Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Lin Xia was patrolling area E.

Some areas are interconnected, while others are quite independent.

A hanged ghost was discovered in Area A, by one of Ravenclaw's top students.

A commotion erupted from there, which was immediately heard by Hufflepuff's Sector E.

The patrol team that Pachi Pachi belonged to included not only outstanding students from the lower grades like Lin Xia, but also outstanding students from the upper grades.

They heard the commotion coming from Area A, and the top students from the upperclassmen immediately sent two people to investigate.

Although they rarely saw anything strange during their patrols last semester, they did occasionally encounter one or two, so they had gained some experience.

When the strange phenomenon was seen again, no one drew their wands, aimed them at the strange phenomenon, or cast a spell.

I'm afraid that doing so might disturb the changes in the strange phenomena, thereby amplifying the strangeness.

A short while later, the two outstanding students from PatchPatch returned and discussed the matter with several other senior students.

Then Cedric walked up to Lin Xia and the other outstanding students from the lower grades and said in a deep voice:

"The patrol is temporarily suspended. You may return to your respective dormitories and do not need to go out again."

Draco asked, "But we only have half an hour left before our patrol is over. Is it alright for us to leave like this?"

Cedric said firmly, "Yes, you can leave first. We upperclassmen will handle the rest. The professor has already been notified and is on his way."

Lin Xia and Draco exchanged a glance.

Actually, they were quite interested in how the professor removed the strange phenomena, having secretly used the invisibility cloak to watch the professor exorcise evil spirits before.

But since they couldn't show it to anyone, they couldn't say anything, so they went back in groups.

As Lin Xia left, she deliberately turned around and glanced behind her. The corridor, shrouded in dim candlelight, was enveloped in a deep shadow, with only people appearing to be illuminated.

Not far away, she could hear the sound of a piano being played, the melody eerie and sinister, as if it were a death song.

Lin Xia frowned almost imperceptibly.

Hogwarts has only just started, how come there are already so many strange phenomena?

Could it be that the aura of the evil god that was previously detected has stimulated the dark side of Hogwarts?

As they were leaving, a sudden sound of hurried footsteps approached.

This group of outstanding lower-year students came face to face with Professor Snape, who had a cold expression and a face as pale as if he were dead.

The top students were whispering among themselves, discussing the strange phenomenon that had occurred earlier.

Seeing the professor arrive with an unfriendly expression, everyone immediately fell silent and returned to Hufflepuff's common room in silence.

After entering the common lounge.

Draco and Lin Xia found a private room and talked about what had just happened.

Draco asked in confusion, "Last semester, during patrol, I wanted to find a strange phenomenon to increase my points, but I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked. I even made some small noises to lie about."

Why are strange phenomena starting to appear so early in this semester? Could it be due to the influence of an evil spirit that suddenly appeared on campus?

Draco's idea was the same as Lin Xia's.

Lin Xia pondered for a moment and said, "Hogwarts is a complex place with a large castle that hides many secrets."

Even the headmaster said that he couldn't uncover all the secrets of the castle. I guess the space we use for classes probably doesn't even take up 1/10 of the actual space at Hogwarts.

The professor probably has some suspicions about this; we'll ask him tomorrow.

Draco smiled wryly and said, "I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I always feel that Professor McGonagall isn't very enthusiastic about us. She might not tell us the real reason."

For example, today, he thought it was a sure thing for Lin Xia to apply to the professor to enter the Gryffindor dormitory.

However, the professor righteously and firmly rejected Lin Xia.

Draco was designated as the heir to the Malfoy family at a young age. He was exceptionally intelligent and had already mastered all the lessons of an heir.

His father, Lucius, taught him to read people's expressions and moods from a very young age.

With just this change in attitude, he sensed that things were not going well.

However, it was precisely because Professor McGonagall's attitude towards them changed so suddenly that he noticed it immediately.

Lin Xia thought for a moment and said, "We still don't know how the professor plans to deal with these strange phenomena. Even if we knew the real reason, there's nothing we can do unless—"

She paused, then said with utmost calmness, "The professor is overwhelmed with staff and needs to recruit a group of outstanding students to help deal with the strange phenomena so that we can come up with more solutions."

