The Leaving Feast
When Nagini opened his eyes again, two days had passed since the great battle.
However, she still lacks intelligence and only possesses the instincts of a wild beast. Callis even caught a lot of rats to feed her, which Nagini devoured one after another, crunching away. This made Goyle drool, which made Malfoy give him a flick on the forehead in disgust.
The belatedly aware Goyle realized that the young master must have found out about his plan to eat alone. He secretly vowed that he would definitely leave a few for the young master when they caught mice later.
However, Nagini was no longer as violent and manic as before. Apart from baring his teeth when he first woke up and being slapped twice by Kurama, his eyes were noticeably clearer. He usually stayed in the Slytherin Common Room, acting as the mascot for the snakes. How could Slytherin be without snakes? Right? Now it's complete.
"Is Headmaster Dumbledore awake?"
In the Slytherin common room, Su Yu stopped petting Kurama. It was too hot. It was much more comfortable petting Nagini, which was cool and refreshing, though a bit big and heavy.
"He's already awake. He said the graduation banquet will be held tomorrow afternoon, and all six colleges will be there."
While slapping Goyle and Crabbe, young Master Malfoy answered Su Yu. Those two bastards actually caught a bunch of rats and, with eager smiles, wrapped them in a box and gave them to him. How was young Master Malfoy supposed to know they were rats? So he just casually gave them to Astoria, and now she's beaten him black and blue.
For two whole hours, the Slytherin students spent the entire time catching mice in the common room. The moment Astoria opened her gift, she let out a miserable scream and was thrown out. Mice flew everywhere, and Nagini excitedly opened her mouth, waiting for the rain to fall on her. But most of the mice were still scattered all over the common room.
"I think they've gotten sillier and sillier ever since they learned Ancient Magic..."
Blaise sat in his chair, whispering to Callis.
"Who calls someone stupid in front of an idiot? Can't you keep your voice down? Those two probably traded their brains for it, and now that the trade is successful, they've lost their brains too. This perfectly proves the principle of equivalent exchange in Alchemy."
Callis was trimming her nails, somewhat absentmindedly.
Harry had been avoiding it for the past few days; he didn't want to enter the hall where everyone stared at him with strange looks. But no matter how much he tried to avoid it, he had to attend the farewell party today.
The Slytherin Academy students were all dressed in black suits today, and even the curtains hanging from the ceiling of the Great Hall were black, all out of respect for Summers, whose act of risking his life to buy time for Harry earned everyone's respect.
The real Mad-Eye Moody was also sitting in the professor's chair today, but he seemed a bit stressed, glancing around every now and then as if a Death Eaters might come out at any moment and drag him back. Even when Professor McGonagall greeted him, he jumped up in fright.
Two seats were empty in the headmaster's seat. One was for the revered Vladimir Voronov, the little Russia dwarf who had fallen forever on the front lines during the monster army's attack. His seat was still filled with various kinds of wine, perhaps the students of the Hogwarts Academy wanted to mourn their beloved headmaster in this way.
The other one, needless to say, was Karkaroff. His desertion at the last minute made the Durmstrang students sitting at the long table below the stage look utterly humiliated. They all hung their heads in dejection, like defeated roosters. They had not only lost the competition, but also the integrity of the academy.
The other house heads were discussing something together, but Professor Snape kept staring at Harry with a look that Harry couldn't quite decipher. This made Harry a little nervous, and he quickly tried to figure out why Professor Snape was looking at him like that.
At that moment, the side door of the hall was opened, and all the students quieted down. Grindelwald, supporting his old friend, Earth Flow step by step onto the stage.
Headmaster Dumbledore's face didn't look so good; it was rather pale. Come to think of it, he was over a hundred years old. To have been stabbed in the back was a miracle he had survived.
"A thick stack of calendar pages has been torn off; so quickly, another year has passed," Headmaster Dumbledore said slowly, leaning on the lectern. "This year has finally come to an end."
He paused, his gaze falling on the empty seat in Hatch Patch, then on the principal's seat, which was filled with beer and flowers.
