"…Do you remember me?"

"Of course, Severus Snape of Spinner's End."

Petunia Dursley walked through the Hogwarts Castle gates along the long stone bridge, trying to sound nonchalant.

However, Petunia Dursley's right hand, clutching her coat hem tightly, betrayed her true feelings - even though she had heard too many stories about Hogwarts from Lily, she still felt like she was dreaming when she saw the floating candles, the moving stairs, and the creaking armor in front of her, as if she would fall back into reality if she wasn't careful.

"Lily used to talk about you from time to time when she was at school, after all, we lived close by at the time, and you two were both wizards—"

Petunia opened her mouth, gasping for air in the castle like a catfish just landed on the shore.

She knew Severus Snape when she still lived in Cokeworth.

This boy, who lived on Spinner's End and wore clothes made from oversized maternity dresses, had unusual abilities similar to her sister.

And when Lily Evans received her letter from Hogwarts, Petunia realized that this was the "magic" people talked about, and the reason why she and Snape had been at odds from the beginning - unlike Snape and Lily, she was just an ordinary "muggle" without magical talent, and the cruellest thing was that she happened to have two people around her who showed off their magic all day long.

In fact, she had tried everything she could to write a letter to the then headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, asking if she could also go to Hogwarts.

Although Dumbledore's reply was very tactful, Petunia still felt hurt and felt neglected.

Lily's ability could make her parents proud, but she couldn't - she was like all ordinary people, not belonging to "that world."

As she got older, Petunia thought more than once about cutting ties with the magical world, and often sarcastically told her husband that Lily and her husband were all "freaks."

But when an owl brought a letter inviting her to Hogwarts Castle, she was as if suddenly possessed, even lying about visiting a distant aunt, just to sneak out of Privet Drive to see this place... For her, this was not only the place where her sister and nephew went to school, but also the mysterious magic castle she had wanted to reach on countless childhood nights.

"So many years have passed, I didn't expect you to become a professor…"

Petunia Dursley said with emotion, she had heard more than one student call him "Professor Snape" on the way here.

Snape's lips moved, his expression still cold and indifferent, and he replied calmly.

"It's been ten years—"

"Ten years?" Petunia repeated thoughtfully.

"Yes," said Snape.

Petunia glanced at Snape's expression, and the two fell into silence.

After a long time, Petunia Dursley looked around, frowned slightly, and took the initiative to break the silence.

"Uh, I received a letter saying that Hogwarts is holding a parents' meeting today… I saw that other parents seem to be taken in directly by the students—"

"The parents' meeting is scheduled for after four o'clock in the afternoon, and there will be a House competition before that. You can see it in the handbook."

Snape seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, walked up the castle stairs without the slightest pause, and explained casually.

A handbook? Oh, the explanatory leaflet that Dr. Granger was looking at earlier?

Petunia Dursley opened the booklet that came with the letter in confusion.

"Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, House competition. Similar to a middle school football match?"

"Not quite the same, this is a wizarding competition… magical combat. Harry - Potter is one of the Gryffindor contestants, he's probably discussing tactics with his friends in the Gryffindor common room right now, I guess. This is your identity badge, please be sure to carry it with you… you can use this to ask any student or professor for help."

Snape said quickly, expressionlessly, and took out a slightly modified Gryffindor crest pin from his pocket and handed it to Petunia.

As he spoke, the two came to a huge magic oil painting.

In the picture, a very wealthy medieval woman was wearing a gorgeous pink dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Indulge in Deliciousness," Snape's face twitched, and he said coldly.

Compared to the temporary password on the Gryffindor side, the Slytherin side was not so stupid, but it was not much better.

The Hogwarts "Head of House" originally had no right to change the password, but if you add the acting headmaster, and the saying of "Home-School Liaison Day", then there is no way - Snape did not intend to provoke that troublemaker for this little thing, he estimated that half of Dumbledore's heart problems in recent times were caused by that white-haired witch.

As Snape spoke the password, the huge frame swayed to the side, revealing a circular opening hidden in the wall behind.

"The Gryffindor common room is inside, just go in and explain the situation to the 'Prefect'."

Snape turned his head and glanced at the little witch who was temporarily acting as a castle tour guide on the stairs below, and thought for a while and added.

"Or, you can go directly to Miss Granger."

"Gryffindor House, ah, Lily told me about this too…"

Petunia Dursley looked at the opening in front of her in a daze, and the sound of children playing and frolicking came from inside.

"Aren't you going in? Severus. Didn't you go to school with Lily? I see it says campus guidance up here—"

"I am the Head of Slytherin House. Not very suitable."

