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Chapter 622: Reasoning
Chapter 622: Reasoning
An owl glided through the night sky, heading towards a dilapidated wooden house by the lake. It seemed to be searching for something, circling twice above the house before descending and landing on the old, wooden railing in front of the house.
A creak sounded from within the house as the door opened, and a short, dark figure emerged. He reached out to take the letter from the owl's claw, and then disappeared as the phantom image faded away.
The owl watched the spot where the figure had vanished, hooting discontentedly before flapping its wings and taking off into the night.
On a small mist-shrouded island in the lake, a house-elf appeared out of thin air in the kitchen, holding an envelope in its hand. It walked towards the terrace on the second floor.
The owner of the house was in conversation, so the house-elf did not dare to disturb them. It waited quietly until they had finished talking before knocking on the terrace door and entering after receiving a response.
"Master, there's a letter," the house-elf said respectfully as it handed over the envelope. "It's from Mr. Anderson."
"I know," Mog replied, taking the envelope and asking the house-elf, "Bring me some warmed wine."
The house-elf nodded and silently left.
With the bright candle on the table illuminating his newspaper, Bard, who had been reading the latest issue of the Prophet, spoke up. "What do you think Lucius Malfoy is up to?"
He continued, "Everyone knows his relationship with Arthur Weasley is terrible, but I think it's about more than just the Muggle Protection Act."
"As we all know, the Muggle Protection Act is a joke, and even if it's enacted, it won't have any real effect," Mog said calmly as he closed the letter. "It's probably another dispute over pure-blood rights!"
Bard nodded in agreement with Mog's thoughts. The problem was that they might eventually be forced to choose sides, and that was why the two of them were discussing this matter here.
"Albert asked if we have any Felix Felicis or know where to get some. He needs some soon," Mog said, ignoring Bard's question for the moment as he handed the letter to the elderly man across from him. "Hector Dagworth-Granger should have some in stock."
"Albert knows Hector better than you do. I think he sent us the letter just in case," Bard said, finishing the letter and then placing it on the candle to burn.
"Has he run into trouble?" Mog frowned slightly and asked, "What's happened at Hogwarts now?"
"It seems the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin has been opened again, and a student has reportedly been petrified by an evil curse," Bard said, sharing the latest news he had received. "Albus has forcibly suppressed the matter, so it hasn't been mentioned in the Prophet. Otherwise, it would have caused panic in the wizarding world."
"If this matter spreads, Malfoy may demand Dumbledore's resignation," Mog said, well aware of the pure-bloods' behavior. He even suspected that they might be involved in this incident.
Wasn't the heir of Slytherin Voldemort?
Although there was no direct evidence to prove this, when Voldemort had gathered the pure-bloods, some had claimed that the Dark Lord was a descendant of Slytherin.
However, that ancient family had completely fallen from grace, and it was unknown if there were any surviving descendants.
"What do you think the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is?"
"It's most likely a Basilisk!" Bard answered without hesitation. "It fits with Slytherin's style. Slytherin was a Parselmouth, able to control Basilisks."
"But can a Basilisk's eyes turn people to stone?" Mog voiced his doubt.
"The power of the curse was probably weakened somehow!" Bard speculated. "That's why there were no direct deaths, only petrification."
"Speaking of which, how did you manage to think of so many things in such a short time?" Mog was surprised at how quickly Bard had pieced everything together.
"Albert mentioned it to me the last time I was in America," Bard smiled. "He felt that something unpleasant might happen at Hogwarts this year."
Mog: "..."
No wonder Bard had figured it out so quickly.
Bard briefly explained to Mog the prophecy Albert had seen in the crystal ball.
"I see," Mog nodded. "Then let's try to get him some Felix Felicis. I remember the last time he also took Felix Felicis to share the risk."
On this point, Mog agreed with Albert's approach.
At that moment, the door to the terrace was knocked on, and the house-elf brought in the warmed sweet rice wine.
"Perhaps the method to open the Chamber of Secrets was left by the mysterious person," Mog speculated, and it was no wonder he thought so. Most of the current pure-bloods were Death Eaters who had escaped the last time.
"Where did they find a Parselmouth?"
Bard poured himself a cup. He quite liked this drink, mainly because it warmed his body. At his age, he rarely drank alcohol anymore.
Without a Parselmouth, how could they control the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets? If such a monster ran amok, the situation would be dire.
The possibility of a Parselmouth disguising themselves as a student and entering Hogwarts to cause chaos was low, as it would be a very risky move.
"Albus will definitely find out the reason," Mog said confidently in Dumbledore. "But what's the point of doing such a thing?"
"To strike at the moderate faction led by Albus?"
"To be honest, Cornelius Fudge has a lot of weaknesses, and it's too easy for him to be controlled," Bard commented. "Moreover, he's already showing pure-blood tendencies. In a few years, after Fudge has been swayed by them, they might even start suspecting that Dumbledore wants to usurp his position as Minister."
"So, next, Lucius Malfoy should become the Magical Minister's advisor or close friend, following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Septimus?"
"The tricks of Septimus Malfoy," Bard was not surprised.
Power was something many pure-blood wizards couldn't give up, and the Malfoy family's thirst for power was no exception. However, they had never sought to become the Minister of Magic themselves. Instead, they preferred to manipulate things from behind the scenes, which was why people would say, "You'll never find a Malfoy at the scene of a crime."
For Mog and Bard, the British wizarding world was only so big, and the power of the Ministry was limited. What they sought was to maintain their superior status.
The pure-bloods would naturally try to influence the Minister of Magic to enact laws that favored pure-blood wizards, and it was clear that the Protection of Muggle Law did not benefit the interests of pure-blood wizards.
It was undeniable that the current Ministry of Magic was still dominated by pure-bloods, and they were those so-called respected families.
Moreover, Arthur Weasley was a loyal supporter of Dumbledore, and behind him, one could vaguely see the figure of the Hogwarts headmaster.
However, the two of them actually favored Dumbledore, a centenarian who possessed wisdom far beyond that of ordinary people.
Furthermore, upon learning of the prophecy that the Second Wizarding War might break out in a short time, they did not want to make a choice hastily, even though they also knew that order was much better than chaos. But Voldemort was not someone who could be understood through common sense.
(End of Chapter)
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