Daily Life at Hogwarts Chapter 17: A war without a winner (17)
At this moment, the auditorium was busier than ever.
The long tables in each college were not only filled with students who had returned to school, but also people who had come to attend the memorial service in the morning but had not yet left. They also stayed to attend tonight's celebration banquet, but they didn't know those Will adults who have never actually participated in the Battle of Hogwarts feel inexplicably embarrassed while enjoying a victory that does not belong to them?
People were chatting in low voices amidst the buzzing noise, listening to the heroes who actually participated in the Battle of Hogwarts recount the shocking battle a few days ago, explaining how they defeated an enemy that was several times stronger than their own. The amazing story of Voldemort's minions.
Especially those guys who have personally hunted giants can enjoy the admiration of those around them.
That was a giant that made countless wizards tremble. He killed him as soon as he asked, and it was a one-sided massacre.
As for the werewolves who kept countless people away, they suffered countless casualties on that viaduct.
Whether it is the slaying of giants or the elimination of hundreds of werewolves, these are legendary deeds that cannot be replicated again and are destined to be recorded in the history of Hogwarts forever.
As the culprit of all this, although Albert did not do it himself, he still has a reputation as a murderer.
After all, he was a ruthless person who killed people without blinking an eye, not to mention that those who died were not ordinary characters. To some guys who lived in the darkness, they were simply evil stars.
The only flaw in the entire plan is probably the head-on confrontation with the Acromantula.
At first, the Acromantula, which everyone thought was the easiest to deal with, actually caused the largest casualties in history.
Anyone who doesn't have to be a fool can realize that there is something wrong with this.
Is it that Aberforth, the leader of the team, is too useless and cannot mobilize manpower well to carry out the tasks assigned by Albert, or is his teammate so useless that when facing the Acromantula? It collapses at the first touch.
Most people don’t look for reasons within themselves.
No one is willing to admit that he is a waste, so most of the questioning eyes are cast on Aberforth, thinking that he did not lead the team well, which caused the battle line against the Acromantula to almost collapse, causing unnecessary casualties.
The latter obviously did not intend to quibble on this matter, which also caused more people to focus on him. Even though many people have realized the truth, in order for the war dead to be dignified, they still need to A scapegoat.
In the end, Lee Jordan couldn't stand it anymore and said: Aberforth's advantage lies in the number of people, but unfortunately not everyone is brave and good at fighting.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was dead silence around him.
Although that sounds really unpleasant, it is the truth.
Everyone should realize that so many people died in the confrontation with the Acromantula. We really cannot blame Aberforth for his incompetence, let alone put the blame on Albert. It is entirely because they themselves are too waste.
After all, Albert has given them extra care, not only giving them the Acromantula, which is the easiest to deal with, but also giving them a numerical advantage. Even the spider dispersing spell specifically targeted at the Acromantula They had been taught in advance, and in the end they had been given the insurance policy of Hagrid and the centaurs. If they died under such circumstances, no one could blame them.
Honestly, if Hagrid had not led a group of centaurs to kill him in time, he would have paid a much higher price.
As for the Acromantula being too dangerous?
Throwing them on other battlefields will probably only lead to worse deaths.
People who learned the "truth" fell silent. They knew that Albert had tried his best, and they all cast admiring glances at the too-young professor on the faculty seat.
It was within Albert's expectation that he would receive widespread attention from everyone, so he didn't really care about the complicated looks from other people.
"How does it feel to be a professor?"
After noticing Albert's gaze, Professor Flitwick asked with a smile.
"The view here is very spacious."
Albert did not intend to answer this question head-on.
His eyes swept across the noisy auditorium below, passing from Lee Jordan who was bragging to others, to Fred who was whispering to his girlfriend. Next to him, George was flipping through the newspaper.
Across the table, the "savior" Harry was talking to Ron, while Ginny beside him was whispering to Hermione.
At the Hufflepuff table next door, Cedric became the center of communication among the crowd, but his eyes often looked towards the Ravenclaw table, and finally met Qiu Chang who was talking to Katrina. Looking at each other, the two of them smiled.
Beside the two girls was Marietta Acmo, whose face was full of depression.
After Isobel met Albert's eyes, she blinked gently, and then continued to talk to the sour Penello.
Penello, who had just broken up with her boyfriend, couldn't help but feel sour in her heart after following her gaze and seeing Albert. She was extremely envious of Isobel's happy married life.
If Percy could have some affection and thoughtfulness like Albert, the two parties would not break up at all.
Albert naturally didn't know how he was perceived by other girls. After regaining his gaze, he complained to the people around him about tonight's celebration banquet.
"Putting the memorial service and the celebration banquet on the same day will indeed make the atmosphere very strange."
"There is nothing we can do about it."
Of course everyone can feel the weird atmosphere, but they really have no good solution. Holding the memorial service and celebration banquet separately can indeed avoid this embarrassing situation, but doing so will only make people who are willing to take time to celebrate the occasion The people attending Gwartz's memorial service and celebration banquet caused unnecessary trouble. It may not be a bad choice to solve the two things together.
As for the weird atmosphere, as long as you don't pay special attention to it, that atmosphere will be dissipated after the banquet officially begins.
Without keeping everyone waiting for too long, the bell rang to officially start the banquet, and the noise in the auditorium gradually quieted down.
"We won!"
As soon as Kingsley finished speaking, deafening cheers erupted in the auditorium.
After the cheers and applause of the crowd gradually subsided, Kingsley began to use his speech skills that he had trained during the Wizard's Watch Station broadcast.
