Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Archmage

"Good! Full of spirit!"

Dudley's tone returned to calm. He still stared at Malfoy as if he could see into Malfoy's heart through his eyes.

Malfoy had been shouting with his mouth covered, so he was a bit short of oxygen and gasping for breath, but he still didn't dare to take off the clothes covering his face.

He still cared about his reputation and highly valued personal and family honor.

Unlike in the past, he now had empathy, learned to reflect, and understood others' situations and feelings.

"It seems you've changed!"

Dudley then said to Malfoy, "I don't expect you to completely abandon your previous beliefs in just a short period of time. I only hope that in the future, before you insult others, think about whether you're in the right."

"I..."

Malfoy wanted to say something, but Dudley interrupted him.

"You don't need to promise me anything. Your future actions will speak volumes."

Dudley shifted his gaze from Malfoy, turned around, and swept his sharp eyes over more than thirty first - years who were as still as sculptures from shock, as well as Professor McGonagall, with her mouth slightly open, looking shocked.

Then, he quickly chanted an incantation:

Mist Enshrouds!

Dudley cast a variant of weather magic. Suddenly, a large expanse of thick white mist rose around, completely covering the area where the first - years were standing.

"This time, I'll give you a break and not push things to the extreme," Dudley said coldly again. "But if there's a next time, you won't have another chance."

He tapped the Smelting stick on the ground.

White magic power spread out like a gentle breeze over the Malfoy Trio.

The mud - covered robes turned back into wizard robes, the clothes covering their heads disappeared, and the lumps on Malfoy's face caused by the Stinging Hex quickly faded away.

In an instant, the Malfoy Trio had returned to their original appearance.

Malfoy was extremely surprised. He reached out to touch his face and felt no lumps. Just as he was about to say some words of gratitude and submission, he heard Dudley's voice again:

"Don't just stand there stupidly. Hurry into the mist!"

Concerned about his face, Malfoy immediately understood.

He immediately pulled Crabbe and Goyle and rushed into the mist created by Dudley.

In the mist, some timid first - years had already started running around in a panic. The Malfoy Trio naturally blended into the group.

Confound the Senses! Mist Disperses!

Dudley chanted two more incantations. Among the first - years in the mist, all except Hermione, Ron, Neville, and the Malfoy Trio felt a momentary daze.

When they came to their senses, the mist had completely dispersed. The first - years' memories of who was specifically in the group had become fuzzy. They couldn't tell that the Malfoy Trio had suddenly joined, and naturally, they couldn't associate them with the muddy figures from before.

"Dudley Dursley, you..."

The mist created by Dudley didn't block Professor McGonagall's view.

Professor McGonagall, who had watched Dudley cast spells the whole time and had been on high alert for him to cast evil spells, now saw that Dudley had 'successfully' handled the situation. She wanted to give Dudley some warning words from a teacher's perspective.

Unexpectedly, Dudley didn't give her a chance at all. He interrupted her with calm and forceful words.

"Professor McGonagall, right? Dumbledore mentioned you to me.

I highly approve of your kind and just character, but I still want to remind you that most of the time, scolding both parties in a conflict won't really solve the dispute.

It might even intensify the conflict between the two sides, achieving the opposite effect."

Dudley waved his hand to dispel the Bubble - Head Charm on his and Harry's heads. Then, he led Harry and walked back to the line of first - years as leisurely as when they had stepped out.

Professor McGonagall was left standing there, stunned by Dudley's words for a few seconds.

"Professor McGonagall, it's time to take the first - years to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony!"

Hagrid, who had stayed to watch the whole thing, timely reminded the stunned Professor McGonagall.

Then, Hagrid quietly left for his house and the dragon shed to take care of his little and big darlings, leaving without seeking credit.

Only then did Professor McGonagall put aside her thoughts for the moment. She continued to keep a serious face, gathered the scattered line of first - years, and led everyone through the gates of Hogwarts Castle.

Once through the gates, what greeted them was the entrance hall on the first floor. The Great Hall, which also served as the dining room of Hogwarts, was located on the right side of the entrance hall and could be entered through a pair of double doors.

At this time, the first - years could already hear the noisy conversations coming from the Great Hall on the right, which were from the upper - year students waiting for the Sorting of the first - years and the start of the meal.

Professor McGonagall didn't immediately take the first - years into the Great Hall. Instead, she led them to a room opposite the Great Hall, asked everyone to wait there temporarily, and briefly introduced the Sorting process.

It mainly included two aspects.

One was the names of the four houses in Hogwarts;

The other was that after the Sorting, the students' performances would affect the scores of their respective houses. At the end of the academic year, the house with the highest score would win the House Award.

After that, Professor McGonagall went to the Great Hall alone to report to Dumbledore that the first - years had arrived.

In Dudley's opinion, the so - called House Award was just a collective honor that was highly publicized but actually of little use.

Moreover, Dudley didn't have time to focus on the House Award and the upcoming Sorting Ceremony.

From the moment he stepped through the gates of Hogwarts Castle, his Cheat System started to make itself felt in his mind again.

[Ding——]

[Congratulations, host. Your words and deeds that guided others towards goodness in front of the castle gates and on the Hogwarts grounds (including on the Hogwarts Express) have been recognized by the general consciousness of Hogwarts.

The Special SSS - Rank hidden regret event: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Deviating from the Right Course has been unlocked.]

[Details of the regret event: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was jointly founded by four outstanding wizards a thousand years ago.

Its aim is to provide wizards with magical talents the opportunity to learn magic, so that under proper learning and guidance, magic can be passed down and carried forward from generation to generation, and the wizarding community can thrive.

However, in the early days of the school, the four founders had differences in selecting students, and the different concepts of bloodline confrontation in each era have posed hidden risks to Hogwarts' magical education.]

A thousand years ago, wizards from Muggle families were considered symbols of miracles and beings with inborn endowment.

Salazar Slytherin, who preferred pure - blood students, became an outlier. He had conflicts with his three close friends. Eventually, he left behind the Chamber of Secrets and departed alone.

A thousand years later, the pure - blood wizard forces occupied high positions in the wizarding world. They advocated the idea of 'pure - blood supremacy', triggering a new round of bloodline confrontation that poisoned generations of wizards.

The various disagreements arising from bloodline ideas, concepts of good and evil, ambition, and desire made Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, over the millennium, both a cradle for white wizards and a breeding ground for Dark Wizards.

It deviated from its original educational aim.

Graduates from Hogwarts inevitably split into two camps of white wizards and black wizards, attacking each other and engaging in crazy infighting.

This not only cost the lives of a large number of wizards but also wasted a lot of teaching resources.

The development of the wizarding world has been getting worse with each generation. There is a talent shortage, and the magic inheritance has become weaker. The overall level of wizards who graduated in modern times is far inferior to those in ancient times. They lack the spirit of initiative and the drive for in - depth study of magic. A revolution is urgently needed!