allendalepharm Chapter 225 The War Never Ceased
Chapter 225 The War Never Ceased
Chapter 225 The War Never Ceased
Voldemort's appearance quickly caught Dumbledore's attention.
He had been busy off-campus for several days, and no one knew what he was doing. After receiving the message, he rushed back to school, looking travel-worn. Listening to Lu Ping's story, he sat there silently, motionless, with only the veins on his forehead throbbing.
After Professor Kettleburn finished his rambling and embellished tale, and the office fell silent again for a while, Old Deng finally let out a deep breath, took off his glasses wearily, and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking quite troubled.
"you……"
He looked intently at Lockhart and Grindelwald, who were sitting obediently to his side, his gaze filled with anguish. "Do you know how difficult it was for me to finally find the opportunity to completely seal him inside the werewolf Fenrir Greyback?"
Voldemort is like a venomous snake crawling in a gutter, or a mudfish in a swamp. No matter how hard you try, you can never catch him. You finally managed to trap him in a cage, but now these two have let him out!
Just then, Snape came up the spiral staircase, carrying a large glass jar in his hands, which appeared to be filled with pieces of flesh and blood.
"Fenrir the werewolf is dead, Professor Dumbledore." Old Stan placed the jar on the table, glanced at everyone, and walked to stand in the corner.
Dumbledore pointed to the jar. "Gilderoy Lockhart!"
"Professor, I'm here." Lockhart grinned, trying his best to appear harmless.
"You should know how important this is. You went through that difficult time together, and I think you understand it deeply."
"As we searched for his trail, the Death Eater Alecto Caro was brutally murdered and hung before us..."
"After that, you encountered him alone, barely escaped from his grasp, and were almost killed by his curse. You only survived by sheer luck, thanks to the Guardian Charm you cast..."
"..."
Each and every incident demonstrates just how difficult it is to deal with the cunning Voldemort.
It's not a question of whether we can win or not, it's a question of whether we can find it or not!
"I'm so sorry, Professor Dumbledore," Lockhart said, bowing his head in apology.
"Me too, I'm sorry." Grindelwald echoed Lockhart's words, indicating that he knew he was wrong, so as to avoid being nagged further.
People can actually laugh when they're speechless.
Dumbledore laughed in exasperation, feeling a tightness in his chest. He looked at the two of them with a sense of helplessness. "For the past few months, I have been leading the International Confederation of Wizards and the Ministries of Magic of various countries in an investigation, but to no avail."
"The Muggle who used pranksters to attack Muggle buildings in London seems to be an isolated incident."
"But I smelled a conspiracy."
"This matter seems to involve too many people, so much so that there are forces, both overt and covert, trying to cover something up."
"My biggest worry right now is whether Tom has actually gotten involved in this."
Dumbledore's gaze was intense. "I'll be very busy during this time. I hope you'll keep a close eye on the school. No matter how cunning Tom is, he'll always have his eyes on Hogwarts and will always find a way to get to Harry..."
Snape, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes and looked at Dumbledore with a dark expression.
In fact, everyone present was a quick-witted person who knew what Dumbledore was implying.
Moreover, he may want to express different things to each person.
Take Snape, for example—Dumbledore undoubtedly wanted him to provide some assistance to Voldemort. Temporary victories and sacrifices didn't matter; to defeat Voldemort, Snape had to return to Voldemort's side and win his trust.
This is a cruel thing. Snape himself longed for light and recognition, but he had to actually do some evil things, things that would be hated and resented by righteous people, in order to gain Voldemort's complete trust.
Dumbledore didn't even need to discuss this plan in depth with Snape.
Because Snape knew that the bait that lured Voldemort, the so-called "savior" who had been touted for over a decade, Harry Potter, was precisely the person he cared about most.
That's enough, isn't it?
Dumbledore didn't need to force Snape to do anything; he simply gave Snape the opportunity to do such a thing as revenge.
Snape would naturally distance himself from Harry Potter, becoming his adversary, and making it public so that he could prove to Voldemort that he didn't actually care that much for his unrequited love, that his first love had long since faded with time, and that James Potter's presence filled him with an inescapable thorn.
Voldemort wasn't an idiot. This extremely intelligent, cunning, and vicious man wouldn't be easy to convince with such a statement.
If all goes well, the story will end with Snape finally getting his revenge, paying the price for his past sins, and the villain ultimately being remembered for his evil deeds.
By upholding righteousness and acting in accordance with the trend, no planning is needed; everything will happen naturally, and in this way, one will be invincible.
Upright and honorable, yet wicked.
Otherwise, why would anyone give Deng the nickname "White Demon King"?
This White Demon King torments himself and others.
No one is free when caught in the quagmire of war.
Having experienced too much betrayal and being betrayed in his life, Dumbledore had long since lost the ability to completely trust anyone.
