Chapter 214: End-of-Year Feast (Thanks to the Sword Palace's Chai Ming for the 'powering with love', thank you.)
When Nagini opened her eyes again, two days had passed since that great battle.
However, she still lacked consciousness and only had the instincts of a beast. Callis had specifically caught many mice to feed her. Nagini would eat one in a single bite, crunching satisfyingly. Goyle drooled watching this, which earned him a flick to the forehead from young Master Malfoy out of disdain.
Goyle realized too late that the young master must have deduced his desire to hoard the food for himself. He secretly vowed that he would save a few for the young master next time he caught mice.
Nagini, however, was no longer violent or manic. Aside from baring her fangs when she first woke up, only to be slapped twice by Kurama, her eyes had become much clearer. She usually stayed in the Slytherin Common Room, acting as a mascot for the little snakes. How could Slytherin House not have a snake? Right? Now it was complete.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is awake, right?"
In the Slytherin Common Room, Su Yu stopped petting Kurama. The weather was too hot; it was more comfortable to pet Nagini—she was cool and refreshing, though a bit big and heavy.
"He's awake. He said the end-of-year feast will be held tomorrow afternoon, and all six schools will be there."
Young Master Malfoy answered Su Yu while fanning Goyle and Crabbe. Those two idiots had actually gone to catch a pile of mice and, with faces full of flattery, packed them into a box to give to him. How was young Master Malfoy to know they were mice? So, he casually gave them to Astoria. And so, at that moment, he was still being beaten black and blue by her.
For two whole hours, the Slytherin students had been catching mice in the common room. The moment Astoria opened the gift, she let out a miserable scream and threw it away. Mice flew everywhere, and Nagini excitedly opened her big mouth, waiting for the buffet from the sky. But most of the mice still ran all over the common room.
"I feel like they've become increasingly stupid ever since they learned Ancient Magic…" Blaise muttered to Callis while sitting in a chair.
"You shouldn't say someone is stupid right in front of them, could you keep your voice down? Maybe they traded their brains for it. Now the trade is complete, and they have no brains left. This fully proves the equivalent exchange of Alchemy." Callis trimmed her nails, somewhat nonchalant.
Harry had been avoiding everything for the past few days. He didn't want to enter the Great Hall where everyone looked at him with strange eyes. But no matter how much he avoided it, he had to attend today's end-of-year feast.
The students of Slytherin House were dressed in black suits today. Even the curtains usually hanging from the ceiling of the Great Hall had been changed to black. This was all out of respect for Summers. His act of sacrificing his life to hold back the enemy for Harry had won the respect of everyone.
The real Professor Moody was also sitting at the Professor's table today, though he seemed a bit stressed. He kept looking left and right, as if he expected a Death Eater to pop out and drag him away at any moment. Even when Professor McGonagall greeted him, he jumped in fright.
At the headmaster's table, two seats were empty. One belonged to the respected Headmaster Vladimir Volonoff, that Russian dwarf. He had fallen on the front line when the army of magical beasts attacked. At this moment, his seat was filled with various wines; perhaps the students of Koldovstoretz School of Witchcraft and Wizardry also wanted to mourn this lovely headmaster in this way.
The other one, needless to say, was Karkaroff. His desertion caused the Durmstrang Institute students sitting at the long table below to look dejected. They were downcast like defeated roosters; they had not only lost the competition but also the character of their school.
The other headmasters were discussing something together. Only Professor Snape kept looking at Harry. There was a look in his eyes that Harry couldn't fathom, which made Harry nervous, his mind racing to think why Professor Snape would look at him like that.
Just then, the side door of the Great Hall opened, and all the students quieted down. Grindelwald supported his old friend, walking up to the stage step by step.
Headmaster Dumbledore's complexion didn't look so good; it was somewhat pale. Thinking about it, he was an old man over a hundred years old who had been stabbed in the waist; it was a miracle he survived.
"A thick stack of calendar pages has been torn away. Another year has passed so quickly." Headmaster Dumbledore held onto the podium and said slowly. "This year has finally come to an end."
He paused, his gaze shifting to the empty seat of Hufflepuff, and then to the place at the headmaster's table filled with beer and flowers.
He sighed, looked up, and continued.
"I have many things I want to say to everyone, but…"
Dumbledore seemed to be gathering his emotions.
"But there are a few things I must announce to everyone. First, Headmaster Vladimir Volonoff of Koldovstoretz School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has left us forever. That kind headmaster, who was always laughing, loved to crack jokes, and liked to drink beer in big gulps, has left us completely. Also leaving us is a very outstanding student from Hufflepuff, Summers. Before he died, he showed us the kindness and loyalty that a child of Hufflepuff is proud of…"
Next, Headmaster Dumbledore spent half an hour giving a passionate speech. Su Yu could imagine even with his eyes closed that this must have been written by Grindelwald.
He detailed how Harry and Summers encountered danger and praised the calm and unity of Slytherin House in the face of crisis.
He also praised every Wizard who resisted the army of magical beasts as a hero, and finally called on everyone to unite against Lord Voldemort, because Lord Voldemort had returned. Although the Ministry of Magic did not want him to say these things, he said them anyway.
Anyway, Su Yu felt Dumbledore was quite amazing. It was quite funny that the President of the International Confederation of Wizards was forbidden by the British Ministry of Magic from saying Lord Voldemort had returned, just like a mayor telling a governor, 'You are not allowed to say things are bad here, or I will have you removed in two days!'
For the last thing, Headmaster Dumbledore tapped the table. "The students whose names are read below must participate in an academic exchange activity jointly organized with the Eastern Cultivation Department next year, lasting for one year. The team will be led by Professor Graves and Professor Isolde Rosier. The students participating this time are: …"
Headmaster Dumbledore read seventeen names. Su Yu counted on his fingers—good heavens, they were all the people who had killed the most enthusiastically on the night they left the secret realm, and his own women accounted for seven of them…
He opened his mouth, then decided not to say anything. Was his old home starting to make a move? They wanted to round them all up, didn't they? It seemed he had quite a few enemies. However, it was unclear whether they were cooperating with Hell or were subordinates. Anyway, he would just kill them all when the time came.
