Exposing Cadogan Isn't Nearly Enough / Merlin Never Attended Hogwarts ...

"Of course I can testify to this," Nearly Headless Nick shook his head vigorously. "Christopher Columbus discovered the New World on October 12, 1492. His discovery greatly astonished His Majesty the King. But unfortunately... I was beheaded a little over two weeks later due to a magical accident. By the way, I was a true knight, you know!"

"Thank you for your help, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. I never doubted your identity for a moment." Will bowed slightly to Nick gratefully, then continued, looking at the crowd, "I think things are now very clear. This so-called Sir Cadogan was a complete liar from beginning to end; he didn't tell a single word of the truth!"

"According to my investigation, even his name was taken from the Wales hero wizard chapter, Mabinogion, in 'A History of Magic'; Sir Cadogan was not Britain, and the painter who created this painting and sent it to Hogwarts was the France painter Honoré Daumier. Between 1850 and 1870, this painter created nearly 80 paintings based on Sir Cadogan's true identity, and the one in front of you is one of them."

"Finally, the reason this Mr. Sir Cadogan talks so much about Spain history is because his real identity is that of a Spain, and a character from a novel! Am I right... Alonso Gijano, that is, Don Quixote?!"

(P. S.: Henry VII's portrait does indeed hang at Hogwarts, as clearly stated on the Harry Potter Wiki.)

Furthermore, Nearly Headless Nick was not beheaded for revealing his wizarding identity. He was a wizard who openly associated with Muggle and also served as Henry VII's court wizard. Therefore, during the Tudor Dynasty period, the conflict between wizards and Muggle was not irreconcilable.

Nearly Headless Nick was actually executed for causing a magical accident. He failed to heal Lady Grieve's crooked teeth with magic and instead caused her to grow fangs. So it's estimated that he was beheaded on charges of 'using magic to harm ordinary people'. That's all.

Chapter 426 Simply exposing Sir Cadogan is far from enough

It's not hard to guess that Sir Cadogan's true identity is Don Quixote.

This guy is actually quite similar to the absurd protagonist in the book; both are mentally unstable and ridiculously crazy, yet at the same time, they uphold chivalry and possess heroic and fearless qualities...

It's just that the length of time makes you want to tear apart his mouth, which can't produce anything worthwhile.

Don Quixote is a famous work by the Spain writer Cervantes. It was first written in 1605, and the story is set more than a century after knights had long since disappeared. If we go back from this point in time, Sir Cadogan's vision was probably the late 15th century.

At that time, the most significant events in Spain were the establishment of the Kingdom of Spain and the beginning of the Age of Exploration. Sir Cadogan stubbornly believed that he was one of the Knights of the Round Table, so he naturally attributed this unrelated history to his imagined Arthur.

At this moment, seeing the doubtful or mocking looks in everyone's eyes and hearing the students' increasingly undisguised discussions, Sir Cadogan completely lost control.

"You... no! You shameless, treacherous devil, everything you've said is a lie! That 'Tang' and 'De' thing, that's not my name at all! I am the valiant Sir Cadogan, I... ahhh! You devil, what spell have you cast on me?!"

He clutched his head in agony, crying out in pain, clearly unable to control the resurfacing of his old memories, yet refusing to accept the reality.

Faced with Sir Cadogan like this, a trace of pity flashed in Will's eyes, but it quickly turned into an extremely serious expression, even carrying an aura of authority that made people feel fear!

"Mr. Sir Cadogan, are you sure you want to continue being so stubborn?" Will asked coldly. "Now that I have completely exposed your identity, why do you insist on clinging to those easily exposed lies?!"

"No, those weren't lies at all, they were the truth! I am the great Sir Cadogan, a Gryffindor, a friend of Merlin, and Knights of the Round Table..."

"Enough!!" Will shouted angrily, interrupting Sir Cadogan's ramblings, and even drew his wand at the portrait!

"Mr. Sir Cadogan, this is my final and most serious warning to you: please cease your fabrication and imagining of Arthur, stop posing as Knights of the Round Table... and under no circumstances should you distort the history of Britain!!"

"Damn it! You..."

"Sir Cadogan! Shut up!!"

Sir Cadogan was still trying to say something, but Dumbledore immediately stopped him from grumbling.

Will was clearly genuinely angry, and Albus Dumbledore couldn't let Sir Cadogan continue spouting nonsense.

Others may not know Will's identity, but Dumbledore knows it perfectly well.

Sir Cadogan, that madman who spouts nonsense, usually treats his ramblings as jokes, but this time he's actually gotten himself into trouble with the person in question.

Trying to discuss Britain history with Will is like walking into a trap.

"Argus, remove Sir Cadogan's portrait. There's no need to continue this debate," Dumbledore instructed the caretaker. "Until Sir Cadogan confronts his true identity, turn his portrait upside down and forbid him from speaking of anything concerning Arthur or the Knights of the Round Table!"

"No... no! That won't do!!"

