After talking for a while, Howl left the office. Dumbledore would be busy again in the coming days, with the Board of Governors and the two cases stemming from the Chamber of Secrets incident.
One was Rubeus Hagrid's case from fifty years ago.
The other was Peter Pettigrew's case.
The former had already been confirmed as a wrongful conviction. As for the latter, it was still full of doubts, and although it was likely a wrongful conviction, the specific circumstances would have to wait for Severus to wake up.
Now that Pettigrew was dead, only Severus knew a little about the secrets buried by time.
But more troublesome than these two was… the suspects in both cases had already died. And both were cases from a long time ago.
The Ministry of Magic would also be difficult to deal with.
Howl's suggestion was to directly make Fudge step down and support someone obedient to take his place.
Dumbledore replied that if he were to do that, how would he be any different from Lord Voldemort. At that point, his identity as Principal would also likely change for the worse.
Howl said, "I know, it's not me who's doing it anyway, that's why I suggested it…"
Just as he walked out of Dumbledore's office, in the quiet corridor, Howl heard a burst of hearty laughter, intertwined with angry shouts and Curses.
And amidst it all, there was the clinking of glasses.
"They're dead, all dead, hahaha!!"
"Good riddance!!"
"May the Lord guide them to heaven."
"What a good death, a happy ending…"
Howl frowned and followed the sound. It was a relatively secluded small corridor in the Castle, usually rarely visited.
But now, such a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared…
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, yet despite this, the sounds of revelry did not abate in the slightest.
When he approached and looked, he was immediately stunned.
He saw a huge oil painting standing on the wall. In the painting, a bizarre banquet was being enacted.
Guests came and went, toasting and clinking glasses.
Some danced lightly to the waltz played by the melodious orchestra, while others gathered to the side, talking about their deaths with joyful smiles.
"What a good death! My husband should have died long ago!"
"Death, it's good if they all die. My child was also burned to death, it's good if they all die."
"How wonderful, my beloved is also dead, gone in the blink of an eye. I'm even happy for her."
As they spoke, they drank the wine in their cups.
And next to this chaotic banquet, there was another painting.
A print like Gin Lane, with a black and white scene of people sprawled on the streets, stairs, and next to trash heaps, holding wine glasses or taking snuff, all in a state of rapture.
It was clearly a scene of purgatory…
Standing before the two paintings, Howl remained silent for a long time before slowly departing.
He was not a painting, and he did not understand paintings.
A moment after he left, a figure in a green dress appeared. She walked slowly, dragging her feet, a bright smile on her face. In her arms, she held a large cat with a lazily drooping face.
However, just as she was about to step into the banquet, a somewhat corpulent man, dressed in 17th-century aristocratic attire, walked out first. He held a wine glass, his face flushed, and extended his palm.
"Sorry, Sindel, you can't come in," he said with a gentle smile, just as he usually did when Sindel suddenly jumped into his painting to disturb him and his painter.
Gentle, calm.
But this time, it was a blunt refusal.
"Sir Ernist, why?" Sindel asked with a smile.
"Sindel, we all know," the Sir raised his glass.
"I just wanted to see everyone… I… I didn't mean any harm… after what happened," Sindel stammered with a smile.
"You don't need to visit us, we are all well," the Sir said, "My wife also died. She went to the 'Vienna Hall' this morning. You know, that painting hangs there, and then she was buried there with many others."
His face still held a smile, while across from him, Sindel's lips twitched.
"You don't have to force a smile anymore. This funeral banquet is merely an action we are 'set' to perform as humans," the Sir said gently.
"Leave, this does not belong to you."
"Meow—"
The large cat Sindel was holding suddenly became agitated, its eyes swirling with bloody mist, hissing at the Sir, its two paws reaching out to claw him, its feet flailing wildly in the air.
"Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm leaving here!" She quickly hugged the large cat, preventing it from breaking free to attack the Sir, and turned around in a panic to walk back.
In "The Empty Classroom," there was a painting depicting a sunset scene, with the orange-red afterglow of the setting sun shining into the second classroom on the third floor of Hogwarts, a scene of half-light and half-darkness.
The girl walked into the classroom, gently put down the large cat, and said with a smile, "Be good, don't go looking for trouble with others."
"Purr~" The large cat responded casually.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/Rexlent
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"