Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Water Margin

Chapter 260 Recognizing the Class Monitor and Meeting an Old Acquaintance

Chapter 260 Recognizing the Class Monitor and Meeting an Old Acquaintance

Picking up where we left off, Dumbledore suddenly came looking for Harry to ask him about the prefects.

Readers should know: This grade leader is no ordinary person; he is a school administrator personally appointed by the principal and selected only from the fifth grade.

Two students from each college are required, one male and one female.

This position carries immense power and authority, granting the holder a private carriage, exclusive access to a private bathroom, and the power to enforce school rules by imposing detention or deducting credits with a wave of a wand. It's incredibly prestigious and offers substantial benefits.

Therefore, which of the boys and girls in the courtyard wasn't envious and covetous? They all stared at the prefect's gold badge pinned to his chest, eager to show off their skills.

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Harry wondered, "I'm neither a professor nor an employee. Why is the professor asking me about these school affairs?"

"If only it were really like that," Dumbledore sighed. "But now Hogwarts is more like a military academy."

After a moment's thought, he looked at Harry seriously and asked, "Harry, do you yourself have any thoughts about becoming a prefect?"

"I don't think anyone in the entire school would object to this."

Harry chuckled, "Professor, you're so ignorant! I've defeated Voldemort three times, and I've been through countless battles at the Ministry of Magic. What haven't I seen?"

"Even if I agree, go ask that student council president if he dares to act arrogantly in front of me!"

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "That's true—since you can't become a prefect, do you have any recommendations?"

"As you know, I was busy with the Three Kingdoms Tournament last year and didn't have much energy to keep an eye on the students' grades."

Harry added, "Professor, you're mistaken. The school is the school, and the Boxers are the Boxers. The prefects are in charge of school affairs, while the Boxers have their own leaders."

"If any of our brothers or sisters in the group encounter trouble in the future, we can use the name of Hogwarts students to help them out. Wouldn't that be like having an extra layer of protection?"

"This matter requires the professor's own consideration."

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Very well, Harry, I respect your decision."

Having finished discussing the matter of the class monitor, the old man dusted off his robes, stood up, and hurriedly stepped out the door.

Seeing his hurried pace, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Professor, where are you headed in such a rush?"

"Go see Fudge. He wants to send a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from the Ministry of Magic to Hogwarts."

Harry's eyes widened at this, and he slammed his fist on the table, cursing, "Damn it! Fudge is really pushing his luck!"

"First they sent troops to guard Hogsmeade, and now they're sending some nobody to oversee Hogwarts! At this rate, I'm afraid even the professor's position as headmaster might be in jeopardy!"

Dumbledore gave a wry smile and said, "I don't want to strain my relationship with Fudge, especially since I need to gather information from Wizengamor."

"But don't worry, I've also recruited a very good assistant professor who can teach you a lot of useful things."

The following day at noon, Ron was visiting the house on Privet Drive, drinking with Harry and Hermione and having a great time.

Just as the wine was flowing freely, an owl suddenly appeared carrying an urgent letter from Hogwarts. When he unfolded it, there were only a few lines, saying that in recognition of his usual diligence, he had been specially appointed as a Gryffindor prefect, and so on.

Ron tilted the envelope into his palm, and a heavy prefect badge rolled out and landed in his hand.

He held the badge in his hand, examining it closely in the sunlight streaming through the window. The golden lion on it shone brightly, its mane and claws appearing almost lifelike.

The large "P" in the center is dazzlingly bright with its gilded appearance.

In terms of craftsmanship and style, it is indeed an exquisite object, not to mention the relationship between the person in charge and the person in charge.

To everyone's surprise, Ron frowned after looking at it for a while, scratching his head and saying, "Why did you give me this thing?"

Ron tossed the badge to Harry on the sofa with a look of disgust, and asked hesitantly, "Can I write to Professor Dumbledore and ask him to take the badge back?"

Harry took the badge and examined it closely before handing it to Hermione beside him. Then he said to Ron, "Brother, how strange! A respectable task that others would kill for, you seem to have taken a hot potato?"

"Because it interferes with my training!"

"I don't have time to manage school order; that's something only Hermione would do!"

At this point, he suddenly realized something, turned his head and stared blankly at Hermione, saying, "Wait, Hermione, you didn't become a prefect?"

Hermione tossed the badge back to Ron and shook her head, saying, "If the prefect badges are issued uniformly, then I don't have one."

