Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 243 I Sell Myself (Two Chapters Combined)

The explosion deep in the forbidden forest nearly woke everyone up.

After hearing Harry's words, Dumbledore was the first to react and turned to run out of the castle.

Snape followed behind Dumbledore with a serious expression.

Then came Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.

Cornelius Fudge was terrified, but he had no choice but to go.

No one likes a cowardly and timid Minister of Magic, and even if it's just for show, he has to take a stroll around the place where the explosion occurred.

Anyway, he still has Dumbledore by his side, so what does he have to be afraid of?

Then they can arrange for the Daily Prophet to promote its own bravery and fearlessness—

On the way from the castle to the Forbidden Forest, Cornelius Fudge even prepared his interview for the Daily Prophet.

Harry and Hermione wanted to go out too, but Madam Pomfrey, who had rushed over, pressed them back onto the bed.

“You must get some rest!” Mrs. Pomfrey said sternly.

When the other teachers arrived at Hagrid's hut, only Hagrid and Cornelius Fudge were standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

“Hagrid, Albus, and Severus?” Professor McGonagall, who was walking at the front, asked.

“Professor Dumbledore went to the Forbidden Forest himself, leaving us here to wait,” Hagrid said. “Then he sent Professor Snape to check the area around the school, in case anyone tries to take advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack.”

“Thank goodness!” Professor McGonagall exclaimed, then turned and said:

“Felius, go find Severus and help him guard the area around the school.”

“Yes, madam,” Professor Frivi replied.

“Pomona, take Minister Fudge back to the castle first, then wake up Fitch and have him help manage the students. Make sure all the students stay in the common room and are not allowed to go out at will,” Professor McGonagall added.

“Okay,” Professor Sprout agreed. “And you, Minerva?”

“I’ll stay here. If Albus sends a signal or if he hasn’t come out of the Forbidden Forest within twenty minutes, Hagrid and I will immediately enter the Forbidden Forest,” Professor McGonagall said.

“Okay, Minerva,” Sprout said. “Be careful.”

“Yes, we will,” Professor McGonagall said. “Alright, go ahead, and be careful.”

After giving the instructions, everyone dispersed and acted according to Professor McGonagall's orders.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario that Professor McGonagall envisioned did not occur.

About ten minutes later, Dumbledore appeared at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest with a gloomy expression, carrying a thin figure in his arms.

"Oh, thank goodness, Albus, you're alright—" Professor McGonagall rushed to greet him, but halfway there, when she saw the person Dumbledore was holding, she stopped and involuntarily covered her mouth with her hand—

"Oh...no, no!" Professor McGonagall's eyes were already brimming with tears.

When McGonagall was only a few steps away from Dumbledore, she finally saw clearly the person Dumbledore was holding in his arms—

Tierra!

"No, what happened? What happened? Albus!" Professor McGonagall's voice was choked with sobs and anger. "How could this happen?"

Tierra's Hogwarts uniform was tattered and stained with blood and dirt.

But if that were all, Professor McGonagall wouldn't have made such an expression. What's more striking is his right arm—

Or rather, the base of his crippled right hand.

Tiera's entire right arm had vanished, leaving only a small remnant of bone and flesh, showing signs of an explosion, where it connected to his shoulder.

In addition, half of Tierra's right cheek was covered in burn marks, and blood was continuously flowing from his tightly closed right eye.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?" Professor McGonagall was still repeating that sentence in a daze.

In the more than 1,000-year history of Hogwarts, there have been far worse incidents than this.

But no accident has ever been as bloody as this one, never even once, to lay death and bloodshed bare before Professor McGonagall.

"Alright, McGonagall! He's alive!" Dumbledore said, his voice trembling with anger. "Let's go, we need to get to the school hospital right away!"

“Yes, yes, yes…” McGonagall responded blankly, “The school hospital, the school hospital! We…we have to get him to Mrs. Pomfrey quickly! Maybe…maybe his right arm…his right arm can still be saved!”

"Quick, Hagrid!" Professor McGonagall stepped aside and said, "Go find Severus and Felius and have them assemble at the university hospital!"

