"Yes, you can only choose to kill the thief in advance as a precaution," Harry nodded and continued, "but what if the thief is in a place so vast it's beyond your imagination, where even if you used your fastest method of travel for a lifetime, you'd never reach the end? And what if such thieves were everywhere in that space?"
Silence fell over the room.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you all. We can only eliminate the presence of Fel magic, destroy those demon worshippers, and do everything we can to prevent them from coming to our world. If they do come, we drive them back, cutting off every claw the demons extend toward our world. That's really all we can do."
After all, even the Burning Legion was gone, but the demons of the Twisting Nether were endless.
"Therefore, when we rebuild Hogwarts, we need to further strengthen its defenses," Professor McGonagall said gravely. "We'll add more protective charms, use ancient runes to create guardians… a whole series of protective measures to ensure that when a crisis strikes again in the future, we have enough strength to protect the students in the school."
"That will cost a fortune," said a governor from Hufflepuff. "I've seen the repair plans you sent, Professor McGonagall. Just restoring the castle to its former state is already exorbitantly expensive."
"I think it's necessary," countered a governor from Ravenclaw. "We all know the world is in chaos right now—because of those elementals, and the Muggles. We have to consider whether, if things truly come to the worst, Hogwarts can still fulfill its greatest role from a thousand years ago."
The room fell silent again. They all understood what Hogwarts' duty had been a thousand years ago: to gather young witches and wizards in Britain and shield them from Muggle persecution, ultimately training them to become competent wizards.
The key was avoiding Muggle persecution. And the Muggles…
Muggles were gradually becoming aware of the wizarding world's existence. Even with the Muggle government's top officials working hard to conceal it, they couldn't fully cover it up anymore. The thought of the increasingly severe international crisis of magical exposure made the governors' faces grow even grimmer.
There was a very real sense of standing at a crossroads in history. Everyone could clearly see two paths ahead, yet no one knew which one was the right choice. This uncertainty made the wizarding world restless and uneasy.
"Ahem," Lucius Malfoy suddenly coughed twice. As one of Hogwarts' governors and a representative of Slytherin, he drew everyone's attention before turning to Harry. "Actually, before you arrived, we had a brief discussion."
Lucius glanced at the other governors, noting no objections, and continued, "Would you be interested in becoming the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Potter?"
"Headmaster?" Harry's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Lucius to spring something like this on him. He looked at Professor McGonagall, only to find her staring back at him—not with shock, but with a thoughtful expression, as if she'd already moved past the initial surprise.
"Forgive my bluntness, but if you're looking to remove Dumbledore for dereliction of duty, I have no objections," Harry said earnestly. "But me as Headmaster? No, thank you. I'm too young, and I don't have the prestige. Compared to me, Professor McGonagall, who's worked at Hogwarts for so many years, is the far better choice. She's not only familiar with all aspects of Hogwarts but has also proven her capabilities."
"Oh, Professor Potter, we all know Dumbledore usually leaves his work to Professor McGonagall," a Gryffindor governor said with a chuckle.
"Er, that's not entirely true," McGonagall said, her face slightly embarrassed as she quickly defended Dumbledore. "I only helped with a few things. As for the Headmaster's duties, Professor Dumbledore has managed them quite well. I believe he's just been delayed by some matters—"
"Please, Professor McGonagall," a Ravenclaw governor interrupted, shaking their head. "We're all Hogwarts graduates. We know Professor Dumbledore is often absent from the school, and you've been the one handling most of his work."
"Exactly. In peaceful times, we might overlook this, but as you well know, the world is far from peaceful now," a Hufflepuff governor sighed. "As Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore should stay at the school, ready to respond promptly and handle any emergencies. That's what he's supposed to do."
"That's our view. If Professor Dumbledore's time prevents him from fulfilling so many responsibilities, then he should hand them over to someone capable and available, not gamble with the students' lives," another governor said, clearly displeased. "Don't you think Hogwarts has had too many dangerous incidents these past two years? The basilisk issue aside—since that was Slytherin's legacy—but last year's Death Eater professor, and this year's Lockhart?"
"Especially this year's Lockhart," another governor chimed in immediately. "I heard he's the one who summoned the demon at Hogwarts? And he even planned to use the children as sacrifices! Merlin's beard! What kind of people has Dumbledore been hiring as professors? Can't he find someone reliable? What about his Order of the Phoenix? Even a retired Auror would be better!"
The matter of the two fragments of Voldemort's soul was still highly confidential, with the public only told that Lockhart was responsible for everything—which wasn't entirely unfair.
McGonagall opened her mouth, but her honesty prevented her from defending Dumbledore further. In truth, the parents who had recently withdrawn their children from Hogwarts had all blamed Dumbledore as they left, and all McGonagall could do was apologize repeatedly.
It had left the diligent old professor looking noticeably worn out.
