Hogwarts's Destruction Is Complete

He introduced a series of cautious reforms, advocating a blend of "practical magic" and "ancient wisdom."

Under the reforms, the castle gradually recovered from ruin and grief, even showing a restrained vitality that seemed to surpass its former self.

That same year, Hermione Granger entered the Ministry of Magic with an impeccable record.

Her efficiency was astonishing, and she was both tenacious and tactful. She excelled in purging the remnants of Dark Magic, advancing the rights of Magical Creatures, and mediating international wizarding relations. Her rapid rise through the ranks drew widespread attention.

Five years passed, and Caesar Habs's position as Headmaster grew ever more secure.

Under his leadership, Hogwarts entered an era the outside world described as more "open" and "pragmatic."

Meanwhile, through a series of headline-grabbing laws and crisis responses, Hermione Granger rose to the top amid fierce political struggles, becoming the youngest Minister in the history of the British Ministry of Magic.

Her close, public cooperation with Hogwarts Headmaster Caesar Habs was held up as a model of coordination between the Wizarding World's administrative and educational systems.

Two stars shone side by side, seeming to illuminate a new chapter for magical Britain.

Until the end-of-term assembly that year.

Caesar Habs stood at the front of the Great Hall and announced in a steady, clear voice:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with its thousand-year history, would officially be dissolved at the end of the school year.

The reasons were sound and forward-looking—to promote diversity in magical development, provide more specialized and personalized education, and break down longstanding barriers.

A storm erupted. Waves of doubt, protest, and pleas to reconsider surged through the crowd.

Yet the Headmaster's preparations were flawless, his proposal logically airtight, and his procedures beyond reproach.

The most decisive support came from a public statement issued immediately by Minister of Magic Hermione Granger.

She promised that the Ministry of Magic would do everything in its power to ensure a smooth transition.

In the face of power and what seemed a perfect blueprint, opposition gradually fell silent, splintered, and was absorbed.

Another school year came to an end. For the last time, the bells of Hogwarts Castle rang out as the bells of a school.

Students and teachers departed, carrying complicated feelings with them.

The castle was not abandoned. It was preserved as the "Magical Education History and Research Center," but its mission as a complete school of magic came to an abrupt end.

Four new institutions were established across Scotland. They inherited some of Hogwarts' traditions, while placing greater emphasis on specialized fields.

The foundations of education in the Wizarding World were completely reshaped.

No one knew that on the night he announced the school's dissolution, Caesar stood alone in the empty Headmaster's Office.

Beyond the window, the Black Lake was dark as ink, and the stars hung low.

His fingers toyed with the Philosopher's Stone, now utterly dimmed and reduced to a deep-red crystal. A faint, inscrutable smile played at the corner of his mouth, as if he had just finished telling a very long story.

Meanwhile, in the Minister of Magic's office, Hermione signed off on the final documents concerning funding for the new schools.

She set down her quill, rubbed her brow, and went to the window.

The lights of magical London shimmered below, but her gaze passed through the distance and settled on the ancient castle to the north, now silent.

There was no triumphant satisfaction in her eyes at having reached the pinnacle of power—only fathomless exhaustion and a thick tangle of complicated feelings.

"Caesar, what is love?" Her voice in the memory was young and curious.

"Love is the most dangerous spell. It can make people lose their reason, cloud their judgment, and endure the deepest pain. It can also make you strong enough to fear nothing, or so vulnerable that you can barely stand." His answer had sounded like a distant fable at the time.

"I don't quite understand... Can it really be that extreme?"

Hermione took from the inner pocket of her robes the letter, its edges slightly worn—the one in Caesar's handwriting, the "proof" Professor McGonagall had passed on to her.

She knew every letter by heart, and every point in its logic was clear to her as glass.

She knew it was a lie.

A lie to Professor McGonagall, and to her as well.

But she had never asked him to confirm it. Not once.

Because of love...

Thus, a thousand years of Hogwarts came to an end.

The curtain rose slowly on a new era, amid the ashes of power and a reordering of the world. Whether light or shadow lay beyond the curtain, only time would tell.

[Main Mission: Hogwarts's Destruction Is Complete]

[Overall Assessment: S+]

[Calculating rewards...]

[The mission duration is fifteen years; three years remain. The host may end the simulation at any time.]

[If you choose to end the simulation, your simulated body will die in an accident. Do you wish to end it now?]

"I won't end this simulation."

Caesar's voice was firm.

By rights, after getting what he wanted, he should have left.

But the instant that thought crossed his mind, countless memories surged through him all at once.

Three years remained... He wanted to do some things simply because he wanted to, not because they were part of a plan.

One sunny afternoon, at the home in Hampstead.

When Caesar and Hermione knocked on that door again and stood there saying, "We're back," the shopping bag fell from Monica's hands.

Wendell stared at him for three seconds, then burst out laughing and pulled him inside. He slapped Caesar hard on the back and said, "You rascal, you didn't even send us a letter!"

The table was laid with the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding Monica had lovingly prepared. Wendell brought out a bottle of his finest wine and kept Caesar talking about dental care and the curious happenings of the Wizarding World.

Wendell and Monica Granger had gone from being shocked when they first heard that the two were in love to feeling delighted now.

After all, they had long since come to think of Caesar as part of their family. The couple hadn't hesitated for a moment to accept the man who loved their daughter so deeply.

Of course, this time they welcomed Caesar under a new title—as a true member of the family.

Hermione smiled beside them, occasionally exchanging a knowing glance with Caesar.

The atmosphere was warm and easygoing. The fire crackled in the hearth, lighting the sincere smiles on everyone's faces.

Looking at it all, Caesar suddenly remembered another afternoon from years ago.

Back then, he had been a guest at this same table, and Hermione had still been a little girl who got ketchup on the tip of her nose.

And, of course, he had been calculating his mission progress in his head, never realizing that he was stepping into this family's life and becoming part of it.

"Caesar?" Hermione's voice brought him back to the present.

He looked up and found her watching him, concern in her eyes.

"You were daydreaming," she said.

"I was just thinking," he replied with a smile. "Some things find their way back to where they began, no matter how far they wander."

"Like a dream." Hermione raised her glass and said cheerfully, "A toast to where it all began! A toast to family!"

"To family." Caesar repeated the words aloud and in his heart, then clinked his glass against hers.

It was an ordinary warmth he had perhaps yearned for, deep down, in the gaps between countless cold calculations.

But he had never believed it could belong to him.

And now, he was sitting right in the middle of it.

He felt like a thief who had stolen someone else's happiness.