"Minister Fudge, Azkaban was attacked last night by assailants wearing Death Eater robes. Doesn't this suggest a flaw in your decision-making, allowing You-Know-Who's forces to remain after all these years and resurface once more?"
"Oh... no! That was merely a group of thugs acting under the name of You-Know-Who! They aren't real Death Eaters! The Death Eaters were completely wiped out by our heroic Aurors ten years ago! There are no issues with my decisions!"
At the morning press conference, Minister Fudge was sweating profusely, yet he remained steadfast on the podium, fielding questions from reporters.
"Mr. Minister, the prisoners who were broken out are all Death Eaters. If the attackers weren't Death Eaters, why would they choose only to rescue these incarcerated Death Eaters?"
"Oh... no! That's fake! It's a rumor! There is no definitive evidence proving that the rescued prisoners were all Death Eaters! Furthermore, we have already recaptured every single one of those prisoners! Not one is missing! This was clearly a victory for the Ministry of Magic! It was the hard work of many Ministry officials and Aurors that prevented those thugs from succeeding. Why do you make it sound like we made a massive mistake? It should be clear that we won!" "But I heard that the person who captured all those prisoners was Professor Dumbledore, and that the Ministry and Aurors weren't involved at all..."
"Fake news! I don't know where you're getting such false information! Professor Dumbledore did indeed participate in the capture, but the Ministry's Aurors were involved throughout the entire process! Besides, having Professor Dumbledore assist so actively only goes to show that our government carries sufficient prestige, doesn't it? This doesn't prove our incompetence; on the contrary, it validates our success!"
"Mr. Minister, it is reported that at the same time as the attack on Azkaban last night, an accident also occurred at Hogwarts. It is suspected that minions of You-Know-Who infiltrated the school and stole a treasure from within... Does this indicate the Fudge administration's neglect of the education system?"
"Hogwarts has stood for a thousand years; of course there will be people coveting the antiques and cultural relics within... It's perfectly normal for thieves to target such a place! But it's merely a coincidence that a thief happened to enter Hogwarts last night! There is no evidence suggesting that the thief was a member of the Death Eaters! Moreover, what does a burglary at Hogwarts have to do with the education system? Forcing a connection between the two—what purpose does that serve other than to undermine social stability? I am ashamed for you!" Faced with difficult questions, Minister Fudge simply began to resort to bluster and deflective rants.
*Regardless, we won, our response was flawless, and we certainly didn't want to be attacked in the first place.*
*Death Eaters and their ilk have long been extinct! The appearance of a few thugs and petty thieves is merely an isolated incident; society as a whole remains very stable!*
However, the reporters did not let Fudge off so easily, throwing one sharp question after another at him.
Fudge was gradually becoming overwhelmed. It was clear that these reporters, who were constantly steering the conversation toward the incompetence of the Fudge administration, had been sent by his political rivals!
Last time, these rivals had been intimidated by Victor Wick's threats and hadn't dared to attack Fudge. But this time, without Victor there to back him up, they were launching a relentless siege.
It didn't matter if their accusations were logical; as long as they kept attacking, they could make a simple matter chaotic. After all, there would always be some less-than-intelligent people who would believe what they said...
Minister Fudge, drenched in sweat, answered questions while signaling his secretary during a brief lull.
"Quick! Contact Professor Victor Wick at Hogwarts. Tell him I want to meet with him!"
Fudge knew very well that no matter how beautifully he phrased his answers, these reporters with powerful backing would not let him off easily.
Without a doubt, tomorrow's newspapers would be filled with articles denouncing the Fudge administration's incompetence!
Fudge could only think of talking to Victor once more, hoping he could help suppress the situation, even if such a deal required him to pay a heavy price...
Snape finally woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the clinical white ceiling of the hospital wing.
Even though his wounds had been healed with a combination of potions and healing spells, he could still feel a faint, throbbing pain in his chest.
Snape swore that if there was ever a next time, he would rather do it himself than ever let Victor Wick help again!
Victor's knife had truly almost sent him straight to the afterlife!
Suddenly, a spectral shadow flickered nearby...
Snape glanced to the side and saw a female ghost.
Snape felt a surge of excitement because he knew this was Lily, disguised as an inconspicuous ghost by Victor.
He struggled to climb out of bed and began searching for something.
Suddenly, a familiar bottle of eye drops was held out in front of him.
Lily's gaze was soft as she held Snape's bottle of special eye drops in her hand.
Snape took a deep breath, slowly took the bottle, and squeezed two drops into his eyes.
Then, the unfamiliar female ghost before him transformed back into Lily in his eyes.
"Thank you, Severus..." Lily said softly.
Snape capped the bottle, but his gaze remained fixed on Lily's face, as if he were afraid that if he so much as blinked, she would vanish before his eyes.
"I didn't do all this just to hear you say thank you. I just... didn't want to see you cry anymore. And I didn't want to let you down again."
