Very few of the people present actually knew the story of the legendary healer Semmelweis.
Even though this story had once been written into the magic history textbooks.
Compared to epic figures like the Four Founders of Hogwarts, who are constantly sung and praised, someone like Semmelweis, who was only ever "briefly mentioned in passing" by Professor Binns, was never someone people would really take to heart.
This was true not only in the wizarding world, but in the Muggle world as well.
Because these kids simply couldn't understand the deeper meaning contained in that story.
Just like how people who haven't experienced life can't really understand The Old Man and the Sea.
Only when these children grow up, go through things, and one day suddenly look back, will they realize that the truth of this world had already been laid out right in front of them.
The students in the Great Hall right now were in exactly this situation.
Most of them couldn't really understand what Link meant by telling that story. Aside from a very small number of people like Hermione, who were somewhat moved, most of the others just looked completely confused.
But they could still understand Link's final conclusion.
In the end, they still chose to believe in Link.
After all, if they hadn't believed in Link, they wouldn't have been able to improve their income through the M.O.M.H.L. factory.
If they hadn't believed in Link, they wouldn't have been able to strengthen themselves through the D.A. army.
And if they hadn't believed in Link, how could they possibly have moved the mountain that was Umbridge, pressing down on them, out of the way?
And so, at this moment, the inertia of trust revealed itself.
Not long after Link's words were thrown out, cheers and shouts completely drowned them out.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, Fred…
Countless feverish faces were shouting wildly, expressing their willingness to continue believing in and supporting Link.
The sound was so loud that even the owls in the Owlery tower not far away all turned their heads toward the Great Hall in curiosity.
Link, Emily, and the others were also somewhat moved.
Although they had long expected this outcome, when it actually happened, they still found it hard to suppress the excitement in their hearts.
Once the cheering gradually subsided, Link took a deep breath, deliberately put on a stern face, and continued, "Then now, I will announce the first order issued by our committee!"
At these words, the entire hall immediately fell silent, leaving only some whispered murmurs echoing.
Everyone felt a bit uneasy, after all, Link's expression was honestly pretty frightening.
And to be fair, recently, the orders issued by Umbridge as Senior Inquisitor had never brought them any good news.
After so many times, they had almost developed a conditioned reflex.
"Considering that far too many things happened today," the serious expression on Link's face gradually turned into a smile, "classes are suspended for one day! In addition, I've already had the kitchens start emergency preparations. Everyone, get ready to attend the noon banquet!"
As soon as these words came out, the people in the Great Hall didn't quite react at first.
Their expressions first turned into extreme shock, then quickly filled with wild joy, and finally turned into total madness.
"Long live Link!"
"Link, you're awesome!"
"Link, why don't we just make this day an official holiday!"
Everyone cheered as they shouted excitedly.
Even Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick at the staff table let out a sigh of relief.
The worst-case scenario they had imagined had, in the end, not appeared.
Hogwarts had not been taken over unilaterally by the Ministry of Magic or by Link Flamel, but instead had been divided into three parts for joint management.
This could already be considered the best possible compromise.
Seen this way, Link, Percy, and these kids still had Hogwarts' interests at heart.
Perhaps this was their carefully prepared step to welcome Dumbledore's return?
With these thoughts in mind, Professor McGonagall even raised her hand and gently began to clap.
The movement wasn't large, but it didn't escape Link and the others' eyes.
Seeing Professor McGonagall clapping and nodding at them, the expressions on Link and the others' faces all turned a bit strange.
Given their intelligence, they could more or less guess what Professor McGonagall was thinking.
But what Professor McGonagall could never have imagined was that
the tripartite committee system she thought was fairly decent was, in essence, no different from Link's outright dictatorship.
Because whether it was Percy, the Ministry's representative, or Cedric, the student council's representative, they were all Link's people, all following the orders of Link, the board member.
Everyone was quite curious, if Professor McGonagall were to learn this truth, what kind of expression would she have?
They looked at each other, and all shared a strange smile.
———
Night fell. Link politely declined Emily and the others' company, as well as George and Fred's invitation, and alone stepped onto the pitch-dark staircase.
