bacchusnovels Chapter 213 End of Semester
Chapter 213 End of Semester
Chapter 213 End of Semester
The door was suddenly flung open with a thud and bounced against the wall behind it.
Several men dressed in black leather jackets appeared at the door.
Leading the group were Minister of Magic Fudge and Lucius behind him.
"Good evening, Minister Fudge, good evening, Lucius," Dumbledore greeted them warmly.
"I heard you caught the murderer in the locked room, so I immediately brought people over," Fudge said, his eyes scanning the room.
Soon, his gaze settled on Lockhart, who was tied up.
Given his attire, it's hard to say he isn't the murderer.
"So... Professor Lockhart is the murderer of the locked room?" Fudge seemed a little surprised. He didn't expect that the famous Gilderoy Lockhart, that always smiling guy, would be involved in the locked room incident.
"Yes." Sean nodded. "Minister Fudge, he is the murderer of this locked-room mystery."
Fudge waved his hand, and the Aurors behind him took over from McGonagall and dragged Lockhart away.
At that moment, Lucius fixed his cold eyes on Dumbledore and said, "Why are you back?"
"Oh, it's like this, Lucius," Dumbledore said with a calm smile, "today, seven directors contacted me and said that I am still the most suitable person for this job, so I came back."
Lucius was taken aback at first; even a fool could tell which seven people were behind this.
Besides his eleven men, four of them were people he had just met a few days ago. They were busy with their master's business and wouldn't oppose him.
Although he didn't understand why the seven people had changed their minds, or what kind of spell Dumbledore had cast on them, it didn't stop him from continuing to mock Dumbledore.
Lucius then sneered, "That's because they don't know that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor you personally hired is the murderer of this secret room."
"I guess once they find out, they'll let you get some more rest soon."
"If they insist on that, I'd be honored to continue my rest. After all, who doesn't enjoy a relaxing and pleasant vacation?" Dumbledore winked and replied.
When Harry returned, the whole school was in an uproar.
In fact, the four deans had told them the good news about the resolution of the incident a dozen minutes earlier.
Everyone lost their sleepiness and chose to vent their excitement with a grand banquet.
When Professor McGonagall, who was responsible for taking Ron to Madam Pomfrey's infirmary, returned, she was followed by several figures.
They were Hermione, Susan, and others who had been petrified.
In the early hours of this morning, the mandrake finally matured. Mrs. Pomfrey put the mandrake into the prepared reagent to complete the antidote, and then fed it to several people.
Harry had attended Hogwarts parties several times, but had never experienced such an extraordinary night.
Everyone was still in their pajamas, and the celebration stretched into the night, intertwining unforgettable scenes: Hermione ran towards him, screaming, "You've done it! You've done it!";
Justin rushed over from the Hufflepuff table, grasped his hand tightly, and apologized repeatedly, repenting for his past doubts; Hagrid appeared at 3:30 in the morning, patted Harry hard on the shoulder, causing them to lose their balance and fall into the dessert plate; Professor McGonagall announced that, in order to celebrate, the school had decided to cancel the exams. Amidst all these exciting moments, Harry found it difficult to decide which moment was the most wonderful.
The remainder of the summer semester passed under the bright sunshine.
The Daily Prophet gave extensive coverage to the Lockhart incident, revealing in detail the actions of the author who had once been a sensation in the wizarding world.
The report quickly spread like wildfire, attracting widespread attention and discussion.
Lockhart's fans, those readers who once idolized him, were shocked and disappointed upon learning the truth. They began lining up to return his books, crowds thronged outside bookstores, and Lockhart's works were piled up like trash, ignored by everyone.
Conversely, Sean's reputation soared because of the incident, and his books became wildly popular again, becoming hot commodities in the market.
In the bookstore, his works are displayed in the most prominent position, and readers rush to buy them, hoping to gain more inspiration and insights from the words of this insightful man.
The publisher also worked overtime to print Sean's works to meet the growing market demand. However,
Even so, his books are still in short supply, and many readers can only make reservations and wait for the next batch to arrive.
His reputation and influence reached unprecedented heights as a result of this incident. He undoubtedly became one of the biggest beneficiaries of this controversy.
After that, the title of "Peerless Twin Heroes" was never used again.
Hogwarts returned to normal, with only a few minor changes: the Defense Against the Dark Arts course was canceled, and Ron's Oblivion Curse had been lifted.
In the blink of an eye, the students will be boarding the Hogwarts Express to return home and begin their summer vacation.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny shared a box, making the most of their last magical moments before the holidays.
They played Wizards vs. Zombies and even practiced disarming spells on each other.
