[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring":3,"chapter-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-73":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Starting at Hogwarts, Logging into Elden Ring",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1496247,1944,"Chapter 73: The Neatly Lined-up Malfoys","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-73",73,"\u003Cp>Arthur and a few others, along with the Weasley family, arrived at Flourish and Blotts. The place was packed wall to wall with people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After asking around, they learned today was the day Gilderoy Lockhart was doing a book signing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she heard the news, Mrs. Weasley lit up with excitement, and Hermione looked equally thrilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two of them eagerly squeezed through the crowd, finally managing to struggle their way into the front row.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur, holding Ranni by the hand, went upstairs to the second-floor gallery, where they could look down at the entire scene below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once they got there, he noticed someone else standing by the railing — none other than this story's perennial \"tragic supporting role,\" young Draco Malfoy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What? You ask who the female lead is?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that would obviously be none other than Harry's best mate, Mr. Ron Weasley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he looked at Draco leaning against the balustrade, a stray line suddenly surfaced in Arthur's mind:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The sorrows and joys of men are not the same. I only think they are noisy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Lu Xun: Hey, that really is my line!)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur greeted him. Draco, however, turned his head away arrogantly, too proud to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This child just wanted to make friends, but did he really have to be so prickly about it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The saying goes, a man who acts tsundere isn't charming at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur didn't take offense, but Ranni was another story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How dare this boy ignore her king!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Invisible pressure swept out from her, crushing down on Draco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco instantly went cold all over, as if a dragon had locked its gaze on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, worse than a dragon — it was terrifying to the point of suffocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur quickly noticed Draco trembling, then glanced at Ranni, whose expression was deadly serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately realized what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squeezed her palm gently, signaling her to rein in her aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, stepping in front of Draco, he said apologetically:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, my fiancée has a bit of a temper.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco gasped for air, stammering: \"N-no problem…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he dared say otherwise!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew where this Arthur had found such a terrifying fiancée? Her aura alone had nearly crushed him flat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, Draco said no more, turning his eyes instead to Harry below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur also led Ranni to look down at the scene, which he saw only as a farce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thief whose only real skill was a perfect Memory Charm — he stole other people's experiences, polished them up, and sold them as his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that so-called autobiography Magical Me, which had stayed at the top of the Daily Prophet's bestseller list for twenty-seven straight weeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bloody hell, wizarding entertainment was seriously messed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this guy were dumped into Conan's world, they'd have enough material for a \"joint-crime special episode.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard to believe he even managed to graduate from Ravenclaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ranni was puzzled too. She asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why does a weakling like him have so many admirers?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, she wasn't comparing him to herself — she was comparing him with the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least half the people down there were stronger than Lockhart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably because he managed to fool everyone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur shrugged indifferently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So those heroes in his books aren't really him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ranni studied him carefully and easily spotted the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly. Just look at him — smooth skin, slender hands. Does he look like someone who's spent years fighting magical beasts outdoors?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco listened in shock, as though he had just stumbled across a huge secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're saying… Lockhart's a fraud?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't hold back his curiosity and finally spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course. Not a single scar on him. How could he possibly have fought all those dangerous creatures he wrote about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco took another hard look at Lockhart's immaculate appearance. Indeed, it was just as Arthur said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a boy who still had a streak of honesty, Draco grew curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then… hasn't anyone exposed him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why would they? Maybe some people know he's a fake, but as long as he brings benefits, that's enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at that Daily Prophet photographer — just a few pictures and he has tomorrow's headlines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And publishers? His books sell like wildfire, so they make a fortune. Who cares if the stories are real or not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's just that this year, we're the unlucky ones.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco frowned. \"Unlucky? Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because that peacock down there has applied for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco sneered. \"Hah, has Dumbledore gone senile? He can't even tell a conman from the real thing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not really. It's more that no one dares apply for the job anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because Voldemort once applied and Dumbledore rejected him. Out of spite, he cursed the position — no one's been able to last more than a year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And last year's Professor Quirrell?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dead. Disintegrated into dust and dead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco swallowed hard at the way Arthur said something so horrifying in such a casual tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it have been him who killed Quirrell?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glancing at his terrifying fiancée, Draco found the idea disturbingly plausible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy was clearly someone not to be provoked. Luckily, he hadn't crossed him last year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur, seeing Draco's face, immediately guessed his thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foolish boy, the real killer is right downstairs, grinning like an idiot while posing for photos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Draco, what are you doing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, his father Lucius Malfoy ascended the stairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, I'm just talking with a classmate,\" Draco replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your classmate?\" Lucius glanced at Arthur and Ranni. \"Slytherin? Strange, I don't recall you ever mentioning them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, he's in Gryffindor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, Draco! Didn't I warn you not to mingle with riffraff? Gryffindors are all brainless—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could finish, he was smothered by the same crushing aura Ranni had unleashed earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She, Princess of Caria and Witch of the Moon, had just been labeled \"riffraff\"?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How intolerable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, Lucius shared the same suffocating experience as his son — a neat little family reunion of breathless Malfoys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur didn't like Lucius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arrogant, full of himself, yet still willing to lick Voldemort's boots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only after Draco begged that he signaled Ranni to withdraw her aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Draco, remember this: only by becoming strong yourself can you earn respect. Not through your father's empty 'pure-blood glory.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And by the way, your oh-so-proud Malfoy ancestors once included Lucius the First, who tried and failed to court Queen Elizabeth I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quite amusing, isn't it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Arthur took Ranni by the hand and headed downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving, he left Draco with a final word of advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco, unlike Lucius, still had a chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His worldview wasn't set in stone yet, and at heart, he wasn't truly malicious — just tainted by his father's bad habits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Visit my patreon for more chapters\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advance 30+ Chapters Available\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>patreon.com\u002FWhiteDevil7554\u003C\u002Fp>",1137,"2026-06-06T04:19:46.381Z",1,"novelbin.me","ad4b2f425c94957a6a8aa8bd75a0b8cd5317afb2b9f1c2aa98418749125a6402","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-74","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-72",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-cover.jpg"]