Chapter 199: You Want to Play, Huh?
It was undoubtedly the most exciting start-of-school feast for the young wizards. After a dangerous and thrilling adventure, everyone had so much to talk about.
The first-year students were stunned, and some of the Muggle-born wizards immediately felt the difference between the wizarding world and the Muggle world.
Especially those who had performed exceptionally well during the encounter, even little Neville looked as proud as a hero.
After Professor McGonagall finished presiding over the Sorting Ceremony for the new students, Dumbledore returned to school to give his welcoming speech. However, it was a bucket of cold water that silenced everyone.
"I am very dissatisfied with your performance."
Dumbledore's hands rested on the wings of the owl carvings that extended from the lectern. His tall figure looked down at the young wizards below, and the gaze behind his half-moon spectacles was sharp.
"The way you handled the sudden emergency was, at best, underwhelming. So many of you knew the Patronus Charm, yet you were only driven to hide in your compartments by Dementors. I would say Professor Lockhart's teaching was in vain."
The young wizards below were stunned.
They had never seen such an aggressive Dumbledore.
In fact, neither had the professors.
Professor Snape narrowed his eyes and looked at Professor McGonagall beside him, only to see that she was rolling her eyes with a strange expression.
He then turned back to Lockhart, who was silently mouthing a name: Grindelwald.
"!!!"
Snape had heard of the power of this dark wizard since he was a child, but he never had a concrete idea of just how powerful he was. Now, he truly felt it.
He couldn't even tell that the 'Dumbledore' in front of him was someone else!
What a terrifying Transfiguration, without even a hint of magical fluctuation!
'Dumbledore' majestically scanned the expressions of every young wizard. He looked at Harry's indignant face, Percy's dejected one, and the others, but offered no comment.
He rubbed the wooden carvings on the lectern and spoke again. "Magic is not a child's game!"
"To cast the Fiendfyre curse, you must have the resolve to kill your opponent at any cost. To cast a Patronus Charm, you must have the belief to protect everything, regardless of your own safety and interests."
"The spells you cast—" He shook his head. "None of them were satisfactory to me. I saw no moment when a soul shone with brilliant light!"
"It was all a joke!"
Old Gellert was truly heartbroken.
Seriously.
Dammit, he'd only been in prison for a few decades. How had the world changed so much?!!!
Not to mention the era when he launched his war against the Statute of Secrecy, even before that, wizards were constantly fighting Muggles, magical beasts, goblins, and centaurs. It was only by giving the new generation peace that in just two or three generations, the social atmosphere had become so decadent that wizards treated magic as a game?
When did a wizard stop being a synonym for danger, mystery, and ill-omen? And how did this young Lockhart create the idea that "magic is the ultimate romance of a fairytale?"
Oh, that idea could even be considered very high-level. Most people couldn't even reach it.
He observed these young wizards in the school and felt as if he had entered a kindergarten. The young wizards no longer carried the heavy burden of the survival of their people. It was all about playing, having fun, and Quidditch matches. The most outrageous things they did were so-called nightly strolls or pranks.
Hogwarts still had new students walk the path of the four founders every year, but they had long forgotten the purpose for which the founders had established the school.
He had initially been quite pleased to hear the young wizards discussing how his alma mater, Durmstrang Institute, still maintained wizarding traditions, and were being called a school for dark wizards.
Later, when he heard Dumbledore talk about the school's current state under Headmaster Igor Karkaroff, he was completely disillusioned.
This was not a problem of the times changing.
This was a problem of the entire wizarding world losing its fighting power.
If one day the Muggle world suddenly revealed the existence of wizards, and politicians had to face the Muggles' fears for their own safety, a new round of witch hunts would begin.
He dared to say that most wizards would be completely helpless.
Peace?
Ha! Now it seemed so ridiculous!
Dumbledore's hard work over the decades to maintain peace in wizarding society had indeed led to a population boom, but whether it was a good thing was still up for debate.
The widespread decline and extinction of pure-blood families were being replaced by the mass emergence of Muggle-born wizards, and a terrifying force of internal division was quietly growing in wizarding society.
With this, how could they compete with the Muggles, whose technology was advancing every day?
They were hopeless. They were just waiting to die!
Heartbroken!
Grindelwald was so distressed by this scene. He took advantage of Dumbledore's trip to the Ministry's Wizengamot and returned to the school, intending to give the new generation a wake-up call.
He couldn't go too far. Saying something in Dumbledore's name was fine, but doing something might not be.
Grindelwald knew this very well.
He looked at everyone with a cold expression, as if he were looking at the clutter in a junkyard, and sneered. "Many people say that the so-called You-Know-Who is so terrifying and powerful, but remember, he also came from Hogwarts."
"What he could do, you can also do."
"But can you really?"
His gaze was sharp. "Voldemort, Tom Riddle, graduated from Hogwarts in 1945. Almost fifty years have passed. Is Hogwarts unable to cultivate another powerful wizard? I don't believe it!"
