The news of Voldemort's resurgence has caused an uproar at Hogwarts; no matter where you go, you can hear people discussing it.
Especially those students from magical families, they have an innate fear of Voldemort and have been on edge since seeing the contents of the newspaper.
It's not just the students. Professors are now often seen gathering in small groups in the corridors, conversing in low, tense voices, but they stop talking as soon as students approach.
Of course, only some students feel this way, whereas in Slytherin, where there are the most Pure-Blood Wizards, it's quite the opposite; they are very excited, almost as if it's another Christmas.
During lunch, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bagnold's shrill laughter scarcely stopped, and they strutted into the auditorium looking like two peacocks flaunting their feathers.
"Look, it's those two dumb turkeys again," Susan Bones said with disgust. "I'm sure there's someone in their family who's a Death Eater."
The Bones Family has always supported the Order of Phoenix, and they have battled the Death Eaters for over a decade, their hatred irreconcilable.
Previously, this wasn't evident because Voldemort had been defeated for over ten years, and several notorious Death Eaters were locked away in Azkaban, so everyone thought it was over.
Even though Susan doesn't particularly like some Slytherins, she doesn't outright detest them.
But now that Voldemort is back, and the Death Eaters have escaped, the situation seems to have reverted overnight to that of a decade ago, and naturally, attitudes on both sides have become very clear-cut.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"
At this moment, Fred and George came over and casually sat down at the Hufflepuff table.
"Of course, it's about those two." Mikel gestured towards the Slytherin table, where Pansy and Millicent had just sat down, loudly chatting with others.
"Do you think they might side with the Death Eaters?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Fred said. "If you take another look at the newspaper, you'll see that among the Death Eaters who escaped yesterday, there's a Bagnold."
"I don't understand why the headmaster doesn't expel these people from the castle." Susan poked at a fried pork chop on her plate.
"Because they are not Death Eaters," Cedric said. "At least for now, their status is just that of students. The headmaster certainly can't expel them from the castle just because of their surname; it goes against Hogwarts' educational principles.
"Just like during the Chamber of Secret incident, the headmaster didn't expel Harry, who was the primary suspect then."
"That might be true..." Mikel muttered, "but their attitude is so infuriating, I really want to teach them a lesson."
"I agree!" George was the first to chime in. "Make sure to call me when you do."
"You'd better dismiss the thought," Cedric said, "if you get caught, you'll definitely be in detention."
"No worries, as long as no one finds out," Fred lowered his voice. "I know Honeydukes has these big brown paper bags, I think they use them for stocking up, and they can almost fit a whole person. We can definitely use them to bag Millicent or Pansy before we strike..."
He became more excited as he spoke, occasionally letting out a mischievous chuckle.
"Leave that to me," Susan, unusually enthusiastic, said. "I buy a lot of candies from Honeydukes every year. I should be able to borrow a few bags."
"We can also buy some..." George laughed, "I have a feeling those bags will become quite popular; we can't just keep borrowing them."
"I say, why can't you two discuss this back in Gryffindor?" Cedric interrupted them, irritated.
Trying to prevent them from causing more commotion, he quickly asked, "What did you guys come over here for?"
"Oh, we're here to find you." Fred suddenly remembered the real reason and turned around. "We were considering whether to expand the D.A."
"After all, the current situation isn't the same as before," George said. "We believe there must be more people who want to learn how to protect themselves."
"That's why we founded the D.A. in the first place, right?"
Looking at their earnest expressions, Cedric still furrowed his brow and asked skeptically, "Is that really what you guys think?"
"Alright, well, it's actually Hermione who wanted to ask," Fred said,
"But she's quite busy at the moment, carrying a huge stack of books, it looks like she's moving the library into the dormitory."
"We happened to be free, so we volunteered for the task."
Cedric remained unconvinced.
He knew Fred and George too well. If it were just a simple discussion, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to come over, and expanding the group isn't something that can be decided with just his nod.
"Tell the truth!" Cedric said lightly.
Fred and George exchanged a glance.
"You're truly the Head Boy; nothing gets past you."
Fred chuckled, pulling out a pointed hat with a red feather like performing a magic trick.
"We just wanted to ask if, during the next D.A. meeting, you could wear this hat."
"The one that makes your head invisible? Forget it. I don't want to become a laughingstock for everyone." Cedric refused without hesitation.