From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 671 Hogwarts Visit

"Has Hogwarts reached the point where knights are needed to protect the castle? Who are our enemies? Werewolves? Vampires? Or a large number of dragons?" Colin Crevey couldn't help but raise the camera hanging around his neck, eager to take a picture of the knight in front of him.

"Look at the camera, Mr. Knight!"

Colin is already a sixth-grade student, but he has never put down his camera for a single day. In addition to taking countless portraits of the famous former savior Harry Potter, he is also a special correspondent for the Hogwarts Herald.

If he hadn't always used every connection and means to try and get Harry Potter's picture on the front page, he probably would have become the chief reporter for the Hogwarts Herald long ago.

The knight in full plate armor is named Ser Corberon, and is the commander of the Everlasting Holy War Army from Nerozian.

He had originally received orders from Queen Godfrey of Montevideo to head north to the city of Kwanze after resupplying his troops and join the ranks of the Fifth Holy War.

However, he also heard about the dragon lich in Kanaburi, and saw the Death Temple by the roadside when he entered the City of Favor.

Therefore, when he came to Ivy, he showed a considerable degree of wariness.

This kind old knight was a staunch Crusader and one of Iomede's most loyal followers.

According to his beliefs, using the power of darkness in order to fight darkness is absolutely unacceptable.

However, he was also well aware of the difference between dragons and mortals. Moreover, the wisdom of the golden dragons had been renowned throughout the continent of Grallion for a long time, so he could not be sure what the situation was of this golden dragon military advisor in the City of Favor.

Therefore, he did not swear allegiance as the Queen commanded, but instead cautiously but firmly maintained a wait-and-see attitude, only promising to provide support to the Crusaders.

For a Crusader who had spent most of his life working for the Church of Iomede, Ser's judgment was already quite enlightened.

However, Ivy simply didn't have the time to give a detailed lesson in enlightenment philosophy to a stubborn religious man, so she decided to let Ser Corberon, the commander of the Eternal Holy War Army, see for himself.

Ivy had assembled a Hogwarts delegation that was supposed to depart this morning, but Ser, who had been observing from outside the city for several days, finally entered the city, and Ivy had to take the time to meet him.

“Very well, Sir Corberon, I fully understand your stance. However, an army can only have one leader, and I have the right to consider any unit that does not obey orders as a traitor and an obstacle to the holy war.” Ivy patiently said a few words, but he had not finished speaking.

The young man standing next to the old knight looked embarrassed and angry: "We're ready! We can go to the front lines at any time! We're here to fight demons, not to have a political struggle with you..."

"Movig! Don't interrupt when you're not told to!" the old knight scolded the young man, but then casually ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, no one will start a war with the demons while you're away."

“I think he’s right, Sir Corberon.” Ivy didn’t seem to care that he’d been interrupted. “We’re not here for political infighting, so you and your Everlasting Holy War Army really only have a few choices. Either obey orders, accept reorganization, and throw yourself wholeheartedly into the Holy War; or I’ll turn you into a puppet using the necromancy you despise most, and make you throw yourself wholeheartedly into the Holy War; or—”

Ivy's voice was devoid of emotion; the pressure accumulated at work had made him abandon all formalities and prefer the most direct approach.

But he was, after all, a mythical golden dragon. The might of a dragon is not only reflected in its enormous size. Every word and action of Ivy would make those around him feel immense pressure. If he intended to suppress this fierce aura, it would naturally not have much of an impact. But when he was preoccupied with work for a long time, he might not have the leisure to suppress his aura.

In the brief moment that Ivy drew out her words, the old knight Ser seemed to see Iomede beckoning to him.

"Or, join my delegation and let me broaden your horizons."

"We're joining the delegation!" These were the last words the old knight Ser heard.

His squire, Movig, supported his body. The old knight appeared to be awake, but was no longer very responsive to his surroundings. This condition is usually called a trance, and consciousness can be restored by striking the face forcefully.

“Very good.” Ivy raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected that combining Mind Control with the dragon’s innate ferocity would produce such a great effect. It was just a bit long in the wind-up phase, but he could look forward to its effectiveness in verbal negotiations.

