Chapter 582: Harry Under Fire
Chapter 582: Harry Under Fire
For Dumbledore and most of the professors, this night was destined to be a sleepless one.
Come morning, Kyle noticed that the castle seemed to have suddenly emptied out.
Sirius Black was nowhere to be seen, nor were Professor Snape and Professor Moody.
Hagrid and Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons appeared to have gone to the Headmaster's office as well.
"We could have stayed a few more days," said Meadow, "but Madame Maxime insisted on leaving today. She seems to have something urgent to attend to. I asked her about it, but she wouldn't tell me."
They were currently outside the castle, seeing off the students of Beauxbatons.
Hagrid's cabin was closed tight, and the gigantic Thestral-drawn carriage, as large as a house, was parked in an empty field not far from it.
As for the students of Durmstrang, perhaps they had received some news, because in the early hours of the morning, the professor who had accompanied them had taken the ship and departed, along with the injured Viktor Krum.
Soon, all the Beauxbatons students had boarded the carriage. They poked their heads out of the doors and windows, waving goodbye to their new friends.
After Meadow helped Gabrielle and her luggage into the carriage, she turned to hug Connor.
She was actually quite reluctant to leave. Her time at Hogwarts had been the best school year she had ever experienced.
She was also very fond of the Hufflepuff common room, where most of the students were sincere and interacted with her without any ulterior motives.
Inevitably, the boys were influenced by her Veela blood, but they never acted rudely or in a way that made her uncomfortable.
And there was rarely a hint of jealousy in the girls' eyes.
The influence of her half-Veela heritage had been minimized in Hufflepuff.
Meadow wasn't sure about the other three houses, but Hufflepuff had given her the exact college experience she had hoped for.
Unfortunately, the Triwizard Tournament had come to an end, and she had to return, although she would graduate this year and could always come back for a visit.
At that moment, Professor Karkaroff's urging voice could be heard from inside the carriage.
After one last hug with Kyle, Meadow hurried back into the carriage.
A few minutes later, the gigantic Thestrals took to the air, pulling the carriage with them as they flew into the distance.
The carriage grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared from view, and only then did the people on the grounds begin to make their way back to the castle.
Even though only a couple of dozen students had left, the Great Hall seemed suddenly spacious.
"I still can't believe the Triwizard Tournament is over," said someone.
"Yeah, Hogwarts has been so exciting this year..."
"I hope they hold another tournament like this in the future. I think it's way more exciting than Quidditch."
"What?!"
"Nothing beats Quidditch!"
Similar discussions could be heard in every corner of the castle, but a few people weren't in the mood for such conversations.
Cedric, Cho, Fred, and George had been looking glum since morning.
"Kyle, are you sure you're not joking? Voldemort has really returned?" Fred asked.
"I'm certain," said Kyle. "You've asked me that three times in the last hour, and Mrs. Weasley knows about it too. You can always write home and ask."
"Of course, we believe you..." George said, "but it's just so hard to wrap our heads around. Give us some time to process this."
Kyle gave them a look. "To be honest, I thought you two would take it better than Cedric. He only asked me twice."
"We're just trying to act normal!" Fred exclaimed. "It's Voldemort we're talking about. Who in the wizarding world can take his return in stride?"
"No one," said Kyle.
"You don't have to worry about that," Kyle waved his hand and said, "Even more than a decade ago, when the Death Eaters were at their strongest, Hogwarts never closed its doors. It was the only place that could provide shelter for students. Unless they chose not to come..."
"And the situation you mentioned is unlikely to happen anytime soon. After all, You-Know-Who has just resurrected..."
"Oh, come on, Kyle. Can you please stop saying that name?" Fred pleaded, his face contorting, "Every time you say it, my leg twitches."
"Hmm... alright."
Kyle paused, suddenly realizing that this was indeed something to be cautious about... Voldemort had placed a spell on his name, so that whenever someone uttered it, he would instantly know their location.
While Kyle wasn't afraid, he didn't want to endanger those around him.
"The... Dark Lord," Kyle continued, "has just resurrected and has a lot on his plate—regrouping his followers and expanding his power. He won't have time to bother with this place anytime soon."
"And just yesterday, Professor Dumbledore gave him a nasty surprise. I doubt he'll have the guts to show up at Hogwarts anytime soon."
"What a shame," George sighed wistfully, "I wish Dumbledore could have finished him off back then."
"But the Dark Lord isn't stupid," Kyle said, "He wouldn't risk facing off against Professor Dumbledore right after his resurrection."
"I know..." George muttered, "I'm just thinking out loud. It would've been great if that were the case."
"No doubt about it," Fred sighed in agreement.
...
The Ministry of Magic acted even faster than Kyle had anticipated.
The next morning, a new issue of the Prophet was delivered to Hogwarts.
However, instead of mentioning anything related to Voldemort, the newspaper focused on Harry, portraying him as mentally unstable at the behest of Fudge. The article claimed that Harry, desperate for attention, had fabricated a wild story about being kidnapped by Death Eaters and used his scar and connection to You-Know-Who to seek the spotlight.
Then, at dinnertime, Dumbledore arrived. He refuted the Prophet's slander against Harry and requested that everyone leave Harry alone and refrain from bombarding him with questions.
In the following days, no one talked about the recently concluded Triwizard Tournament or the two schools that had departed. Instead, the students discussed the content of the newspaper or speculated about whether Harry was truly seeking attention.
Dumbledore's words had the desired effect, and at his request, the students refrained from pestering Harry with inquiries.
However, this effect was a bit too successful, as most people started avoiding Harry altogether. In the corridors, they would walk around him while covering their mouths and whispering to each other.
Without exception, these people leaned towards the Prophet's narrative, believing that Harry, bitter about not becoming a champion, had concocted this story to steal the limelight.
But Harry didn't mind; as long as Hermione and Ron didn't doubt him, he was content.
Just as Kyle had shared the truth with Connor and Cedric, Harry had confided in his friends as well.
Fortunately, they believed him.
Fudge deemed the idea of his scar hurting as a joke, refusing to believe it, but Hermione and Ron didn't share his sentiment. In the dormitory, Ron even went as far as to call Fudge an idiot, much to Harry's delight.
(End of Chapter)
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