Chapter 1251: I Have an Appointment with Dumbledore
Chapter 1251: I Have an Appointment with Dumbledore
"Alright, quiet!"
In the Great Hall of the Ministry of Magic, Minister Scrimgeour, who had stayed up all night and was forcing himself to stay alert, was holding a press conference.
The originally noisy Great Hall immediately fell silent, and the reporters raised their microphones towards Scrimgeour.
"Next, I have three announcements to make," Scrimgeour said to the reporters in front of him. "Just now, the Ministry of Magic successfully thwarted the Death Eaters' plan to break into Azkaban and prevent them from releasing the prisoners held there."
A round of applause followed.
Scrimgeour raised his hand to quiet the applause and continued, "What I want to say is that they will still try to do that."
"Do you think the Death Eaters will not give up on breaking into Azkaban?" asked a reporter who raised their hand.
"It's obvious," Scrimgeour said affirmatively. "Fortunately, most of the vicious dark wizards have been executed after their trials. You will be grateful to me for doing so in the future."
"Minister, do you think the Death Eaters will succeed in breaking into Azkaban?"
"As long as the Death Eaters are not completely eliminated, such things are possible. So, you can shut up and let me finish what I have to say," Scrimgeour said in an unfriendly tone.
The reporters looked at each other, surprised by Scrimgeour's rudeness. Despite their great victory, his mood seemed terrible.
"Just as the Ministry of Magic successfully stopped the Death Eaters from releasing the Azkaban prisoners, a group of Death Eaters launched a sneak attack on Hogwarts and tried to assassinate Dumbledore." Scrimgeour directly ignored the whispers and continued, "No students at Hogwarts were injured in this attack. Half an hour ago, the entire invading army of Inferi was cleared with the help of the Aurors, and the Dementors were driven away. More than thirty Death Eaters and dark wizards were captured on the spot and have already been executed."
The murderous aura emanating from Scrimgeour sent a chill down everyone's spine. He had just ordered the execution of over thirty people without a formal trial.
"Shouldn't there be a formal verdict from the court?"
"Trust me, you definitely won't think so later," Scrimgeour glanced at the reporter and said indifferently.
The reporters in the room were about to explode. They all felt that Scrimgeour was hinting at something.
"The last thing is this..."
Scrimgeour raised his wand and floated two wanted posters in front of the reporters. They were wanted posters for Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.
"Severus Snape, after Dumbledore dealt with the group of Death Eaters who came to assassinate him, sneakily attacked and murdered Dumbledore, who had always trusted him. And Draco Malfoy is the culprit behind the Death Eaters' attack on Hogwarts. The two are currently on the run," he said without looking at the stunned crowd. "Also, tell everyone that Dumbledore's funeral will be held the day after tomorrow if they wish to pay their last respects."
After finishing his statement, Scrimgeour turned and left, leaving a group of stunned reporters behind.
Soon after, the Great Hall erupted in chaos! What had they just heard?
Dumbledore was dead?
How could this be! After the reporters snapped out of their daze, they were trembling all over. They became extremely frenzied, like sharks that had smelled blood, and hurried back to their newspapers to report the news. However, they did not realize the grave implications of Dumbledore's death.
In the morning, countless owls flew out, spreading the unfortunate news throughout Britain, and one of those owls delivered the news to Albert, who was enjoying his breakfast.
"Dumbledore is dead!"
Isabelle stared at the half-empty glass of milk in front of her and looked up at Albert, who was reading the newspaper.
"If you're not feeling hungry, don't force yourself," Albert put down the newspaper and said. "If you get hungry later, let Kara prepare something you like."
"When is the funeral?" Isabelle pushed the glass of milk towards Albert and asked after kissing his cheek.
"Tomorrow!" Albert picked up the glass and finished the milk in one go before looking at Isabelle and saying, "Sorry, dear, I can't let you go and take that risk."
"I didn't plan on going anyway," Isabelle said, well aware of her condition. "I just feel like you don't seem to care much about this."
She understood the severe consequences of Dumbledore's death, yet her husband's reaction was unbelievably calm, even giving her the illusion that he was glad Dumbledore was finally dead.
"This is the ending Dumbledore wanted for himself. He didn't even care about risking his life to scheme against the Death Eaters, so my concern wouldn't have made a difference," Albert explained, shaking his head. "Moreover, from the beginning, I knew this would be the outcome. This is also the result I wanted, even though I tried to change it at one point."
Albert even suspected that even if Dumbledore's hand hadn't been seriously injured, he might have still done it. After all, Dumbledore was the kind of person who didn't value his own life.
"Why can't you two talk about something pleasant!" Katrina took the newspaper from in front of Albert.
"I wish we could find some pleasant topics to discuss," Albert kissed Isabelle's forehead and said. "I have to go now. I have an appointment with Dumbledore."
"Be careful," Isabelle stood up and hugged Albert gently.
"I will."
"Wait, isn't Dumbledore already dead?" Katrina looked at Albert in confusion, not understanding what he meant by "having an appointment with Dumbledore."
Could it be that Professor Dumbledore had returned as a ghost?
"He is indeed dead and hasn't become a ghost, but portraits of the former headmasters are kept at Hogwarts," Albert explained.
