Chapter 198. Basilisk, Harry, Sword
On the evening the announcement went out, in Professor McGonagall's office.
Albus Dumbledore, the four Heads of House, and Adrian Wesson were gathered there, the atmosphere a shade heavy.
Wesson explained to everyone in detail how Lord Voldemort had controlled Lockhart.
After listening to Wesson's account, Professor McGonagall said angrily, "We should have realised long ago that there was a problem with Lockhart.
"He's been acting oddly at school from the very start, a complete fool…"
Then she turned her gaze to Wesson and said with warm approval, "You've done well, Wesson."
Wesson dipped his head slightly.
In fact, Professor McGonagall had already heard the rough outline from Dumbledore and had prepared herself, so she was relatively calm at the moment.
The remaining Heads of House were in varying degrees of shock.
Especially after hearing the name Voldemort—
"So…" Professor Sprout's face had gone pale; in a low voice she said, "You-Know-Who… has he come back?"
Professor Flitwick's high voice trembled with shock. "Has he really returned? Possessing Lockhart? And in the end you discovered him and destroyed him, Professor Wesson?"
"Ah, yes," Wesson nodded, speaking evenly. "But what I want to say is, he has not truly returned—he has simply not died. Perhaps in the near future he will make a real comeback."
Everyone present fell silent.
They all needed a little time to digest this weighty news.
"By the way, Professor Wesson," Professor Sprout suddenly remembered something, "the students being Petrified—it should have been You-Know-Who controlling the Basilisk, right? Where is it now? My Mandrakes will be mature at the end of this month; we can't let that monster keep harming our students."
"Oh," Wesson said offhandedly, "you mean the Basilisk… Harry killed it with a sword."
"Er… I beg your pardon, what did you say?" Professor Sprout seemed not to have heard clearly.
Although she recognised the three words "Basilisk," "Harry," and "sword," when strung together she suddenly couldn't make sense of them.
"It may sound absurd, but that's the fact," Wesson shrugged and repeated, "Harry used the Sword of Gryffindor to kill the Basilisk with his own hands."
At that moment, Wesson suddenly felt a sharp, forceful stare.
Naturally, that look came from Snape.
Up until just now, he had been silently bowing his head, listening to the others speak.
When Harry's name appeared in Wesson's mouth, Snape immediately lifted his head.
"Harry Potter handled a Basilisk alone," he seemed almost amused with anger, fixing Wesson with an unwavering stare. "Ah, worthy of the Saviour, is that what I'm meant to say? Professor Wesson, do you take us for fools, or have you had your brains trodden on by a troll?"
In truth, although Wesson thought the matter perfectly reasonable, saying it aloud did sound rather extravagant.
Snape's reaction was understandable.
A second-year student killed a Basilisk—who would believe that?
"Not alone," Wesson shook his head and added, "Professor Dumbledore provided the Sword of Gryffindor, and Fawkes helped."
Snape suddenly shifted his gaze from Wesson to Dumbledore.
"So we needed a second-year student to help us deal with a monster in the castle?" he said coldly. "Absurd."
Dumbledore said mildly, "Harry displayed extraordinary courage and ability, Severus. You need not worry for him."
"Ha. Courage," Snape sneered. "That's the most useless thing of all. Courage cannot protect a person."
Wesson took the scene in.
Snape had likely already realised that pitting Harry against the Basilisk had been Dumbledore's deliberate arrangement.
For the most powerful wizard alive, a Basilisk certainly posed little threat. Dumbledore could easily have dealt with the Basilisk himself instead of providing Harry with a sword and a phoenix.
But as far as Wesson was concerned, he felt setting Harry against the Basilisk was not a bad bit of tempering.
Halfway through the meeting, the office door suddenly swung open.
An unexpected short, portly man walked in—Cornelius Fudge.
Fudge was still wearing the same black ensemble Wesson had seen him in last time, breathing a little fast—clearly he had come a long way on foot.
Seeing the room full of people, he plainly froze for a moment, but quickly adjusted his expression.
"Albus! I came at once when I got your message!" He mopped at his sweat with a handkerchief, beaming at Dumbledore. "I knew you could sort it."
Dumbledore stood calmly. "Cornelius, thank you for arriving so promptly. We are in the middle of discussing urgent matters."
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"Oh, quite understood," Fudge nodded repeatedly. "It's about what you told me in your letter, is it? I know… now I can be at ease. You know I've always been on your side."
Dumbledore did not respond to Fudge at once.
Wesson regarded Fudge thoughtfully. It seemed Dumbledore had already told Fudge part of what had happened.
"Ah, yes—about Hagrid—" Fudge went on, "originally, Hagrid was supposed to undergo several more rounds of review, but now we have clear evidence. So, I took it upon myself to do a little something and had him brought out of Azkaban ahead of time. He'll be able to return to Hogwarts tomorrow. To be honest, it cost me no small amount of effort…"
Wesson suddenly heard Snape give a short laugh.
It seemed he had little patience for Fudge's manner.
On this point, Wesson happened to agree with Snape.
From the way Fudge spoke, you'd think he hadn't personally sent Hagrid to Azkaban—utterly hypocritical.
"Then thank you for your help, Cornelius," Dumbledore said warmly, nodding to Fudge. "How is Hagrid?"
Seeing this, Fudge let out a breath of relief.
"Of course there's nothing whatsoever amiss," he hurried on, waving a hand. "It's Azkaban, yes, but I can assure you Hagrid hasn't suffered any intimidation or harm there. Perhaps because of his great size, the Dementors hardly go near him. Rest easy, Albus—I'll see him returned without a scratch."
Wesson nodded inwardly. It seemed the Lightning-Struck Wood amulet he had given Hagrid had done some good.
May Hagrid return safe and sound.
"Very good," Dumbledore said with a nod. "I'm glad Hagrid is all right. Thank you for bringing us this good news."
"That's my duty," Fudge said with a narrow-eyed smile.
After a while, Fudge still showed no intention of leaving.
Which meant Wesson and the others were unable to continue their staff meeting.
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