Malfoy walked over with a concerned look, bypassing Ethan directly and stopping Harry and Ron.
"Poor Potter, I heard you fainted from being frightened by the Dementors. Is your body alright? Are there any problems?"
Hearing Malfoy say this, his two bodyguards behind him laughed in perfect unison.
This immediately stirred up most of the Slytherin snakes, and even many from the other three houses joined in the laughter.
For a moment, the entire grounds were filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
After all, everyone faced the Dementors, but Harry was the only one who fainted, and he also had the identity of the Boy Who Lived.
"Malfoy, you're just looking for trouble!"
Ron immediately drew his wand, and for some unknown reason, he now brandished his wand at the slightest provocation.
"I just stated a fact, is that not allowed? This is something everyone knows, am I right?"
Draco gave Ron a provocative look and then turned to face the crowd behind him.
This summer, his father took him to get a new wand, using gold Galleons to acquire a wand with a dragon heartstring core from Ollivander.
After all, they were in the business of matching wands to wizards, but there were always exceptions, such as young wizards who no longer felt connected to their wands and needed a replacement, or those who used money and influence to get what they wanted.
Having a new wand, Draco found it much easier to use dark magic. He had already mastered Sectumsempra, and now, even without his equipment, he was confident he could pin Ron to the ground and beat him.
"Harry fainted because he was attacked by Dementors, you know?"
Ron's chest was heaving with anger, but if it had been a different setting without so many people, he would have already attacked.
Every time he encountered Malfoy, nothing good ever came of it.
"Attacked? Did the Dementor give Potter a kiss? I know that's used to execute prisoners."
"So Potter is a prisoner of the Ministry of Magic!"
Draco looked at Ron and Harry with a smug expression.
From the moment Harry refused to be friends with him and chose Weasley instead, the feud had already begun.
The surrounding young wizards were in no hurry to go to the Great Hall, after all, the start-of-term feast was the same every year, and watching the excitement here was much more interesting.
"You…"
Ron's face turned red with anger, and the hand holding his wand trembled.
He wasn't very good at arguing to begin with, and at this moment, he couldn't find a good way to retort.
"What are you all doing here?"
A somewhat gentle voice came from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned around and saw a thin wizard with graying hair emerging from a Thestral-drawn carriage, carrying a tattered suitcase and wearing a robe full of patches.
Lupin had originally intended to wait until the students had left before coming out, but Harry was in trouble, and as James's son, he couldn't just stand by and not help.
"Professor, we're not doing anything, just chatting."
Draco gave Lupin an arrogant look and walked towards the Great Hall without turning his head.
He knew that getting into a conflict with a professor was not a good idea.
"That Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, how long do you think he'll last?"
Turning around, Draco began discussing Lupin with his two cronies, his voice filled with malice.
Following the crowd, Ethan and the others arrived at the Great Hall. Today, the ceiling of the Great Hall was a dark and cloudy sky, which was quite fitting for the theme of the coming years, after all, they would be living alongside Dementors.
"Potter, I need to see you!"
Standing at the front, Professor McGonagall called out to Harry over the crowd.
This was just a small interlude and did not affect the others. Everyone skillfully went to their house tables and sat down.
Soon, Dumbledore also walked in with the professors. This year's Sorting Ceremony was still presided over by Professor McGonagall.
There was nothing that caught Ethan's attention, except for the fact that Daphne's younger sister, Astoria, was quite cute, better than her sister, and was still sorted into Slytherin.
As for the others, there was no one worth Ethan taking another look at.
"Welcome!"
Dumbledore stood up, now was his time!
"Welcome back to Hogwarts for another year of schooling!"
"I have a few things to tell you all, one of which is very important, so I want to make it clear before you enjoy the delicious feast and your minds become muddled…"
Dumbledore cleared his throat again and continued:
"Our school has currently welcomed several Dementors from Azkaban. They have been sent by the Ministry of Magic to carry out official duties, as I am sure you all know, since they have already searched the Hogwarts Express."
The young wizards below immediately erupted in chatter. Although they were happy to mock Harry just now, they were not happy about the Dementors coming to Hogwarts.
Just facing them briefly made them feel suffocated. How could they bear to be with them day and night?
"Quiet!"
"They are stationed at every entrance to the school. I must make it clear that no one is allowed to leave the school without permission while they are here. No tricks, ploys, or disguises will fool the Dementors—not even Invisibility Cloaks."
The majority of the gazes in the Great Hall immediately focused on Ethan.
They knew that there was a compartment from which Dementors never returned, and that compartment was where Ethan was sitting.
Could it really be that no means could fool the Dementors?
One by one, they didn't quite believe it. Perhaps Ethan didn't fool them, but directly killed the Dementors. When the time came, they could also ask him if there were any ways to deal with Dementors.
They hadn't said anything before because they had become numb. He had done too many things, so they couldn't treat him as a student anymore, otherwise, they would become depressed themselves.
Dumbledore also noticed the actions of the young wizards below, took a deep breath, and continued:
"The nature of Dementors will not understand excuses or pleas for mercy, so I remind everyone present not to give them a reason to harm you. I hope the prefects and our newly elected Head Boy and Head Girl will ensure that no student comes into conflict with the Dementors."
After speaking, Dumbledore looked around the Great Hall very seriously. He also did not want the Dementors to come to Hogwarts, but now that they had come, he could only minimize the harm caused by the Dementors as much as possible.
