Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 973 Big News 9
Serafina drew her wand and waved it gently. A loud "bang" was heard outside, and an ancient stone basin crashed through the carriage parked at the door. It flew in with a "whoosh," passed by Vader, and stopped directly in front of Serafina.

Before he could even see the stone basin clearly, Wade suddenly felt a chill run through his body, and his stomach sank.

He instinctively wanted to step back, his right heel slightly lifting off the ground, but he stopped himself abruptly at the next moment, his shoulder stiffening almost imperceptibly for a second.

Then, Wade stared intently at the floating meditation basin, and couldn't help but touch the goosebumps on his arm.

The "therapist's assistant" was like part of the wall's shadow, unconsciously ignored by everyone present. But that subtle abnormality did not escape the notice of a pair of eyes among the guests who were constantly watching him.

The Eastern European wizard, with a slightly gloomy demeanor, looked at the Pensieve, stroking his wand in his hand, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

Serafina ignored all the commotion, and with a gentle tap of her wand, the memories sealed in the Pensieve, which had been slowly rotating, suddenly accelerated, forming a small vortex.

"Om..."

The stone basin emitted a low, soft hum, and a burst of silver light surged above it, directly condensing into a huge three-dimensional scene in mid-air of the auditorium!

In the video, Nicklo Hawthorne and Ezra Hughes walk side by side, looking serious, as if they are discussing something.

The two seemed to be enveloped in a thin, moonlight-like silver glow, a characteristic of memory itself.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The two inadvertently stepped into a trap made of golden particles. Reginald Perez, who was later brutally murdered by Hawthorne, walked out with a hint of smugness and malice on his face.

His expression was nothing like that of a "righteous warrior who sacrificed himself to defend Congress" as portrayed by high-level propaganda; his face only held a chilling, ferocious look that was a mixture of fanaticism and determination.

At that moment, the screen jolted and suddenly zoomed out.

It was as if the bystander who witnessed all of this was a bird, which was startled and flew away instantly.

Then, the perspective widened, and several familiar figures appeared in the corners of the screen.

They stood there silently, like spectators lurking behind a curtain, watching the conflict in the middle of the road rapidly spiraling into an irreversible state. There was no surprise, no anxiety, only a cold, expectant waiting.

One of them was Leila, who almost became the new Speaker of Congress today. In the picture, she tilted her head slightly, her gaze focused, her face showing no surprise, but rather a faint smile on her lips.

Another is Fontana, who almost fell over when the student released her arm again.

The remaining faces, though somewhat blurred, were almost all present at the inauguration ceremony today! At this moment, as the figures appeared on screen, suppressed gasps and whispers rose from the crowd below:
"That's...Director Tiafoe?"

"Good heavens, Commissioner McLaugh is here too!"

"And Lloyd! Didn't he claim he was on an inspection tour out of town?!"

"This isn't real!" one of them couldn't withstand the pressure and jumped out, shouting shrilly, "This is the same as before, it's all fake memories!"

"Oh, come on! This is a forgery, that is a forgery..." Even the British Minister for Magic, Sinkness, couldn't help but complain, "Does that mean everything that's not good for you is a forgery?"

He was initially a little angry, but at this moment, Sinkness was completely captivated by the grand spectacle unfolding at the Magical Congress of America, watching with great interest.

The purest joy of a joke can only be felt by an uninvolved bystander when it happens to someone else.

Sinkness was very happy now, and his tone was slow and sarcastic.

The official who jumped out was so scathing that his face turned from red to purple. His mouth was agape, his chest heaved violently, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

The scene in the air was silent.

Perhaps because the interference of words was eliminated, everyone was able to see more clearly who was the one who plotted the scheme, who was the pawn being used, and who was the tragic and resolute warrior in that sudden battle!

This memory didn't last long. After the image faded from the sky, everyone heard Serafina's voice:
"Hawthorne is neither a coward nor a traitor. On the contrary, he has been trying to fight against an invisible corrupting force entrenched within us."

"However, the enemy's strength far exceeded his expectations, and they had already infiltrated his inner circle without his knowledge, which is why he was framed to this extent!"

