Chapter 1480: All Our People
Chapter 1480: All Our People
At the infirmary on the second floor of Hogwarts.
Under the cover of Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and several other heads of houses were whispering amongst themselves, discussing the recent malicious incident that had occurred at Hogwarts.
"We can't just stand by and do nothing about those students. Who knows what will happen to them if they're truly taken by Death Eaters," Professor Sprout, who had just been given a calming draught, said, still agitated. "The current situation is dire enough as it is. We must do something before those students come to harm."
"The simplest solution is to expel Severus directly."
The heads turned to Professor Slughorn, clearly not expecting such a suggestion from him.
"I'm afraid that's out of the question. We can't involve Hogwarts in this wizarding war," Professor McGonagall immediately vetoed the proposal.
The time for the final battle had not yet come, and she couldn't afford to take such a risk.
Professor Flitwick, who had been mostly quiet, suddenly asked, "What does the Order have to say about this? Are they planning to send someone to rescue the students?"
"The message has been sent, but..."
"Perhaps we should urge them to hurry," Professor Sprout prompted. "Those students are enduring inhumane torture in the dungeons as we speak."
"They deserve it," Professor Slughorn said, ignoring the looks from the other heads of houses, showing no sympathy for the students who had brought this upon themselves.
"If they had listened to Longbottom, they wouldn't be in this situation now. A little suffering will teach them a much-needed lesson."
"And I suspect this is a trap deliberately set by Severus."
The professors fell silent.
There was no need for suspicion; the possibility was high. Otherwise, Severus wouldn't have allowed the students to remain at Hogwarts, letting everyone see them being tortured. It was obvious that he was trying to lure someone out.
Knowing it was a trap, no one would be foolish enough to walk into it willingly.
Especially the heads of houses gathered here, their involvement would likely mean they wouldn't be able to extricate themselves from the situation, let alone continue to protect the students at Hogwarts.
However, what the four heads of houses didn't know was that not only were they discussing this matter, but their Headmaster was also discussing how to save the students with Dumbledore's portrait in his office.
"When will the Order members arrive to rescue the students?"
Standing before Dumbledore's portrait, Severus Snape asked through gritted teeth.
"Things aren't as bad as you think, Severus," Dumbledore said gently, trying to soothe him.
"If they don't rescue them by tonight, this incident will spiral out of control," Snape said, his dislike for those brats, especially the one he had to help deal with at the end, evident.
"Yaxley seems to have plans for them, and there are some things even I can't stop," Dumbledore added.
The most ridiculous part was that Yaxley was one of their own, but based on Severus' understanding of Albert, he knew the latter wouldn't easily give up such a useful pawn as Yaxley to deal with those troublesome students. So, the irony was that their lives now depended on him, which felt utterly laughable.
No, the most laughable part was that Alecto Carrow, who was currently in the dungeons torturing students with Dark Magic, was also one of their own.
They were all their own people from start to finish, but they couldn't reveal their identities to each other, otherwise, things might not have gotten so complicated.
"They should be here soon. I've informed Anderson, and the Order's rescue team should be on its way," Dumbledore assured.
He understood the pressure Severus was under, but he felt no guilt about it, for the dead felt no guilt.
"It's best if that man doesn't come himself. I'm worried Anderson might make things worse. And make sure they take them all away. I don't want those brainless idiots staying in the school and causing more trouble for me," Snape said.
"By the way, I assume you've reminded him about the trap I've set up for them at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked.
"A trap?"
In the Room of Requirement, Neville Longbottom widened his eyes as he listened to Kingsley's analysis of the situation.
"Yes, it's most likely a trap," Kingsley confirmed.
"Otherwise, why would Severus let those captured students remain in the dungeons of Hogwarts to be interrogated and tortured?" Sirius Black sneered. As Severus' arch-nemesis, he understood his rival's intentions better than most.
This was undoubtedly a trap set by Severus to lure others, and it was likely aimed at the Order of the Phoenix.
It was common knowledge that Anderson rarely took action himself unless the situation was extremely urgent.
"It's a good thing you didn't act on your own. Otherwise, you might have been caught in the trap," Lupin said, glad that Neville had inherited the Longbottoms' prudence. He didn't understand why those students were so keen on adventuring and causing trouble.
Now, locked in the dungeons and tasting suffering, they might have even lost their lives if he and the others hadn't come.
"This isn't a fun game. Don't be foolish enough to expect your enemies to show you mercy," Bill warned the remaining students in the room.
"What's most important for you is to improve your combat skills," Arthur said, holding a briefcase as he reminded everyone that it was time to act.
"We haven't had anyone come to teach us magic recently," Neville said, feeling that this was one of the main reasons why the other students couldn't resist the urge to go out and cause trouble.
Ultimately, there wasn't a sufficiently authoritative figure to help keep them in line.
As for himself, he clearly lacked the influence to make others listen, or this situation wouldn't have occurred in the first place.
The rescue operation turned out to be simpler than expected.
Severus' goal was to extract the information he needed from the captured students, lure out the remaining members, and eliminate them, thereby strengthening his control over Hogwarts.
The real reason behind this move, however, was that Voldemort had invaded the International Wizarding Federation, taking away a large number of his followers, which left only a handful of Death Eaters remaining in Britain.
Despite this, when Kingsley and the other Order members infiltrated the dungeons, they still encountered an ambush.
A large number of Dementors and Dark Wizards emerged from their hiding places, trapping them in a pincer, giving the Order members no chance to escape.
If it had been ordinary wizards, not only would they have failed to rescue the students, but they might have also lost their own lives. But the Order had anticipated the possibility of being ambushed, which was why they dared to come to the rescue.
When faced with the ambush, Kingsley remained calm. He pulled out a few strange objects from his pockets, conjured several stone walls to block the passage, and then used the tools he carried with him to set up traps in the passage to buy time for the others to save the students who had suffered at the hands of Dark Magic and were no longer in a recognizable state.
When the Dark Wizards broke through the thick stone walls and entered the underground passage, they were met with impenetrable darkness.
"Go!"
Snape urged the Dementors to charge forward, but they were soon driven back by the Patronuses.
Facing the darkness before him, Snape waved his wand, summoning the school's knight armor to let these ironclad warriors charge ahead.
When they finally broke through the darkness, they found that annoying house-elf grabbing Sirius and Kingsley by the arm, ready to take them away from the dungeons.
"You're late, Severus," Sirius said, and then, under Kingsley's cover, he threw a few smoke bombs at the oncoming Dark Wizards before disappearing.
(End of Chapter)
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