The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 84: Overwhelmed by Sorrow

Cecil thought his friend had found the murderer, but he hadn't. The dark wizard seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth, disappearing without a trace. All his friend brought was news about the murderer's family.

His joy was ultimately in vain. After seeing his friends off, Cecil got drunk in pain and smashed the place where he lived to pieces.

When Cecil sobered up the next day, he thought of a good idea. He would go to the murderer's family residence and wait for the murderer to fall into his trap. In the messy room, Cecil frantically searched for the parchment left by his friend, which recorded the murderer's family information in detail.

Cecil found the place and lived near the murderer's family's house. He kept an eye on them and waited for the murderer to appear. He wanted to kill him in front of the murderer's family and avenge his mother and sister.

Another year passed in this wait, and the murderer never showed up. The daily waiting and torment made Cecil crazy, and his character became more and more violent.

The people in the house lived happily every day. Cecil once had this kind of happiness, but it was ruthlessly destroyed by the murderer. Cecil made another decision.

"...There are not many dark wizards in Britain. When Grindelwald was in power, many people went to join him. After Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore, many of his followers died. I wonder if he also went to join Grindelwald and was killed." Cecil filled his pipe with tobacco again. "Or maybe he died somewhere a long time ago. Studying dark magic is always full of dangers."

"So..." Ada had already guessed it. Now that things had developed to this point, it was not difficult to guess what would happen next.

"Yes, I hurt his family and transferred my hatred to them." Cecil said with regret, "This is the most regrettable decision I have made in my life."

The truth will eventually come to light, and the Ministry of Magic will naturally discover such a terrible thing. The terror brought by Grindelwald has just passed, and the Ministry of Magic will never allow such a thing to happen in the country. They decided to investigate thoroughly and send the criminal to Azkaban.

The Ministry of Magic eventually found out about Cecil. The then Minister Tuft sent many Aurors to hunt him down. Tuft even allowed the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses, which shows the Ministry of Magic's attitude towards Cecil.

Many of the Aurors had worked with Cecil before, and they found it hard to believe that the elegant young man had become a dark wizard and done such a cruel thing.

Cecil initially had no intention of harming those who were chasing him, and he kept on the run, even wanting to flee abroad.

Before leaving, Cecil wanted to see his family for the last time, but because he was addicted to black magic and did such a thing, Cecil's father became sick, his brother had a conflict with him, and everyone in the family was ashamed of him!
Cecil left in a state of dismay, and when he was heading to the smuggling location, he was once again besieged by the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic. The last string supporting his sanity was broken, and Cecil, who had fallen into madness, decided to kill all those who were chasing him.

The Aurors were no match for him and were in danger, facing the possibility of losing their lives at any time. At this critical moment, Dumbledore arrived.

When Grindelwald swept across Europe and gained great power, Dumbledore was his only rival, and Dumbledore defeated him personally in 1945. Even the famous Grindelwald was no match for Dumbledore, let alone Cecil?

Dumbledore defeated him, but did not kill him. Instead, Cecil was imprisoned in Azkaban for thirty years.

"The Dementors are responsible for guarding that place. You won't feel any happiness there. I spend every day in pain. Those who I killed or hurt always appear in my dreams." Cecil said with a painful face, "If it weren't for my mother and sister, I might have died there or gone crazy."

"After leaving Azkaban, I did a lot of things to try to make up for my previous mistakes. Although I knew that no matter what I did would be useless, I still tried to do it." Cecil's recollection ended, and he squatted on the ground sadly, unable to calm down for a long time.

"What about your family? Have you visited them?" Ada asked. "No, I don't have the face to see them. My father never forgave me until he died," Cecil said, "but I never regretted studying the black magic. What I regret is doing the same thing as the murderer and becoming as cruel as him."

"Sometimes I wonder, if I had not gone to look for the murderer alone, but brought other Aurors with me, would I have been able to catch him myself? If I had not been blinded by power, would I not have become a murderer?" Cecil continued, "Everything is just if. If it's wrong, it's wrong. What should have happened has happened, and we have to bear the consequences."

Looking at Cecil who closed his eyes in pain, Ada didn't know how to comfort him. Compared with Cecil, her life was as pale as a piece of parchment.

Grover Cecil, a pitiful yet hateful man, a man whose rest of his life is filled with pain and regret. This may be Merlin's greatest punishment for him!
Ada didn't know why Cecil told her his story. The two of them had only known each other for two weeks and were far from being able to confide in each other.

Even if Cecil was "eager to have talent", there was no need for him to tell her all these past events now. Ada really couldn't understand why he did this.

Cecil, who was squatting on the ground, stood up and faced the Black Lake, with tears still on his old face. Cecil waved his hand to let Ada leave, as he needed to be alone now.

Ada led Garlon back to the castle, but Grover Cecil's bleak back always appeared in her mind. She looked back and saw Cecil standing alone by the Black Lake, the scene was very desolate.

In the afternoon, Ada went to the underground room again. Although she had prepared protective measures and ointments for treating bruises in advance, when she left the underground room, she still had many bruises on her body.

During the battle with the trial doll, Ada was unable to concentrate. Whether attacking or defending, she acted like a beginner. She was out of shape and could only hastily end today's practice and dragged her tired body back to the dormitory.

Ada felt a little upset all day long. She began to recall her past, the mistakes she had made, and the things that made her feel regretful. Ada wondered if she had handled things differently, would the result be better? Would she not have regrets and remorse?

It's not that Ada is easily influenced, nor is it that Cecil's story moved her. What Ada is trapped in is her own past, the illusion she has created herself.

A person's life may be long or short, but there will always be a few things full of regrets, and there will also be a few things that make people regret. People should have forgotten these painful things, but these things are often the most deeply remembered.

After dinner, Ada sat in the armchair in the lounge, not turning the pages of the book in her hand for a long time.

The twins sitting opposite Ada had been observing her. When the brothers came back in the afternoon, they noticed something was wrong with her. They thought Ada was possessed.

The twins pestered Ada with questions, but her answers were perfunctory and even absent-minded. The twins tried to make Ada laugh, but Ada's smile always carried a hint of sadness, like a clown in a circus.

The twins had no choice but to let Ada go back to the dormitory. The two brothers sat in the armchair and fell into deep thought. They needed to find a new way to make Ada return to normal. Ada's current condition would sooner or later cause trouble.

It was getting late today, and the twins planned to go to the library early tomorrow morning to see if they could find any way to help Ada out of her current condition.

Lying in bed, Ada was overwhelmed by her sad past, so she didn't know how anxiously the twins were thinking of a solution for her; she didn't know about the quarrel in the principal's office on the eighth floor of her castle; she didn't know that the desolate old man by the Black Lake had a smile on his face when she left.

(End of this chapter)