บท 746: The Illusion of Peace
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
The crowd's questioning did not interrupt Dumbledore, who raised his voice slightly to drown out the noise.
"I'm sure the Ministry would not want me to tell you this, and I'm afraid some of the students' parents would not agree with me, but this is happening to you, to everyone, and I insist that telling the truth is always better than lying! Hogwarts should teach you integrity, not lies!"
Dumbledore's tone was very serious as he looked around at the young wizards, who were all staring at him in fear and confusion.
"We will all have to pass a period of great darkness in the near future….
So I hope with all my heart that all of you here will stand together! There is no time like the present that this quality will be needed, and it is only by standing together and showing determination to fight against the Dark that we will have a chance at victory over Voldemort!"
Dumbledore then turned to look at the Gryffindor table. "For example, there is a good example of this tonight… After Mr Potter was taken away by Pettigrew, his friends actively attempted to rescue him from Lord Voldemort…"
Dumbledore gave Ivan, Harry, and Ron a hundred points each, and Hermione fifty points for the courage, wisdom, defiance, and loyalty they had shown tonight!
Ron was pleasantly surprised when Dumbledore praised him publicly and gave him the same score as Ivan and Harry.
"The professor shouldn't have given me so many points. I haven't even seen You-Know-Who…" Ron said awkwardly.
"No, your information was crucial, Ron!" Ivan said earnestly. "If you hadn't seen through Peter Pettigrew's disguise and informed us immediately, Harry would have been dead by the time we arrived!"
As they spoke, Dumbledore gently waved his wand, replacing the flags of the three schools that were floating in the air with the golden-red lion flag.
"Although there are still a few days until your departure, judging by the difference in scores, I would say there is no longer any doubt that this year's House Cup will go to Gryffindor House!" Dumbledore shouted.
After the announcement, there was only a smattering of applause in the Great Hall — after all, the news of Lord Voldemort's return was so shocking that the ownership of the House Cup had become irrelevant.
When the applause had died down, Dumbledore said, "Well, that is all I have to say. Now, Prefects, please lead the students back to their lounges. I think you are all tired and in need of a good rest…"
At that moment, Dumbledore was interrupted by a loud banging on the door.
The young wizards who were leaving looked over curiously.
Fudge led a group of Aurors into the room.
"What the devil are you up to, Albus?" Fudge demanded, looking at Dumbledore in annoyance. "I've heard you telling a wild tale all the way across town…"
He had come in a hurry upon hearing of the chaos at the Quidditch arena, but had only just left the Entrance Hall when he heard Dumbledore talking about Umbra…
"It's not a story, Connelly, it's real, and I was going to tell you all about it…" Dumbledore said calmly, ignoring Fudge's slight, and after giving the prefects a look, he led Fudge and the others to the meeting room by the side door of the Great Hall.
Ivan shook his head as he watched them go. He had lost all confidence in Fudge after the incident with young Crouch, and it would be nearly impossible for Dumbledore to win over the Ministry.
If he had been Dumbledore, he would have used the Imperius Curse to control Fudge, or altered Fudge's memory to turn the Minister into a puppet.
It is a pity that Dumbledore could not have done so, so the conversation was destined to go nowhere…
Ivan shook his head, said goodbye to Alicia, and followed the young Gryffindor wizards back to the common room.
Lying on the soft bed in his room, Ivan reflected on the events of the night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He understood that a peaceful life like this would not last long.
… .
Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the castle became increasingly eerie.
These leisurely days before leaving school were supposed to be the happiest time for young wizards and witches, but on normal days, there were not many young wizards out and about on the grass. Instead, they seemed to be in a hurry, as if they had something on their mind. Some young wizards would even deliberately avoid them.
Yvonne knew exactly why, probably having been warned off by the parents.
In recent days, the Headmaster's office at the top of the tower had been visited by a large number of owls, and the faint sounds of berating could be heard coming from inside, presumably from parents.
Apparently, Dumbledore's public announcement of Lord Voldemort's return was not what the parents expected, and some insisted that they did not want to believe that the Dark Lord had come back to life.
Despite the tense atmosphere, George and Fred went against the odds and set up a discount sale, selling all the joke toys at a 30% discount and threatening to revive Hogwarts.
However, Ivan felt that they were more interested in cleaning out the long-stocked school before leaving.
Time passed, and soon it was time to leave school. Ivan and the others packed their bags in the morning and went to the Great Hall to enjoy breakfast.
As they passed the long table, Ivan could hear two young wizards arguing about whether the mysterious man had come back to life.
Harry and Hermione both looked angry and tried to argue with each other, but Ron scowled and said, "If they don't believe me, then so be it. It'll be too late for regrets when the Seer is in front of them!"
Ivan nodded. Arguing with these people was a waste of breath. There were always some diehards who would rather immerse themselves in the illusion of peace forever than have their knives cut into them…
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