Voldemort Buster

No one expected that Dumbledore would drop such an explosive piece of news.

Voldemort isn't dead?

Wasn't he killed by Harry when he was still a baby more than ten years ago? Why would you say he didn't die?

Furthermore, if he is not dead, why hasn't the Ministry of Magic announced this news?

The students looked panicked; they wanted to know what had happened and why Dumbledore had said that.

"I know you're all surprised, but that's the truth." Dumbledore sighed and continued, "Voldemort was a cunning man. He was very skilled in all kinds of Dark Arts, and he learned how to make Horcrux while he was at Hogwarts."

"I know you don't know what Horcrux are, but I need to tell you that Horcrux are extremely evil Dark Arts items. They are called Horcrux because they contain fragments of the creator's soul. The process of creating Horcrux involves using some very heinous act (such as murder) to cause the wizard's soul to split, and taking a part of the soul out of the body and putting it into an object outside the body. This object is the Horcrux."

"In this way, even if the wizard's physical body is attacked or destroyed, he will not die, because a part of his soul will remain intact in the world, unharmed."

After Dumbledore speaking, the Great Hall erupted in a frenzy, like a pot of boiling oil.

They all wanted to know what had happened.

When it was about time, Dumbledore raised his hand to stop everyone from whispering.

"When Voldemort was sixteen, he created his first Horcrux, which was his Notebook." Dumbledore's gaze swept intently across the Slytherin's long table, and many who had handled the Notebook lowered their heads. "It must be admitted that he was indeed a very talented wizard, but unfortunately, he went down the wrong path."

"This Notebook was created by him after opening the Chamber of Secrets and killing an innocent classmate. The victim, as you all probably know, is Elizabeth Warren, also known as ' Moaning Myrtle '."

Before anyone knew it, the Moaning Myrtle had arrived at Dumbledore's side. Upon hearing Dumbledore's introduction...

She even puffed out her chest and held her head high with an air of importance, as if she were extremely proud of it.

Everyone held their breath. They all knew Myrtle was a classmate at Hogwarts —or rather, had been a classmate at Hogwarts —but they never imagined she had gone through so much.

"With the Horcrux ' support, even if Voldemort suffers a fatal blow, he won't die. Instead, he'll hide in some corner, barely clinging to life, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce and take a vicious bite," Dumbledore said.

He said with a bright smile, "And in 1991, he obviously found a suitable opportunity—he tempted Professor Quirrell Quirinus Quirrell, attached himself to the back of his head, and wanted to enter Hogwarts to steal something. Of course—you know what happened next, Harry Potter stopped Quirinus Quirrell, or rather, he once again stopped Voldemort from harming the Magical World."

As Dumbledore finished speaking, applause began to erupt in the Great Hall.

Nobody knows exactly what happened in the first year. They only know that Harry stopped Quirrell, but they don't know that he stopped Voldemort.

In this light, Harry truly deserves the Special Contribution Award for his first-year contribution to the school!

"Harry! Well done!" the students shouted.

"In the second year," Dumbledore continued, "Voldemort used the Notebook to control a poor student and release the Basilisk that had been lurking in the Chamber of Secrets —and as you all know, the Basilisk is a creature whose characteristics are such that anyone who makes eye Basilisk with it will die instantly. Our poor Myrtle died from making eye contact with the Basilisk."

"Yes," Myrtle continued, "Oh dear, it was terrible. It happened right there, in that toilet I used to frequent. I remember it very clearly—Oliver Humbell mocked me for wearing glasses and looking like a four-eyed dog, so I hid here. I locked the door and was crying inside when I suddenly heard someone come in. What they said was hilarious."

"I think it must be another language. But what annoyed me the most was that I heard a boy's voice talking. So I opened the door, yelled at him to go to his own boys' restroom, and then..."

Myrtle puffed out her chest, radiant with pride, and declared, "I'm going to die."

Upon hearing Myrtle's words, everyone held their breath and dared not make a sound, as if there were a boy next to them making funny remarks.

Myrtle was delighted to have achieved her goal. She floated around twice in a huff and said again, "I only remember seeing a pair of terrifyingly large yellow eyes, and then—it felt like my whole body was being grabbed, and then I floated away. It was such a strange feeling. I really hope that one day you will never encounter this situation."

The students all fell silent; none of them dared to imagine what the consequences would be if they became ghosts.

Perhaps my family will be sad? Grieved?

They are all in the prime of their lives, with plenty of youth left. What if they suddenly die?

As they thought about it, a chill ran down their spines.

"And what I want to say is—" Dumbledore looked around and spoke amidst the shared sorrow, "Harry once again thwarted this conspiracy. He successfully thwarted Voldemort's evil plan, eliminated Voldemort's Horcrux, and the Basilisk— "

He didn't say that Harry took the Basilisk away, but anyway, there wasn't much difference between getting rid of the Basilisk and taking it away.

Hearing Dumbledore's words, the students breathed a sigh of relief and then applauded enthusiastically again.

Harry Potter is amazing!

"In the third year," Dumbledore continued, "We all know that Sirius was framed by Pettigrew Black unjustly imprisoned in Azkaban. It was Harry successfully captured Pettigrew and rescued an innocent soul. I think no one doubts that he can win the Special Contribution Award for the School in the third year—just think about it, if Voldemort's loyal servant Pettigrew had really caused some trouble in the school, colluding with Voldemort from within, what a huge impact it would have been!"

Dumbledore's statement was indeed valid, and everyone applauded Harry again.