Hagrid was completely terrified; he just stood there dumbfounded the whole time.

"Hagrid!" Professor McGonagall cried out again, then patted Hagrid hard on the shoulder.

"Yes, yes, yes, madam..." Hagrid suddenly came to his senses, "I...I'll go right away!"

When Dumbledore carried Tyella to the university hospital, Harry and Hermione heard the commotion and jumped out of bed, running to the door—

"No!" Harry felt as if he had been caught up by a nightmare. The moment he saw Tierra, he felt something terrifying explode in his mind.

"Tierra! What happened to Tierra!" Harry asked urgently.

"Get out of the way!" After Dumbledore placed Tyella on the bed, Madam Pomfrey rushed over, chased everyone out of the room, and then pulled down the white curtains around the bed.

“Headmaster!” Harry asked anxiously after being rudely kicked out of the ward by Madam Pomfrey, “Tierra…”

“Tiera is not in immediate danger,” Dumbledore said gravely. “Now I want you and Hermione to return to your dormitory immediately. This matter is very likely—”

"It's Peter Pettigrew, isn't it?!" Harry suddenly shouted.

“Harry, don’t be silly,” Fudge said carefully, choosing his words. “Peter Pettigrew is long dead… killed by Sirius Black himself—”

“No! It’s Peter Pettigrew!” Harry roared, forcefully interrupting Fudge. “It’s Peter Pettigrew! Pettigrew isn’t dead at all! He disguised himself as Ron’s Scabbers and infiltrated the Weasley family for twelve years! Sirius Black’s escape was to catch him!”

“Enough—” Cornelius Fudge seemed to have really lost his temper, yelling at Harry—

Then Cornelius Fudge felt a chill run down his spine. He quietly turned around and found Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore staring at him with grim expressions.

“Uh… ah… Abba… ah… I, I mean… I mean Sirius Black just escaped from prison…” Connelly racked his brains to explain, “I mean Sirius just escaped… and Tiera was attacked… I… I have to suspect that Sirius orchestrated all of this… Of course, it could also be an accomplice who helped him out…”

“It’s Peter Pettigrew!” Harry yelled. “Tierra is after him. Tierra wants to catch him and clear Sirius’s name.”

“Of course…” Cornelius Fudge seemed startled by Harry’s resoluteness and took a step back. But suddenly, realizing how inappropriate his actions had been, he stepped forward and said loudly, “Of course! We’re just speculating now. We don’t have to wait until he wakes up to draw conclusions about the real situation… And… And… And I think we must inform his parents about Tyella’s situation… No matter… No matter what Tyella says, I think his parents will ultimately need to be present… I mean, Tyella may be under an illusion spell or an Imperius Curse. We must wait for his parents to be present, or for them to personally break the spell and reveal the truth.”

“It’s a pity…” Cornelius Fudge said regretfully, “It’s a pity Mr. Lockhart has been traveling for the past year… Perhaps we need to send someone to look for him… If we can’t find him… I’m afraid we… we can’t accept his testimony… nor…”

“I think we don’t need to go to that trouble, Mr. Minister,” Snape said, walking quickly over. Behind him was Gilderoy Lockhart, whom Fudge had just been discussing.

“Oh… Mr. Lockhart!” Fudge said, clearly surprised. “You… what are you doing here?”

"What's going on?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled.

“Headmaster, Professor Flitwick and I were patrolling around the castle when we found him standing at the gate, saying he was there to take Tierra home,” Snape said.

"What's going on?" Dumbledore looked at Lockhart strangely—

Gilderoy Lockhart's appearance at this moment was very strange. He was wearing a long, bright red robe and holding a strange staff that was almost as tall as him. A huge white gem was embedded at the top of the staff, and he held a thick book in his other hand.

"Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore. Hello, Minister."

Gilderoy Lockhart greeted him politely, then said, "It's like this, I made an appointment with Tyra to pick him up yesterday afternoon after his exams, but unfortunately I got held up by some things and was a little late. So I'm going to stay in Hogsmeade Village for now and pick Tyra up tomorrow morning."

