I, Hogwarts Week Two

Chapter 553 Dumbledore's Plan

(This chapter has been revised)

Those who witnessed the final battle between these two extraordinary wizards have described the fear and awe they felt at the time. Dumbledore's victory, and the impact it had on the wizarding world, is seen as a turning point in recent magical history, on a par with the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy and the fall of You-Know-Who.

Albus Dumbledore never took advantage of his talent or pursued vanity.

He always finds something worth cherishing in others, no matter how shabby and insignificant that person may appear on the surface.

I believe that it was his experience of losing his loved ones at an early age that endowed him with such great kindness and compassion.

I will miss his friendship greatly, however, my personal loss is minimal compared to the loss suffered by the wizarding world as a whole.

He was without a doubt the most inspiring and beloved headmaster of all Hogwarts.

In life and in death he worked for the greater good, right up to his last moment, as when he offered a friendly hand to a little boy with dragon pox the day I first saw him on the Hogwarts Express…

----

Harry finished reading but continued to stare at the photograph next to the obituary.

Dumbledore had that familiar, kind smile on his face, but the gaze from behind the half-moon lenses no longer had the power to see through people's hearts as he remembered.

He once thought he knew Dumbledore very well, but after reading this obituary, he realized that he knew nothing about the headmaster. Apart from the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, he knew nothing else.

He had never imagined what Dumbledore's childhood and youth were like, and it seemed that Dumbledore suddenly became the person he was familiar with.

Imagining Dumbledore as a young man, especially at school, always feels strange, like imagining a Hogwarts without Owen, or without Sirius - it feels disorienting.

But apart from this, this obituary made Harry angry, because the entire article did not mention the truth about Dumbledore's death, did not mention Voldemort, did not mention Voldemort, and did not even mention the despicable Snape.

He knew that the Ministry of Magic was now controlled by the Death Eaters and would not do anything to shoot itself in the foot.

And because of the extremely terrifying rumors about Voldemort now, they would not openly state that the Ministry of Magic is loyal to Voldemort.

But Harry just felt angry and felt it was not worth it. Dumbledore tried so hard to protect someone - but in the end he didn't even have the courage to name the murderer. He even hinted at

Never mind—Harry took a deep breath, his mood growing worse.

He turned the page.

Then I saw something even more infuriating.

—Dumbledore·The truth is finally revealed?

Next week comes a shocking biography of the flawed genius who many consider to be the greatest wizard of his time. Rita Skeeter peels back the popular image of the silver-haired wise man to reveal Dumbledore's turbulent childhood and chaotic adolescence, his lifelong enemies and the dark secrets he took to his grave.

Why did the man who was expected to become Minister for Magic settle for being just a headmaster? What was the real purpose of the secret society called the Order of the Phoenix? How did Dumbledore die? The answers to these questions and more are explored in Rita Skeeter's explosive new biography, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, with Betty Braithwaite's exclusive interview with the biographer, see page 13 of this newspaper.

As soon as Harry saw the name Rita Skeeter, he knew she was going to make some slanderous remark.

He patiently turned to page 13. In the newspaper, a familiar face appeared: a woman wearing a pair of jeweled glasses, with her blonde hair in large, delicate curls, her teeth bared, a smile that she obviously thought was very charming, her fingers spread out and waving forward.

Rita Skeeter, known for her sharp writing but far more warm and easygoing in person, greeted me in the hallway of her cosy home and led me straight into the kitchen for tea, a slice of rich, savoury cake and, of course, some hot, fresh-from-the-oven conversation.

"It goes without saying that Dumbledore is a biographer's dream," Skeeter says. "Such a long and rich life. This is only the first volume, and Dumbledore's life was quite long and rich, as you know. The first volume will cover the period up to his graduation from Hogwarts, but of course I will try to get the rest out as soon as possible."

"But this is an interview after all. As for the story behind it, it's a very exciting story. I can reveal some of it."

Skeeter was undoubtedly a fast writer. She wrote a 200-page biography in just one week, which was obviously a miracle.

I asked her how she did it so quickly.

"Oh, if you've been a journalist for as many years as I have, rushing to meet deadlines becomes second nature. I know wizards are hungry for a complete biography, and I want to be the first to satisfy that need. Of course, this is because I've been planning to write several biographies of legendary wizards in the wizarding world for a long time, and I spent several years compiling and exploring the past of my first protagonist, Dumbledore. Today's speed is just the result of my hard work in the past."

"I read the obituary of Elphias Doge. After all, it has been in the newspaper for three days. It is impossible for a profession like mine not to have noticed it. But what I want to say is that the facts contained in his obituary are probably not as good as the alcohol in butterbeer. (It is well known that the alcohol content of butterbeer is better than nothing). There are many mistakes. I guarantee it with my reputation. The truth is not that simple. I must say that Dumbledore has offended many people. Many of those people participated in his extremely turbulent youth. I also spent a lot of effort to get them to tell the truth-these people have never spoken in public before."

The advert for Skeeter's new biography makes clear that for those who believed Dumbledore lived an unblemished life, there will be a shock in store. So what is the most surprising secret she uncovers?

"Okay - stop it, Betty. I'm not going to reveal the best bits until you buy the book!" Skeeter laughs. "But I can guarantee that anyone who still thinks Dumbledore is as innocent as his beard will be rudely awakened! So, those who hear about his indignation at You-Know-Who will never dream that he himself dabbled in the Dark Arts in his youth! He called for tolerance in his later years, but he was narrow-minded in his youth! Yes, Albus Dumbledore has a very shady past, not to mention a very suspicious family, which he has done everything he can to hide.

