https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1689-A-War-Without-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Nine-/12582714/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1691-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Forty-One-/12590870/
Chapter 1690: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Forty)
Chapter 1690: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Forty)
Due to the ongoing reconstruction of Hogsmeade Village, Hogwarts students in their third year and above lost the opportunity to visit the village for leisure.
Fortunately, Headmistress McGonagall discreetly spread rumors about a potential Halloween party, successfully diverting everyone's attention and providing an alternative focus for the upperclassmen who were previously unable to visit Hogsmeade. The upcoming Halloween party performances became the talk of the school.
News of Albert personally leading the singing spread quickly among the students, sparking curiosity as almost no one had heard this legendary figure sing before.
However, everyone assumed that Albert would be a good singer since there was hardly anything he couldn't do. This expectation put him under considerable pressure, forcing him to allocate more time to practice singing along with the records.
As he had never invested skill points in singing, Albert's singing ability was quite average. Nonetheless, he could memorize the songs and sing along with the melody without any issues; it was just... well, unremarkable.
As for Cedric's suggestion that he could easily get by with just humming a few lines, Albert chose to treat it as a joke.
If he were to be that casual about it, Albert felt he would likely become the subject of ridicule among the students. Thus, despite his lack of singing prowess, he dedicated extra time to prepare for the Halloween choir performance.
Isabelle and Katrina found the situation amusing, especially Isabelle, who clearly had more singing talent than Albert. She could at least capture the feeling of the songs on the records, unlike Albert, who sounded utterly untalented.
Headmistress McGonagall seemed to have considered this as well and arranged for a group of experienced students to sing with him, leading the entire school in a grand choir performance in the Great Hall. This was probably the reason behind Cedric's earlier comment about humming a few lines being sufficient.
"See, I knew you'd be fine," Cedric said with a smile after Albert finished his lead singer practice. "Being too humble isn't a good thing; it makes you seem insincere."
"This is ridiculous. It's the first time someone has told me I have a talent for singing," Albert replied.
After greeting and reluctantly shaking hands with the surrounding students, Albert and Cedric left the temporary classroom.
"You're always so popular!" Cedric teased with a smile.
"Cut the crap," Albert retorted in a slightly annoyed tone. He knew this guy well enough to understand that he had an ulterior motive for seeking him out.
"Actually, it's Headmistress McGonagall who wants to see you. But she's busy, so she asked me to pass on the message and ask for your help," Cedric explained, his expression clearly saying, "Don't mistake me for being involved in this; I'm just the messenger."
"What's the matter?" Albert inquired, thinking that it probably wasn't anything urgent, or else Headmistress McGonagall would have come to him directly.
"There seem to be signs of werewolf activity in the Forbidden Forest," Cedric said without hesitation as they walked down the corridor, causing several passing students to slow their pace and eavesdrop. "We suspect it's one of the ones who got away last time."
"Shouldn't you be seeking help from the Ministry of Magic? At the very least, they could send a team of Aurors to clear the area around the school!" Albert suspected that this group was treating him like a genie, coming to him with every problem they couldn't solve.
"The Ministry has also dispatched an elite Auror squad, but they failed to locate the werewolf before it transformed back. Hagrid has searched the forest several times, to no avail."
The presence of a werewolf near the school made Professor McGonagall anxious. Previously, there were rumors that Dumbledore had released werewolves into the Forbidden Forest to keep students away. While the professors could afford to be nonchalant about it, the situation was different now that a werewolf had actually shown up.
"Hagrid didn't seek help from the centaurs?" Albert frowned slightly.
"He did, but they didn't find any traces of the werewolf either," Cedric said helplessly, spreading his hands. "It's as if that guy vanished into thin air."
"Does Headmistress McGonagall want me to help capture that werewolf?"
"Not exactly. She wants to know if you have any good ideas," Cedric replied.
"The best idea is to ensure that students don't wander off during the full moon," Albert said in a slightly annoyed tone. "The fact that you haven't found that werewolf basically means that it's a wizard, not some disposable pawn created by Voldemort's remnants."
"Are you saying that someone intentionally transformed into a werewolf during the full moon in the Forbidden Forest?" Cedric was taken aback. "But why?"
"It's because of the Ministry's policies, obviously," Albert interrupted. "If you really want to catch that werewolf, you can try again during the next full moon."
To be honest, the incident with Voldemort's remnants creating a large number of werewolves had put the remaining werewolves in a difficult position.
Ever since Kingsley had proposed the idea of registering the werewolves, it was normal for some werewolves to be unwilling to cooperate.
Of course, most werewolves weren't opposed to the Ministry's offer, but without any foundation of trust, it was natural for them to be cautious and wait it out to avoid being made a fool of. Exposing themselves as werewolves and risking ridicule from Ministry employees was not an appealing prospect, so biding their time was the best option.
If Albert were in their position, he would probably also wait to see if Kingsley was genuinely committed to improving the living conditions of werewolves before agreeing to register.
After sharing his speculation with Cedric, the latter couldn't help but smile wryly.
It wasn't that Kingsley was unwilling, but this plan had also hit a snag due to insufficient funds.
Even though it seemed valuable, there were still a handful of pure-bloods who believed that the amount of gold to be invested should be determined after confirming the number of werewolves, which was a reasonable request but had led to a deadlock in the process.
This was also the main reason why Kingsley was targeting the Death Eaters' remaining assets, but the process was far from smooth. Even without the obstruction of pure-bloods, there were issues with Gringotts.
The goblins believed that this matter would damage Gringotts' credibility and were unwilling to cooperate. Eventually, rumors spread that the Ministry was attempting to control Gringotts, and the whole situation turned rather unpleasant.
As a result, the new Minister of Magic had been quite busy appeasing the revenge-seekers and preparing to teach those troublesome goblins a lesson, hoping to intimidate them and give them a well-deserved scolding.
Kingsley didn't intend to incite a goblin rebellion, but the Goblin Brotherhood, being spineless and quick to blame wizards for Voldemort's actions, insisted that it was the fault of wizards since Voldemort was a wizard. So, they believed that pinning this on the Ministry was perfectly reasonable, and the Goblin Brotherhood took the opportunity to demand concessions from the Ministry on certain matters, such as wand usage rights. Of course, this was out of the question.
(End of Chapter)
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