I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 327 Abandon Illusions, Prepare for Struggle

Those who can spot the problem in Dumbledore's words are basically Muggles, and specifically those who follow international political and economic news. Clearly, apart from Lewis and his cousin Elizabeth, no one else present could grasp the joke.

"I believe—alas… I still hope I'm mistaken, but it's clear that wishful thinking is useless. Our only way out is to abandon illusions, unite, and prepare to fight Voldemort." Dumbledore glanced at the students seated below and continued, "I believe we will all face dark and difficult times. Some of you in the Great Hall have already been directly harmed by Voldemort and his gang, and many of your families have been torn apart…"

"But remember, even in the darkest times, we must hold onto hope, unite as one, and prepare for the fight," Dumbledore concluded, "It is unwise to be cowardly before the battle. Believe me, Voldemort is not as terrible as you imagine. Harry can attest to that..."

All eyes turned to Harry, as if trying to read the answer from his face. Harry could only nod. With the person in question nodding, everyone felt less afraid—Voldemort couldn't even kill a fourth-year student, let alone in a duel of N against one; it was a laughing stock.

We're all students, so if Harry can do it, so can we.

Of course, being optimistic is always a good thing; sometimes scaring yourself can be deadly.

Dumbledore's speech was brief. He knew everyone was eager to return home—for these students, all he needed to do was remind them properly. Dumbledore could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. Good words are useless against a stubborn soul. He had made his words so clear and thorough; if some still didn't take it seriously, there was nothing he could do.

Louis's luggage was already packed. With two maids at home, things would be easier. He didn't have any pets. The owl stayed at home, and when he came a few days ago, it was obvious that it couldn't fly very well—not because it had been abused. Louis noticed that Emerys was obviously overnourished and had become quite obese.

It's time to put the bird on a diet...

Harry doesn't need to go back to the Dursleys' house on Privet Drive in the Huigkin District; that's not his home. He has already received an invitation from Sirius Black to stay at Sirius's house in Hogsmeade Square.

When Harry received the invitation, he laughed like the silliest comedian ever, and if his mouth had been any wider, you could have seen his stomach—this was said by the Weasley twins. Harry ignored them; after all, he wasn't good with words, and teasing the twins would only make him uncomfortable.

The students waited in the crowded hall for the carriage to take them to Hogsmeade Station. It was another beautiful and pleasant summer day; the high-latitude temperate maritime climate was not as scorching as the inland areas. Although Louis could return home via the Floo Network, to be honest, he and Catherine had been counting on their fingers last night that even for Louis, including this trip, there were only four more opportunities to go home for holidays. So they decided to take the train back together.

Commemorating youth is always extraordinary; some things cannot be skipped. We must always leave ourselves some memories and something to cherish.

"Harry!"

A soft voice rang out, and Louis turned to see Fleur Delacour hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Behind her, in the courtyard, Hagrid could be seen helping Lady Maxime harness two horses—Beauxbatons' carriage was about to depart.

"I hope we can meet again," Fleur said, walking up to Harry and extending a hand. "I hope to find a job here and improve my English."

"Your English is already very good," Harry said with a smile. Fleur smiled at him, then turned to look at Catherine.

"Oh, my dear sister." Fleur opened her arms and hugged Catherine. Catherine stiffened slightly, not used to being so enthusiastic towards her—but out of respect for her being a woman, she didn't say anything more.

"Remember to write to me, sister," Fleur said softly. "If possible, I'd like you and Louis to come to our house."

"If I have time," Catherine replied with a smile, "I will definitely go if I have time."

"Goodbye, Catherine, goodbye, Harry," Fleur said, turning to leave. "It was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope to see you again soon—"

Hibiscus hurried along the lawn toward Mrs. Maxim, her silver hair swaying like waves in the sunlight, making her look lively and cheerful.

"I wonder how Durmstrang's classmates will get back," Ron sighed, starting to worry about them. "Do you think they can still steer that ship without Professor Karkaroff?"

"Professor Karkaroff doesn't steer," a hoarse, deep voice said. "He stays in his cabin; we do all the work."

It was Viktor; he came to say goodbye to Harry.

"Harry," Viktor looked at Harry, his expression less gloomy, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Your abilities absolutely match your reputation—I hope that one day we can meet on the Quidditch pitch—and then I will prove that on Quidditch, I, Viktor Krum, will never lose to you."

"Me too." Harry chuckled, looking a bit silly. "It's a deal then, we'll definitely see each other again."

Ron suddenly said, "Could you give me your autograph, Viktor...?"

Viktor looked both surprised and pleased. He nodded and signed Ron's name on a piece of parchment.

On their way back to King's Cross Station, the weather was completely different from when they had visited Hoghonts last September. The sky was clear and cloudless, a breathtakingly beautiful sight. Louis finally managed to find an empty cubicle after a considerable effort, and he and the three little ones sat down inside.

They had originally intended to invite Draco along, but they knew about Draco's family situation. Just as Dumbledore finished speaking, Draco was taken away by Lucius, and Joseph Mills was among the people escorting him.

It seems Lucius is extremely concerned about security – and rightly so, when it comes to understanding Voldemort's brutality and madness, Lucius could say that even if he hadn't seen 100% of it, he'd seen at least 80%.

