“Hmm? You… you were once a monk as well?”

Benítez raised his head and looked forward, his gaze lingering on the fat friar's robes.

“Judging from your attire, you must be a high-ranking monk, right? I wonder what exactly you are—”

The existence of ghosts in Hogwarts was something he had known for a long time, but he had never imagined that there would be clergymen's souls here.

As clergymen who believed in God and served religion, it was clearly not normal for their souls to linger and echo in a magic school after death.

"Oh, yes—I, um, used to be a missionary in the Scottish region."

The Fat Friar tugged at the corner of his robe, his eyes filled with complexity and confusion, as he softly said.

"But on the other hand, I am also a wizard—as for my name when I was alive, you can just call me 'The Fat Friar' for now."

"Alright… José, José Benítez. A priest."

Benítez shrugged and gave a church bow, introducing himself.

"My church is not far from here on the shores of Loch Lomond. If you want to pray or read scripture, you can..."

"Dad—"

Aileen lightly stepped on Benítez's foot, her expression somewhat subtle, and whispered.

"This is Hogwarts, could you at least pay some attention..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fat Friar."

At the same time, Madam Abbott quickly walked over.

She politely nodded to the Fat Friar as a greeting, while curiously looking at Benítez.

"So… you're also a wizard? Mr. Benítez. Um, or is one of your parents a wizard?"

One parent, a wizard?

Lucius Malfoy frowned slightly, his eyes flickering.

So, that Muggle man named Benítez might be a Squib? Good thing he didn't show too much contempt or say anything inappropriate just now.

Things might be more complicated than he thought. Considering Aileen Kaslana's bloodline, then Benítez's parents become somewhat delicate.

"Wizard? No, I'm just an ordinary priest."

Benítez scratched his cheek awkwardly, shaking his head and earnestly answering under Aileen's subtle prodding.

"As for why I can see ghosts, perhaps it's because… of faith in the Holy Light?"

"Faith… the Holy Light?!"

The Fat Friar suddenly exclaimed softly, his previously melancholy expression instantly transforming into alert and panic.

"You, you—but, but this is Hogwarts, and your Inquisition isn't—"

Hmm, historical documents are indeed worth reading.

It seems her efforts in Magical History weren't wasted. The Fat Friar can indeed help her fill in the mysterious annotations on her priest father's "supernatural identity".

"Relax, Fat Friar. The war between the non-magical world and the magical world ended a long time ago—"

Aileen chuckled softly, like an elf inserting herself between the two, smiling and gently comforting the apprehensive ghost.

"Father Benítez isn't carrying any mission; he's just a normal parent attending a parents' meeting. Um, he's even going to visit the school dormitories later..."

Without dwelling on this question, Aileen, while speaking, pulled Benítez toward the stairs below, and secretly sent an encrypted voice message to a certain great editor.

As a top Dark Lord jointly taught by Grindelwald and Dumbledore, Aileen knew very well what "too much is as bad as too little" meant—she only needed to plant a small seed, and the remaining blanks would naturally be filled in by well-meaning spectators, not to mention that there was currently a Major Arcana present who stood at the pinnacle of the current magical world's imagination and fantasizing.

…

As Aileen and Benítez disappeared at the end of the corridor, the corridor temporarily fell into an eerie silence.

The Fat Friar floated quietly in mid-air, his expression constantly changing as if he were thinking about something.

Before anyone could react, he seemed to suddenly realize something and hurriedly floated towards the other end of Hogwarts Castle.

"Warning! Oh, yes, this is impossible—I have to tell the professors—this is wrong—"

The Fat Friar quickly disappeared into the wall beside the corridor, but his parting muttering clearly added to the confusion.

Mr. Granger was quietly asking Hermione what had just happened, while the other onlookers were more confused and uneasy.

However, a few seconds later.

A low, but clear enough murmur suddenly broke the silence.

"Could it be… um, I see now…"

Xenophilius Lovegood said softly, twirling his pendant, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"What's wrong? Do you know—Mr. Benítez and the Fat Friar, what was that just now—"

Madam Abbott asked curiously in a low voice, her tone full of excitement to hear gossip.

"Not sure, but I have some small guesses—"

Xenophilius paused, looked around, pondered for a few seconds, and then said mysteriously in a low voice.