It seemed that the conversation between Minister Fudge and Headmaster Dumbledore that day was about this. Clearly, Minister Fudge's and Dumbledore's opinions had fundamentally diverged, so he wanted to start seizing power. However, with Su Yu at Hogwarts, he couldn't seize power. But since he didn't dare to provoke Su Yu openly, he could collude with certain forces in the East. After all, Su Yu's Shadow Compass Society had indeed killed so many Wizards. 'I can choose not to pursue your killing, but you have to pay a price.' So Headmaster Dumbledore had to compromise. This move of sending them to the East for exchange—Minister Fudge was playing a political game. 'You don't want another Dark Lord to appear among your students, do you, Dumbledore?' As for who defined the Dark Lord, you couldn't control Minister Fudge's mouth, could you?
Even Su Yu understood: he could beat Minister Fudge up, but he couldn't kill him in public. Even if you ambushed him and didn't let others find out, you could count on your toes those in all of Britain who could kill him—there weren't more than a handful.
If he transferred away the troublemakers of Slytherin House and also transferred Grindelwald away, wouldn't Dumbledore be left all alone? As for Harry? He was a loser; what use was he? It seemed Minister Fudge was really going to get serious this time.
But wasn't this exactly what Su Yu wanted to see? When meat has rotted, when can you completely cut out the rotten flesh? It must be after it has fully rotted. If he went to the Ministry of Magic now and killed everyone, that would be called being a Dark Lord. But after Lord Voldemort came and took control of the Ministry of Magic, if he then went and killed them all, what would that be called? That would be called being a hero who saved the world. So, Su Yu was in no rush. Fudge was playing a political game, but wasn't he waiting too?
However, he still had to be careful about the person behind the scenes. Did Fudge really have that kind of brain?
(The next volume will be the improvement path for the whole team, and also Su Yu's improvement path. I always feel, regarding the development of magic, what could those British guys think of? Let the Eastern evil cultivators show you something fancy. They have such idealistic things and don't know how to use them; what a waste.)
Chapter 215: The End of Fourth Year
It must be said that the end-of-term feast this time was held in a very heavy atmosphere. After returning, Su Yu had already packed his trunk. The Qingluan had grown up and could no longer stand that cramped pet cage, so it had already taken the first step and flown back to Fawley Manor to play.
As for Nagini, she was too big. Su Yu had no choice but to set up a summoning contract for her, planning to summon her once he got home.
Honestly, if taking the train home from Hogsmeade Station wasn't a tradition of Hogwarts School that he had to follow, Su Yu really wouldn't want to take it; not only is it slow, but it's also a waste of time.
On the train, the dozen or so people whose names were called, except for Cho Chang and Su Yu, were all racing against time to learn the language of the Eastern University. Time was tight and the task was heavy; they only had the two months of summer vacation. Once the next semester started, they would have to head to the Eastern University for study and exchange.
Theodore was holding Olivia, watching very intently. He had been suffering from BPD, also known as Borderline Personality Disorder, lately. Ever since his father died, he had become extremely anxious about gains and losses, prone to violent emotional fluctuations, and then began to fear loneliness intensely, terrified of being abandoned. Therefore, to soothe him, Olivia had been by his side constantly these past few days, giving Theodore as much comfort as possible.
Old Nott's body had already been transported back, and his funeral would be in a few days. Theodore hadn't told too many people, and Olivia would be with him the whole time as he became the new head of the Nott Family.
Oh, come to think of it, Su Yu and Cho Chang weren't the only ones not feeling the pressure; Goyle and Crabbe were also in that group. At this moment, the two of them were holding an oversized Chocolate Frog, eating it with great relish, so much so that their mouths were covered in chocolate mud. Kurama followed suit, also clutching an oversized Chocolate Frog and tearing into it wildly. However, the Chocolate Frog was too big, so Kurama had no choice but to lie on top of it and gnaw frantically, getting chocolate all over itself, looking even messier than Big Maita and Small Maita. As for Crookshanks, it... it didn't eat chocolate.
Young Master Malfoy was so anxious he was about to eat that HSK Standard Course textbook. He never expected that the language of the Eastern University would be so difficult to learn. Astoria was snuggled up beside him; she wasn't on that list, so she wouldn't see Malfoy for an entire year next year. She took this opportunity to soak in his scent, clinging to his side and refusing to leave.
As for the few people on Su Yu's side, they were doing quite well. After all, none of them were slackers; on the contrary, they were all extremely competitive. In just a few days, Hermione had already memorized the books. Her Ancient Magic Omniscient Analysis had significantly boosted her memory and comprehension, making learning simply so easy.
Additionally, because of the appearance of Lord Voldemort, Su Yu stopped pretending. He went straight to the seventh floor, opened the Room of Requirement, and took out the Ravenclaw diadem that Lord Voldemort had hidden there. With a gentle poke from the slytherin spear, Lord Voldemort's soul fragment let out a scream and vanished. Su Yu, adhering to the principle of "finders keepers," successfully tucked the Ravenclaw diadem into his arms. Right now, it was being taken along by Daphne to study the Eastern University language, and who knows if Lord Voldemort was cursing up a storm at this moment.
As for the rest of the Horcruxes, Su Yu wasn't in a hurry. After all, taking action now would only make Lord Voldemort more cautious and gain nothing. Haven't you seen how the uncles catch people? In the hide-and-seek game a few days ago, what did that group of people do? They waited until the last minute, collected all the evidence, and then pushed through, catching the enemy off guard.
Su Yu lay on Cassandra's lap, touching his left cheek, recalling the scene that happened this morning.
