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Chapter 713: The Growing New Saints
Chapter 713: The Growing New Saints
After the dinner, Professor Mcgonagall stood up and addressed the students, "First-year students and prefects, please stay behind. The rest of you may leave to avoid any confusion that might lead you to the wrong common room."
Students began shuffling out, pushing their chairs aside and heading for the doors. "Really, someone got lost on the first day of school?" Harry asked curiously. "Oh, it happens", Hermione said, passing by quickly. "But it's usually easy to spot; each bed in the dormitories has the new students' names written on it."
At the teachers' table, Aurora Sinistra, who had been quiet and reserved throughout the evening, suddenly spoke up, "We haven't sung the school song yet." The professors near her stiffened slightly.
Professor Flitwick cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Well, it's not a yearly tradition."
The other professors murmured in agreement, "That's right, that's right."
Aurora's face showed clear disappointment, as if a long-held wish had just been dashed. She said calmly, "I understand it's usually reserved for special occasions. I only heard it once when I started school..."
"Was there a reason for that?" Felix asked politely.
"I don't quite remember", Aurora shook her head slightly.
Professor Slughorn wore a nostalgic expression. "I think I recall... Peeves caused a disturbance in the library, and some folders were destroyed by fire, including the score for the school song. It's been a long time... I believe it hadn't been sung for at least seven years before that, as none of the students at the time knew it..."
"So the tune was lost after that?" Felix asked, somewhat surprised.
"It wasn't exactly lost. We found a backup in the library later", Slughorn explained. "But Dumbledore thought it was enough to keep the lyrics, and the tune could be changed at will."
Later that evening, Harry sat on his four-poster bed in the dormitory, unpacking his trunk. He lifted the lid, and a stack of thick parchment spilled out. Ron picked up the one that fell in front of him and raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you had a hobby of connecting names. Is there a pattern?"
"They are real", Harry said, "and I plan to write to each of them one by one."
Neville, standing behind Ron, whistled in amazement as he looked at the parchment.
"Still working on the Headmaster Dumbledore biography?"
"Yep, asking for details. Aberforth Dumbledore wants it to be as perfect as possible", Harry explained. For the next few minutes, Ron and Neville enthusiastically called out familiar names, treating it as a game to see who could recognize more names—usually indicating that the person had achieved some success.
Seamus, who was tidying his bed, leaned over and grinned, "Cormac Mclaggen will be green with envy."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, the cost is spending every day agonizing over word choice, grammar, and phrasing", he said. In reality, he did much more than that. He spent a lot of time trying to understand Dumbledore's thoughts at different times, which was not an easy task. Harry had a similar experience before—there was a time when he could sense Voldemort's emotions and guess his intentions. He felt he was doing the same thing now.
"Let's think of something more practical", Ron said, "What do you think Aurora Sinistra will teach us tomorrow? I never knew she was good at Transfiguration. I thought she was more into dueling. Remember, she used to guard us?"
"She's skilled in many subjects", Harry said without hesitation, "Spells, potions, Transfiguration. She even invented a few simple and practical spells. Dumbledore thought highly of her."
"Wow", Ron said, carefully placing two wizard chess pieces on his bedside table before lying down, "And that Centaur—Trelawney didn't show up all night. She must be furious."
Harry shrugged, imagining Trelawney up in the tower, gritting her teeth in front of a mirror. He suddenly thought of Luna, who would be in her sixth year and likely taking Firenze's class.
Neville, who was still standing there, hesitated before speaking up.
"Harry, can I join you for Transfiguration class tomorrow?"
Harry looked at Neville in surprise, but then a distant memory was triggered, "Oh, I remember you signed up for the O.W.L. Transfiguration exam last year. So you—"
"Got it!" Neville beamed.
Ron shot up from his bed.
"What did you get?"
"Outstanding", Neville whispered.
A series of exclamations echoed through the dormitory.
"Great job." Harry gave him a thumbs-up, and the others gathered around to celebrate. "So, does this mean you can work towards becoming an Auror again?"
"How did you manage that? Transfiguration is probably one of your weakest subjects, right?" Seamus asked.
"I think it's the Animagus transformation", Neville said softly. "The examiner said I performed well during the practical test."
"Is it really that effective? I might want to try it too." Seamus was envious and intrigued, as he and Dean had both learned the Patronus Charm, which helped with Animagus transformations.
"Neville worked really hard and spent a lot of time on it", Harry recalled. He couldn't quite remember what Neville had been up to during that period, but he vaguely recalled that Neville often spent time with Hannah and borrowed Hermione's notes.
"To be honest, it's a bit late now unless you plan to stay back for another year", Dean said with a hint of regret. They discussed the matter for a long time until they went to bed.
"I remember a Slytherin Quidditch captain from a few years ago who stayed back. What was his name?"
"Marcus", Harry said, remembering clearly.
"That's right. He only got one N.E.W.T. in Ancient Runes!"
"Pretty impressive, isn't it?"
...
The following week, Felix stayed at the school, enjoying a rare period of relaxation. As he mentioned during dinner with the other professors, after a month of non-stop action, both he and Aberforth needed a break. The International Confederation of Wizards wasn't a one-man show, and even if he wanted to solve every problem at once, it was impossible.
Under Felix's mediation, the Ministries of Magic from various countries refrained from rash actions (they also wanted to see the outcome of the negotiations in Britain), but they did reach a consensus on two significant matters. The first was to form regional magic alliances similar to the British Ministry of Magic, a plan Felix discussed with Madame Bones, who immediately decided to send six experienced teams, with the local Future World company branches providing as much support as possible.
