https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1633-A-War-Without-Victors-Eighty-Three-/12529394/
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Chapter 1634: A War with No Victors (Eighty-Four)
Chapter 1634: A War with No Victors (Eighty-Four)
Whether Albert's words were meant to comfort Hermione or not, a girl in love doesn't think that deeply into it. After all, most women are creatures of emotion, choosing to believe only what they want to.
This makes it easy for others to see through a woman in love, even though Albert had reminded Hermione of this more than once, to no avail.
So, after parting ways with Albert, the cheerful Hermione couldn't hide the little secret in her heart.
When the other girls noticed, Hermione could only divert their attention by mentioning her work on the Dark Magic Defense textbook.
But this was of no use to Ginny, who had been through a similar experience. She saw a reflection of her former self in Hermione and looked at her with a hint of sympathy.
Hermione had helped her through her own emotional struggles, eventually leading her to Harry. But Hermione had lost her chance, for Albert was already married, and they could never be together.
Ginny didn't associate Hermione and Albert as lovers, and no one was likely to entertain such a thought. There was also a significant gap between Hermione and Albert's wife, Isabelle, and in their memories, Albert was a highly devoted man. Thus, the two could only ever be close friends.
The rarely "off-duty" Ron also noticed the change in Hermione, and despite constantly reminding himself that "Albert is already married," he barely managed to suppress his complicated feelings. His gaze towards Hermione couldn't hide his bitterness and helplessness.
"If you really want to pursue Hermione, you should strive to improve yourself and showcase your personal charm to attract her attention. Don't be like a loser, moping in the corner and feeling sorry for yourself. That will only make Hermione look down on you even more."
After much hesitation, Ginny decided to give her brother some advice, even though she didn't believe he and Hermione could ever be together. She wanted Hermione to move on from her feelings for Albert and find her own happiness, instead of longing for his pity as Ginny once had.
Watching Harry chatting with everyone, Ginny sighed deeply and joined the group, listening to Harry talk about the current chaotic situation, the Ministry of Magic's recent actions, and what Minister Kingsley planned to do next.
To be honest, getting the latest news from the radio and newspapers was very different from hearing it directly from those involved.
"So, most of the news in the Prophet isn't reliable?"
"I thought that after Kingsley became the new minister, the newspaper would finally improve. I didn't expect it to remain the same. What's the point of its existence then?"
Many people hated being treated like fools.
"That's actually quite normal."
"What do you mean?"
"The Prophet is a tool of the Ministry. If three out of ten headlines turn out to be true, we should consider ourselves lucky," Hermione said, not at all surprised. In fact, many people didn't bother reading the newspaper.
Speaking of which, it was quite amusing—those who read the newspaper didn't actually read it, and they couldn't even understand it.
This was because the point of the Prophet wasn't to inform its readers about the latest news but to make them think about the intentions behind the headlines. However, many people didn't understand this or didn't want to bother, so they thought the Prophet was useless.
But after combining Harry's words with what they already knew, everyone finally understood the true purpose of the Prophet's headlines.
There was no other choice. If those wizarding families supporting Voldemort were indeed secretly creating a large number of werewolves, and if the situation was mishandled, the entire British wizarding community would be plunged into chaos. This was an outcome that no one wanted.
That was why the handling of the matter seemed to be all talk and no action. However, while the outside world was puzzled by Kingsley's approach, countless people were disappointed that he hadn't taken stronger measures.
Only a few people, through the Witch Network broadcast, understood the whole story, especially after learning about the werewolves. They finally understood Kingsley's "good intentions."
Of course, Kingsley also used the broadcast to send a signal to the wizards listening on that channel:
We know you're creating werewolves. Let's sit down and talk. Yes, let's talk.
At the very least, it wouldn't give the impression that Kingsley wanted to eliminate those dark wizard families, or that he was considering the peace of the wizarding world and intended to negotiate with the dark wizards.
Of course, the pure-bloods who supported Voldemort couldn't sense Kingsley's goodwill, only malice. Some even started spreading the idea that Kingsley was buying time to wipe them all out.
But these were the results Kingsley wanted. He needed the pure-bloods to make a mistake and commit an unforgivable crime so that he would have an excuse to get rid of them all.
Otherwise, even as the Minister of Magic, if Kingsley wanted to take action against an ancient pure-blood family, he would need sufficient evidence and accusations. Otherwise, he would face various obstacles and troubles. No one would want to see Kingsley eliminate a wizarding family, no matter how evil they were.
Harry coming to tell them all this was also part of Kingsley's plan; otherwise, the Aurors would be too busy to give the two of them time off.
Harry also guessed that Kingsley might be keeping a trump card for himself, but he didn't resist, as he felt it was necessary.
No one knew what terrible crimes those dark wizards would commit if they were pushed to a dead end.
If the situation truly spiraled out of control, at least there would be the members of the Defense Association as a backup, preventing the entire British wizarding world from descending into chaos.
The members of the Defense Association who had experienced the Second Wizarding War were reliable. They were among the most elite young people in the wizarding world, with combat capabilities no less impressive than those of the Aurors. The passion in their hearts had not yet dried up.
If the situation truly turned dire, they would surely be willing to pick up their wands and join the fight, unlike ordinary wizards who would worry and hesitate.
The whole situation was much smoother than Harry had expected, and what delighted him the most was that Albert had been strengthening the surrounding alert spells ever since the attack.
This also indirectly helped Kingsley confirm the terrifying truth—that group of "pure-bloods" who had defected to Voldemort were secretly creating werewolves.
(End of Chapter)
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