But by then, we will naturally know how these strange phenomena occurred.

Draco looked at her and couldn't help but ask, "So now all we can do is wait?"

Lin Xia nodded and smiled gently: "Draco, it's only the beginning of the semester, there's no need to be in such a hurry."

A semester is a long time, and the school will definitely need our help in some way, unless they abolish the system for outstanding students, in which case we will naturally not have any special privileges.

This is how we are, and it's how the other students are too.

Draco's eyes flickered slightly, understanding the unspoken meaning in Lin Xia's words.

Either treat everyone equally, or abolish them all. Everyone starts on the same footing, and no one is stronger than anyone else.

Draco was certain.

Seeing Lin Xia's confidence, he, who had felt somewhat uneasy due to Professor McGonagall's change in attitude, regained his composure.

Back in his dorm, Draco thought about it carefully and realized that his worries were completely unnecessary.

Even if he doesn't get any special privileges at Hogwarts, he still has the status of being the heir to the Malfoy family.

His noble family background was his source of confidence; based solely on his family connections, the professors at the school wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

Moreover, many professors at the school care deeply for their students.

He and Lin Xia had excellent grades from the start of the semester and had a good relationship with every professor. Even though Professor McGonagall disliked them for some reason, the other professors probably didn't feel the same way.

Thinking of this, Draco's brow relaxed.

Meanwhile, Gryffindor encountered a strange phenomenon and were at a loss for what to do.

Just then, the Hufflepuff group of upperclassmen came over to discuss something, so after inquiring, Gryffindor followed suit and also told the lowerclassmen to return to their dormitories.

Mikel was an excellent student, but he had just been released from the dark room.

Professor McGonagall then asked him to participate in the patrol again next week, so he was not present today.

As for Neville, he was completely unaware that his roommate Ron had tricked him, and was engrossed in reading a magic book by candlelight. Neville's head was practically buried in the book!

Harry and Ron's return was a bit too loud, waking up the drowsy Neville and the thoughtful Mikel.

The two of them rolled out of bed and quickly asked, "How was your patrol today?"

Ron looked distressed: "Don't even mention it. We saw strange phenomena on our first day of patrol, and apparently it's not just the Gryffindor patrol area that's experiencing problems; strange phenomena are popping up in other places as well."

It seems that even the professors were too busy, and a group of professors who were stationed in the labs and not involved in teaching duties were urgently called in to oversee the situation, barely managing to keep things in order.

Mikel's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "How come you came back so quickly? Wasn't it supposed to be the end of patrol time yet?"

Harry: "The upperclassmen called us back. The task of clearing out the strange phenomena is not something we lowerclassmen can do."

Mikel was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and blurted out:
"It's one thing to exclude others, but Professor McGonagall thinks highly of you, so why wouldn't she let you participate?"

Harry quickly shook his head: "No, the professor was just looking out for me, but he values ​​the school's rules and regulations even more. If it's against the rules, it's against the rules."

Mikel found it strange.

The question is, how many rules did Harry break along the way, whether it was Dumbledore or the other professors?

Take the resources Harry received, for example; they weren't all given to him against the rules.

Harry wasn't a top student, but he had everything, and his treatment at school was better than that of the top students.

While the two were talking, Ron had already gone to the washroom to wash up.

He moved quickly, and when he came out of the bathroom, he saw Harry and Mikey still talking, so he sat on his bed and prepared to go to sleep.

He's different from the daring Harry.

He's rather timid.

That's a bizarre phenomenon!

The appearance of strange phenomena is often accompanied by the babbling of evil gods, and no matter how many radiant candles they hold, Ron is still very afraid.

Fortunately, the upperclassmen told them to go back, and he didn't want to stay for even a quarter of an hour.

Just as he lay down and turned over, he saw his desk in front of him. Suddenly, he frowned and said with some doubt:
"Don't you guys think there's something wrong with my desk? Why is it this color?"

