Hogwarts, the Quidditch pitch temporarily converted into a large dueling arena.

As Ginny and Irina's opening match concluded, the atmosphere on the scene completely erupted.

As a magical school, Hogwarts had not previously placed much emphasis on individual strength. The so-called "top wizard" of each house and each year was more based on grades and various "empty comparisons," but the Inter-House Competition provided an excellent stage.

Perhaps there was still controversy in terms of overall rankings, but after the match just now, no one discussed the selection of candidates anymore.

Whether it was Irina or Ginny, the strength they demonstrated clearly surpassed the majority of students.

And most importantly, they were only first years.

"Those two little witches, they're probably the strongest first years at Hogwarts, right?"

Mr. Greengrass leaned on his cane, retracted his gaze from the arena below, and looked at his two daughters sitting beside him, asking.

Although the Hogwarts Board of Governors did not have a chairman, Cael Greengrass was practically half a chairman in terms of seniority, prestige, and status. Since his wife passed away, he had devoted almost all his energy to the education of his two daughters.

"I heard...your private relationship with them seems to be quite good? That's a good thing."

Without waiting for his two daughters to answer, Mr. Greengrass continued, as if acknowledging a certain answer.

"I will not interfere with your making friends, but you must remember one thing: lions do not always walk with hyenas."

"Just as I said when you entered school, the Greengrass family wizards may not be the most dazzling, but at least they must understand how to become dazzling. I hope your friendship is not limited to playing, but also observing and imitating the success of your peers."

"For example, at least Astoria, you should try to strive for third place in the year—"

Mr. Greengrass frowned and looked at his youngest daughter, stopping mid-sentence.

"Hmm? Astoria, do you have something to say?"

"I mean, Dad..."

Astoria Greengrass glanced at her father and said cautiously.

"Perhaps...uh...Dad, wanting to compete for third place this year...might be a bit unrealistic."

"Hmm?" Mr. Greengrass's eyebrows twitched.

Honestly, even setting aside the final pile of magical fireworks, he felt that those two little witches were already outrageous enough.

At least in Mr. Greengrass's memory, apart from that slightly outrageous newcomer last year, he hadn't seen anyone else who could compare to those two little witches just now.

"Ginny and Irina, they should only be considered second and third, if you're talking about the entire year group, Dad..."

Under Mr. Greengrass's gaze, Daphne's voice grew softer and softer.

"Oh, it sounds like there's an even more impressive child in the first year?"

"Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw."

Daphne Greengrass said, pointing to a little witch not far away, sitting on a broom, swaying leisurely on the edge of the stands.

"She, Miss Granger, and Miss Abbott are all Hogwarts prefects. Although she doesn't attend most of our classes, she is indeed a first year."

"Hogwarts...prefect? Luna Lovegood?"

Mr. Greengrass was stunned for half a second, shook his head with a wry smile, and said with a dismissive expression.

"Heh, prefect, Mr. Lovegood's newspaper has been quite good recently, so it's understandable that she has good grades..."

As a permanent director of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, he had heard Dumbledore mention the "prefect" thing.

If he remembered correctly, it was roughly a student version of the castle caretaker.

Perhaps in the eyes of the students, the title of prefect was a bit intimidating, after all, even the castle caretaker's cat could make people uneasy during their school days.

But in Mr. Greengrass's opinion, any power "bestowed" by the school did not have much meaning.

However, he did not intend to argue with his daughters on this issue. As they grew older, they would eventually understand some things.

And before that, Mr. Greengrass still hoped that his daughters could be well-behaved and obedient at school.

He didn't want his children to become like the Malfoys - he heard that Draco Malfoy had run away from home after only spending half the summer there.

This was not a secret among the Hogwarts Board of Governors. If it weren't for this, Lucius Malfoy would not have sent a house-elf to the school this year.

Speaking of which…

Mr. Greengrass thoughtfully looked at the two young wizards walking out of the player tunnel side by side.

Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter...

At this delicate time when the Dark Lord was making a comeback, choosing to get too close to the "Boy Who Lived" was not a good idea.

Especially given the Malfoys' former status, this little guy might cause his parents a lot of trouble. The Dark Lord wasn't so easy to deal with. Although he hadn't heard of any more drastic actions for the time being, Mr. Greengrass was very sure of one thing: if the Dark Lord attempted to control Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy would definitely be the first target.

Lucius Malfoy's roundness and sharpness would make him understand that.

This was also the point that Mr. Greengrass had been increasingly puzzled about recently.

…………

Inter-House Competition, Singles Match Round 2.

Draco Malfoy, versus, Harry Potter.

Unlike the trajectory in the original timeline, thanks to Aeliana's matchmaking, the relationship between the two was unbelievably good.

Even older students knew that second-year Potter and Malfoy were inseparable.

The two walked out of the tunnel shoulder to shoulder, came to the dueling arena in the center of the Quidditch pitch, and stood facing each other with their wands drawn, looking relaxed.

Compared to the fierce house rivalries in the stands above, the two looked more like they were practicing together in class, which was indeed the case.

If Ginny and Irina's duel was a "battle to the death between sworn enemies" that had been building, then Draco and Harry's battle was a standard "outdoor spell class" sparring session... From Petrificus Totalus and Incarcerous to Incendio and Aguamenti, their incantations and wand movements were very standard every time, so standard that it was practically...

"Fake match!"

"Are you kidding us?!"

"***, **!"

With Harry and Draco's last spell collision, they were both "narrowly" blasted out of the arena at the same time.

At the same time, Aeliana, as the referee, finally sighed helplessly.

She never expected that these two little guys would learn the true meaning of "exhibition matches" without being taught.

Well, an exhibition match is an exhibition match, but staging a fake match in full view, and deliberately walking to the edge of the arena in order to "go down together"...

Aeliana glanced at the agitated crowd in the stands not far away and shrugged.

"I declare, this round is a draw."

She waved her wand gently, while signaling the two little guys playing a "brotherly match" to go to the side of the arena to rest.

Actually, it was fine with Gryffindor, after all, Draco Malfoy was generally recognized as stronger than Harry on paper.

As for the blame and trouble Draco Malfoy might encounter after returning to Slytherin?

That wasn't her problem, she was just a spectator referee.

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Yay!