With the strong support of Lucius Malfoy and the tacit approval of Dracula, the Hogwarts Board of Governors was completely transformed.
The Board was temporarily changed from the original twelve members to seven, with the remaining five positions to be filled as needed at the new Chairman's discretion. As the holder of the Hogwarts land deed, Dracula served as this newly appointed Chairman, possessing absolute power of veto and supreme guidance over the board's resolutions, as well as the right to appoint and remove any member of the Board.
The Board of Governors was, for the first time in centuries, free from the complex power struggles of the past.
Besides Yaxley and the four other members from pure-blood families who were unceremoniously ousted, Lucius, ever the opportunist, immediately and fervently joined Dracula's camp. The wealthy Malfoy family single-handedly covered half of Hogwarts' operating costs, perfectly filling the financial gap left by the dismissal of the five governors.
The other six members of the Board—those who had no intention of acting against Dracula in the first place—were all upstanding individuals, noble wizards who were truly dedicated to the development of Hogwarts. Among them were figures such as the venerable Griselda Marchbanks of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and former Hogwarts Headmaster Armando Dippet, all renowned figures in the field of magical education.
Dracula, naturally, had no intention of targeting these respected figures of the wizarding world. He casually waved his hand, approving the final outcome of the meeting, and then—with a flourish—jumped out of the window of the Board of Governors' meeting room.
Madam Marchbanks, who was nearing her 200th birthday, stared in utter astonishment as Dracula leapt from the window. She could not help but look at Dumbledore and exclaim, her voice a mixture of shock and awe:
'Albus, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor that Hogwarts has hired this time, is truly a remarkable individual!'
'Who can say otherwise?' Dumbledore shrugged helplessly, thinking to himself that Professor Dracula's unconventional habits would probably be very difficult to change indeed.
***
In the expectant eyes of the students staying at school, the time unknowingly came to the evening before Christmas Eve.
The Hogwarts Great Hall was decorated beautifully and spectacularly by the professors. The walls were covered with festive garlands of holly and mistletoe, and a full dozen towering Christmas trees stood around the room. Some were adorned with glittering, enchanted icicles, while others shimmered with the warm light of hundreds of real candles.
'Hey, Hagrid, could you help me hang this package of gifts on the Christmas tree?' The short Professor Flitwick stood on his tiptoes and patted Hagrid's large belly.
The large Hagrid considerately bent down, took the packages of surprise gifts for the students from Professor Flitwick's hands, and easily hung them on the highest branches of the nearest Christmas tree.
'Oh, thank you so much, Hagrid!' Professor Flitwick looked up and said happily to the half-giant.
'Good evening, Hagrid!' Two young wizards wearing red scarves jogged into the Great Hall, immediately spotting the very conspicuous Hagrid.
Then, one of the young wizards—the one with the round glasses—carefully noticed that next to Hagrid's knees was another, much shorter wizard, using his wand to spray out strings of golden bubbles and hang them on the branches of the Christmas tree beside him.
'Oh, Professor Flitwick, you are here too!' Harry quickly said to the short wizard.
'Good evening, Harry and Ron!' Professor Flitwick was not at all annoyed by being overlooked. Instead, he greeted the two young wizards warmly.
Hagrid also stopped what he was doing and waved his large, fan-like hand at Harry and Ron.
'Professor, are you decorating the hall?' Ron looked enviously at the strings of golden bubbles coming from the tip of Professor Flitwick's wand, feeling that it was extremely cool.
'That is right. After all, it is Christmas tomorrow, and we need to decorate the hall properly,' Professor Flitwick said, his voice full of festive cheer. 'Hogwarts must ensure that the students who could not go home can also have the same warmth and joy as they would at home!'
Harry sniffled emotionally, feeling even more attached to the big, magical family that was Hogwarts.
'Ron, shall we continue to the library later?' He threw a used tissue into a nearby bin, turned around, and pulled Ron towards the door of the hall.
'Do not, Harry! We cannot figure anything out without Hermione!' Ron's face wrinkled up into a ball, and he said dejectedly to Harry.
'Library?' Hagrid said, following them out of the hall as he prepared to move some more Christmas decorations over. 'It is Christmas tomorrow, and you are still reading? That is too diligent. It does not seem like your style, does it?'
'Oh, we are not reviewing lessons,' Harry said cheerfully to him. 'Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, we have been trying to figure out who he is.'
'What?!' Hagrid looked very alarmed, his face paling slightly. 'Listen to me—I told you… give it up! What that big dog is guarding really has nothing to do with you!'
In fact, ever since Harry had been sabotaged in his first Quidditch match, he, Ron, and Hermione had begun to wonder who was going against him.
Hermione had initially suspected Snape, who had been muttering at Harry from the stands. But she had never expected that Snape was actually chanting the counter-curse to that evil jinx. The magical flames she had used on Snape had interrupted his casting of the counter-curse and had almost caused serious harm to Harry.
Even if Snape had not cursed Harry—and was even trying to help him—the unpopular professor's behaviour of targeting Gryffindor in every way still left far too deep and negative an impression on Harry. Therefore, Snape's act of saving him that one time could only slightly improve Harry's perception of him; it could not reverse his long-standing negative image.
Moreover, after the Halloween feast, Harry had also inadvertently seen the bite marks on Snape's leg—it must have been caused by the three-headed dog in the forbidden area on the 4th floor.
So, after that fateful Quidditch match more than a month ago, Harry and his two friends, who could not figure it out at all, had gone to Hagrid's hut, hoping someone could help them analyse the situation.
Hagrid, not knowing how Harry and his friends had learned about the three-headed dog and not wanting them to know the top secret set by Dumbledore, had sternly warned them:
'Listen! All three of you listen to me—you are meddling in things that are none of your business. It is very dangerous. Forget about that big dog, and forget what it is guarding. This is between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel—'
And that had been his mistake.
'Aha!' Harry's eyes had lit up, and he had said excitedly, 'So it also involves someone named Nicolas Flamel, right?'
'…'
This had also led to the very conversation between Harry and Hagrid about Nicolas Flamel on the eve of Christmas. A conversation Hagrid was now deeply regretting.
***********
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