Sir Cadogan could not accept Dumbledore's verdict, but no matter how much he shouted and struggled, Filch remained unmoved and simply moved his portrait out of the Great Hall.

"That was truly a wonderful debate, Mr. Henry Potter," Dumbledore said approvingly, turning to Will. "Few wizards are as brave and meticulous as you, daring to question great historical legends and guide everyone to find the truth. Your excellent performance deserves an extra 20 points for Ravenclaw House."

"Yay!" "Great!"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, a cheer erupted from the long table in Eagle House, and Professor Flitwick in the stands also clapped happily.

This year's House Cup is practically a foregone conclusion; Slytherin House will inevitably finish last, while Gryffindor House will be far ahead. Even with Will's extra 20 points, it won't change the overall situation...

However, they are certain to surpass Hufflepuff and thus retain second place.

"Headmaster, actually... sometimes the truth is hard to accept." However, just as everyone was enthusiastically discussing the previous debate, Will suddenly shook his head, his tone becoming somewhat somber.

His behavior left many people at the scene puzzled, but Colin of Gryffindor House and Astoria Greengrass of Slytherin House frowned at the same time.

They understood Will's thoughts and knew what Will really wanted to say.

In order to uncover the truth he cared about, Will even used that one question to inquire in detail about the spirit behind Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Mr. Henry Potter, I don't quite understand what you mean," Dumbledore asked softly. "What exactly do you mean by 'truth'?"

"It's Merlin!" Will declared fearlessly. "While exposing Sir Cadogan's true identity, I can say with absolute certainty... the celebrated wizard Merlin never attended Hogwarts, much less was he a Slytherin House student! And most of the legends about Merlin circulating in the Wizarding World are nothing but erroneous rumors!"

These words caused another uproar in the audience.

Most people never expected that Will, a first-year student, would dare to openly challenge the most respected wizard in the Wizarding World!

In particular, Will's denial of Merlin's relationship with Hogwarts will undoubtedly cause dissatisfaction among many people, and the Slytherin, who were specifically mentioned, are now in a state of utter chaos.

"Well... Will Henry Potter, you should know what Merlin means to wizards, right?"

Dumbledore's expression changed slightly, but when he saw someone at Eagle House's desk, he ultimately abandoned his original intention to stop them.

"I can give you a chance to state your opinion in front of the whole school, but Mr. Henry Potter... you must take responsibility for everything you have said!"

After publicly exposing Sir Cadogan's lies, Will, insatiable, turned his attention to Merlin... In the past, Albus Dumbledore would usually treat such unexpected situations as a joke and then deal with them slowly.

But when he met Harry's confident gaze, he knew he couldn't stop Will from speaking today, and could only let him drop this bombshell.

It was clear that Harry and his small group had come prepared this time.

But their actions are likely to cause another huge uproar in the entire Wizarding World.

Chapter 427 Merlin had never attended Hogwarts.

Just sitting here was enough to make Albus Dumbledore, out of consideration for him, have to let Will go unchecked—a feeling that Harry found...

Actually, it was quite enjoyable.

Several years have passed since Harry decided to escape the Dursley family, and he has finally grown from a shrimp into a shark.

Admittedly, he currently lacks both the strength and influence to defeat any of the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic, or the lurking Death Eater.

But at least now Harry has the ability to compete head-on with the other three parties and can enter the game as the fourth player... instead of being a pawn to be manipulated as before!

The Easter break during his third year was his final period of preparation; after that, Harry would begin to take the initiative.

Today, he intends to use Will's words to stir up a storm!

"Hmph, you're just a first-year student. How dare you talk about Merlin like that? I think Headmaster Dumbledore's questioning was completely unnecessary. How could a brat like you possibly shoulder such a heavy responsibility?!"

A shrill sound rang out in the Great Hall, and before Will could make any assurances to Dumbledore, Slytherin, who considered themselves "parties involved" in the incident, launched their attack first.

"That's right! How dare you say that Merlin didn't come from our house, or even that he wasn't a student at Hogwarts? Your nonsense is on par with that madman Sir Cadogan!"

"That's right!" "This guy is talking complete nonsense!"...

After the first one to stick her neck out, soon the entire Slytherin House table erupted in waves of mockery and accusations.

Meanwhile, students from other colleges also began pointing and whispering about Will in front of the Great Hall.

The students present were naturally delighted that Merlin wasn't from Slytherin, but Will's statement that Merlin hadn't attended Hogwarts was somewhat ironic, as it contradicted the school's own position.

However, Will remained completely unfazed by the growing waves of doubt and ridicule from the audience.

Will had prepared meticulously for today's debate, having thoroughly memorized all the evidence.

Besides, Harry told him to go for it without worry, and that Harry would take care of everything in the end!

Thinking about all this, Will's eyes gradually sharpened.

He turned his gaze to the long table in Slytherin House and asked in a serious tone, "Fellow Slytherin students, since you are so certain that Merlin graduated from Slytherin House, does anyone know exactly when he enrolled?"

