Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Without hesitation, the group of young wizards did not use magic. Instead, they went out of the station, borrowed paper and pen from the roadside, and wrote down some guiding words.

To welcome the students back to school, they all wore Hogwarts uniforms, featuring styles from all four houses.

As soon as a Hogwarts student arrives at the station, they can be identified by their clothing.

Watching the students bustling about, Professor Sprout, sitting in the magic train, waved his wand, dispelling the water curtain that reflected the outside world.

The last second before the water curtain dissipated was frozen on Lin Xia's face.

Dean Sprout happily told Professor Flitwick, "Linsha and Draco are among the most enthusiastic Hufflepuff students I've ever met. It's thanks to their guidance that Hufflepuff has achieved excellent teaching results and student performance in recent years, ranking among the top. Having such students has saved me a lot of trouble."

Professor Flitwick said with some envy, "Ravenclaw hasn't produced any outstanding students in the past few years. When the new students arrive next semester, I'll have to talk to the Sorting Hat beforehand. We can't be so biased towards Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

Professor Snape, with a detached expression, succinctly stated: "The Sorting Hat should sort all wizards of noble blood into Slytherin, which is the best place for them to grow, instead of letting them be sorted into Hufflepuff because of their whims."

Lin Xia and Draco are both of noble birth. Because they are both outstanding, Hufflepuff has shared the House Cup with Gryffindor for the past few years, making a name for themselves.

Many young wizards from noble families have a strong desire for excellence and would rather go to the mediocre Hufflepuff than come to Slytherin, the stronghold of the nobility.

This is unfair to Slytherin.

Hearing Snape's veiled sarcasm in his complaints, Sprout's smile became even more genuine.

Outside the magical platform, before they even welcomed the first group of students, they were greeted by Hermione, who had arrived earlier.

Hermione saw Harry and the others happily running up to them, hugging each of them and sharing their experiences during the winter break.

Harry and Ron didn't notice anything different about Hermione than usual, but Lin Xia and Draco sensed something was wrong and carefully examined Hermione a few times.

Draco turned to Lin Xia uncertainly and said, "Why do I feel like Hermione has a different aura?"

Lin Xia nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Hermione is naturally very intelligent and has the air of a scholarly family."

Meeting her today, this aura was even more pronounced. I felt she wasn't like a student, but more like a scholar; her eyes held a wisdom that drew one in.

Upon hearing this, Draco couldn't help but look up at Lin Xia a few times, muttering to himself.

Those who know her will understand she's talking about Hermione, while those who don't might think she's bragging.

In Draco's mind, Lin Xia's mysterious aura surpassed that of Hermione.

He couldn't help but sigh, realizing that everyone was the same age, attended the same school, and received similar education when they were young.

How come Lin Xia became more and more outstanding as she grew up, while I had to work hard to catch up and only get a superficial understanding?

Draco shook his head slightly; he was used to this disparity.

I used to feel frustrated, but now even that feeling is gone; all that's left is the fighting spirit to strive forward.

Hermione was reluctant to talk much about her experiences during winter break, saying that she spent her days reading books and studying magic in the nearby library.

After briefly finishing her own story, she looked at Harry in surprise, especially at the Sorting Hat he was wearing.

"Harry, why did you bring the Sorting Hat?"

Ron said, "This is the order of the four heads of the house. They felt that having Harry come to greet the students returning to Hogwarts would give the students and parents some confidence."

Furthermore, as long as Harry wears the Sorting Hat, any Death Eaters who dare to attack will not dare to act rashly upon seeing the Sorting Hat.

Hermione agreed, saying, "This is a great method. It can both deter the Death Eaters in the shadows and boost morale."

Harry said somewhat helplessly, "I just hope that after welcoming the students back to Hogwarts today, I won't have to wear the Sorting Hat anymore."

The Sorting Hat on his head twisted, revealing a crack that looked like a mouth, as if it wanted to say something.

