Dumbledore is Expelled

In the days following the start of the school term, the castle was shrouded in a strange atmosphere.

The most obvious sign was the increase in owls at breakfast time, and the large number of letters delivered every day.

At this time of year, everyone is still caught up in the excitement of the holiday, and friends always have endless topics to talk about, so the Great Hall is never quiet.

But now, people are just busy reading and replying to letters; nobody's in the mood to chat. If you didn't know better, you'd think there was an important exam tomorrow.

Moreover, this change has continued from the first day of school until now.

"My mom is asking me about school again."

While eating breakfast that day, Justin Finch-Fletchley casually tossed aside the letter he had only read halfway through and muttered to himself, "She's written me five letters in the last few days, and so has my father. They seem to think there's a madman in the castle who might suddenly erupt and hurt someone at any moment."

"Isn't that right?" Zacharias Smith said from the side, "The senile Dumbledore, Harry Potter plays terrible jokes on everyone just to get their attention..."

He had just finished writing a short reply and slipped the envelope into the owl's claws beside him.

"The fact that a renowned principal is accompanying a fraudster in his charlatan's stunts is quite understandable."

"I don't think Professor Dumbledore would do such a thing," Macmillan muttered under his breath.

He shared Finch-Fletchley's opinion and chose to believe Dumbledore, but since they were classmates, he didn't argue.

"Actually, my family read the Daily Prophet and they were a little reluctant for me to continue coming here... Of course, I came anyway; I didn't want to give up magic."

Zacharias Smith continued, "But in return, I write to them every day to make sure I'm safe at school."

"You must have had a really tough time."

Macmillan's silence doesn't mean others won't speak.

Mikel couldn't take it anymore and retorted sarcastically, "If you're so worried, you might as well stay home. That would be much safer, and you'd save the cost of a parchment every day."

"I don't mind buying a parchment every day," Zacharias. "And why should I give up my studies because of two swindlers? They're the ones who should leave."

"Dumbledore isn't a fraud," Ryan said earnestly. "He's the greatest headmaster in Hogwarts' history, and our whole family chooses to believe in him."

"Me too," Mikel said.

"Do as you please," Zacharias said indifferently. "The Daily Prophet has already made it very clear. Since you insist on being stubborn, there's nothing I can do."

"You're the one who's stubbornly clinging to your beliefs, actually choosing to believe the Daily Prophet," Mikel said bluntly. "To be honest, that newspaper is utterly rotten; how could it doubt Dumbledore?"

"Regardless, if he wants me to believe him, he'll have to provide solid evidence to prove that the You-Know-Who has truly been resurrected."

Zacharias Smith pushed the empty plate in front of him forward, raised his chin, and said, "Until now, I would still prefer to believe the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, and by the way, the Dumbledore you all believe in has been expelled from Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he's losing his mind."

After saying that, he got up and left the Great Hall.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment; everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"It's normal for some people not to believe it, right?" Justin Finch-Fletchley tried to ease the tension.

"Ha, who cares if he believes it or not," Susan Bones said, scoffing. "Whoever fires Professor Dumbledore will definitely regret it!"

"That's right."

With their encouragement, the dining table quickly became lively again.

"Zacharias Smith must have been talking nonsense just now."

Not far away, Cedric, who had overheard their entire conversation, frowned and said, "Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards... how could they expel Professor Dumbledore? That's impossible..."

"In fact, it's true."

Kyle looked at the Daily Prophet in his hand.

It was clearly stated on the front page that Dumbledore had indeed been expelled.

Moreover, the entire article mocks Dumbledore as a senile old man, implying that his dismissal was self-inflicted.

Clearly, while some people unconditionally trusted Dumbledore, many more, like Fudge, were unwilling to believe that Voldemort had been resurrected.

When Kyle attended the meeting at the Hog's Head Inn during the holidays, he noticed that there weren't actually that many people there, only about thirty.

So, taking advantage of their numerical advantage, they voted to expel Dumbledore.

The International Confederation of Wizards expelled Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard... It has to be said that this was the first time Kyle had ever witnessed such a magical operation.

However, Dumbledore seemed to have anticipated this outcome, just like what he said at the end of the opening banquet...

"The You-Know-Who's methods of creating conflict and hostility are extremely sophisticated; we must demonstrate the same unbreakable friendship and trust..."

Perhaps Voldemort's original intention was to separate Dumbledore from most wizards; a disunited Wizarding World was what he wanted to see.

Moreover, as long as he doesn't show up, this misunderstanding cannot be cleared up.

Of course, there is another possibility: that Dumbledore was deliberately expelled.

According to the newspapers, the vote in Wizengamot was 19 to 21, meaning that the proposal to expel Dumbledore passed by a narrow margin of two votes.

As far as Kyle knew, there were fifty official members of Wizengamot with voting rights, but forty of them actually voted.

Where did the remaining ten people go?

Did they abstain? Or did they not participate at all?

The International Confederation of Wizards also faced a similar situation, with insufficient voter turnout and a difference of only two votes.

If it was truly intentional, Kyle couldn't fathom Dumbledore's purpose in doing so—to lull Voldemort into a false sense of security, or perhaps he had some other plan?

Kyle shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further, and instead picked up a letter from the side.

It came from Wizengamot; this is probably the only good news today.

The rulings concerning Lucius, Karkaroff, Macnair, and Umbridge have concluded.

There were two parchments in total. The gist of the parchment was that Lucius and the others had voluntarily dropped their accusations against him the day before.

The progress was much faster than Kyle had anticipated.

The investigation into Barty Crouch lasted for more than half a year, but this time it was over in just a few days.

As for the outcome... the letter said that Lucius and his two companions would later issue a public apology in the newspaper and would also be fined a sum of gold.

Umbridge, however, received no punishment. According to the letter, she insisted that she had simply been deceived, and then everything was fine.

Kyle sensed an underlying urge to appease them.

but...

He glanced at the name Fudge that was specifically mentioned in the letter... Okay, this makes sense.

"I wonder what will happen next," Cedric sighed. "What if the School Governor also believes the Daily Prophet? I don't want to see anyone other than Professor Dumbledore as headmaster in seventh grade."

"Don't worry about that," Kyle said. "The only identity Dumbledore will never give up is that of Headmaster of Hogwarts."