Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 910: The Phoenix's Song - Novel Cool

Chapter 910: The Phoenix's Song

Chapter 910: The Phoenix's Song

Malfoy was arrested without a struggle, his neck grasped by Snape, and led away from the tower.

Almost all the professors had witnessed his killing of Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall, with her decades of experience, had shown remarkable restraint by not immediately killing him.

Kyle heaved a silent sigh of relief and subconsciously glanced around.

He knew that the real Dumbledore was nearby, but no one knew where he was.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, her face pale. She stared at the open window, replaying the scene she had just witnessed. After a moment, she seemed to suddenly lose all her strength and staggered unsteadily.

Kyle acted quickly, transfiguring a chair behind Professor McGonagall, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"What...what happened here...?" Professor McGonagall asked weakly. "Why...Dumbledore..."

"It was the Dark Lord's plot," Kyle said, trying to avoid looking at Professor McGonagall. "He placed a special Killing Curse on Malfoy's wand. If Malfoy couldn't kill Dumbledore, the curse would rebound onto himself."

"By the time I arrived, Professor Dumbledore had already made his choice."

"He chose...Malfoy..." Professor McGonagall murmured, wiping her tears with a checkered handkerchief. "Yes, he would have done that...even if Malfoy wanted to kill him."

"Oh..." Professor Flitwick let out a heart-wrenching sob.

Professor Sprout clutched her apron tightly.

No one spoke; everyone seemed lost in a mix of fear and shock.

"Tell me what happened!"

At that moment, Snape, who had taken Malfoy away, rushed back in, his anger palpable.

"Tell me, Draco...how could he possibly have killed Dumbledore!"

Snape glared at Kyle, teetering on the edge of an outburst.

Of everyone present, he was perhaps the least able to accept what had transpired.

It wasn't because of any deep affection for Dumbledore, but because Snape couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy had actually completed the task assigned to him by the Dark Lord.

And before this, he hadn't known anything about it...from either side.

He had come here after hearing the Phoenix's call, wanting to see what was happening.

And now, right before his eyes, Dumbledore had been killed.

Merlin's beard!

"I know no more than you do, Professor Snape," Kyle said sadly. "By the time I got here, I could only manage to disarm Malfoy."

"You're lying!" Snape clearly didn't believe Kyle.

"Then how do you know the Killing Curse would rebound? Draco wouldn't have had time to tell you that!"

"I figured it out," Kyle said calmly. "If you had been here, you would have recognized it as a distinct Dark Magic as well. Perhaps this was the Dark Lord's intention all along; he never intended to hide it..."

"Yes..." Professor McGonagall seemed distracted. "Dumbledore would have chosen to protect his students over himself."

Snape remained unconvinced.

Although Kyle's explanation was reasonable, Snape's intuition told him it was a complete lie.

Kyle must know more, something that no one else did.

What they had witnessed couldn't possibly be the truth.

Snape ignored Kyle and jumped out of the window.

This action startled everyone, and for a moment, they thought Snape had lost his mind due to the shock.

However, the expected scene didn't unfold. Snape, who had jumped out of the window, transformed into a cloud of black mist and quickly found Dumbledore, who had fallen into the bushes.

"Let me see what you're up to!" Snape pulled out a potion from his pocket and sprinkled it on Dumbledore.

It was the Reanimating Potion, which could dispel the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. He had been carrying it with him all this time.

But to his surprise, Dumbledore's body showed no signs of change.

He then drew out his wand.

"Finite Incantatem!"

"Alohomora!"

"Reducto!"

...

Snape cast several spells in succession, but none of them worked, and Dumbledore remained motionless.

This indicated that he was truly dead...lying there unmoving, like an abandoned rag doll.

Snape was growing increasingly agitated. He didn't believe this was a coincidence; Dumbledore must have been hiding something from him, and this feeling of being kept in the dark was making him extremely irritable.

But now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

The tower window faced the Quidditch pitch, and many had witnessed Dumbledore's fall.

The Quidditch match was forced to stop because the players from both sides were no longer concerned with Bludgers and the Golden Snitch; they all flew towards the tower.

Although the professors had immediately sealed off the area around the tower, some players managed to bypass the professors with their exceptional flying skills and reached the scene.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry shouted as he swooped down on his broomstick.

"Get back!" Snape, in a state of agitation, finally found an outlet for his frustration. "Put away your useless curiosity, Gryffindor, that's fifty points!"

"You killed him!" Harry glared at Snape, roaring, "You must have killed him! You're a Death Eater!"

"Shut up, you arrogant, self-righteous fool," Snape said, his face darkening. "Accusing a professor without evidence, Potter. That's enough to deduct a hundred points from Gryffindor and earn you detention until the end of the year!"

Deduction of points?

Imprisonment?

