"Do you want to go to school?"
He asked with a grin, like an old man ready to hand out Christmas presents.
"School?" Hayley was a bit eager yet fearful: "I went to school before... up to second grade..."
Mabel was taken aback, wanting to ask - is the murder from before just going to be forgotten like that? But after coming to her senses, she swallowed her question and asked, "Can we be together?"
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said apologetically. "Hayley needs to go to a normal school, while you're a wizard and should go to Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts?" Mabel murmured.
They had heard about this place from Skeeter, and in the journalist's descriptions, it was a school that seemed to exist only in fairy tales.
"Yes." Dumbledore smiled: "It's a magic school where nearly all the young wizards from the British Isles attend. You'll meet many kind and interesting friends there, and they all know magic."
"Will Vid Gray be there too?" Mabel asked.
"Of course."
"But... what about Hayley?" Mabel looked at Hayley, hesitant.
"I will help her find a very good adoptive family, and she will grow up healthy and happy like all ordinary children," Dumbledore said. "During the holidays, you can visit her."
Mabel was reluctant to separate.
But she also knew very well what choice was best for Hayley.
The old man in front of her was trusted by Vid... he didn't seem to have any ill intentions...
And since everyone is a wizard, surely no one will try to discover the magic gene in her, right?
After thinking for a long time, Mabel finally nodded hesitantly and managed to convince the somewhat unwilling Hayley.
"...Once I learn magic, I can take you flying in the sky. If anyone bullies us again, I'll swoosh swoosh swoosh and knock them all down!"
"Magic can even make little ants and butterflies bigger than a house, then you can sit on the butterfly's back and fly across the sea..."
The two girls imagined a future with magic, and the unease on their faces gradually turned to joyful anticipation.
Dumbledore watched this scene silently, silent compassion hidden in his blue eyes.
...
On the island turned to ruins, more and more Ministry of Magic officials were notified and arrived one after another.
With the explanations from the professors at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic finally understood that the Muggles here were not some pitiful beings needing protection; rather, they were criminals who had committed brutal acts against wizards and had murdered many innocent children.
All the Muggles on the island were taken away, awaiting judgment and punishment from the Ministry of Magic.
At the same time, the children in the dungeon were also brought out, with the ones in poor health sent immediately to St Mungo's, and the others would be sent home after their backgrounds were clarified.
Rita Skeeter had already found her way back to her crocodile skin bag amidst the chaos. She pulled out her camera and snapped a large number of precious first-hand photos, while the quill next to her, excited to the point of almost taking flight, scribbled nonstop.
At this moment, Skeeter was the only journalist on the island, possessing such a big exclusive story. She was so thrilled that she couldn't close her mouth, feeling that all the previous hardships weren't in vain.
Delaying her arrival, Umbridge wore a grim face upon coming to the island, yet could do nothing about Skeeter – this journalist had already shamelessly crafted an epic hero story for herself and continuously embellished it, with those kids all echoing her.
Many of the Ministry of Magic's staff were thoroughly convinced, looking up at this brave 'war correspondent' with admiration, wishing they could fight alongside her.
Led by Fudge, the group of wizards finally confirmed the location of the vanishing Obscurus and made their way towards the still-standing building.