Hogwarts Castle

The two had just changed into their school uniforms when the train let out a long whistle.

Allen got off the train with Draco, amused to see him still bristling. "All right, stop being angry. I'll make it up to you on their behalf later!"

Draco gave a haughty little huff and glanced at him. "You'd better keep your word!"

"First years! First years, over here! Hurry up!"

A towering half-giant stood on the platform, holding an enormous oil lamp and shouting, "First years, gather round!"

Yet many of the students kept looking around the crowd, seemingly searching for someone.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "His Highness is over there!"

A large group of young wizards excitedly crowded toward him.

Another group seemed puzzled, but followed to see what was happening. The half-giant looked somewhat at a loss.

"It really is His Highness!"

"His Highness is coming to Hogwarts too?"

The young wizards from the Muggle world were flushed with excitement.

As Allen watched more and more first years gather around him, his eyes remained calm. He was well practiced at handling situations like this.

He spread his hands and pressed them downward. The young wizards immediately shut their mouths, watching him with shining eyes.

Draco stood behind Allen, his arms folded as he watched him thoughtfully.

Allen waited until everyone had quieted down, then spoke gently. "I imagine you're all young wizards from the ordinary world. I'm very glad to see you here, and just as glad that we'll be classmates for the next seven years."

The young wizards could barely contain their excitement.

"But," Allen continued, his expression growing serious and a hint of disapproval entering his sea-blue eyes, "as students, we should follow the school's instructions!"

"Mr. Hagrid is here to take us to Hogwarts, and we should listen to him. Instead, you've all gathered around me, making his job much harder. That isn't right."

Hagrid was rather touched by his words.

Seeing everyone lower their heads in embarrassment, Allen's expression softened again.

"I know you're eager to see me, but we have seven years ahead of us. There's no need to rush.

"For now, shall we follow Hagrid's instructions?"

The young wizards all nodded.

Hagrid gave Allen a grateful look and called, "First years! Over here!"

The young pure-blood wizards watched the scene, some indifferent, some curious, and others fascinated.

But their curiosity had already been satisfied. At Hagrid's call, they followed him in twos and threes.

Allen spotted Harry and Ron with the girl who had reminded him to change earlier. He waved to them, signaling for them to go ahead with Hagrid.

Seeing the Muggle-born young wizards still hesitating, Draco pursed his lips.

He patted Crabbe and Goyle, sending them ahead to save places while he stayed to see just how much influence this Crown Prince had.

Allen took charge himself, directing the young wizards along the path. In the darkness, it was slippery and uneven, but his steps remained steady until they rounded a bend.

At the end of the narrow path, a black lake suddenly opened out before them.

The Muggle-born young wizards let out loud cries of wonder-

On a high slope across the lake stood a majestic castle, bristling with turrets, its windows gleaming beneath the starry sky.

It truly was beautiful.

Its beauty was different from that of the royal family's castles.

Countless wondrous spells and magic formations seemed to be woven into the castle. It stood there like a giant.

Sensing the magic particles in the air, the magical talent in Allen's blood stirred, instantly warming his body, which the wind had chilled.

Admiring the sight inwardly, Allen directed the young wizards into the boats in groups of four.

Once he had settled them all, he turned to find Draco watching him with teasing eyes.

The little peacock stroked his chin. "So the Muggle Crown Prince is quite the commanding figure!"

Allen was rather surprised that the young Malfoy had waited for him. At his words, he smiled helplessly. "And with that comes responsibility."

Draco scoffed. "Our saintly Crown Prince! You'd better not get sorted into Hufflepuff. Having a friend in the house of idiots would be far too embarrassing!"

Hagrid patted Allen's shoulder. "Thanks for that earlier, Allen! Now, what are you standing around for? Get in a boat!"

Only the two of them remained, so Allen and Draco climbed into a boat.

Draco held on to the lamp post, hunching his shoulders against the chilly night breeze.

"If only Crabbe and Goyle were here," he muttered.

Their bulky bodies would surely block out this wretched wind completely.

Allen hesitated, but still offered a reminder. "You should treat them a little better!"

Draco curled his lip. "Shut up, saint!"

Allen fell silent.

Throughout history, those who treated their subordinates too poorly had rarely escaped betrayal. He had only offered a reminder out of a friend's sense of duty, but judging by this reaction...

Forget it. Let this little peacock get himself into trouble if he likes, as long as he doesn't fall before I've finished making use of him.

Too much unwelcome advice might drive him away. What would I do then?

Harry had got out of his boat early and was being pulled along with the line by Ron, occasionally looking back for Allen.

Ron patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry! Allen seems pretty dependable."

This Weasley clearly did not understand why Harry took no pride in defeating You-Know-Who, yet admired Allen so deeply.

Allen was a decent person, sure, but Harry was the Chosen One!

The subject of their conversation was slowly trailing along at the back of the line.

Draco followed Allen at an unhurried pace. There was no need to rush, since those two hulking fellows, Goyle and Crabbe, would save places for them.

The line stopped briefly at the castle gates.

Crabbe spotted them and came toward them from the front, roughly pushing his way through the crowd.

Allen saw him from a distance and gave him a firm signal to stop, then turned to Draco. "Would you mind staying at the back for a while?"

Draco reluctantly nodded.

As Allen signaled for Crabbe to go back, he spoke quietly to Draco. "Thank you for being so considerate, heir to the Malfoy family. I promise I'll prepare the perfect gift to make it up to you."

Draco looked at him with a complicated expression. "Do you realize you already owe me two gifts, and it's only been a little while?"

Allen did not answer that directly. He simply smiled. "You can choose the gifts!"

Although he had initially intended to use the Malfoy family's influence to gain some standing among the pure-bloods... this heir to the Malfoy family was surprisingly kind.

He ought to be more sincere with a new friend who was so accommodating and willing to cooperate.

As for certain attitudes and habits, he could correct those gradually.

After all, getting pure-bloods to change their views and accept Muggles was one kind of change, and correcting this young master's bad habits was another... he could do it along the way!

The gates opened, and the line moved forward.

They crossed the entrance hall, went around a corridor, and finally climbed a flight of steps.

Draco seized the opportunity to pull Allen quickly up the steps on the left, reaching the places Crabbe and Goyle had long since saved at the front. They stopped before a door almost as tall as the ceiling.

Then a witch with her hair drawn into a tight bun emerged from the doorway.

She wore dark green robes and a witch's hat. Her expression was so stern that none of the young wizards dared speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a little while, you'll pass through these doors and meet your new classmates.

"But before you take your seats, you must first be sorted into your houses. There are four: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

At the mention of Slytherin, Draco nodded proudly at Allen, gripping his wrist tightly.

He signaled to Allen with shining eyes, and Allen smiled and nodded in understanding.

The stern witch glanced at them, then continued.

"Now that you are here, you must treat your house as your home. Good performance can earn your house points, while any breach of discipline will cost it points.

"At the end of the school year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup... the sorting ceremony will begin shortly!"