Chapter 58 Banquet Hall and Principal's Office (Part 2)

Chapter 58 58. Banquet Hall and Headmaster's Office (Part 2)

The wizards in the banquet hall realized that tonight's dinner was actually a welcome party.

The noble wizards and witches listened to the great gentleman telling them how their former headmaster hid under the hands of the sinner wizard, gained his trust, and took back the lost Philosopher's Stone.

Everyone in the banquet hall admired Slughorn's endurance and complimented the gentleman's foresight, while spitting on Dumbledore's meanness and shamelessness in stealing his friend's treasure.

After all, Nick Flamel's Philosopher's Stone was stolen, and he personally came to the Ministry of Magic to report the case. Now that the stone was brought back from Dumbledore, the charges of theft and murder should of course be placed on his head.

The gentleman kindly supported the fat walrus's 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. Unfortunately, I have 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 tired from traveling in the carriage all day. I heard that he has serious insomnia recently, and he can't even eat much. He can't eat a good steak after moving his fork twice at most."

A chuckle sounded in the banquet hall. Through Slughorn's tone, they could all imagine in their minds how the image of an old man who had no appetite and was dying was struggling to support the group of rebels.

The gentleman also laughed, or it could be said that the people in the entire banquet hall were actually catering to the expression on his face. If he laughed, others would laugh too. If he was unhappy, everyone else would be gloomy and silent.

"Ah, that's really wrong." He chuckled, "I just ate a plate of beef ribs with Cornelius. Professor Dumbledore should be more open-minded like me. Keeping his body healthy is the most important thing."

Minister of Magic Fudge quickly echoed in the crowd.

"Sir, you have a good appetite. I have had a stomach problem these two days and didn't eat much just now."

The gentleman just patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

"Professor Dumbledore has suffered. I will take him over and let him enjoy his old age. Otherwise, he is so old and still acts like a child. What's the point of torturing himself like this?"

Another burst of undisguised laughter rang out in the banquet hall, full of ridicule.

"But I still don't understand one thing, professor."

Jon frowned, wanting to ask all his puzzles today.

"Since the Dark Lord can let the teacher steal the Philosopher's Stone on the carriage, why not let him do something more valuable? Or the teacher has revealed our specific location to him three times in a row, why doesn't he come here in person?"

Dumbledore blinked, his crescent-shaped glasses reflected the dim light.

"What you actually want to ask is, he obviously has the opportunity to kill us all, why doesn't he do it, right?"

Jon nodded. He really felt that as long as Voldemort came to stop Dumbledore, he didn't need to defeat him. As long as he could stop him for a while, the Aurors and Death Eaters with an absolute numerical advantage could get rid of them all.

"I just told you, Jon, he is not afraid that the Philosopher's Stone will create wealth for Hogwarts or other people around me. He is afraid that I can rely on the stone to live forever. Your question actually has the same answer."

Dumbledore's simple reminder made Jon's mind flash, 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's important is the person who leads these two organizations!

If Dumbledore is lost in this Hogwarts without a savior, there will be no future at all.

But at the same time, Dumbledore now completely regards Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix as his only spiritual support.

If Voldemort really destroys this carriage and destroys the Order of the Phoenix, what will Dumbledore do when he has no worries or concerns?

People who are desperate are always ten thousand times more terrible than those who have hope.

Leaving this Hogwarts with only dozens of students is like putting shackles and chains on Dumbledore. For these children, he will not take risks, nor will he have any idea of ​​fighting to the death.

As long as his insignificant hope like a candle is not destroyed, Dumbledore is safe, which is also the safest for Voldemort.

For the remaining students on the carriage who were not oppressed and enslaved, Dumbledore was their last protective barrier. If this old man was gone one day in the future, the sky of the magic world would be completely dark.

Voldemort's best choice now is to suppress Hogwarts in a certain amount, to prevent it from being completely destroyed, but also to prevent it from growing too big.

Even Jon suspected that the fact that Hogwarts could still snatch Muggle-born students from the Hogwarts Castle every year was probably intentional by Voldemort.

When the candle was about to go out, he had to keep it lit until Dumbledore's candle was completely burned out, so that he would spend his whole life for this light that would go out with a blow!

After figuring this out, Jon fell silent.

He looked at the gray hair and beard of the old man opposite him, and knew very well that even if wizards could generally live for one or two hundred years, the long-term hard work still made this old wizard who had been fighting against two generations of dark demons for almost his entire life overdraw a lot of energy.

Dumbledore seemed to have seen Jon's somewhat sad mood, and he laughed, and laughed very freely.

"Don't feel sad for me, Jon, I don't do this for anyone, I just want to do it. Just like your teacher, if it was in the past, who would dare to believe that he had the courage to go undercover?"

Jon hesitated, he hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to ask this question, which he had always wanted to ask the day Lily took him to 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?