Will's question not only left the hundreds of Slytherin speechless, but also rendered the students from the other three houses speechless.

Merlin's enrollment time was an absolute blind spot for them.

In fact, everything about Merlin is vague in the Wizarding World... or even completely unknown.

The students at Hogwarts couldn't even fully grasp a book like "The History of Magic," let alone the knowledge points beyond the textbook.

Aside from the few brief mentions in "History of Magic," most people's understanding of Merlin comes from the Chocolate Frog Card cards and the rumors surrounding Sir Cadogan.

"I... I don't care when Merlin enrolled! In short... he's definitely one of us Slytherin!"

A Slytherin House student stammered for a long time but couldn't give a specific time. Finally, he got angry and started arguing with Will.

His behavior naturally made Snape's face darken in the faculty seat, but seeing that Harry still looked very interested, Snape did not say anything to stop him.

The consequence of not stopping them was that the Slytherin House students became even more brazen.

"Exactly! You say Merlin wasn't a student of Slytherin or even Hogwarts? Then tell me, what era did he belong to?"

"Hmph, I bet he doesn't know anything at all; he's just trying to grab attention this way!"

Hmm... those Slytherin House students who dared to provoke Will are probably going to have a tough time after the Easter break.

From Harry's perspective, Severus Snape's face was almost as black as his clothes.

"Indeed, I cannot confirm the exact period of Merlin's existence, but it is quite easy to determine that he did not graduate from Slytherin and did not attend Hogwarts."

Ignoring the Slytherin House students' sophistry, Will leisurely began to explain his prepared arguments, "First, Merlin was Arthur's court wizard, a point I believe everyone agrees on. Therefore, we can rephrase the question: to know the period in which Merlin lived, we only need to determine the period in which Arthur existed. So let's assume that if Merlin was indeed a student of Hogwarts, then the Arthur's Court must have existed at least later than the founding of Hogwarts, right?"

After explaining his points, Will paused briefly, noticing that everyone present, especially the professors, was nodding slightly, before continuing his explanation.

"Next, let's look at what the average person knows about Britain history. What I want to tell you here is that the Britain Royal Family's verifiable existence predates the founding of Hogwarts. As we all know, Hogwarts was built around 990 AD by the Four Founders, while the earliest traceable dynasty in Britain, the West Saxon Dynasty, was established in 829 AD, a full 160 years earlier than Hogwarts... Furthermore, from the West Saxon Dynasty to the present Royal Family, the existence of every dynasty in Britain history is verifiable, yet there has never been Arthur's Court among them!"

"In fact, most historians, even ordinary people, generally speculate that Arthur lived around 500 AD. Therefore, if Merlin was a contemporary of Arthur, he would have existed at least 500 years before the founding of Hogwarts! If he wanted to become a student at Hogwarts, or even be taught by Salazar Slytherin, he would probably have to find a way to travel through time!"

By comparing the actual history of the Britain Royal Family with the wizards' various rumors and speculations about Merlin, Will's argument is absolutely reasonable and well-founded.

Even professors like McGonagall and Flitwick, while expressing their approval, began to smile wryly.

They didn't care about Merlin's Hogwarts background, and Will's last words were indeed quite interesting.

After all, given such stringent historical constraints, Merlin's only real option for gaining admission to Hogwarts and becoming a Slytherin student would have been to travel through time.

But the question is... what's in it for him?

"You... you're talking complete nonsense! This history, fabricated by a bunch of ignorant Muggle, is a complete lie. Of course, we wizards would never use it!"

As it turns out, you can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. Just like the evidence Will provided, no matter how brilliant it is, Slytherin House students will still stick to their stubbornness.

One of the older students from Slytherin House even gave Will a disdainful look. "Oh, I remember now, you're also a piece of mud..."

"What are you trying to say Will is?"

Suddenly, Harry's cold voice drifted from Eagle House's table, instantly silencing the entire Great Hall.

The Slytherin who had just been speaking rudely were now too afraid to even breathe!

Chapter 428 Strike at your opponent's heart can kill them.

When Harry discovered that Slytherin had dared to speak ill of Will, he knew it was time for him to step in and clean up the mess.

Today's argument wasn't just about winning; in fact, from the moment Sir Cadogan's identity was exposed, everything was for one purpose.

That is, by denying the legend of Merlin, we can then deny the erroneous history of the Wizarding World!

The matters that followed were beyond Will's capabilities to handle, so Harry naturally had to step in and make the final decision.

What were you trying to say just now?

He glanced indifferently at the Slytherin House student from before. He was a sixth-year student who looked much taller and bigger than Harry, but at that moment he was trembling and about to fall over.

"N-nothing! I didn't mean to say anything!" He shook his head frantically, afraid that if he answered too slowly, Harry would pick a fight with him.

"So you have a problem with the history of ordinary people?" Harry continued to press on, his face expressionless.

"Ah... I, I don't know..." the other person stammered, begging for forgiveness. "Granger, it was all my fault... I don't really know anything about the history of ordinary people..."