great-warnovel Chapter 64 Compensation and Aftermath
Chapter 64 Compensation and Aftermath
The trial of Lucius finally ended after several days of protracted proceedings.
Even though Dumbledore's presence gave them an overwhelming advantage in public opinion and voting, the nobles closely associated with the Malfoy family still stubbornly resisted.
The final result was that Lucius had his wand broken, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Malfoy Castle had to provide Hogwarts with supplies worth approximately 100 million Galleons as compensation.
In the days following the goblins' betrayal, Galleons are more valuable than ever before. They probably don't even equal all the Galleons in Gringotts combined. The equivalent value of these goods is enough to make the nobles wince.
Some argue that Hogwarts did not suffer significant losses in this incident and should not demand such unreasonable compensation. However, Dumbledore is not naive. He clearly points out that Lucius's actions posed a real threat to the lives of all the teachers and students, and even their vice-principal is now seriously injured and on the verge of death. Hogwarts's narrow escape from this ordeal cannot be a reason for Malfoy Castle to waive compensation, nor can the perpetrators be exempted from punishment simply because the victims are safe.
Some children of Malfoy Castle nobles also attended Hogwarts. They originally sided with Dumbledore, but because the compensation was too high, even they found it unbearable and changed their stance midway. However, there were too many wizards on Dumbledore's side, such as the Weasleys and Longbottoms, who were among the Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, as well as the Diggory and Wood families, who were quite prestigious wizarding families. They did not live in Malfoy Castle, but they were in various settlements throughout England, and their ability to mobilize regional prestige was by no means weak.
Under such pressure, some nobles suggested that they simply sever ties with the Malfoy family in order to refuse to pay this exorbitant compensation.
But Hogwarts is different now than before. With the magical castle of the stable Brilliant Stone, its status has been greatly enhanced. Immediately, a representative of Ilfamoni spoke, proposing that Hogwarts relocate to North America, so that the two schools, which already have a historical connection, can join hands and build a better tomorrow together.
Upon hearing this, representatives from other regional powers also spoke out, inviting Hogwarts to join them. This terrified Malfoy Castle. Although as the largest wizarding city at present, losing Hogwarts wouldn't have much of an impact on them, Hogwarts' departure represented the collapse of the European wizarding succession system. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were completely unable to shoulder this responsibility; their biases were too strong. Malfoy Castle needed a large number of excellent wizards trained by Hogwarts. If wizards graduating from Hogwarts rejected Malfoy Castle in the future, the problems would gradually become apparent in the coming decades.
Not to mention the coveted pyroxene, Malfoy Castle is unlikely to hand it over to someone else.
Faced with increasing pressure from Dumbledore's watchful eyes, Crouch reluctantly accepted the indemnity.
Of course, because the amount is so large, it will be paid in installments over three years, delivered monthly along with the regular supplies. This will greatly improve the quality of life for Hogwarts students, but the cost will be that the Malfoy family will be emptied out, and other nobles will have to bleed heavily to make up for it.
When Dumbledore returned to the school, he was accompanied by a woman—Narcissa Malfoy.
She was driven out of Malfoy Castle, taking nothing with her except a small suitcase. It was undeniably ironic that the Malfoy family was expelled from Malfoy Castle.
Dumbledore once again showed his kindness by hiring Narcissa as an assistant in the medical wing to help Mrs. Pomfrey with some of her work.
But not everyone was as magnanimous as Dumbledore. They transferred their anger at being nearly killed by Lucius onto this poor woman. But for some reason, Narcissa, who could have gone back to the Black family for refuge, chose to live at Hogwarts instead.
Even when everyone spoke ill of her, she would always walk away silently, like a cold narcissus. Even in her wretched state, she maintained her composure. Her face was as white as a drowning person's, and only when she saw Draco could she show a little color.
After returning to Slytherin following the re-entrance ceremony, the latter seemed like a different person. He became taciturn, stopped talking to his former friends, buried himself in his studies, either spending his time in the library or hiding in his dormitory. Even though his mother was at the school, he tried his best to avoid seeing her.
Madam Pomfrey, a Slytherin native, has been temporarily appointed Head of Slytherin. The official Head of Slytherin will likely not be decided until the next school year, which is why she needs an assistant to share the work of the Medical Wing.
The Anti-Witchcraft Defense Techniques course was taught by Professor Flitwick. Fortunately, the course was nearing its end, and Lucius had already covered most of the material. This year, all that remained was practical exercises, review, and the final exam.
Professor McGonagall finally reappeared two weeks later. Hermione tried to visit her several times during that time, but the proud Professor McGonagall did not want her students to see her in a weak state and stubbornly refused.
Fortunately, the Transfiguration professor who reappeared before everyone was no different from before. She still glared sternly at everyone, assigned a lot of homework, and ruthlessly locked up or punished students who made mistakes by making them clean toilets. Only when facing Hermione would she show a gentle smile, but Hermione could glimpse those shocking scars under the high collar of the professor's clothes. They were marks that even potions could not erase.
As for Mundungus, he was still lying in the medical wing. Mrs. Pomfrey said that his body had fully recovered, but the mental torment he had suffered was too severe, and he would probably remain asleep for a long time.
Hermione had thought that the rest of the school year would pass peacefully, but Hagrid's big mouth made her famous again.
The Spider Giant vividly recounted his duel with Lucius to every student. Whenever someone asked about it or approached him with admiring and curious eyes, he would recount the thrilling battle, exaggerating it each time.
