In the evening, the open space in front of Hogwarts Castle.
The originally empty and flat site has now changed, with seven or eight giant bonfires piled there.
Magic orange night lights were hung on the fences on both sides of the field, and beside the fence were rows of simply processed ingredients.
Most of them are skewers, such as fish, mushrooms, beef, pumpkin...but there are also some big things like tomahawk beef and roast suckling pig on the side.
In addition, various drinks, snacks and desserts are also scattered around various tables in the venue for parents and students attending the bonfire party to take at any time.
And between the various kinds of food and the huge burning bonfire, there are hundreds of simply decorated round wooden benches, and there is a round wooden table in the middle of every seven or eight chairs.
"So, Hogwarts means to let us do it ourselves?"
Mr. Greengrass raised his eyebrows and looked at the empty venue with some displeasure.
Although the school had informed us in advance before coming here, there would be no house elves at the bonfire to be responsible for cooking tonight.
However, he originally thought that there would be at least some attendants on standby - instead of what is happening now, except for the ingredients, there is no one to serve at all...
"A continuous floating spell is cast on the side of the campfire. Ingredients can be grilled directly on the side. The timing hourglass and instructions are also prepared."
A dry voice spoke softly, and even the heat wave of the bonfire in the venue could not suppress the coolness in the voice.
Mr. Greengrass turned his head somewhat uncomfortably and looked at the ghost floating next to him.
Slytherin's resident ghost, Bloody Baron, is also their guide.
As for Professor Snape, who was supposed to be responsible for their guidance and introduction, he was currently checking the status of the spell and the processing of each ingredient by the campfire.
Strictly speaking, house elves were present to maintain tonight's bonfire party, but they seemed to be only responsible for replenishing and pre-processing the ingredients.
"Mr. Barrow, where are the students and parents of the other three colleges? We are saying, did you read the wrong time-"
Mr. Greengrass looked around and did not dwell on the barbecue.
He had to admit that the environment here was very nice, and it was completely different from the simple outdoor barbecue he had imagined.
The Hogwarts professors have also briefly introduced the reasons for this arrangement:
Tonight's theme is parent-child barbecue, with the aim of promoting the relationship between parents and students and enjoying life.
A bonfire party is held next to Hogwarts Castle. On the one hand, it is a large-scale bonfire party planned for students. On the other hand, it also provides a social space for parents to communicate freely.
For Greengrass and others, the factor of "social space" suddenly became particularly important tonight - Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic are about to begin changes. As the cornerstone of magical society, pure-blood magical families like them
They must find ways to keep up with the wave of change. In addition to expanding their market operations, they must also find more allies.
Most of the wizarding families in Slytherin College have rich government connections and money savings, but they lack social operating experience and wisdom.
However, parents at several other colleges can apparently provide this content.
Especially Ravenclaw Academy. In the eyes of most wizards, Ravenclaw graduates are very high-quality R&D personnel.
Perhaps they were not so important in the past, but at the cusp of countless new industries that are about to emerge, the importance of Ravenclaw wizards has suddenly become highlighted.
A smart person who doesn't care so much about money, is not so radical, and at the same time has a relatively pure bloodline. No matter how you think about it, he is the first choice partner of the pure-blood family of Slytherin House.
"Strange... the time should be correct. There may be something delayed in the other colleges, right?"
Bloody Barrow raised his head and glanced at the hour hand on the clock tower in the distance, feeling a little confused.
"Well, it's okay to be a little later—"
Greengrass nodded and exchanged glances with the wizards surrounding him.
"That's fine. Let's continue to discuss and improve the rhetoric, control the scope - and at the same time show sincerity."
Judging from the tone of the Hogwarts professors, the Ministry of Magic's decision was just recently, and they had better finalize some cooperation intentions tonight.
Otherwise, when the Ministry of Magic officially announces the "marketization" decision, the ancient pure-blood families will have no choice but to be controlled by others and passively pick up scraps from officials.
On the other side, Lucius Malfoy was also quietly discussing "cooperation" with his wife later.
After all, the market for "magic sanitary napkins" will inevitably fall on witches. As a somewhat proud and reserved gentleman, Lucius has not been able to overcome that hurdle in his heart yet.
At least before the novel brand he was responsible for opened up the market, he thought it would be best to communicate with his wife first and inquire about the market. Ravenclaw Academy, where a large number of witches gathered, was obviously an excellent opportunity - he planned to go there today
First, he first figured out the needs of the witches indirectly, then returned to Malfoy Manor and immediately started to promote the industry proposed by the witch princess.
"Lucius, why did you suddenly think of investing in this..."
Narcissa looked at her husband in surprise. If Mr. Malfoy hadn't looked serious, she would have almost thought that he was joking on purpose.
In fact, when Lucius seriously pulled her aside to discuss "magic sanitary napkins", Narcissa's first reaction was whether her husband wanted to have another child.
"Well, I have some special channels of my own, Narcissa. This is the cornerstone of the future of the Malfoy family."
Lucius Malfoy looked around and spoke in a low voice.
"The International Federation of Wizards and the Ministry of Magic are planning to gradually liberalize the magic market."