"Voldemort is completely dead and can no longer be resurrected by any means." Kingsley raised his glass and said loudly, "This decades-long nightmare is finally over. Let us pay tribute to the man who killed Voldemort." Mr. Bert Anderson offers my highest respect."
People stood up one after another and raised their wine glasses high towards Albert to show their respect.
"I never think that the glory at this moment belongs only to me."
Albert's calm and powerful voice rang in everyone's ears, making the noisy auditorium quiet again.
“We paid a huge price for this moment.”
"Whether it was Dumbledore who was looking for Voldemort's weakness, Scrimgeour who dared to fight, or even Potter who was planning to sacrifice himself in order to completely kill Voldemort, there have been countless brave people fighting for this moment. Fight hard to win."
"Now we finally win!"
"Glory will eventually belong to all those who bravely stand up and fight."
The deafening applause, shouts, and cheers almost overturned the enchanted ceiling. Those who have never actually participated in the final battle of Hogwarts really cannot understand the enthusiasm of others, but they all watched It turns out that many people are proud of it, just like Albert said,
The glory will finally be mine.
This is their victory!
……
After an impassioned speech, Kingsley raised his glass and officially announced the start of the banquet.
Although the food at the dinner was not particularly rich, everyone was in a good mood. As they expected, the original weird atmosphere was swept away.
"Mr. Malfoy told a lot of things..."
Kingsley took the initiative to chat with Albert about the recent situation in the Ministry of Magic.
There is nothing that can be done about it. Albert, a senior advisor, basically does not go to the Ministry of Magic, and never takes the initiative to provide extra help to Kingsley. That is why Kingsley deliberately put Albert's The seats are arranged beside you, making it easier to chat during the banquet.
The professors nearby slowed down their knives and forks, and listened to the conversation between the two.
"It's normal. After Voldemort's complete death, it would be abnormal for people like Malfoy not to be a facilitator for their own benefit." Albert was not surprised at all, "If you want to solve the problem of the dark wizard, If you have a problem, you can choose to deal with it with tolerance."
"Tell me about it."
Kingsley was surprised to hear "tolerant treatment" from Albert. Although he did want to do that, he had to consider the consequences of doing so.
"Tolerant treatment does not mean no punishment, but giving them a chance. After all, you have to pay a price for doing something wrong." Albert took a slow sip of wine and gave Kingsley a less sour drink. The idea is, "You can severely punish those guys who didn't make any big mistakes with a lot of galleons, and then throw them in jail for a few years. After they are released, I believe there are still many people who are willing to go through this." A way to whitewash yourself."
Kingsley's cheek twitched slightly. The Ministry of Magic actually did this kind of thing all the time. The only difference was that this time the target was Voldemort's minions.
"Of course, doing that is likely to cause dissatisfaction among some people, so you need to kill a few heinous guys to appease their anger. Sometimes treating them differently allows people to see your goodwill and your willingness to give them a A chance to reform."
Albert said something that made everyone feel horrified, as if killing a few people was as easy as crushing a few bugs.
"I'm afraid this will make some dark wizards fight to the death to resist." Kingsley was a little hesitant. He also knew the benefits of doing so, but there were also a lot of problems.
However, he already planned to use it on employees of the Ministry of Magic.
Don’t think that the law does not punish everyone.
After inspection, some of the employees involved will only be fined a symbolic amount of money to be exempted from certain crimes they have committed. However, this matter must be completed after the British wizarding community is completely stabilized. Like Albert said, sometimes even if you directly pardon their crimes, others will still take it for granted. If you don't give them some trouble, they don't know what it means to be grateful.
Sometimes, people are so mean.
During the entire celebration banquet, the two chatted about many things, most of which were about the aftermath of the Wizarding War.
Although Kingsley was also an expert in this field, he seemed to think that Albert's advice should be listened to, which also led to Albert not being able to eat well during the entire banquet.
The celebration banquet lasted for several hours. After everyone had eaten and drank, Principal McGonagall stood up and announced the school's arrangements to everyone, so that the returning students could understand their academic arrangements and the prospect of having a long summer vacation. fact.
This undoubtedly ushered in a burst of cheers, no one likes exams, everyone likes a holiday.
After the celebration banquet was over, everyone dispersed with satisfaction. Except for a few family members who were not good at Apparition, there were very few people who planned to stay in the school to build floors.
Albert naturally had no intention of staying in Hogwarts to work on the floor. After greeting the others, he took his wife and sister-in-law home.
"I'm so full, I'm going to rest first."
Before Katrina turned to leave, she seemed to think of something, suddenly stopped and asked, "By the way, are you going to move to the village you plan to build in the future?"
"Yes, but I will build a floo network there to connect here." Albert guessed Katrina's meaning, blinked and reassured, "So, you don't have to worry about being discovered by us. The secret between them."
"You are the one who should worry about the reputation." Katrina kissed Albert on the cheek before leaving.
"She is becoming more and more proactive."
Looking at the back of Katrina leaving, Albert said to Isobel.
"This shows that my teachings have worked." Isobel said softly, "I just don't know when you will feel in love."
"I may have to go out in two days."
After meeting Isobel's eyes, Albert explained softly, "I promised her a few years ago to go to Australia to help Granger find her family."
"I would say this is a good opportunity." Isobel raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Whether it is for you or Miss Granger."
"Please spare me." Albert smiled helplessly.
"However, I guess she doesn't have the courage to have anything to do with you." Isobel knew very well that young girls are thin-skinned and would not have the courage to have anything more than friendship with Albert, unless She plans to be a lover from now on, and does not plan to get married.