The implication was clear: anyone who dares not to clap, I'll make sure they can't clap in the future.

"Now, what we need to announce next is—the final score for the House Cup... Hufflepuff, four hundred and forty-seven points!"

The students in the Great Hall applauded together, with the Hufflepuff students being the happiest, seemingly unconcerned about coming in last place.

This is what Badger looks like.

"Ravenclaw, four hundred and fifty-six points!" Dumbledore announced again.

The students in the Great Hall applauded again to celebrate Ravenclaw's victory.

After the noise in the Great Hall subsided, Dumbledore announced loudly once more, "Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two!"

This time, at first only the Slytherin students were clapping and celebrating, but after Harry clapped for Slytherin, Gryffindor also reluctantly joined in the clapping.

Inspired by Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also began to applaud Slytherin.

Dumbledore watched all this with satisfaction and gave Harry a thumbs-up for his magnanimity.

Harry didn't actually have any prejudice against Slytherin. Apart from the fact that Slytherin was unlucky enough to produce Voldemort, the house was actually quite good.

Compared to that bastard Voldemort, even Headmaster Black seems so adorable.

Headmaster Black was dozing off at Grimmauld Place, Number 12, suddenly sneezed in the portrait. He groggily opened his eyes, rubbed his nose, and sneezed again.

"Finally, let us celebrate the birth of the champion—" Dumbledore proclaimed, "Gryffindor, five hundred and ninety-eight points!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the Great Hall, especially from the Weasley twins —they lit Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks, creating a lively scene in the Great Hall.

"We Are the Champions!" the Twins shouted, their arms around Percy's shoulders as they jumped and danced with abandon—as if they had earned the Gryffindor points themselves.

"Those two have forgotten that they're the ones who are making things worse," Ginny said helplessly from the side.

"I bet if they just behaved themselves, breaking 700 points in Gryffindor wouldn't be a problem." That's Angelina Jansen's assessment.

"So, can we Quidditch training today?" Alicia Spinnet asked cautiously.

Wood glanced down at the cowering Alicia Spinnet and chuckled, "It's already the holidays, why would I drag you guys into Quidditch practice? Of course—don't forget when you get home, understand?"

"Yes, Captain—" the Gryffindor Quidditch team members replied in drawn-out voices.

After the students finished their celebrations, Dumbledore announced the official start of the banquet.

"Oh my god, Harry," Ron said from the side, "I really want to get the Special Contribution to the School Award too—that way, Mom will give me a chicken leg as a reward."

"You can reward yourself," Hermione said with a hint of disdain.

Ron crossed his arms and snorted, "How can that be considered a reward? You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."

"Alright, then I'll reward you." Hermione picked up a chicken leg from the table. "Ronald Weasley, I, Hermione Jane Granger, am rewarding you with a big chicken leg."

Veratia watched the two children from the side with a big, doting smile on her face.

"What if you win the award next year?" Harry said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, there are still five years. You'll have your chance, Ron."

"I think so too," Ron said with a smile, taking the chicken leg from Hermione and happily tearing into it.

"What are your plans for the holidays?" Hermione asked Harry, then looked at Veratia: "I think you might go on a trip?"

"No, I still want to finish my studies at Muggle school, Hermione," Veratia said with a smile. "And don't forget, there's also summer school..."

"And you, Harry?" Ron asked, feeding Scabbers with one hand. "What are your plans for the holidays? Are you going to stay at the Dursley family' again?"

"Probably, but I might go out for a stroll too," Harry replied.

"Perhaps we could go to the Weasley family together," Hermione said with a smile. "My dad has always been very interested in Mr. Weasley's flying car. I think they get along very well. He even asked me to ask you about it when he wrote to me the other day, Ron."

"Oh, that won't do." Ron shrugged regretfully. "Dad won the lottery— the Daily Prophet's annual grand prize, a whopping seven hundred Galleon —and after discussing it, Mom and Dad are planning to take the whole family to Egypt to visit my older Bill —you know, he works as Curses Specialist in Gringotts, Egypt. We'll also take a trip to Egypt to relax and unwind."

"I see." Hermione nodded and said, "Well then, we'll have to wait until you return from Egypt to see you again."

"Goodbye, goodbye," Jack shouted at the top of his lungs from the side.

Today, Veratia also knows that it wasn't the cockatoo that tore Harry's Notebook, but the cockatoo itself.

But she couldn't do anything to a cockatoo, after all, that cockatoo was her brother, while Jack wasn't.

"I'd love to go to Egypt too," Seamus said from the side. "I want to go inside the pyramids and see if there are really mummies inside—you know, those things with all those bandages wrapped around their bodies. They look really scary, don't they?"

