Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures
Chapter 1268: The First Change

Like every opening day of school, the platform was packed with wizards, but this year the atmosphere was noticeably more tense.

Beyond the crowded platform, the scarlet Hogwarts Express stood belching steam.

When Harry and Evan entered, the eyes of the nearby students and parents quickly turned to them, followed by hushed whispers. Given the media’s relentless coverage lately, there were few people who didn’t recognize Evan and Harry.

As deep as the fear of Voldemort went, so did the fame of Evan and Harry in the hearts of these wizards.

Despite being stared at as soon as he came in, Evan still felt a sense of warmth and familiarity.

He had gone through so many dangerous events over the summer that the familiar feeling of Hogwarts brought him relief.

He searched around but didn’t see Elaine. He didn’t know where she was — perhaps she’d already boarded the train.

“Let’s go,” said Harry. He didn’t want to stand here and be stared at, so without waiting to consult his grim-faced Auror, he motioned to Evan, Hermione and Ron to follow him up the platform, looking for an empty compartment.

“We can’t, Harry,” said Hermione, looking apologetic. “The three of us have got to go to the prefects’ carriage, and then patrol the corridors for a bit. Evan will probably have to say a few words and assign tasks to the prefects.”

After Umbridge was driven out, Evan had resumed his position as Head Boy.

Even though he hadn’t done much Head Boy work himself — Hermione and the Head Girl had taken care of most of it — meeting the prefects at the start of the term was still something he had to handle personally.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” said Harry. “you still have meetings and patrols to attend.”

“See you later!” said Evan, waving to Harry.

“Pal, you can find a compartment and wait for us. Maybe you can sit with Lavender and her friends. Believe me, it won’t take long.” Ron turned his back to Hermione and said in a voice that she couldn’t hear, “I’ll come to find you when I’m on patrol. Just don’t let Hermione find out.”

“Alright, kids, you’d better get on the train, all of you, you’ve only got a few minutes to go,” said Mrs. Weasley, consulting her watch. “Well, have a lovely term, especially you, Ron — stay out of trouble at school…”

“I know, Mum, I’m not a kid anymore!” Ron grumbled.

He followed Evan and Hermione to the prefects’ carriage, and behind them Harry pulled Mr. Weasley aside.

They were probably planning to talk — Harry might want to tell Mr. Weasley his theories about Malfoy.

“My dad doesn’t deal with the Underworld or werewolves, but he can investigate Malfoy’s family and the shops in Knockturn Alley,” said Ron. “But honestly, I doubt he’ll believe Harry’s reasoning. There’s no way Malfoy’s a Death Eater… Actually, we can test that later. The prefects’ meeting will be the perfect chance — we can check if he has the Dark Mark. If he’s a Death Eater, there’s no way he can hide it.”

“So, what’s your plan? Strip Malfoy to check his body?” Hermione retorted.

“Uh, I know it doesn’t sound good, but you can’t deny it’s the fastest way,” said Ron.

“Yeah, it’s definitely fast,” Evan added, “and it’ll make front-page news in Hogwarts Magic by tomorrow. The headline would be something dramatic: The Head Boy and Two Prefects Strip a Student in a Compartment to Check His Body…”

Evan didn’t plan to do anything. He didn’t even want to confirm if Malfoy was a Death Eater.

What would be the point of confirming it anyway?

Capturing Malfoy and sending him to Azkaban would have no effect on Voldemort at all, but would instead affect the development of subsequent events.  

If Malfoy failed, Voldemort could always pick someone else to carry out those tasks. There were plenty of students with Death Eater families, or those ambitious enough to seize the opportunity to pledge their loyalty to the Dark Lord.

The current atmosphere at school might seem calm on the surface, but there was a lot brewing underneath.

This was the calm before the storm, before the final war broke out. Every faction was quietly gathering strength.

“Well, if you two have a better idea…” Ron muttered.

“We don’t,” Hermione replied. “And I’m not against your plan either, Ron. You and Harry could find an opportunity in the castle, maybe in a quiet corner, and strip Malfoy to check if he has the Dark Mark — but not today. You saw the platform earlier. With everything that’s happened in the Wizarding World, and all the terrifying events over the summer, the students are already scared enough. We shouldn’t add to the chaos.”

She glanced around the compartment. “Wait, why is this carriage so empty?”

As they walked along, they found that the other compartments had been packed, with barely any empty seats left.

But this carriage was an exception. It was mostly empty, far from full.

“I think I know why,” said Evan, glancing at the students inside.

There were only Slytherins in the compartment. They sat in groups of three or four, taking up a lot of space.

When students from other Houses saw the Slytherins inside, they immediately avoided the compartment, as if they were dodging a plague.

It wasn’t hard to understand why. Everyone knew that Slytherin House had a close relationship with Voldemort.

Slytherin House had the most supporters of the Dark Lord, and now, no one dared to go near them.

This was the first change that happened at the beginning of this term. Students from the other three Houses were avoiding Slytherin.

In one sense, the Slytherins were exercising their privilege.

In another sense, they were being isolated. Hogwarts was no longer the united school it once had been.

“No one dares to come. They’ve occupied this place.”

“This can’t go on like this, they can’t occupy a compartment all to themselves,” said Hermione, opening the door and walking in.

Inside were two fifth year Slytherins, sharing their summer vacation experiences.

When they saw Evan, Hermione and Ron come in, the two of them stood up hurriedly, becoming visibly nervous, even a little scared.

They were afraid of Evan. After all, for the past month, the newspapers had been filled with stories about him. Journalists and the Ministry, eager to inspire hope, had showered him with praise. There were countless articles lauding his power and accomplishments…

Though not quite at the level of wizards like Voldemort or Dumbledore, Evan was certainly stronger than any of the other students.

After reading those articles, it made sense that Slytherin students would be afraid of him, especially since Slytherin had long viewed Gryffindor — and Evan in particular — as their rival. Whether they supported Voldemort or not, Slytherins had come to see Gryffindors as their enemies.

It was not their fault either. In the past few years, there had been too many conflicts between the two Houses. They both had come to see each other as adversaries or even outright enemies …

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