"I have a feeling we will meet again very soon."
At the entrance of the Great Hall, the Beauxbatons carriage was about to depart. Today was not only the start of the holiday for Hogwarts School but also the day for the other schools to return. Everyone was fine when they arrived, but two were missing on the way back. Sigh, fate plays tricks on people.
Fleur Delacour hurried up the stone steps, suddenly wrapped her arms around Su Yu's neck, and left a light kiss on his left cheek. "I will find a job here. Don't forget, I have already graduated now. Can I stay by your side?"
You are very brave. Su Yu kept blinking at Fleur, cold sweat streaming down. How could someone be this gutsy? Didn't she see that the faces of the group of girls behind her were already looking a bit wrong? He dared not speak...
"I understand, Su Yu. Then I'm really looking forward to our next meeting. Hehe, goodbye!"
Fleur turned around with a smile and walked onto the carriage. Su Yu didn't know what she understood; he only knew that he was about to get beaten up...
The departures of the other schools were not so eventful. One by one, they walked over to greet Su Yu and then turned to leave. Headmaster Dumbledore seemed not to have fully recovered yet; after all the schools had left, he hurried back to the headmaster's office to rest.
Harry and Ron were chatting happily. Except for Neville, none of them were on the list. After all, Minister Fudge believed that Neville, who had both parents, was more threatening than Harry, just based on his Potion bombs that flew all over the sky, which made enemies shudder at the sight.
Cedric had visibly lost quite a bit of weight, and his mental state was also somewhat listless. It was estimated that only time could slowly soothe the guilt in his heart.
As for the Weasley Twins, they were excitedly holding the 50,000 Galleons sponsored by Su Yu, ready to realize their dreams. However, it was just the beginning of the plan for now; to open a shop, they would still have to wait quite some time.
"Carson! I missed you to death!"
As soon as he got off the train, Su Yu prepared to give Butler Carson, who was not far away, a big hug, but Carson sidestepped, and Su Yu lunged into thin air.
"The young ladies must be tired after the train ride. The car is parked outside, and I will help the young ladies with their luggage."
Butler Carson bowed to Cassandra and the others, speaking respectfully.
"No, Butler Carson, I am the one who is your own flesh and blood!"
Several girls covered their mouths and giggled, watching Su Yu's exasperated look.
"Young Master, you are already an adult. Don't act like a child anymore; this way, it's very difficult for me to hold the little young master."
The girls stopped laughing, their faces turning slightly red. Smiles never disappear; they only transfer. Su Yu grinned broadly and started laughing.
"Carson, I knew it, you still love me. We'll have kids when we get back! Let's have a few more!"
Phew! The girls pinched Su Yu's waist. How shameless; there were still so many people here.
"Let's go home!"
Su Yu waved his hand and led the three girls out of the station.
Because Cho Chang had to stay at the Eastern University for a year next year, she didn't go home for this summer vacation either, but instead moved into Fawley Manor with Su Yu.
Fourth-year life ended just like that, not perfectly.
Chapter 216: Rebellious Harry Under Attack
At fourteen or fifteen, it is the age of rebellion, and this was exactly the case for Harry over these past two months.
Sirius Black seemed very busy these past two months, sometimes not coming home for days at a time. He told Harry to stay at home and not wander around because it was unsafe. Harry stayed alone in the Black ancestral home. Although he was usually taken care of by Kreacher, the House-elf, he still felt that his summer vacation shouldn't be like this.
Ever since Lord Voldemort was resurrected and that group of students from the Mahoutokoro School of Magic killed Thanos, he had been a bit paranoid. He couldn't stand even the slightest loud noise, always feeling like someone was coming to harm him.
During this time, he became obsessed with reading Muggle news, fearing that he might miss even the slightest clue, such as whether any Muggles had gone missing inexplicably, or any bizarre accidents or deaths, and so on.
But things did not go as he wished; the Muggle world was very peaceful. Every day, the news played nothing but reports of worker strikes and various advertisements.
Hermione was staying at Su Yu's house, busy learning Eastern University languages during this time, and had no time to write to Harry. And Ron, for some unknown reason, also kept saying he was busy these past two months and couldn't write letters. This infuriated Harry; he felt as if he had been abandoned. Even the chocolates Ron and Hermione sent for his birthday were thrown away by him directly. (The original text is like this; he was acting like he had a serious illness, becoming a resentful maiden, complaining about this and that all day long, and then having constant nightmares, dreaming of Cedric being killed, and Lord Voldemort coming to kill him...)
So, Harry could no longer endure this life. He ran away from home, wanting to move to Diagon Alley. Anyway, Sirius rarely came home and didn't care about him. He was like a sulking child, not knowing where else to go, so Diagon Alley was the only choice. Harry sighed; he wanted to learn more about the recent situation in the wizarding world and see if he could try his luck at running into some acquaintances. Only Diagon Alley fit his needs.
However, accidents always come quickly. Grimmauld Place, where the Black ancestral home was located, was only a forty or fifty-minute walk from Charing Cross Road, yet Harry was still attacked. A Dementor attacked him.
In the dead of night, darkness suddenly descended, and the entire sky suddenly became dim and devoid of light. Harry thought he had been hit by some kind of magic. A bone-chilling cold struck him, and a Black shadow rushed towards him. In his panic, Harry finally pulled out his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white light shone, and the Dementor's movements slowed down, but it seemed to have little effect. Harry had to calm his heart and mind, steady his emotions, open his eyes again, and shouted once more.
"Expecto Patronum!"
This time, the effect was significantly stronger. A huge silver stag rushed out and knocked the Dementor away with its giant antlers. Only then did Harry narrowly escape disaster.
This scene happened to be seen by a member of the Shadow Compass Society who was out at night looking for performance results. After asking for Harry's name and identity, he took him to the nearest safe house to hide temporarily.
