To be honest, the weather was really good, and the midday sun was shining straight down from the very center of the sky, illuminating the windows on the back wall of the auditorium.

The leaves outside the window are green, reflecting dazzling golden glow in the sunlight, and the mottled shadows of the trees are obliquely projected on the stage behind the guest of honor, enveloping the people on the stage in a layer of staggered and trance light and shadow.

Just as the outside is bright and quiet, the auditorium at the moment is noisy.

The guests sat at four long tables under the stage, talking softly to each other.

In terms of origin, these guests can be roughly divided into two groups: one is mostly pure-blood, while the other is mostly half-blood or Muggle-born;

If there were a division of forces, they could be roughly divided into three factions: one faction sided with the anti-dark wizards who had the same position as Dumbledore, and the other faction was secretly co-opted by Voldemort, but the largest number was the wise neutral faction.

But to say that the people who can attend today, at this private luncheon hosted by Dumbledore himself, are wizards of great repute in the entire wizarding world.

Among them are officials who hold positions in the Ministry of Magic, businessmen who have had a great influence on the economic flow of the wizarding world, and scholars who have achieved success in various fields......

And these people, no matter how deep or small their friendship is, are all wizards who have crossed paths with Dumbledore.

At this time, Dumbledore was standing on the stage behind the guest of honor, greeting these familiar or unfamiliar "friends" before the luncheon.

Although Dumbledore was talking about innocuous words at the moment, the wizards in the audience were not the slightest anxious or dissatisfied, because they all understood that the greatest white wizard in the world could not hold this luncheon for no reason.

They don't have to worry, they should let them know, Dumbledore will say it sooner or later.

“…… Recently, some things have been quite lively, such as the previous 'personal audio-visual meeting'. In fact, I didn't have time to experience it that day, which is a shame! I heard ......"

Maca sat on the far right of the guest of honor, his waist shoehorned and calmly scanning the scene below, the meaning of those glances that passed him from time to time was simply intricate.

The youngest person sitting with him on the guest of honor was already mottled with privacy, and he was undoubtedly the most eye-catching one in the audience.

But if you have to say it, in fact, the wizard sitting next to Maca, he attracts a lot of attention.

The wizard looked tall and thin, with short white hair, a goatee curled at the end of his lean chin, and a pair of piercing eyes that seemed to hide some restless restlessness.

"Karkaroff, I didn't expect you to dare to come." While calmly observing the guests in the audience, Maca whispered to the "acquaintance" beside her.

After leaving France that day, Maca went straight to Durmstrang in order to lure Karkaroff into accomplishing a great thing for him in his new capacity.

Although he was ready to accept Karkaroff's escape due to fear of Voldemort, it was clear that under his guidance, Karkaroff still did not choose the obvious line of thought this time.

"McLean!" Karkaroff gritted his teeth and said, "Don't forget what you promised me!" ”

Maca chuckled and shook her head, meaning to say, "Don't you think that the choice I made for you is actually not bad?" ”

"Humph!" Karkaroff snorted, then tilted his head slightly, and stopped talking to him.

“…… So, it's my pleasure to take the time to join us today! Well, I'm sure you're hungry too......"

On stage, Dumbledore ended casual chit-chat, he drew his wand and waved it gently, and the long table under the stage was immediately filled with countless delicacies.

"Today's luncheon has officially begun, please let go of your restraints and have a pleasant meal!"

With that, Dumbledore returned to his seat in the middle of the guest of honor with a relaxed step, and after greeting several wizards in the table, he raised his glass and gestured to the audience.

Maca followed suit and lifted her glass, then smiled and took a sip.

The menu at this luncheon was naturally rich and luxurious, and on this occasion, Dumbledore did not have a reason to save money. But of course, everyone's attention will never be on those delicate and delicious foods.

The wizards maintained proper dining etiquette while conversing with the other people in the nearby seats seemingly casually, the sound of glasses colliding with each other and muffled voices mingling with each other, not much different from any high-class banquet.

As the meal time passed little by little, everyone gradually put down the tableware and entered the post-dinner communication.

At all times, the main purpose of this type of banquet is to provide a reasonable place for "communication" - almost no one really comes here to fill their stomachs.