Harry didn't care anymore as he watched the motionless Dumbledore and the despicable Snape. He felt as if he'd been hit in the head by a Bludger, and he could only grip his broom tightly to prevent himself from falling.

He knew Snape was a Death Eater, but he never imagined he'd dare to harm Professor Dumbledore! At that moment, a cat also leaped down from the Astronomy Tower.

But the cat's movements were somewhat stiff, and it even stumbled halfway down.

Upon landing, the tabby cat transformed back into Professor McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall!" Harry felt as if he'd found a savior. "Snape..."

"That's enough, Potter," Professor McGonagall said, her lips pressed tightly together. "Professor Snape just said what I wanted to say. Now, go back to where you should be, immediately."

"But..."

"Gryffindor has already lost points, and if you want to continue the Quidditch match, you'd better leave quickly."

"..."

"I understand."

After a moment of silence, Harry turned his broom and flew away.

He felt like he had truly made a mistake. If Snape had indeed killed Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall wouldn't have remained indifferent.

But who else could it be? With Dumbledore dead, Voldemort no longer had an opponent. Next, would he launch an attack on Hogwarts...

Harry's mind was in turmoil, and he didn't even notice the direction he was flying until someone stopped him.

"Hey, Harry, even though you're in your seventh year, you can't just fly into the Forbidden Forest so openly."

Hagrid pulled on the broom, bringing Harry down. "And what were you thinking? You almost crashed into a tree just now."

"Hagrid..." Harry glanced at him, unconsciously wondering if he knew about Dumbledore.

He probably didn't, as Hagrid rarely showed respect for Professor Dumbledore.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Hagrid asked.

Harry didn't reply but changed the subject, "Where are you going?"

"To find Kyle. He should be in the castle," Hagrid said. "That group of Centaurs is here again, and they might cause trouble for him. I need to warn him."

If it were any other time, Harry would have been curious about why the Centaurs were causing trouble for Kyle, but he was in no mood for it now.

"He probably can't spare the time for that now," Harry said subconsciously.

He remembered that when he flew past the Astronomy Tower, he had seen Kyle inside... That's right, Kyle was now a professor, so he wouldn't be chased away.

"It doesn't matter. Kyle never cared anyway," Hagrid said. "By the way, aren't you playing in the Quidditch match? What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest? Don't tell me the Golden Snitch flew here."

Hagrid laughed at his own joke.

"The match has been stopped," Harry said.

"What? Why?"

"Because Professor Dumbledore..." Harry suddenly became choked up.

"Dumbledore went to watch the match?" Hagrid looked down at him, somewhat distracted.

He wanted to find Kyle quickly, tell him about the Centaurs, and then return to accompany the dragon.

"He was... killed."

"Oh." Hagrid didn't seem to hear what Harry said.

"Hagrid," Harry said again, "Dumbledore was killed."

Hagrid froze, looking at him in a daze, "What did you say about Dumbledore?"

"He's dead. Someone killed him on the Astronomy Tower."

"Haha." Hagrid couldn't help but laugh, "I know, you must have lost the match, and now you're not thinking straight. Go and clear your mind. Go with Ron and Hermione; where are they?"

"I saw them."

"Impossible."

"At the Astronomy Tower, Professor McGonagall saw it too, and Kyle was there as well!"

Hagrid still didn't believe it, and there was a hint of sympathy in his eyes as he looked at Harry.

Poor Harry, he must have started talking nonsense after losing the match.

"You must have seen wrong," Hagrid said, taking large strides towards the castle. "This joke isn't funny. Good thing it's me; if the other professors heard it, they'd definitely take points from you... Gryffindor doesn't have many points to spare now."

"Oh, I see Hermione over there. She must be looking for you."

Hermione ran over from a distance, panting as she spoke, "Harry, I've been calling you... You ignored me, so... Was the person who fell from the tower really Dumbledore?"

Ha, now even Hermione was influenced by this?

Hagrid continued walking along the path towards the castle.

"What are they looking at? Is it a celebration for winning the match?" As they approached the castle, Hagrid looked at the crowd of people gathered in front of the oak doors.

It seemed like all the students were there, and with his height advantage, he could see Professor McGonagall in the crowd, and the elderly wizard she was supporting with her wand...

The expression on Hagrid's face vanished, and he quickened his pace. With unprecedented rudeness, he forcefully pushed through all the students blocking his way.

It was like a bull charging into a herd of rabbits.

The students who were pushed aside turned back angrily, wanting to say something, but when they saw the frightening expression on Hagrid's face, they closed their mouths in unison.

Harry followed behind, hearing a painful and shocked groan coming from Hagrid's throat.

Hagrid continued walking, but Harry was stopped.

The professors didn't allow them to get close until Professor McGonagall and the others quickly disappeared behind the castle's entrance hall.

