Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 951 The Chaotic Studio
Salina's impassioned words resonated in the air.

Anderson and Lopez looked at her, and the hesitation on their faces gradually faded, replaced by a firm solemnity.

Lopez was the first to raise his hand, clench his fist and place it on his chest, saying in a hoarse and heavy voice:
“I’ll stay with you, Salina—until the very end.”

Anderson quickly replied, "Me too. If we're going to jail, then we'll go together!"

Salina looked at them, a faint smile finally appearing on her lips. She nodded, without thanking them, and when she turned to look at Liu Jing again, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes had vanished.

She took a deep breath and took out the carefully prepared speech from her bosom, which was covered with dense writing—

Evidence of the Prometheus Project, Lyra's financial dealings with Muggle tycoons, the covered-up list of missing and dead, evidence of Hawthorne's innocence...

Every line of text will inevitably cause a huge shock.

Salina walked to the front of the mirror and carefully straightened her robe, smoothing out every wrinkle. In the mirror, she stood tall with her back straight, head held high, her eyes sharp as a drawn sword.

She spoke softly to herself in front of the mirror, as if rehearsing, or perhaps declaring to herself, to the magical world, and to the impending storm:
"It's time...it's time for all our compatriots to see this malignant tumor hidden in the sunlight."

"Fear cannot rule us, and lies cannot define us! We must unite to face the truth, no matter how cruel it may be."

"Because only in this way..."

She paused for a moment, her voice becoming even more resolute:

"Only in this way will we deserve a future."

"Ding--!"

A crisp bell rang.

“Director Goldstein,” Nelson said, his voice tense as he entered the room, “everything is ready. The live stream will begin in thirty seconds. Nationwide… all online streams will be forced to broadcast it.”

"Thank you, Mr. Nelson."

Salina nodded, took one last look at the speech in her hand, and then placed it on the table next to her where documents were piled up.

She had memorized everything; Salina wasn't going to read from a script in front of the camera—because some things had to come straight from the heart.

"May 4th..."

The countdown timer started playing.

Salina slowly adjusted her breathing, inhaling all the tension, fear, and hesitation into her lungs, then exhaling, leaving only pure determination.

She raised her eyes, her gaze surprisingly bright.

"Three, two, one... Connect!"

The mirror surface rippled violently, turning from deep blue to transparent, and then a close-up image of Salina appeared.

At that moment, in the living rooms, pubs, and shops of tens of thousands of wizarding families across America, as long as the streaming service was on, everyone was forced to switch to this channel, where her resolute face appeared.

Countless people stopped what they were doing, looked up, and stared in astonishment at the suddenly changing screen.

Good evening, fellow countrymen.

Salina spoke, her voice clear and steady, carrying a strange power.

“I am Salina Goldstein, Director of the Auror Office Command of the Magical Congress.”

"I'm sorry to disturb you all on such a rainy night, but what I'm about to say concerns every one of us, the future of the magical world, and even... whether we can even have a future." She paused briefly, letting her words settle:

"From this morning's newspapers, everyone knows about the series of shocking events that happened last night: Chairman Hawthorne was charged with a crime, Director Hughes met with misfortune, Chief Perez died, Grindelwald reappeared, and..."

She took a breath and said, "Ms. Leila Picqueli becomes Acting President of Congress!"

"But what I want to tell you is... not everything you know is true."

"The truth is, there's a Muggle elite organization called 'Prometheus' that has been secretly researching magic for years, imprisoning wizards for experiments, and within the Magical Congress, high-ranking officials are colluding with them, betraying their fellow citizens, and covering up their crimes..."

"boom!"

Just then, the studio door was suddenly blown open, and Anderson and Lopez were thrown back by the sudden spell. The huge roar and screams swallowed up Salina's next words.

Immediately following, a beam of light from a spell shone in from outside the door, forcing Salina to interrupt her speech and dodge quickly. The wooden table in front of her was blasted to pieces, and papers flew everywhere.

From the control room off-camera, shouts and shoving could be heard as Rex Grimm strode into the studio. His Auror uniform was also soaked by the rain, his hair was disheveled and plastered to his forehead, and his face was terribly gloomy.

He was followed by four Aurors, all of whom were unfamiliar faces to Salina.

"Cut off the signal immediately!"

Grimm roared towards the control room, then turned to Salina and shouted angrily:
"Salina! Do you know what you're doing? This is unauthorized seditious speech! It's destabilizing Congress!"

Salina stood up awkwardly, facing Grimm directly, her eyes filled with barely suppressed rage:
“Grimm! You’re the one who should be explaining! Why are you stopping me? Why are you afraid of the truth being revealed? Or are you one of them? Did you participate in this betrayal?”

"I haven't betrayed anyone!"

Grimm's voice suddenly rose, and he stepped forward, wand already in his hand:

“I was just doing my job! And you, Goldstein, what is the basis for all your claims? Is it your duty as an Auror to slander a hardworking government official out of thin air? Don’t tarnish your uniform!”

"slander?"

Salina let out a sharp, sneer. "Who is the real one slandering us?! Grimm, look at me! Look at the badge on my body! Our duty is to protect our fellow human beings, not to be watchdogs for ambitious men!"

She drew her wand and said without backing down:
“If you have any dignity as an Auror, step aside. Let me finish telling the truth and let the people judge for themselves. After that, whether you arrest me or put me on trial is up to you. But now—get out of the way!”

Grimm's face contorted under the magic lamp, and he said in an icy voice:
"I'm saying this for the last time: put down your wands and surrender!"

"Absolutely not." Salina replied with only two words.

The magic light burst forth instantly in the small studio!
"Except your weapons!"

"Armor protection!"

The spells clashed, exploding into blinding sparks.

Anderson and Lopez also got up from the ground and joined the battle, fighting against the Aurors brought by Grimm.

The studio erupted into chaos, with spells flying everywhere, equipment being blown to pieces, and the air filled with the hissing of colliding and vibrating magic.

Only the Flowing Mirror, protected by layers of magic, remained intact. Spells that landed on it were deflected and randomly hit an unlucky person.

Nelson and the other FMC staff had already slipped out as soon as Grimm barged in, and now they looked at each other in dismay at the chaotic scene inside.

(End of this chapter)