Chapter 198 A strange figure

"Dumbledore, I have officially filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Magic for that ugly, hateful, dangerous beast that attacked my son!"

Lucius pushed the door open and entered the conference room, and pulled out his chair with an angry face. The solid wood chair legs hit the ground with a dull sound.

"Not only that, but in the name of the school director, I also want to question the quality of the professors appointed by the president this academic year." He sat on the chair he pulled out, crossed his legs, and supported his cane with one hand, looking majestic. appearance.

"I have checked the records. Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year for raising dangerous magical animals without permission. Is such a vile wizard really suitable to be a professor? I doubt it."

Lucius proudly stroked his gorgeous clothes, and then said, "Not only that, there is another problem with dropping out of school in the third grade...that is to say, Rubeus Hagrid himself doesn't even have an Ordinary Wizarding Level Examination Certificate for Protecting Magical Creatures. nothing."

"Can such a person really be selected to become a professor at Hogwarts?"

He leaned forward and stared smugly at Dumbledore, his voice full of pleasure.

"Mr. Malfoy, regarding Hagrid's expulsion from Hogwarts, I have explained it clearly to the Ministry of Magic. He is innocent and someone framed him." Dumbledore's expression did not change at all and he began to act seriously. to defend Hagrid.

The headmaster was very skilled in this kind of deception. He easily brushed off Hagrid's behavior of raising dangerous magical animals, and simply attributed all the reasons for his expulsion to the perpetrator.

As a "young man" in his thirties, Lucius obviously did not know the truth fifty years ago, and he did not doubt Dumbledore's statement.

"Even if we ignore this, there is no problem with Rubeus Hagrid not passing the ordinary wizard level exam, right?" Lucius' face darkened and he said coldly, "There was a teaching accident in his class. This There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

"Dumbledore, I want to see how you will defend him!"

Dumbledore calmly adjusted his glasses. Instead of being flustered by Lucius's question, Dumbledore chuckled softly.

"Mr. Malfoy, Hogwarts has never stipulated that the professors recruited must pass the ordinary wizard level examination." He chuckled.

"Hagrid has been the gamekeeper at Hogwarts for fifty-two years. During this period, he managed the magical animals in the school in an orderly manner with few accidents; at the same time, he and the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest and other groups of magical animals have maintained friendly relations and made indelible contributions to neighborhood harmony."

"In addition, Hagrid discovered and personally raised a pair of Thestrals, which later developed into a quite prosperous population. Therefore, every Hogwarts carriage was replaced with a Thestral from a specially purchased white horse. , saving huge costs for school directors.”

"What's more, I have learned that no other accidents occurred to other students in Hagrid's class. Only your son did not follow the professor's instructions and rashly came into contact with the Hippogriff, which led to the teaching accident. Yu Logically speaking, Hagrid should not bear all the responsibility for this teaching accident."

"Mr. Malfoy, do you still think that Hagrid is not qualified to be a professor at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore looked at Lucius deeply and asked word by word.

Lucius's face looked a little ugly.

For the first time, he knew that this usually inconspicuous gamekeeper had made so many real contributions to Hogwarts. This was something he could hardly refute.

But Lucius was still unwilling to let go of the big man who allowed the Hippogriff to hurt his son.

"These contributions can only show that he is a qualified gamekeeper, but they do not mean that he has enough quality to serve as a Hogwarts professor!" He said forcefully, "I can't believe the comprehensive performance of a wizard who has not passed the wizard level examination. Quality."

"Are you sure you want to talk like this, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore suddenly laughed happily, making Lucius look confused.

"Of course, I stand by my point of view." Lucius frowned and glanced at Dumbledore doubtfully.

He didn't know or care what Dumbledore was laughing at. He just wanted to vent his anger on his son.

Lucius thinks he has this capital.

This is because, after Dracula reorganized the Hogwarts school board and drove away several thorny pure-blood school directors, the Malfoy family has become the only two members of the school board who serve Hogwarts. The funder who pays for daily operations, and the other person who pays for it is the Ministry of Magic’s financial department.

Lucius felt that he had the advantage. After all, Hogwarts cannot live without its sponsors, just like the wizarding world cannot live without J.K. Rowling!

"Well," Dumbledore finally stopped laughing, with a little teasing in his eyes, "Mr. Malfoy, may I think... you are questioning Professor Dracula's overall quality and teaching ability?"

Lucius' face froze, and cold sweat suddenly flowed from his forehead.

He subconsciously glanced at the empty main seat at the front of the conference room, which was the seat reserved by the school board for Dracula, who was the titular chairman of the school board.

Because Dracula was too lazy to attend meetings, he basically never came to this conference room after that period of freshness.

But the school directors here can't just pretend that he doesn't exist.

What if one day this unpredictable professor suddenly comes to the meeting on a whim? Should the chairman of the board have no place to sit and hold meetings with the school directors while standing?

What if this moody professor gets angry and beats up the trustees here?

So the school directors still reserved their seats for Dracula.

Lucius was slightly relieved when he saw the empty main seat. He didn't have time to wipe away the cold sweat that dripped into the corners of his eyes and stung his eyes. He immediately said righteously:

"Nonsense, how could I question Professor Dracula! Professor Dracula is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with the strongest teaching ability and overall personal quality that I have ever seen. No one will question him!"

Even though he knew that Dracula was not present, Lucius still adhered to the principle of being cautious in his words and deeds on topics related to Dracula, and immediately expressed his position, fully demonstrating his identity as a die-hard Dracula fan.

He was now ready to abandon Voldemort and completely fall in love with Dracula. It would be a shame to be rejected by Dracula because of such a trivial matter...

