SFS Chapter 275: Tightly Guarded
Chapter 275: Tightly Guarded
Slughorn asked Draco first: "Draco, is your father in good health? I heard that he took a long vacation."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the conversation turned to someone else.
"It's fine now." Draco replied, "I returned to the Ministry of Magic today."
Slughorn smiled and nodded. "The Malfoy family has always been respectable and noble. Your father was once my student. He was an excellent wizard."
Draco followed up with, "Father knows that you are back at school to teach and thinks it will help me get better grades."
Slughorn was very satisfied with this back-and-forth conversation. "I will definitely invite your family to dinner if I have the chance, including Gloria, of course."
The topic naturally turned to her.
"I believe there is something that I am not the only one curious about." He moved his body, and the gold buttons on his vest reflected golden light under the natural light. "The Slytherin family has been hiding for a long time. What is the reason? I am just simply curious."
Gloria replied simply: "To live a quiet life."
He did not ask further, but only said: "If Dumbledore had asked me to come back five years ago, it would be great. It is not too late to meet you now. Feel free to contact me if you need any help."
Gloria nodded quietly.
Slughorn began to talk about something else, probably wanting to prove how powerful his connections were, and he had been lecturing about some outstanding wizards all afternoon.
It seemed that except for McLaggen, everyone else was indifferent to all this high-sounding talk.
At nightfall Slughorn finally remembered to let them go.
After walking through several carriages, Zabini finally sighed, "This professor talks a lot, but he does have a lot of outstanding students."
"It's clear that he only attracts the best students," Draco said. "Look at that Belby, who was completely ignored afterwards."
Zabini said, "It seems that he didn't find many students with real talent. Only you and Gloria are too conspicuous. Oh... and that Potter."
Draco was too lazy to express his opinion, and the same went for Gloria. She almost fell asleep after talking nonstop for an entire afternoon.
Zabini continued, "By the way, I was the first one to arrive at the box, and he specifically asked me about Nott's father. When he found out that he had been arrested and taken to Azkaban, he immediately told me about other things."
Gloria shook her head, but there was nothing wrong with that. She could cut her losses in time and only look for people who met the criteria.
She and Draco did not return to the prefects' box, but simply sat in the ordinary box.
Bardock was also in this box. When he saw them sitting down, he immediately asked, "Do you need to bring the luggage from the prefect's box over here?"
Draco said without hesitation, "Okay."
Bardock led the other two club members to the prefects' box.
Theodore was sitting by the window reading a book, and only Zabini was sitting next to him.
Through the glass of the carriage door, Gloria saw Crabbe and others secretly paying attention to them in another carriage not far away.
Zabini joked to himself, "This whole afternoon, I felt like I was a delicious piece of cake in Professor Slughorn's eyes."
"You will be poisoned if you eat it," Theodore said without looking up.
The students sitting around were all from the Slytherin Club, and they all chuckled when they heard this.
"I heard about Diagon Alley," Theodore said, looking up. "It's a pity I didn't see the snake myself."
"If you're interested, you can go to Ollivander's Wand Shop," Gloria said.
The people in the academy only saw three of the snakes, and had never seen the snake that was retrieved from the secret room.
·
When we came out of Box C, we were not far from Hogsmeade Station.
Not long after the group sat down, they saw the Hogwarts castle standing in the distance.
Everyone changed into their school uniforms, picked up their luggage and prepared to get off the bus.
It was a bit cold at night, and Gloria saw Tonks among the crowded group of students.
"Tonks!" She ran over and hugged him happily, "You can guard Hogwarts so soon?"
"Uh - almost. Actually, I'm guarding Hogsmeade." Tonks stroked her hair. "I knew the train would arrive at this time, so I stood here waiting for you."
Gloria let go of the person and noticed that her hair color had changed. "Your hair color is so beautiful, pink."
Tonks looked shy. "I... I change my hair color a lot recently. I just saw Harry and the others. I'm relieved that you all arrived safely."
After chatting for a while, she walked the two to where the carriage was parked.
After getting on the carriage and saying goodbye to Tonks, Gloria said to Draco, "She has someone she loves."
"Why not in love?" Draco asked back.
Gloria said firmly, "If Tonks had a boyfriend, she would definitely tell me. Since she didn't tell me, it means she's still in the stage of liking that person. Who could it be?"
Seeing her thinking, Draco smiled and said, "Then wait for her to tell you."
Because they chatted with Tonks for a while, their carriage was the last to arrive at the school.
When I got down, I saw Professor Flitwick standing not far away, "You're here, come in."
As soon as he arrived in front of him, Professor Flitwick asked, "Name."
Draco looked confused, "What?"
"Names," Professor Flitwick repeated. "Every student who arrives must state their name."
"Gloria Slytherin." Gloria simply answered first.
Draco could only follow suit and say the names.
"Okay, let's go to the auditorium."
As Gloria and Draco walked together, several Aurors nearby stared at them with their eyes like eagles.
Professor Flitwick made sure everyone was present, and together with the Aurors, he cast an anti-intrusion spell on the school.
Draco complained, "I don't think I have to tell the professor my name in every class."
Gloria chuckled, "No, it's just that students need to be careful when they come in and out."
Thousands of candles lit up the auditorium, and students sat at the tables, waiting for the sorting ceremony.
As soon as he sat down, Zabini said, "See those Aurors? They have to guard the school."
"Yes," Draco said. "I hope they're not patrolling the castle."
On stage, Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on a high chair. The lyrics have changed this year, but the focus is still on uniting the four colleges.
Then came the Sorting Ceremony. Everything went smoothly. Headmaster Dumbledore did not say much at this time, but only announced the start of the party.
Gloria had good five senses and heard Zabini ask Theodore, "Hey, is that guy still at your house?"
Theodore shook his head, "We left a long time ago, and our home is much quieter."
After his father was captured, Voldemort was probably in no mood to recruit this taciturn student.
Zabini said with regret, "I'm also curious whether the one who escaped from Nurmengard was taken away by the mysterious person."
Theodore said, "It's unlikely. I never heard them mention that man's name when they gathered at my house before. It's just that my father said that the mysterious man wanted to solve the problem of the wand."
Zabini suddenly realized, "So they want to catch Ollivander."
Draco glanced at Gloria. Although others might not know, he knew who took Grindelwald away.