"The school hasn't changed, the professors haven't changed, the teaching philosophy hasn't changed, and the curriculum has kept up with the times. So what does that mean?"
"The problem is with you!"
"The school that was originally a guardian, a warrior, for wizards against the witch hunts, has students who have long forgotten their mission and only have fun and games."
He hit the lectern hard, his eyes turning from cold to icy. "Professor Lockhart told me that the times have changed, but I completely disagree. The times have not changed; the war has always been ongoing, whether it's that evil Voldemort or some Muggles who might have malice towards wizards in the future."
"Just like this attack on the way to school, I want you to think carefully: what would you do if you encountered it again?"
He knew exactly how to make the young wizards take this to heart. "Think hard: what if this attack happened at your home, and your parents, your family, everyone you care about was there? What would you do?"
Such a line of thought was clearly a heavy burden.
Professor McGonagall strongly disagreed with imposing such a burden on the young wizards. This was something adults should be thinking about.
But she didn't argue with him at the feast.
"Professor Lockhart!"
'Dumbledore' suddenly turned and looked at Lockhart, who was whispering to Snape, a slight smile on his face. "On this point, I would like to invite you to come up and talk to the young wizards. May I?"
You can not!
Lockhart had no doubt that if he said anything wrong, Dumbledore's anger towards Grindelwald would be directed at him.
Old Gellert was both cowardly and playful. He was asking Lockhart to take the fall!
Fine.
You want to play, huh?
Let's go!
He stood up and strode forward, standing straight beside the lectern. He looked at the young wizards with a gentle expression.
He looked at Harry, at Ron, at Hermione, at Draco, at Crabbe, and at every young wizard's face.
"Professor Dumbledore is not only the Headmaster of Hogwarts but also the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. He has many things to consider."
"I am different. I am a small man. I am happy to make my contribution to this era, but I have no great ambition to guide everyone to do anything."
"I just want to tell you how I, as a wizard, see magic."
"Students—"
His smile was so warm that the tense young wizards relaxed.
"Magic comes from life. It doesn't only exist for conflict. Yes, conflict is undoubtedly the most powerful way to birth magic. Battle will always be the main theme for creatures like humans, whether they are wizards or Muggles."
"But I hope everyone will focus more on life, because magic exists in every corner, in every moment of life."
"It should be wonderful, born from life, and in turn making our lives more interesting."
"It should also be exciting. Every interesting adventure in life has an opportunity for magic to be born. Open your heart and feel it, and you will find that it can bring you endless power."
"So I say, the times have changed. They have not become worse, but more beautiful."
"We can finally escape the atmosphere of conflict and explore the wonderful world of magic. Its wonder exists in the relationship between self and others, between self and nature, and between self and all living things in the world."
"This is the opportunity that the new era brings, allowing us to explore a more harmonious path, both in life and in magic."
Lockhart smiled brightly at everyone. "I am honored to have been invited by Professor McGonagall. I will be able to explore the possibilities in this area with all of you throughout the coming school year, starting with the harmonious coexistence of humans and magical creatures."
"I will be the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts."
"Of course, I know that everyone is already very familiar with me, even our new students."
"So there's no need for an introduction, is there?"
The feast became lively again. The students shouted excitedly, some calling him their idol, some calling him professor, some calling him a master wizard, and some calling him an international author.
Lockhart raised his hands to quiet everyone, a smile on his face with an unreadable meaning. "So I hope to take this opportunity to introduce the assistant for my class. As you all know, Dumbledore is always happy to provide me with a powerful teaching assistant."
Grindelwald suddenly had a bad feeling. The smile on his face tightened, and he stared intently at Lockhart.
But it was too late. Lockhart spoke faster and faster, growing more excited.
He raised his hand and gestured toward the staff table. "The Mysterious Gentleman, that's what I hope you'll call him! Please, a round of applause!"
The advantage of having fanatical fans was that the young wizards didn't care who the assistant was. If Professor Lockhart told them to welcome someone, they would applaud wildly.
The atmosphere was so enthusiastic it felt like the roof was about to be blown off. As Lockhart shouted, "The Mysterious Gentleman! The Mysterious Gentleman!"
Everyone started shouting in unison, "The Mysterious Gentleman! The Mysterious Gentleman! The Mysterious Gentleman!—"
So.
Who was the Mysterious Gentleman?
Everyone looked in the direction Lockhart had just gestured, and they saw a strange figure standing there quietly.
With handsome, neatly styled white hair, wearing an elegant and refined suit, with a pair of captivating heterochromatic eyes, and an old face with an indescribable pride and elegance.
Was this Grindelwald?
Professor Flitwick and a few other professors who knew old Gellert were stunned. Although the image was slightly different from the powerful figure they remembered from the past, this person was so familiar.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were also stunned. They looked at each other, then looked at the Dumbledore standing at the lectern, and then at the Grindelwald sitting there.
"???"
"Boggart!" The Dumbledore at the lectern's mouth twitched, and he looked at Lockhart with great displeasure.
Lockhart just looked back at him, smiling, as if to say—is this fun?
.......
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