What brought the old knight Ser back to his senses from Iomede's gentle embrace was the dizziness he experienced while passing through the portal, and the sounds of vomiting all around him.

Traveling using teleportation magic is never a pleasant experience, let alone the unimaginable distance this tour group from Juanze City was covering.

In short, even Regil, the vice-enforcer and a role model for the Hell Knights, didn't perform much better.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Minerva McGonagall, the Vice-Headmistress of Hogwarts, greeting you. You must be the delegation Mr. Doom mentioned?" Standing before the group of knights and clerical staff was a capable-looking witch in an emerald green robe. "Mr. Doom has already informed us that interdimensional travel is usually accompanied by a series of unusual reactions and acclimatization issues. Therefore, we have scheduled the formal meeting for this afternoon. Before then, you can freely wander around the castle or recover in the lounge arranged by the Hogwarts school."

“Professor McGonagall,” the dwarf suffering from fading pigmentation spoke, his face ashen, “I’m sorry for soiling your floor… The lounge is very thoughtful, but those standing here are all strong warriors (most of the civilian staff responsible for the audit are already vomiting), we would like to know the main purpose of Lord Doom bringing us here… Also, Lord Doom, he…”

“Mr. Doom has gone to catch up with his friends, and there’s a welcome party coming up later. He’s a big name in the entire wizarding world… I just hope the Ministry of Magic officials don’t exacerbate the tense atmosphere at the school… It’s exam week after all…” Professor McGonagall sighed almost imperceptibly. “As for your main purpose in coming to Hogwarts—Pegasus, right?”

Regil nodded.

“That’s wonderful. Our ranch has expanded several times, but there are very few customers buying Pegasus. The Ministry of Magic’s plan to use Pegasus instead of brooms for travel has also made almost no progress. It’s so nice to meet you all.”

Professor McGonagall is not usually one to talk so much to strangers, but the dramatic changes in the Hogwarts teaching environment have completely transformed this conscientious vice-principal.

Headmaster Dumbledore's biggest worry has been completely eliminated, and the regrets of his youth have been made up for. Now, besides spending his days eating candy like an old bee, he tries to get along well with his sister. He also adopts a completely laissez-faire attitude towards the teaching at Hogwarts.

Therefore, almost all the educational pressure at Hogwarts fell on the shoulders of Vice Headmaster McGonagall.

For Professor McGonagall, this was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, when Dumbledore was obsessed with Voldemort, he didn't have much time to manage the school. His most important tasks each year were the opening and closing speeches, which together didn't exceed five sentences. He'd already gotten through so many years; a few more wouldn't make a difference.

But ever since Ivy won the Baby Cup in fourth grade, defeated Voldemort, and announced to the entire wizarding world that he had mastered the magic to resurrect the dead.

Hogwarts then entered another period of growth as a prestigious school with a history spanning millennia.

The celebrity effect brought an astonishing number of new students to Hogwarts, and even the British wizarding world experienced a leap in population growth.

McGonagall was exhausted from managing wizard students from all over the world and from different cultures.

And that's not all. The Hogwarts magical creature breeding and raising facility left behind by Ivy, or rather Victor, also involves a large part of Professor McGonagall's experiences.

Not to mention the high-risk magical creatures kept at the base, even with many outstanding graduates like Charlie Weasley being hired by the school, Professor McGonagall's concerns about magical creatures never ceased.

Last year, she even joined forces with several deans and professors to discuss and pass a set of strict codes of conduct, specifically to address the frequent injuries that occurred at the breeding base.

But what pleased Professor McGonagall the most was that the old headmaster Dumbledore finally did something right in this matter. He moved many dangerous magical creatures to Ivy's White Tower to guard the magical labyrinth, layer upon layer.

Professor McGonagall, who was already overwhelmed with problems, immediately disapproved when she heard that Ivy Doom, a distinguished graduate and alumnus of Hogwarts, was going to return to the school for a visit.

Because she knew very well that Minister of Magic Fudge would definitely use this as an excuse to put more pressure on her job.

But upon hearing that Ivy's main purpose for this visit was to purchase a large number of magical creatures, Professor McGonagall immediately changed her mind.

What could be better than having your troubles taken over by someone else and receiving a large sum of money in return?
After anticipating that the breeding base would finally reap its first huge positive output, Professor McGonagall enthusiastically took on the task of hosting the visiting delegation.

