Before going to receive Cornelius Fudge, Albus Dumbledore had already ordered the professors to return the students to class.
He also instructed everyone that, until they found the basilisk and could properly explain Ada's death, nobody was to reveal the truth to Fudge.
But this was Britain—
a place obsessed with freedom of speech.
And now someone had died.
Fear had already begun spreading among the students.
As Dumbledore and Fudge reached the third floor, Gilderoy Lockhart was supposedly teaching the fourth-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.
Though "teaching" was hardly the right word.
Both professor and students looked completely distracted.
Lockhart stood there grinning foolishly while the students stared blankly at textbooks.
None of them were even on the same page.
A pale-faced girl sat in front of Cedric Diggory.
Her name was Amanda.
One of Ada's closest friends.
After breakfast, she and Ada had obeyed Dumbledore's order to return to their dormitory.
But Ada had suddenly wanted to use the bathroom.
Amanda had accompanied her there—
though she never entered the restroom herself.
She had simply waited outside.
And Ada never came back out.
Suddenly Amanda shot to her feet so violently that her chair slammed into Cedric's desk.
Under everyone's startled gaze, she ran from the classroom.
"Amanda!" Cedric shouted.
Lockhart hurried after her.
Only to discover Amanda already crying in front of Fudge, revealing everything about the murder.
"Minister Fudge… there's a basilisk in the school… Ada's dead… she's dead…"
Amanda broke down completely.
Her tears poured uncontrollably.
One moment her closest friend had been alive.
The next—
they were separated forever.
Even adults would struggle to bear such grief.
Let alone a child.
This was exactly what Fudge had feared most.
He turned sharply toward Dumbledore, his eyes demanding an explanation.
Why had classes continued after a student died?
"Professor. Minister."
Lockhart somehow still maintained his dazzling smile while greeting them.
Amanda's outburst instantly shattered the emotional restraint the students had been forcing themselves to maintain.
Students flooded out of the classroom.
Some shouted that they wanted to go home.
Others said they were terrified.
Fudge's assistant, Kane, tried to stop them and question them one by one.
"Professor, this has nothing to do with me," Lockhart quickly clarified.
"Dumbledore," Fudge said coldly, "don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
"Come to my office," Dumbledore replied calmly.
Inside the headmaster's office, their voices gradually rose louder and louder.
Clearly, an argument had broken out.
"You're telling me the basilisk is still wandering the castle?" Fudge exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes," Dumbledore answered, "which is why I intend to eliminate the threat completely."
"But you intended to conceal a student's death!"
Fudge's face darkened.
"That is an appalling decision, Albus."
For the first time ever—
Fudge openly criticized Dumbledore to his face.
Before becoming Minister, Fudge had constantly written to Dumbledore asking for advice.
Even after gaining office, he still relied heavily on Dumbledore's wisdom.
"Hogwarts must be shut down immediately," Fudge declared firmly.
"All students and staff evacuated. The Ministry will take control."
"Cornelius," Dumbledore said quietly, "Hogwarts has never once been closed in its history. I cannot allow that to happen under my watch."
"I will deal with the basilisk personally."
"And I will provide justice for the student who died."
Fudge fell silent.
He stared hard at Dumbledore before finally saying,
"Albus… you can make mistakes too."
"Perhaps," Dumbledore admitted softly. "I am only a man. And men make mistakes."
"Because I happen to be somewhat more intelligent than most people… my mistakes tend to be correspondingly larger."
This was exactly the kind of answer Dumbledore would one day give Harry himself.
He never considered himself perfect.
That humanity was precisely what made him approachable.
"If I am wrong," Dumbledore continued, "I will do everything possible to correct it."
"Even if it costs my life."
Fudge hesitated.
At this point in time, he still respected Dumbledore deeply.
Finally he relented slightly.
"I'll give you twenty-four hours."
"If you cannot eliminate the basilisk by then, Hogwarts will be closed for six months."
"There is one more thing I need your cooperation with," Dumbledore added.
"What is it?"
Soon afterward, Dumbledore gathered all professors in the Great Hall to hear the Ministry's announcement.
"Due to the basilisk attacks and the death of a student," Fudge announced loudly, "I, as Minister for Magic, hereby order Hogwarts School closed for six months."
"All students and staff are to evacuate immediately pending Ministry control."
The professors exchanged helpless looks.
Truthfully, most had already expected this outcome.
Argus Filch looked devastated.
Hogwarts was his home.
Without it—
where could he possibly go?
He hated the outside world.
"What a tragedy," Lockhart declared dramatically. "My students will miss me terribly."
In reality, he had already packed his luggage and planned to flee.
"At noon, trains will depart from Hogsmeade," Dumbledore said. "Professors will escort students directly to the station after lunch."
He then turned toward Professor Sprout.
