He wanted to ask Dumbledore where he was supposed to sit, but Dumbledore had already disappeared into the crowd without a trace. He didn't even come to sit at the table.

Seeing the people around him sit down one after another, Hoffa's heart began to retreat a little, and the feeling of separation in this crowd made him more uncomfortable than the cold wind of Helheim.

However, an unexpected breakout suddenly appeared.

Aglaia casually passed by his side, coughed slightly, and pointed to a location.

"Sit there. ”

With that, she left.

Hoffa sat down silently, and ten minutes later, Aglaia and another senior girl came over and sat next to her, carrying a sky blue pleated dress.

She didn't appear to be familiar with Hoffa. In fact, most of the time, Aglaia pretends that he doesn't exist. He never showed signs of easing his relationship with him in front of anyone.

She's been chatting with the person next to her. Children in this era socialize like children in later generations playing with mobile phones, almost instinctively.

The crowd was chatting about a man named Albert Bout.

He is the Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Magic and is a Christmas guest invited by Slughorn. Legend has it that the two were classmates during their time at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe that Professor Slughorn can even bring in Albert Bout. ”

A tall boy said, "My uncle invited him several times but didn't get it, he was too busy." ”

Across the table, Miranda smiled, "Bout, I've heard of him, he's a good politician, a well-known pacifist." ”

"yes. Aglaia replied with a smile.

"I heard that he was preparing to sign a peace agreement with Germany, but I don't know if it's true. ”

"I think the Ministry of Magic is a bit presumptuous......."

"I don't agree with ......"

The people around him expressed their opinions on the current affairs of the Ministry of Magic.

Hoffa didn't believe in the politics of talking and had little interest in the topics debated by the students around him.

He sat honestly beside Aglaia, without saying a word, and tipped his fingers at the tablecloth under the table.

After a while, I saw that everyone around me was chatting.

Aglaia suddenly bowed his head and said disdainfully: "Bout is a weak waste, and his policy is nothing but compromise or protest. ”

Hoffa looked up in surprise, and Aglaia began to talk to the others again. The state switch was so fast that Hoffa was not sure if that sentence was his hallucination.

Suddenly, there was a round of applause at the door.

Chubby Slughorn walked in with a slightly balding middle-aged wizard.

The wizard looked a little cramped, but still quite happy.

Slughorn pulled out a chair and said in a loud voice, "Albert, sit here, I have prepared a small banquet for you tonight." ”

"Oh, you're so sweet, you're tired of coming from the Ministry......" said the middle-aged wizard.

The two kept holding hands and hooking their shoulders. Many people around them were greeting each other enthusiastically.

Albert Bout, Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Magic?

Hofado glanced at the man, feeling a little sympathetic to him.

Being the director of the Department of International Affairs in this era is really not a beautiful difference. In times of war, these high-ranking officials may become the target of public opinion at any time, and even worse, it is normal for their lives to be at risk.

During the later Voldemort Wars, two successive ministers of magic did not end well, and one of them was tortured to death, not to mention these ordinary ministers.

Not long after he sat down, the table was full.

But Dumbledore still didn't show up.

Hoffa could see Miranda sitting next to Albert, the director of the International Affairs Division, chatting with him all the time, with the expression of a little fan.

Several boys approached Aglaia's side, and they all seemed to want to sit closer to the pretty little girl. For this, they also looked at Hoffa with jealousy and dissatisfaction.

In their eyes, Hoffa must have been a subordinate who had arrived here ahead of time and quickly occupied the favorable terrain.

Before eating, the crowd began to pray.

Hoffa didn't know what to pray for, and he followed behind the others with his hands folded, his lips open and closed, and he was full of words.

As soon as Slughorn finished his prayer, someone on the side questioned Hoffa's identity.

"Who is this .......?"

A big-shouldered, round-waisted third-grader asked, a look of displeasure on his face.

It was as if Hoffa had robbed him of his place.

Hoffa hadn't spoken yet, not even Aglaia.

"His name is Hoffa Bach. Haven't you heard of a shapeshifter?"

Surprisingly, it was Tom Riddle who spoke for him. He leaned back lazily in his chair and said very elegantly: "I haven't heard of him, you can only be regarded as a lonely person." ”

Everyone around looked at each other.

Hoffa was a little embarrassed, and to be honest, he would rather be forgotten by everyone than be remembered by Voldemort.