"You stay here for now. It's relatively safe here; Lord Voldemort's people don't dare provoke us. I will contact the Chief and inform him of everything that has happened. Someone will come to pick you up then."
After the man spoke a few brief words to Harry, he began to contact Butler Carson. They didn't have any Wizard pride, like not using Muggle items; efficiency was the top priority in the Shadow Compass Society. So, he made a phone call to Fawley Manor and informed Butler Carson of everything that had happened that night.
The moment Hermione learned of the situation, she hurriedly contacted Principal Dumbledore. It was clear that she was still very anxious about her 'big son'. As for Su Yu, he was having a blast right now. The weather was too hot, and he was currently throwing a party with a few girls in the pool out back.
Kurama, wearing sunglasses, leaped down from the slide and plunged headfirst into the pool. Daphne picked him up as he kicked his little legs. Cassandra was lying on a lounge chair, reading a book while eating cold watermelon. Cho Chang used magic to conjure up lots of ice crystals, teasing Crookshanks, which made it sneeze continuously. Farley was almost kissing Su Yu.
"Su Yu!" Hermione ran to the poolside anxiously. "Something happened to Harry. I'm going over there. Are you coming?"
"Isn't Harry at the Black ancestral home? How could something happen there?"
After hearing this, Su Yu only felt that Lord Voldemort had really grown capable; he could even discover that.
"No, it's... so Harry ran away from home, was discovered by Death Eaters halfway, and they sent a Dementor to kill Harry, but he drove it away. It just so happened that a passing member of the Shadow Compass Society saw it and took him to a nearby safe house first."
"Oh... I get it..." Su Yu listened for a long time and sighed, saying that as expected of the protagonist, not only could he cause trouble, but this constitution that attracts disaster really meant that wherever he went, danger would follow.
"I think you should wait for Principal Dumbledore's decision. See what he does, then you go. I'll accompany you when the time comes. It's late at night, and I'm not comfortable with you going out alone."
Su Yu hugged Hermione, rubbed her head, and comforted her.
Soon, Dumbledore sent word back. The Order of the Phoenix had been restarted. Sirius Black had also been shocked when he received the news just now. Now, everyone was rushing to retrieve Harry. In order to provide Harry with a safe place, Sirius Black offered up the Black ancestral home as the base for the Order of the Phoenix, which would also better protect Harry.
Harry was still a bit scared alone in the safe house. He wanted to chat with the member of the Shadow Compass Society, but the other person had no intention of paying him any mind. After all, he was from Slytherin House; did he think everyone was like young Master Malfoy, who always liked to find someone from Gryffindor to talk to?
The first news Harry received was a letter from the Ministry of Magic. The letter stated that because Harry had used spells in Muggle society, violating regulations, Ministry of Magic personnel would arrive immediately to destroy his wand and expel him from Hogwarts School.
Harry's whole mindset collapsed. He was clearly the biggest victim, yet at this moment, he had become the target of punishment. Harry paced around nervously, wondering whether he should run away immediately. Or perhaps it could be said that the British are honest; even in this situation, he hadn't thought about resisting.
However, immediately after, the second and third letters arrived. Some comforted him, telling him not to be nervous, as Dumbledore had already headed to the Ministry of Magic. Then, they told Harry that the Ministry of Magic's punishment had been temporarily revoked, but he would have to attend a hearing later.
Chapter 217 Incompetence in One's Position (Chapter 2)
Hermione also called Harry, telling him to stay there with peace of mind, as security nearby would be strengthened; she couldn't say much else, as this was also Headmaster Dumbledore's intention.
And so, Harry spent three days in the temporary safe house, eating nothing but compressed biscuits and canned food for three days.
It wasn't until the evening of the fourth day that the door of the safe house was knocked on again. A member of the Shadow Compass Society stepped forward, confirmed there was no danger, and opened the door.
Standing outside were eight or nine people, led by Professor Moody. He strode into the safe house, followed by Professor Lupin and Tonks, who had short violet hair. However, just as Kingsley Shacklebolt was about to step inside, he was stopped by a member of the Shadow Compass Society.
"Before I decide to kill you, get out of here. The Shadow Compass Society does not welcome your kind. Get out!"
The man blocked the doorway with a cold expression, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, staring fixedly at the tall Black Wizard. They had killed quite a few Wizards from Uagadou recently; while Wizards from Mahoutokoro School of Magic were sometimes hard to identify, Wizards from Uagadou were very easy to spot.
"I am a member of the Shacklebolt family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight! How dare you discriminate against me!"
Kingsley Shacklebolt felt insulted; as a member of a pure-blood family, he had been blocked outside and even told to get out.
"Ridiculous. To think there's a Black person in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I wonder how much was spent to buy them back then, and now they're even leading the charge in discriminating against Muggle-born Wizards..."
This was the biggest joke Su Yu had ever heard.
Therefore, no matter how much Kingsley Shacklebolt kicked up a fuss, the members of the Shadow Compass Society would not let him in. Fortunately, Professor Lupin hurriedly held him back. If he had continued to make a scene, the members of the Shadow Compass Society really would have dared to act. Lord Voldemort killed to demonstrate his evil, but Su Yu was not that kind of person. Su Yu just felt that you were jumping around in front of him and were an eyesore—pure discrimination.
Lord Voldemort's discrimination was just for fun; for real discrimination, you had to look to Su Yu. Who could compare to the discrimination from the East?
Koreans, Russians, monkeys, Japanese, ladyboys, Indians, Indian women, rednecks, the N-word—they even distinguish between matte and glossy finishes. They aren't just harsh to outsiders; they are even harsher to their own people. Region, education, appearance, gender—what can't be discriminated against? Even the next village can be discriminated against; just look at how they've been at each other's throats over Ultraman these past few days.
"So Kingsley Shacklebolt, you'd better calm down. Su Yu really would dare to kill you, don't drag us down with you."
