Voldemort's stress reaction came as no surprise to Albert. In the end, it was simply the consequence of ruling through terror.
Once the image of Voldemort being unbeatable was shaken, wizards oppressed to their limit would rise up in resistance—unless they wished to die as cowards.
Perhaps no one had the courage to be the unlucky first to stick their neck out, but with the Defense Association and the Order of the Phoenix taking the brunt of it at the front, more and more wizards would eventually step forward to resist.
This would certainly plunge the British wizarding world into unprecedented turmoil, but this was already the Wizarding War—the most turbulent of times.
How long could that threadbare false peace possibly last?
The greedy and brutal Death Eaters would only make everything worse. Not to mention the ill-intentioned Dark Wizards at the very bottom, whose bottomless appetites could only be filled by plundering other wizards.
Yet wizards were not crops to be harvested.
Worse still, most of the wealthiest people were likely among the Death Eaters. The result was easy enough to imagine.
Rather than let their strength be slowly gnawed away, Albert believed it was better to detonate every hidden problem and settle them all at once through this damned war.
And Voldemort's actions were undoubtedly pushing many wizards who had tried to remain neutral to the other side, leaving them unable to stay neutral any longer.
In truth, this was exactly what Albert wanted to see. His plan to win the students over and force other wizards to move closer to his side did not seem to be working as well as expected. Perhaps it simply needed more time, but Albert could not guarantee when the final battle would arrive.
That awkward situation, where they faced a whole