"So why is it that Professor Dracula, who has not taken the Wizarding Level Examination, is the professor with the strongest teaching ability and overall quality, while Hagrid, who has also not taken the Wizarding Level Examination, can only be questioned?" Dumbledore stepped forward. He asked with sharp eyes.

"How can Professor Dracula and Rubeus Hagrid be the same..." Lucius wanted to retort, but was interrupted by Dumbledore before he could say anything.

"Is it because Professor Dracula is the chairman of the school board?" Dumbledore stared into Lucius's eyes and said in a deep tone, "Could it be that the members of the school board have something that others don't have?" Privilege?”

Dumbledore's words deeply penetrated Lucius's heart.

Obviously, his words were not talking about Dracula, but using this matter to question Lucius.

Lucius's expression changed and he hesitated for a long time.

Dumbledore just stared at him without any unnecessary movements or words. The other school directors didn't say much. They didn't want to get involved in the dispute between the pure-blood family patriarch and the headmaster of Hogwarts.

After a long time, Lucius took a deep breath.

"Okay, then I will give Mr. Principal face today." He gritted his teeth and said every word as if spitting out from between his teeth, "I don't need to appeal to Rubeus Hagrid..."

After saying this, Lucius raised his head and looked into Dumbledore's deep eyes, "Are you satisfied now, Dumbledore?"

"Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction and stood up from his seat, "Then, this matter passed happily..."

He turned to look at the other members of the school board, "Is there anything else the school board has to do? If not, I have to deal with some official business, so I won't accompany you for now..."

"Wait a minute." Lucius also stood up and called out to Dumbledore who was about to leave with a sullen face.

Dumbledore turned his head in confusion, "Is there anything else, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Although I let the big guy go, the beast that hurt Draco must pay the price." Lucius said, "I have contacted the Committee for Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, and they will send the resolution in a few days. send over."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dumbledore also darkened his face.

"Of course, Draco must be given an explanation for the injuries he suffered." Lucius put his stick on the ground, his expression returning to that arrogant look again.

"Well, since you are so unwilling to listen to advice, then I have to find a reinforcement." Dumbledore sighed.

He suddenly stretched out his wand and waved a silver-white phoenix, flying through the wall to the third floor of the castle.

It was Dumbledore's patronus, modified by him and used to convey messages.

Lucius's face didn't look good.

He recognized that the direction in which the silver phoenix was flying was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office on the third floor of the castle. Dumbledore was probably trying to find Professor Dracula to stand up and support the hippogriff.

Lucius is ready to bend and stretch——

If Professor Dracula was really called over and sided with Dumbledore and Hagrid, then he would immediately write a letter retracting the accusation against the animal and say with a smile that it was just a misunderstanding...

But at this moment, Dumbledore was stunned for a moment. His expression was a little surprised at first, and then turned into helpless.

"It seems that Professor Dracula is not in Hogwarts Castle, right?" Lucius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Unfortunately." Dumbledore shook his head.

"Then let's wait until Professor Dracula comes back." Lucius tilted his lips, "If Professor Dracula has no objections, the resolution of the Committee on Disposal of Dangerous Creatures will still be sent over as usual in a few days. You You can ask the big guy to wait and order."

After that, Lucius waved his cane and left the school board meeting room with high spirits.

After all the school directors left, Dumbledore's eyes quietly showed some doubts, and then he summoned a Phoenix Patronus again.

He closed his eyes and controlled the silver phoenix to fly all over the castle, exploring every unusual inch of the castle.

After a moment, Dumbledore suddenly opened his eyes, with a complex look of shock and anger in his eyes.

…

Time goes back to a few hours before the school board meeting.

It was just dawn, and at the end of the black lake there was a golden light that cut through the curtain of starlight, quietly illuminating the darkest moment of the day.

The sky is still dark, and this is the time of day that Dracula appreciates it most.

There is neither dazzling sunlight nor eternal darkness, and the best balance is reached between light and darkness.

He stood on the shore of the black lake, with wine-red light flowing in his eyes. He looked through the slightly turbulent lake water and watched with interest the big squid in the lake teasing him in the Slytherin common room. Snakes playing all night long.

Just when Dracula was looking forward to it, a red light suddenly flashed past him.

A kind of vigilance and movement that had not happened in countless years suddenly hit Dracula's withered heart.

He tilted his neck subconsciously and narrowly avoided a crimson blade of light.

The end of the light blade narrowly missed the throat and flew into the water without any hesitation, splitting the lake in half in an instant. The dividing line drawn by the air on the lake did not spread for a long time.

On the dividing line, many swimming fish are cut into two sections, and the cut surface is as smooth as a mirror.

Dracula felt something strange on his neck, so he raised his hand and gently brushed the place where the end of the crimson light blade just passed.

Suddenly, he touched a touch of cold liquid.

"How many years..." Dracula turned over his palm and looked at the slender fingertips, his eyes a little blurry.

There was a drop of bright red blood on his pale fingertips, and the drop of blood seemed to be emitting a strange luster.

"It's been so many years, I haven't experienced what it feels like to be injured." Dracula licked his fingertips without leaving a trace, tasting the fishy smell in the blood, and unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth.

"Then I would like to know, who are you?"

The four sharp fangs on his lips were already exposed, his nails were extended, the wings on his back were stretched out, and the evil look in his eyes was no longer hidden at all.

Dracula's evil eyes looked at another person who appeared on the shore of the black lake at an unknown time——

It was a strange figure.

Wearing a gorgeous red cloak, the long hood covered his face, leaving no trace of skin exposed to the air.

But he was holding an extremely ordinary wand in his hand, just like a branch picked up casually from the ground.

Under the hood, no expression of the figure could be seen, but Dracula could keenly feel the underlying emotions in the man's heart——

There is no trace of malice, but full of killing intent!

…

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