"Mummy isn't scary, Seamus," Hermione said. "They're just Egypt mummies, actually pretty much the same as Inferi. They'd be completely obliterated by Flame Charm."

"To be honest, Seamus," Neville said timidly, "I think you're more terrifying than anything in the mummy's eyes."

Upon hearing this, Seamus was not angry at all; on the contrary, he became smug.

"Haha, I think so too," he said. "It's just a mummy, right? I don't believe a single mummy can survive my Exploding Charm..."

After the banquet in the Great Hall ended, it was time for the holiday.

Logically, students should be able to School Opening today, but trains usually depart in the morning, so most students choose to stay at school for the day and wait for the train to go home tomorrow.

A few students whose families owned cars, like Pansy Parkinson, went home early in their family's horse-drawn carriage.

That afternoon, Sebastian also awoke from his petrification.

Harry specifically asked Veratia to come with him to the Hospital Wing.

"Hey, Seber," Harry called Sebastian by his nickname, "I'm really glad to see you're all better."

"I'm very happy too," Sebastian replied sarcastically. "Especially being stuffed into your wallet by you and getting a glare from your Basilisk, it really makes an old friend very happy."

Veratia turned her head away, pretending to be interested in the white sheets beside her, forcibly suppressing her laughter.

The teased Harry began to make excuses, "That's your mistake—that Basilisk isn't mine. It was raised by Slytherin and only obeys the Heir of Slytherin... while Ominis is a descendant of Slytherin, so logically he is the Basilisk's master. If you want to settle scores, you should go to him."

After saying that, he changed the subject before Sebastian could continue, "Well, I asked Professor Dumbledore, and he said that Morfin Gaunt didn't know where Voldemort hid the portrait of Ominis, but after our analysis, it's very likely that his Horcrux are with the portrait of Ominis. For example, Gringotts vault could very well be the hiding place of one of his Horcrux."

"It seems he truly is a remarkable individual." Sebastian whistled loudly. "To be able to successfully split his soul to create Horcrux —just the ability to endure such pain is enough to call him a remarkable person. Moreover, from what I'm hearing, he created more than one Horcrux?"

"Yes, his diary is one of the Horcrux." Harry nodded and said, "Professor Dumbledore and I speculate that the ring, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, is very likely also Horcrux he made."

"This is a bit troublesome for you." Sebastian's soul rippled like water. "I'm just a ghost now, and I can only watch you fight that Voldemort —it's a pity, a real pity."

Harry looked at Sebastian, whose expression was rippling with excitement, with suspicion.

"I see you don't feel regretful at all, but rather you're looking forward to it?"

"Of course," Sebastian said with a chuckle. "You're someone I personally trained—I mean, Dark Arts, of course. I certainly look forward to seeing what a thrilling scene it would be like for you to clash with the most powerful Dark Wizard of the century, Harry."

Well, he's someone who loves to watch the drama unfold.

"I knew it, you taught him all that Dark Arts."

Veratia suddenly turned around, glaring at Sebastian: "The three Unforgivable Curses, right? Can't you teach him something good?"

"Well, actually, I taught him curses like Confringo," Sebastian said, raising his hand. "And Fiendfyre, Stinging Hex, and so on..."

Harry quickly reached out and grabbed Veratia's wrist to prevent her from raising her hand and casting an Ancient Magic on Sebastian.

"He's truly blessed to have a friend like you!" Veratia sneered. "If he didn't know Ancient Magic, he probably would have been driven mad by the Cruciatus Curse long ago!"

"But I know that those of you who study Ancient Magic will ultimately have your emotions converge in that emotional aggregate." Sebastian chuckled. "Besides, how can you fight Dark Wizard without knowing a few tricks of Dark Arts? Professor Hoot always says, 'Understand yourself and understand your enemy, and you won't lose even if you fight a hundred times.'"

"Besides, I really didn't know you'd become so old-fashioned, Grindelwald." Sebastian added, "You were the one who developed the method of killing all targets within range with a single Avada Kedavra— "

Before Veratia could speak, she heard a teasing voice coming from behind her.

"I never imagined you had such an experience."

The three turned around and found that Dumbledore had appeared behind them at some point.

"However, I need to add that I also do not approve of you learning Dark Arts —at least not before the fourth grade. Dark Arts can affect people's minds, and young wizards are bound to be unable to control themselves, be influenced by Mahoutokoro, and eventually go astray."

"You're right, Professor." Veratia nodded in agreement.

Sebastian stood up and looked at Dumbledore.

"Are you the current Headmaster of Hogwarts?" he said. "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before... Dumbledore..."