Snape took a deep breath, turned away, and waved his hand irritably.

"As for campus guidance… this was originally Miss Casslana's job, I'm just helping a little when she's too busy…"

As he spoke, he glared at the two gargoyles at the other end of the corridor.

Albus Dumbledore, that old guy, is now simply a long-tongued woman with a sieve in his mouth.

"I heard that you and Harry's aunt have known each other since childhood, so can you help receive Mrs. Dursley?"

A few hours ago, a certain white-haired dumpling stopped him at the entrance of the Great Hall and requested solemnly.

Snape didn't believe that a child who grew up in a Scottish Highlands orphanage would know about the past that happened in Cokeworth decades ago.

Perhaps a few people in the castle now know that he and Lily Evans knew each other before school started, but about these things about him knowing Petunia Evans, obviously only Albus Dumbledore, that increasingly indiscreet old guy, knows - after Dumbledore comes back, he must block the door to the headmaster's office to get an explanation, that old guy is really getting more and more excessive!

Of course, before that, he had to find a way to tell that careless little witch not to spread these things around as gossip.

Although that girl Casslana is difficult to deal with, she is at least worth ten Dumbledores in terms of keeping her promises.

…………

At the same time, at the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

Lucius Malfoy stood in front of the stone wall, looking at his wife beside him with emotion.

"Narcissa, don't you have a feeling of returning to the past—"

"Speaking of which, it's a bit... my dear Head Boy."

Narcissa Malfoy rolled her eyes at her husband, a hint of tenderness flashed in her eyes, and she said with a light smile.

"I seem to have forgotten the password again, would you like to open the door for me?"

Since the news of Voldemort's return spread, the haze that lingered between the two has finally diminished somewhat with the lights of Hogwarts Castle.

No matter how that Dark Lord views them, at least at this time and place, they don't have to worry about a knock on the door suddenly coming from outside - Hogwarts Castle is the safest place in the world, even the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters think so, there are too many good memories of their youth hidden in this ancient castle with a thousand years of history.

As for whether these changes are in line with the Hogwarts Board of Governors' position and the pure-blood family's position, these are not what Narcissa Malfoy has to consider.

As a mother and wife, she only cares about her family, no matter when.

"Of course, it's an honour. My lady."

Mr. Malfoy straightened his chest, imitated a handsome pose from when he was young, and cleared his throat.

"Otherworld Aspe—"

Squeak—

Before Lucius Malfoy could finish his words, the stone wall in front suddenly opened.

"There's nothing to discuss about tactics, I said I would win—"

Draco Malfoy said impatiently, ignoring the boring and trivial operational discussions behind him.

Although he did not run for Shadow Prefect, most Slytherin students did not look down on him - he was one of the original "Moonlight Seven" after all.

Even though he had not shown his fangs like other students in the past semester, this dormancy was seen as even more dangerous by many people, because no one had seen him take action.

In fact, Draco Malfoy's competitive spirit has not disappeared.

The most obvious evidence is that he firmly occupies the top three positions in this year's Slytherin House's "Points Contribution" list.

However, after he joined the "Foundation", these school honours and rankings were simply like five- or six-year-old children playing house in his eyes.

He personally saw how the invincible Voldemort (residual soul) was played in the palm of his hand, he personally touched the walls of the Steel Sky Castle, he personally heard the Big Sister and those top wizards talking and laughing, deciding the direction of the magic world in a few words… And under these stimuli, little Malfoy still hides some more amazing ambitions in his heart:

I don't know if he forgot, Mr. Lockhart's "false memories" "implanted" in his mind did not fade with time.

That dreamlike memory supports him to keep participating in the "Memory Magic" project, even if he is mentally dazed and physically uncomfortable, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Just like the simulations of Gilderoy Lockhart, Nicolas Flamel, etc., imprinting-style memory recording is effective, and Draco Malfoy can clearly feel his changes.

In less than half a year, the spells and magic knowledge he has mastered have reached the level of a fifth-year student.

Perhaps he is still somewhat lacking in terms of integration and comprehension, but from the perspective of pure ability and knowledge, he is fully capable of ignoring those ineffective social interactions.

He finally understood Elena's words, Slytherin House, at least the current and past Slytherin House, does not have any aristocratic social rules.

As a Slytherin, if you must find a motivation to inspire yourself, then there is only one: the family connected by blood.

"Listen, Marcus - my parents are at the castle, I have to pick them up."

