"This thing is really ugly. Couldn't they use sothing better-looking?"
Malfoy pointed critically at the Thestrals pulling the carriage.
"Damn it, it almost bit ."
He quickly pulled his hand back, looking indignant.
Even the Thestrals had been provoked into biting soone. That alone showed just how talented Malfoy was at annoying others.
Neville spotted them and ca over to share the carriage.
Malfoy was squeezed so hard by Neville that he nearly fell out.
"This sester will probably be a peaceful one," Neville said absentmindedly, tugging at the collar that felt a little too tight around his neck. "I an, Voldemort is dead."
"Maybe."
John gave a noncommittal reply. Hogwarts finally seed peaceful again.
After breaking free from the shadow Voldemort had cast over the school for so many years, the students no longer had to fear waking up one day and seeing a green skull mark floating above the rooftops.
Neville felt this more deeply than anyone. His parents had once been driven into St. Mungo's by the Death Eaters.
And in the end, it had been Neville himself who brought Voldemort's life to an end.
The foolish Longbottom boy everyone had once feared might turn out to be a Squib had now beco the hero of the entire wizarding world.
"Things will only get better, Neville," John said with a soft laugh. "You can do anything you want."
Neville scratched his head awkwardly.
"Actually, I'm planning to stay after graduation."
"Stay? You want to beco a professor?" Malfoy said as if he'd seen a ghost. "What could you possibly teach? Swordsmanship?"
"Neville's Herbology is excellent," John said, not objecting to the idea at all. "He could beco a Herbology professor."
"I'm sure Professor Sprout would be very happy to see that happen."
Daphne nodded in agreent.
The carriage swayed its way to the oak front doors.
The first years still hadn't arrived by boat when Malfoy jumped out of the carriage and let out a whistle.
"I thought things would look different."
"Familiar is best," John said as he stepped out of the carriage and offered Daphne a hand.
The entire castle had been restored.
Areas damaged by Dark Magic had needed to have the curses removed before they could be repaired.
As they walked into the Entrance Hall, a water balloon ca crashing down from above.
Before it could hit John, it was blocked by a ridiculous-looking face.
Peeves took off his hat, wrung the water out of it, and with his face dripping wet, declared dramatically, "Welco back, King of Hogwarts."
He had originally planned to ambush so students here, but who would have thought the first person to walk in would be John?
Wearing an exaggeratedly fawning grin, Peeves bowed and said, "My king, forgive my rudeness."
"Peeves."
Peeves had already prepared himself to be scolded and was just about to gather up the water balloons he had prepared and leave.
"Just make sure your aim is better next ti," John said with a smile instead of scolding him. "But you'd better hide before the professors arrive."
Peeves froze for a mont before grinning excitedly.
"Of course, my king."
He floated up to the ceiling and hid himself sneakily, waiting for the next batch of unlucky victims to walk in and receive a shower of water balloons.
As John entered the Great Hall, he could already hear waves of screams coming from outside, mixed with shouting, curses, and Peeves's shrill laughter.
But before long, the shouting turned into laughter as well.
The water balloon ambush made the students realize that Hogwarts was still Hogwarts.
The school had not changed because of the war.
The lingering heaviness left behind by the battle was completely shattered after a single holiday, all thanks to Peeves.
A group of students with soaking wet hair entered the Great Hall, cheerfully chatting about their holidays.
The start-of-term feast for the new school year officially began.
...
[Ding, final Hogwarts stage mission activated. Complete the seventh academic year as a magical apprentice. Reward: Magic Blood 1, Free Attribute Points 3]
Before he realized it, the Hogwarts-related missions had already reached their final stage.
John could not help feeling a little emotional.
Even though the system rarely made its presence known, the help it had given him had been imnse.
Just as he was reflecting on that, the system sounded again.
[Ding, challenge mission triggered. Before the end of the school year, locate the secret chambers of the other two founders. Reward: Magic Blood 1]
Magic Blood?
John's eyes lit up.