Under Professor Lupin's persuasion, Kingsley didn't dare to act wantonly anymore, because he saw that all the members in the shadows had already drawn their wands and pointed them at him. A few even pulled out modified rifles, which were flashing with bright runes.
And so, Professor Moody took Harry back to the Black family residence. The original Black family residence had disappeared; Headmaster Dumbledore had personally cast the Fidelius Charm and acted as the Secret-Keeper himself, thoroughly hiding the old house.
When Harry returned home, he discovered that the Weasley Family was also there. Ron and the Weasley Twins explained to him what the Order of the Phoenix was and told him that this would be the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix from now on.
In fact, Dumbledore would have preferred to discuss with Su Yu the possibility of borrowing his place as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, as that would be much safer. After all, Lord Voldemort was not a fool; he didn't even dare to touch the Malfoy family now, fearing Su Yu's retaliation. That guy was even more of a devil than he, the Dark Lord, was. Uagadou and Mahoutokoro School of Magic had merely participated in a rebellion, yet he had dared to indiscriminately slaughter them. Now, Wizards who had graduated from those two schools all over Europe were fleeing every day, terrified of being found and summarily executed by members of the Shadow Compass Society. It was clearly his intention to erase those two academies from the world.
However, Su Yu did not agree to Headmaster Dumbledore's proposal. He did not want to get involved in this war yet; it was not the best time for him to participate. It wouldn't be too late for him to join once Dumbledore's people had suffered heavy losses and the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic had sustained severe casualties. After all, he had no interest in playing some game of tripartite division of the world.
Harry was held tightly in Mrs. Weasley's arms, which allowed Harry to feel the warmth of a mother. However, Mrs. Weasley would not let him attend the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix, as she seemed to feel he was too young and should not have to face such cruelty.
Hermione and Su Yu were also there. They greeted him, and after seeing that Harry was fine, they left. Before leaving, they also spirited Ginny away, which made Mrs. Weasley scream in anger.
Harry seemed still a bit angry, speaking to Ron with thorns in his words. However, he also learned from the Weasley Twins that their two brothers, Bill and Charlie, had also come this time. Only Percy had not come; he had fallen out with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Arthur would throw things every time he mentioned him, and Mrs. Weasley would cry bitterly because Percy wanted to curry favor with Minister Fudge. He wanted to prove that he was right, which was very baffling, but he had indeed done so. He even refused to see Mrs. Weasley when she went to visit him.
After dinner, Harry wanted to learn about Lord Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix, which caused Mrs. Weasley and Sirius to get into an argument, and it became an uncontrollable mess.
As for Ginny, she was very clever. If she couldn't get the information from her mother, why not just ask Su Yu? Sometimes that's how it is—things you think are secrets, others don't see that way at all.
"In short, Lord Voldemort's current plans have been disrupted, and he doesn't dare to act wantonly. He is most afraid of being targeted by Dumbledore and me. As for the situation between Minister Fudge and Dumbledore, it's basically two people who are unworthy of their positions playing house. A matter that was originally easy to resolve has been made increasingly tense by the two of them, and they have started sabotaging each other, with constant infighting."
"Oh? How can their conflict be resolved?" Ginny and Hermione both leaned in, asking Su Yu curiously.
"Dumbledore goes to the International Confederation of Wizards and, in the name of the Supreme Mugwump, issues a decree that no serving Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards can participate in the election for Minister for Magic; they can only run after stepping down. It's a perfect solution, it's that simple."
Su Yu shrugged and spread his hands, as if he had just stated something very simple.
"But don't say this out loud. If Dumbledore doesn't step down, how can my master take his place? If my master doesn't take his place, how can I unify the British Ministry of Magic? Heh heh heh heh..."
"Dumbledore doesn't deserve to sit in that position. A top Wizard of Britain, voted out of office by British Wizards at the Confederation of Wizards—this in itself shows that he is unworthy. He should just honestly be his Headmaster and part-time little wife..."
Su Yu laughed sinisterly.
Chapter 218: Harry's Trial (Thanks to Chen Meng Liuli for the support)
Isolde had certainly come into her own. Not only had she been promoted to the ranks of Professors, but she had also hired a little assistant. When Su Yu saw that little assistant, he almost spat out the soda he was drinking all over her.
"Fleur, aren't you looking for a job? Why did you become Isolde's assistant?"
Fleur stepped forward quickly, took out a handkerchief, and wiped Su Yu's mouth. She really didn't treat Su Yu as an outsider at all.
"Isn't this a job? An assistant is a type of job, too, Boss~"
Ugh... Su Yu felt goosebumps all over, but then he looked at her with some shock.
"Wait, when did you learn Eastern language?"
That's right, Fleur had spoken that last sentence in Eastern language, which was why Su Yu was so shocked.
"I just started learning recently. Isolde taught me."
Isolde nodded from the side, "Boss, it was the family's idea to have her come over and try working with me first, and she learns very quickly."
Oh, so it was the Rosier family's intention. That made sense; the old lady in that family was quite a formidable figure.
"Fine, then you can stay with her for now. By the way, remember to give my regards to the old lady."
"Yes, Boss."
During this time, Su Yu often accompanied Hermione to Black House to visit them. Every time, Su Yu would see members of the Order of the Phoenix coming and going in a hurry, looking very busy. But Su Yu didn't know what they were actually busy with. It wasn't that he didn't understand what they were doing; it was that he knew exactly what they were doing, but he didn't understand why they could be so busy. Simply put, a group of people doing useless work, and even they didn't know what they were busy with every day, but they were certainly busy.
Early Thursday morning, Su Yu was woken up by Hermione in his arms. Today was the day of Harry's trial. Su Yu still seemed a bit groggy. Hermione and Ginny, who had just entered, helped him get dressed. As expected of a young master, he still needed people to help him dress when he woke up.
