Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 352: Inside the Castle
At Hogwarts Castle, there was still an hour before curfew, and at this time, the towers of all sizes in the castle were crowded with students.
Those who can occupy the highest and best positions are naturally pure-blood students, and the mixed-blood students are also very conscious and do not compete with those people of noble status.
But no matter where they were, they could see that the fire dragons that were originally scattered in the forbidden forest were now gathered together!
Yes, those mad dragons seemed to be connected by a leash by someone, dragging them to the edge of the forbidden forest, which made the students in the castle exclaim in surprise.
"I dare say it must be that terrorist named Jon Green who caused this trouble!"
Grandio, a sixth-year student at the Mixed-Blood Academy, described the situation vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
"I heard from the professors that he is full of evil intentions and has a rotten orange face like a goblin. He can come up with a bad idea that will cause harm to the wizarding world as soon as he blinks. He must have done something to those dragons in the Forbidden Forest, like throwing slugs on their heads, or using weird black magic to steal their most valuable nerves. Now he is in big trouble, and these dragons are chasing him. We will get the news after the first game is over. The headmaster said to us happily, 'The last hope of the wanted criminal is dead, and their ambition to pollute the castle again has been completely shattered. Children, we will exempt this semester's homework to celebrate!' Oh! God, this is so wonderful!"
He seemed to have imagined a bright future, and the mixed-race students around him also smiled, as if they had heard something extremely interesting.
"The dark lord Dumbledore is even more miserable. He made a bet with the headmaster. Once Jon Green dies, they have no hope of winning. What's the name of the contestant from Durmstrang? Diane Rosier? Rosier, um... maybe she has some ability, but she is definitely not as good as the two pure-bloods Lestrange and Malfoy. Victory will definitely belong to us, and France will be ours in the end. Those people from the Wizarding World will become rats in the gutter and get out of our territory!"
There was a burst of laughter among the mixed-race students. Most of them were immersed in Grandio's fantasy and the near future. Some even reminded him with a sneer.
"Don't forget what the headmaster said. Mudbloods are not considered human beings at all. It is said that the so-called Wizarding Horizon is where Mudbloods gather."
Cedric watched expressionlessly as his classmates around him expressed undisguised discrimination and humiliation against Dumbledore, Jon, and all those they represented.
When the laughter rang out, he did not laugh along. Only by truly living in this school could he feel the horror brought about by the distorted education.
He was sure that most of his classmates were kind. They were loyal to their friends, respectful to their teachers, and friendly to their relatives. They were no different from all the children who had received an education in truth, goodness, and beauty.
But they are also accustomed to seeing themselves as a member of the current Hogwarts Castle and regard that great gentleman as their spiritual leader.
The long-term differentiation and hierarchy between half-bloods and pure-bloods in school has made them understand the difference between superiors and inferiors. They believe that as long as the wizard has pure blood, he must be excellent, and the so-called mudbloods are not even human beings.
Because they had never even had much contact with those oppressed students, all the impressions in their minds came from the distorted cognition taught in the Muggle Studies class, which was terrifying enough in Cedric's eyes.
This is horrible.
Even if the reality is revealed before their eyes and the purebloods' lies are exposed, they will find all kinds of reasons and excuses to justify the rules and systems they have already recognized.
Many mixed-race students have heard and seen the words Jon left last year.
Sometimes words can move people's hearts, but in most cases, no matter how straightforward the words are, they are so pale and powerless. A person's formed ideas will not change with a few words. Only power can change them. Only by breaking the principles they believe in, turning correct principles into habits, and allowing an equal environment to reshape behavior can people's values be truly reversed.
As for Cedric, he had never truly believed in the principles taught in this castle. His family education had already taught him what was right and what was wrong. However, in order to live in this wrong society, his father went against his own ideas and continued to serve the more "advanced" pure-bloods in the Ministry of Magic. Cedric himself could only live in confusion and loneliness in this castle.
Jon's words never changed Cedric's mind. He never thought that the education in Hogwarts Castle was right. It just tore off his timidity and made him realize that perhaps many people knew the true right and wrong at the beginning, but in the process of obedience, they were subtly changed.
Cedric couldn't accept that change, which is why he came into contact with the centaurs after Jon rescued the Muggle students from the castle.
He knew that there was very little he could do and that he could not possibly make much of a difference to the overall situation. But one could not sit there and do nothing because his role was insignificant and wait to be rescued by someone more capable, right?
Life may need the help of others to be saved, but inner salvation can only rely on oneself.
Cedric had no intention of rebuking the malicious speculation and ridicule of his classmates around him. He knew very well that it was completely useless and would put himself in danger.
But sometimes, if he doesn't say anything, no one will bother him anymore.
"Why are you looking so sullen! Digory, do you disagree with what Grandio said?"
The person who asked such a sharp question was a girl with freckles all over her face and a sarcastic expression.
She glared at Cedric fiercely, wishing to find his flaws at every moment.
Logically speaking, Cedric, who is always a good guy no matter where he is, shouldn't have any conflicts with anyone, but this girl is an exception.
Because just last semester she privately expressed her admiration and love to Cedric but was rejected. Even though neither she nor Cedric himself mentioned this to anyone, the girl still hated her former crush.
Hearing her words, everyone in the tower looked at Cedric . Everyone could see that what the girl said was absolutely right. In such a joyful atmosphere, only Cedric's face did not show any joy of being in the group.
