Volume 1 Chapter 58 Banquet Hall and Principal's Office (Part 2)
The wizards in the banquet hall then realized that tonight's dinner was actually a welcome party.
The wizards and witches of noble blood listened to the great gentleman telling them the wonderful story of how their former dean lurked under the control of the sinner wizard, gained his trust, and took back the lost Philosopher's Stone.
Everyone in the banquet hall admired Slughorn 's forbearance and complimented the gentleman's foresight, while at the same time despising Dumbledore's meanness and shamelessness in stealing his friend's treasure.
After all, on the surface, Nick Flamel's Philosopher's Stone was stolen, and he personally went to the Ministry of Magic to report the case. Now that the stone was taken back from Dumbledore by Slughorn, the charges of theft and murder should of course be put on him.
The gentleman kindly supported the fat walrus' arm and asked with a smile on his face.
"I actually always miss Professor Dumbledore. When I was in school, he was the only one who took good care of me besides you. It's a pity that I never had the chance to see him again in these years. I wonder if he is doing well recently?"
Slughorn laughed cheerfully, and his kind face seemed to never show any dark expression.
"Albus is old after all, and he is exhausted from traveling in the carriage all day. I heard that he has severe insomnia recently and can't even eat. He can only move his fork twice at most for a piece of steak and then he can't finish it."
A chuckle sounded in the banquet hall. From Slughorn's tone, they could all imagine in their minds how an old man who had lost his appetite and was dying was struggling to support the group of rebels.
The gentleman also laughed, or rather, everyone in the banquet hall was actually responding to the expression on his face. When he laughed, others would laugh too. When he was unhappy, everyone else would have gloomy faces and remain silent.
"Ah, that's really not right." He chuckled. "I just ate a plate of beef ribs with Cornelius. Professor Dumbledore should be more open-minded like me. Taking good care of his body is the most important thing."
Minister of Magic Fudge quickly echoed in the group.
"Thank you for your good appetite, sir. I've had stomach problems these past two days and didn't eat much just now."
The gentleman just patted him on the shoulder and he smiled.
"Professor Dumbledore has suffered a lot. I will take him in and let him enjoy his old age. Otherwise, he is so old and still throwing tantrums like a child. What's the point of torturing himself like this?"
A burst of undisguised laughter rang out in the banquet hall again, and that laughter was full of ridicule.
…
"But there's one thing I don't understand, Professor."
Jon frowned, wanting to ask all his questions today .
"Since the Dark Lord could have the teacher steal the Philosopher's Stone from the carriage, why didn't he let him do something more valuable? Or since the teacher has revealed our exact location to him three times in a row, why doesn't he come here in person?"
Dumbledore blinked, his crescent-shaped glasses reflecting the dim light.
"What you actually want to ask is, he had the opportunity to kill us all, why didn't he do it, right?"
Jon nodded. He could indeed feel that as long as Voldemort came to block Dumbledore, there was no need to defeat him. As long as he could hold him off for a while, the Aurors and Death Eaters with their absolute numerical advantage would be able to take care of them all.
"I just told you, Jon, he is not afraid of the Philosopher's Stone creating wealth for Hogwarts or other people around me. He is afraid that I can rely on the stone to survive. The answer to your question is actually the same."
Dumbledore's simple reminder gave John a flash of inspiration, and he came up with the answer himself!
The exiled Hogwarts and the rebellious Order of the Phoenix are not important at all in Voldemort's eyes. What is important is the person who leads these two organizations!
If Hogwarts, which has lost its savior, also loses Dumbledore, then there will be no future at all.
But at the same time, Dumbledore now regards Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix as his only spiritual support.
If Voldemort really destroyed this carriage and brought down the Order of the Phoenix, what would Dumbledore do when he had no worries or concerns?
A desperate person is always ten thousand times more terrifying than a hopeful person.
Leaving behind Hogwarts, where there were only a few dozen students, would be like putting shackles and handcuffs on Dumbledore. For the sake of these children, he would not take risks, nor would he have any idea of a desperate struggle.
As long as his hope, which was as insignificant as a candle flame, was not destroyed, Dumbledore would be safe, and it would also be the safest option for Voldemort.
For the few remaining students on the carriage who have not been oppressed and enslaved, Dumbledore is their last barrier of protection. If one day in the future, this old man is gone, the sky of the wizarding world will be completely dark.
Voldemort's best option now is to suppress Hogwarts in a certain way, so as to prevent it from being completely destroyed while also preventing it from growing too strong.
John even suspected that the fact that Hogwarts was still able to snatch Muggle-born students from that Hogwarts castle every year was most likely intentional by Voldemort.
When the candle was about to go out, he would keep it lit until Dumbledore's candle was completely burned out, making him waste his entire life for this flicker of light that would go out with a blow!
After realizing this, Jon fell silent.
He looked at the gray hair and beard of the old man opposite him and knew very well that even though wizards could generally live for one or two hundred years, years of hard work still made this old wizard, who had been fighting two generations of dark demons for almost his entire life, overdrawn a lot of energy.
Dumbledore seemed to notice that John was feeling a little sad, and he laughed, a very free and easy laugh.
"Don't feel sorry for me, Jon. I'm not doing this for anyone, I just want to do it. Just like your teacher, if it were in the past, who would have believed that he would have the courage to go undercover?"
Jon hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to ask this question, which he had always wanted to ask since the day Lily brought him into the carriage.
"Professor, I want to know, how did you lose to the Dark Lord? Is he really so powerful that no one can defeat him?"
