My School Life At Hogwarts Chapter 1795: A War Without Victors (Part 245) - Novel Cool

Chapter 1795: A War Without Victors (Part 245)

Chapter 1795: A War Without Victors (Part 245)

"Harry, you're back early today!" Mrs. Weasley called out from the chicken coop beside the Weasley's modest home as she scattered wheat bran for the chickens. She looked up towards the familiar 'pop' sound in the distance and saw a familiar figure approaching.

"Yes, it's my turn for some rest today," Harry replied, stopping beside the coop to chat with Mrs. Weasley.

"You should have told me earlier, and I could have made something you like. You haven't had a proper dinner at home since becoming an Auror," Mrs. Weasley said, feeling for Harry's busy schedule. Ever since he became an esteemed Auror, working overtime had become a daily routine.

"No need, Mum. Sirius invited us to 12 Grimmauld Place for dinner, saying he wanted to treat us to his cooking and have little James over as well," Harry explained.

Ginny emerged from the side door of the modest home, holding the still-sleeping James in her arms. She looked around and, seeing only Harry, asked directly, "Where's Ron?"

"Ron has to work overtime tonight, so he couldn't come with us," Harry answered, taking little James from Ginny. He always made time to hold his child whenever he could.

"Don't be silly, Sirius can't cook," Mrs. Weasley said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Do you expect him to make potato and egg fritters for you?"

Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, not daring to respond to Mrs. Weasley's comment.

They were well aware of this situation.

Ever since Albert had gifted Sirius a cookbook as a Christmas present last year, Sirius had been eating potato and egg fritters every day.

The reason was simple: the fritters were easy to make, tasted good, and could be easily customized to one's preferences.

Sirius, who found cooking for himself a hassle, had been eating them almost daily.

"I... I don't think so!" Ginny and Harry were, to be honest, not averse to eating fritters.

After a short while, Harry and Ginny finished their conversation with Mrs. Weasley and bid her farewell. They then apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place together.

The place had hardly changed. With the aid of magic, they seamlessly entered the old, magically protected villa.

However, the changes at 12 Grimmauld Place were completely unexpected to Harry and Ginny.

The house-elf heads on the walls were now completely gone. The old walls had been freshly painted, and the corridor no longer had its former eerie atmosphere. Most importantly, the portrait of Mrs. Black, which had been permanently stuck to the wall with a sticking charm, had vanished. Harry had previously worried that Mrs. Black's screams would startle little James, but now they wouldn't have to endure her deafening shrieks anymore.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Lupin emerged from the living room.

"Good evening, Harry, Ginny," Lupin greeted the young couple with a smile and then looked at the baby in Ginny's arms. "And you too, little James!"

"It's been a while, Remus," Ginny said, carefully handing little James to Lupin.

"Is Teddy here?" Harry asked, always concerned about his godson.

"No, you know that Dora has been busy lately and doesn't have time to take care of him, so Teddy is being looked after by Mrs. Tonks," Lupin replied, feeling somewhat guilty. He always felt like he wasn't a good enough father.

After returning little James to Ginny, Lupin stepped aside to let the three of them in. They didn't see Sirius inside, only half-set tableware.

"Sirius is in the kitchen, preparing a special dish for you," Lupin continued, setting the tableware. He then walked to the nearby cabinet and asked the couple, "What would you like to drink? Butterbeer, wine, or whiskey?"

"Butterbeer is fine. You know, with the current situation, Aurors on rest might be called back to work at any moment," Harry replied, taking two large glasses and filling them with butterbeer from the oak cask's tap. Just as he was about to hand one of the glasses to Ginny, the kitchen door suddenly opened, and Sirius appeared, carrying a large pot of food, followed by Mrs. Tonks with a platter of grilled steaks.

"Harry, come and try the French stew I made especially for you!" Sirius invited Harry and Ginny to sit down. He then noticed something and raised an eyebrow. "By the way, where's Ron?"

"He's working overtime tonight and couldn't make it," Harry explained to Sirius.

