327 Chapter 326 An Owner Doesn't Need to Expect a Welcoming of Robbers When He Comes Home
Hogwarts Castle, Scotland.
Both the students of the Pureblood House and the Half-Blood House were up early in the morning, gleefully discussing things about the Triwizard Tournament.
Everyone knew that today marked the official start of the Triwizard Tournament, and in the morning, just as they began their first day of the new academic year, a number of newspaper reporters from all over Europe had already arrived inside the castle.
Hogwarts Castle had specially prepared accommodations for them. The Triwizard Tournament is not going to be held and concluded in just one day, the three events together will span at least one academic year, so it is inevitable that these journalists, who will be covering the whole tournament, will be specially provided with food, clothing and accommodation.
At 10 o'clock when Beauxbatons students would arrive at the castle.
In the morning Snape made a special arrangement to suspend all the student's classes, and they all stood in front of the castle to welcome them.
It was not their Headmaster, who had only been in post for a year brought the students, but Voldemort himself, who had not been seen since the champions' selection.
From first year to seventh year, all the students, except Draco who stood beside Snape as the champion of Hogwarts Castle, stood in orderly rows on the grassy lawn according to their bloodlines, greeting the guests from Beauxbatons as well as their Headmaster.
Emil, the champion of Beauxbatons, followed Voldemort, only half a length behind him, and walked with him to Hogwarts castle.
Snape brought Draco with him, also following along behind his lord.
"Did Dumbledore bring his people?" Voldemort, who was walking ahead of him, asked very casually, not looking as angry and out of sorts as he had four months ago when he had seen the Lestrange couple's bodies.
Snape said softly.
"They haven't arrived yet, my lord, but they should be soon."
Voldemort nodded and didn't make another sound, except that as his steps reached the top step to the castle, the next step to the main doors, he turned back to the students who were still standing in line on the lawn.
"Now that I'm here, who are you waiting for?" He said in a loud voice that reached every student, "It's been a lovely morning, all you need is cake and black tea, boys. Go back to the great hall, there are no more guests worth waiting for."
The students on the lawn looked at their Headmaster with astonishment at first, then all soon came back to their senses and a cheer went up from both the purebloods and the half-bloods.
It was clear that no one wanted to stand in one place all morning, and now that the great gentleman had given the word, they couldn't help but feel liberated.
The students, each with a happy expression on their faces, walked into the castle with genuine happiness and flocked behind the pureblood guests who had arrived from Beauxbatons, as well as their Headmaster.
Of these, only Snape looked back at the already empty lawn, then did not speak, but simply walked behind all the students and finally pulled the two castle doors shut
It was close to midday when Thestrals pulled the wagon directly over Hogwarts Castle.
Jon and Hagrid sat side by side in the driver's seat as they penetrated through the clouds once more and began to descend from high above, and Jon couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he looked at the castle that loomed between the mountains and the Black Lake.
He remembered the last time he had been here and the time he had left, and now he was back again.
Hagrid was also looking down, only instead of looking at the castle, he was looking out over the endless forbidding forest beside the black lake that looked like a mirror.
The circles of his eyes were visibly red, and his two large hands, holding the reins, were trembling slightly from the sheer force of his grip.
Even the Thestrals pulling the wagon along in their winged flight showed a visible leap of joy, as if they had returned to their familiar homeland, each one swooping down with impatience and carrying the wagon towards the ancient castle.
No one else in the world knew the school as well as some people travelling in this wagon.
Even those who are inside the castle today.
The Thestrals spread their huge black wings as they swept low over the edge of the forbidden forest and glided along the surface of the black lake, the hooves of the youngest one flying even ruffled the calm lake surface, leaving a ripple in its wake.
Eventually, the group of Black Pegasus folded their wings and landed on the lakeside lawn in front of the castle.
Their hooves hit the soft ground and the wheels of the Hogwarts wagon fell slowly back to the ground, gliding forward a short distance before coming to a complete stop in front of the closed gates of the castle.
The summer breeze blew the curtains at the back of the wagon and Dumbledore and Rosier led the Hogwarts and Durmstrang students out of it.
