Chapter 1268: Hogwarts Safety Regulations

The foyer outside the hall was already filled with students.

The crowd was packed tightly, stretching from the notice board all the way to the stairway. Even those students at the back who craned their necks couldn’t see anything, anxiously shouting:

“Let us see! What’s written up there?”

Someone at the front was reading aloud from the notice board, but the buzzing discussions made it hard to hear clearly.

Vid hadn’t even gotten close when he heard Gryffindor’s Dean Thomas loudly saying: “What did you say? Not allowed to go to Hogsmeade?”

Someone else shouted: “…Everyone quiet down, let the people at the front speak!”

And this shout itself became part of the noise.

Vid and his group walked to the back of the crowd, looking at the crowd of swaying heads ahead and hesitated.

Ron tried to squeeze in, but the people at the front were jostled, knocking him sideways, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

He rubbed his chest, helplessly stopping in his tracks.

Padma, arms crossed, proposed: “Why don’t we just wait a bit longer? We’ll find out sooner or later, there’s no need to rush.”

Vid nodded, just about to leave, when he turned and locked eyes with Colin Creevey holding a camera.

The Gryffindor boy stopped for a moment, then shouted loudly:

“Vid is here!”

Amid the clamor, his sound, like a whistle being blown, was unexpectedly clear. Many people at the front turned their heads, instinctively shouting along:

“Vid Gray?”

“Gray is here!”

“And Harry Potter!”

“The SSC people are all here!”

The sound passed forward like a wave, and seconds later, the formerly chaotic foyer quieted down, countless eyes turning simultaneously to Vid.

Their gazes carried a strange scrutiny and eagerness.

The next moment, the crowd parted as if moved by an invisible hand, automatically opening a path. The people on either side were almost squeezed flat, but now drew breaths and shifted sideways, making a wide enough passage.

Suddenly, Ron, walking in front of Vid, felt his scalp explode.

Those gazes at Vid seemed to also fall on him—curious, expecting, scrutinizing, reverent, full of jealousy, overflowing with desire.

His palms sweated, his whole body tingled, his mind blanked, catching a glimpse of people walking beside him, his feet involuntarily moving with them.

In a daze, Ron felt his legs grow weak, as if he might collapse to the ground at any careless moment.

He stiffened his neck, his eyes flicking to see—was it just him, or was everyone feeling the same way?

Seeing the road open, Vid paused before stepping forward.

He’d long been accustomed to being watched by countless eyes, speaking at school assemblies in front of thousands, this kind of scene was nothing to him.

Several SSC members instinctively followed.

Countless eyes were like spotlight silently watching these people walking through the passage.

Hermione tried hard to keep a straight face, eyes fixed ahead, pretending “this is no big deal.”

Harry’s heart raced, so fast he could hear the thud of his pulse, praying inside that no one could hear.

Michael inserted one hand in his pocket, smiling and waving to his friends, but only he knew his calves were trembling uncontrollably beneath his robe.

Padma didn’t notice she was walking alongside Michael, her chin slightly raised, a smile on her lips, her mind solely occupied with—

Should have styled my hair properly this morning! Did any oil from lunch splash on my clothes? Is there any dirt on my face? Is my lipstick smeared?

The more she thought, the less confident she felt about her appearance today, her mood inadvertently sinking.

Neville’s arm hair stood on end, he tried to keep his back straight, but his walking turned awkwardly.

At the back of the group were Theo and Leian, originally wanting to step back into the crowd, but sharp-eyed Hufflepuff students had spotted them, eagerly anticipating seeing them walk past.

Theo: “…”

Leian: “…”

The two gritted their teeth, ears buzzing, stiffly stepping forward, avoiding glances and hoping the walk would end soon.

A brief walk of only ten seconds felt endless to everyone.

Finally, Vid at the front stopped.

He looked up to see a huge parchment posted on the notice board.

It covered notices of school rules, lost and found, Quidditch match schedules, asserting its presence with large bold letters.

[Hogwarts Safety Regulations]

Below the title were rows of tiny text, written like the “Student Behavior Code” at his previous school, even the layout was similar.

Gryffindor’s Lee Jordan stood below the notice board, reading its contents to the students behind.

When everyone quieted, he suddenly felt a mysterious pressure, awkwardly closing his mouth.

At this moment, he too was looking at Vid approaching directly.

Vid nodded to him, saying, “Sorry, please continue.”

“Oh… okay, alright.” Lee Jordan hurriedly replied.

He turned around, cleared his throat, then decided to start from the beginning again:

“Hogwarts Safety Regulations! To protect…”

Vid’s gaze moved from top to bottom.

[To protect the safety of underage wizards, maintain normal teaching order at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, prevent outside forces from endangering students’ safety, this regulation is specially based on the Ministry of Magic’s Twenty-Second Education Decree. This regulation applies to all current students, teachers, and relevant staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.]

“This wording is official enough, Percy Weasley certainly knows how to write reports,” Michael muttered, pausing before asking: “What’s the Twenty-Second Education Decree?”

Lee Jordan’s voice echoed through the foyer, spreading into the hall—

“Firstly, all students are obligated to strictly observe the International Wizard Confidentiality Law, protecting personal information of the magic world, Hogwarts faculty, and students. Any unauthorized disclosure of private information, once confirmed, will be strictly dealt with according to the relevant regulations of the International Wizard Confidentiality Law!”

At the Slytherin Long Table, Malfoy sneered, Blaise nodded, a satisfied curve on his lips.

Crabbe and Goyle exchanged glances, confused.

“This should have been done sooner! Anyway, we surely won’t leak secrets.” Pansy laughed: “It’s right to forbid those Mudbloods from talking randomly!”

Daphne, seeing her sister frown, unhappily said: “What’s wrong with you? The Confidentiality Law is indeed important; wasn’t it the leaks that caused issues in the United States?”

Astoria looked up at her sister, sighed at her stupidity, and said softly:

“But the definition of ‘personal information’ is too vague, who judges what is ‘private information’?”

“Or… if students with Muggle blood talk about school life with their parents at home, mentioning roommates, is this also considered leaking information?”

Daphne opened her mouth, it took a while before she let out an “ah.”