"That's a shame."

Sirius scooped a large spoonful of the French stew and placed it beside the steak, a smile on his face. "Try this. I learned it from a recipe Albert sent me. Lupin and Tonks both said I did a pretty good job."

Harry and Ginny glanced at Lupin and Tonks, seeing no signs of discomfort on their faces, before taking a spoonful themselves. The stew was indeed delicious, though not quite as good as Sirius' potato and egg fritters.

"It's really good," Harry said, taking another bite. "It's a pity Ron isn't here; he'll probably have to settle for fried potatoes and hamburgers again tonight."

Kingsley was quite considerate to his men. The Aurors who had to work overtime every night received a standard night snack allowance, and it was common for them to enjoy hot, crispy fried potatoes and hamburgers from Muggle shops.

"I thought the Aurors wouldn't be this busy?" Sirius was a bit puzzled. He was aware of the Aurors' situation, and even during this extraordinary period, they shouldn't be this overwhelmed.

"Ever since Harry joined the Aurors, there hasn't been a single day when he wasn't busy," Ginny said with a hint of resentment in her voice.

Noticing Ginny's gaze, Harry quickly cleared his throat and explained, "It's unavoidable that I've been busy lately. The Ministry of Magic is likely to clash with the goblins soon!"

"Things should go back to normal soon. Aurors usually don't have to work overtime like this!" Tonks, who also had dark circles under her eyes, offered Ginny some comfort.

"I know that, but I'm not sure how much longer it will last." Ginny looked at Tonks' dark circles and murmured, "Harry's been so busy that he doesn't have time for his family, and even his sleep seems a bit inadequate."

"It won't be long. At most, a month or two, and things will be completely back to normal," Tonks reassured her softly.

"Have you heard any rumors recently?" Sirius and Lupin exchanged glances, instinctively lowering their voices. "Some unpleasant rumors about this goblin rebellion."

Harry and Tonks were taken aback, unsure what Sirius was getting at.

"What rumors?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Some say that this goblin rebellion was instigated by the Ministry of Magic on purpose," Sirius paused, capturing everyone's attention before continuing in a low voice, "as a means to divert attention while Kingsley plans to take action against the remaining Death Eaters!"

The dining room fell silent. Everyone exchanged bewildered looks, never expecting Sirius to suddenly make such a statement.

Most of them had heard about Nelson's situation to some extent.

Harry was no exception.

When the Ministry of Magic couldn't deliver justice for the numerous victims of the Death Eaters, many people sympathized with Nelson's desire to seek private revenge against them.

In fact, even if they didn't understand, they wouldn't be foolish enough to gossip about it. Victims like Nelson were everywhere during the Second Wizarding War, and although they might not have had a voice, they carried an unquenchable anger within them.

This was a significant concern, and the Ministry had assigned people to specifically monitor the situation to prevent Nelson and his group from doing something foolish and disrupting the hard-won peace.

After all, in the eyes of the officials at the British Ministry of Magic, restoring peace to the British magical community was more important than delivering justice to the victims. While they sympathized with the victims, they had to sacrifice them for the greater good.

Moreover, most Death Eaters had already been eliminated, so there was no need to pursue them relentlessly.

However, based on Sirius' revelation, the Ministry's so-called monitoring had its fair share of shady dealings. If what Sirius said was true and the new Minister, Kingsley, was involved, one could only imagine what they were planning. Kingsley was now the high and mighty Minister of Magic, and there was no need for him to take such risks.

Not a single word was spoken in the room.

But he did it anyway.

Harry suddenly understood why Sirius had invited him and the other Aurors, including Ron and Tonks, to dine at 12 Grimmauld Place.

It was to inform them about this matter, fearing they might inadvertently get entangled in it. Who knew how deep the hole they had dug was.

"So, Kingsley wants to wipe out the remaining Death Eaters without taking the blame, and he's working with Nelson to achieve this?" Tonks couldn't believe that Kingsley was such a person.

