bioinnovel Chapter 126 The Punishment of Impulsiveness
Chapter 126 The Punishment of Impulsiveness
Chapter 126 The Punishment of Impulsiveness
A person who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. Belvina did this to prevent problems before they arise.
When things come to a head, rushing to find solutions inevitably leads to oversights; it's better to prepare contingency plans in advance.
In this way, even if Dumbledore is forced to leave the school, Hogwarts will not cause even greater chaos due to the loss of its headmaster.
Even if Dumbledore is suspended by the Board of Governors, it's his own fault; he messed things up!
At the start of the new school year, Gilderoy Lockhart, who had just taken office, was already showing signs of impending doom, but Dumbledore delayed in dealing with it, and the time bomb remained hanging there.
Now, disgruntled students have staged a petition, and Lockhart, this ticking time bomb, has exploded.
The situation at Hogwarts has become more complicated.
Belvina, sitting at her desk, unfolded the parchment again, and the sound of her writing immediately filled the lounge. She wrote smoothly without pausing.
In this letter, which was to be sent to London, Belvina briefly recounted the events of the morning, offering no advice or persuasion to Cornelius Fudge as she usually did.
Belvina chose to trust the Minister of Magic, believing that he wouldn't act rashly at such a time and wouldn't hold her back.
As Belvina bent down to write her letter, several owls flew past the window; today was destined to be a day of owls flying around Hogwarts.
Paul Bernard, holding a tall plate in his arms, was probably the most relaxed person. He wasn't worried at all about what would happen next or whether Dumbledore would be driven away.
Basilda, squatting by the fireplace, was the most worried. She absentmindedly poked at the fire, which was almost extinguished.
"Aren't you two worried?" Bassheda asked. "Aren't you worried that today's events will affect Professor Dumbledore, or that the Board of Governors will come out and cause trouble?"
"What's the point of worrying about this?" Paul said, looking completely resigned, much like the former Belvina.
Paul put down his empty saucer and continued, "Our worries won't affect the board's decisions; they'll only upset us. What we should do is stay calm, go to class when it's time to attend, and eat in the auditorium when it's time to eat."
In short, just do what you need to do, don't worry about things unnecessarily, calm down and deal with whatever might happen.
Paul, now a glutton, patted his belly contentedly; the muffled sound and his silly movements looked quite comical.
"My only worry is that Professor Dumbledore will be forced to leave the school," Bathsheda said sullenly. "What if the Slytherin heir releases the Basilisk once he leaves?"
"It's simple, make a basilisk pouch," Belvina said calmly. "Paul's alchemical doll, plus Hagrid's rooster, I don't believe we can't kill it. If a basilisk can turn the school upside down, Hogwarts might as well close down."
Basilda hesitated, concerned for the students' safety, fearing the basilisk might emerge and harm them, and worried that the situation would spiral out of control.
"Didn't you already have surveillance in that restroom? What's there to worry about?" Paul reassured him. "Besides, those board members aren't stupid. Suspending Dumbledore at a time like this would be insane!"
As he spoke, Paul patted his round belly, looking like a lazy seal.
"That's right, what's meant to happen can't be stopped," Belvina said. "It's just a basilisk; if it dares to show its face, turn it into a snake pouch!"
Belvina suddenly had a wild idea, and she continued, "How many Galleons do you think we could make if we took the Basilisk out for a paid exhibition? There hasn't been a Basilisk in Britain for four hundred years."
"You have to be willing to exhibit it, but someone has to be willing to look at it too," Paul said, putting his legs up on the edge of the coffee table and crossing them.
Bassheda glanced at Belvina, who was writing a letter with her head down, and then at Paul, who had eaten and drunk his fill. Both of them looked relaxed and at ease, and the gloom in Bassheda's heart dissipated as well.
The phrase "concern leads to confusion" was designed for Basilda. Her concern for the students' safety caused her to lose her composure and become restless.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking it, maybe nothing will happen," Bassheda muttered to herself, then walked to the storage cabinet where she usually kept her food.