Mikel's voice suddenly stopped, and she quickly turned to look at Ron, saying apologetically, "Ron, I was practicing the Petrification Charm in the dorm, and I accidentally aimed at the wrong thing and petrified your desk."

Mikel guessed Ron would be relentless.

Ron is very generous to his friends, but he can also be quite calculating in some ways.

For example, he doesn't allow others to touch his personal belongings.

If you touch it, it will get angry.

Mikel, who was familiar with the plot, naturally knew that Ron was worried that if his roommates touched him, they would find out that his clothes and belongings were very simple and that he would be looked down upon, so he refused to be touched.

But now that the Weasleys have Dumbledore, who holds real power, they shouldn't be living in poverty like in the original story, so they shouldn't be too angry.
Mikel carefully observed Ron's expression.

I noticed that he first frowned and pursed his lips, looking like he was about to get angry.

But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly paused, as if he had thought of something. His brows immediately relaxed, and he smiled and said:

"Oh, I see. It's alright then. It will recover naturally once the magic wears off."

Mikel asked cautiously, "What's in your drawer? Should I buy you a set first?"

Ron waved his hand generously: "Just some odds and ends, I don't remember what they are, no need to pay for them."

Mikel thought for a moment, "Then how about this, you can use anything you need without me asking you all the time. After all, I've petrified your table, so it's inconvenient for you to use anything."

Neville chimed in, "Ron, you can use mine too."

Ron said in a good mood, "Thank you."

Everyone quickly turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Ron finally let go of his anxiety and slept soundly.

What he didn't say was that one of the drawers in Mikel's petrified table was the one he had arranged for Banban, and it had magic runes drawn on it, although they had been destroyed by dark red blood.

They had thought Lin Xia would come to check and that they could set up an even more powerful magic rune array for him, but who would have thought that Professor McGonagall would refuse to let anyone in.

Lin Xia, in turn, wanted him to learn something new and let him set it up himself.

But to be honest, Ron was terrified of someone who had disguised himself as a rat and hid in his house for over a decade. If Harry hadn't insisted on getting to the bottom of this with Scabbers, and if Lin Xia hadn't taken the matter so seriously, Ron would have long wanted to be a hands-off manager.

Now he has a ready-made reason to refuse.

Even if he couldn't refuse, because of his petrification, he could buy some time to set up the tracking magic rune array.
-
late at night.

The students were all asleep.

The professors, however, became busy.

Professor McGonagall's face darkened as she listened to the reports of strange phenomena being discovered in one place after another.

They patrolled Hogwarts repeatedly but found nothing. It was only when they were aroused by the aura of the evil god that they realized the castle was as leaky as a sieve, with drafts coming from all sides!

The deans of the four academies gathered together to report on the strange things they had discovered.

Dean Sprout asked, puzzled, "Those areas were patrolled repeatedly before, but nothing was found. How come so many have appeared today?"

Dean Flitwick, however, said with experience, "Where strange phenomena occur, there are always strange objects from the world of evil gods. Some of these objects were recently brought in and then carelessly thrown away, while others have been stored in Hogwarts for a long time."

Previously, we were unaware of this, and didn't know how many students had been bewitched by these strange objects and become infected. Now, those strange objects have sensed the aura of the evil god and are all emerging, believing that the evil god has invaded Hogwarts.

Snape said coldly, "We'd rather launch a school-wide cleanup than bother gathering people to deal with this."

Hogwarts has been around for many years and has weathered many storms.

When necessary, it can be used as a war fortress, and its interior is also equipped with many defensive or offensive magic runes.

However, each major battle requires a lot of magic power, so it will not be initiated unless absolutely necessary.

There are just too many strange things emerging this time, so it's time to activate it.

Professor McGonagall looked serious, but she was thinking about something else entirely.

“These strange objects used to be very difficult for us to find, but now that they are surfacing, we cannot activate the purification array to alert them.”

These strange creatures are so perceptive and have been hidden for so long. If we activate the grand formation and fail to completely eliminate them, they will simply hide again. It's better to deal with them one by one; at least with us watching, we can ensure a complete cleanup. (End of Chapter)