And on the Basilisk's flattened snake head, a large hole ran through its head to its upper jaw, and both eyes were left with only two blackened, empty hollows.
From time to time, a few exclamations accompanied by fear were heard from the crowd.
These wizards ranged from the first four years younger ones to the last three years older ones, but they still couldn't help but gulp while facing the dead Basilisk.
One of the young wizards asked what everyone wanted: "Is this behemoth what Potter and the rest fought? How did they do it?"
No one answered his question.
One Slytherin student couldn't resist trying to get closer, he reached out his hand, but an invisible barrier bounced him away.
" You know what Dumbledore said, Flint." A shrill voice appeared, and the crowd moved aside to make way for Professor Filius.
He looked short, but the young wizards at Hogwarts respected him because he always lectured with passion and would treat the young wizards of all four houses equally.
He came to the front and walked around the Basilisk, "What a rare magic creature, I think Hagrid would have liked it."
...
Felix thought about it at the end of the lesson and decided to go to the yard.
Dumbledore had said last night at the dinner that the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Oswald Fudge, would be here today, and he intended to get a closer look at this man.
Rumour had it that he is Dumbledore's echoing dog and has absolutely no opinion of his own. But Felix didn't think so; a man who is playing politics can be the best licker and more unprincipled than the rest when you're vulnerable.
He walked down the stairs and prepared to cross the Great Hall.
Just then, from the distance, there came a clamour, and seven or eight figures approached from afar.
"Minister Fudge, this way, please." Professor McGonagall walked in front.
Behind her came a stout, small, middle-aged man, short, chubby, and solid-looking, with a scraggly head of grey hair and an anxious scowl on his face.
His clothes were a strange mishmash: pinstriped suit, bright red tie, long black cloak, and purple pointed boots. He also had a dark green bowler hat under his arm.
Felix recognized him at once as Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic. Following him closely is a tall man, in an Auror outfit, who looks like Fudge's subordinate.
After this is a middle-aged man with platinum blonde hair, his whole body is tightly wrapped in a long black travel cloak, his face carries a cold, rejecting expression of indifference, and his hand carries a wand that looks very much like a cane.
Felix looked at his trademark hair colour and had a few guesses in his mind, perhaps it is that rather famous pureblood family head of - Malfoy?
After Malfoy came a woman, with whom Felix happened to mingle, Rita Skeeter. Her face heavily coated with makeup, she's energetically instructing her two assistants, "Seize the moment, the moment! Got it? Take lots of pictures."
Two young men with enchanted cameras coyly agreed.
Felix could not help but smile, it seems that this newspaper celebrity has a good psychological quality.
Rita Skeeter carried a purse in her hand, and as she walked through the Great Hall, her eyes began to look around cautiously for something.
Her pupils suddenly tightened, and her steps became hesitant and indecisive as she met Felix's gaze.
Behind her is a slow walking in the last place is Dumbledore, his size is the tallest among the crowd, at the moment, his blue eyes watching all this.
Professor McGonagall saw Felix in front of her, she paused, "Oh, Felix. Let me introduce you, this is Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." She then grunted softly and reluctantly, "These two are Lucius Malfoy and Rita Skeeter."
Fudge showed enough enthusiasm as he walked up briskly and held out his hands, "Felix Hap, I've really heard a lot about you, I've heard your name mentioned more than once by the French Minister of Magic."
Felix drew his hand back without a trace, "Just writing a few books." He stared into Fudge's eyes the entire time, and in those eyes, he didn't see much enthusiasm present.
He looked again at Rita Skeeter and whispered, " It's Rita."
The woman with the exaggerated curls greeted awkwardly, "Hello, Mr. Hap." She wondered if she should pretend she didn't know him, and if she would get into any trouble if she revealed the man's hidden face.
But if Felix saw correctly, this instant, Fudge and Malfoy's eyes changed at the same time.
What a keen ... should I say, worthy of a figure in the world of prestige?
Felix nodded at Malfoy, and the two did not cross paths.
But Lucius Malfoy looked at him quietly for two seconds with his grey eyes, and then tugged out a reserved smile as he extended his right hand: "Hello, Mr. Hap."
Felix, surprised in his heart, similarly extended his hand, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."
After a short exchange of pleasantries, Professor McGonagall continued to lead the way, Felix has quietly followed the pace to the end of the line and walked alongside Dumbledore.