Harry has mastered this spell to perfection.
As the train approached King's Cross station, Harry suddenly remembered something.
He took out a quill and parchment and turned to Ron and Hermione.
"This is the phone number," he told Ron, quickly writing it down twice before tearing the parchment in two.
He handed them each a phone. "Last summer, I showed your father how to use the phone; he'll know how. Call me from the Dursleys, okay? I can't stand hearing Dudley's voice for two whole months—"
“Your aunt and uncle will be so proud of you after hearing about everything you’ve done this year,” Hermione said, as they got out of the car and joined the crowd, slowly walking towards the enchanted partition. “They’ll be so proud of you, won’t they?”
"Pride?" Harry said. "Are you out of your mind? They'd be furious if they heard I've narrowly escaped death so many times—"
Then, they went through the exit together and returned to the Muggle world.
Meanwhile.
Sean stood at the office window, gazing at the empty Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, lost in thought.
His memory drifted back to the conversation he had a few nights earlier.
"Dumbledore's back, what are you going to do?" Lucius asked in a low voice as he sat down next to him. "Don't be fooled by that old man's cheerful attitude in letting you continue as professor of Muggle Studies. I bet he's already suspicious of our relationship."
At this point, Lucius paused, seemingly considering his next words. Then he added, "No, not doubt, but certainty."
"Dumbledore is an extremely intelligent man; he probably already sees everything clearly. Therefore, we must be even more careful not to let him obtain any substantial evidence, otherwise—"
Lucius did not continue speaking, but his meaning was quite clear.
But Sean didn't show the nervousness he expected. On the contrary, he was very relaxed, as if he had expected it or made a decision long ago.
He spoke slowly, "So what if he suspects it? So what if he knows? With my current reputation..."
He dares not touch me, cannot touch me, and is utterly incapable of doing anything to me.
"Even if he fires me, he'll need a pretext." Sean sighed softly and shook his head. "Besides, he doesn't want to touch me."
Sean slowly pulled a medal out of his pocket and casually fiddled with it. The medal emitted a faint and soft glow in the dim moonlight.
This is a second-class medal from the Order of Merlin. He should have been awarded a third-class medal last year, but due to complicated procedures, it has been delayed until now.
After the series of events that occurred recently, the Lord Merlin Society, after in-depth discussions, decided to award him this Second Class Order of the Wizarding World. They made an exception and awarded it to him at the height of his fame to commemorate his outstanding contributions to the wizarding world over the years and his profound dedication to Hogwarts.
"Given his personality, and given the current situation, he'd much rather I stay under his watchful eye. He might even try to persuade me to stay if I resign," Sean muttered to himself, his voice trailing off. "He doesn't want another one like that."
"What?" Lucius asked, puzzled, not having heard clearly.
"Nothing," Sean quickly replied, changing the subject. "What brings you here today?"
"Nothing else, just wanted to ask about your plans for the future."
"So, what are your plans...?" Sean chuckled as he put the medal back in his pocket. "Fudge came to see me the other day."
"What do you want?" Sean's words instantly caught Lucius's attention.
"He wants me to work at the Ministry of Magic this holiday as a special external consultant to handle some matters," Sean replied after thinking for a moment. "You know he won't listen to Dumbledore anymore, but without Dumbledore, he can't handle that huge mess."
He continued with a sigh, "People are always like this; they tend to overestimate their abilities, but when they are not capable enough, they are often unwilling to admit it or seek help."
"He probably felt that by hiring an external consultant like me who has recently gained a good reputation, he could increase his influence within the department, raise his support from the outside world, and even make up for his shortcomings in management to some extent, while maintaining his authority and face."
"Our minister is really... thinking too highly of himself," Sean commented incisively.
"So what do you mean?" Lucius looked into Sean's eyes and asked seriously.
"I joined the Ministry of Magic so that I could better lay the foundation for my master's future career," Sean replied with a half-smile. "As for what I mean, that's completely unimportant."
"So..." Lucius was about to speak when he was interrupted by a sudden voice.
The clock in the room quietly pointed to twelve, making a series of thumping sounds. Upon seeing this, Sean simply raised his arm and gently pointed in that direction.
In an instant, the clock face began to crack rapidly, as if it had been hit by some invisible force. Then, the entire clock shattered into pieces, with fragments scattered all over the ground.
Sean's voice rang out in the silent air as he spoke:
"Taking office at the Ministry of Magic."
[PS: Excluding paid word count: Written on December 9, 2024. The plot gets a bit messy later on. If you can't stand it, you can skip to Volume 12, where it's back to normal! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times! I'll say it three times!]