At this point, Gilderoy Lockhart paused for a moment, then continued, "But just now, just as I entered Hogsmeade Village, I heard an explosion coming from the direction of Hogwarts. I guessed something must have happened, so I rushed over here."

“Oh yes! Yes, I remember, I remember Tierra telling me you were coming to pick him up,” Cornelius Fudge said. “That clears Mr. Lockhart of suspicion!”

"What suspicion?"

"Gidrolockhart" said, feigning confusion.

“Well, Mr. Lockhart, Sirius Black was at…” Cornelius Fudge explained.

"It's Little Pettigrew—"

Suddenly, Tierra's terrified screams echoed from the ward—

"It's Pettigrew! It's that mouse! It's Ron's mouse! Mrs. Pomfrey, tell the headmaster! Pettigrew isn't dead!" The people standing outside the ward looked at each other, then almost simultaneously pushed open the ward door and went inside.

Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge were the first to arrive because they were closest to the door.

Then came Professor McGonagall, Harry, and Hermione, followed by Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, and Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Stop! What are you doing! Get out..." Mrs. Pomfrey shouted angrily.

"Oh...no...no!" Harry and Hermione cried out—

Because only then did they see that, apart from her right arm, Tiera's beautiful golden right eye had also disappeared, leaving only an empty, dark right eye socket.

"No! Tyella!" Harry tried to rush forward, but Professor McGonagall stopped him—

“This is none of your business,” Professor McGonagall said, then pushed Harry and Hermione out the door—

"Go back now! You all go back now!"

"Are you sure? Are you sure it's Little Pettigrew?" Dumbledore rushed to Tyella's bedside and said.

“Go easy on the headmaster!” Mrs. Pomfrey roared. “He’s badly injured!”

"It's Little Pettigrew! Little Pettigrew is still alive!" Tiera exclaimed. "It's Little Pettigrew!"

“That’s impossible! It can’t be Pettigrew!” Cornelius Fudge argued. “Petty has been dead for over a decade! It can’t be him! Tyella must have been bewitched by Black’s spell!”

"Get out!" Mrs. Pomfrey interrupted. "Get out! He needs to rest!"

“I think it’s possible,” Snape said, trying one last time to argue, “After all…”

"Enough, Snape!" Dumbledore snapped. "Don't bring your personal grudges into this!"

"Enough already!" Mrs. Pomfrey roared fiercely.

Everyone was stunned in an instant—

"Get out!" Mrs. Pomfrey said angrily. "This poor child needs to rest!"

The UK's bestselling magician, potions master, transfiguration master, spell dueling champion, the greatest white wizard in history, Minister of Magic, savior, and the most intelligent young witch was expelled from the school hospital.

"I don't want to see any of you in this room without my permission!" With that, Mrs. Pomfrey slammed the door of the school hospital shut.

“I think the situation is quite clear now,” Dumbledore said. “Twelve years ago, Peter Pettigrew faked his own death and framed Sirius Black.”

“Things are not clear, Dumbledore!” Cornelius Fudge said. “Whether things are really like this or not, his word as a mere child is not enough! Who would believe that someone who has been dead for more than ten years has suddenly come back to life?”

“It wasn’t a resurrection, it was a faked death,” Dumbledore said with a grim face, seemingly suppressing his anger and impatience. “I will appeal this to the Wizengamot court and request that they reopen the Black case from more than a decade ago.”

After saying this, Dumbledore turned and left, showing Fudge no respect whatsoever.

"Come on, kids, I'll take you back to your dorms," ​​Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick said, waving to Harry and Hermione.

Professor Snape gritted his teeth in anger, but had no choice but to wave his wizard's robes and leave the school hospital.

Cornelius Fudge was left standing there, his face turning pale and then purple with anger.

After a short while, perhaps only a few seconds later, Connelly Fudge, with his strong political composure, restored his polite smile to his usual demeanor.

“Mr. Lockhart,” Cornelius Fudge said with a smile, “it’s been a long time.”

"It's been a long time, Minister."

"Gidrolockhart" responded with a laugh, "It seems my son is causing you some trouble."