"Oh, you may not remember me, Mr. Salu," Dumbledore said with a smile. "You should remember my sister, Ariana —the little girl with Obscurus."

Sebastian looked like he suddenly understood.

"Ah, yes, I remember now," he said. "Ariana Dumbledore, right? I remember when I was looking for a way to control Anne's condition, I saw your sister, and your rather temperamental brother, Abufosi Dumbledore, right?... How is she, Ariana?"

Dumbledore sighed and recounted the events to Sebastian.

After listening to it once, Sebastian looked at Veratia with a complicated expression.

Veratia looked to the side, somewhat embarrassed, feeling ashamed that she had such a troublesome younger brother.

"I heard from Harry," Dumbledore began, easing the awkwardness, "That your sister, Anne Saru, is currently sealed away by Ominis Gaunt in a cave somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, but unfortunately, even a hundred years later, they are still powerless against the Dark Magic Curse."

"So we can only wait for the right opportunity, until we really have a way to lift the curse, before we rescue her." Sebastian sighed, looking down at his ghostly body. "I hope she won't be sad to see me like this."

"At least you can still be by her side, Seber," Harry comforted her. "That's much better than you disappearing from her life completely."

"That's true, it's just a bit of a hassle not being able to eat, but..." Sebastian said with a chuckle, "I'm not that Hufflepuff from Sweeting, so it doesn't matter to me if I become a ghost and can't eat."

"Speaking of Pabbie," Harry said, "Pabbie isn't doing too well either. She's turned into magical Margus and can't transform into human form."

Sebastian glanced at Harry.

"Some people are truly sinful, Harry," Sebastian said with a sneer. "Look at all these..."

"Alright, Saru," Veratia interrupted him. "More importantly—what are you planning to do during the holidays? Harry's going back to the Muggle world, and he might not be able to take you with him."

"I'll stay at Hogwarts. I quite like it here," Sebastian said nonchalantly. "Perhaps I'll become the new ghost of Hogwarts over the years..."

"You're not the newest. The newest is Elizabeth Warren, the Moaning Myrtle, who was stared to death by the Basilisk in 1942," Harry added.

Sebastian shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, I'm the newest one too, since I just arrived at Hogwarts —if I go to the Restricted Section again, the librarians shouldn't give me any trouble, right?"

"Maybe Peeves would—oh right—in your current form, you could probably give Peeves a good beating to vent your anger. Do you remember when you asked me to go to the Restricted Section of the library to find the Charms to heal Anne? We were discovered by Peeves, and you got a pretty bad punishment for it, didn't you?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

Sebastian thought for a moment, then nodded seriously and said, "If you hadn't told me about this, I would have almost forgotten—that's when I taught you the Disillusionment Charm, right? But... Peeves, I really need to teach this guy a lesson with my fists."

Even though he's a ghost now, he still has such a temper.

But if you ask any Hogwarts student, whether they've graduated or not, who they most want to beat Hogwarts —they'll definitely answer Filch, or Peeves.

After all, those two are really annoying, especially Filch...

Dumbledore seemed to be studying the beard, completely unconcerned about whether the ghosts in the school would get a beating.

"And your task is much more important, Harry," Sebastian said, looking at Harry. "During this holiday, you'll not only be looking for Ominis, but also for Malfoy —remember what I told you? After Grindelwald and Sweeting disappeared, Malfoy also vanished... I think she must have come looking for you; you know her personality."

"Know what?" Harry asked curiously.

Veratia interrupted Sebastian.

"Of course I care about you, Harry," she said. "Don't let her sharp tongue fool you, Cassandra is actually the one among us who cares about you the most."

Sebastian's expression immediately became subtle.

Women...

I'd rather cultivate a good impression on Cassandra Malfoy than let Harry know Miss Malfoy true solution to the problem...

"Oh well, "Sebastian thought, "It's all the same, I'm just here to have some fun. What difference does it make whose fun I'm having?"

He always felt that Cassandra Malfoy was Harry's favorite—but neither Harry nor Malfoy realized this.

Harry, in particular, even thought he hated Malfoy, which was really...

Sebastian grew increasingly excited, anticipating what would happen to Grindelwald, who thought she had the upper hand, only to have Miss Malfoy beat her to it...

However, if Sebastian were to choose someone he thought was more suitable for Harry, he would definitely choose Miss Grindelwald.

Because Miss Grindelwald was tolerant and gentle enough, while Harry was a child who lacked a sense of security, and only a gentle older sister could give such a brat a sense of security.

As for Miss Malfoy, that tsundere...

Good heavens, if Miss Malfoy doesn't change, the two of them might be constantly suspicious of each other.

"She's right, Harry," Sebastian said, seizing the opportunity.

