My School Life At Hogwarts Chapter 1586: A War with No Victors (Thirty-Six) - Novel Cool

Chapter 1586: A War with No Victors (Thirty-Six)

Chapter 1586: A War with No Victors (Thirty-Six)

The trio made their way towards the castle in search of Albert.

However, the usually lively castle now exuded an eerie atmosphere, and even the ghosts that often roamed its halls were conspicuously absent.

The unfamiliar silence made Harry and Ron, accustomed to the bustling castle during their school days, uneasy. They instinctively reached for their wands at their hips.

"Any idea where Albert might be?" Hagrid spoke up first, breaking the silence.

"Probably... most likely in the library, or the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor!" Harry hesitated for a moment, thinking, then continued, "Of course, he could also be in the Dark Arts Defense office. Do you know where that is?"

"I think he's most likely in his office or the library." Ron seemed to recall something and turned to ask Harry, "Hey, Harry, do you have the Marauder's Map with you?"

"The Marauder's Map is with Hermione." Harry shook his head. "She seemed to plan on returning to school to finish her seventh year, so she borrowed it from me."

Ever since Harry became an Auror and started working for the Ministry of Magic, the Marauder's Map had lost its usefulness to him, so he naturally didn't carry it around.

So, the three could only try to locate Albert.

They headed for the Dark Arts Defense office on the third floor first, but unfortunately, it seemed no one was there. So, they decided to try their luck at the library on the fifth floor.

Fortunately, their luck held, and the library door was ajar, with familiar yet strange voices drifting out.

When they pushed open the door and entered the library, they found Albert and Cedric had stopped their conversation and turned to look at them.

Cedric eyed the group at the door and said to Albert, "They're probably here to see you."

Albert's gaze landed on Ron's face, and he had already anticipated the trio's arrival.

"Um... we've lost contact with Hermione," Harry was nudged gently from behind by Ron, prompting him to step forward and ask, "Do you know what's going on with her?"

"Hermione? Didn't she go home?" Albert looked confused as he glanced between Harry and Ron, then continued, "Her family is settled in Australia now, so she's there."

"Is Hermione planning to settle in Australia?" Ron asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"After all, she's been apart from her family for a long time, so it's only natural that she'd want to spend more time with them, right?" Albert looked at Ron, confused by his reaction, as if he couldn't understand what Ron was getting worked up about. "And didn't she say she'd come back to Hogwarts to repeat her seventh year?"

"See, I knew it would be something like that." Hagrid patted Ron's shoulder reassuringly. "So, you don't need to worry yourself sick."

Ron stumbled a bit from Hagrid's hearty pat but quickly regained his balance and asked eagerly, "Is Hermione planning to stay in Britain after graduation?"

As he spoke, Cedric gave Ron a knowing look, having likely guessed what was going on.

If it were him, he probably would have come to Albert for information as well.

However, from Ron's reaction, it seemed that... perhaps... it was one-sided, and Hermione's journey to Australia to reunite with her family was probably something she did with Albert's assistance.

Even though Albert was married, this situation still felt a bit... well, odd.

"Oh, she'll likely stay in Britain, I suppose."

"That's wonderful!"

Ron almost jumped for joy.

Albert raised an eyebrow slightly and offered a simple analysis, "After all, Hermione isn't familiar with Australia, and aside from her parents, everything else about that place is foreign to her. Moreover, once their child finishes school, wizarding parents from Muggle families usually start to distance themselves from their children."

Albert clearly understood Ron's concerns and offered a suggestion, "Actually, you can just ask Hermione about this yourself. After all, it's almost September, and she'll definitely be back at Hogwarts."

As he spoke, Albert turned to Harry and asked, "Ginny won't be returning to school to repeat a year, will she?"

"No, she definitely won't be returning to school,"

Harry felt guilty talking about this, as Ginny had already given up a lot for him.

"How about you, Hagrid?"

Albert nodded and turned to Hagrid, "What brings you here?"

"I just slaughtered a large rooster," Hagrid explained, "and when I heard you were here, I thought I'd invite you all for a meal and chat about the upcoming term's courses. My advanced Care of Magical Creatures class is a mess, and I was hoping you could offer some advice." Hagrid quickly came up with an excuse and then turned to Cedric, "You're welcome to join us too, Diggory. I believe you'll be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts next term, right?"