"You should know the reason why Hogwarts was founded. The four founders established this magic school to protect and cultivate underage wizards."

"In some histories deliberately hidden by the Ministry of Magic, there are records of the past that wizards are unwilling to admit and recall, about the long war between the non-magical world and the magical world."

"War? Wait, you don't mean the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, and the Church..."

Just then, Mr. Granger couldn't help but ask, his expression somewhat solemn.

"I heard that many wizards were caught by the Church back then, and there were things like burning at the stake... I thought those were just ignorant, I didn't expect there really was... a war?"

"The Muggle witch hunts of the Middle Ages? Heh, if you've read some magical history, you'll know that Muggles can't hurt wizards at all—"

Lucius Malfoy scoffed dismissively, mocking with an arrogant expression, "Some witches even deliberately got caught by Muggles to experience the thrill, and were burned dozens of times in a row."

He originally didn't want to participate in such a stupid topic of discussion, but Lucius couldn't stand those idiots who were discussing the witch hunts with such seriousness.

"You don't mean to say that Father Benítez is actually some kind of 'wizard hunter' from the non-magical world, right?"

"Ah, you're right—"

Xenophilius blinked and turned to look at Lucius Malfoy, as if he had just noticed him next door.

"Mr. Malfoy, it seems you must have been following the content of issue ninety-three of *The Quibbler*! The secret war between the magical and non-magical worlds."

"However, 'wizard hunter' mainly refers to mercenary hunters hired by private individuals, Mr. Benítez should be different..."

Xenophilius raised a finger with a solemn expression, carefully glanced at the end of the corridor, and lowered his voice to say.

"You should all know that in that long war between the two worlds, it ultimately ended with wizards leaving the light."

"And in this, the power from the Muggle Church was clearly one of the important factors that prompted the Ministry of Magic to compromise."

"For example, the Inquisition that the Fat Friar mentioned earlier is a magical force belonging to the Church—and if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Benítez is also very likely—"

Mr. Lovegood didn't say the conclusion, but paused for a long time, looking meaningfully at the wall where the Fat Friar had disappeared.

"Even if the war has long ended, the vigilance and armament of the non-magical world have clearly never been truly lifted, just as magic has never disappeared."

"The Inquisition? The non-magical world's magical armed forces?"

Lucius Malfoy's expression was somewhat subtle. After considering his words, he tentatively said softly.

"I admit, Mr. Lovegood, your story is very exciting. But is it possible that he's just a Squib who happens to be a priest in a Muggle church?"

"Then he must also be a very strong, knowledgeable about the magical world, and extremely skilled in combat 'Squib'."

Before Mr. Lovegood could answer, Madam Abbott said quietly, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

"Perhaps you didn't notice the distinct muscle lines under Mr. Benítez's robes. I suspect he could even fight a werewolf hand-to-hand."

"Moreover, if I remember correctly, he should be coming to Hogwarts for the first time, just like Mr. Granger, but he didn't wait with us at the school gate... The secrets on him may not be less than Miss Kaslana's. But that's not surprising. After all, just looking at Miss Kaslana's performance in the school, you can tell that she is definitely not from an ordinary family."

"I see, I understand. That's... interesting."

Lucius Malfoy murmured, thoughtfully nodding slightly.

In fact, he had suspected it before—that Witch, her intelligence and magic are far beyond ordinary people.

Judging from the information retrieved from the Hogwarts Board of Governors, Aileen Kaslana should have spent most of her time in that orphanage, rather than Nurmengard.

On the other hand, if Grindelwald were to trace his bloodline, then Miss Kaslana's age would be too young—there must be closer direct descendants above her.

The Dark Lord who swept the world in the early twentieth century.

A middle-aged priest living in seclusion around Hogwarts, suspected of being from the Inquisition.

And… the young Witch who is very likely to be crowned as the queen in the new generation, the end of all strife.

Now, Lucius Malfoy has finally found a ray of light in the layers of mist, the truth hidden outside everyone's sight.

The decline of ancient and powerful magical families is often extremely slow, especially when the magical family still has top wizards, it is impossible for them to be unknown.

Unless—

All the heirs of this family are dead, or they are not active in the map of the magical world.

Lucius Malfoy took a breath and pondered for a few seconds. After a few seconds, his eyes gradually firmed.

Now, he finally understands the camp he is loyal to.

————

————

Yay!