Cedric looked at the girl, his face as gentle as always.
"You can't expect everyone to have the same ideas, right? I just think that using the enemy's fantasies as entertainment and relaxation is degrading no matter who it is."
Although his words made the students around him feel uncomfortable, they could not find any fault with them because he did not say that it was wrong to belittle Jon. He just felt that their way of relaxing was very low-level.
However, the girl still spoke sinisterly.
"I take it you're just feeling sympathy for these mudbloods? No need to pretend, Diggory, I've seen you sneak bread to the mudbloods who clean the bathrooms!"
"But they rejected your kindness, right? They themselves know that they are too lowly to deserve such food! And you, a full citizen of the British wizarding world! A student of Hogwarts Half-Blood Academy! You actually sympathize with them. Are you in collusion with those wanted criminals?"
A hat was put on Cedric's head, although it was not wrong after he had met John.
But making a conclusion without any reasonable evidence is actually a form of stigmatization.
Maybe she didn't know what she was doing, and the words she said now were just out of instinctive hatred, but her behavior was to kill Cedric!
The scene fell silent for a moment. All the students looked at each other, and finally turned their eyes back to Cedric.
If this was just an unwarranted accusation against Cedric at the beginning, and anyone could have diverted the matter by saying a few polite words, then no one would dare to say anything now. Cedric must explain himself, otherwise someone would definitely report the matter to the professor.
They surrounded Cedric, boxing him in the middle of the crowd like an alien who didn't fit in.
Cedric's face was calm as he looked at his classmates, who were divided by bloodline and classified into the same class as him.
They were all waiting for him to explain, but for some reason, Cedric suddenly didn't want to talk anymore.
He looked up at the brilliant starry sky. The world at night was beautiful and full of mystery. However, under this dreamy canvas, a huge shadow had covered half of the sky at some point.
…
The Astronomy Tower is where the current headmaster of the castle was crowned king during the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort.
As the tallest tower in the entire Hogwarts Castle, it is naturally filled with professors from the castle.
Except for Snape, who was standing by the Forbidden Forest to support Voldemort, Barty Jr., the Carrow siblings, Greengrass, and some of the pure-blood academy professors were all here.
The noise in the Forbidden Forest was very loud, and the cloud composed of dragon's breath that appeared in the sky at the beginning was also very dazzling. Not only were all the students in the school alarmed, but the professors were naturally no exception.
"If you were surrounded by ten fire dragons, how long could you hold out?"
The night wind blew the light yellow hair on little Batty's forehead. He looked at the group of dragons that had obviously gathered together and were chasing something, and asked Amycus Carlo beside him in a casual voice.
Amycus looked into the distance at the sky and squinted his eyes.
"If I can use Apparition, I can try to pull them out one by one and kill them. Although the dragons are powerful, they have no sense of race. They always act alone and don't know how to cooperate. If we separate them, it won't be difficult to kill them."
When he said this, a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"But you can't use Apparition in Hogwarts, including the Forbidden Forest. Being surrounded by so many dragons is a dead end."
His sister, Alecto, who was fat and ugly like a pig, also showed a cruel and rampant smile on her face.
"Who came up with this idea for the master? It's really great, but I wonder if the little mudblood can leave a corpse that's worthy of attention. I want to show my students a unique example like this in class!"
Greengrass frowned and glanced at Alecto, as if she was dissatisfied with her innate brutality and vulgarity, and her lack of pure-blood family cultivation.
Little Batty did not answer Alecto's question. He just leaned his hands on the edge of the tower, looked at the area surrounded by fire dragons, and a casual smile appeared on his face.
If there is anyone in this world who is absolutely loyal to Voldemort, then Barty would be the first, and probably only Bella would claim to be second.
He and Snape didn't get along, not only because Snape was a half-blood but had a higher status than most pure-bloods, but more because he always felt that Snape's loyalty to his master was not pure.
That's right, Barty Jr. never denied Snape's talent. He just thought that this man was an unstable time bomb. He was useful but also dangerous. That's why he always tried his best to persuade his master to let Snape do things, but he must not give him absolute power.
Little Batty didn't know whether his master had listened to his advice, but he was very clear that the focus of their entire organization now should not be on the internal affairs.
Because Dumbledore and his group had never been taken seriously by their master and had been hanging around like an old man, they now began to show signs of gaining momentum.
Among them, the person who had the greatest influence on Voldemort himself was a student who had just entered the fourth grade.
This is very abnormal and disturbing, at least it makes people like Barty Jr., a group of loyal servants of the British magical government created by Voldemort, feel uneasy.
Of course they firmly believe that their master is great and invincible, but there are always some ants who want to bite off a piece of flesh from the giant, and precisely because of their smallness, it is often easy for them to succeed.
But when the giant really starts to pay attention to this ant, he will no longer be a problem.
Little Batty narrowed his eyes. The golden-red flames that occasionally lit up under the starry sky were the most beautiful picture in his eyes.
You see, this overconfident ant is about to die. He has not even achieved his master's highest expectations of him at the beginning.
As the wizard who killed his father and mother was thinking this, his brows suddenly frowned.
The scenery that was originally the most beautiful in his eyes suddenly expanded rapidly, and gradually occupied his entire pupil!