At that moment, Dumbledore suddenly stood up and looked at all the guests in the audience with a smile.

"I don't know if you're happy with today's food, at least I personally think it's not bad, right?"

When Dumbledore spoke, everyone stopped talking to each other, for they all knew that the topic of today's luncheon was finally about to begin.

"Although this is just a private banquet held in my name today, and the purpose is nothing more than to give everyone a chance to get together, there are still a few more important things to be announced here today——"

As he spoke, Dumbledore suddenly left his seat and walked to the stage behind him.

"First things first...... "First things first," he stood still, then suddenly stretched out his hand to the right of the guest of honor, "Let me introduce you to this young wizard who studied in our school and then transferred to Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mr. Marca McLean!" ”

Hearing this, Maca stood up, first bowed slightly to the wizards in the guest of honor, and then bowed slightly to all the wizards in the audience.

While everyone was puzzled by Dumbledore's introduction, they listened to him go on and on.

"Yes, Mr. McLean has made a name for himself in the wizarding world in recent years...... Whether it was the unjust imprisonment of Azkaban, the prison break and the attack on the Quidditch World Cup final, or even the recent personal audio-visual meeting hosted by him, all of them were extraordinary and eye-catching. ”

"But I want to say that when he was still at Hogwarts, I was amazed by his intelligence and his growth."

"It's just a pity, because some—" Dumbledore paused deliberately and continued, "...... For some reason, Mr. McLean left Hogwarts and went to Durmstrang – a shame for the school. ”

"So today, I hope to give Mr. McLean two retroactive awards in the presence of everyone!" At this point, Dumbledore said aloud, "Mr. Mackel, please come on stage!" ”

Maka glanced around the crowd of wizards before leaving her seat and walking to the center of the stage with a steady pace, standing with Dumbledore.

"For the sake of friendship, respect for professors, adherence to etiquette, and excellent conduct, on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I award you the 'Medal of Good Character'!"

There was a round of understatement applause from the audience, and it was clear that everyone was not very interested in this kind of medal.

Maca took the medal from Dumbledore's hand, bowed slightly in thanks, and pinned it to her chest.

Then, Dumbledore continued to speak.

"In the first year, I expelled Voldemort who possessed Quirinus Quirrell, the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at this school—"

There was an immediate buzz from the sidelines.

"In his second year, he assisted Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in destroying Voldemort's remnant, slaying the basilisk, and sealing the Slytherin Vault—"

The commotion in the audience gradually became high, and everyone exchanged their opinions in low voices, and the expressions on their faces varied.

"On behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would like to award you the 'Special Contribution to the School' Award for protecting all the teachers and students, and thank you for protecting Hogwarts!"

Maca took another trophy and bowed to Dumbledore in thanks.

However, there was perfunctory applause before, but this time there was only buzzing whispering in the audience.

The people present are all wizards with status, status, and cultivation, and they will not be like ordinary wizards, who will be confused when they hear the word "Voldemort".

But at this moment, they are obviously unable to maintain a stable state of mind.

However, Dumbledore didn't seem to want to let them go, and he raised his voice again and said, "Now for the second thing of the day, I have invited Babajid Akinbad, the director of the International Federation of Wizards' Censorship Division, to take the stage!" ”

As the wizards' eyes shifted, an old black wizard of African origin came out of the crowd and walked to Maca's side with steady steps.

He and Dumbledore nodded to each other, and then Dumbledore stretched out his hand and motioned for Arkinbad to make the next announcement.

Arkinbad coughed lightly, then raised his voice, "To take the initiative to imprison Azkaban and go undercover to investigate by Voldemort's side; In order to fight off the returning Voldemort with Gilderoy Lockhart and save the wizards present from disaster, the International Federation of Wizards solemnly decided to award Mr. Marka McKellen the Order of Merlin, Second Class! ”

It was a purple-gold shield medallion with a Merlin wizard's hat and two crossed wands, and two glittering silver stars at the top, which still stood out in the sunlight.

In the flow of light, wisps of light seemed to flash on the surface of the medal, making it seem more and more mysterious.