For example, Lupin.
He was willing to treat Lu Ping well, give Lu Ping opportunities, and trust Lu Ping because he was kind.
However, he also had to remain vigilant towards Lupin, because he was responsible for his comrades on all fronts.
Dumbledore was well aware of his influence. He acknowledged Snape, and as a result, everyone put aside their life-and-death hatred, willing to stop targeting Snape, and willing to try to tolerate the existence of such a person. What a terrifying state that was.
This meant he couldn't trust Lupin completely, otherwise it would be irresponsible to the others.
Lupin clearly sensed this as well, so he kept his distance from Harry and, for more than a decade, never dared to approach Privet Drive, nor did he dare to be too close to him when he came to school.
But he also showed Harry plenty of kindness and did his best to help him, because he knew that this was not only his true feelings, but also the image he needed to project.
From Dumbledore's perspective, the world is like a game of chess, where everyone plays their own role and follows the rules of conduct, without overstepping any boundaries.
With this confidence...
Lockhart was then able to speculate on Dumbledore's opinion of Sirius.
Sirius Black was undoubtedly a rule-breaker and had no respect for Dumbledore, the leader.
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When Voldemort was about to massacre the Potters, Sirius Black trusted his own wisdom and judgment more than Dumbledore.
When he discovered Peter Pettigrew's betrayal, and when he found out that Peter Pettigrew was not dead, he was more inclined to believe his own actions than Dumbledore's.
Unfortunately, Sirius was not a skilled chess player; he was merely a pawn in the vast and unpredictable tide of events, unaware of his own limitations.
So he spent more than a decade in prison in Azkaban, and after escaping, he lived like a stray dog, hiding and running around.
He was unwilling to trust Dumbledore, so Dumbledore could not fully trust him.
Because their interests are not fundamentally aligned, once Dumbledore trusts a person, that person's thoughts and actions will bring terrible disaster to all his comrades.
See, sometimes when you explain a problem clearly, it's actually that simple.
Deng Xiaoping was willing to give anyone a chance, but he never looked at what people said, only what they did. Lu Ping was doing it, while Sirius Black was never willing to do it.
Lockhart believed that after learning of Sirius's escape, Dumbledore had been waiting for Sirius to come to him, or at least send a letter.
Unfortunately, it never happened.
There are countless paths in the world, and not everyone needs to side with Dumbledore. He allows others not to stand on his side, but that doesn't mean he's obligated to go to great lengths to support their lives.
Therefore, Lockhart is intelligent.
He would always seek out Dumbledore for help. The most inappropriate time was when he wrote Dumbledore and Grindelwald's magical philosophies into the book "Voldemort the Mysterious Man: A Pureblood Supremacist with a Muggle Father?" But before publishing the book, he still brought it to Dumbledore and asked the old man for his opinion.
Dumbledore agreed.
So even Grindelwald could only mutter a few words about it, without raising any further objections or blaming anyone.
Who is Dumbledore? He is the most powerful wizard in the wizarding world today, without exception, and also the one with the highest position and authority. He defeated Grindelwald and took over as the chief wizard of the International Wizarding Federation, without exception.
It is essential to give such people full respect.
Lockhart had to admit that he had indeed messed up one thing: Dumbledore's arrangement for Voldemort to be imprisoned in the werewolf's body.
Fortunately, it wasn't anything too outrageous. Everyone makes mistakes in judgment, and that should be tolerated.
Dumbledore summoned Professor McGonagall, the Vice-Headmaster, and the other two Deans of House, and solemnly gave them instructions on the next steps.
"The Aurors will all be leaving Hogwarts. They don't have enough manpower. They have more important things to do than to capture escaped prisoners."
This was a decision that Dumbledore had to make. He initially allowed the Aurors to enter Hogwarts in the hope of giving Sirius a chance to catch Peter Pettigrew and prove himself, and to have more people witness this event to clear his name.
But Sirius was willing to hide, and even if he didn't look for him, he couldn't catch Little Pettigrew. The situation was changing rapidly, and he had to make a choice.
"Those Dementors will remain at Hogwarts, now free from the Aurors' control. I hope you will keep a close eye on their movements."
If bringing in the Aurors was Dumbledore's way of giving Sirius a chance...
So bringing in the Dementors was meant to give Voldemort an opportunity.
Dumbledore clearly realized that if Voldemort, that unscrupulous fellow, were still at Hogwarts, or if he were to sneak in again, he would definitely try to collude with the Dementors, and then Dumbledore would have the opportunity to completely eliminate these evil creatures.
Dementors are not suited to be jailers at all; they only create more criminals. Everyone imprisoned in Azkaban will have some degree of psychological distortion, or even die inside.
Dumbledore's father was like that, Voldemort's grandfather was like that, and now the Death Eaters are the same.
The war has never stopped.
(End of this chapter)