The second matter was equally significant: preparing for the International Confederation of Wizards conference.
Just as representatives from various countries gathered three centuries ago to draft the Statute of Secrecy, a new legal framework was to be established. The remaining members of the International Confederation of Wizards were working diligently, and high-ranking officials from the Ministries of Magic in various countries were also contributing to the effort.
After a week of rest, Felix left the school. The memory charm in Classroom Seven was convincing enough to handle his teaching duties, and for a wizard—especially one like him—distance was no obstacle. He could even return to the school for lunch every day.
When he met Aberforth again, he found him staring at a large world map on the wall, looking troubled.
"Here, here, and these places..." He pointed to over a dozen spots on the African continent. "All of them have been taken over by Grindelwald. He has chosen new young saints in these areas and replaced the old, loose organizational structures. Any Wizard groups that tried to resist or break free were crushed."
"The changes there are much more radical, almost revolutionary", Aberforth said.
Felix wasn't surprised, as he had orchestrated this himself. He had dug up the Grindelwald Code from the ruins of history, selecting the parts that were still suitable for this era, even some that were quite radical. With his efforts, Grindelwald's name had become well-known, and various reports analyzing him were now on the desks of officials.
At the same time, as a representative of Wizarding Nationalism, Grindelwald had gained a large following, plunging Aberforth into fear and doubt.
"Grindelwald is smarter and more dangerous than we thought! He didn't just sit on the sidelines but actively tried to free himself from the Unbreakable Vow. He chose the chaotic continent of Africa, using the pretext of saving Wizards to break down the old structures— I know what you're going to say", he told Felix, "even if he is sincere, his arrogance makes him believe he is the chosen one, the savior of Wizards. But you can't deny that his influence is expanding rapidly."
“I don’t deny it,” Felix said.
“Then—”
“Since we can’t focus on that area for now, why not leave it to him? Don’t you think some of his actions are meaningful? According to your analysis, Grindelwald’s true goal is to streamline over two hundred loose Wizarding Community Organizations into about twenty institutions similar to the Ministry of Magic… In the future, Wizard solidarity in that region will be stronger, and management will be more efficient.”
“But he will use the unified Wizard army against us!”
“There’s an oath to restrict him…” Felix had lost count of how many times he had used this reason, but perhaps he had said it too often recently. Aberforth still stared at him. Reluctantly, Felix changed his approach, “Alright, if it becomes necessary, I will step in to ensure the two sides unite.”
“How is that possible?” Aberforth shouted.
“The situation is constantly changing, Mr. President. Therefore, anything is possible,” Felix said seriously. “At this stage, Grindelwald has little impact on us. On the contrary, his existence can deter some ill-intentioned individuals—more effectively than I can.”
“Sigh, if only he were on our side,” Aberforth sighed, a wistful glint in his eyes. “He wouldn’t just be a sinner who single-handedly overturned the Statute of Secrecy and dealt a severe blow to the magical world, but… but…”
But what?
Aberforth couldn’t describe it. He wasn’t defending Grindelwald, but rather expressing regret and disappointment.
After realizing he had been deceived, he wished he could punch that cunning old face. This thought had lingered in his mind for weeks, and it only grew stronger when he learned that Grindelwald intended to turn Africa into his own territory. To him, this was a complete division of camps and a split in the Wizarding community, a carefully plotted conspiracy by an ambitious schemer.
Unfortunately, Aberforth could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything. He couldn’t even return to Africa to see the situation firsthand. He feared that instead of seeing anyone, he would be overpowered by a few unnamed followers of Grindelwald’s ideology, captured, and brought before Grindelwald to be mocked.
The only one capable of protecting him, Felix, firmly refused to rush to Africa. Instead, he focused on Europe and America, or more accurately, he even set aside America for the moment. Aberforth had his reservations about this, suspecting that Felix was afraid to face Grindelwald.
But Aberforth had to admit one fact:
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, Felix’s approach was beyond reproach and increasingly proved to be correct over time. He didn’t rush into conflict with Grindelwald, flaunting his power (which Aberforth found almost incomprehensible); nor did he waste time dealing with the nearly unsolvable mess in America. Instead, he worked tirelessly to restore the credibility of the International Confederation of Wizards.
In just a month, the Confederation was no longer a hollow shell.
This was Aberforth’s and a portion of the Wizarding community’s perspective. If it were Felix, his thoughts would be entirely different—after all, no one could have imagined that Grindelwald and Felix, two people who stirred the tides and had vastly different personalities, were essentially two sides of the same coin.
Under Felix’s deliberate actions, Africa had become almost a separate kingdom.
His actions perfectly aligned with Grindelwald’s usual behavior, and even Vita Runcorn, the only one who knew the truth, sometimes wondered: Was it Felix masquerading as Grindelwald, or Grindelwald masquerading as Felix Hepworth?
At least to her, Grindelwald’s ideology was gently but steadily eroding the minds and living spaces of African Wizards, spreading like wildfire over the past month.
“If not for his physical condition, he would likely shine in this era. Of course, if that were to happen, it would mean that I and he would be on completely opposite sides.”
Felix sighed. As he spoke, he had just defeated a ‘Wizard group that had grown strong in the chaos,’ and over fifty Wizards lay on the ground, glaring up at him.
Felix casually waved his hand, and the new saints stood tall and orderly, taking control of the situation.
“So, whose ideology do you lean towards more? Grindelwald’s or Dumbledore’s?” Runcorn asked in a low voice.
“What ideology?” Felix countered. “I’m here to solve problems.”
(End of Chapter)
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