Butler Carson had already prepared breakfast for them. His workload had increased dramatically during this period, and he had even had to hire a few female workers to do tasks only they could handle, such as laundry, grooming the mistress's hair, applying makeup, choosing clothes, and other relatively private matters.
Daphne was feeding Crookshanks a small cat treat. Hermione, this irresponsible "parent," always forgot about it. Kurama looked at the treat in Daphne's hand and licked her lips; she wanted to taste it too, as it seemed quite delicious.
"Kurama, be good. This is a cat treat. I'll get you whatever you want to eat, but you are not allowed to snatch it from him..."
Daphne didn't even need to open her eyes to know what Kurama was thinking with those little schemes of hers. After stopping Kurama's inappropriate thoughts, she got her a piece of cheesecake, which finally appeased her.
Cassandra was still reading the daily edition of The Daily Prophet, occasionally taking a sip of coffee, looking very comfortable. Farley was tinkering with the spoils she had scavenged from Mahoutokoro School of Magic a while ago—a scimitar. She felt it was very handy to use, and the first thing she did every morning was to polish it.
Cho Chang was helping Butler Carson set the plates. Sometimes she would help Butler Carson cook along with Daphne, which deeply moved Butler Carson. Which mistress would help a servant with chores? You know, Su Yu's mother would be lucky if she didn't blow up the kitchen.
Harry's trial was taking place at the Ministry of Magic, in the office of Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Su Yu, Hermione, and Ginny arrived at the Ministry of Magic directly via the Floo Network, while Harry and Arthur Weasley came through the telephone booth outside. The booth would sink underground. Su Yu felt it was very similar to the entrance to Section 13 in Jackie Chan Adventures. He even went to sit in it specifically. Of course, when he sat in it, no one dared to ask him why he was riding it. Even that female receptionist didn't dare to breathe loudly. In the entire Wizarding world now, who didn't know the great name of Mr. Yu-Su-Fley? Everyone was avoiding him; who would dare to provoke him?
"This is fun. It has a novel feeling of going to steal the Twelve Talismans. Their settings are all so similar; they're all like sieves—anyone who wants to get in can get in..."
Watching Su Yu and Kurama playing happily on an elevator, shouting and yelling, Hermione helplessly dragged them away. It was too embarrassing.
As expected, the world was a huge, makeshift stage. Su Yu looked at the chaotic Ministry of Magic, which was completely different from the scenes he saw in the movies. It was noisy, like a wet market. Wizards carrying fire-breathing chickens were in a rush. The Department of Magical Games and Sports was a mess, and there was even a wishing fountain in the Great Hall—the only thing missing was a turtle.
"That is the Fountain of Magical Brethren! It's a donation box; all its proceeds are donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
Hermione was sometimes really speechless at her big boy, especially when Kurama was added to the mix. When the two of them were together, one dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it. Just now, Su Yu had goaded Kurama into standing in the middle of the wishing fountain to play the part of that "turtle," telling her she would get many gold coins and could even take all the gold coins in the pool. Knowing that Kurama was blinded by greed, once she heard she could take all the gold coins in the pool, she didn't care about being a turtle or not. She was ready to dive right into the wishing fountain to perform a "theft of the donation box."
Ginny sneered on the side, using magic to hold Kurama back, not letting her jump down.
Courtroom Ten was located at the very bottom of the Ministry of Magic, where even the elevators couldn't reach. To be precise, it was a dark chamber. Everyone should be familiar with this courtroom because the Death Eaters were tried here back then.
"Hi, Dad, why aren't you going in?"
Just as the three of them reached the door, they saw Arthur Weasley standing anxiously at the entrance, pacing back and forth. Seeing his daughter arrive, his expression softened slightly.
"Oh, what a terrible day. They changed the time temporarily this morning, and Harry and I arrived ten minutes late... I guess the trial is already over now. You probably came for nothing..."
Inside, Minister Fudge was acting like a different person, constantly making things difficult for Harry, saying Harry was lying and that he just wanted to show off his magic in front of Muggles. With a loud bang, everyone froze in place. The door to the interrogation room was kicked open.
The person who arrived was none other than Su Yu. He was full of suppressed anger, and everyone started trembling when they saw him in this state, especially Minister Fudge. He was reminded of the humiliation that night and was so scared he almost wet himself, not daring to make another sound.
"Who is it exactly?" With another loud bang, Su Yu stomped the floor, creating a dent. Harry was even knocked to the ground by the impact.
Chapter 219: Fifth Year Begins
"Who changed the time at the last minute? What am I supposed to do here if you've already finished the trial! Are you messing with me? Do you think this is funny?"
Indeed, Minister Fudge, which wire in your brain got crossed? You knew Su Yu was coming, yet you changed the time at the last minute and moved it up without waiting for him. Isn't it obvious you didn't take him seriously?
By slapping him in the face, aren't you essentially kicking the Fawley family in the backside? Could Su Yu tolerate that? This was treating Su Yu like he was nothing.
"Presumptuous! Who dares to barge into the courtroom without permission!"
Where there is an idiotic Minister, there are idiotic subordinates. Just look, Minister Fudge was too scared to speak, so his lackey stood up.
Su Yu raised his head, his Mangekyo Sharingan activated, and he immediately cast an illusion, deciding to subject him to eighteen types of torture in the dreamscape first.
Minister Fudge watched as his top warrior collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth and clearly done for, before he could even finish his sentence. He trembled even more violently. Not to mention that the guy was a demigod to begin with, the scene of his father sending Lucifer flying with a single sword strike hadn't happened that long ago. He really must have lost his mind; why on earth would he provoke this ancestor...
A group of people hurriedly stopped Su Yu and apologized, saying they would restart the trial, restart it immediately, and that Su Yu could decide how to conduct it. Only then was Su Yu placated. He wiped off two chairs nearby and gestured for Ginny and Hermione to sit down first.
