great-warnovel Chapter 368 The City of Low Pressure
Chapter 368 The City of Low Pressure
Chapter 368 The City of Low Pressure
The refugees from Malfoy Castle were finally taken in. The ruins were completely cleared away, leaving nothing of value but collapsed houses and sculptures, silent testament to the former glory of the Malfoy family.
Hermione became extremely gloomy, and her cold aura sent chills down people's spines from a distance. No one knew what was wrong with her, but they knew it was best not to mess with her and to stay far away.
Just as Dumbledore's injuries were concealed in the past, only a few core professors and members of the Order of the Phoenix are now qualified to know that he is leaving.
This plunged the entire Hogwarts leadership into a terrifyingly low-pressure environment.
The professors' tempers had obviously worsened considerably. Even for something as simple as not completing assignments carefully enough, they would receive a severe reprimand. Moody, in particular, had mysteriously disappeared and fought a fierce battle with a dark wizard wandering the wasteland before returning looking disheveled.
Although Dumbledore had actually died long ago, as long as he remained in the world, people could still feel at ease and empowered by his iconic white beard and crooked nose. Even in the most difficult situations, it seemed that as long as he was there, there was always a glimmer of hope.
Hermione didn't want her bad mood to affect others, so she locked herself in the perfumery and worked diligently for a week to prepare enough ghost meals for Dumbledore to eat every day for the next two months.
She no longer needs to worry about the affairs of the school and the city, as there are people in charge of everything.
Nearly 100,000 people flocked to New Hogsmeade, placing a huge burden on the city. The originally well-planned streets and completed parts of the city were packed with people, and most people had to camp on the ground in the open square. Fortunately, the weather charm could be used to control the weather, making it not so unbearable outdoors.
The supplies salvaged from the ruins, along with those brought in overnight by Beauxbatons, were only enough to meet a little over half of the needs. There was no way to fill the remaining gap, so Aberforth rallied the residents of New Hogsmeade to donate some supplies, which finally relieved the immediate crisis.
He was also the only one who, while not a core member, knew about Dumbledore's situation. One day, he locked himself and Dumbledore in the greenhouse for a whole day. No one knows what they talked about, but afterwards, both of them seemed to be in good spirits, and the White Wizard even became more cheerful.
The children haven't been doing too well lately either. Lucius's affair has made it difficult for Draco to move an inch in Slytherin again. Narcissa took her husband's ashes and found a place on the edge of the Forbidden Forest to bury him. After that, she returned to her former quiet and reserved self, focused on handling the affairs of the school hospital.
Draco, on the other hand, faced full-scale attacks from the noble offspring.
The upperclassmen and the children who haven't enrolled yet—Pansy, Theodore—will be placed into their respective grades next year, while those who are too young will be sent to the new Hogsmeade Welfare Home, a new project spearheaded by Madam Pomfrey.
These children, filled with intense hatred, stalked Drak around the school, sparing no effort in using all sorts of vicious curses to take his life.
Old Slughorn sternly stopped their behavior, but this was only a temporary solution. The professor couldn't watch Draco around the clock, and Draco seemed willing to atone for his father's sins. Even though he could dodge most of the students' spells with his current level, he would deliberately take the non-fatal ones, making himself look miserable every day, with either a pierced ear or a face full of pustules.
Even Harry couldn't stand it anymore and pulled his Gryffindor friends to stop the irrational children: "It wasn't Draco who killed your family! The truth is clear! Lucius was bewitched by goblin magic!"
He wasn't afraid of these blustering but cowardly pureblood children; in fact, he felt a little sorry for them: "To be honest, your fathers were all secretly researching this kind of magic, but the Malfoys were just a step ahead. You're all pathetic creatures being played by goblins!"
His words further broke the children's defenses. Having lost their families, they were now just like the Muggle kids they used to despise at school. They had no home to go back to during holidays. The purebloods they were once proud of were now the focus of others' strange looks and gossip, as if eating them would turn them into great demons.
They joined forces to teach Harry and his friends a lesson, but the current Gryphon trio could hold their own against Sirius Black, and these kids alone couldn't even put pressure on them.
After years of adventures and mischief, the three little lions and Draco had finally formed a fairly good friendship. They started getting up early every day to pick Draco up from school at the entrance of the Slytherin common room, and taking him to the Room of Requirement in the evenings.
I tried to help him process his emotions and shift his focus by taking an adventure in a border area.
The hundreds of house-elves that Lucius had given to Draco also followed him to the shores of the Black Lake. Draco assigned them all to join the city's public services, where they would serve everyone.
He originally intended to return all the private property of these noble families to their children later, but Hilmi slowly stopped him.
This guy is the least stressed these days. His feelings for Dumbledore are all on Hermione's side. As a newborn soul, although he can feel the weight, he is not too affected. While the little witch is dealing with her own feelings, his daily appearances actually put everyone at ease.
"Pure-blood has always been a headache for Dumbledore." He handed Draco a cup of hot tea.
"You know all too well their rigid upbringing and less-than-honorable code of conduct, especially their attitude toward Muggles. They don't get along with the Order of the Phoenix." Hilmi began to address some very serious topics, but now that the boy had grown up considerably, he was confident he could understand.
"Although the nobles of Malfoy were all wiped out, the inheritance of their bloodline was never limited to that one city. In New Paris, in Yellowstone, in Ilfamoni, and even in every corner of the world, their bloodline and branches still spread. These people are deeply rooted and bound by blood, forming an invisible and loose, but not weak, force."
"These people influence how wizards treat Muggles, and they also influence the formation of social classes and ideologies in each community." Prejudice is a mountain, and this is not only the prejudice of Muggles against wizards, but also the prejudice of wizards against Muggles.
Dumbledore was distressed that in the wizarding communities around the world, Muggles could only exist as the oppressed underclass. This was something they had learned from Malfoy Castle, where the nobles did it and Malfoy Castle prospered, so other wizards would do the same.
"The adults are all dead, but the children, as the spark, remain in Hogwarts." Hilmi looked at Draco, who seemed to have grasped the meaning.
"When they grow up, they will be the new 'Holy Twenty-Eight,' even if that name is relegated to the dustbin of history."
But their bloodline will always be recognized.
"Will they become another headache for Dumbledore then?"
"Ah, maybe it wasn't Dumbledore. Hermione was all grown up by then, and these were things that would be a headache for her."
He glanced at Draco, his tone ambiguous, "And you, the only male in the Malfoys, you have the ability and the right to lead them, to change their minds just as you have over the years."
He patted the boy on the shoulder: "So—you're from a noble family, you should know why I stopped you, right?"
Draco truly understood that to win over these children and become their leader, he couldn't rely solely on sincerity and apologies.
He needs to control power and wealth, and rely on carrots and sticks, to tame these unruly, spoiled children!