"Let's end this topic and switch to something more relaxing."
“I am very pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this semester.”
Speaking of which, Dumbledore changed his serious expression and put on a smiling face.
“First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly agreed to fill the vacancy for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.”
However, the little wizards below were not very polite. Only a few scattered applause sounded, and only Harry and his friends applauded.
After all, Lupin's appearance was too poor. Wearing a patched-up wizard robe, he seemed a bit out of place sitting on the professor's seat.
However, Ethan noticed the distorted expression on Snape's sallow, thin face. It wasn't just anger, but hatred.
As one of the original Marauders, Snape's hatred for Lupin was definitely second only to James.
After all, one of their pranks almost got Snape bitten to death by Lupin.
“As for our second new teacher, Rubeus Hagrid, he has agreed to accept this teaching position in addition to his duties as gamekeeper.”
There was another sparse round of applause, with only a small number of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs clapping. After all, most wizards discriminate against half-breeds.
And although Hagrid has worked at Hogwarts for so many years, he has no interaction with most of the little wizards except for welcoming the new students every year. He is just a transparent person.
But when many little wizards saw Ethan also start to applaud, they also spontaneously applauded.
From Ravenclaw to Slytherin, and then Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, everyone applauded, and the atmosphere seemed particularly warm.
Hagrid's face turned red with excitement as he looked at the scene below.
“Alright, that’s all for the important announcements.”
“Now, let the feast begin!”
As Dumbledore's voice fell, the four house tables were filled with delicious food and drinks.
Only now did everyone's fear of the Dementors fade a little.
Until the end of the banquet, everyone walked towards their respective dormitories under the leadership of the prefects.
“Ethan, stay behind for a moment!”
Dumbledore stood on the stage and said to Ethan with a smile.
[Thank you to Boss Clearly 512 for the monthly ticket, thank you Boss!].
Chapter 156: Dementor-Assisted Practice
At this moment, only Ethan and Dumbledore remained in the hall.
“Ethan, you did well on the train!”
Dumbledore first gave his affirmation. After all, he didn't like Dementors either. If it weren't for the Ministry of Magic's strong demands, he wouldn't have let the Dementors in.
“But don’t do this kind of thing again in the future. Fudge has communicated with me and is very angry about your independent actions.”
Ethan knew it was about the Dementors. After all, it was just the beginning of the semester, and even if he wanted to cause trouble, he couldn't at this moment.
“Headmaster, I only found out afterwards that the Dementors are employees of the Ministry of Magic, responsible for tracking down escapees on the Hogwarts Express. You know, I'm Muggle-born, and I don't know anything about these things.”
“According to the regulations, even if a little wizard encounters danger, they can cast spells outside of school, and when facing the Dementor, I felt my life was in danger. I think I did the right thing.”
Ethan certainly couldn't admit it at this moment.
“That’s what I told Fudge too, but you know yourself whether your life was threatened or not. I’m just telling you, don’t hurt the Dementors again, otherwise, it won’t be easy to explain later.”
Dumbledore could see a hint of Ethan's strength just from his appearance. It would be a ghost if he could feel a life threat from the Dementors. It was definitely on purpose.
Fudge was furious when he spoke to me. If he couldn't find a reason, he would have stormed into Hogwarts.
Offending a Minister of Magic for no reason is not good for Ethan in the future.
“I know, if the Dementors don’t provoke me later, I won’t provoke them either.”
Explain? Who am I going to explain to?
If I wanted to kill the Dementors, who would be able to find out?
But now there are definitely enough Dementors, so there's no need to do any more kidnapping.
“I hope so!”
Dumbledore shook his head. He could see that Ethan was not an honest person.
From the beginning of his enrollment, he has been constantly causing trouble for himself.
“By the way, Headmaster, why did you let the Dementors into Hogwarts?”
“I just heard some little wizards say that you didn’t want the Dementors to enter the campus either.”
Ethan was quite speechless at Dumbledore's character. The number one person in the magical world today, and also the one with the greatest prestige.
He was actually able to compromise under the pressure of the Minister of Magic. I really don't know what he was thinking. It was the same when Umbridge came to Hogwarts later, another result of compromise.
Even if he doesn't want to be the Minister of Magic, supporting a wizard close to him to be the Minister would be fine!
Dumbledore wouldn't even need to do anything. As long as he publicly stated who he supported to be elected Minister of Magic, it would probably be done.
“I am just the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Fudge is the Minister.”
Dumbledore was also a little helpless. He didn't want this either, but the creed he had set for himself was not to participate in any politics.
He was also afraid that after participating in politics and interfering with the Ministry of Magic, once his ambitions swelled, he would be the biggest trouble in the wizarding world.
The time he spent with Grindelwald still echoed in his mind, and he still hadn't forgotten that sentence, 'For the Greater Good'.
If he came into contact with power, Dumbledore couldn't guarantee that he could restrain himself a second time.
“You are the Headmaster of Hogwarts, so you must be responsible for the students and professors.”
Ethan didn't want to care about what Dumbledore was thinking, but what he could see was his constant compromise.
“You are right.”
Dumbledore sighed. He also knew this principle.
But comparing the two, he still chose to continue to restrain himself.
Hogwarts is a cage. Once it is broken free, everything becomes uncontrollable.
At that time, he might join forces with Grindelwald and find a way to bring the two of them back to their peak, and fight again for the greater good. All of this is possible.