As the trial restarted, Minister Fudge didn't dare to act cocky, but the Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, stood up.
She took over for Minister Fudge, sarcastically challenging Headmaster Dumbledore.
One claimed Harry was a habitual liar whose testimony couldn't be trusted, while the other kept defending Harry. This continued until Umbridge mentioned that Harry, along with Hermione and Ron, had been up to no good at school and that she wanted to expel them all.
"I request a suspension of the meeting."
Su Yu raised his hand.
The judge didn't dare to be negligent and seemed to want to ask what had happened, but Su Yu ignored him. He walked up to Umbridge, slapped her across the face twice—the sound echoing exceptionally loudly throughout the courtroom—and then followed up with a flying kick, not stopping until Umbridge had knocked over a row of chairs.
"If you're going to put Harry on trial, do it properly, and leave my girlfriend out of it. Thanks."
Heh, he was actually quite polite, knowing to say thanks.
In the end, with Minister Fudge offering no further comments and Umbridge unable to say anything else, Harry achieved a complete victory and cleared himself of all suspicions.
When Su Yu walked out of the courtroom, he saw Lucius Malfoy arguing with Arthur. Of course, it would be abnormal if they weren't arguing when together.
Seeing Su Yu emerge, Lucius immediately changed his expression, smiling as he greeted Su Yu. He also invited him to visit Malfoy Manor, mentioning that Draco often spoke of his prefect at home and couldn't stop praising Su Yu. Narcissa had always wanted to thank him personally and hoped Su Yu would grace them with his presence.
Look at that; as expected of Lucius, he really knew how to say things beautifully. After Su Yu promised to visit when he had time, he took the two girls and left.
The start of school was drawing closer, and Su Yu didn't know what he had been busy with for the past two months, but the days had flown by.
Every few days, he would make a trip to Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon, the hometown of that crazy girl Luna, to accompany her for walks, sit under the moonlight watching the stars, or occasionally perform a mad dance, quietly watching her smile in the moonlight.
At the same time, he had to occasionally go to Hogwarts School to visit Isolde and share in their lovesickness. This woman was always insecure, feeling she was older than Su Yu and fearing that he might abandon her one day, so every night spent with her was exceptionally wild.
Not long ago, Fleur had been added to the mix, so Su Yu had to carve out some time to accompany her shopping and buying things. Fleur had come to the unfamiliar Great Britain all by herself, which made her very attached to Su Yu. There was no helping it; Su Yu already had several others at home, which exhausted him.
Old Nott's funeral was very simple, with not many people attending the memorial. In fact, Theodore hadn't notified them at all. Su Yu's family and the Malfoy family were both there. At the funeral, Callis saw Blaise's mother for the first time; she was dressed very exquisitely, noble and elegant. However, she seemed to be very good at socializing, speaking freely in front of the Lucius family and Su Yu, while Blaise stood to the side without saying a word.
As someone with an Easterner's soul, Su Yu had never understood why, when leaving tomorrow, one wouldn't pack their things tonight. Even if they didn't pack them, they should at least have a general idea in their head.
But Westerners seemed to like waiting until the last minute, always sleeping until they were almost late before waking up, and then rushing to pack and catch the train. Just look, Harry, Ron, and their group didn't even have time to fix their hair as they ran frantically toward the platform.
Su Yu was lying in a train compartment, resting his head on Ginny's lap. At the moment, they were the only two in the compartment. This year, the girls had all been promoted to prefects. Furthermore, because Farley was already in her seventh year, she had been specially appointed by Headmaster Dumbledore as the Head Girl, managing 24 prefects. Hermione, Daphne, and Cho Chang had all become the new fifth-year prefects, and Cassandra was already a prefect. They all had to go to meetings first and patrol from time to time to ensure the students' safety.
So, for now, Su Yu could only lie on the lap of the idle Ginny, which made the little girl blush bright red.
"I heard that Ron was also elected as a prefect?"
Su Yu asked, eating the fries Ginny handed him.
Ginny seemed very dissatisfied with her brother; once she started talking about Ron, she couldn't stop.
"Yeah, after Ron found out about it, he was so excited he couldn't sleep all night. He went around showing off his prefect badge. In the end, it was only after George and Fred suggested using permanent glue to stick it to his forehead that he stopped showing it off."
Ginny paused, then continued, "Mom even rewarded him with a broomstick, which made him overjoyed. He hugs his broom every day and won't let go, not even letting others touch it. He's just a stingy person."
Just as she was speaking, the compartment door was pushed open, and Farley and the others returned. Hermione and Cho Chang were still patrolling, but the Slytherins didn't need to; the Slytherin students were exceptionally well-behaved. After all, no matter how much of a troublemaker someone was, they couldn't compare to young master Malfoy and his group. With them watching over, who would dare to run around and cause trouble?
Therefore, on the train, only Hermione and Cho Chang were exceptionally busy. They would also occasionally check on the new first-year students to ensure they didn't run into any problems on the train.
Chapter 220 So annoying
When Su Yu got off the train, he saw Harry making a scene. The reason was that Professor Grubbly-Plank had replaced the person welcoming the new students this year. Harry was loudly demanding to know where Hagrid had gone. However, Ron was not by his side; after all, he was a prefect now and had his own duties to attend to.
Luna, however, was standing next to Harry. She didn't understand why Harry was suddenly losing his mind, and instead wondered if he had been bitten by an Acromantula or some other magical creature when he got off the train...
Su Yu winked at Luna and then sat in the carriage. A short while later, Hermione and the other girls walked over. Seeing that they seemed to be finished with their tasks, Su Yu quickly opened the carriage door and invited them in.
"It's absolutely terrible! That idiot Malfoy, I swear I'm going to report him to the Professors! He hasn't even been wearing that badge for a day, and he's already acting so arrogant he doesn't know who he is anymore! He actually beat up a group of first-years!..."