"The changes are not only for the magical world, but may also involve the non-magical world. This is an unimaginably huge market."
"Greengrass and the others want more benefits, and I have found a corner that no one is paying attention to. The Malfoy family may be able to get the exclusive rights to operate it."
"So, you plan to become the 'tampon tycoon' in the wizarding world?"
Mrs. Malfoy raised her eyebrows and glanced at Draco Malfoy behind them.
"And... it sounds like you are planning to let Draco inherit this... um, industry in the future?"
"Low-key, important, irreplaceable but unobtrusive - what's wrong with that? The Malfoy family has been like this all these years."
Lucius nodded seriously, turned his head and looked at his son.
"Besides, this will give Draco a chance to meet more outstanding witches, right?"
Obviously, the witch princess gave the Malfoy family unimaginable long-term protection.
This reminded Lucius of the story of his ancestors following William the Conqueror, and he must firmly grasp this future.
"Well, okay - I'll go talk to the ladies..."
After Narcissa Malfoy pondered for a moment, she nodded slightly and agreed.
As the daughter of the Black family and the mistress of the Malfoy family, her social circle in magical society is actually wider than that of her husband.
At the same time, similar conversations took place among other parents in Slytherin House.
Compared with the other three houses, the people of Slytherin House were the first to interpret the future trends from the changes in Hogwarts.
As a group recognized by the magic world as the most knowledgeable and ambitious in survival, their goal can be said to be quite clear - they want to continue the glory of pure blood in the new era.
The first step is to unite Ravenclaw, who has the most outstanding magical talents and wisdom...
Just as a group of Slytherin's adult wizards were secretly planning, dense footsteps and conversations suddenly came from the gate of the castle.
coming!
Greengrass, Malfoy and the others were refreshed and looked towards the door ready.
Golden-red hospital uniforms and yellow-black hospital uniforms gathered into a stream of brightly colored people, pouring out of the castle gate like a tide.
Gryffindor and...Hufflepuff?
The Slytherin parents looked at each other and shook their heads tacitly.
These two academies are not the best partners to cooperate with. They do not want to cooperate with brainless fools or stupid honest people.
Under Greengrass's hint, most of the parents of Slytherin House seemed not to notice the parents and students of the other two houses, and continued to talk quietly in their own small circles, occasionally eating desserts.
They took some food on the stage to fill their stomachs and waited for the best ally they selected to appear - it would be difficult to chat if the skewers were scheduled at different times.
Naturally, Gryffindor House, which had just experienced a "fierce" fierce battle, and Hufflepuff House, which had eaten a lot of "melon", would not be hot-tempered.
The parents on both sides saw that the Slytherin house didn't look like they were waiting for them, nor did they want to have a barbecue around the campfire, so they didn't say anything.
After all, the taste of Slytherin House has been very strange since last year, maybe these are not in line with their taste.
Under the advice and guidance of the students, the parents of Hufflepuff House and Gryffindor House selected their favorite foods, and gathered around the bonfire to start barbecue while talking and laughing.
"Hey, Mr. Greengrass, why don't you get some ingredients and go over there to barbecue and chat together?"
Elena looked at the Slytherins sitting on the edge of the campfire in confusion. These pure-blood wizards wouldn't even bother to barbecue themselves, right?
As the headmaster and kitchen chef of Hogwarts, she still had to inquire about the reason.
Otherwise, in the end, it would be unreasonable for people to only eat cold food during a good bonfire night.
"Oh, we want to wait for everyone to show up-"
Mr. Greengrass replied gracefully, glancing not far away calmly.
"After all, not everyone is in such a hurry to eat. It is basic etiquette and upbringing to wait until everyone is here to use the knife and fork -"
"Huh? You mean Ravenclaw House?"
Elena nodded suddenly, smiled, waved her hand and explained.
"Oh, you don't have to wait for them. Most of their parents left early."
I didn't expect that Slytherin House was quite polite. It seems that she did have some prejudice against them before?
"Everyone attending the bonfire party tonight is here. There's no need to wait here at Slytherin House - you should hurry up and bake some over there, otherwise all the delicious food will be burned."
"Most of the Ravenclaw parents... left early?!"
Greengrass was suddenly startled, and his eyes subconsciously fell on the other two academies not far away who were fighting fiercely.
so……
They carefully prepared the rhetoric for joining forces to open up new markets...
Either it's rotten in the stomach, or now the only option is to try your luck with Gryffindor's wild lion and Hufflepuff's stupid badger?!
…………
At the same time, the Ministry of Magic.
Just as the pure-blood family feared, various senior officials were gathering together to discuss important matters.
The only slight difference is that they are not discussing a magical society or macro changes in the market...
"Dumbledore has definitely left? There is no principal at Hogwarts for the time being?!"
Connery Fudge rubbed his hands nervously. After hearing another affirmative answer from Kingsley, his breathing suddenly became heavier.
"So……"
"Well, I mean... everyone, maybe we need to issue a special "Education Order"..."
"Hogwarts cannot remain unruly for a long time. The Ministry of Magic, well, we have an obligation to help them survive the chaos..."