"I'm afraid not, Hagrid. I have an appointment with someone else at noon."

"Who is it?" Hagrid's tone turned slightly aggrieved, suspecting that Albert didn't trust his cooking skills.

"Kingsley." Albert winked at Cedric, "You know, with the title of Senior Advisor, it's not good to keep refusing the Minister's invitations."

"That's true." Cedric, noticing Albert's signal, cleared his throat and added, "Mr. Minister has been looking for an excuse to invite Albert for a meal and discuss the current situation in the wizarding world. As you know, Albert isn't very keen on visiting the Ministry, so the Minister has to come up with other ways."

Hearing this, Hagrid's face turned glum, but he couldn't say anything more and could only sulk by himself.

"Then when are you free?" Hagrid asked.

"You know I've been very busy lately, with many matters requiring my attention." Albert replied.

"Is it because of Umbridge's case?" Harry guessed the reason, "I heard they suspect Nelson Tobyn is the mastermind behind it all."

"That's not surprising. Nelson Tobyn has a radical personality and an indirect grudge against Umbridge; her policies led to the death of his entire family." Albert wasn't surprised to hear such news from Harry, "I presume Kingsley doesn't have any evidence against Nelson Tobyn either!"

"Yes, there's no evidence." Harry hesitated for a moment but continued, "In fact, Kingsley would rather reach some sort of understanding with Nelson Tobyn."

"That's quite normal." Albert expressed his understanding, "Even if Kingsley found any evidence, he wouldn't easily take action against Nelson Tobyn, especially at this time. Otherwise, it could easily provoke a backlash from the entire wizarding world, and those who once supported him might call for his resignation. After all, many people want Umbridge dead, and he won't easily go against public opinion."

"But why doesn't Kingsley sentence Umbridge to death? Ron was even more confused. This seemed like a simple solution—all the problems would be solved if Umbridge were gone.

"Because the law doesn't allow it."

Cedric answered for Albert, "Mr. Minister is only temporary at the moment and has no authority to modify this part of the law. And even if he could, he wouldn't do it. As the Minister of Magic, he needs to maintain the credibility of the law."

"I don't think Kingsley really cares that much about the law." Ron interjected, feeling that Kingsley's desire to reach an understanding with Nelson Tobyn showed that he didn't prioritize the law.

"That's because you don't understand the true nature of the law!" Albert said meaningfully.

"What?" Everyone looked puzzled, turning to Albert.

"The nature of the law, from the moment of its birth, is to strengthen and maintain the rule of the governing body. Maintaining order is secondary, and helping to uphold justice is even less of a priority." Albert explained.

"So, it's not surprising when you encounter some seemingly absurd situations." Albert continued, "When everyone suspected that the attacker wasn't a Death Eater, Kingsley still took the initiative to suppress the matter and pinned the blame on them. He did this to maintain his position."

If the investigation were to reveal that one of Kingsley's supporters was responsible, he might even lose his temporary position as Minister.

"Now you understand why I dislike those politicians so much." Albert looked at the bewildered Harry and kindly reminded him, "If you want to advance further as an Auror, you'll likely have to face these issues as well."

"I always thought that Cornelius Fudge was an exception, but I never expected it to be like this." Harry's expression turned complex as Albert's words shattered many of his illusions.

"You're the one who's got it easy."

To be honest, Cedric was quite envious of Albert, but despite his envy, he was quite satisfied with his current life.

"Everyone makes their own choices." Albert replied.

"By the way, do you know where Hermione lives?" Ron suddenly asked.

"Don't worry, Hermione should be returning to Britain in a few days." Harry turned to Ron and asked, "Are you planning to settle down in the newly built village?"

"I... I haven't decided yet." Ron replied.

"Then think carefully about it." Albert said, then turned to Hagrid and added, "You can also consider retiring and settling down in our village when the time comes."

"I think I can still work at Hogwarts for another thirty years." Hagrid had never thought of leaving Hogwarts for another place.

This was his home.

However, Hagrid was very grateful for Albert's invitation.

(End of Chapter)

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