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Chapter 714: The Illusion of Peace
Chapter 714: The Illusion of Peace
The crowd's murmurs of doubt did not interrupt Dumbledore's speech. He raised his voice slightly to suppress the noisy chatter in the hall.
"The Ministry of Magic would certainly not want me to tell you this, and some of your parents might not agree with my actions, but this matter is happening right here, affecting each and every one of you. I firmly believe that telling the truth is always better than lying! Hogwarts should teach you honesty, not deceit!"
Dumbledore's tone was extremely serious. He scanned the young wizards below, his gaze meeting eyes filled with fear or confusion, and continued.
"In the not-too-distant future, we will all have to endure a time of great darkness...
So I sincerely hope that everyone here can unite! There has never been a time when this quality is more needed than now. Only by standing together, demonstrating our resolve to fight against the darkness, can we hope to defeat Voldemort and achieve the final victory!"
At this point, Dumbledore turned to look at the Gryffindor long table. "For example, tonight provides a fine example... After Mr. Potter was taken by Peter Pettigrew, his friends took swift action to rescue him and successfully brought him back from Voldemort's clutches..."
Dumbledore briefly recounted the events and awarded Ivan, Harry, and Ron each one hundred points, and Hermione fifty points to commend their courage, wisdom, resilience, and loyalty to their friends!
Below, Ron felt both surprised and uneasy when he heard Dumbledore praise him publicly and give him the same points as Ivan and Harry.
"Professors shouldn't have given me so many points. I didn't even see the Dark Lord..." Ron said awkwardly.
"No, the information you provided was crucial, Ron!" Ivan said earnestly. "If you hadn't seen through Peter Pettigrew's disguise and alerted us immediately, Harry might have been killed by the time we arrived!"
As they spoke, Dumbledore lightly waved his wand, replacing the Three Schools banners floating in the air with the Gryffindor banner.
"Although there are still a few days before you leave, the point difference is so significant that I believe this year's House Cup is no longer in doubt—it will belong to Gryffindor House!" Dumbledore announced loudly.
After this announcement, only scattered applause could be heard in the Great Hall—after all, the news of Voldemort's return was so shocking that the House Cup's outcome seemed trivial in comparison.
Once the applause died down, Dumbledore continued. "Well, that's all I wanted to say. Prefects, please lead the students back to their common rooms. I believe you are all tired and need a good rest..."
Just then, a hurried knock on the door interrupted Dumbledore's speech.
The young wizards, who were about to leave, looked curiously in the direction of the noise.
Under everyone's gaze, Fudge, accompanied by several Aurors, hurriedly entered.
"What on earth are you up to, Albus?" Fudge said angrily, looking at Dumbledore. "I heard from a distance that you were telling a wild and fantastic story..."
He had rushed over upon receiving news of the chaos at the competition site, but had just reached the entrance hall when he heard Dumbledore speaking about Voldemort...
"This isn't a story, Cornelius, but something that really happened, and I'm about to explain it in detail..." Dumbledore said calmly, ignoring Fudge's rudeness. After giving the Prefects a meaningful look, he led Fudge and the others to the Meeting Room near the Great Hall's Side Entrance.
Watching the group depart, Ivan shook his head. After the Barty Crouch Jr. incident, he had lost all faith in Fudge. It was almost impossible for Dumbledore to gain the support of the Ministry of Magic.
If he were Dumbledore, he would take advantage of the situation to control Fudge with the Imperius Curse or modify his memory to turn the Minister of Magic into a puppet. Only then could the power of the Ministry be consolidated.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore would never do such a thing, so this meeting was bound to be fruitless...
Ivan couldn't help but shake his head again. After bidding Asia farewell, he followed the young Gryffindor wizards back to the Common Room.
Lying on the soft bed in the Dormitory, Ivan replayed the events of the night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He knew that such a peaceful life wouldn't last much longer.
...
Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the castle grew increasingly strange.
The days before the end of the term should have been the happiest for the young wizards, but the grassy areas were often deserted. Instead, the young wizards moved about hurriedly, as if they had something weighing on their minds. Some even deliberately avoided them.
Ivan knew the reason all too well. Their parents had likely warned them.
Recently, a large number of owls had been seen flying into the Headmaster's Office at the top of the tower. The sound of scolding could be heard faintly, and Hermione guessed that these were Howlers sent by parents.
Clearly, Dumbledore's public announcement of Voldemort's return did not meet the parents' expectations. Some refused to believe that the Dark Lord had indeed returned, and this skepticism naturally passed on to their children.
Amidst this tense atmosphere, George and Fred went against the trend, staging a grand sale, offering all their joke items at a 30% discount, claiming they wanted to bring back the lively spirit of Hogwarts.
But Ivan suspected they were more interested in clearing out their overflowing inventory before the end of the term.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day of their departure. Ivan and the others packed their bags early in the morning and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
As they passed the house tables, Ivan overheard two young wizards arguing about whether the Dark Lord had truly returned.
Harry and Hermione looked very angry, ready to join the argument, but Ron shrugged and said, "Let them believe what they want. When the Dark Lord stands before them, it will be too late for regrets!"
Ivan nodded. Arguing with these people was a waste of breath. There were always some die-hard skeptics who preferred to remain in the false comfort of peace until they were forced to face reality...
(End of Chapter)
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