Malfoy heard the voice, but before he could turn around, a heavy slap landed on the back of his head.
On the silent ice, a dull yet distinct sound rang out.
“Ahhh—!!” Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Malfoy let out an involuntary cry.
Then, pain in his head and loss of control over his body hit him simultaneously.
The next moment, he pitched forward and crashed heavily onto the ice.
“Ow—!!
Damn it, who was that?!” Malfoy roared as he lifted his head, but only caught a glimpse of a retreating figure.
A few seconds later, Crabbe and Goyle made their way over, hopping with every step as they approached Malfoy.
Seeing their esteemed Young Master Malfoy had fallen again, they panicked and hurriedly helped him up.
“Young Master Malfoy, are you alright?” “Who was that person?!
Who?!” “Damn it!
He actually dared to smack the back of my head!
Even my father has never hit me!
I’m going to tell my father and have him expelled from Hogwarts!!” Malfoy’s face flushed red, as if white steam might shoot out of his ears at any moment.
What?!
Someone slapped Young Master Malfoy’s head?!
Crabbe and Goyle immediately sucked in a cold breath.
They quickly looked at the back of Malfoy’s head and saw a bright red handprint.
Good lord!
That was one hell of a slap!!
“I remember he was that lowborn wizard who was with Harry Potter.” Malfoy frowned.
“Who?” “The good-looking one—you said he had noble hair!” “Oh, that lower-class wizard!” With their reminders, Malfoy finally remembered.
“Hmph, how could an ordinary Muggle-born wizard dare to lay a hand on a pure-blood noble like me?
I’m certain he must have been ordered by Harry Potter!!” Malfoy gritted his teeth.
“I’m going to tell my father about this and make Harry Potter pay!!” As he spoke, he clenched his fist and slammed it onto the ice beside him.
THUD—!
The ice didn’t budge—instead, the recoil made his fist sting.
“Damn… that hurts!” Crabbe and Goyle: “…” Our Young Master Malfoy seems a bit dim.
Even if Harry Potter really did order it, were they just going to let that Mudblood off?
Had that kid slapped him stupid?
A few minutes later.
Elavin was the first to reach the base of the cliff.
He passed through the ivy-draped veil covering the cliff face and the dark underground passage, finally arriving at the underground dock where the boats were moored.
“This is it!” Elavin dismissed the ice beneath his soles, stepped onto the dock, and entered the boathouse.
Opening the wooden door, he found a gravel path outside.
Further ahead was a long stone staircase.
Hogwarts lay at the top of the stairs.
“This staircase looks pretty high!” Elavin roughly counted—at least three hundred steps, with more than twenty landings and a dozen turns.
He clicked his tongue in amazement.
“I wonder if the others will have any strength left to climb stairs after getting here…” Whether they had the strength or not, Elavin didn’t need to climb.
Swish— Teleportation Magic!
Elavin appeared directly at the end of the staircase.
“Ohhh!!
It actually worked!” “As expected, Hogwarts’ Anti-Apparition Enchantment can’t block my Teleportation Magic!!” Elavin was thrilled.
This was Fairy Tail magic.
If even house-elf magic couldn’t be fully blocked, how could it stop his?
“This opens up a lot more possibilities for fun at Hogwarts!” Mischievous ideas flooded his mind in a frenzied wave.
After calming down, Elavin looked around.
At the top of the stairs was a large platform.
The place looked familiar to him—it was where Trelawney got sacked by Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix, and where Harry and Voldemort exchanged spells in the final battle.
To the right of the platform was a passage leading to the castle’s main tower.
Straight ahead stood a towering structure—the Great Hall.
The Great Hall’s oak doors stood over three metres tall.
Elavin walked up and gently pushed them open a crack.
Inside was a bright entrance hall.
“No one’s guarding this place?” With his mind finally at ease, Elavin pushed the door open and entered.
The entrance hall was as large as Gringotts itself, with ceilings so high it was almost impossible to see the top.
Torches burned along the walls.
On both sides, ornate marble staircases rose, each turning at a landing before converging again toward the upper floors.
Elavin went up to the second floor and opened another door.
Inside was an antechamber.
To the left stood four enormous hourglasses—Hogwarts’ House Point Hourglasses.
To the right, the space split into upper and lower sections connecting different floors.
Ahead was a closed wooden door.
Elavin pressed his ear against it and listened closely for a moment.
Faint voices could be heard.
So he pushed the door open.
Inside was a smaller chamber.
For now, it could be called the “Great Hall Vestibule,” because beyond the next door came the sound of hundreds of voices.
“Have the first-years arrived yet?” “Why haven’t the first-years arrived?” “I’m so hungry!” Elavin was now certain the Great Hall was just ahead.
In the corners stood torch stands, each beside a soldier statue.
On the floor were humming sword-wielding suits of armour standing in pairs.
At that moment, the Great Hall door opened.
A tall black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stepped out.
“Hm?
Why is this door open?” “Did I forget to close it?” Professor McGonagall looked around the empty vestibule, confused.
But she didn’t think much of it.
It was time to go welcome the new students.
She turned and headed toward the main entrance.