Chapter 657: Discussion and Situation
Chapter 657: Discussion and Situation
In the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts, Dumbledore placed his hands on the table and fell into deep thought after listening to Liam and Hermione's explanations. The golden sunlight of the early morning streamed in through the windows, casting a golden outline around Dumbledore, who was sitting with his back to the light.
"Well, I must admit that it was unreasonable of me to ask you to hold back at such a critical moment", Dumbledore said after a moment of contemplation. "However, I still hope that you two will try to minimize taking lives in future battles. After all, killing can affect one's soul."
This was not far from what Liam had expected. As an old man who had experienced two brutal wars, Professor Dumbledore had principles and a moral bottom line. He was not as rigid and dogmatic as many people thought. Therefore, with a reasonable explanation, he naturally accepted Liam and Hermione's actions at the British Ministry of Magic.
Of course, Dumbledore did not simply believe Ryan and the others' words. Before their arrival, he had already received information from the Ministry's informants and the Muggle-born wizards who had been rescued and had fled to Hogwarts. After comparing the two sources, Dumbledore verified that Liam's account was likely accurate.
However, before fully putting his mind at ease, Headmaster Dumbledore had one more question. "Liam, Hermione, could you tell me why, after ending the fight with those ambushers, you did not return immediately but instead went to the Ministry of Magic in London?"
"Well, we found some items on those ambushers", Hermione explained, pulling out a parchment from her Dimensional Pocket. This was the list she had found on Delius.
"This is—the List", Dumbledore said, taking the parchment and examining it closely. The list contained the names and addresses of about seven or eight people, each marked with a note indicating they needed to be arrested.
"These are all innocent Muggle-born wizards", Dumbledore said after reading the list. As a Headmaster who had worked at Hogwarts for nearly fifty years, he knew these people well and understood why the Ministry of Magic in London had targeted them.
"Yes, one of the names on the list belongs to a parent of a student we know. When we saw this list, we thought that since we had the means, we should go to the Ministry of Magic to save those innocent people", Liam added. "You know I always carry supplies with me, so I checked to make sure I had everything I needed and then we set out immediately."
"I see!" Dumbledore nodded, now everything made sense to him. After all, Liam and Hermione were young, and it was understandable that they would be moved to action by a sense of justice and bravery when they encountered injustice or evil. However, compared to their peers, Ryan and the others had much greater combat capabilities.
Moreover, this kind of random, lone-wolf attack was something that even Dumbledore, who knew Ryan and the others well, had not anticipated. Voldemort and his followers had also not expected it. Therefore, when London's magical community was caught off guard by the sudden attack, it descended into chaos, creating extremely favorable conditions for Ryan and the others' miraculous assault.
"However, I still hope that in the future, you will consult with us before taking any action. Remember, you are not fighting alone", Headmaster Dumbledore advised. "The initial ambush you carried out was very dangerous, and I trusted your abilities enough not to stop you. But I did not expect you to suddenly decide to go to the Ministry of Magic."
"Children, I commend your courage and sense of justice shown yesterday. However, as an educator, I must criticize your reckless behavior. I hope this does not happen again", Dumbledore concluded.
"Understood, this won't happen again", Liam and Hermione said in unison, making their promise.
After discussing the matter, Dumbledore began inquiring about Harry. "Liam, could you please check the Straw Dummy here? I'm a bit anxious about this."
"Of course, Professor." Liam nodded, stood up, and walked over to the black Straw Dummy to begin his inspection. After reciting a series of spells and performing a sequence of gestures, he pulled out a charm paper and placed it on his chest. Soon, the charm paper turned black from top to bottom, though strangely, there was no flame.
"Everything is normal." After watching the charm paper turn completely black, become brittle, and eventually disappear, Liam turned to Dumbledore. "The piece of soul that the Dark Lord hid in Harry is becoming more closely linked to this Straw Effigy. I believe in a week, we can permanently resolve this issue."
"Ah, that's good to hear." Dumbledore stroked his beard and nodded. "After eliminating this piece of soul, the next step is the final snake. Unfortunately, for some reason, Voldemort is now inseparable from that snake. We simply can't find a way to kill it."
"That's indeed unfortunate news", Liam said. "However, since he hasn't hidden the snake in some secret place, it should be considered a good thing. At least we know exactly where our target is."
"True, having the snake by Voldemort's side isn't such a bad thing after all", Dumbledore smiled. "Your attitude is excellent, and that's exactly the kind of optimism we need right now."
"Professor Dumbledore", after Liam completed the inspection of the Straw Effigy, Hermione thought of something and asked, "What is the current state of the war? The news we got in France last week wasn't good. They even publicly refused to recognize the Ministry of Magic in Hogsmeade. When we spoke with Madame Maxime, it was clear they had no faith in us."
"Unfortunately, although we have stabilized our front and secured control over Scotland and Ireland, we simply can't match the financial and human resources of the Ministry of Magic controlled by the Pureblood Wizard Clans in London", Dumbledore said slowly. "Our only chance for a quick victory is through a decisive battle to eliminate Voldemort."
At this, Dumbledore shook his head. "But since the last attempt to intercept Harry, Voldemort has been elusive, making it difficult to execute a decapitation strike. Meanwhile, the Pureblood Families are doing everything they can to reduce Voldemort's urge to kill Harry in the short term. They prefer to slowly strangle us using their current advantage."
"Traditionally, Pureblood Wizards have an advantage in individual combat, but we have the advantage in numbers. However, with the involvement of the American Magical Congress, Dark Wizards from all over are continuously pouring into Britain."
"In the end, it all comes down to money. Gringotts being controlled by the London side is a huge problem for us", Liam immediately identified the issue.
In the current situation, while the American Magical Congress is intervening in Britain's wizarding civil war, they dare not directly violate the international agreement signed by wizards from various countries, which prohibits interference in civil wars. Instead, they facilitate the flow of funds through financial institutions.
The common origin of Gringotts in Britain and America provides a significant convenience for this financial flow. American funds are continuously flowing into Gringotts, which Voldemort then uses to hire scum from all over Europe and many dark creatures to fight against Dumbledore's side.
"It seems we need to find a way to at least stop using half of Britain's strength to resist the dark side of the entire European magical community", Hermione concluded.
(End of Chapter)
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