There was a hidden excitement on the faces of every child, especially the ten Hogwarts students, who had always borne the name Hogwarts, yet it was the first time for nine of them to visit this thousand-year-old castle.
Even Hermione had a bright light in her gaze.
She had returned, no longer as a slave, but brightly as a free person, a wand-wielding wizard, a student of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all over again.
But still, the empty, deserted lawn, with no one in sight, brought down the initial fervour of the excited students' hearts.
"Rude to the core."
Rosier's face was cold, and she felt that even though she had never thought much of the dark lord, she had still overestimated his bearing.
George tilted his head to look up at the pitch-black castle, which happened to have a cloud looming over them at the moment.
"I've fantasised how Hogwarts Castle would actually look like before."
He stood beside Jon, his face devoid of his old cheeky grin and glibness, with only a calm smile.
"My dad and mum told me from a very young age that this place is the greatest in the world, Bill told me it's where the best memories of every wizard's life are born, and Charlie used to entertain us almost every time we came home by recounting to us how great the Quidditch tournaments were at this school, but I just feel that this place is... Dead."
Jon looked at the castle as well.
The last time he had been here, he had stayed for a long time, but the life of a 'mudblood' slave had not given him the energy to observe and appreciate this thousand-year-old castle.
Now, when he could completely take a look at the castle, for some reason, the deadly darkness of the prison in Azkaban surfaced in his mind.
Dumbledore, who was also standing just a short distance in front of George, heard George's comment and a reminiscent smile crossed his face.
"Everyone has a different impression of this place, but perhaps it is not the castle that has been subjected to change, but the times in which we live. Like me, I always thought this would be a good place to store woolly socks."
The Hogwarts students looked at each other, and all of them knew that Dumbledore had begun to say something that sounded muddled once again.
And just then, an old woman on crutches limped along the edge of the Black Lake and came up to them.
She had a broad-brimmed peaked hat on her head and a hunched stature, but her pace, which relied on the cane for stability, was not the least bit slow.
"Do you know how much trouble these lawns are to maintain! Those little mudbloods are already clumsy! Get your men to lead these beasts with me! It's disgusting, these ill-omened Thestrals! The very sight of them makes you sick!"
The old witch stared at the Hogwarts and Durmstrang students with a disgusted look in her cloudy eyes, cursing at the Thestrals under her breath, but only she knew whether she was cursing them or Jon and the students.
"Come on! Get these beasts and come with me! I'll take you to find them a place they can use as a lair, and you'd better not let me see them shitting around here, or I'll turn you into a shithead and make you push a dung ball!"
The witch screamed as she crossed over to Dumbledore and them and shouted at Hagrid who was holding the reins of the Thestrals.
Hagrid glanced at Dumbledore who gave him a slight nod before he led Thestrals off the lawn with a grumpy look on his face following the cursing witch.
"What are we going to do now?
Diane looked to Rosier and then to Dumbledore.
Upon hearing her question, Dumbledore instead turned his attention to Jon.
"What do you think we should do now? Jon."
As his question was asked, the eyes of all these students in the place were focused on Jon.
Jon tilted his head and looked up at the towering castle, and then he led the way to the front of the steps.
"This shouldn't even be a question, Professor."
Coming to the door that had been wide open for over a year, he reached out and pushed it open heavily, saying in a breezy voice.
"Everyone knows exactly who is the owner here, and there are thousands of truths in this world, but none of the truths says that the owner needs a gang of robbers to welcome him to his home."
"Creak~"
The heavy wooden door made a sound laden with the ages of time, and the wide entrance hall with its long, clean corridor was revealed to all.
Candle flames lit up the walls on either side, one by one, like soldiers in the full dress ready for their officer's inspection.
Jon's shoes, stained with the wet mud of the lawn, stepped on the clean tiles that reflected people's shadows, and his strong, sturdy steps echoed throughout the unoccupied entrance hall.
Behind him, the students of Hogwarts and Durmstrang looked at his back, the feelings of insult and frustration have now gone, replaced by a surge of emotion!
Yes, there is no such thing as a landlord coming home and needing a bandit to go out and welcome him.
They had not made this trip to gain any so-called respect.
Rather, to reclaim their own home!
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