The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 453: Whitewash the peace
In Little Hangleton Village, Dumbledore took Sirius to discuss with Fudge in the village tavern, while Vida took Laura and Ada back to Hogwarts.

Late in the night, the three of them appeared on the streets of Hogsmeade. They walked along the main road for a while, turned a few corners, and saw the lonely Twilight Cottage.

After pushing the door open, before Vida and the other two could stand still, the twins rushed to the hallway. They heard the door open. Behind the twins were Mrs. Weasley, Professor Lupin, and Harry, who all looked worried.

After Dumbledore called off the match, the students returned to their respective common rooms and were taken care of by the professors. Harry, dressed as Sirius, went to the Twilight Cottage accompanied by Mrs. Weasley, and Professor Lupin was responsible for protecting him.

The twins gave Ada a big hug to celebrate her safe return, and Mrs. Weasley went to the kitchen to prepare some food for the three people who had just returned.

Back in the living room, Ada didn't eat. Instead, she held the kettle and kept replenishing herself with water. She felt that she was almost drying up.

After drinking three large bottles of ice water, Ada told everyone what happened in the cemetery tonight. When Harry heard that Voldemort had returned, he clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

After listening to Ada's narration, Professor Lupin comforted her softly: "Ada, what happened tonight is not your fault. We were too careless. We overlooked a detail, which led to tonight's failure."

In the cemetery, Ada and Sirius acted separately, so Sirius was not aware of the specific situation on her side. But Ada still had to explain, because Sirius was captured by Barty and Foley.

Ada's explanation was that she dodged the spell, but because the distance was too close, she had no time to dodge, so she was stunned by the impact of the spell hitting the tombstone.

As for why little Barty let her go, how would she know what little Barty was thinking? Maybe he was careless?
Ada's explanation seemed reasonable at first, but a little far-fetched after careful consideration. However, no one, whether it was the people present or the two people who stayed in Little Hangleton Village, would hold on to this matter, as people are all kind-hearted.

"Thank you, Professor Lupin," said Ada. She was indeed a little annoyed, annoyed at her own carelessness and imprudence.

"You should call me Remus or Lupin. I am no longer your teacher." Lupin said, "Don't think about anything tonight. Have a good rest. We still have a long way to go."

It was late at night and there was an impenetrable darkness outside the window. Ada lay on her side on the soft and comfortable bed with her eyes wide open.

She was exhausted but could not fall asleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, she could see Voldemort's pale snake face, and she lost her sleep instantly. It was not because she was afraid of Voldemort, but because she was a little nervous about the upcoming war.

War is always cold and cruel. There are no winners, only some people survive, accompanied by many nightmares.

When the sky gradually changed from dark blue to white, Ada fell into a deep sleep. She slept until the evening. If she hadn't been so hungry, she would probably have slept for a long time.

After a while, the dim sky outside the window made Ada confused for a moment, unable to tell the time. She couldn't tell what day it was, and didn't know whether it was day or night.

When Ada's brain also came out of the sleeping state, she sat on the bed and shouted twice at the top of her lungs, but there was no response from the cabin. It seemed that no one was there.

After getting up and washing up simply, Ada wandered to the kitchen in her pajamas, looking for food, but she found nothing except a few slices of leftover toast.

Just as Ada was sitting cross-legged on the sofa choking on a piece of bread, Fred and George returned to the cabin and saw Ada with disheveled hair at a glance.

Fred snatched the dry bread slice from Ada's hand and threw a bag of ladyfingers to her like a magic trick. These ladyfingers were obviously made in the Hogwarts kitchen.

George pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet from the pocket of his robe, shook it, and pointed to the contents on it for Ada to see.

The newspaper reported only a few lines about the Triwizard Tournament, which basically said that the competition was successfully concluded and Ada won the trophy. There was no mention of the key to the center of the maze or Barty Crouch Jr. pretending to be Moody and sneaking into Hogwarts.

If Fleur and Krum hadn't dropped out in the third event, Ada probably wouldn't have won the title, although she did get the trophy. George flipped the newspaper over again, and another page was about the fire in Little Hangleton Village. The report was still just a few lines, saying that the Fiendish Fire was caused by a dark wizard, and the Ministry of Magic was doing its best to hunt him down.

No, the newspapers only reported this, not to mention Voldemort's return, not even Barty Jr. and Foley. Dumbledore, Sirius, and Harry's names were not even worth mentioning.

Covering up the truth, since only a few people knew the truth, Fudge chose to cover up the truth to deceive himself and others. Ada couldn't think of any more appropriate word except whitewashing the truth.

"If you ask me, I think it was Fudge who forced them to keep silent," George said.

"Stupid Fudge!" said Fred sarcastically. "After reading the newspaper this morning, especially after hearing what Laura said about Fudge, I feel ashamed to be a British wizard."

Holding a finger biscuit in her mouth, Ada said vaguely: "As expected, he can only be a greedy politician and will never be a leader."

After swallowing the ladyfingers, Ada asked, "Where are the others?"

"Grandma Vida is walking by the Black Lake, with Laura accompanying her," George replied, "Harry is back at the castle, with Ron and Hermione."

"Mom and Bill went back to the Burrow, but Bill didn't seem to want to leave." Fred said, "Sirius and Remus left school. Dumbledore must have something for them to do."

As they were talking, the twins suddenly thought of something, and they both said in unison: "By the way, Karkaroff ran away. He disappeared last night."

Fred and George heard about this from the students of Durmstrang. From last night till now, the students of Durmstrang have been looking for their headmaster for a long time, but they couldn't find him.

"Karkaroff was a Death Eater, and he betrayed his fellow Death Eaters," said Ada. "He was afraid of retaliation, so he ran away. Perhaps it won't be long before we hear of his death."

Voldemort would never let Karkaroff go, or accept him back. If he spared Karkaroff, it would be difficult to lead the Death Eaters.

At dinner time, Ada and the twins went to the castle, and the atmosphere in the hall was still very lively.

The students did not discuss the Triwizard Tournament much, and only a few people who were familiar with Ada congratulated her. Everyone felt that Ada deserved the trophy, and no one had any dissatisfaction or doubts about the suspension of the competition.

Everyone was very interested in the fire in Little Hangleton Village, and was discussing heatedly which dark wizard was responsible and when the Ministry of Magic would catch him.

Few people realized the connection between the Triwizard Tournament and Little Hangleton Village, and few people realized that danger was approaching quietly and that the peaceful times would no longer exist.

In the long classroom seat, Ada saw the real Professor Moody. He seemed particularly nervous and uneasy. Whenever someone spoke to him, he jumped in surprise.

Nearly ten months of imprisonment made Moody even more suspicious. He believed no one except Dumbledore.

Karkaroff's seat was indeed empty, and the students of Durmster did not seem to be too worried. I don't know if they are too careless, or if they really don't like their headmaster.

At the long table, Ada also saw Professor Snape, who did not look well. His face looked paler than usual, and his black eyes were a little dull, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

It wasn't all bad in the teachers' booth. Hagrid stuck back to Madam Maxime, as if he was under a permanent sticking spell.

(End of this chapter)