The two men adorned the group from afar, whispering to each other.
"Felix, it's not right to abuse the Legilimency." Dumbledore winked, "That will take a lot of the fun out of it and make you more likely to get bored with the world."
"Is that your experience?"
"Anyone has to be young at some point." Dumbledore did not answer directly, but Felix has heard the underlying meaning - young people are always prone to make mistakes.
So he said, "I'm young now, Headmaster Dumbledore. Besides, I only slightly perceived his true emotions, it helps to understand each other better, doesn't it?"
Dumbledore did not insist on the topic, he asked with interest, "What did you perceive?"
"Could it be that you are interested in what the Minister of Magic is thinking?" Felix asked rhetorically.
"No, Felix, I don't need to use Legilimency to see through him, it is perhaps the only thing I mastered without active learning after living for a hundred years."
Felix is somewhat surprised, Dumbledore should not talk to him about these, right? When did their relationship become so close?
The two of them remained silent for the next few minutes.
When they walked to the yard, Professor McGonagall had led Fudge and the others to stand in front of the Basilisk, Felix and Dumbledore did not push forward either, and stood on the periphery of the crowd.
Hagrid stood awkwardly in the corner, Felix listened to a few words of chatter from the young wizards and figured out what is going on.
Just now, Hagrid kept pleading Professor Filius to unlock the ward around the Basilisk, he wanted to feel the charm of a creature like a Basilisk up close ...
Is this how all wizards who study magical creatures think about things?
So, how many seconds before Professor Kettleburn would reach the battlefield? Felix thought out of tune in his mind.
Somehow, Harry, Ron, and Hermione also arrived. Hermione still wore the huge mask and knitted hat, but her eyes had reverted to brown.
This meant that she had become more proficient in her light morphing - or, of course, it could be the effect of Madam Pomfrey's potion.
Ron pulled Harry and Hermione as they hid behind a pillar. He leered, " Cornelius Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and Rita Skeeter! What a day, three nasties all at once!"
Harry asked, "Who's Cornelius Fudge?"
"He's the Minister of Magic and my dad's boss. But he's a big shot, so he looks down on my father's line of work, you know, dealing with muggle stuff and such, and my father has been underappreciated ..." Ron muttered.
Hermione's eyes were fixed on the woman, Rita Skeeter, and she carefully sized her up in the back.
"That woman is Rita Skeeter? She looks like she has rather bad taste." Hermione spat at her outfit.
"I agree with you, if you ask me, even Lockhart is superior to her in that regard, it's not like she doesn't have any money ... Oh, Merlin!!" Ron suddenly wailed.
"What's wrong?"
"There, look over there," Ron pointed in the other direction, "here comes Lockhart as well, the four nasties are gathered together!"
Sure enough, Harry found Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in a magnificent robe, with a charming smile on his face, passing the young wizard to meet Fudge and Lucius.
"He's like a peacock with an open dress." Ron's expression wore a very resistant one - as he is going to report to Lockhart's office tonight.
Lockhart gave a graceful salute with a very wide smile, "Minister Fudge, Mr. Malfoy, it's an honour to meet you."
Fudge froze for a moment, then extended his hands with a big smile, "Hello Mr. Lockhart, I have read your entire book, and I must admit, it's a big harvest ..."
Lockhart said modestly, "I just did what I had to do, Minister, I can't always turn a blind eye to the pitiful people who get into trouble."
Fudge had an expression of sentiment: "There are not many adventurers like you who have a sense of responsibility."
Lockhart wanted to say something else, but Dumbledore stepped forward and said with a smile, "Fudge, let's take a look at the Basilisk first." He waved his wand and made the invisible protective barrier around the Basilisk disappear.
"Oh, Dumbledore, ah, yes, that's right." Fudge's fingers squeezed the bowler hat in his hand as he turned to the tall, dark-skinned man next to him and gave the order, "Kingsley, you go check it out."
The man named Kingsley took a few steps over the barrier and walked over to the Basilisk, wearing a pair of gargoyle gloves as he carefully examined the remains of the Basilisk.
Felix didn't step forward when he saw a familiar figure, the Ravenclaw witch named Luna.
He paced over and stood next to her, "Luna."
"I love the gift you sent me, Professor Hap." Her eyes fixed dead on Rita Skeeter's jewelled glasses, and she said in a singing voice, "I don't think she has a good recollection."