""

Upon hearing this, not only Ron but also Harry frowned deeply.

He wondered, "How strange! My eldest sister is always well-behaved and ranks among the top scholars every year. Her scholarship and character are also excellent. How come she wasn't elected as the class monitor?"

Ron quickly chimed in, "That's right, and you're very popular at school now, it's a world of difference from when you first enrolled."

The mute fortune teller, who hadn't cared about the matter before, began to have some doubts after hearing their words. After a moment's thought, he tentatively asked, "Perhaps it's because I stole Professor Dumbledore's Elder Wand, and now he's retaliating against me?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Ron denied it without even thinking. "How could Professor Dumbledore be so naive?"

Harry couldn't figure out the reason either, so he simply waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it! This mess can't be solved right now."

"Once we're on the train, we'll find out who that female class monitor really is."

Ron and Hermione both nodded in agreement.

That night, the three of them went to the humble abode for a meal.

When Molly heard that Ron had become a prefect, she was overjoyed and prepared a delicious meal with a special sauce to celebrate with him.

Fred and George also went home for a free meal, and only when they were halfway through the meal did they learn from Hermione that the meal was actually for Hermione's entry into officialdom.

At that moment, he had a large piece of chicken breast stuffed in his mouth. Upon hearing this, his eyes widened, he chewed the meat haphazardly a few times, swallowed it whole, and then feigned fear, saying, "Senior Elder."

Ron snapped a pepper sausage in his hand in two and said irritably, "Can't you guys just eat in peace?"

'

"Keep your voice down, Fred."

George leaned close to his ear and whispered, but everyone in the restaurant could hear him clearly, "The prefect is eating, don't spoil his mood."

Ron's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he reached for his ear, wishing he could immediately pull out a magic wand.

Just then, Molly placed a plate of roast turkey on the center of the table and gave Ron two kisses on the cheek.

"Never mind them, Ron. What's wrong with being a prefect?"

"Honey, I think this could even become a Weasley tradition—think about it, everyone in the family is a prefect."

"Hey! Then what are Fred and me?" George said indignantly.

Molly ignored him and instead focused on giving Ron detailed instructions to the prefect on the rules.

Ron was deeply worried when he heard that the job involved so many trivial tasks. He feared that these chores would entangle him and ruin his good physique.

Seeing that no one paid any attention to them, the two brothers could only vent their frustration on the turkey, tearing at it with knives and forks, making the plates and dishes clatter and rattle.

Let's stop talking nonsense.

On September 1st, the three of them headed straight for Platform 9¾. As soon as they stepped onto the platform, men waiting for their trains surged towards them from both sides.

One person crossed their arms and greeted "Good morning," another clasped their hands and said "Long time no see," and yet another mischievous person stood up and gave a military salute, shouting, "Greetings, sir!"

Not only the students, but even the parents who came to see him off were all very affectionate and came up to talk to Harry, all saying that his words on the execution ground were truly resounding.

Harry neither refused nor declined, bowing and greeting everyone politely.

The more diligently people tried to collect their share, the thicker the crowd grew, completely blocking the platform.

The commotion caused those who had boarded the train earlier to jump down and chat, creating a tight encirclement, with layers upon layers of people surrounding the area.

Ron and Hermione had long been pushed to the side of the crowd. Seeing this scene, Ron clicked his tongue and said, "I dare say that if Harry wanted to, these wizards who are already parents would definitely be willing to join the Boxers."

Hermione didn't deny it, "Perhaps."

This continued until the train whistled and was about to depart. Even the ticket checker leaned out to call out, and the crowd dispersed in a flurry, pushing and shoving as they surged onto the carriage.

Harry and his two companions boarded the car and then summoned a few underlings, instructing them to each lead their men to keep watch.

Five lookouts must be placed on both sides of each carriage, their eyes fixed on the outside of the window to prevent any malicious attacks.

After the allocation of personnel was completed and the arrangements for each compartment were finalized, the three of them went to the back of the carriage and found an empty private room, where they finally sat down and caught their breath.

However, they had barely settled down when they heard the sliding door open, and there stood a woman with pigtails tied with bows; it was none other than Lavender, Hermione's roommate.

She smiled and said, "Oh, good morning, Harry, Hermione, and Ron."

After greeting him, she glanced at Ron and said affectionately, "Ron, we should go now."

Before he could finish speaking, Harry and Hermione both turned to look at Ron. Ron's gaze made their hearts skip a beat, and they quickly cut him off.

