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Chapter 1554: A War with No Victors (IV)
Chapter 1554: A War with No Victors (IV)
After briefly mentioning Harry and Ginny's plan to marry soon, shocking the couple with a little surprise, Albert bid them farewell with a laugh.
As they watched Albert walk away, Fred and George stared at each other, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
"You don't think Mom knows about this, do you?" Fred asked George.
"Mom must know that Harry and Ginny are dating," George replied. "But I don't think she knows they plan to marry so soon. I recall Ginny isn't even of legal age yet, is she?" George didn't doubt Albert's words; the guy had no reason to deceive them. But Ginny was indeed not yet of marriageable age.
"August 11th," Fred suddenly said.
"What?" George didn't immediately catch on.
"Ginny's birthday," Fred explained. "She's not far from turning seventeen and becoming an adult." Fred didn't oppose Ginny marrying Harry; in fact, he quite supported their union.
"But don't you think it's strange that they're getting married now?"
"It can't be!"
Fred and George seemed to have thought of something. They exchanged a quick glance, marveling at their little sister's boldness.
"How are we going to convince Dad and Mom, though?"
"They'll agree eventually; what else can they do? Force the couple to elope?"
"Maybe we should talk to the others first. Once things settle down here, we can have them face the music with the family."
"That's our only option."
As the twins set aside their work and hurried back to the castle to find Harry, Albert had already reached the outskirts of the school.
As soon as he arrived, he smelled the terrible burnt odor permeating the air and suddenly understood why the group ahead of him were all sporting ridiculous Bubble-Head Charms.
After spending a few minutes casting the same spell on himself to blend in, he looked on with confusion at the series of bewildering actions of the crowd.
While everyone was working hard to clear the last remnants of the Battle of Hogwarts, why go to the trouble of killing the Inferi and then pulling them out of the ditch? If one wasn't careful and fell into the ditch, being surrounded by those mindless Inferi would likely spell doom.
Moreover, Inferi were notoriously difficult to kill. Aside from experienced members of the Defense Association, most people had little experience dealing with these pesky creatures.
If not for Albert's advance preparation—digging deep trenches to trap the brainless Inferi—the hundreds or even thousands of them would have been a massive headache for everyone. Not to mention, after the war, they could have been disposed of in the simplest and most efficient manner. But look at what they were doing now?
This made Albert doubt himself. Were they being foolish, or had he overlooked something?
"I did remind them," Cedric said, appearing at Albert's side and patting him on the shoulder reassuringly. He gestured to the side, suggesting they step away from the group for a private conversation.
In truth, according to past solutions, Cedric also believed that the best course of action would be to burn the Inferi in the ditch to ashes and then refill the excavated soil, thus efficiently solving the problem of the hundreds of Inferi.
However, this idea was directly vetoed by Sirius and Moody, among others, on the grounds that the time and location were unsuitable.
Burning such a large number of bodies would create a terrible amount of smoke, and even if they wanted to incinerate the Inferi, it should be done elsewhere. After all, many people would continue to stay at Hogwarts, and they didn't want to turn the school into a graveyard.
Of course, there was another reason as well.
The Inferi in the ditch originated from the nearby Muggle villagers who had been slaughtered by Death Eaters. If the entire village population went missing, it would raise too many questions. So, they planned to transport the bodies back to the village and then set the entire place ablaze, disguising it as a massive fire accident.
After all, the Wizarding War was over, and they now had the time to slowly transfer the Inferi from the ditch.
Cedric also told Albert that he had been persuaded, and for a simple reason: he wasn't the one who had to worry about this massive undertaking.
Albert suspected that they had other reasons for doing things this way, but he didn't care. He was content to be a quiet bystander.
At that moment, the group with their comical Bubble-Head Charms was trying to deal with the not-quite-dead-yet Inferi in the deep ditch.
But, as the members of the Defense Association had said, while Inferi were easy to handle, they were also troublesome. Aside from their aversion to light and fire, there was no known fatal injury that could be inflicted upon them. Ordinary spells were ineffective, which was why the cleanup progress had been so slow, prompting Sirius and Moody to enlist so much help.
Albert was skeptical. If it weren't for the sun slowly rising on the horizon, greatly weakening the vitality of the Inferi, the progress on this side would undoubtedly be even slower and more arduous.
If Albert were in charge, he would have used the Blasting Curse to burn the Inferi in the deep trench to ashes. At most, he would have spent some extra time transferring the ashes from the trench and scattering them in the burned-down village.
That would have been the simplest solution.
However, since everyone else seemed to enjoy making things complicated, Albert decided to let them be.
Albert had no intention of taking charge, especially since dealing with the Inferi was not urgent. As Cedric had said, he wasn't the one who needed to worry about this mess.
"Besides, it's a good training opportunity for everyone," Albert added, watching the busy crowd.
"Kingsley seems to be planning to invite everyone to join the Ministry," Cedric said, changing the subject as he noticed the Inferi-handling process.
"The Ministry is short-staffed, especially when it comes to Aurors capable of fighting Dark Wizards," Albert understood the underlying meaning of Cedric's words and realized why Sirius and Moody hadn't opted for a quicker solution to the Inferi problem.
This was indeed a great opportunity for those aspiring to become Aurors.
After all, the Death Eaters had created far more Inferi than just those in the ditch, and someone had to clean up the mess left behind by the war.
Hence, Kingsley desperately needed Aurors.
"It's a chance for them to quickly fill the gaps left by the Aurors who sided with Voldemort," Albert mused. "They can skip the tedious Auror training and get right to work." He recalled mentioning this possibility to the group before.
"I heard it would only be a temporary position," Cedric replied, having gathered quite a bit of information.
Given his previous work at the Ministry, his job often intersecting with the Aurors, and his own squad within the Defense Association, it was no surprise that he was well-informed.
With Fred, George, and Lee Jordan showing no interest in joining the Ministry, Kingsley had naturally sought out Cedric first.
"If anyone's interested in becoming an Auror, this could be their chance," Cedric added.
Albert was well aware that not everyone had the luxury of being financially secure like him, and the high-paying Auror career would undoubtedly be tempting for many. Additionally, taking on a temporary Auror position to help Kingsley would reflect positively on their future careers, even if they didn't plan on staying in the long run.
"What about you?" Cedric asked. He was certain that Kingsley must have invited Albert to join him at the Ministry.
"He mentioned a senior advisory position," Albert replied.
"Any thoughts on that?" Cedric inquired, hoping that Albert would accept.
"I'm still considering it. I plan to have a chat with Kingsley first," Albert said, understanding Cedric's intentions.
"I thought you didn't rate Kingsley highly?" Cedric asked, confused. He figured Kingsley probably knew that Albert wasn't interested in a long-term Ministry position, which was why he had offered the senior advisory role.
Instead of answering directly, Albert said, "You know, temporary workers are sometimes just scapegoats."
"You mean...?"
"Kingsley still has a lot of problems to deal with. Of course, I believe he will make the best choice," Albert said softly.
Cedric sensed there was more to Albert's words. "What choice?" he asked, almost unconsciously.
"Naturally, the choice of where his loyalties lie," Albert replied.
"Loyalties?"
"This Wizarding War is finally over, and many are waiting for Kingsley to deliver the justice they crave," Albert explained.
Cedric understood! The so-called justice meant revenge against the Death Eaters and Dark Wizards, especially those who had harmed Muggle-born witches and wizards.
But what would happen if Kingsley couldn't deliver the justice they sought?
Cedric didn't want to think about it, but he knew the outcome wouldn't be pleasant.
Just as he was about to discuss this further with Albert, he realized that the latter had already disappeared.
(End of Chapter)
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