After chatting for a while at the Hospital Wing, Sebastian returned to the Slytherin Common Room.

He belongs to Slytherin, and he'll be Slytherin for life.

The Slytherin students were already used to ghosts, so they weren't particularly surprised when they found Sebastian.

Sebastian, on the other hand, spotted Draco with his slicked-back hair in the crowd at a glance.

Lucius originally intended to send someone to pick up Draco, but Draco said he wanted to take the train back to London the next day, so Lucius didn't object and let him do whatever he wanted.

"Hey, Malfoy family kid."

Sebastian waved to Draco.

Draco stepped forward, glanced at Sebastian's somewhat youthful appearance, and asked uncertainly, "You... you're looking for me? Do you know me?"

"Of course I know you, platinum blonde hair, gray eyes... you're just like your great-aunt," Sebastian said with a chuckle. "Let me introduce myself, Sebastian Saru."

Draco's mouth dropped open at first, then he looked on with a look of sudden realization.

"Ah, I know, you're that senior from Slytherin!" he said quickly. "It's an honor to know you, senior—I know your story..."

"I truly never imagined that, a century later, anyone would still know about my deeds," Sebastian said with a chuckle. "What do you know?"

Draco began to talk at length about what he knew, about Sebastian's deeds.

"You probably don't know, but I've spent the rest of my life in Azkaban, do you?" Sebastian said casually.

Draco: "Huh?"

"But it's nothing serious. Seeing the descendants of old friends is always a pleasant thing—" Sebastian drawled, "I also saw a descendant of Drake Flint, that buck-toothed Troll, right?"

Draco glanced back at Marcus, who was talking animatedly with someone, and nodded, saying, "Yes, he is Marcus of the Flint family, and also the captain of our school's Quidditch team."

"Your great-aunt disliked his ancestors very much, and even had the Board of Governors warn the family that if they bullied Harry Potter again, they should get out of Britain," Sebastian said with a chuckle. Then, leaning down to Draco, he added, "You probably didn't know, did you? Your great-aunt really like Harry Potter?"

"Of course I know, Mr. Salu!" Draco exclaimed excitedly, as if he had finally found his people. "Good heavens, I can't believe you knew about this too... Then why didn't you tell Harry? I mean... alert him?"

"Do you think Harry Potter would mourn for me?" Sebastian glanced at Draco with a complicated expression. "You know, Miss Grindelwald is notoriously vinegar king. If she knew I interfered in their feud, I'd probably become a ghost years sooner than you think, I'm not kidding."

"Really?" Draco frowned. "Miss Grindelwald seems quite kind... Besides, if she were that kind of person, my great-aunt would probably have met her end long ago."

"Because she's the one who came!" Sebastian said, exasperated. "She feels guilty towards your great-aunt... Think about it."

"So that's how it is!" Draco exclaimed, as if struck by a sudden enlightenment.

"So what I need to tell you now is that, as your great-aunt's grand-nephew, you should shoulder your responsibilities!" Sebastian looked up, and seeing that Veratia wasn't in his sight, whispered to Draco, "You need to act as a mouthpiece for your great-aunt when necessary—not just a simple relay, but a proper translator!"

"Translation?" Draco asked, puzzled.

"Based on my prediction, Cassandra Malfoy will return no later than Christmas. Her personality... is rather eccentric. Let me give you an example. For instance, when she says she hates Harry, what she really wants to say is that she likes him, but because of her eccentric personality, she can't say it out loud, so she can only say she hates him—but what she hates is actually herself, not Harry, you understand?"

"Wait a minute!"

Draco pulled a Notebook from his pocket. "Go on, Mr. Salu... well, you mean that whenever my great-aunt says something like 'I hate it,' we should translate it the opposite way, right?"

Sebastian looked at Draco with an expression that suggested he was a promising student.

"What if she says she likes Harry?" Draco asked, bewildered. "Then I just relay the message as it was supposed to be, right?"

"Are you stupid?" Sebastian said, exasperated. "Okay, that should indeed be translated literally—but I need to tell you, given your great-aunt's personality, expecting her to say that is like expecting me to never learn Dark Arts!"

Draco an OK sign to indicate that he had received it.

He then cautiously inquired, "Are you very skilled in Charms? I mean—all kinds of Charms?"

Sebastian smiled, sat down in his chair, and said with a chuckle, "You know what? Almost all the evil curses Harry Potter learned were secretly taught to him by me..."

Upon hearing Sebastian's words, Draco's expression immediately changed.

All his thoughts were written on his face, clearly indicating—

If you don't mind, I'd like to acknowledge you as my Godfather!

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(Double spicy tomorrow, wait for double the amount and go all out!)