"Do you have any other snacks?" Bassheda continued, opening the cabinet door and starting to rummage through it.
All morning, Hogwarts was shrouded in an eerie and somber atmosphere. There wasn't a soul to be seen on the grounds outside the castle, and almost all the students were in the common room.
The younger students excitedly exchanged and discussed the incident, still shaken by what they had witnessed that morning, and sincerely grateful to their seniors for standing up and driving away the annoying Lockhart.
Harry and Ron even started daydreaming, imagining themselves teaming up with other students to drive away the equally annoying Snape.
But when the older students appeared in the common room with serious expressions, the younger students, sensing that something was wrong, all shut their mouths.
Unlike the relaxed and happy lower-grade students, the upper-grade students who were the main participants in the collective petition were not happy at all. The pride and self-esteem on their faces at breakfast were gone, replaced by worry and panic.
They gradually realized that what happened that morning might have a negative impact, and could even affect Dumbledore's position as headmaster. Some of the older students began to regret that their collective petition was impulsive.
A very small number of people, while regretting their actions, blamed everything on Belvina, arguing that it was precisely because of the unserious content of the Muggle Studies class that everyone had the courage to rebel, the idea of petitioning, and the reason for standing up to drive Lockhart away.
By lunchtime, the eerie and somber atmosphere at the school had not improved at all; in fact, it had become even worse, because the very center seat of the faculty section was empty.
Where did Professor Dumbledore go?
Is the principal having lunch in his office as usual, or has he already left the school?
If Dumbledore leaves the school because of what happened this morning, what will happen to the Slytherin heir? Will the attack happen again? Will people die this time?
The four deans keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the auditorium was somewhat delicate. Professor McGonagall frowned; she didn't mean to blame the students, she was just worried about the same thing.
If Dumbledore were lost, who would stop the successor of Slytherin? Who would stop the monster hiding in the Chamber of Secrets? These two questions loomed over the students like towering mountains, obscuring the warm afternoon sun.
Around 2 p.m., officials from the Ministry of Magic arrived in cold Scotland from London, and their arrival further fueled the students' panic.
Instead of flooding into the school hospital, the Ministry of Magic employees split into five groups, each in pairs, and accompanied by the four heads of the House, went to the common rooms of each house to conduct routine inquiries with the students.
Only two people came to the school hospital to question Gilderoy Lockhart.
Belvina happened to know the two men: one was the elite Auror John Dexter, and the other was Felix Ferguson, who had just been promoted to captain of the law enforcement team.
Upon meeting Belvina at Hogwarts, the young Felix was overjoyed, chattering incessantly as if he wanted to recount his entire student life to her.
Even as the three stood at the entrance of the school hospital, Felix showed no sign of stopping, insisting on finishing recounting how he had blown up the cauldron in Potions class before finally shutting up.
"Felix, could you go in first and inform Ms. Pomfrey?" Belvina said with a smile, "and check on Lockhart's condition while you're at it."
"Of course, I'd be happy to help," Felix said happily.
The young man was full of energy; he rushed through the door in a few strides, and Pomfrey's angry roar immediately echoed through the school hospital.
"Ferguson is a very capable wizard, but he's still a bit impulsive," Delis said. "Thank you, otherwise I wouldn't have had a chance to interrupt him."
"I have high hopes for Felix; he's young and energetic," Belvina said seriously. "Does the Minister have any message for me to convey?"
In just six months, Felix Ferguson rose from an ordinary member of the Law Enforcement Team to become one of its captains, and that wasn't thanks to Felix's Guardian Charm.
Unable to keep his eyes open, Delicious scratched his stiff, short hair and said, "You really can't hide anything from you. Before I came, the minister gave me two instructions. The first was that we should follow your orders."
Belvina nodded. Actually, there wasn't much to give instructions. Lockhart's real crimes were outside of school. At Hogwarts, he was more of an annoying presence, and he wasn't qualified to cause trouble.
Delilah looked around warily before lowering his voice and whispering, "The second thing is, if there's another attack on the school, arrest Rubeus Hagrid without asking for permission."