Draco Malfoy said in a calm tone, the wand in his hand swaying left and right at his fingertips, like a poisonous snake waiting for an opportunity to move.

"If you have any objections, I don't mind spending two minutes to knock down... uh? Dad? Mom?"

The rest of his words stuck in his throat, and he stared blankly at the outside of the stone wall.

In front of everyone, his father, who had always been stable and serious in his memory, was making a strange pose, facing the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

As for mom—

"Hmm? Did you have a conflict with your classmates? Draco."

Narcissa Malfoy smiled slightly, and the wand in her hand appeared in her hand at some point.

Ignoring her husband next to her who was desperately clearing his throat to get rid of his embarrassment, she quickly walked into the lounge and put her arm around her son's shoulder.

"It's not good to quarrel, Draco. Oh, Mr. Derek, Mrs. Renata, you are here too - this is my son, Draco."

Mrs. Malfoy looked around at the group of little wizards in the lounge, and greeted the adult wizards who had arrived in the lounge earlier with great ease.

Although there was no sharpness or uncomfortable strength, Narcissa Malfoy became the focus of the crowd just by standing there as a matter of course.

And Lucius Malfoy also returned to his usual decent and arrogant gentleman appearance, and quickly walked to his wife's side.

"I heard that you will participate in the House competition later? Do you know who your opponent is?"

…………

"The Malfoy kid?! Hmm, this is a bit tricky—"

In the Gryffindor common room, Arthur Weasley stroked the stubble on his chin, thinking.

"Harry, I don't think you don't have talent, but you are only in the second grade - at this age, early contact with magic definitely has an advantage, and Lucius that guy may secretly teach his son some weird dark magic at home... Although the school does not allow you to be taught magic before entering school, most wizarding families will not abide by this—"

"Hey, obviously, it seems that we are the exception to most families?"

Ginny Weasley hugged a big golden-red cushion, curled up on the sofa by the fireplace and casually interrupted absentmindedly.

"Anyway, I plan to cast a spell, and if I can't win, I'll just admit defeat—"

"The innate gap is too big, I can't beat it…"

Miss Weasley glanced at her father who seemed to be planning to preach, and blinked before he could speak.

"Elena's grandfather is the former headmaster of Koldovstoretz School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that Mr. Ivanovitch is known as the Soviet Dumbledore…"

"Uh—"

Arthur Weasley's preaching stuck in his throat, and he turned his head to look at his eldest son who was sitting next to him and was responsible for heating the water.

"Ginny is right - in terms of the foundation of magical duels, Fred and George alone, maybe…"

"Hey, hey, Bill! That's too much!" Fred and George exploded instantly.

"Don't worry, I have carefully analyzed it, our winning rate is very high—"

At this moment, Percy calmly pushed his glasses, put down the notebook in his hand, and said with confidence.

"The lower grades should do their best, in the doubles and team competitions, Slytherin is definitely not our opponent, especially in the team competition - we have Bill and Charlie on our side!"

"Uh… yes…" Bill Weasley's mouth twitched.

Under the personal supervision of that witch, he saw the ending from the moment he saw the list of participants in the other team competition.

As a researcher who is about to be promoted to A-level, Bill knows very well the combat power of that group of "wiB (Black Robe Wizards)".

Even if it is only the assessment period, it is not something that his kind of "administrative position" can compete with. He only hopes that those guys on the opposite side will strike as quickly and neatly as possible, and don't create any combat effects, otherwise it would be too torturous for him and Charlie and others…

"By the way, where is Mom, didn't she come today?" Charlie Weasley looked around and asked curiously.

As time passed, many students' parents arrived at Hogwarts one after another, and most of them were parents together.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall seems to have something to talk to your mother about separately…"

Arthur Weasley replied casually, glanced at his children, "You didn't cause any trouble at school, did you?"

"Uh—"

"No, no."

…………

On the other side, Professor McGonagall's office.

Molly Weasley breathed a sigh of relief and slowly put down

"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I may need to think about it again…"

"It's okay, Molly."

Professor McGonagall shook her head with a smile, and firmly pushed the parchment in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"You can take it back and think about it slowly - this is just an intention, about adding new subjects, we have to wait for Professor Dumbledore to come back to officially finalize it. But my personal suggestion is, this is indeed an opportunity for you, don't reject it so quickly—"

"Okay—"

Molly Weasley hesitated for a few seconds and rolled up the letter of appointment with the headmaster's signature.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's "Everyday Application Magic" lecturer?

Can she really be competent for this course?

And, there's Arthur's side…

————

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Yay!