In Professor McGonagall's Office.
Minerva was behind a desk, busy with a pile of papers on the table. Every time she reviewed a document and stamped it, she whispered:
"Damn you, Albus Dumbledore, you left and saddled me with this cursed pile of papers to authorize."
Minerva found she would rather fight a team of trolls than battle these damned papers. If Albus ever asked her to take over as head of Hogwarts, she would refuse without a second thought! This job was inhumane; the amount of work was not worth the reward.
Besides, the salary was far too low!
As Minerva grumbled through each report, the door to her office was opened without warning.
Frowning in displeasure, she watched her two favorite students enter her office, both bearing different expressions—one worried and the other visibly angrier.
Had it been any other student, she would have scolded them, even punished them severely for entering her office without knocking, but she had a deep affection for these two girls, so she remained silent, yet with a stern expression.
"Miss Granger, Miss Potter, a lady should not invade someone's personal space in such a manner." She spoke, her voice stern and cold, causing both girls to display embarrassed smiles.
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall." As an A-grade student beloved by all teachers, Hermione was the first to apologize.
Rose, on the other hand, just shrugged and sat down in the chair opposite the desk.
"Sorry for coming in without knocking," she said, ignoring Hermione's silent disapproving looks.
Seeing this, Minerva just shook her head and sighed.
"What brings you to my office, ladies?" She asked, leaning back in her chair.
"Are we going to war with Israel?" Rose directly asked her question.
"Unlikely." Without any hesitation, Minerva answered Rose's question. "War isn't good for anyone, whether for us or for Israel. Especially with the vultures watching the entire situation, waiting for a good moment to reap the benefits."
"The newspaper—" Before Hermione could finish speaking, Minerva interrupted her.
"Miss Granger," Minerva looked at her favorite student and spoke calmly. "Do not believe everything you read in the newspaper; they dramatize facts to sell more copies regardless of how much chaos and fear they would cause in the country. They are a bunch even greedier than goblins."
"The current situation is not as tense as it seems," Minerva continued. "Israel and England have not gone to war at this time."
Minerva's calm and stern words soothed the tense and nervou mind of the brown-haired girl.
"Asterion was attacked, will Hogwarts reinforce its defenses in case of an attack?" Rose, who had been silent listening to their conversation, spoke at this moment.
Minerva adjusted her glasses, which had slipped slightly, and replied with a touch of pride in her voice.
"Miss Potter, you need not worry about that. Hogwarts is one of the most magically secure places in the known world. Should Hogwarts be attacked, we don't need to reinforce our defenses, the attackers will need to reinforce their attack."
Honestly, Minerva wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. Hogwarts was built above one of the world's Ley Lines, and the magic drawn from the Ley Line fueled Hogwarts' defenses at all times with nearly infinite magical energy, especially the enormous barrier that covered the entire castle, protecting it from all directions, including from below the ground.
However, there was something that made Minerva tense and cautious. That was Voldemort, possessing the body of Quirinus.
Yes, Hogwarts was impregnable from the outside, but every defense had a weakness, and Hogwarts' defenses were no different in this regard. If the extraction of magical energy from the Ley Lines were to be interrupted, Hogwarts would be defenseless against attacks from high-grade wizards.
Fortunately, the core of Hogwarts was even more strictly protected than the Castle itself. Only the head of Hogwarts could enter the core without being killed by the magical defenses of the core.
Rose was surprised; it was the first time she saw arrogance in the stern Professor McGonagall, which certainly took her aback, but she chose to trust in this enormous magical castle, though she still noted the concern the professor tried to hide.
Hermione and Rose nodded, relieved by her words, or at least that was how Minerva felt, and both left the office feeling lighter.
-
In the corridor.
"Do you think she lied?" Walking alongside Rose, Hermione whispered to her friend with a worried look.
"Her heart raced when she talked about war." Rose replied, looking ahead. "She's hiding something, worried about something, especially after Professor Quirinus disappeared."
Rose didn't tell Hermione that Quirinus was possessed by Voldemort; it was a piece of news she would hide if possible. Nobody needed to know that Voldemort had returned; she would find him, kill him, and the man would remain dead once and for all.
Hermione looked at her friend with suspicion; she too saw that Professor McGonagall was worried about something and had withheld a lot of information, similar to Rose who spoke in a very cold, almost murderous tone when it came to Professor Quirinus, who had disappeared a few days ago.
Whether it was Professor McGonagall or Rose, both were hiding things from her, which made her sad and at the same time angry.
She would find out what both were hiding!
-
Austria, Austrian Alps – Nurmengard.
In Grindelwald's personal chamber.
The Dark Lord dressed in the finest clothes he owned and displayed a satisfied smile on his aged face, his ethereal blue eyes glowing with a phosphorescent light.
"Is everything ready, Aurelius?" Grindelwald asked, adjusting his tie.
"Yes, My Lord." Aurelius nodded and replied. "Everyone is ready to depart at any moment."
"And the Aurora Society?" Grindelwald continued to inquire.
"Those occultists are nearly salivating at the idea of attacking Hogwarts and killing the child." Aurelius did not hide his disdain when he mentioned the group of lunatics.
"I still don't understand why they want to kill the girl; the child is innocent." He spoke, his tone cold.
"The world is cruel, Aurelius. It doesn't care who dies or who survives." Grindelwald turned to look at his adoptive son and continued. "The birth of that child disrupted the world's balance, the number of Cursed Spirits appearing around the world has increased by nearly 50% since Rose Potter was born."
"The birth of Rose Potter was a sin in the eyes of that lunatic cult claiming to be the Balance of the wizarding world's order." Grindelwald couldn't help but mock the Aurora Society, especially its purpose.
"When we accomplish our purpose, may I kill them all?" Aurelius asked, his voice cold and deadly. Around his body, the shadow of a deformed stag made from swirls of darkness manifested.
Grindelwald was unbothered and spoke kindly. "You may enjoy yourself as much as you like after we are finished, Aurelius."
Placing his hand on the mirror, Grindelwald saw the young Dumbledore appear beside him, hand on his shoulder.
"As promised, Albus. I'm wearing my finest suit so we can finally kill each other."
He murmured, looking at Dumbledore's reflection, who also smiled gently.
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Next Chapter: Chapter 68 - Invasion of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 69 - Invasion of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 70 - Invasion of Hogwarts (3), Chapter 71 - Invasion of Hogwarts (4), Chapter 72 - Invasion of Hogwarts (5), Chapter 73 - Invasion of Hogwarts (6), Chapter 74 - Invasion of Hogwarts (7), Chapter 75 - Invasion of Hogwarts (8), Chapter 76 - Invasion of Hogwarts (9), Chapter 77 - Invasion of Hogwarts (10), Chapter 78 - Invasion of Hogwarts (11), Chapter 79 - Post-War (1), Chapter 80 - Heir of Salazar Slytherin (1), Chapter 81 - Heir of Salazar Slytherin (2), Chapter 82 - Heir of Salazar Slytherin (3), Chapter 83 - Salazar's Heir Slytherin (4), Chapter 84 - Sequels, Chapter 85 - Civil War (1), 86 - Civil War (2), 87 - Civil War (3), 88 - Civil War (4), 89 - Civil War (5), Chapter 90 (6).