Harry noticed and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Of course, it's not that I'm unwilling to wear this great hat, it's just that it's a relic left behind by Gryffindor, and it even contains Gryffindor's sword, it's too precious!"

What if my hat suddenly disappears from my head and someone steals it?
Uh...uh...as you know, the things the four founders left behind at the school have been lost, and we don't know where they ended up."

Harry said with absolute certainty, "I was just too scared!"

The Sorting Hat twisted on Harry's head again, deftly contorting into a pretzel before unfolding again.

A voice echoed in his mind:
"Alright, child, I didn't know you were so worried about me. I appreciate your kindness, but don't worry, no one can steal me unless I want to."

Harry, if you dare to dislike me, I will definitely sing in front of everyone: I am the great hat~ the wisest hat~ and the most beautiful hat~~~

Harry felt a slight sense of relief. He gently pulled up the brim of the hat, not putting it on his head, before daring to think:
Fortunately, I managed to fool them.

While Ron was still talking at length about what he had gained during the winter break, Hermione had already turned to Lin Xia and brought up the High Secret Charm.

Lin Xia looked at Hermione with some surprise, "A High Secret Charm? That's a bit difficult for us."

Hermione said calmly, "During winter break, I studied three different types of advanced secret charms, which I think will be very helpful for my future studies."

Some advanced spells share common theories, especially since they all fall under the attribute of "secrecy." Learning one will help you with the other two.

Hermione quietly added in her mind, "But the three secret spells she learned are all special and have no connection with each other."

However, this did not stop her from using this as an excuse to trick others into studying with her.

Lin Xia didn't guess Hermione's thoughts; she simply stated based on the Hogwarts curriculum:
"Even if we want to learn, advanced spells can't be mastered overnight. We still have classes to take and other experiments to do. Where would we find the time to learn extra magic?"

As Ron was talking, he realized no one was listening to him, and he felt a little annoyed. Suddenly, he heard Lin Xia say something and couldn't help but interject:
"If the school is going to use the [knowledge-based learning games] in the new semester, then we don't necessarily have to follow the school's curriculum exactly."

Smart students can learn independently through educational games and then find specific courses to listen to about the topics they don't understand, thus avoiding the need to attend lectures in the classroom as before.

"A knowledge-based learning game?" Hermione's eyes flickered with interest as she asked, "Is this game finished?"

Ron said, "We've finished the final testing, and we no longer need to check for any problems." Lin Xia nodded in agreement: "If the school really promotes this game, allowing students to learn on their own or even replace professors in lecturing, it will indeed save smart students a lot of time, giving them a lot of extra time to do what they want."

She smiled slightly: "Perhaps in the new semester, our lab will be able to publish a few more results."

The group of young wizards stood at the entrance to King's Platform, talking. Harry and Ron were holding large slips of paper with a note that read—

Welcome back to Hogwarts School!

This group of people was very conspicuous, and passengers passing by on the platform would glance at them a few times.

Some parents muttered, "Hogwarts School? What kind of school is that? I've never heard of it. Have you?"

The child who was asked looked blank and said, "No, I looked through all the schools in the UK to get into secondary school, but I didn't see any school called Hogwarts. Maybe it's a university!"

Meanwhile, the Death Eaters, who were observing from the shadows, spotted the cardboard in Harry's hand and the Sorting Hat on his head from afar.

This group of sinister and cold-blooded people gathered silently, all wearing hoods to conceal their figures.

If a wizard were to cast a concealment spell on this area, he would find it completely dark, as if ghosts were gathered there.

Even though it was still broad daylight outside, their gathering together made it seem as if it were a cloudy day.

The wizards' voices were low and hoarse, filled with resentment.

"We should have blown up the magic train back then and taught Hogwarts a lesson. If Hogwarts hadn't joined forces with two other magic schools to reinforce us, we wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat in the Battle of Hogsmeade!"