When Kingsley became the new Minister, many had hoped he would bring justice and punish the wicked dark wizards. However, for the greater good, Kingsley had let them off with a mere slap on the wrist, leaving many dissatisfied.

Little did they know that the guy was planning to take out all the Death Eaters in one fell swoop, leaving those who received the news in utter disbelief.

"He must have his reasons, even if he's the Minister of Magic, he can't act recklessly." Remus still wanted to put in a good word for Kingsley, and from what he had done during his tenure as Minister, it was evident that Kingsley was indeed working to restore normalcy to the British magical community.

"He's changed a lot since becoming Minister, maybe that's just how politicians are." Sirius shrugged, continuing their previous conversation.

"This operation will likely commence soon. Once the wizard-goblin war fully erupts, Nelson's group will take advantage of the chaos to strike against the Death Eaters."

"It's not that I look down on Nelson's group, but I don't think they can successfully eliminate all the Death Eaters."

As an Auror who had dealt with Death Eaters for a long time, Tonks was well aware of how troublesome those guys could be.

"If Anderson is the one taking action, it's possible to completely eradicate the remaining Death Eaters, but I heard he's afraid of getting entangled in the upcoming trouble and has already left Britain to travel the world."

To accomplish such a feat in a short time is not something an ordinary person can do; only Albert, who is currently considered the wizarding world's ceiling, could possibly achieve it.

Tonks even suspected that Albert's departure from Britain to travel the world was just a facade. Perhaps he was pretending to leave but was still hiding somewhere in Britain, preparing to strike in the shadows?

"No, that's unlikely. I know Albert well enough. Even if Kingsley is the Minister of Magic now, he can't command Albert, let alone make him do something he doesn't want to do."

Harry outright rejected the possibility Tonks had suggested. The main reason was that he had recently received a package from Albert from the Far East Ministry of Magic, containing several Far Eastern cookbooks and a pile of vegetable seeds.

This was enough to prove that Albert was indeed in the Far East.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about!"

Sirius lightly tapped the table with his finger, drawing everyone's attention, before continuing, "Although the probability is low, if you encounter Nelson now, don't try to block his path, especially you, Harry. I'm a little worried about you..."

"I'm not a child anymore," protested Harry.

"But you're easily carried away by your enthusiasm." Sirius continued in a low voice, "A person driven mad by hatred and willing to risk everything is terrifying. He won't have any reservations, and if you try to stop him, you might lose your life!"

"Does Nelson's group have such determination? I mean, they don't seem to have done anything extreme." Tonks could understand Sirius's good intentions, as Gryffindor wizards were indeed more impulsive, but she was more curious about where Sirius had gotten his information.

"Many wizards who have been persecuted by Voldemort and the Death Eaters have been funding Nelson's group." Sirius lowered his voice, "Including us."

"Us?" Harry asked in return.

"Fred, George, and Lee Jordan have all provided them with help!"

Ginny, who had been staying in Avalon, actually knew a lot of secrets because certain things were not considered secrets in Avalon at all.

"But..."

"Undoubtedly, this is Albert's idea." Sirius said with an expression that said, "You know it."

"Kingsley and Nelson were able to cooperate because of Albert. So that guy left Britain early to avoid getting involved in the upcoming matters."

"But why didn't Kingsley..." I mean, if he really wanted to do that, why didn't he do it through legal channels..."

The question was raised again.

"Because Nelson's group threatened him, and Kingsley couldn't have them arrested as heroes. In the end, he had to compromise. Rather than letting this powder keg go uncontrolled, it's better to let it explode under his control." This time, Ginny spoke up, causing everyone present to look at her in surprise.

"That's what I overheard when they were talking about this."

"Did Nelson believe it?"

"Kingsley asked Albert to help convince him."

Perhaps Kingsley had indeed let Nelson's group down, but Albert's credibility had never been in question.

"He actually agreed to help."

"Some things are hard to say." Sirius shook his head, "But Kingsley must have paid a price for it."

Hmm, I just realized there's a missing chapter before this one. I'll add it here.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end

Report