The British wizarding world appears peaceful now, but it was far from that just over a decade ago.
No, not just over a decade ago; to be precise, the British wizarding world had been in turmoil for a considerable time, ever since Tom Riddle graduated from Hogwarts and began his activities under the name Voldemort.
The conflict between the radical Pure-bloods, the conservative Pure-bloods, and the Muggle-born wizards had intensified to such an extent that Snape's entire seven years at the academy were overshadowed by this ideological struggle.
It wasn't until Harry's birth over a decade ago, and Voldemort's fall under the prophecy, that the matter temporarily concluded.
However, although Voldemort had fallen, the various factions that had gathered under his banner were not thoroughly purged.
Only those whose hands were too deeply stained with blood and who were too widely hated were sent to Azkaban.
The rest, like Lucius Malfoy, were largely let off with a slap on the wrist.
Accio the Imperius Curse? Who would believe such an excuse.
It was merely a tacit agreement reached by everyone, as part of the surrender terms, because no one wanted to continue the war.
But the past is ultimately a stain, and some people always worried that Dumbledore and others who suffered heavy losses and whose loved ones were brutally killed during the Voldemort incident would bring it up again.
Lucius's strong reaction when Dumbledore approached him, and his original destiny of targeting Dumbledore, were partly due to these factors.
And now, due to Roger's "meteoric rise," Dumbledore's prestige and power in the British wizarding world were reaching a new peak.
While the Dumbledore of the past was strong, he was conservative in his actions, so people weren't as worried.
But with Roger's appearance, not only Minister for Magic Fudge but also some others noticed that Dumbledore had changed.
And that's why the current Basilisk farce occurred.
The people currently waging a propaganda war in the newspapers mainly consist of three factions.
One faction is pure Slytherin admirers, the so-called "Serpent-born nobility."
Another faction is interested in the Basilisk itself, believing that since it has lived for so long and was raised by Slytherin, it might have many other values. They want to keep it to get a share of the profits.
Both of these factions are ignorant and not worth mentioning.
The crucial one is the last faction, the remnants of Voldemort's followers mentioned above.
They intend to use this incident as a leverage point to further test Dumbledore's change in attitude.
If Dumbledore were to intervene due to the current public outcry, it would indicate that Dumbledore's radicalism had exceeded their psychological expectations, and they would truly have to prepare for the worst.
However, if Dumbledore chose to turn a blind eye, it would signify that things had not yet escalated in the worst direction.
Of course, these matters were beyond the comprehension of the young wizards at Hogwarts.
They were still eagerly discussing whether the Basilisk should be sentenced to death directly or if other methods could be used to better utilize its value.
Well, they were Hogwarts students, after all, so they certainly wouldn't support sparing the creature that had killed their classmates; they were just discussing which method of death was better.
"No, you can't think like that!" Hermione was arguing passionately among the discussants.
She held up the Daily Prophet she had in her hand, waving it slightly in the air as if it were a weapon.
"Death is death, and other things cannot be mixed in," she retorted to some students who held the idea of "utilization."
Those students meant that since the Basilisk was going to die anyway, why not conduct various radical experiments on it before its death.
"If a precedent is set with this Basilisk, what about other judgments? Will such judgments one day extend beyond magical creatures? If this situation arises in the judgment of humans, how terrifying would that be?!"
Hermione frowned as she discussed with the other students around her.
Similar philosophical debates had long occurred among Muggles, and Hermione, having read widely, was naturally aware of them.
Human nature cannot withstand temptation.
If today the death sentence for this Basilisk can be changed to death by radical experimentation, then one day, if someone lacks other rare creatures for experiments.
Will a creature be "arranged" to commit a crime? Even further, extending the incident to humans, if there's profit to be made from death row inmates, then more people who are not guilty enough of their crimes will be sentenced to death.
This is not just a hypothetical scenario; history has seen many such events! This precedent absolutely cannot be set, even if it has very high utilization value.
Roger glanced at the arguing crowd but did not join them.
It's difficult to change a person's mind, so Roger rarely argues with people about such matters.
With that time, it would be better to improve his own strength.
As long as one's strength is sufficiently powerful, regardless of what others think, they will ultimately have to act according to your wishes.
It's like billions of people on Earth working; do they all like working? It's just that most people have various reasons why they have to work.
But some things Roger doesn't want to get involved in, yet they chase after him.
As one of the people who captured the Basilisk with Principal Dumbledore, someone eventually asked Roger for his opinion on the matter.
... This is also a kind of convention.
When the parties below cannot convince each other and the argument becomes increasingly heated, they will try to find a higher authority to endorse their theory.
"This issue..."
Roger, who was asked, thought for a moment.
He was well-informed, and with his connections in various circles of wizarding society, he naturally understood that there were shadows behind this storm.
Theoretically, it was not suitable for him to express his attitude on this matter, as his opinion would easily be seen as Dumbledore's indirect statement.
But Roger had no qualms about it. "We'll just do what needs to be done. The laws are written down, so if there's no dispute, we'll follow normal procedure. If there's too much dispute, we'll discuss it at the Wizengamot. But if you're asking for my personal opinion..."
"I think it's best to consult Moaning Myrtle herself, Moaning Myrtle's family, and Hagrid's opinions... after all, they were the victims of the incident back then."
"However they decide to handle it is how it will be handled."
After speaking, he turned to Hermione, who looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated. "I know some legal matters are complicated, so what I've said is just my personal inclination."
As Roger spoke, he actually recalled an incident from his past life when he was a child, encountering a stray vicious dog that bit someone. Often, if a family's dog was bitten, that stray would be handed over to the bitten family for disposal. He said this casually.
Political influence?
Roger didn't think there was any need for him to consider the Voldemort remnants abandoned by the times.
What, with him around, could Voldemort possibly make a comeback?
...
In fact, not only did Roger dislike them, but even Voldemort, their 'former master,' didn't find these people too pleasing to the eye.
After all, while he suffered for over ten years, these remnants of his were let off lightly after being caught, living quite comfortably.
Anyone would wonder if there was some 'trickery' involved.
Normally, they were quiet, and Voldemort had no opportunity.
But now that they had jumped out and caused trouble themselves.
"Some old debts need to be settled," Voldemort said, glancing at Tom Riddle, who was immersed in Virtual Reality beside him, silently reciting in his heart the names of the families and wizards who had followed him but were acquitted after the war!
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