Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 975 Big News 11
The next moment, the man's bewildered expression shattered, as if he had been jolted awake from a dream, and he roared with a contorted face:
"No, I don't believe in Wizengamor! Die, Lyra! Only Hawthorne is fit to lead us!!!"

As he roared, he drew his wand and swung it forcefully like a whip.

"Snapped!"

A loud bang echoed through the air!
"Stop!" someone shouted in panic.

next moment--

"boom!!!!"

With a deafening roar, thick green smoke billowed out, followed by a blinding flash of fire that instantly engulfed the area near the platform. The massive shockwave hurled rubble, wood chips, and human bodies in all directions!

At the same time, the smoke was mixed with a nauseating stench, and the mist caused a strong stinging sensation just by touching the skin.

"what--"

"Help!"

"This is poison gas... disperse it, quickly!"

Screams erupted, interspersed with a few particularly shrill, short howls, one of which sounded remarkably similar to Lyra's own voice.

"Clean up!"

"The water is as clear as a spring!"

"Sweep it all away in a whirlwind!"

Everyone waved their wands, and various powerful spells intertwined with light, creating a howling wind and gushing water.

In just two or three seconds, the thick smoke was quickly swept away, and the pungent smell dissipated. The ground was wet, with only two or three places still emitting smoke.

But upon seeing the scene before them, everyone's hearts sank, and they gasped in shock—

The explosive spell was incredibly powerful. A huge, shocking crater had been blasted into the area in front of the podium, with rubble and soil spilling out, and bricks even flying more than ten meters away.

The ground was covered in crimson blood, and there were also some severed limbs and pieces of clothing, one of which looked like it came from Lyra's robe.

Among the crowd that had gathered in front, wanting to question or arrest Leila, several people were already lying in pools of blood, their bodies mutilated, clearly dead.

There were seven or eight other people covered in blood and dust, lying not far away groaning in pain. Some were clutching their broken legs, some had their chests mangled with blood and flesh, and others were charred black and barely breathing, their injuries extremely serious.

Among the corpses and the wounded, neither Leila nor the immobile Fontana were to be seen.

But this doesn't seem surprising at all—the two of them were right in the center of the attack, and should have been blown to pieces by such a terrible explosive spell.

In the deathly silence, only the groans of the wounded and the crackling of the embers echoed.

The air was filled with the smell of burnt flesh and blood.

People stared at the deep pit, the blood, the severed limbs, and the empty podium, speechless with shock.

The man who had killed so many of his colleagues laughed triumphantly, saying haltingly, "Chairman Hawthorne—those who wronged you, those who framed you, all deserve to die!"

An official roared in shock and anger, "Corbin, how dare you—!"

Before he could finish speaking, a look of horror crossed his face, and he instinctively took a step back.

Suddenly, the man's body stiffened, blood uncontrollably flowed from the corner of his mouth, and he still had a smug smile on his face, but his body fell straight backward.

"Oh!"

Amidst the rising dust, another fresh corpse lay on the ground.

A deathly silence once again enveloped the courtyard of the Magic Council. Everyone watched helplessly as the man died abruptly, their emotions stuck in their throats like a pebble, unable to be swallowed or spat out.

What is this? Hawthorne's supporters killed Lyra? Was she silenced by someone? Or is this all a conspiracy by a third party?

[Which is telling the truth, Lyra or Serafina? How credible is the evidence?]

Was this explosion a trial, revenge, or a cover-up? What role did the now-vanished Hawthorne play?

Surrounded by doubts, anger and trust seemed to have lost their clear targets, bouncing around in my mind like headless flies.

Many people's faces were filled with confusion and disorientation. They felt that this large-scale exposure and confrontation ended too abruptly and too bloodily, leaving too many unresolved questions.

A sense of emptiness, as if it shouldn't have ended like this, spread through the air.

Those who had just been roaring to kill Lyra now faced with the bloody scene and couldn't help but question:
“This…this is too much.” Someone said, their face pale. “Even if she’s guilty, she should be tried by Wizengamo…this is too cruel.” “Perhaps…Layla is the one who was framed?” Another voice hesitated, filled with lingering fear and reflection. “Thinking about it carefully, what she said really makes sense…”

"Principal Fontana's insistence on the Secrecy Act may have been excessive, but his intentions weren't necessarily wrong." The older wizard murmured, tears welling in his eyes, "Think of Grindelwald...think of the dangers that awaited after exposure..."

