In the second half of this year, Umbrella and I will co-author Breaking with the Death Eaters, which will be published.

Next came the start-of-term feast the wizards had been looking forward to most. Just as things had changed last year after Allen took the stage, the delicious dishes did not fall from the sky and pile up on the long tables. Instead, an exquisite menu appeared in front of each wizard, and everyone could order according to their own tastes.

Compared with the old days, when the long tables had been heaped with a dazzling array of food, this suited the wizards' appetites more precisely and avoided the waste caused by large amounts of leftovers. This reform was very popular with Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but Gryffindor and Hufflepuff felt it made things a little less lively.

When the wizards had all satisfied their appetites and the plates on the long tables had been cleared away, Allen rose from the staff table and walked to the lectern at the front. The chatter gradually died down, and everyone turned their eyes to their young headmaster. Facing the Great Hall, Allen spread his arms and rested them on the lectern. As the sculpture on it spread its wings, many people only then discovered that the owl sculpture Dumbledore had once liked to use had been replaced by a Raven.

"Hogwarts welcomes you." Allen's voice was steady and powerful. "Although when I was a student, I didn't much like this sort of speech time either... It was only after becoming headmaster that I realized there are some things you simply have to say..." A ripple of soft laughter rose from below. Allen paused. "...Our school rules this term will undergo major changes compared with before... But given the amount of content, I'll only pick out a few to explain. As for the rest, please carefully read through the school rules handbook afterward."

With that,