Chapter 582: Harry, the Targeted
Chapter 582: Harry, the Targeted
For Dumbledore and most of the professors, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
The next day, Kyle noticed a significant decrease in the castle's population.
Sirius, Snape, and Professor Moody were nowhere to be found.
Hagrid and Madame Maxime, who had accompanied Beauxbatons, seemed to have gone to the Headmaster's Office.
"We were supposed to stay for a few more days," Fengrong said, "but Madame Maxime insisted on leaving today. She seems to have something urgent to attend to. I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me."
At that moment, they were outside the castle, preparing to send off the Beauxbatons students.
Hagrid's cabin was tightly shut, and the Thestrals were pulling carriages as large as houses, parked in the open space not far ahead.
As for the Durmstrang students, perhaps they had received some news, as early as dawn, another professor from their school had already departed with the ship, taking the injured Viktor Krum with them.
Soon, all the Beauxbatons students boarded the carriages, sticking their heads out of the doors and windows to wave goodbye to their newfound friends.
Fengrong helped Gabrielle onto the carriage with her luggage, then turned to embrace Cona.
She was actually quite reluctant to leave; her time at Hogwarts had been the best school experience she had ever had.
The Hufflepuff common room was also something she was reluctant to leave; most of the students there were sincere, and there were no ulterior motives in their interactions.
Although the boys inevitably fell under the influence of her Veela blood, they never acted disrespectful or annoying.
Even the girls rarely showed signs of jealousy in their eyes.
The influence of her half-Veela heritage was minimized in Hufflepuff.
Fengrong was unaware of the situation in the other three houses, but Hufflepuff was undoubtedly the ideal house for her.
Unfortunately, the Triwizard Tournament had come to an end, and she had to return home. Fortunately, she would graduate this year and could come back anytime.
At that moment, Professor Rolanda Vane's voice could be heard urging them from inside the carriage.
Fengrong gave Kyle one last hug before turning and rushing back to the carriage.
A few minutes later, the massive Thestrals took flight, pulling the carriage away into the distance.
The carriage gradually became smaller until it disappeared from sight, and the people on the grounds returned to the castle.
Although only a couple of dozen students had left, the Great Hall seemed much more spacious.
"I still can't believe the Triwizard Tournament is over."
"Yes, this year's Hogwarts has been quite lively..."
"I hope there will be more such competitions in the future. I think this is even more exciting than Quidditch."
"What did you say?"
"The Triwizard Tournament is still not as exciting as Quidditch!"
Similar discussions could be heard in every corner of the castle, but some people were not in the mood for it.
Cedric, Autumn, Fred, and George had been looking pensive since the morning.
"Kyle, are you sure you're not joking? Is the Dark Lord really back?"
"I'm sure, Fred," Kyle said, "You've asked me three times in the past hour, and Mrs. Weasley also knows about it. You can write a letter home if you want."
"Of course, we believe you..." George said, "But this is just too unbelievable. We need some time to process it."
Kyle glanced at them, "To be honest, I thought you two would be better than Cedric, but he only asked twice."
"We should be acting normal, right?" Fred said exaggeratedly, "It's the Dark Lord! Who in the wizarding world can accept his return so easily?"
"Not a single one," George said firmly.
"Next year, we might not be able to come to school.
"At that moment, Autumn, who had been silent all this while, spoke up, "If Voldemort were to attack Hogwarts, the school would definitely shut down, right...?"
Kyle waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about that. Even during the height of the Death Eaters' power over a decade ago, Hogwarts never closed. It was the only place that could offer sanctuary to students, unless they chose not to come..."
"And that kind of situation you're describing won't happen anytime soon. After all, Voldemort has just resurrected..."
"Oh, come on, Kyle, can you please stop saying that name?" Fred pleaded, his face contorted, "Every time you say it, my leg twitches."
"Alright...fine."
Kyle paused, suddenly realizing that this was something he needed to be cautious about...Voldemort had cast a spell on that name, allowing him to immediately know the location of anyone who uttered it.
While Kyle wasn't afraid, there were others around, and he didn't want to implicate them.
"The Dark Lord..." Kyle continued, "He has just resurrected and has a lot on his plate...gathering his followers, expanding his influence. He won't have time to deal with this place for now."
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"Moreover, Professor Dumbledore gave him a surprise yesterday, so he won't dare to come to Hogwarts looking for trouble anytime soon."
"What a shame," George sighed, "Why didn't Dumbledore manage to kill him again back then?"
"Because the Dark Lord...isn't stupid," Kyle said, "He wouldn't go up against Professor Dumbledore right after his resurrection."
"I know..." George muttered, "I'm just thinking out loud. It would be great if it were that way."
"Who's to say it isn't?" Fred also sighed in agreement.
...
The Ministry of Magic acted faster than Kyle had anticipated.
The very next morning, a new issue of the Daily Prophet was delivered to Hogwarts.
However, it made no mention of anything related to Voldemort. Instead, it focused on Harry, portraying him as mentally unstable, possibly at the request of Minister Fudge. The newspaper claimed that Harry had fabricated an outrageous story to gain attention, saying he had been kidnapped by Death Eaters and using his scar and Voldemort to draw everyone's focus.
Then, during dinner, Dumbledore arrived. He first refuted the Daily Prophet's slander against Harry and then asked everyone to leave Harry alone and not question him.
In the following days, no one discussed the recently concluded Triwizard Tournament or the two schools that had already left. Instead, they talked about the newspaper's content or debated whether Harry was truly seeking attention.
Dumbledore's words had their desired effect; at his request, no one pestered Harry with questions.
However, this effect was a bit too strong. Most people started avoiding Harry, and when they occasionally met in the corridors, they would walk around him while covering their mouths and whispering to each other.
Without exception, these people leaned towards the Daily Prophet's narrative, believing that Harry, out of disappointment for not becoming a Champion, had concocted this story to draw attention.
But Harry didn't mind; as long as Hermione and Ron didn't doubt him, that was enough.
Just as Kyle had shared the truth with Cona and Cedric, Harry also confided in his friends without hiding anything.
Fortunately, they all believed him.
Minister Fudge found the idea of Harry's scar throbbing faintly to be laughable and refused to believe it. However, Hermione and Ron didn't share this view, and Ron even cursed Minister Fudge as an idiot in the dormitory, much to Harry's delight.
(End of Chapter)
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