"Severus... I'm not worth such obsession."
"No... tell me you are. Only you are worth it..."
"Harry, how are you feeling?" Ron asked.
Harry had been discharged from the hospital wing the next day and had returned to the Gryffindor common room.
What had happened the previous night had already spread throughout Hogwarts, but aside from Harry's close friends, no one else knew that Harry had also been involved.
"I'm fine... I wasn't really injured to begin with," Harry said, shaking his head.
Hermione sat nearby, frowning. She had already heard the account of the events from Professor McGonagall, but she felt that something was not quite right.
Little did she know that what Professor McGonagall had told her was simply the version Victor had narrated...
"I never would have thought Professor Snape was actually a good person. And Professor Quirrell was... a villain." Neville still felt a bit dazed, finding it hard to believe.
"And Snape even risked his life to save Harry..." Ron also felt as if it were all a dream.
Anyone could see Snape's hatred for Harry, yet he had risked his life to save him. This was something very difficult to fathom.
If it had been before, Harry would certainly have found it incomprehensible, but now, he had some guesses of his own...
Because of what Snape had said while shielding him, Harry could guess that Snape must have had a very close relationship with his mother in the past.
Perhaps Snape's inexplicable hostility toward him was also due to some old grudge with his father's generation.
However, since his mother hadn't spoken about it, he didn't feel it was right to tell his friends his guesses.
"Sigh..." Harry suddenly let out a long breath.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Neville asked quickly.
"No... it's just that... I didn't help at all. Not only was the Philosopher's Stone stolen, but I even caused Professor Snape to get injured." Harry felt a deep sense of frustration.
"Harry, what are you saying? You're only in your first year! Most wizards your age would have been shaking in their boots when facing such a Dark Wizard! I bet many wouldn't have done nearly as well as you did!" Hermione comforted him.
"But..." Harry remembered that it was Voldemort who had taken the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort had gloated to him, saying that once he had the Stone, he could be resurrected! This thought weighed heavily on Harry's heart.
"Don't worry, Professor Wick and Professor Dumbledore are already working on it... I believe that if the two of them join forces, there's nothing in the wizarding world they can't handle, right?" Neville's eyes were full of confidence in the two professors.
Harry's heart settled slightly. At the very least, he had indeed hindered Voldemort for a moment and had passed on the news that Voldemort was still alive to Dumbledore and Professor Wick. Having learned of this in advance, they would surely be able to prevent that demon from resurrecting!
On an isolated island, inside a cave.
Quirrell sat by the campfire, his face pale, as he brewed a thick pot of oatmeal for himself.
Voldemort had fallen into a deep sleep, leaving him with a body riddled with wounds.
He had slept for several days before barely recovering.
If Regulus hadn't been there to look after him, he would have starved to death during those days of unconsciousness!
At this moment, Regulus was sitting on a stone stool nearby, flipping through the Daily Prophet.
A stack of newspapers lay on the table beside him...
He had been closely monitoring the developments in the outside world.
At first, Fudge had been under constant siege, but after a few days, the attacks suddenly diminished significantly.
Then, an "objective" article suddenly appeared, defending Minister Fudge from a very neutral standpoint...
Clearly, Fudge's position was once again secure.
Recalling the stir caused when his brother was released from prison, Regulus guessed that this was once again the handiwork of Victor Wick...
He just didn't know what kind of price Fudge had paid this time.
"The porridge is ready," Quirrell's voice came from the side.
"Good." Regulus put down the newspaper and was about to say something when Quirrell's movements suddenly stiffened.
In the next second, the look in his eyes changed visibly.
Regulus's pupils narrowed slightly. He knew that the person behind those eyes had switched once again...
"Master, how do you feel now?" Regulus asked respectfully.
"I feel better than ever before!" There was a hint of excitement in Voldemort's voice.
This time, the soul power Victor had left for him was immense!
After absorbing it, Voldemort's soul had undergone significant repair! This single restoration had brought his soul back to the state it was in just after he had finished creating four Horcruxes!
This was undoubtedly a massive boon for Voldemort!
"I suppose I really was too suspicious in the past..." Voldemort mused.
Although his relationship with Victor Wick had originated from a mere transaction, so far, Victor had not done anything to disadvantage him! Moreover, he had provided a great deal of assistance!
It could be said that without Victor Wick, he could never have obtained the Philosopher's Stone so smoothly!
Even if Victor had his own selfish motives, he couldn't possibly be one of Dumbledore's people!
Otherwise, he would never have helped him steal the Philosopher's Stone or repair his soul!
Voldemort glanced at Regulus, having lost the interest to keep testing him.
As long as Victor Wick wasn't on Dumbledore's side, why should he keep obsessing over uncovering his little secrets?
"Wick is such a decent man..."
Regulus discreetly observed Voldemort with suspicion. He felt that there was something different about the current Voldemort...
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