Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 423 It chose you, and you saved it
The final outcome of this Triwizard Tournament was bleak.
Of course, it was quite bleak for the students and teachers of Hogwarts Castle.
For the teachers, the school was gone and they also lost their original privileged status as professors, but fortunately it did not affect their normal life afterwards.
But it was very different for the students. Not only did they lose their school, but they would also be taken away by Dumbledore. This was something they had never thought of before tonight.
Voldemort eventually left with his men.
There was no sneak attack later, nor was there any intention to start a war today. Just as John guessed, he believed that he had just regained control of his body and his strength had not yet fully recovered. He planned to have a decisive battle with Dumbledore after he had fully recovered.
Everything he did today was to consolidate his existing power in order to gain time for development.
As long as he could get through this period of time, he could resume the unfinished plan of the idiot who wanted to eat him and let him see who the real Tom Riddle was!
Voldemort and his men left the campus of Hogwarts Castle, leaving the students with worried and uneasy faces turning to look at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore didn't say anything to them, nor did he make any other expression. Instead, he simply asked Kingsley and the others to take these pure-blood and half-blood students back to Lyon in batches.
The same went for the exchanged Muggle-born students and the Wizarding World captives, but only Snape was left in front of the castle.
After Snape was selected, he was trapped by Sirius with a binding spell. His wand was taken away, and all the magic-related items he carried were confiscated.
From beginning to end, he never resisted or begged for mercy, just accepted everything calmly and indifferently.
Only when Dumbledore, John and he were the only ones left in front of the castle hall did Snape look at Dumbledore.
"Finally one day, I fell into your hands."
His voice was very soft, but it could be clearly heard by everyone present.
Dumbledore didn't show much of a smile on his face, but instead looked at Snape with a complicated expression.
"When you came to me that night to beg me, do you remember what you promised me?"
Hearing Dumbledore's question, Snape suddenly laughed.
"So that's what you've been wanting to ask me all along? I thought you had already figured it out with Dumbledore."
Facing his smile, Dumbledore just spoke seriously.
"Can I get an answer now? Why did you go back on what we agreed to at the beginning?"
The smile on Snape's face faded, replaced by a somewhat sarcastic expression.
"Because the mysterious man at that time was just like the great man just now, a hopeless fool who only thought about himself and didn't care about others at all! His promises were simply unbelievable, so I found you, Dumbledore, and I need you to help me."
"But then he exceeded your expectations?"
"Not only was it beyond my expectations, it was also beyond your expectations, wasn't it?" Snape said calmly, "Did you think at that time that he might have such achievements later? No, because at that time he did not show such great talent and strategy. Moreover, he really did what I promised him. Why is such a person not worthy of my loyalty?"
Dumbledore remained noncommittal. No one could deny Voldemort's decisions and achievements over the past decade.
"Now, he has changed, right? You should be able to feel it."
When Snape heard Dumbledore say this, his eyes turned to John.
"The reason why he changed must be because of you!"
This was not a question but an affirmative sentence. Jon did not deny it. He just shrugged and had no intention of interjecting into the topic.
Dumbledore's expression turned serious at this time.
"There is no need to say any more. So, Severus, are you ready to face the person who is most hurt by your actions?"
Snape said nothing more, he just looked up at the castle.
Dumbledore had no intention of continuing to communicate with him. There would be no other ending for Snape now that he was in their hands. He waved his hand and Lupin came over. He looked coldly at this enemy who shared the same hatred with him and prepared to take Snape away from here.
So, only Dumbledore and John were left in front of the castle.
Dumbledore took Jon and walked into Hogwarts Castle. The lights were on, but there was no one there. Dumbledore seemed to just want to come in for a stroll, without any clear goal, and took Jon for a leisurely stroll inside.
"Now we can talk about what happened to you, Jon. How did he target you?"
John did not hide anything. He told everything that Voldemort No. 2 had planned in the library, including the preparations he would make after his plan succeeded.
After hearing this, even Dumbledore couldn't help but be moved.
"If he really succeeds, I may not be able to discover your change, and that would be the worst. I believe that since he has already made preparations to replace you, he must have a full understanding of everything about you. Otherwise, he would not be confident that he could deceive even me."
Jon nodded.
"In fact, he has succeeded. I am not kidding you, professor. I have really died once, but the different Animagus that I had in school before played a role. You were right at that time. After I drank that potion, there were only some insignificant changes. It was not that my magic failed, but that it was only half successful. To complete it completely, some specific conditions are required. I don't know whether I should feel unfortunate or fortunate that my Animagus is a phoenix."
As Jon spoke, he reached out and touched Fox's bright and smooth feathers.
Dumbledore blinked, of course he understood what Jon meant.
"That is to say, if Riddle hadn't killed you in the library today, you would probably never have completed your Animagus transformation until you died of old age. Without knowing that you would definitely not die, no one would dare to try to die. Riddle's behavior this time, in a disguised way, helped you."
Jon looked at his hands, which looked exactly like a little boy's, with some annoyance.