Of course, no matter what Tom says, he is not the future Voldemort now, he is now his only minor character that no one cares about, just like Hoffa.

At this time, the protagonists at the table are none other than Slughorn and Albert.

Hoffa didn't care what the people around him were talking about or what they thought of him, all he could do was eat in silence.

In the beginning, Hoffa's focus was on food. On the one hand, he is really hungry, and on the other hand, the lace news that others say has nothing to do with him, and he is not interested.

But after three rounds of drinking, the director of the International Affairs Department drank a little too much, under the influence of alcohol. He also talked more and more, and the topic became more and more biased towards some sensitive areas.

Albert: "Horace, hiccup...... I work in the Department of International Affairs at the Ministry of Magic, and I know something even more advanced, I heard that Hogwarts has captured two foreign wizards and locked them up in the school, which is ..... Belch...... Is it true?"

Albert's words elicited a soft exclamation from the crowd, and Hoffa cut the steak with his hands.

Two foreign wizards, of course he knew. It must have been the two Schmidt Lutrov men captured by Dumbledore, did the Ministry of Magic already know about this?

"Ahh.......h

"Old friend, this is not right," Albert took a sip of his wine and looked directly at the fat dean.

"Maybe those foreign wizards are indeed a bit vulgar and don't know how to do things. But in the event of such a thing, it is better to submit it to the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. ”

"This kind of thing, Eber, you should go to Principal Dippert. He ......"

Slughorn was annoyed when he heard this.

"Amandor is busy, every day since he became Headmaster of Hogwarts in 1793! ”

"I can understand, Iber. ”

Slughorn quietly poured him a glass of wine.

Albert threw his head back and poured the liquor down, burping with a slight red face.

"All in all, Hogwarts' attitude and stance are not consistent with the current tone of the Ministry. In the last Hogsmeade incident, the Minister of Welfare preferred a negotiated solution. ”

Slughorn was a little sensitive when he heard the topic, and immediately started a round.

"That's natural, Principal Dippert and our four colleges. He has always been very supportive of the work of the Ministry of Magic. You know, whether it's Hector Foley or Lokan McClaird, we're all ......."

"Really?" asked Albert, suspiciously.

"I've heard that you have a teleportation array at the Observatory that sends young wizards to very sensitive areas. For example, Polynesia, Martinique, the Black Golan. ”

He shook his glass.

"This will affect the peace of the witchcraft in all countries, Slughorn, and you need to advise Headmaster Dippet more. ”

"Haha, of course - hiccup. ”

Slughorn was a little distracted, and his attention turned to Tom Riddle's, who handed Riddle a saucer with his thick fingers.

"A little more caviar, Tom, good for you. ”

Albert was still nagging.

But Hoffa began to feel a little uneasy.

He sat in the corner, his fork expressionlessly circling the ice cream.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.

Finally, Hoffa slowly lowered his fork, and he knew where the uneasiness was coming from.

Astronomy Tower.

In a letter to himself, Indor made it clear that the new Hogwarts Teleportation Circle was placed in the Astronomy Tower.

Now Albert has mentioned the Astronomical Tower again.

He knew what the masked man was looking for.

In the snow, it blew up in the wrong place.

Now, it's finding the right teleportation array location.

Turning his head, in Albert's boring political manifesto. Everyone else around listened absentmindedly, Slughorn was a little embarrassed, Miranda held her cheek with her palm, and Aglaia pouted with a look of disdain.

Tom Riddle was playing with a fork on the table, listening to Albert with interest.

Hoffa lowered his head, and he began to struggle.

Painful tangles.

He didn't know if he should be involved in these things, it had nothing to do with him. But the murderous intent against himself in the Forbidden Forest came to his mind again, and he thought of the inner response in Deng Liduo's mouth.

He wanted to tell anyone about it, but found that the guy couldn't even see Dumbledore, and no one could see it except himself.

Damn it!

Gritting his teeth, Hoffa slowly stood up, and he whispered to Aglaia:

"I went to the toilet. ”

Aglaia sighed.

Hoffa nodded apologetically to the people around him, turned and left the table.

As soon as he went out, he drew his wand from his waist and struck it on his arm.

"Disler Falcon. ”

With a soft spell, Hoffa's body disappeared into Slughorn's office, and he slipped out of the office silently, striding through the castle.

He's going to take a look at the Astronomical Tower.