"Wait, what do you mean we should leave?"

"Where are we going? When did we make this appointment?"

Lavender replied matter-of-factly, "Of course we're going to the prefects' car; the chairman's having a meeting. Didn't you see?"

He quickly tossed his ponytail over his shoulder, revealing a bright, gleaming class officer badge on his lapel.

Ron stared intently at the badge for a long while before snapping out of his daze and exclaiming in surprise, "A prefect has to attend meetings?!"

"Of course, didn't you read the letter carefully?" Lavender patted him on the shoulder, turned and walked away. "Hurry up, we don't want to be late."

Lavender left, and Harry stroked his chin, saying, "Wow! How strange, I never imagined that the prefectural governor's seal would end up on her."

Hermione nodded slowly, her expression serious. "Yes, someone who is superstitious about divination and can't live without a boyfriend has become a prefect."

Harry joked after hearing this, "Why does your sister sound so jealous?"

Hermione merely glanced at him. "Harry, are you sure you understand what jealousy means?"

Harry laughed and said, "Even though I've never eaten pork, I've seen pigs run, so how could I not understand?"

Hermione sighed, said nothing more, and leaned against the window.

Ron ignored their bickering, grumbled as he straightened his robes, and stepped out of the room to find Lavender.

After taking two steps, Harry stood up and said, "Brother, wait a minute. I'll go with you and see who those people in charge of the seals are in the other courtyard."

Ron, hearing that he had company, grinned and said, "Okay."

Then she turned back and called out, "Hermione, do you want to come along too?"

Hermione remained silent, only waving her hand, and leaned against the window, pondering Dumbledore's intention in choosing Lavender.

Seeing this, Ron had no choice but to go with Harry straight to the prefects' carriage.

Unfortunately, the special carriage was located at the very front of the train, but the three of them started from the last few carriages, walking through the corridors and carriages for quite a long time.

Harry took the opportunity to inspect each carriage again, to see if the arrangements he had previously instructed had been followed.

He flung open the doors of several private rooms to inspect them, and found them indeed arranged perfectly. Each person held a wand, weapons tucked close to their skin, their eyes wide like copper bells, their gaze fixed intently on the scenery outside the window.

Harry secretly applauded and called out, "Who's in charge of this section?"

Before he could finish speaking, Cedric leaned out from the next compartment, saw Harry, and hurriedly said, "Reporting, this compartment is under my charge."

Harry laughed, "Why are you saying such polite things, brother? It's so disrespectful!"

Cedric, having survived a prison break and faced death, now acts with increasing composure. He knows the reasons behind his actions and the reasons behind his own.

His expression remained composed as he replied in a deep voice, "Sir, we are carrying out your mission."

Seeing his demeanor, Harry's appreciation for him grew even stronger. He turned to the old woman pushing the cart and called out, "Sister, wait! Send all the snacks and tea to each compartment. Don't let them work on an empty stomach. If you miss a single compartment, you'll be held responsible!"

Cedric straightened his back, gave a military salute, and announced loudly, "Report! The Sixteenth Squad is on guard duty! Escorting you safely to Hogwarts!"

"us!"

"I'm not eating!"

At the last moment, everyone shouted in unison, making the carriage vibrate. Harry slapped Cedric hard on the shoulder and cheered, "Good sir! When we get to Hogwarts, I'll cut dragon meat off our heads and we'll eat it!"

Having said that, he continued on his way with Ron.

"Harry, where are you going to get dragon meat?" Ron whispered in his ear. "You're not thinking of killing Norbert, are you?"

Harry chuckled, "Brother, you're too honest. This dragon meat is just a pretext. Once we get back to school, there'll be a real reward."

The two chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the prefect's private carriage. Ron knocked on the door and entered, saying, "Sorry I'm late."

The student council president nodded. "Five minutes and seventeen seconds late. Remember to be punctual, Mr. Weasley."

The student council president, who was about to speak, suddenly saw Harry emerge from behind Ron, and his breath caught in his throat. He quickly changed his tune, calling out, "Harry! What brings you here?"

Harry chuckled and said, "I've come to meet the newly appointed prefects. You all can discuss your business without any formalities."

As he spoke, his blue eyes swept across the room, and most of the new class leaders were familiar faces.

When he caught sight of Slytherin, he paused abruptly, noticing Draco Malfoy's gleaming badge prominently displayed.