Serafina waved her wand again, and countless sheets of white paper flew in from outside the door, falling into the hands of the many guests.

"Take a close look at them."

Seraphina sighed wearily and said, "Look at how these people, like termites, silently and day after day, tamper with the Chairman's will, creating the illusion of his incompetence and ruthlessness, and sowing discord between him and the various departments!" The crowd caught the papers flying towards them with suspicion. After glancing at them, an old Auror with gray hair and scarred face clenched his fist and roared:
"So Chairman Hawthorne approved Ronald Lindor's application for posthumous awards? Why did the reply I saw initially say it didn't meet the requirements and was suspended?!"

The funeral of the last Auror who sacrificed his life was quiet and deserted, with only Lyra rushing over from the Chairman's office.

At that moment, she said with a look of shame, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hawthorne wanted to come, but he was just too busy..."

That guilty expression seemed to have "lies and comfort" written all over his face.

Another burly man with a face full of scars said in surprise, "The subsidies for monitoring dangerous magical creatures in the wild were adjusted a long time ago? But why weren't we notified? Instead—"

He turned his gaze to Leila on the stage.

—On the contrary, it was the chairman's assistant, Leila, who secretly funded them with various potions and weapons, although it was never quite enough, but everyone was already grateful for it.

So before that, no matter how much evidence was presented to her, no matter how others attacked Leila Picqueli, the burly men and their group firmly believed that she could never be that kind of person.

But at this moment, the documents show that... at least two-thirds of the subsidies they had already increased were deducted by Leila and others, and the remainder was converted into supplies and distributed to them intermittently.

Suddenly, a woman in an old brown robe burst into tears, her body trembling violently.

When she was working in the Department of Magical Creatures, she had an excellent opportunity for promotion to the Office of International Magical Trade Standards, but because she was inadvertently delayed by ten minutes when classifying files, she was relegated to a marginal position by the strict Hawthorne.

For years, she has regarded it as the most regrettable mistake of her career, a bitter pill to swallow, and even privately berated herself countless times for those "damn ten minutes," to the point that her family couldn't stand it.

However, at this moment, the documents in her hand show that her promotion path has been interrupted, not because she is not good enough, nor because of a minor mistake that can be corrected quickly.

Rather, it was because her report expressing her determination was replaced with a line of text she had never seen before:

Because my child suffers from a rare form of magic regulation disorder and needs my constant companionship, I humbly request to work in a low-intensity, stable-hour position... Please give this opportunity to someone who needs it more...

Hawthorne's real response was not a cold, hard one: "Lack of responsibility, neglecting public duties for personal reasons, reassigned to a support role, and the original promotion spot will be filled by a candidate."

In fact, the chairman who had already been expelled had written a long, rambling list:

He urged her not to give up her opportunity, saying he could help her get a policy-related position; he said that if she persisted, her promotion opportunity could be reserved for two years later; he also suggested that if she needed it, she could apply for a funding program between Congress and the Magic Hospital, etc.

Those lines of text, with their clear handwriting and precise wording, yet imbued with a rare warmth, made the woman unable to hold back her sobs.

Then, her gaze abruptly lifted from the parchment, her bloodshot eyes burning like embers, piercing through the crowd and fixed on the podium—the look no longer held sorrow, but rather a deep-seated hatred.

Minutes later, the entire auditorium exploded.

That wasn't a single, unified roar, but a howling storm, a convergence of hundreds of angry voices, that nearly lifted the dome of the sky!

"Liar! Viper!"

"You ruined my promotion! You ruined my life!"

"My father believed until his death that Hawthorne had withheld his pension!"

"Give me back my life!"

"We've been played like fools for so many years!"

"You're willing to pave the way for our hard work and future just to get your positions?!"

"Get her down! She doesn't deserve to stand up there!"

The roars, questions, and curses were like an angry tsunami, rising from every corner of the auditorium and converging into a deafening sound wave that crashed heavily onto the podium.

The crowd began to surge forward uncontrollably, the sleeves of magic robes fluttering with excitement, and countless wands were drawn, their tips flashing with a dangerous and unstable light.

Lyra stood there, swaying precariously, feeling as if the ground beneath her feet was collapsing.

(End of this chapter)