great-warnovel Chapter 179 Reactions from All Parties
Chapter 179 Reactions from All Parties
Chapter 179 Reactions from All Parties
Returning to the shores of the Black Lake was a dream often cherished by the older generation of Hogwarts wizards.
The new generation of wizards grew up amidst this longing. They were curious about what it would be like there, and why their fathers longed for it so much. If there were a chance to return the castle to its original location, that would be a wonderful thing, wouldn't it?
Dumbledore's closed-door meeting served as a warning; every professor should prepare themselves from this day forward.
There are many anticipated difficulties, and everyone in the school must do their part.
No one raised any objections, and no one wanted to leave. Every faculty and staff member in this castle regarded it as their second home. Or rather, from the moment they chose to join Hogwarts, the letter of employment represented more than just a job; it represented a sanctuary and a sense of peace in a chaotic world.
Everyone cherished the school and tried to make it better, which was reflected in their actions. From that day on, the professors seemed to become very busy.
Everyone would rush out of school during their free time, heading off through the fireplace to who-knows-where.
They will use their own relationships and areas of expertise to prepare for their return journey in the second half of the year.
Hermione returned to her normal life. Apart from discussing recent major events, classes continued, and almost nothing changed.
Flitwick, however, had to cover Lockhart's classes again. Although the ranger wizard was physically fine, he couldn't lift his entire left arm, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow him to leave the school hospital like that, requiring him to stay in bed for at least a month.
Moreover, the real Lockhart doesn't possess the ability of a fake personality to coach immediately after a little training.
He'll probably stutter, forget his words halfway through, or just nervously read from the textbook without any interaction.
"Since last year, I've had to pay half of the Defense Department's salary!" The half-elf jumped up and down, wondering why the Defense Department professor always seemed to have some kind of accident every year, and he just happened to be the one most suitable to substitute for him.
However, due to Lockhart's failure, the students' field trip was once again put to waste.
George, Fred, and the other mischievous kids kept causing trouble, so Flitwick teamed up with Lily and held a huge anatomy class. They gathered all the students from the third grade and above together to dissect the mountain-sized basilisk corpse.
They taught them about basilisks while serving as free labor.
Even after peeling off the toughest outer skin, the basilisk's flesh was still incredibly tough, and the students had to use all their might to employ cutting spells to separate it bit by bit.
Unlike the tranquility within the school, chaos was gradually emerging in the outside world.
The wizarding city has been in an uproar lately because of the death of Barty Crouch the Elder.
The nobles started by sabotaging each other in secret, then moved to open accusations and fights, and now it has even escalated into a full-scale war between several families.
The seeds of disaster sown since Lucius's imprisonment and the fall of the Malfoy family, which had previously been somewhat balanced by old Crouch, have now been completely shattered. They were previously unable to elect a new Head of Slytherin, but now they can't even elect a new Chancellor.
As expected, Barty Jr. was swiftly and decisively stripped of all his posts, and now, apart from being the head of House Crouch, he is a nobody in Malfoyburg.
He was quite clever enough not to get involved, and instead, under the pretext of mourning his father, he stayed at home and didn't go anywhere.
The Daily News features different explosive front pages every day. Apart from news about Hogwarts, most of the stories are about the infighting among the nobles. The Nott family, who control the media, exposes all the ugly deeds of the nobles who are hostile to them, while other families are not to be outdone, using their power and businesses to check and balance each other.
However, they were surprisingly united in their opposition to Hogwarts' return.
The fat, pig-like Parkinson said in an interview: "Dumbledore may really be getting old. The return of Hogwarts is an unwise choice. Even a seven-year-old in Malfoy Castle knows that the Scottish Highlands are now a dangerous dead zone. To rush there and risk it is tantamount to handing the lives of the entire school to God."
"Malfoy Castle might reconsider its aid to Hogwarts; the major families can't just stand by and watch their investments go down the drain."
But Dumbledore paid no heed to these near-threatening words. Hogwarts continued its steady progress every day, and in less than a week, it would reach Calais, the closest city on the Channel side to Dover in England, which was only about twenty miles away as the crow flies.
Only one media outlet took a positive stance on Hogwarts' decision, and that was Luna Lovegood's Quixote. However, this was essentially the Order of the Phoenix's own media outlet. Xenophilius was also a member of the Devonshire Reconstruction Committee. Although he wasn't a member of the Order of the Phoenix, they were very close and had a good relationship. Hermione was going to the Burrow for the summer this year, so she should be able to meet him there.
During this time, the castle passed by the edge of old Paris, a whole city in ruins, silent amidst the scattered black flames. The students could see the towering torch-like tower, burning incessantly, with terrifying light shining from it, seemingly watching everyone at the same time. No one knew why the fierce fire had not yet been extinguished, nor did they understand why the Eiffel Tower had not been completely burned away.
However, despite the huge news that Hogwarts had made, the Ulster Party remained unusually quiet, as if Grindelwald was completely unconcerned about Dumbledore's actions and didn't care about the potential emergence of new regional powers.
No one came to stop them, and they passed the castle without any trouble.
Wizarding factions from other regions sent congratulatory messages, using the recently popular Ghost Owl mail service to send their best wishes to Hogwarts for finally returning to their homeland.
They thoughtfully inquired whether the school needed any new assistance, offering to provide whatever help they could.
This is also why Dumbledore wasn't worried about Malfoy Castle cutting off funding. Even without them, Hogwarts wouldn't be completely isolated. Of course, this wasn't without its costs. These wizarding powers from distant continents weren't just doing good deeds for no reason. If you took their money, you'd probably have to accept their additional demands.
If they could maintain at least a basic level of decorum with Malfoy Castle, it would be good for both sides. But the current situation of the purebloods makes Dumbledore very worried about whether the city can still maintain even the most basic functions.
Surprisingly, one night, Fleur suddenly approached Hermione.
With a serious expression and a heavy heart, she knocked on the door of the Gryffindor common room: "Beauxbatons is willing to fully support the return of Hogwarts."
She paused for a moment: "But the price is the formulation of the trigger spray."
She felt ashamed as she said it, but it was a message from Beauxbatons, and as the liaison, she only had the obligation to relay it.
Hermione, her head buried in the pile of parchment, chuckled softly without looking up: "As expected. If they weren't thinking of taking advantage of the situation, I would have to question the professionalism of those managers."
"Senior Sister Furong, just tell them that the previous contract remains unchanged. If they want to break it first,..."
I would be more than happy to welcome you.