And the relationship between him and Grindelwald. I think all readers will love that chapter. There is real truth in that!”

----

Harry didn't finish reading the article because the smoke and anger in his heart were rising.

He crumpled the newspaper into a ball and threw it into the fireplace. In an instant, the flames devoured all the lies.

"Dumbledore has only been dead for a week! So many people have already started to slander him. How could Rita Skeeter write so many things in just one week? It's obviously made up."

The silence in the room was broken.

Owen looked up at him.

Then he turned his head and looked at the newspaper that had turned to ashes in the fireplace.

"I thought you could hold your breath for a few more days," he said.

After returning that day, Harry was like a mad lion and was determined to seek revenge on Voldemort at all costs.

<divclass="contentadv">He was so emotional that he had to use the petrification spell to 'calm down' him for two days.

After that, he seemed like a different person. He endured the pain in his forehead every day and had no mood to talk.

This is normal - because when people are in pain, they can only feel pain. Pain always absorbs people's full attention. It is difficult to maintain a rational and active mind, and few people can do it.

"Rita Skeeter certainly can't write so much in a week. Even if she made it up, it would take time. Besides, she needs to revise, typeset, publish, etc. -"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked confused.

"What does that mean?" Owen shook his head. "What it means is that she got help. She got the news a few months before the accident. Someone asked her to write a book about Dumbledore."

"This..." Harry was speechless for a moment: "How could it be? Who would let her write these--"

"What do you think?"

"I—" Harry stopped talking, because he suddenly remembered someone. It was Dumbledore himself!

It is only possible that Dumbledore himself asked Rita Skeeter to write those things, otherwise how dare she write about Dumbledore while he was still alive.

"guessed?"

"But — why?" Harry demanded.

He noticed that the others didn't react much, and it was obvious that the others already knew the truth.

"Why?" Owen rolled his eyes at Harry. "To buy time, of course, idiot."

Grindelwald took the Elder Wand.

The newspapers began to expose the past events of Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

If Voldemort were to be led away by Grindelwald, he would naturally be led away.

At least the Order of the Phoenix and all of them had a little more time to struggle.

"Doesn't Dumbledore care about his reputation?"

"Do you think he'd care?"

"I" Harry thought for a moment, well - he really wouldn't care. He had given up his life for a plan, so why would he care about fame?

"Okay - someone will keep an eye on Rita Skeeter." Owen glanced at Hermione.

"We should talk business now."

The fire dried the damp floor, and a thick dragon skin carpet was laid on the floor. This was a luxury carpet made by sewing a blanket and dragon skin together, which was wear-resistant, fire-resistant, and able to resist spells.

Everyone looked at Irving. He was the boss here now, and everyone had formed a habit of relying on him.

Owen retracted his gaze, "Moody asked us to find a new safe house. A safe house that can accommodate the Order of the Phoenix, the Federation's special operations team, and other resistance organizations."

"It's pretty good here." Ron said. His back injury took a whole week to heal. As for Harry, his internal injuries were not fully healed yet and he would cough from time to time.

Hermione and Ginny were both afraid that Harry would have some permanent sequelae, so they kept him in the house for days. Just now, Harry couldn't sit still anymore and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

"Thornfield Castle is indeed suitable. Although it is not as safe as other places, it is large enough and has room for renovation. I have placed many protective spells around it and marked this place as unspeakable - thanks to the Fidelius Charm. Now I am the secret keeper." Owen said calmly, his eyes looking towards the fire in the fireplace.

The Order of the Phoenix has many safe houses in the UK.

Owen and Hermione and the house in Hogsmeade.

But as he explained, the safe houses were too small - small here does not mean that they could not accommodate a dozen people, but that they would be too small for dozens or even hundreds of people in the future.

Although the Infinite Stretching Spell can solve this problem well, the spell can only stretch the space of the house and cannot make the entire building itself larger. If there are enough people living there, it will still appear crowded.

"Yes!" Hermione nodded and said, "We have to make a decision. Hogwarts has fallen, and we don't know what the professors will do, but - I think quite a few little wizards will choose to drop out next semester. Including some half-blood and Muggle-born little wizards. They have to find a way out."

"Hermione - you're not planning to turn this into a new Hogwarts, are you?" Ginny looked at her incredulously.

Hermione simply nodded and admitted directly, "Yes. I have this idea."

"We can't just walk away," she said. "The Death Eaters are no longer the same as they were before. I even suspect they might start a purge of the Muggle world - the royal family and the Prime Minister. Even the cabinet ministers will be their targets."

"So?" Ron looked at her.

"I have a plan." Hermione said solemnly, "Next we have to prepare for a long-term battle. I plan to visit a group of young wizards, such as Hannah, Justin, Colin, Neville and Luna. Some of these young wizards are here because of bloodline problems, and some are here because they are too close to us. Tom is now a madman, a monster. Even the Death Eaters have become monsters. We can't gamble that these people still have humanity. Think about Umbridge, she even killed a young wizard in order to frame him.

What if Tom wants to completely control everyone?

What if he were to plant [Death Roots] in every wizard to turn them into [Pretenders]?

Think about this future.”