Sitting in the cubicle, Ron’s owl, Piglet, was once again hidden by his tuxedo robes, its incessant screech irritating him; Hedwig was dozing with her head tucked under her wings, and Crookshanks was curled up in an empty seat, looking like a large, fluffy ginger cushion.

Catherine and Hermione sat in a row, whispering to each other. Louis and the other two sat together, not having much to do, chatting idly. Louis mainly leaned against the bed, looking at the scenery outside. He loved watching the clouds in the sky, which always made him feel refreshed.

The train carried them southward.

Harry felt that Dumbledore's speech at the farewell party seemed to have instantly washed away his worries. Now, talking about what had happened didn't hurt him so much. Ron, on the other hand, was carefree. He figured that if the sky fell, Dumbledore, being so tall, would hold it up, and if all else failed, there was always Lewis. He figured he just needed to eat and sleep well and keep his mind at ease.

They didn't stop talking until the lunch cart arrived. Louis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; wow, these two guys could talk more than the two women across from them...

"What do you want to eat? I'll go buy it." Hermione stood up and called out to the woman pushing a cart selling lunch. "This time it's on me."

"I'd like a beef sandwich," Louis said, glancing over there. "And if you have any soda, that would be even better. Goodness, I can't remember the last time I had a carbonated drink..."

"Louis, do you know there's no soda in the wizarding world..." Hermione glanced at Louis helplessly. Actually, she hadn't had any carbonated water in a long time either. Louis's words piqued her interest.

Catherine mysteriously pulled out a small bag, took out two cans of Coke, handed them to Louis, and placed them on the table where Hermione was sitting. She smiled and said, "Here, I happen to have some soda here. I was originally planning to give Mr. Deer a limited amount, but now that we're almost home... so let's drink them all."

"Good heavens!" Louis's eyes welled up with tears. "Didn't you say there was no more Coke?! You bad woman!"

"Didn't you say that," Catherine said with a smug look, "that the prettier a woman is, the more likely she is to lie? You knew that, yet you still believed me... Why didn't you do a search?"

Louis choked and immediately put out the fire.

When Hermione returned from the food cart and put the money back in her bag, she pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet, which she always kept in her bag. Harry glanced at it, unsure if he really wanted to know what the paper said. Seeing him looking at the paper, Hermione calmly said, "It didn't say anything... You can look for yourself, there really isn't anything. I check it every day, and only sent a short message the day after the third event saying you won the Triwizard Tournament."

At this point, Hermione glanced hesitantly at Louise: "They didn't even mention Voldemort's return, not a word about it. If you ask me, I think Fudge forced them to keep quiet."

Hermione wasn't sure what was going on either, and she found the Daily Prophet's silence unbelievable—even if the Daily Prophet was keeping quiet under pressure from Fudge and the Ministry of Magic, their backer, Lewis, wasn't one to stay silent and suffer in silence...

“He can’t keep Rita silent,” Harry said. “Ms. Rita Skeeter won’t let such a wonderful story go by—and besides, Louis can’t just sit idly by, can he?”

Louis didn't look up, focusing intently on his beef sandwich—perfectly seasoned, just right, and tasted wonderful. He tried to avoid talking while eating, a traditional custom of Seris.

"Well... uh, I don't know." Hermione sighed, tilting her head back in her seat. "My God, the adult world is too complicated. I really don't want to waste my brain cells thinking about all the twists and turns—especially those like Lewis who play politics, their hearts are all dirty..."

"Hehehe, you're the one with a heart..." Louis swallowed the last piece of his sandwich and immediately defended himself. If he didn't say something, Hermione might accuse him of something.

"Isn't that right? You could have easily ordered Rita Skeeter to make this public..." Hermione pouted.

Louis didn't rush to speak. He picked up the Coke on the table, clicked the tab, took two hearty gulps, and then let out a satisfied burp. He took a breath, looked at Hermione, and patiently said, "This is politics, Hermione. It's not child's play where we have to argue about who's right and who's wrong—we're on the lawful side after all, and this is the best opportunity to get Fudge out of office through legitimate means..."

"I don't understand politics, Louise." Hermione looked at Louise very seriously. "I don't want to get involved. I'm not interested in politics. I only care about the safety of ordinary wizards..."

“You’re wrong, Hermione.” Louis laughed. “Man is the sum total of all social relations. All the complex interpersonal interactions between people to maximize their interests can be called politics. In fact, all interactions between people are inseparable from the foundation of political science… Don’t have any prejudice against this discipline. It’s not as lofty as you think, nor as sordid as you think—in fact, we are participating in such activities all the time in our lives. It is an inevitable product of social development.”

"Even if I ordered Rita Skeeter's Daily Prophet to write an article about Voldemort's return, how many people do you think would still believe it given the Ministry of Magic's constant denials?" Louis smiled slightly. "Remember the 'four-stage strategy' I told you about? Fudge is using that tactic to buy time—all he can do is prolong his time as Minister for Magic. If things suddenly come to light, he'll be forced to step down—but if he's forced to admit Voldemort's return now, he might not have to step down. After all, a contrast is what makes it most effective..."

"What about the innocent ordinary wizards? And the Muggles? Aren't their lives important enough?" Hermione asked again, frowning.

"Do you really have to show off your excess conscience?" Louis's words were merciless: "Are you satisfied with letting Fudge continue to lead the wizarding world and make a mess of it?"

(End of this chapter)