Even though these heavily armored warriors vomited and soiled the Hogwarts floor, she wasn't upset. She simply raised her wand and asked, "May I cast a spell?"

Reggie carefully assessed the potential threat posed by the small stick in Professor McGonagall's hand, then nodded.

"Clean up!"

The vomit that had trapped the knights and clerical staff disappeared, almost like magic!
"You're a wizard?" Ashus, the leader of the Knights of Dawnblade, stared at Professor McGonagall. In his worldview, wizards were the kind of people who rarely did good deeds. But considering that Arelu Volesh, who opened the Gate of Sorrow, was also a witch, it wasn't surprising that he had this stereotype.

"Everyone in Hogwarts is a wizard. This is a school that educates both male and female wizards. Didn't Mr. Doom tell you that?" Professor McGonagall glanced at him in surprise.

“Uh… actually, Lord Doom only said he would take us to visit the place where he once studied…” Ashius looked troubled. “I thought we would be surrounded by dragons… to be honest, I’m not sure which is better, being surrounded by wizards or being surrounded by dragons…”

“Then I suppose you won’t enjoy the flames spewed by the dragon… sir.” Professor McGonagall’s eyes lit up; perhaps they would even take the dragon with them.

"Commander of the Knights of Dawnblade, Ashius Strig. Just call me Ashius, Ms. McGonagall." Ashius removed his iron gauntlets and shook hands with Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall released the Knight Commander's hand and turned to Ser Corberon, who was still being supported by her squire and appeared dazed: "And this is...?"

“This is Sir Ser Corberon of the Eternal Radiance Holy War Army. We have just arrived in the City of Favor…” Movig introduced, then asked blankly, “Where exactly is this?”

“These two gentlemen seem to be unaware of the situation yet. Please arrange a lounge for them. As for us, we would like to take a look at the Hogwarts ranch.” Regil, the highest-ranking officer present, immediately prepared to take over the leadership without hesitation.

"This doesn't sound like Hogwarts' hospitality, but since the guest requested it, I'm happy to oblige..."

Before Professor McGonagall could finish speaking, a series of crackling lightning bolts began to explode in the side hall, and the portraits hanging on the walls seemed to shriek and dodge, trying to get away from this unstable magical accident.

The knights, armed with weapons, tensed up and prepared for battle.

The lightning abruptly vanished the next second, and an elephant-headed man, far larger than a normal human, sat down on the ground. He looked around and shouted excitedly to Regil, "I did it! Deputy Enforcer! Did you see that? I did it!"

Regil raised a hand, gesturing for the knights to lay down their weapons, and tried to lift up Quintorli, a baby elephant several times his size: "Heral Kant, what's going on? I thought you were with our delegation from the beginning."

"I was indeed on the visitor list, but Professor Doom wanted to test my abilities, so he left me with a teleportation coordinate before setting off." The little elephant stood up and patted its bottom. "Where is Professor Doom? I really want to tell him this good news right away!"

Amidst Professor McGonagall's comical, half-open mouth, a flame flew out of the fireplace in the side hall, transforming into two tall wizards, each with a proud and magnificent bird perched on their shoulders.

“Your landing point was slightly off, Planeswalker Quintorli.” Ivy walked up to her apprentice. “You should have been in the headmaster’s office, not in the side hall.”

“I’m sorry, Professor Doom…” The little elephant lowered its head sheepishly, its long trunk swaying nervously.

“But I still have to say, well done, Kun.” Ivy patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. “Just like when you first became a Planeswalker, I didn’t have much experience teaching Planeswalkers either. So I hope this experience will help us both grow. I guess Planeswalkers’ spacetime teleportation relies more on their own perception than precise coordinates, which is why you appeared at the landing point of my portal. It’s both an advantage and a disadvantage.”

"Professor Doom! What a novel title! I thought you preferred the name Victor!" The person who came with Ivy was clearly Dumbledore with Fawkes perched on his shoulder. "I remember we talked about magic universities, but I didn't know you had become a professor! I wonder what subjects you mainly teach?"

Ivy's expression changed: "Defense Against Dark Magic".

(End of this chapter)