Chapter 718: The Fallen Ministry of Magic Speaking of Professor Lockhart.Apart from occasionally hearing Draco mention him, Pansy and Hermione truly had not seen him even |
If Professor McGonagall’s face showed grief sharpened by pain, along with the strength she had forced herself to gather, then the professors behind her showed unease, and a thoughtful silence.
It was obvious.
These professors might be saddened by Dumbledore’s death, but weighing even more heavily on them was concern for their own safety, as well as the question of whether they should leave.
After all, everyone knew that without Dumbledore, the Dark Lord would never spare Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
And if anyone showed that feeling most clearly, it was undoubtedly Professor Horace, whose face looked rather pale at the moment.
Others might not know.
But Draco and the others knew very well that if there was anyone the Dark Lord wanted dead, then their Potions professor would definitely be among his highest priorities.
Because he knew the secret of Voldemort’s Horcruxes!
“It looks like our Professor Horace would like nothing more than to hide away this very second.”
“No...”
People, events, time, place, and objects.
Although magic was wondrous and possessed many special spells that ordinary criminal investigation methods could never achieve, the five basic key elements still existed.
Among them was “place.”
Naturally, that referred to the primary scene of the incident, and even the second or third scene.
What was interesting was that although The Daily Prophet reported Harry Potter’s accusation that Severus Snape was the murderer, it made no effort to explain how Dumbledore had died, or where he had died...
That was what puzzled Draco. “Did they hide it on purpose? Or did they not have time to say?”
At this point, Draco suddenly looked up at Hermione as something occurred to him. “You were very concerned about what Potter said before, weren’t you? So during this time, did you pay special attention to that person?”
“Hm? What Potter said... You mean watching Professor Snape... I see. I can tell you this much. Before I went to bed last night, Professor Snape was at Hogwarts the entire time. He never left.”
Draco’s question immediately made Hermione understand what he meant, and she quickly answered.
That answer made Draco narrow his eyes. “If that’s the case, could it be... that when it happened, it actually happened inside Hogwarts?”
“Is that possible? This is Hogwarts. Even if it was Snape...”
Just as Draco and the others were discussing it in low voices, they suddenly noticed that the noise around them had stopped, as if someone had pressed pause. The air turned strangely silent.
The sudden change made Draco look up curiously.
It was because...
Severus Snape had just walked into the Great Hall!
...
A murderer.
No, more precisely, the murderer accused by Harry Potter.
But nothing could be read from Snape’s face at that moment.
Aside from looking somewhat pale and even gloomier than usual, there was no hint of guilt or nerves on his face. Even under all those stares, he merely frowned slightly.
It was as if the murderer Harry Potter spoke of had nothing to do with him at all...
“Snape?!”
“Wasn’t he... the one who killed the Headmaster?”
“I thought he had already been arrested.”
As the young wizards whispered among themselves below, the other professors also saw Snape walking toward them.
But to everyone’s surprise, those professors made no move at all. They certainly did not do what people had imagined, standing up, drawing their wands, and capturing Snape on the spot.
Professor McGonagall, as Deputy Headmistress, even nodded to Snape instead.
That bizarre scene left all the young wizards below staring blankly, their mouths hanging open.
Could it be that Harry Potter had actually been lying?
Was Professor Snape not the true murderer who killed Dumbledore after all?
Compared with everyone else’s confusion, Draco, sitting below, wore an extremely serious expression.
“Something isn’t right...”
“What do you mean, Draco?”
“Do you think Potter has any reason to tell that kind of lie?”
“...Could The Daily Prophet have made it up?”
Given the Ministry of Magic’s attitude toward Harry Potter, Hermione’s guess did make some sense.
But for some reason, Draco did not seem to think so. He kept feeling there was something wrong here. More importantly, Professor McGonagall’s attitude was strange.
And just then, Snape suddenly glanced in Draco’s direction.
It was a brief movement, so subtle that almost no one would have noticed it, but it made Draco straighten in his seat and grow much more serious...
Because at that moment, a sentence appeared in Draco’s mind.
Hogwarts was no longer safe!!
...
The news of Dumbledore’s death had an enormous impact.