He sighed, raised his head, and continued.
"I have so much to say to everyone, but..."
Dumbledore seemed to be composing himself.
"There are a few things I must announce to everyone. First, Principal Vladimir Voronov of the Koldovstoretz has left us forever. That kind principal, always Haha, always joking, and always enjoying a hearty beer, has completely left us. Also gone is Summers, a very outstanding student of the Hufflepuff Academy. Before he passed away, he showed us the kindness and loyalty that a Hufflepuff Academy should be proud of..."
Next, Headmaster Dumbledore delivered a passionate speech that lasted half an hour. Su Yu could tell with his eyes closed that it must have been written by Grindelwald.
He described in detail how Harry and Summers encountered danger, and praised Slytherin Academy for their composure and unity in the face of crisis.
He also praised every wizard who fought against the monster army as a hero, and finally called on everyone to unite against Voldemort, because Voldemort had returned. Although the Ministry of Magic did not want him to say these things, he did so anyway.
Anyway, Su Yu thought Dumbledore pretty amazing. It was quite funny that the president of the International Magical Confederation was forbidden by the British Ministry of Magic from saying that Voldemort had returned. It was like a mayor telling the provincial governor not to say anything bad about our place, or he would be forced to step down in two days!
Finally, Headmaster Dumbledore tapped the table. "The students whose names are called below must participate in an academic exchange program next year, jointly organized with the East University University's Cultivation Bureau. It will last for one year and will be led by Professors Percy Graves and Isolde Rozier. The students participating this time are:..."
Headmaster Dumbledore read out seventeen names in total. Su Yu counted on his fingers—good heavens, they were all among the most ferocious killers on the night they left the secret realm, and seven of them were his women...
He opened his mouth, then decided against it. Was this his hometown starting to exert its influence? Was it trying to wipe them all out? It seemed he had quite a few enemies. However, he wasn't sure if they were all allies or subordinates of Hell. Anyway, he'd just kill them all when the time came.
It seems that Minister Fudge's conversation with Headmaster Dumbledore that day was about this. Clearly, Minister Fudge and Dumbledore have fundamentally different opinions, so he's starting to seize power. However, with Yousu Yu at the Hogwarts Academy, he can't seize power. But while he doesn't dare openly provoke Su Yu, he can collude with certain forces at East University. After all, Su Yu's Shadow Compass Society has indeed killed so many wizards. I might not pursue the murders, but you still have to pay a price. So Headmaster Dumbledore has no choice but to compromise. This exchange with East University is a calculated move by Minister Fudge. You don't want another Dark Lord among your students, do you, Dumbledore? As for who identified the Dark Lord, you can't control Minister Fudge's mouth, can you?
Even Su Yu understood that he could beat up Minister Fudge, but he couldn't kill him in front of everyone. Even if he ambushed him and didn't let anyone find out, the number of people in the entire Britain who could kill him was less than a handful, even if you thought about it with your toes.
If you transfer all the troublemakers from the Slytherin Academy, and then transfer Grindelwald too, won't Dumbledore alone? As for Harry? He's a good-for-nothing, what use is he? It seems Minister Fudge is really serious this time.
But isn't this exactly what Su Yu wants to see? When can the rotten flesh be completely removed? It has to wait until it's completely rotten. If he goes to the Ministry of Magic now and kills everyone, he's called the Dark Lord. But if Voldemort comes and takes control of the Ministry of Magic, and then he goes and kills them all, what is that called? That's called being a hero who saves the world. So, Su Yu isn't in a hurry. Fudge is playing a game of strategy; isn't he also waiting?
However, we still need to be careful about who's behind this; does Fudge really have the brains?
(The next volume will be about the entire team's path to advancement, as well as Su Yu's path to advancement. I always feel that when it comes to the development of magic, what can those United Kingdom think of? They just let the evil cultivators from the East do some fancy stuff for you. They have such idealistic things but they don't know how to use them. What a waste.)