Perhaps out of gratitude to Hermione, Hagrid did not make himself the protagonist of the story, but instead portrayed Hermione as a hero who fell from the sky and bravely stood up to withstand the terrible magical trap when he was defeated by Lucius's prepared magical artifacts, thus rescuing Hagrid.
He also described the eerie and terrifying underground chambers of Slytherin, the enormous snakeskin resembling a steam train, the towering Slytherin statue, and the passage that was almost split in two after the two fought. He described Hermione's power as if he had seen it with his own eyes, causing the Gryffindors, led by the Weasley twins, to shout "Snake Slayer" once again.
The discovery of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin completely cleared him of the injustice he suffered fifty years ago. Now he can openly take out his wand and use the little pink umbrella to cast any convenient spells. As for the Chamber itself, it has become the new lair of the eight-eyed spider. The original entrance to the lavatory has been sealed off and replaced with one located beneath the Hall of Brilliant Stone so that Aragog can summon his descendants at any time.
Hagrid can now walk freely in Hogwarts. Students don't panic when they occasionally see the eight-eyed spider crawling out of the ground. He even transformed the room behind the restricted area on the fourth floor into a cozy little nest. Of course, that's for him. The foyer is big enough for a three-headed dog to run around in, but it's still a bit too small for Hagrid's full size.
He moved all his furniture inside, leaving only a side door for the professors to enter the Hall of Brilliant Stones. After guarding the hunting grounds, he became the guardian of the Brilliant Stones at Hogwarts. Anyone who wanted to see the Brilliant Stones had to get past Hagrid first, just like the dungeon dragons guarding treasure in fairy tales.
Toothpaste often argued with the spiders in the room. Hermione and Harry were both invited to try the rock cakes, but apart from Hermione, the students did not know that behind this room was the crucial heart of Hogwarts. They thought that the headmaster had designated the fourth floor as a restricted area to prevent people from accidentally going in and being frightened by the eight-eyed spiders.
The ghosts returned to the various colleges. The students and even the younger professors had never seen them before, but the older professors were quite familiar with them. Without the influence of the bells, the ghosts' kind nature quickly made them friends with the students, except for Blood Man Barrow and Peeves, of course.
But they were all terrified of Hermione, that spirit fire that was so deadly to ghosts. They still remembered it to this day. Whenever they saw Hermione approaching from afar, they would quickly slip into the wall and disappear without a trace.
It's worth mentioning that, due to Professor Binns' return, Professor Quirrell's History of Magic class was divided into two parts: the lower-year classes were taught by Professor Quirrell, while the upper-year classes were taken over by Professor Binns.
These upperclassmen were seeing such a hypnotic teaching method for the first time. What was originally an interesting and lively history of magic class suddenly turned into a dry and hypnotic chronological narrative. Being able to stay awake in class even became a remarkable achievement. Many people complained about this and hoped to get Professor Quirrell back.
However, Principal McGonagall remained unmoved. Although Professor Binns' teaching style was dry, the density of knowledge points far exceeded that of Quirrell, and his understanding of ancient history was unmatched by any modern wizard. Senior students should focus more on acquiring knowledge than on the fun of the class, so she rejected their request without hesitation.
Of course, these minor incidents did not affect Professor Binns's stability in the slightest.
Spring arrived silently, and the wind outside the castle became gentle. Hogwarts continued to move slowly. Along the coastline, one could vaguely see that the sea in the distance had thawed, and some mutated giant birds were circling and courting in the air. In some less polluted areas, sparse green shoots could even be seen emerging.
The world is changing for the better, but what truly excites all the Hogwarts students is the latest batch of compensation from Malfoy Castle—30 brand-new flying brooms!
Although not the latest models, these responsive and fast mid-range products are still quite appealing compared to the old brooms in the school that are almost older than Mag.
At the banquet celebrating the vice-principal's recovery and the return of the ghosts, which was actually a celebration of Dumbledore's return, the White Wizard announced the restart of Quidditch matches at Hogwarts, a decision that immediately brought the banquet to a new climax.
Hermione couldn't understand why these people were so enthusiastic about a sport with such flawed rules and so much danger. These kids had never even seen a real Quidditch match! Yet they were inexplicably obsessed with it.
"You're just bad at flying, aren't you?" Ron mocked smugly, only to have his mouth stuffed with a mouse leg by Hermione a second later.
That very night, each house urgently began the process of forming a Quidditch team. Because the number of students in each house was too small, Professor McGonagall insisted that every student must participate in the Quidditch test in order to select the most talented and best-flying players!
Hermione was desperate. She forgot that her professor was also a passionate Quidditch enthusiast. She tried to appeal, but only in this case was she ruthlessly rejected by the professor, who even asked her to be the first to go up and test fly.
However, she was simply not suited to flying brooms. Even with a brand-new broom, she couldn't handle it skillfully, let alone perform difficult flying maneuvers like Harry while simultaneously noticing the Golden Snitch, which was barely visible to the naked eye in the vast field of vision.
Her clumsy flight made Professor McGonagall cover her face, and everyone burst into good-natured laughter. But the Gryffindor lioness wouldn't tolerate the mockery. She forcefully planted her staff in the center of the field, making it impossible for anyone to fly their brooms. Unreasonable gravity magic held them firmly to the ground until Professor McGonagall allowed Hermione to leave, at which point the selection could continue.