"By the way, Professor, can I change back to my current appearance? Or do I have to wait another eight or nine years before I can grow back again?"
Hearing Jon's question, Dumbledore suddenly laughed.
"You're actually worried about this. Do you know how much effort Riddle spent and how many methods he searched for in order to achieve immortality by his own power? The phoenix is a magical animal that is almost impossible to die. Whenever they get old or face life-threatening situations, they can start a new life cycle by undergoing nirvana. This is true immortality."
Jon didn't feel anything about this. Perhaps he was still young enough and had not experienced the fear of all the body functions aging and heading towards death as he got older. He was not particularly interested in the word immortality.
"I can't meet people with this appearance in the future, right?" He rubbed his forehead with a headache.
Dumbledore helped him think about this problem seriously.
"Based on my judgment of Fox's multiple nirvanas, your youthful state will not last forever. It will only take a week for your body to quickly recover to the state at the time of nirvana. But similarly, the first nirvana was actually the Phoenix fire forming a permanent memory in your body. In other words, no matter what you become in the future, after you have nirvana once, you will return to your previous 15-year-old state."
Compared with the image of a child, Jon could still barely accept the previous image of a 15-year-old boy.
Besides, he is not the kind of person who likes to seek death. The worst that can happen is that he will not die this time, and he won’t have such troubles in the future.
After finishing his question about John himself, Dumbledore asked about the status of Voldemort No. 2.
"How did he escape?"
"The phoenix fire obviously has a strong inhibitory effect on his black mist magic. He originally had no way to break free and leave, but it seems that he gave up maintaining his soul that had been shattered by the means left by Mr. Slytherin, and probably split into three and escaped from here."
Dumbledore's eyes grew darker.
"He won't just let his soul separate. Unlike Voldemort who compromised with us today, he will definitely get back what he lost. But no matter what, he doesn't even have a body anymore, so he can't pose any threat to us for the time being. Now we have to face today's Riddle."
Jon was actually a little curious about Dumbledore's future plans for Britain.
"So, Professor, how do you plan to take Britain back later?"
A smile appeared on Dumbledore's face.
"From today's contact, I can confirm that Riddle is the same person he was fifteen years ago. He is crazy and cruel, but this has both disadvantages and advantages for us."
"The disadvantages are obvious. A madman can cause great destructive power. He is willing to compromise today because he thinks he can control what the other person left behind and wants to prove that he is not worse than himself. But if he finds out later that the situation in Britain is not as easy to control as he imagined, based on my understanding of him, he will definitely overturn everyone's desks."
"Including pure-bloods?" Jon asked.
Dumbledore nodded affirmatively.
"Including pure-bloods. No matter which Riddle it was, he didn't care whether pure-bloods were noble or not. He just wanted to use the conflicts between bloodlines to stabilize his power. So, when he found that pure-bloods might also disobey his authority, he smashed all the original order and then used his terror to rule."
"It won't last long, will it?"
"A normal person would know that it won't last long, but a madman wouldn't think so. He would even enjoy the fear of others and think that this is his greatest masterpiece. In this way, the whole of Britain will be in danger in a short period of time, and it will be difficult for us to infiltrate, especially when I can't guarantee that I can beat him."
"What are the benefits?"
"The benefits also come from this. It is precisely because he will launch a reign of terror that it is difficult for us to infiltrate at the beginning. But as time goes on, even if we do not take the initiative to do so, wizards in Britain will contact us. Do you know why Riddle showed such unprecedented strength at the beginning, but he did not succeed in his annexation plan in Britain for nearly ten years?"
"Because his theory was not yet complete at that time?"
"Because at that time everyone, including many pure-blood wizards, knew that he was a madman. Under the leadership of a madman, no matter how many tempting benefits he verbally offered, the pure-bloods would consider whether they could live to enjoy these benefits in the future. It was not until that night fifteen years ago that Riddle suddenly told everyone that he was no longer crazy. He would not kill people casually and disrupt order, but would establish a new order that only protected pure-bloods, and even he himself would not violate this order. Only then did more people join him, and Britain changed its master in just two years."
Dumbledore looked at the chair in the center of the podium at the front of the hall.
"That feeling of uncertainty is terrible. It's not pleasant to be on edge all the time. As long as the wizards of Britain realize that their great master is no longer great and has turned back into that madman, that will be the best time for us to counterattack."
Jon also looked at the chair. In this castle, even if Voldemort himself was not here, no one would dare to put their butt on it. It was like the throne in the castle, demonstrating the king's authority.
But the king was gone, having abandoned his soldiers and his castle, and the only two people standing were Jon and Dumbledore.
"You went to the headmaster's office and said what I told you to do to that room, right?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.
Only then did Jon remember that he was still wearing a Sorting Hat.
"It was a talking hat that answered me and said Hogwarts chose me?"
Dumbledore raised his head and looked at the starry sky on the ceiling of the hall with emotion.
"That's right, Jon. The owner of this castle now is not me or Riddle, but you. It chose you, and you saved it."
