Volume 3: A Tombstone Stained with Sin and Blood Chapter 140 The Dead and the Living
"It's not peaceful in France."
Dumbledore did not shy away from talking about these things with Jon. After what happened this semester, he no longer treated Jon as an ordinary second-year student.
"They just went through a change of ministers at the beginning of last year. The new Minister of Magic is more inclined to fight for the interests of pure bloods, and likes to use despicable political struggles to put all his political opponents in jail. Gabrielle's family, and Madame Maxime, the headmaster of Beauxbatons, whom we met before, were all driven out of their positions in this way, and even fled France to save their lives."
He reached out and tapped the envelope on the desk.
"But even if he is a minister, he cannot control the entire French wizarding world. Ms. Roland, the current chief judge of the French Wizarding Tribunal, is his biggest political enemy and the leader of the pro-Muggle camp. After returning from my last trip to France, I have been trying to keep in touch with this lady. She is trying to convene a vote of parliamentarians to oust the current Minister of Magic and prevent him from leading the French wizarding world down a wrong path."
Jon's face was full of thought. His vision of the current international situation in the wizarding world was certainly not as accurate as Dumbledore's , but he still remembered what happened not long ago when they just returned to the carriage.
"Is there something wrong with the protection of the carriage?"
Hearing him ask this, Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the bright moonlight outside the window, and spoke softly.
"When we just came back from France, it seemed that there was a small problem with the protection of the car. However, whether the problem is serious or not can only be seen after what happens in the future. The Dark Lord will not be willing to swallow this anger . He will definitely find a way to get both face and substance back from other places."
John knew very well that this was the key point. No matter how complicated the situation in France was, the carriage could not reach him. Only the threat of Voldemort was imminent.
"Did you find anything, Professor?"
"In your first year, everyone thought that someone had sneaked into the Hogwarts carriage and secretly leaked the carriage's location and information, causing us to be hunted all the time."
Dumbledore suddenly brought up something that happened more than a year ago, and his eyes, reflecting white light in the moonlight, had an indescribable meaning.
"Now, there is a high possibility that he has actually sent someone to our side."
Jon felt a little creeped out by his sudden words.
It has been more than a month since they returned from France. If what Dumbledore said is true, it means that an unknown person has boarded the carriage since that day.
But it has been too quiet this month.
Jon even felt that this was the most relaxing time since he entered Hogwarts. All the students in the castle were rescued, and a kind and knowledgeable Defense Against the Dark Arts professor came to the school. There was no pursuit, no danger, and everything was so peaceful...
Dumbledore would never joke with him about such a thing.
It was because he didn't feel anything and instead felt relaxed that Jon felt terrified.
"The Dark Lord sent people to hide in the carriage? But why has it been so long and he hasn't done anything yet?" His voice was a little hurried.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"I can't answer these questions for you, but my understanding of him and my somewhat credible feeling tell me that he will do this. I told you before that even if it takes some effort for him to destroy this moving school, it won't be a difficult task as long as he is determined. It won't be difficult to find an opportunity when I'm not around and have someone sneak in silently, but what exactly is he planning? I can't think of anything else for now except killing me."
The office fell into a brief silence. Only Fox on the Golden Bough was dozing off. The portraits of past principals on the wall were humming slightly and seemed to be asleep as well.
A moment later, Dumbledore's voice sounded again. His voice was always calm, as if he didn't care much about Voldemort's counterattack.
"Summer vacation is coming soon. There will be fewer students on the carriages then. This may be an opportunity to screen the entire school."
Jon did not stay in the principal's office until late. He returned to the dormitory before curfew.
Even though the carriage was unusually calm in the dark night with little vibration, Jon tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep .
…
After the final exams and before the holidays begin, Hogwarts has a special itinerary during this time every year.
This year is no exception.
That afternoon, the carriage drove to the seaside cliffs that were very familiar to students in the second grade and above. After they got off the carriage , they could see tombstones everywhere.
This place is blown by the sea breeze every day. The originally polished smooth tombstones have long become extremely rough under the wind and sun, but every name engraved on them is extremely clear, as if they will never be buried by the long river of time.
Many students who still remember this cemetery clearly discovered that nearly thirty tombstones were added here at some point, greatly expanding the cemetery.
The students were silent. After getting off the carriage, they lined up consciously. Even the students who had just arrived at the carriage this year were infected by the atmosphere. No one spoke, no one asked questions, and they just followed their peers and stood at the end of the line.
Before the carriage stopped here, dozens of adult wizards were already standing in front of the newly erected tombstones.
They were all wearing black robes, and everyone looked at the names on the tombstones in silence. After the carriage arrived, Dumbledore brought the professors of the school to them, and stood with them in front of the new tombstones, looking at those names that would never come back.
Dedalus Digg, Hestia Jones, Fabian Prewett, Maureen McKinnon, Beatrice, Dania...
The rocks hit by the waves seemed to be mourning for those names that would never return to the world of the living. All the adult wizards placed a white gardenia in front of the tombstones. The hundreds of tombstones on the cliff were all dotted with a touch of white.
Gabrielle was floating beside Jon. She was also infected by the atmosphere. She grabbed Jon's sleeves with her transparent hands with a sad look.
Jon's eyes were fixed on a tombstone that was older than the new ones and newer than the old ones. There was the name of his living teacher engraved on it.
What he was thinking about was what Dumbledore had said to him the night before.
The dead have returned to their hometowns, but for the living, danger is never far away.