"The secret chambers of the other two founders."
He had always suspected that the remaining two mbers of the Hogwarts Four had also left behind inheritances within Hogwarts. Now it seed that was indeed the case.
He had originally thought this year would be spent attending Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures classes, but now it seed there were far more interesting things to do.
Still, the chambers were hidden extrely well.
Even during the battle against Voldemort, the secret chambers of the other two founders had never appeared.
That made John curious. Where exactly were they hidden?
During the start-of-term feast, Slughorn had once again ntioned that he was not suited to being Headmaster.
But John had directly sent him a newspaper article titled The Brave Headmaster of Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn.
After that, Slughorn never brought up stepping down again.
After all, who wouldn't want to leave behind a good reputation?
Besides, this title of brave Headmaster had practically fallen into his lap. Other than joining Professor McGonagall and the others in ganging up on Voldemort, he had not contributed all that much.
As a Slytherin, the temptation of honor was sothing almost none of them could resist.
"By the way, what about the Constellation Society?"
With a cheerful "Dig in," Slughorn signaled the start of the feast, and everyone imdiately began eating heartily.
Malfoy stuffed a mouthful of mashed potatoes and at gravy into his mouth and asked, "Last ti we summoned the Constellation Society, it disappeared after the battle ended."
"The Constellation Society is always with us. I already sent it back."
John stared thoughtfully at an unpeeled potato.
How many years has it been already? Couldn't they at least change the recipe?
John had already returned the Constellation Society to Slytherin's Chamber. The last battle had released all the magical power it had accumulated over many years in a single burst.
Even after an entire holiday, it had not recovered to even a tenth of its forr state.
"But I made a few small modifications," John said after hesitating for a mont before finally peeling the skin off the potato. "It will now appear beside mbers of the Constellation Society."
Taking advantage of the massive magical release during the previous battle, John had thoroughly remodeled the Constellation Society.
It was no longer fixed to a single corridor. Instead, it would move throughout the school according to the needs of its mbers.
The entire Hogwarts castle was filled with traces of the sa magical energy left behind after the release, allowing this to beco possible.
The only place where the Constellation Society could not be summoned was inside the Room of Requirent.
In a sense, this gave the Constellation Society the ability to move freely throughout Hogwarts.
It also made things more convenient for John. Through the Constellation Society, he could search for the founders' hidden chambers concealed sowhere within Hogwarts.
There were no werewolves among this year's first years.
However, there were several familiar faces from prominent wizarding families.
After the Sorting Ceremony ended, all the students returned to their common rooms under the guidance of the prefects.
John deliberately lagged behind, because he knew soone was looking for him.
In the corridor leading to the Slytherin common room, he greeted Filch as the old caretaker walked past him...
Then John noticed the box of Mapo Tofu ice cream and his expression turned complicated.
Did people really like this flavor? Strawberry Mapo Tofu flavor, no less?
Still, if the current John could actually taste food, he would not mind even strawberry Mapo Tofu ice cream.
After a while, all the students entered the common room.
John turned his head toward the corner of the corridor, waiting for the two people there to co out.
Footsteps slowly approached.
Two figures erged from around the corner.
"I don't think you're an irrational person, Pansy," John said calmly as he looked at her.
Pansy tugged at the person beside her.
To John's surprise, it was Theodore Nott.
The Slytherin traitor was still in Slytherin.
And John had been waiting for him.
"Tell , Theodore, what exactly do you want?"
Theodore remained silent, but the tightly clenched fists at his sides told John he was struggling internally.
"I want to stay," Theodore said bitterly. "I know it's shaless of , but I don't want to leave this place."
John glimpsed the thoughts within Theodore's mind and understood that he was telling the truth.
This Slytherin student had done a series of things last sester to fra his king.
Pansy pleaded, "Please, John. Theodore had his reasons. He did it for his father."
John glanced at Pansy once, and she imdiately fell silent.
Narrowing his eyes, he studied Theodore carefully, considering how he should deal with this overconfident fool.
____
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