Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 289 The Final Probe and the Silence

"I'm sorry, teacher, I failed."

In Malfoy Manor, Ike knelt on one knee, blood still flowing from his abdominal wound, which spread out over a large patch on the expensive floor.

Old Fu sat comfortably in the chair, eyes closed, head tilted back. After a while, until Ike became somewhat dazed due to blood loss, he stood up, grabbed Ike's arm, and helped him up.

"You killed a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mundungus, didn't you?"

"Yes, teacher." Ike suppressed his dazedness and looked directly into Old Fu's eyes without flinching.

"Very good, that's very good." Old Volt patted Ike on the shoulder, then placed his hand on the wound in his abdomen, the intense pain causing him to involuntarily grimace.

"It must hurt a lot, Ike..." Old Fu sat back down in his chair, spreading out his right hand and letting the blood drip onto his robe.

"That's a good thing, Ike," he said. "Being injured proves you're not strong enough, your plans aren't perfect, and most importantly, you're not ruthless enough!"

"Let me do the math... Moody, that madman; Scrimgeour, that idiot; and Tonks—if you were a little more ruthless, you'd achieve even greater results!"

"I'm sorry, teacher."

"Don't apologize, Ike, it won't help! I'd rather you promise me you won't hold back next time!"

"I will, teacher!" Ike said firmly.

"Very good, that's more like it." Old Fu smiled and stood up again, putting his hand on Ike's shoulder once more, his tone becoming much gentler.

"Go, heal yourself, drink some potion... In any case, you killed one of Dumbledore's henchmen, and many of Scrimgeour's men."

"I just want to tell you that you can do even better than I do."

"I understand, teacher." Ike bowed slightly, enduring the pain as he gave a slight bow.

"Then I'll go first, teacher."

"Go on, go on, take good care of your injuries. There are more important things for you to do, little Ike..."

Ike nodded, clutching his wound as he slowly made his way up to the second floor of the castle. Old Voldemort stood there, quietly watching his retreating figure until he disappeared from sight, before beckoning to the side. Bella immediately came over.

"Master," she greeted, bowing.

"Bellatrix, you've been watching this, what do you think?" Old Volt asked calmly.

"Master, in my opinion, what the young master said is inappropriate..."

"Oh? You mean he lied?" Old Fu turned around, looking at Bella with sharp eyes, his tone becoming much more serious.

"No, no, no, Master, the young master wasn't lying..." Bella quickly lowered her head and said in a panic, "The young master just didn't tell the whole truth..."

"Really, Master, the young master's arrangements were not wrong. Several times we were about to kill all those wretched bugs, but the reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore arrived too quickly..."

"If it weren't for Scrimgeour and his Oro, if it weren't for Dumbledore and his wretched phoenix, the young master could have really killed them all..."

"Is that so..." Old Fu said coldly, while Bella kept her head down in fear.

After a while, Old Voldemort raised his right hand and gently tapped Bella's head with his wand.

"Bella, I want to see it for myself. What do you think?"

"Please, Master..."

"Capture the spirit, grasp the mind!"

No sooner had Bella finished speaking than Old Voldemort entered her mind. After a moment, he abruptly withdrew his wand, and Bella immediately collapsed to the ground, her body convulsing uncontrollably.

"Master...Master, you...you saw...you saw everything?"

"I saw it." Old Fu suddenly smiled. "Very good, all very good..."

"You are loyal to me, and he is loyal to me too, that's good..."

"Go ahead and get some rest. A good night's sleep will do you a lot of good..."

Bella struggled to her feet, and, despite her dazed state, bowed to Old Fu before turning to leave. She hadn't gone far when she heard Old Fu's loud laughter behind her.

It sounds like you're having a great time...

After Old Voldemort got the answer he wanted, and Ike reluctantly drank the healing potion and fell into a deep sleep on the bed, the Hogwarts freshmen were led tremblingly by their prefects to the Hogsmeade station.

These little ones were wearing school uniforms, some even with scarves, but their eyes all held a hint of fear.

Nearby, Hermione and Ron, who had hastily treated their injuries, leaned against a pillar on the platform, but their gazes did not fall on the group of little kids like the other prefects did.

He didn't speak, just stared blankly with his head down.

Several times, Ron tried to break the silence, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.

He knew perfectly well why Hermione was acting this way, and so did Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and even Anthony and Padma, who were also on the platform. Although Ron had never liked Ike, he also knew that many people at Hogwarts hoped that Ike would one day return.

Of all these people, Hermione was undoubtedly the one who wanted it the most.

However, what just happened shattered that hope... No one would want to bring someone who killed their companions and comrades back to Hogwarts.

"Ring ring!"

Just as Ron was lost in thought, a tall figure came along, ringing a bell and carrying an oil lamp. Even though it wasn't their first meeting, Hagrid's imposing stature still caused the little ones to squeal a few times.

"Alright, freshmen, follow me! You need to board the boats, no more than four people per boat!" Hagrid shouted, raising his oil lamp. "Be careful not to fall!"

The prefects saw the little ones off onto the boat and watched them sail away from the shore before heading toward the carriage that had been waiting nearby.

When they reached the carriage, Ron and Hermione both paused, seeing the emaciated Thestrals in front of it, and a bitter feeling welled up inside them.

"Now I finally understand why the crazy girl said seeing a Thestral is not a good thing..." Ron said as he got into the carriage, Hermione a step ahead of him.

"To be honest, I quite like Mundungus's stories..."

Ron's voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible. He glanced timidly at Hermione beside him; Hermione's hair was hastily tied into a bun, with a few mischievous strands of bangs hanging down and casually tucked behind her ears.

She was quieter than Ron had ever seen before, but he was very uncomfortable with it and even wished that Hermione could speak in words he couldn't understand, just like before.

Even just telling him to study hard is fine.

But Hermione didn't say a word until the carriage stopped and they sat down at the Gryffindor table...

(End of this chapter)