"what!"

Suddenly, Scrimgeour chuckled in the crowd.

He brushed the dust off his cuffs, turned to Ms. Burns nearby, and asked, "Does she look familiar, Amelia?"

Amelia Borns frowned and nodded slightly: "Back then... it was an explosion like this. Peter Pediru faked his own death and successfully framed Sirius Black."

“If I’m not mistaken…” Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “They’re even using the same spell.”

Sinkness, protected behind Kingsley, raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and said in a gentle tone:
“Peter Pedilhod was still somewhat generous, at least leaving behind a finger as proof of his tragic end. And this Ms. Leila Picqueli—”

His gaze swept over the blood-stained pieces of clothing on the ground, he shook his head with a tsk-tsk sound, and didn't say anything more offensive.

But the American wizards around him felt that he might as well have said it.

Some people glared angrily at the British wizards, saying indignantly, "The man is already dead, and you still..."

“They might not be dead!” Samuel Goldstein stared at the explosion site for a while and said in a deep voice, “These remains don’t belong to Leila Picqueli and Fontana. Those two may have really escaped!”

Someone hesitated and said, "But the Capitol headquarters prohibits Apparition..."

"And what about the door key?" Samuel asked sharply. "What about the teleportation magic of house-elves? What about the Animagus's shapeshifting? If they could transform into insects the size of ants, they would also disappear from our sight."

As he spoke, Samuel glanced into the ruins and actually saw a tiny ant crawling across the ground and quickly darting into the cracks in the rubble.

His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively unleashed a fire spell, instantly turning the ant into charred remains.

Nothing unexpected happened, and the ant didn't instantly transform into Lyra or Fontana.

Only Vader, standing some distance away, frowned and his fingers twitched slightly.

Everyone else witnessed this scene as well, and they all considered the consequences if Lyra and Fontana were the masterminds behind it all, and then escaped—

Although it's unclear why Fontana wasn't able to break free immediately after being bound, his magical abilities are undoubtedly far superior to most people's...

If Fontana were to launch a covert attack, how many people would be confident they could withstand two rounds?
"Immediately trace the magical trail of the door key! Investigate the Flyway network! Seal off all exits! Perez, get your men moving—"

Someone shouted, and then the sound stopped abruptly.

It seemed that everyone then remembered that Reginald Perez, the director of the Floo Network Administration, was dead, and his death was gruesome.

His deputy was also suspended from his duties for some reason and was under investigation. This important functional department was left leaderless at a critical moment!
Looking around, the high-ranking members of the Magic Congress were almost entirely gone. Many of those still standing were on Rita Skeeter's previous list of accusations.

Even though Leila said that it was all fabricated and that the female reporter was just a liar who made up rumors, at this moment, no one dared to believe the officials who had been named.

Even the officials who had secretly supported Leila dared not step forward rashly.

Incompetence is not a sin, but if you're standing in the spotlight...

Will all the doubts and attacks that Lyra endured before really befall them as well?
At times like these, everyone wisely chose to remain silent to protect themselves.

Then, a huge, unprecedented panic and helplessness overwhelmed the rest of the people like an icy tide.

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion: What to do next? Who should take charge? Who is the enemy? Who should we trust?

Then, almost simultaneously, many people turned their attention to the only person in the room who was still trustworthy – Serafina Piqueli.

But Serafina was already having trouble even standing, and she was putting almost all her weight on her niece Stella's arm.

“Mrs. Picqueli… no, Chairman Picqueli!” a senior member of parliament stepped forward and said in an almost pleading tone, “Please tell us what to do! We need your leadership!”

However, Serafina simply shook her head slowly and firmly.

In the crowd, the Eastern European wizard laughed quickly, then sighed deeply.

With a gentle flick of his wand, Vader caused the forgotten montage to suddenly begin to flash and rewind, followed by the resounding return of Rita Skeeter's previously muffled voice:

"According to records, Director Alonso, over the past two years, abused his position to facilitate the entry of uninspected goods into the United States on seventeen occasions. The destination of these goods has been verified as facilities related to Project Prometheus..."

"Senior advisor Terry Wheeler tampered with monitoring data of the magical burst, causing five Muggle-born underage wizards to fall into Prometheus's hands, and the Magical Congress failed to respond in time..."

(End of this chapter)