"—Trivial matters?"
The two of them grew even more confused. In their view, the matter of the list had been the biggest scoop in the wizarding world lately. Everyone had been discussing their views on the werewolf march, and Ron had even complained that it disrupted normal life and entertainment. Then it suddenly came out that the werewolf march had been manipulated by a mastermind behind the scenes, with the ultimate goal of intensifying the conflict between werewolves and wizards and brewing up a confrontation.
It had twists and conspiracy theories alike—practically the perfect story template.
If that counted as trivial, then what could possibly be more important?
Seeing the innocent blankness on their faces, Hermione sighed. "Haven't you noticed that Vaughn hasn't appeared in the papers lately? Even C has vanished."
Had he?
Harry scratched his head. Thinking back, that did seem to be true.
"Because Vaughn's goal has already been achieved. The list has been made public, public attention is no longer focused on the werewolf march, and the public's magnifying glass has turned toward the pure-bloods. The pure-blood families are also being forced by pressure to make concessions—what remains is nothing but meaningless bickering. There's no need to care about it."
Harry and Ron listened in a daze.
Hermione could not be bothered to explain further. She casually turned a page of the newspaper and pointed to another report. "This is what we should be paying attention to. Look at who's in the photograph."
The two followed her finger.
It was on a secondary page, a news report whose popularity had been stolen by the list incident:
[The International Magical School Potions Exchange Program has officially begun. Beauxbatons and Castelobruxo have publicly announced their participation in the Pyrenees.]
The photograph Hermione meant was directly beneath the headline.