Hermione complained to the girls around her. This struck Su Yu as strange; surely Malfoy wouldn't be arguing with Hermione now, would he?
"I see..." After Hermione and Daphne continued their explanation, Su Yu finally understood. The two girls felt that it was normal for new students to be mischievous—they were just children, after all, and they had all been like that once. Malfoy had been even more annoying when he was younger. But the current young Master Malfoy felt that they just needed to be disciplined and that a good beating would solve it. Yes, that was exactly what he thought.
Furthermore, he was the fifth-year male prefect for Slytherin. Su Yu didn't want to get involved, and he didn't care about prefect positions. In Slytherin, you spoke with your fists; never mind a prefect, even the Principal couldn't do anything about that. Originally, the prefect position should have gone to Theodore, but he had too many family matters to attend to, so the position was given to him. This had thrilled young Master Malfoy, so on the very first day of school, he had proudly strutted off with his two bodyguards to "discipline" those children.
"So, he single-handedly beat up over 20 kids...?"
Su Yu was stunned. Whose subordinate was this? How could he be so fierce? Oh, right, his own... How damn embarrassing... Beating up kids on the first day of school; if word of this got out, he, Su Yu, would have no face left...
"Yes... Goyle and Crabbe both thought it was embarrassing to beat up kids, but only he felt quite proud of it... bragging to Pansy about how powerful he was..."
Daphne also sighed, covering her forehead. She had only looked away for a moment, and now Slytherin's notoriety had spread even further.
At this moment, Cassandra returned. After hearing about Malfoy's heroic deeds—when she had already finished her business and was about to go find Su Yu—she had to return to the new students. As punishment, she made young Master Malfoy swim back to Hogwarts School alongside the new students. He wasn't allowed to board the boats during this time, and Goyle and Crabbe were to supervise and swim along with him.
The three unlucky fellows spent the whole night huffing and puffing as they swam to the dock beneath Hogwarts School. Shivering from the cold, they had no choice but to have Crabbe transform into a little fire-starter. The other two huddled around Crabbe to warm themselves. After recovering for a while, they finally rushed toward the Great Hall...
This year, the teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class had changed. It was no longer Professor Moody, but that "Extinction Nun" Umbridge. As for Professor Graves, who taught the upper-year Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, he would be following Su Yu and the others to the East in a few days. Therefore, Umbridge would temporarily take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class for all students this year. However, whenever she saw Su Yu, she still felt a bit afraid and would avert her eyes.
The new students shuffled into the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall followed, carrying the Sorting Hat, and placed it on a chair. The Sorting Hat began to sing this year's sorting song.
It was quite interesting. This year, it sang the story of the four founders of Hogwarts School, and then it told everyone to unite. It had already sounded the alarm for everyone: if things continued this way, Hogwarts School might cease to exist.
"Euan Abercrombie!"
A panicked-looking little boy hurried onto the platform and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. His two large ears happened to catch the hat.
"Gryffindor!"
And so, the new year's sorting ceremony began. Watching child after child walk onto the platform and be sorted into their respective houses, everyone applauded excitedly, welcoming the new students to their own houses. Only on the Slytherin side, the new students—seeing Malfoy lying on the table, too exhausted to move—were almost scared to tears, especially the ones who had been beaten...
Next came the meal. Su Yu really couldn't accept steak and kidney pie; wouldn't it be gamey? However, the treacle tart after the meal was actually quite good. When Su Yu first heard the name, he thought it meant putting fruit and syrup inside a pie—who would eat something like that? But later, when he saw the finished product, it felt pretty good because, strictly speaking, it wasn't a pie. It was very similar to an egg tart, just filled with cooked filling inside. It tasted pretty good; it was edible.
After everyone finished eating, Headmaster Dumbledore began his annual lecture on the same old topics: safety precautions, Hogsmeade Village, the Quidditch tournament, and then the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor, Umbridge.
Dumbledore didn't intend to introduce her at any length, but this woman stood up on her own, interrupted Dumbledore's speech, and began a long, rambling lecture—the very official kind. No one understood what she was trying to do, except for Hermione and Cassandra. While everyone else was listening and feeling drowsy, only Hermione snuck over to find Cassandra to discuss what Umbridge had said.
(Really, there are still people who question how Hermione became Minister for Magic? Go read that chapter in the original Order of the Phoenix about the Sorting Hat's new song, and you'll understand just how powerful Hermione is.)
Amidst all of Umbridge's nonsense, the two of them extracted the important content and analyzed the conflict and war between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School.
This left Su Yu dumbfounded. As expected, an external brain is useful. He was almost asleep, leaning on Daphne's shoulder, while these two were able to glean so much useful information.
Harry had been acting like a lunatic for the past few months, arguing with one person, then arguing with another. He was blaming everyone. Ron ignored him during the holidays and even became a prefect; Dumbledore ignored him—he was just stripped of his position, was that as serious as being ignored? Seamus just mentioned that his mother believed the bad things written about Harry in the newspaper, and Harry started viciously slandering Seamus and his mother. Harry had practically lashed out at everyone, including Sirius, Professor Moody, and so on...
It was like he had hyperthyroidism; he felt that everyone in the world had wronged him, that he had saved the world, and that everyone should be grateful to him instead of isolating him.
How does that saying go? "If you don't beat them for three days, they'll tear down the roof tiles." He just needed a good disciplining. When Minister Fudge interrogated him, he didn't dare let out a peep, relying entirely on Dumbledore. Seamus was just a bit wavering—on one side was his mother, on the other was his good friend—and he didn't know who to believe. You tell me, was it necessary to open your mouth and diss someone's mother?
When Molly believed The Daily Prophet's attacks on Hermione, why weren't you so tough then? Others endure grievances, but you can't?
(I'm really sick of this Harry. Maybe I should write him off, along with Ron. Seriously, just looking at them makes me angry; they're always yelling and screaming, then suspecting this and that. Hahahaha)
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