“Oh, no, no…it’s nothing…” Cornelius Fudge replied with a smile, “No, nothing at all.”

“Sigh…” Then Cornelius Fudge sighed, “Tiera is a poor child… she had just escaped the Dark Lord’s Imperius Curse… and then… she was hurt like this by Sirius Black… and deceived…”

“Minister…”

“Gidrolockhart” chuckled and said, “What if… I mean, what if I could persuade Tyella to change his story?”

“Really?” Cornelius Fudge exclaimed in surprise. “That’s wonderful! You’ve been a great help, Mr. Lockhart!”

"of course."

“But I also hope the Ministry of Magic can do something for me,” Gilderoy Lockhart said.

“What is it?” Cornelius Fudge said. “Go ahead, Mr. Lockhart, go ahead. If you can get Tyrell to change her story, it would be a huge help to the Ministry of Magic! You would be a friend of the Ministry!”

"hey-hey."

Gilderoy Lockhart chuckled, then said:

"My request is very simple..."

"First, regarding the compensation for Tiera, I need to negotiate the compensation with the Ministry of Magic in order to get him to agree."

“Please speak,” Cornelius Fudge said.

"First of all... I hope the Ministry of Magic will fully cover the cost and materials for Tyella's prosthetic arm and eye."

“No problem!” Cornelius Fudge said. “I’ll make arrangements as soon as I get back, and I’ll make sure to hire the best alchemists to make a prosthesis for Mr. Lockhart.”

“Alright, my second point is that I would like to award Thier the Order of Merlin, Second Class.”

“Gidrolockhart” said, “I think Tiera deserves such a medal after suffering so much.”

“That’s fine too!” Cornelius Fudge agreed readily. “It’s what Mr. Lockhart deserves.”

“Very good, there’s one last bit of compensation for Little Tierra.”

"Please speak," Cornelius said, feigning attentive listening.

“I think you also know that Tierra’s injury will likely affect his studies… and our little Tierra is an extremely studious little wizard, so his injury will definitely affect his learning efficiency… I think even just to make little Tierra a little happier… we should help him, right?”

"Yes Yes."

"So I think... I hope the Ministry of Magic can make an exception and lend the Time-Turner to Tierra for a year... I mean... it would be best if Tierra could use it to study from the start of summer vacation... After all, you know, it's hard for any child to be completely normal after such a terrifying experience... I think perhaps he should be immersed in the ocean of learning."

“Yes, yes, that’s a very reasonable request,” Cornelius Fudge said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Gidro Lockhart’s” requests were not difficult to fulfill; in fact, they were quite simple for Cornelius Fudge. “I think we should keep Tierra little busy so she can forget this terrifying experience.”

"Is that all the requirements?" Cornelius Fudge asked.

"I think this compensation should be enough for Tiera, but... I have a small personal matter that I need the Ministry of Magic's help with."

"please say."

“I need money,” Gilderoy Lohart said. “I need a lot of Galleons.”

"About how much?" Cornelius Fudge asked. "Our Ministry of Magic has an activity where, as Minister, I can..."

“Seven hundred thousand Galleons,” Gilderoy Lohart said.

“No! That’s impossible!” Cornelius Fudge exclaimed in shock. “Our entire Ministry of Magic doesn’t have that much funding!”

“But Gringotts has it,” Gilderoy Lockhart said with a smile. “I don’t intend to use that much money; I just plan to use it as bait to hunt down a demon.”

"Hunting demons?" Cornelius Fudge asked.

“Yes, and I guarantee to repay the principal and interest within two years. If necessary, I can swear an unbreakable curse.” Gilderoy Lockhart said with a smile, “I just hope the Ministry of Magic can act as a guarantor so that the obstacles to borrowing this money are reduced by a little bit.”

“If it’s just a guarantee…no problem,” Cornelius Fudge said.

“That’s great,” Gilderoy Lockhart said with a smile, then extended his hand. “Pleasure doing business with you?”

“It’s a pleasure working with you,” Cornelius Fudge replied with a smile.

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(End of this chapter)