The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

As time went by, the first-year wizards gradually forgot the dangers of the troll incident. After all, life at Hogwarts was never short of new things—the even more anticipated Quidditch match was about to begin.

Students could be seen everywhere in the castle discussing Quidditch. The Gryffindor students were all cheering on Harry, the once-in-a-century Seeker, firmly believing that he could lead the team to victory against Slytherin.

The Slytherin students were confident of retaining their championship title, boasting about the new brooms sponsored by the Malfoys; the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students also cheered for their respective house teams.

Kayson Moretti was so excited he couldn't sleep. Every day he would drag Julien and Edgar to simulate Quidditch matches, sometimes pretending to be the Seeker and sometimes the Goalkeeper, all the while shouting out various tactical terms.

"Julien," Kayson patted his chest and promised, "once I join the Ravenclaw team, I'll definitely help the academy win the College Cup! You absolutely have to come watch my games!"

Early winter at Hogwarts always arrives unexpectedly. The first cold snap of November, carrying fine snowflakes, swirled over the Quidditch pitch, but it did nothing to dampen the students' fervent enthusiasm.

Today is the first official match of the school year—Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Even more noteworthy is that Gryffindor's Seeker is a first-year student: Harry Potter.

The entire castle seemed to be imbued with a magical restlessness. Breakfast in the Great Hall was almost untouched, while the corridors were filled with students wearing college scarves, loudly debating tactics.

Julien Black stood on the stone steps leading to the stands, his bronze scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, his gaze calmly sweeping over the noisy crowd below. He knew this was another "photo spot"—the pivotal moment in the original books when Harry made his first appearance and showcased his flying talent. Hermione's act of burning Snape had also taken place during that time.

But he doesn't intend to get involved; he just wants to be a quiet observer.

He chose a corner away from the crowd and sat down, taking out a small bag of sunflower seeds from the inner pocket of his robe—he had swiped them from the house-elf in the kitchen, since no one else was eating them anyway.

He had just enthusiastically started banging on the stool a couple of times when he felt the wooden stool next to him sink slightly.

"Watching the game alone?"

His voice was cool and clear, carrying a hint of barely perceptible probing. Julien turned his head; Elizabeth Rosier was standing beside him, her silver-grey and green Slytherin scarf fluttering gently in the wind.

She wasn't wearing her school uniform, but just a plain-colored robe with a dark green cloak over it, which made her skin look even paler.

"Sometimes I just want some peace and quiet." Julien tossed another sunflower seed into his mouth, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and said, "Besides, I'm not the main character here."

Rozier chuckled softly, sat down beside him, and glanced at Harry, who was adjusting his broom in the center of the pitch. "The protagonist?" she repeated softly. "Perhaps. But sometimes, the real storm is never in the spotlight."

Based on her observations over the past few days, the famous savior doesn't seem to have any extraordinary abilities other than his talent for flying.

Julien narrowed his eyes slightly. This didn't sound like casual conversation.

“The family hasn’t mentioned Durmstrang at home lately…” Rozier suddenly turned her head, her tone lighter. “Father finally relented and said that since the Sorting Hat sorted you here, you should stay here.” She paused, a genuine smile appearing on her lips. “To be honest, I’m a huge relief.”

"That's good." Julien nodded. "Hogwarts is indeed warmer than Northern Europe."

"That's not all." She lowered her voice and took out a thick leather-bound book from inside her robe. The gold lettering on the cover was already somewhat faded. "They also sent these—all ancient books about the history of Hogwarts. Some of them are even rare copies dug out of the family library."

A mixture of pride and confusion flickered in her eyes. "I think... they might genuinely want me to settle down here and study hard."

Yu Lian took the book, his fingertips touching the blurred emblem on the cover—a triangle with a circle in the center and a vertical line running through it. Without a doubt, this was the symbol of the first Dark Lord Grindelwald and his saints—the Deathly Hallows.

He opened the title page, and on the yellowed paper was written in Old English the title "Hogwarts: Foundations and Source of Magic," with neat handwriting and dense annotations.

"Interesting," he murmured. "When did the Rozier family become so interested in school history?"

"I find it strange too." Rozier's voice was even lower, almost carried away by the wind. "Especially... they specifically told me to keep an eye out for any unusual relics or historical sites on campus."

Julien's fingers suddenly stopped.

"Remains?" He tried to make his voice sound like he was just curious.

"Hmm. I find it strange too," Rozier nodded, his eyes serious. "The letter was very vague, only saying, 'If you see anything with star charts or spiral runes, be sure to record its location, but do not touch it.'"

Rozier frowned. "Because our family has studied geological relics and ley lines for a long time, I initially thought it was an archaeological interest, but after searching the Hogwarts library, there doesn't seem to be any related records. What about you? Have you heard of anything similar?"

Julien's heart skipped a beat. Could Rosier's words be related to the stone tablet he saw in the Mirror of Eris? Or perhaps to what Liria brought? Why is even the Rosier family looking for this now?

"No." He shook his head and returned the book to her. "However... if there really were such ancient relics in the school, they probably wouldn't be displayed in a prominent place."

After a moment of silence, commentator Lee Jordan's excited shout rang out from the stadium: "Both teams are entering! Potter from Gryffindor—yes, that's the first-year Harry Potter!"

A deafening wave of cheers and boos erupted from the stands. Julien's gaze, however, remained fixed on Rozier's face. She seemed to want to say something, but hesitated.

"Actually..." she suddenly began, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "I saw something quite interesting in the footnotes of this book."

"What?"

"It is said that when the four giants first established the school, in addition to several professors, there was also a 'steward' in charge of maintaining the daily operation of the castle—similar to Filch now, but with a higher status." She paused, a strange light flashing in her eyes, "That steward's surname... happened to be Black."

Julien was struck dumb.

"Blake?" he blurted out.

"Hmm." Rozier nodded. "His full name is lost to history, but the notes refer to him as 'Pyxis Black.' He was said to be proficient in ancient runes and levitation magic, and was one of Ravenclaw's most trusted assistants. But after that... there are no further records, and we don't know how many years he spent at Hogwarts."

Julien's heart suddenly raced. Pyxis Black? — He had never heard of this name before. Perhaps even his grandfather didn't know an ancestor who had worked with the Four Giants? Or was it just a coincidence of surnames?

But Pyxis is also one of the eighty-eight constellations, the Compass constellation. This does align with the Black family's naming conventions.

A thought flashed into his mind like lightning: Could this Pyxis Black be the earliest "Guardian," responsible for guarding some mysterious stone tablet hidden in the Mirror of Eris?

"Could I borrow this notebook...?" Julien asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Rozier hesitated for a moment, but finally handed him the book. "Here you go, just don't lose it—Grandmother wrote that these books are very valuable and cannot be lent out."

"Thank you." Julien accepted it solemnly.