Behind him was the brightly lit Great Hall.
This banquet, which had started at noon, still hadn't ended even now.
The excited students kept finding ways to prolong the joy in front of them. Even after they were full, they were still reluctant to leave.
As things went on, the way this banquet was celebrated had already shifted from simple eating and drinking into each house taking turns sending people onto the stage to perform their talents.
When faced with these ever-escalating demands, Link was even more tolerant than Dumbledore.
He completely ignored Professor McGonagall's request to step in and stop it, and even ordered that they might as well hold a talent competition, with the winner receiving a special gift.
This move angered Professor McGonagall so much that she left the hall on the spot, and also reignited the atmosphere in the Great Hall, which had already been cooling down.
Link found all of this thoroughly delightful.
These students had been suppressed by Umbridge for far, far too long. It was time for them to truly relax.
Moreover, Link had no intention of doing Umbridge's so-called "happy education."
Right now, these Hogwarts students were all his future troops, doing that would just be digging his own grave.
What he intended to carry out was Spartan-style education.
The more wildly these students played now, the more miserable their lives would be later.
This was the very first lesson Link wanted to teach them, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Every gift fate bestows has already been clearly priced in secret.
Walking up the staircase, Link took one last look at the still-noisy Great Hall, smiled lightly, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.
He followed the ever-shifting staircases, extremely familiar with the way, and stepped onto the corridor on the eighth floor of Hogwarts, finally stopping in front of the headmaster's office.
The massive stone gargoyle still loyally guarded the entrance to the office.
Its face was filled with ferocity and ugliness. Its two smooth eyes glowed with an almost living light in the darkness, their gaze locked tightly onto Link, as if warning him to leave at once.
It was this very beast that had blocked Umbridge from entering the headmaster's office.
And now, it stood in Link's way as well.
But Link knew very well that, compared to Umbridge, he was ultimately different.
He was Hogwarts' sole board member, alone, he could represent the entire Board of Governors.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the position of board member had seen its presence decline to almost nothing during Dumbledore's tenure as headmaster, especially after the Second Wizarding War, so much so that, aside from sending money to Hogwarts each year, it had practically become a dispensable role.
In reality, the Board of Governors' power was on equal footing with the headmaster's.
After all, no one's money was blown in by the wind. Without sufficient benefits, why would they give it to Hogwarts?
Just for a bit of good reputation and political status?
That would be a joke.
Back in the era of the Four Founders, because of Slytherin's selfless contributions and abundant family wealth, the four founders had been able to stand tall and keep all power firmly in their own hands.
But the headmasters who came after them didn't all have family mines.
In order to keep Hogwarts, an almost purely public welfare institution, running, distributing power to attract outside capital became inevitable.
And it was during this period that the Hogwarts Board of Governors was established.
At that time, the board could be said to be at its peak, because it held the power to dismiss the headmaster and professors.
Of course, Hogwarts' headmasters weren't fools either.
They imposed strict limitations on the board.
For example, the board had a fixed total of twelve seats. Each person, each family, and even each faction could hold only one seat.
If anyone was found attempting to effectively control multiple seats through methods like "cross-shareholding," the consequence would be expulsion.
Unfortunately, this nearly perfect balance was personally dismantled by Dumbledore.
The reason was simple.
After years of continuous suppression by him, the board's real power in front of Dumbledore had indeed been reduced to an extreme.
But the problem that followed was that no one was willing to be the sucker of a board member anymore.
Everyone just lay flat.
Hogwarts fell into a financial crisis.
It was because of this that Link managed to slip through the cracks and become the first sole board member in Hogwarts' history.
And now, this sole board member stood in front of the stone gargoyle, looking helplessly at it as he shook his head and said, "Alright, I know you can hear me. Open the door."
What responded to Link was still endless silence.
The stone gargoyle remained completely still, like a real statue.
Link nodded, sighed, and said, "Sigh! Looks like Hogwarts really has fallen into serious disrepair. Even the stone gargoyle at the headmaster's office doesn't work anymore."