Putting aside whether Dumbledore’s death had broken the fragile balance the wizarding world had struggled to maintain, within Hogwarts alone, there was already a heavy, storm-is-coming atmosphere.
Throughout the entire morning’s classes, not only were the students distracted, even the professors at the front of the classroom were completely out of sorts. Either they lost focus and stared into space, or their lessons were full of mistakes and omissions.
Simply put, whether they were the students attending class or the professors teaching it, every single one of them looked weighed down by worry.
In fact, even Draco seemed a little off...
After the only class that could still be considered normal, History of Magic, ended, Hermione walked out of the classroom with him and immediately tugged at the corner of Draco’s robes.
“What are you worrying about? You’ve looked lost in thought all morning.”
“Yeah, I noticed it too. You’re a little different today.”
Pansy, standing beside them, also said what she had sensed.
Faced with the girls’ concern, Draco finally told them what he had been thinking about all morning.
After glancing around to make sure no one else was paying attention to them, Draco said, “This is only my guess, but Hogwarts may not be very peaceful in the near future.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you think there’s something suspicious about Dumbledore’s death?”
“Are you saying Dumbledore might not be dead?”
Pansy’s words made Draco roll his eyes. “Of course not. I can’t think of any reason Dumbledore would fake his own death.”
He paused.
“Don’t you think it’s strange? Why are Dumbledore’s people, the Order of the Phoenix, protecting Harry Potter and keeping him from returning to Hogwarts?”
“Isn’t it because they need to confirm the truth from him, so he can’t come back for now?”
“...Look at this. This is important information Delacour gave me not long ago.”
As Draco spoke, he took a small slip of paper from his robes.
There was not much written on it, only a few short lines.
The note read...
[Harry Potter is under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix]
...
Although it was not clear when or how that half-blood Veela had contacted Draco, this sentence made one thing very clear. Hogwarts was not as safe as they had imagined.
Otherwise, the Order of the Phoenix would not have had to go to such unnecessary lengths...
However, that was not the reason Draco was so certain.
The real reason was Snape’s warning glance.
Their eyes had met for less than a second, but Draco had instantly understood what Snape wanted to convey.
Although Draco was very reluctant to admit it, perhaps that was the tacit understanding between them?
The only question was, what was he supposed to be careful of?
Aside from the Dark Lord, Draco truly could not think of any other threat serious enough for Snape to care about...
At that moment, Draco suddenly realized that a magical item he had forgotten about for a long time had begun to grow hot.
After freezing for a moment, Draco immediately grabbed Pansy and Hermione by the hand and led them around the corner, disappearing from sight.
“Draco?”
“Where are you taking us?”
“Don’t talk. Just come with me.”
It was the first time Pansy and the others had seen Draco like this, so they had no choice but to stop asking questions and obediently follow him. Even the easily embarrassed Hermione temporarily forgot about the fact that they were holding hands.
Though it was also possible she had simply gotten used to it.
In any case, after turning through a series of corridors, Draco relied on his memory and eventually found a hidden place nearby.
It was an unused room. If not for the Marauder's Map, Draco and the others might not have entered it once in all seven years...
It was empty, with almost no furnishings.
From the thick layer of accumulated dust, it was clear that not only had no wizards used this room, even the House-elves had never come here.
Although he did not know why, Draco had no attention to spare for that right now.
After closing the door, Pansy and the others were just about to question Draco when he took a familiar object out of his robes.
It was a small mirror.
More precisely, it was a magical mirror that was growing hot...
“Isn’t this the one from back then?!”
“It’s the magical mirror!”
As for the magical mirror in Draco’s hand, Pansy and Hermione did not know that this was not the first time Draco had used it.
He had used it once before, on the top floor of Luna’s house.
The main reason Draco had not mentioned it was that the fewer people who knew about this, the better.
After all, although Draco did not know where Lockhart’s information came from, there were only so many possibilities.
And most of those methods were extremely dangerous.
Because of that, even though their relationship had not reached that point, and neither side had made any formal agreement in writing, Draco still did not want this source of information to be cut off by some accident...
At that moment, as Draco lifted the magical mirror, a familiar face gradually appeared in it.
It was...
“Professor Lockhart!?”
...
Speaking of Professor Lockhart.
