If not for that unmistakable red hair, they might have wondered at first whether they were seeing things, or whether they had mistaken him for someone else.
But it seemed this was not a hallucination on Draco and the others' part. The Ron Weasley before them really had returned to Hogwarts...
"A Weasley? Granger, what is going on? You never mentioned this to me. Did you not hear anything about it in Gryffindor?"
"Actually, I don't know when he came back to school either. Maybe even Ginny doesn't know about this."
"This whole thing feels strange no matter how I look at it..."
Looking at the Gryffindor wizards surrounding Ron Weasley, Pansy and the others all stared over with odd, suspicious expressions.
Probably only Ron Weasley's friends, along with a few wizards who still had no grasp of the situation, could so carelessly treat Ron Weasley's appearance as something worth celebrating.
Under normal circumstances, of course it would have been worth celebrating.
But Hogwarts was currently under lockdown.
That alone was enough to make the whole thing suspicious.
More importantly, this was the Weasley family, the family most loyal to Dumbledore...
Faced with Pansy and the others' doubtful looks, Draco truly could not give them an answer.
"Judging from his eyes, one thing is certain. It doesn't look like the effect of Polyjuice Potion."
"So it really is him?"
"It seems so."
"The only thing we can be sure of right now is that returning to Hogwarts at a time like this definitely means there's something wrong. Perhaps we can have Ginny look into it."
"Ginny... That is a good idea. I just hope things aren't that bad."
"Let's hope so."
Just as everyone's attention was drawn away by Ron's appearance, the door to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom had been pushed open at some point.
Amycus Carrow stood in the doorway, sweeping an extremely cold gaze over the young wizards inside.
That appraising look was like he was choosing which prey to devour later...
...
Amycus Carrow did not dress much differently from the other Death Eaters.
Perhaps he had been influenced by their great Dark Lord.
At that moment, he wore black clothes underneath, with a black robe layered over them. That was the usual style of most Death Eaters.
What was worth mentioning was that as he walked, the Dark Mark on his arm could be glimpsed faintly. He had no intention of hiding it at all. He even seemed proud of it.
Everyone could see the magical mark glowing with green light.
That indirectly showed that the Dark Lord's strength had already returned to its peak...
Just as everyone watched the professor on the platform uneasily, Amycus Carrow slightly raised his wand and spoke in a hoarse, grating voice.
"I look forward to teaching you some useful and efficient dark magic in the days to come."
"..."
Dark magic?
Had he left out a few words?
After confirming that they had not misheard, a few young wizards opened their mouths as if to say something, only for their companions to stop them.
As for the wizards of the Draco Constellation, Draco had already warned all of them before class began.
Under no circumstances were they to argue or draw the man's attention.
Because no one knew what kind of insane thing this wizard, who was a professor on the surface but actually a Death Eater, might do to the students...
"Sir, you mean Defence Against the Dark Arts, don't you?"
"..."
But unsurprisingly, an accident happened right away.
Not everyone had a companion who could pull them back in time, and not everyone was qualified to enter Draco's Draco Constellation, Hogwarts branch.
Sure enough.
This brave soul was one of their Gryffindor students...
"Oh? What are you trying to say?"
"After all, dark magic... that shouldn't be the sort of magic we're learning..."
Clap, clap, clap.
"Very brave, and very courageous. But that is not a reason for you to stand up and contradict a professor."
As Amycus Carrow clapped and smiled, what he did next made everyone instinctively swallow.
As for that brave Gryffindor student, he nearly collapsed from fear.
Because this Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had actually raised his wand and pointed it at his own student.
"How unfortunate. On your very first lesson, I have to make such a regrettable decision."
"..."
"Detention. And you'll need to receive a small punishment."
"Professor?!"
The instant Amycus Carrow saw the terror on the student's face, he let out a delighted laugh.
"Crucio!"
"Ugh... Aaaaaah!"
Green light.
Screams.
Everyone was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that they huddled together.
Coldly watching the mad, shocking scene before him, Draco merely tapped a finger lightly against the desk, with no intention of intervening.
Or rather, he could not act rashly.
Because if he had not seen wrong, just now, the moment Amycus Carrow raised his wand, it seemed to pause deliberately in Draco's direction for a few seconds.
Had he done it on purpose?
Was it a warning?
Or was Draco simply being too sensitive...