For three consecutive years, you thwarted Voldemort's plots and protected Hogwarts from Voldemort's harm— Harry, you are our god!

We'd like to call you Voldemort Buster!

"And this year," Dumbledore sighed, "Voldemort doesn't just have one Horcrux. He's back again. His servant Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. attacked Alastor Moody and impersonated Alastor, coming to Hogwarts to teach, intending to disrupt the Triwizard Tournament."

At this point, Dumbledore raised his head, his eyes shining, and said, "It's still the incredibly brave Harry Potter. He once again thwarted Voldemort's plot, saving our school from the destruction of his evil plans. That's why I'm awarding him the Special Contribution Award for the School again this year, not simply because he won the Triwizard Cup!"

"I know the Ministry of Magic won't acknowledge this, because it's far too complicated and involves a whole host of interests. But I still want to remind everyone that Voldemort is not dead. His shadow looms over us. If we don't stay vigilant, I don't know when he'll strike again, but I do know he will definitely attack those who aren't on guard."

Whispers broke out again in the Great Hall, and after a while, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Let me propose," he said, "A toast to our champion, our hero, the student who has won the most special contributions to the school in a century, Harry Potter!"

Dumbledore turned solemnly to Harry, raising his goblet, as almost everyone in the Great Hall did.

After everyone was seated again, Dumbledore continued, "The purpose of the Triwizard Tournament is to enhance and promote mutual understanding within the Magical World, and given what has happened—given Voldemort's resurrection—this connection is more important than ever before."

Dumbledore glanced at Madame Maxime and Hagrid, and at Phoebe Delacour and her Beauxbatons alumni.

Then look at Viktor Krum and Durmstrang's classmates at the Slytherin table.

"Every guest in this Great Hall," Dumbledore said, his gaze lingering on Durmstrang's students, "Is welcome at any time, whenever they wish to return. I repeat to you all—given Voldemort's resurrection, we are strong only when united, and vulnerable when divided. Voldemort's methods of creating conflict and hostility are very sophisticated, and we can only fight him to the end by showing the same unbreakable friendship and trust. As long as we are of one mind and open our hearts, differences in customs and languages will not be obstacles."

"I believe—I truly hope I'm mistaken—I believe we will all face dark and difficult times. Some of you in the Great Hall have already been directly harmed by Voldemort's wicked cruelty, and many of your families have been Diffindo..."

"But remember," Dumbledore said loudly, "Even in the darkest days, we must hold onto hope!"

Dumbledore's speech did not last long, and after the banquet, the students were all worried.

They believed that Dumbledore, as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the greatest White Wizard of the century, would not deceive them.

but..

Has Voldemort really returned? Why hasn't the Ministry of Magic released any information?

Filled with questions, everyone waited in the crowded Entrance hall for the carriage to take them to Hogsmeade Station.

It was another beautiful and pleasant summer day, Harry was already thinking about whether to take Cassandra, who had just graduated, and Pabbie to the beach.

"Harry!"

He turned his head to look.

Phoebe Delacour hurried up the stone steps and entered the castle.

At the other end of the field behind her, Harry could see Hagrid reluctantly helping Madame Maxime put harnesses on the two horses.

Beauxbatons ' carriage is about to depart.

"I hope we can meet again," Phoebe said, walking up to Harry and extending a hand, but her eyes were on Ron. "I hope to find a job here and improve my English."

"Your English is already excellent," Ron said with a smile.

Phoebe smiled at him, while Hermione frowned.

"Goodbye, Harry, and Ron," Phoebe said, turning to leave. "It was a pleasure seeing you both."

"I think she's definitely after Bill." Harry seemed to be saying this to Ron, but he was actually saying it to Hermione.

Sure enough, Hermione's furrowed brows relaxed upon hearing Harry's words.

"Does she like Bill?" Hermione asked, leaning closer.

"Didn't you notice?" Harry looked at Hermione in surprise. "I thought you already knew about this."

"Oh, I wasn't paying attention to them," Hermione said, waving her hand. "Actually, I've been reading the whole time—"

Indeed, Hermione didn't pay much attention to the little interactions between Bill and Phoebe; she was happily engrossed in her books.

"What are you planning to do during the holidays?" Ron asked again. "I remember Harry said we'd gather at our Dueling Club for some special training? Before that, how about we go out and have some fun?"

Harry thought to himself, "Even if I go out to play, it won't be with you. I'll definitely bring Cassandra and Pabbie with me."

Veratia is very busy right now and doesn't have time to go out and have fun, so she'll take the two graduates with her.

"What are you saying?"

Harry suddenly felt something soft behind him and knew without a doubt that it was Pabbie.

If it were Cassandra, his back would be throbbing right now.

"We were talking about what to do during the holidays," Harry said without turning around. "I was planning to take the Dueling Club students to Grimmauld Place, Number 12 for some special training, but I think we should wait at least two weeks before doing that. In the meantime, we need to relax a bit, don't you think, Pabbie?"

"Hehe." Pabbie chuckled, pressing his cheek against Harry's. "Of course, I need to relax."

"I think we should go to the beach, what do you think?" Harry said with a grin. "To escape the heat, we should go to the beach—let's call Cassandra along, the three of us can go, what do you say, Pabbie?"

"What about Veratia? Isn't she going?" Pabbie asked curiously.

"Do you think she'll have the time?" Harry said helplessly. "She's very busy right now, I think it's best if we don't bother her."

"No," Pabbie said seriously, "I think you really need to ask Veratia about this—whether she goes or not is her business, but whether you ask her or not is your business."