Apart from occasionally hearing Draco mention him, Pansy and Hermione truly had not seen him even once, let alone exchanged a few words with him.
It had to be said, their memories of him, and even of what he looked like, had begun to grow rather hazy.
Only when Lockhart appeared once again in the magical mirror, wearing a purple top hat, did Pansy and the others remember that such a person existed at all...
“It has been a long time, my dear students. It seems you have all been doing quite well.”
“Especially Miss Granger. I am very pleased to see you.”
That unreliable tone, along with that particularly exaggerated performance, made Pansy and the others completely certain that the person in the magical mirror was none other than the exceptionally narcissistic Professor Lockhart.
Draco, however, had dealt with him before, so he simply ignored Lockhart’s strange, affected manner.
“Lockhart...”
“Oh, oh, don’t look at me with such murderous eyes. I didn’t warn you in advance, but I do hope you understand. I’m risking exposure on my end here.”
“I don’t think you’re that kind-hearted, Lockhart.”
Knowing exactly what kind of person Lockhart was, Draco was not about to trust him so easily. He was also deeply suspicious of Lockhart’s purpose this time.
Even if the information he brought was indeed important and timely, it was definitely only because he found this interesting...
However, just when Draco thought Lockhart would continue with his rambling, the next second, Lockhart unexpectedly got straight to the point.
A rare serious expression appeared on his face. “You should all have received the news by now, haven’t you?”
“You mean the news of Dumbledore’s death?”
“Exactly. And I suggest you leave Hogwarts as soon as possible, or have Malfoy come and get you out.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’ve already said this much. I imagine something so simple won’t escape our clever Mr. Malfoy.”
Pansy and Hermione, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, exchanged a glance.
Wasn’t this exactly what Draco had just been talking about not long ago?
They had not expected to hear the same thing from Lockhart as well.
It was not only Draco. Even Lockhart was saying this.
So Hogwarts really was no longer safe?!
...
Risking exposure just to say a few words would be making far too much of it.
In other words, Lockhart still had not revealed his true reason for contacting Draco...
Draco frowned. “I think I understand what you mean. You’re saying someone is going to make a move against Hogwarts?”
“Smart. And that person has already begun to act. I think you’ll be seeing changes very soon.”
“That person...”
“To that person, everyone in Hogwarts is an important hostage.”
“Hostages...”
“Oh, right. I believe you should soon receive news that the Ministry of Magic has been completely taken over by Death Eaters.”
“......”
That piece of information made Pansy and Hermione, standing behind Draco, widen their eyes, as if they were doubting what they had just heard.
The Ministry of Magic had been taken over?!
When did that happen?
They had received the latest issue of The Daily Prophet just this morning, and there had not been a single mention of that in it.
Could the enormous Ministry of Magic really have fallen in the span of one short morning?
That had to be fake, right?
That was far too useless!
Seeing Draco and the others fall silent, Lockhart, who seemed to understand their reaction perfectly, let out an amused laugh.
The expression on his face made it seem as though he was extremely satisfied with their response...
“Well then, I do hope you don’t die before we meet again, dear Mr. Malfoy.”
After tipping his hat, Lockhart vanished directly from the magical mirror.
The way he had contacted them on his own, then left just as he pleased, made Draco narrow his eyes slightly. But considering the information Lockhart had brought, Draco did not say anything.
Pansy, who had stayed quiet the entire time, finally voiced the doubt in her heart.
“Can we believe... what Lockhart said?”
“Mm. Although I’m not sure what his position is, I don’t think he was lying. There’s no need to tell a lie that can be exposed so easily.”
Although Hermione and the others remained doubtful, Draco did not think so.
Or rather, there was simply no need...
Just as Pansy was questioning Lockhart’s true purpose, Hermione interrupted their conversation from the side.
“Compared with that, shouldn’t what we care about most right now be Hogwarts’ safety?”
Indeed.
Compared with the question of Lockhart’s position, the most urgent thing to consider now was the danger Hogwarts was about to face.
And the Ministry of Magic was the first unlucky one.
Putting away the magical mirror, Draco murmured softly, “The balance has finally been broken...”
Wizarding War.
There was no avoiding it now...