"We all understand Dumbledore's greatness, Professor McGonagall," the Ravenclaw governor continued. "We also acknowledge that some things only he can do. But as we all know, a person's energy is limited. You can't do everything well at once."
"Rather than doing a little of everything, it's better to divide responsibilities and do one thing well. That's our consensus," Lucius concluded. "Don't rush to refuse, Professor Potter. There's a reason we didn't choose Professor McGonagall."
"Yes, I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall," a Gryffindor governor said, scratching his head. "If it were two years ago, I'd have voted for you without hesitation. But the world outside isn't safe anymore… and neither is the world inside, for that matter. We need a Headmaster with great strength."
"Strength enough to handle a basilisk, a demon, or even You-Know-Who, and to reliably protect the students under any threat," the Ravenclaw governor said seriously. "This is especially important. We need to give the students' parents some confidence, and Professor Potter is the one who can inspire that confidence."
"Powerful enough to rank among the top adult wizards," Lucius said unhurriedly. "And with great influence. Those elemental beings played a critical role in defending Hogwarts this time. We've all seen the mountains of demon corpses. We must admit, we lack experience in dealing with such powerful and numerous enemies."
"Age isn't an issue, Professor Potter," the Ravenclaw governor said with a smile. "What matters is ability, and no one can deny your magical prowess."
"We've all read Skeeter's articles about you. According to her, you want to spread your shamanic ways, don't you?" the Hufflepuff governor said earnestly. "So you'd need to stay at Hogwarts to teach the students, and you could remain there to guide them. It's a win-win, Professor Potter, because no matter what happens at the school, you'd be there."
"Exactly. As for administrative duties, I'm sure Professor McGonagall would be happy to assist you," the Gryffindor governor said with a hearty laugh. "If you're diligent enough, you could even learn to handle them yourself. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would be delighted to teach you."
The atmosphere in the meeting room lightened considerably.
"…I need to think about it," Harry said, neither agreeing nor refusing. He shook his head. "Right now, the most important thing is finding Dumbledore. Haven't you heard? He's missing."
The discussion about Dumbledore ended inconclusively, as his absence was no longer a secret, especially after so many incidents had occurred without his presence.
When the meeting concluded, Harry found a moment to meet with Lucius privately in a side room.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. "Why the sudden push for me to be Headmaster?"
"My apologies, my lord. It came up rather suddenly. I only learned of it during the impromptu governors' meeting before you and Professor McGonagall arrived," Lucius said respectfully. "In truth, it's not just the twelve of us governors. Many pureblood nobles and Ministry officials feel the same way—everyone is afraid."
"Afraid?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Lucius said with a bitter smile. "Like my son and Parkinson's children, who are currently at Hogwarts, the other governors have children or relatives there. So do the Ministry officials."
"No one wants their children in danger, and no one would joke about this. Even Prewett, that Gryffindor governor who's always at odds with us, didn't object," Lucius explained.
"Even during the height of the Dark Lord's power twelve years ago, Hogwarts remained largely unaffected. People said the Dark Lord feared Dumbledore, that Dumbledore protected Hogwarts," Lucius sighed softly. "I don't deny that, but the problem now is that Dumbledore hasn't protected Hogwarts. None of us want Hogwarts to close, but if we don't do something to reassure people, and parents keep withdrawing their children, Hogwarts might as well be closed."
Harry nodded in understanding.
For the wizarding community, with its small population, nothing was more important than the safety of young witches and wizards.
"I understand," Harry said calmly. "Once I find Dumbledore, I'll discuss this with him. Now, let's talk about your issue."
"Find Dumbledore?" Lucius' eyes widened, but before he could ask anything, Harry pulled a tattered black diary from his robe pocket and tossed it onto the table.
"My lord!" Lucius shot up from his chair as if propelled by a spring, his expression tense.
"Sit down and talk," Harry said, flicking his wand. Lucius' body moved like a puppet, sitting back down. "So, you know what this is?"
"I—I know," Lucius stammered, sweat beading on his forehead. "It's… it's a dark magic artifact the Dark Lord entrusted to me… many years ago, my lord."
"And then you secretly gave it to the Weasleys' youngest daughter?" Harry pressed.
"Yes, my lord. I needed to gain the trust of the other pureblood nobles, and at the time, Arthur Weasley had people search Malfoy Manor. I had to retaliate, so I took this dark magic artifact from the Malfoy vault and slipped it to the Weasleys—I thought Arthur would notice. He's sensitive to these things, dealing with them all the time—"
Lucius spoke quickly, as if afraid that slowing down would bring dire consequences.
Adrenaline was coursing through his veins.
"Calm down. I've told you, I'm not Voldemort," Harry said, exasperated. "I knew you were retaliating against the Weasleys, and I told you to keep lying low. Why are you so nervous? Do you think I'm going to kill you?"
"Ah, haha," Lucius managed a dry laugh, wiping his sweat but saying nothing.
"So, you didn't actually know what it was?" Harry asked, pressing further.
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