"Pomona… Ada's body will be entrusted to you. Minister Fudge will accompany you to meet her parents."
Fudge nodded solemnly.
Professor Sprout accepted the task with reddened eyes while Minerva McGonagall quietly comforted her beside the table.
News of Hogwarts closing spread rapidly throughout the castle.
Students were ordered back to their dormitories to pack immediately.
After lunch, professors would escort them directly to Hogsmeade Station.
"Six months?" Cassius frowned. "Dumbledore actually agreed to this?"
"What choice does he have?" Cress sighed. "The Minister himself ordered it."
Almost nobody wanted Hogwarts closed.
But the basilisk still lurked inside the castle.
They had no choice but to obey.
Sean remained thoughtful.
Dumbledore was not the kind of man who surrendered so easily—
especially over something as important as Hogwarts.
Meanwhile, Fudge's assistant Kane escorted Rubeus Hagrid away from the school.
The Ministry suspected Hagrid had opened the Chamber.
Fifty years ago, he had already been accused once before.
Back then, Tom Riddle framed Hagrid, leading to his expulsion.
Only Dumbledore had protected him and allowed him to remain at Hogwarts.
Fudge did not hide the reason for Hagrid's arrest.
Soon the students learned the entire story from fifty years ago.
Many immediately concluded that Hagrid must have killed Ada.
"That's impossible!" Harry shouted furiously. "Hagrid would never do something like that!"
But nobody wanted to listen.
Not to a Parselmouth.
Sean found the entire situation strange.
With Dumbledore's intelligence, it was impossible he hadn't realized Fudge's sudden arrival was suspicious.
Closing Hogwarts.
Arresting Hagrid.
Fudge's actions were incredibly aggressive.
Yet Dumbledore barely resisted.
That alone proved he had another plan.
Then Sean suddenly froze.
"Wait… the school's closing…"
"If everyone leaves… nobody will stop Herpo from taking the staff."
Sean's conclusion matched Dumbledore's almost perfectly.
Even without Sean's additional knowledge, Dumbledore had already deduced that the mastermind was after the golden staff.
He had also considered whether Death Eaters were targeting Draco—
but Christmas break was only weeks away.
If they wanted to attack Draco Malfoy, doing so during the holidays would have been far easier.
There was no need to create such chaos.
Since the golden staff had once been hidden inside the Chamber itself, Dumbledore suspected Herpo's followers had infiltrated Hogwarts again.
Though even now—
he still had not realized Lockhart was the spy.
Snape remained guarding the Slytherin common room.
Sean walked over carefully and lowered his voice.
"Professor… the Chamber still contains Herpo's golden staff. Could this school closure be exactly what Herpo wanted?"
Snape silently studied Sean with narrowed eyes.
He seemed slightly surprised the boy had reached that conclusion.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that," Snape answered calmly.
That response alone told Sean everything.
Dumbledore's counterplan had already begun.
After lunch, the three Heads of House escorted their students toward the station.
Hufflepuff, meanwhile, was led by Lockhart.
But when they finally arrived and students boarded the train, neither Snape nor McGonagall boarded with them.
"Professor Flitwick, Professor Lockhart," McGonagall said, "the students are in your care now."
Lockhart blinked in confusion.
"You're not coming?"
"We're accompanying Dumbledore to the Ministry," McGonagall replied firmly. "We believe Hagrid is innocent."
The train slowly began moving.
Most students had already accepted they would not see Hogwarts again for half a year.
Cassius even suggested using the Leaky Cauldron as a gathering place during the closure.
"Don't be so pessimistic," Sean said quietly. "Dumbledore will find a way."
Then he stood up.
Handing Jerry to Cress, he said,
"Watch him for me. I need to find Professor Snape about something."
Sean headed toward the professors' carriage at the front of the train.
But Snape wasn't there.
Neither was McGonagall.
More importantly—
Lockhart was missing too.
"Professor Flitwick," Sean asked, "where's Professor Lockhart?"
"I believe he said he was heading to the Hufflepuff carriage," Filius Flitwick answered.
Sean knew instantly that was impossible.
The Slytherin carriage sat at the very rear of the train.
He had walked all the way from back to front.
Lockhart had not passed him once.
"And Harry's gone too…"
A terrible feeling rose in Sean's chest.
Lockhart disappearing bothered him far too much.
He stepped into the train bathroom.
Then focused intensely on the image of Hogwarts' exterior.
This was his first time using Apparition since secretly learning it from Coates back in the Whispering Forest.
Apparition was advanced magic.
Normally taught only in seventh year.
Students even needed to pass a licensing exam before graduation.
The space around Sean trembled slightly.
And in the next instant—
he vanished from the bathroom.
A second later, a Hufflepuff student casually entered to use the restroom—
completely unaware that Sean had already appeared outside the main gates of Hogwarts Castle.
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