The Carrow siblings were the same as Avery, Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Yaxley, Greyback, and the others.
At first, they had all thought the Dark Lord was truly finished, so they made up excuses to avoid being locked in Azkaban and tormented by those Dementors...
But unlike Lucius and a few others, after the Dark Lord's resurrection, the Carrow siblings returned to his side without hesitation and with remarkable speed, offering their hearts to their great Lord Voldemort.
That even included Snape.
At least, that was how it appeared on the surface...
In any case.
What Draco and the others were about to face next was Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow's older brother, who would be serving as their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
Yes.
At the very start of seventh year, Draco and the others' first class would be taught by this Professor Amycus Carrow.
At that moment, they were walking toward the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
It was easy to see the unease and worry on many of the young wizards' faces.
These were the ones who knew exactly what identity lay hidden behind Amycus Carrow.
As for the remaining young wizards who could still smile and were even celebrating the fact that they would no longer have to see Snape this year, either they still had no idea what was going on, or their parents were also Death Eaters.
That was why they had no awareness of the danger and felt no tension at all.
Still, it had to be said that Death Eaters appearing at Hogwarts had instead become something normal, almost a matter of course.
It was entirely possible that while walking through the castle, you might run into a professor who was a Death Eater the very next second, or perhaps a second generation Death Eater...
"Draco, are you really going?"
"Exactly... Who knows what they might do to you? Even if you say there's some kind of deal..."
"I agree with Parkinson this time. Besides, you don't need to take these classes anymore anyway, do you? Why don't you just teach us magic instead? Then we wouldn't have to take this risk."
"Granger is right."
It was not only Pansy and the others trying to persuade Draco. Even Goyle and Crabbe kept glancing this way.
Whether Goyle and Crabbe were truly worried about Draco's safety or simply hoping they could skip class was another matter...
Looking at Pansy and Hermione blocking his way, Draco reached out and firmly ruffled both of their heads.
"I know what you're worried about, but there are some things you can't understand unless you see them for yourself. Otherwise, you'll never see the truth hidden beneath the surface."
"But..."
"Besides, don't you want to know what's happening outside right now, and what these people are really after?"
"..."
Perhaps they could never really argue against Draco's decisions, or perhaps what Draco said truly did make sense.
Subconsciously, Pansy and the others stepped aside to clear the way.
Then, once they realized what they had done, they quickly picked up their pace and followed him again.
"Um, can you pat my head too?"
"You rude little thing. It took me ages to get my hair this smooth!"
Amid Pansy and Hermione's teasing and bickering, the remaining little snakes of Slytherin silently followed in the footsteps of their king.
This was probably what Draco had meant before.
If even the King could not move forward, how could those beneath him be expected to advance without fear...
...
In any case.
Although they had mentally prepared themselves, when they sat down in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and waited for the new professor to appear, most of them still looked tense and worried.
Especially the Gryffindor students taking the class with them. Compared with the relatively calm Slytherins, they looked as if they were facing a great enemy, as though a war might break out at any moment.
And sure enough.
After Draco and his group appeared, several Gryffindor students who had joined the Draco Constellation kept looking over at them, as if they were waiting for some command from Draco.
"It's almost time. He should be here soon."
"Amycus Carrow. As far as I know, after he was lucky enough to escape being sent to Azkaban, his whereabouts became a mystery. Some said he was secretly trying to resurrect the Dark Lord, while others said he had gone into hiding. But I never expected..."
After realizing that nothing could change the situation now, Pansy had no choice but to tell them everything she knew.
Even though she had already said it several times before, she still did it again.
"I've heard you say that several times already... Wait! Draco, isn't that... How could he possibly be here?"
"No way?!"
As Hermione let out a low cry of surprise, Draco, who had shown no change in expression until then, finally revealed a flicker of emotion. The shock and uncertainty flashing through his gray eyes could be seen clearly.
Because in this classroom, he had seen someone who should not have been there.
That person was not the long dead Albus Dumbledore, nor Harry Potter, whom Voldemort regarded as a thorn in his side, and of course it was not Severus Snape, who had only recently become Headmaster of Hogwarts.
It was...
The one smiling broadly in their direction...
The red-haired Ron Weasley!!