"Harry has put on the Sorting Hat, and he can pull out Gryffindor's sword. Should we still proceed with the original plan?"

Upon hearing this, all the Death Eaters fell silent.

There are very few Death Eaters left in Britain. The reason they haven't been captured is simply because their strength is inconspicuous and they are very good at hiding, never exposing themselves to ordinary wizards.

Some people even cultivate a friendly and kind image in public, so no one suspects that they are Death Eaters.

One wizard gritted his teeth and said, "This is our last chance!"

Once Hogwarts starts, the Ministry of Magic will no longer need to focus its resources on important students, and can concentrate its efforts on capturing and eliminating the Death Eaters hiding in the shadows.

They were forced to leave Britain and travel to more remote borders, or, like their companions, hide in the desolate, enchanted forest.

Although forests are barren, they are rich in resources. With a little diligence, one can be self-sufficient even without contact with the outside world.

However, this secluded life was not accepted by all Death Eaters.

No matter how ruthless the Death Eaters are, even though their bodies are infected with the delusions of the evil gods, they still retain a degree of rationality.

They genuinely believe they are still human and yearn for a communal lifestyle.

Besides, leaving in a sorry state is not their style.

If they really want to leave, they'll have to pull off a major attack and give the British Ministry of Magic a devastating counterattack!

One of the Death Eaters reached out a finger and adjusted his hood, which was almost falling down.

His exposed fingers had no flesh or skin, but were distinct finger bones.

His voice sounded like bones clattering together.

"Then what do you suggest we do? That's Harry Potter, I personally witnessed him draw Gryffindor's sword and instantly kill the evil god who had descended into Bellatrix's body."

"To this day, we still have no news of Bellatrix and do not know where she is being held captive by the Ministry of Magic."

“I am not afraid of death. I have abandoned life and death since I followed the Dark Lord, but I cannot tolerate being destroyed by a mere child.”

"If you don't come up with a reliable attack plan and instead send us to our deaths, I refuse this mission!"

The wizard said this solemnly and earnestly.

While the Death Eaters gathered to discuss their attack plan using the Invisibility Charm, plainclothes Aurors lying in ambush around the station sensed something unusual.

"I could smell the rats hiding in the sewers, and my gut told me they were lurking around, ready to pounce."

One of the Aurors sensed something, walked over to his companion, and quickly shared his thoughts.

Upon hearing this, the other Auror looked at the tall and imposing Eric not far ahead.

Eric had previously carried an A-grade artifact without reporting it, which was a serious dereliction of duty.

However, because the Class A artifact, the Wailing Bell, played a crucial role in the battle against the evil god, he was not stripped of his position by the Ministry of Magic. But he could no longer serve as the deputy director of the Aurors and was demoted to the captain of the Auror squad.

The Auror looked at Eric with a half-smile and said, "As the former deputy director, you have a unique method for identifying Death Eaters."

"We ordinary Aurors have already noticed, so you must be even more aware, right? Why don't you show us a few moves and let us see just how many Death Eaters are around?"

Eric's expression darkened slightly, and he didn't take this low-level provocation to heart.

He closed his eyes slightly, sensed carefully, and then opened them with a serious expression, saying, "In my perception, there are at least a dozen Death Eaters around. Everyone is on high alert, and a battle could break out at the Muggle platform at any moment."

The Aurors who heard this all became wary, while the Auror who had just provoked them said with disdain:

"You can't be making this up, can you? We've already driven out many Death Eaters, how dare these rats hiding in the gutter come here?"

Eric gave him a cold look: "The scoundrel you think he is has carried out dozens of terrorist attacks over the past few decades."

"If it weren't for the Binding Wand this year, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be able to do anything to them. Don't underestimate your enemy with your ignorance; I won't be responsible for your life in the heat of battle!"

Auror's face turned pale and then red from his words; his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but in the end, he dared not utter a word. (End of Chapter)