"Why do you say that?"
"She forgets something important at home, she is regretting that," Luna said.
Felix looked at Rita Skeeter, who kept directing her assistant to take pictures, and he dismissed it.
"Did you became friend with that little girl with the flaming hair?"
Luna gave him a surprised look, "We're already friends." She said thoughtfully, "I think the rooster doll I gave her played a small part."
"Yeah, I guess it did." Felix smacked his lips.
Not long after, Kingsley reported to Fudge, "Minister, it's confirmed that it's a Basilisk, and there's no more danger."
"Very good, Kingsley." Fudge prepared to get a closer look at the Basilisk, and before he could take a second step, he stopped by Rita Skeeter's voice.
"Minister Fudge, I think we should take a picture together for tomorrow's front page," Skeeter said with a heaping smile.
"Oh, sure, no problem."
Several Adults in the room stood in a row as Rita Skeeter rushed over and yanked Lockhart, who had seized the center spot, aside, "That's your spot!"
Lockhart reluctantly stood at the edge.
"Professor Flitwick?"
Flitwick waved his hand and stepped back.
"Click!" A shutter sounded, and the picture frozen.
Fudge, Dumbledore, Malfoy, Professor McGonagall, and Kingsley stood together, with the giant Basilisk in the background.
Having completed the day's task, the few stood next to the Basilisk, Fudge took a few steps forward, holding his belly, and looked closely at the Basilisk, "This is the thing that has been at Hogwarts for thousands of years, how does it hide from being discovered?"
Professor McGonagall explained, "Through the pipes all over Hogwarts - the school has experienced several transformations, the interior is densely packed with pipes, not many people can get the full picture, and never thoroughly checked out."
Fudge did not speak, and Lucius on the side whispered in the discussion.
Lockhart also came over, he surveyed the Basilisk, "looks like it's not that hard to deal with, I once encountered a water monster, it can cover half of the lake." He tapped the Basilisk's fangs with his wand and was about to make a playful remark, but his wand immediately made a "zipping" sound, "Oh, my!" He waved his wand frantically.
The young wizards who were watching had the foresight to quickly retreat a dozen meters or so as if fleeing the famine.
But the Minister of Magic, who was looking down at the head of the Basilisk, suffered when a drop of something mixed with saliva and venom flung across his face, causing him to let out a terrifying scream.
Lucius Malfoy quickly put up a magical barrier and watched the drama with cold eyes. He maintained his magic and stepped back, but just two steps back, he got blocked by a ring of golden light.
Felix raised his wand at some point, "Little wizards, back off."
Several professors were doing the same, and the protective magic of Flitwick, McGonagall, and Dumbledore mirrored the center of the yard in colourful splendour.
Hagrid stretched out his big futon-like hands, lifting the fallen young wizards up in one hand and pushing them far away.
But Lucius, like Fudge and Lockhart, standing closer, so he's separated by layer after layer of magic, and a drop of saliva mixed with venom is thrown on his protective spell with a "zippy" sound.
He shouted with a pale face: "Stop, you fool!"
Lockhart flung his wand a few more times before he realized what he had done, and stood in front of Fudge in a panic, trying to do something, "Oh, Minister Fudge, I'm sorry!"
But Fudge's screams grew louder and louder, and his face became pitch black, and the range expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The scene is like a mess.
"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted, he dispelled the magic in front of him, a few steps forward, with a wand against Fudge's face, from the tip of the wand spread layer after layer of golden light, the expansion of the black trail stopped.
Dumbledore took a closer look, "further treatment is needed, Fudge, I'm going to send you to the school clinic."
"No, send me to St. Mungo's! My face is ruined! Gilderoy Lockhart!, I'm going to put you in Azkaban#$%&...#&...#" Fudge spewed a string of profanities out of his mouth.
"Oh, God." Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and glared at the frenzied Fudge, resisting the urge to bestow a Stupefy on him. Finally, the Transfiguration professor yelled at the young wizards around her, "You, all little wizards! Get out of here and go to your classes!"
The little wizards scattered like flies.
Rita Skeeter excitedly grabbed the camera and kept pressing the shutter like crazy, her mouth open wide and her two huge gold teeth glistening in the sunlight.
"Look at that woman, I can see her back teeth!" Ron, who was hiding by a pillar in the yard, pointed at Rita Skeeter and said, "She's got the big news today!"
----------
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