"Why don't you accompany him tomorrow!" Isabelle looked at Albert's departing back and suddenly said, "You should want to see Dumbledore off on his final journey too!"
"Never mind, I'll stay here with you," Katrina stood up and kissed her sister's forehead. Shaking her head, she added, "You're more important right now."
Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office.
A large clump of emerald-green magical flames suddenly appeared in the empty fireplace, and Albert stepped out of the flames. His eyes instinctively scanned the empty office and turned to look at the person in the golden frame hanging behind the desk.
“I'm here!”
Albert walked over to the headmaster's desk, pulled a chair and sat down. He then looked up at the elderly man in the portrait, who was still asleep.
Dumbledore showed no signs of waking up.
However, Albert was in no hurry. He picked up the latest issue of the Prophet from the desk and continued reading, acting as if he were the true master of the office.
"Sorry, it's a bit early," Albert said.
Soon enough, the person in the portrait opened his eyes as if he had just woken up and smiled at Albert in greeting.
"I thought you'd sleep a bit more!" Albert commented.
"Waking up early is too cruel for an old man!" Dumbledore smiled, not the least bit embarrassed.
"Then let me share some uplifting news!" Albert suddenly said, "I've found the location of the last Horcrux."
"Oh, that is indeed uplifting news," Dumbledore exclaimed, a hint of surprise flashing across his face before it settled into a serene smile. "You've done well. This means Voldemort's end is near."
Not only Dumbledore, but the other portraits as well, kept their eyes closed, quietly eavesdropping on the conversation between the two.
"I captured Bellatrix and, with a little persuasion, got the information about the Horcrux from her," Albert disclosed without hiding anything. "The last Horcrux is in the Lestrange family vault in Gringotts."
"When to inform Harry is up to you. After all, this is something you've prepared for him, although I don't understand why you had to go through such a roundabout way," Dumbledore said.
As he spoke, Albert took out a small vial from his pocket, containing a strand of silver memory.
"You're dumping all the trouble on me," Dumbledore said with a bitter smile. As he was dead, he, as a ghost, could not interfere in the affairs of the living.
"Then I'll go tell Harry the good news right away," Albert said, raising an eyebrow. "That way, you won't have to worry about it."
"Harry isn't ready to face all that yet," Dumbledore shook his head. "I know what you want to say, but it's not enough. Harry isn't you."
"As long as you're happy," Albert said, waving his wand and conjuring a cup of milk tea, clearly indicating that he was ready to listen.
"Keep that for later, you'll need it then," Dumbledore said, his gaze moving away from the vial. "As for the other things, I've prepared them for you. They're in the metal box at the end of the right-hand cabinet, and the key is the one I gave you before."
Albert took out the key from his pocket, opened a transparent area at the right end of the bookshelf, and took out a metal box. Inside were a letter, an old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a golden snitch, a Deluminator, and an old wand.
"Did you make this yourself?" Albert asked, picking up the wand.
"I don't have that ability. I had an old friend make this replica for me. It's made from a Thestral tail hair and wood from a yew tree," Dumbledore explained gently. "What do you think of it?"
Albert waved the wand, creating a bunch of white lilies out of thin air, and then making them disappear. "It's not as easy to use as my current wand. They say only a wizard who can face death can master a wand made from a Thestral tail hair. I think it would be even worse for the Dark Lord. I'm not sure this will be enough to deceive him."
"He will believe it. After all, he doesn't understand wands, but Ollivander does," Dumbledore said.
"I hope you're right," Albert said, putting the wand away.
As soon as Albert left, Phineas opened his eyes and said mockingly, "Do you really trust him? Trust me, that guy is not a good person, and giving him that wand might not be a wise choice."
"Shut up, Phineas," came a stern reply, accompanied by the sound of a cane swishing through the air and landing on Phineas's head with a thud.
Albert quietly made his way to the room where Dumbledore's body was laid to rest. Most people were still resting after the previous day's commotion, with only a few ghosts patrolling the area, whispering about the events of the night.
The aged wizard lay there as if in peaceful slumber, his all-powerful wand resting by his side. Albert easily swapped the wands under the watchful eyes of the ghosts.
When he returned to the headmaster's office, Phineas was being chased around by an irritated-looking ghost wielding a cane.
"Why don't you give it a try? You'll be amazed at its power," Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on the wand.
Albert hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched the wand. Instantly, a burst of sparks shot out from the tip, illuminating the entire office.
The wand was eager to serve a new master.
"Undeniably, this is an incredibly powerful wand," Albert said, holding the wand and closing his eyes to savor the feeling. "With my magical power, I feel like I could do some incredible things with it."
However, Albert had no intention of testing the wand further. Instead, he put it away and said, "But sometimes, being too obsessed with power isn't a good thing. Maybe, you shouldn't have given this to me."
"I believe you can harness its power, tame it, and use it because you are also strong and don't rely solely on it," Dumbledore said confidently.
Seeing this, Dumbledore smiled with satisfaction. He trusted that Albert would be able to truly master the elder wand, rather than be controlled by it.
Now that he was dead, leaving the wand unattended could eventually lead to more bloodshed. Giving it to the most suitable person to safeguard it was undoubtedly the best choice.
Of course, this was also Dumbledore's way of rewarding and justifying Albert's actions.
(End of Chapter)
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