"Tomorrow I'll just get someone to smash this thing and replace it with a new one. Anyway, as a board member, I have that authority. It's nothing more than spending a bit of Galleons."
The moment Link finished speaking, the stone gargoyle's eyes suddenly spun, staring at Link with a look of utter disbelief.
Heaven help it, it had stayed in Hogwarts for several hundred, nearly a thousand years, and had never once seen a board member as arrogant as Link, who actually wanted to tear down a relic of the Four Founders.
Even the earliest board members had been polite and respectful when they saw it.
Instinctively, the stone gargoyle felt that Link was just trying to scare it.
But seeing the sincerity in Link's eyes, the stone gargoyle still chickened out.
"The password is vanilla ice cream…"
Hearing the stone gargoyle's barely audible voice, a brilliant smile bloomed on Link's face.
"Eating ice cream in winter, what kind of hobby is that, Professor Dumbledore?" Link shook his head and sighed. "Alright, vanilla ice cream. Open up."
The stone gargoyle shot Link an angry glare.
It looked as though it were still loyal, but had no choice but to open the door due to the password rules.
"Fine, you damned thief!"
It muttered under its breath, and finally opened the entrance.
Link chuckled softly, didn't make a big deal of it, and walked straight up the steps into the headmaster's office.
The place was exactly as it had been the last time Link came.
The fire in the fireplace had long gone out. Piles of broken furniture were scattered everywhere. The floor-to-ceiling window on the second-level platform at the back had been completely shattered, with the chilly early-spring air constantly pouring in through the gap.
Even one of the portraits of past headmasters hanging on the wall was crooked.
"Looks like Umbridge didn't even have time to clean up before she was driven out." Link muttered to himself as he lightly raised his wand.
In the next moment, the ruin-like office seemed as if someone had pressed the rewind button. The shattered glass rapidly fused back together, Fawkes' damaged perch was restored and stood again in the corner, and the pitted walls were quickly filled in…
Finally, Link personally straightened the slightly crooked magical portrait.
"Thank you, young man."
The bearded old man in the portrait smiled broadly and thanked Link.
Link didn't actually know these past headmasters, but he had seen the portrait of this bearded old man before, on the Black family genealogy.
So Link blinked a couple of times and very naturally nodded.
"You're welcome, Headmaster Black."
This made the bearded old man even happier.
As time passed, fewer and fewer young people still remembered him, which had always made him feel quite regretful, he couldn't even find anyone to brag to anymore.
He laughed joyfully inside the portrait, even waving his arms and trying to get Link to come closer.
Unfortunately, Link didn't continue paying him any attention. Instead, he returned to the restored eagle-legged desk and, under the watchful gaze of several hidden eyes within the office, sat directly down in the soft chair Dumbledore liked most.
"Child, that is not a seat you should be sitting in."
A portrait of a witch with a head of silver curls said gently.
"Yes, child. This is the headmaster's office, and that is the headmaster's seat, not a board member's," another elderly witch added.
"You possess such astonishing talent. I believe that one day, you'll be able to sit there by your own merits, properly and legitimately. But for now, you should get up."
"I don't think so at all!"
Headmaster Black, whose portrait Link had just straightened, retorted disdainfully.
"If that fellow Dumbledore can sit there, why can't little Link?"
"In my opinion, that old man Dumbledore should have stepped down long ago!"
"Otherwise, with Dumbledore's temperament, who knows what kind of useless fool he'd pick as the next headmaster if he keeps going?"
"At the very least, little Link is pure-blood! And he's got ability and talent! What right do you have to forbid him?"
"This violates the rules!"
"I don't care about your rules! Those rotten rules should have been changed long ago!"
"Hold your tongue, Black!"
"I won't!"
———
The arguing between the portraits continued.
But Link didn't pay them any attention at all.
These portraits of past headmasters might carry the title of assisting the headmaster in managing Hogwarts, but in reality, they were nothing more than commemorative items to remember the dead, without any real power.
Link simply sat in the soft chair, his gaze passing through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking at a trail of firelight outside that was slowly fading into the distance.