After that, the crowd erupted into deafening discussions, with everyone concerned about only two things.

"Was that person Dumbledore...?"

"Is this really true...?"

No one wanted to believe it, but they had to admit that the elderly wizard Professor McGonagall was leading away was indeed Dumbledore.

A somber and fearful atmosphere quickly enveloped the crowd, and like Harry, most people thought of Voldemort, who was lurking outside the castle.

"Ha..."

A sudden, jarring laugh echoed from somewhere in the crowd, grating on everyone's ears.

Harry swiftly searched for the source of the sound, and many others did the same.

Soon, their gazes landed on a small group of Slytherins.

They weren't sad; instead, they seemed smug and looked at others with a sense of superiority.

It was as if they had become the masters of Hogwarts.

In an instant, the other Slytherins around them quickly backed away, distancing themselves from these fools and mentally expelling these idiots from Slytherin.

The Slytherins generally leaned towards Voldemort because he could bring benefits to pure-blood wizarding families. So, whether it was Dumbledore or Voldemort at Hogwarts, they could accept either.

Of course, there were also some extremists among them.

But the problem was that Voldemort hadn't even broken through yet, so wasn't this a suicidal move? How could there be such stupid people in Slytherin!

As it turned out, their choice was correct.

Because the next second, this small group was engulfed by an angry mob.

Everyone unanimously abandoned magic and resorted to a more primitive method, venting their fears with their fists and shoes.

This was when the Quidditch players' advantage became apparent.

They had brooms, and due to the Bludger, their brooms were generally very sturdy. Even if they hit the ground with all their might, they wouldn't crack.

It was even less likely to crack when hitting a person.

As for whether the person being hit would crack... No one would consider that at this moment.

Harry, rarely, didn't participate in this activity. He gave his broom to Hermione, whose eyes were red, and sat in a daze on the empty ground, feeling lost.

He still couldn't believe that Dumbledore had been killed.

"Are you okay?"

Harry caught a faint scent of flowers and turned to find Ginny sitting beside him.

"It's a pity. I only kicked Professor once before the Chaser came and took those bastards away," Ginny smiled, her lips stiff, clearly forcing herself.

"Hmm..." Harry also wanted to say something witty but couldn't find the words.

A moving song echoed from the upper part of the castle; it was the song of the Phoenix, seemingly imbued with a magical power, reverberating through the windows of the campus and castle, swirling in Harry's heart.

Harry was deeply engrossed in the song, and Ginny didn't speak again until much later. After a long time, they returned to the castle together.

In the Great Hall, almost half of the students had gathered, unwilling to leave even after lunch was over.

They knew that Professor McGonagall would surely speak about this matter, and rather than making wild guesses in the common room, they preferred to wait here to see if they could get any news.

"I know, it was Malfoy!" someone shouted as they burst into the Great Hall.

Hogwarts students always displayed extraordinary talents in unexpected ways.

This time, someone had managed to bypass the professors' multiple layers of protection and uncover the truth in a short time.

Unfortunately, not many people chose to believe him.

Because no one believed that Malfoy could kill Dumbledore, just as no one thought a caterpillar could crush a dragon.

"It's true," he said, realizing he was being treated as a clown seeking attention. "The Cadogan Knight on the Astronomy Tower saw Professor Snape grab Malfoy by the neck and lock him in an empty classroom.

"And the Cadogan Knight also said that Professor Dumbledore and Malfoy were the first to arrive at the tower, followed by the other professors."

As he spoke, more and more people turned to listen.

Although they still didn't believe this absurd claim, the speaker's earnestness made it seem unlikely that he was lying.

A group of people quickly ran out of the Great Hall to find the Cadogan Knight's portrait.

"Ignore him," Hermione said. "Malfoy couldn't have killed Dumbledore, not even a hundred of him combined."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. No one knew Malfoy's abilities better than him, and Malfoy couldn't even defeat himself, let alone Dumbledore.

"Exactly," Ron agreed.

The three of them were surprisingly unanimous on this matter, and even as more and more people brought the news they had heard, Harry and the others didn't believe it.

"That Cadogan Knight must be crazy."

Hermione said, "He spends more than half his time looking for his pegasus, and the rest of the time cursing and provoking other portraits. Anyone who believes him is a fool."

...

They continued to sit and wait in the Great Hall.

By the afternoon, Professor McGonagall still hadn't come out to tell everyone the truth, but those who had received the news arrived at the school.

Among them were former members of the Order of the Phoenix, Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, the Head of the Department, and some white-haired, elderly wizards they had never met before.

The only thing they had in common was their look of panic.

Mrs. Weasley also arrived, her eyes red as if she had been crying. When she saw Ginny, she hugged her tightly.

When Harry approached, she pulled him into her embrace as well. Ron stood by, hesitating for a moment about whether to join them.

...

(End of Chapter)

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