I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 516 Rewards

The hall erupted in uproar.

Countless gazes—those of shock, surprise, indifference, and ill intent—rushed towards him.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Owen and the other young wizards invited to the coming-of-age ceremony sat in the back rows of the banquet table, all looking at the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, with surprise.

"Rufus, in important situations, and in your manners," Dumbledore said solemnly, his deep blue eyes devoid of any emotion.

"To hell with your manners, Dumbledore. If you're going to kneel before Muggles, don't even think about taking me with you!" Rufus Scrimgeour roared, his voice filled with anguish.

Then he turned around, trembling all over, and left the place.

Seeing the Minister of Magic leave in anger, the Ministry of Magic officials present, especially the heads of the various departments, were all shocked and nervous.

At this moment, they must choose between Rufus Scrimgeour and Dumbledore.

A commotion erupted in the hall; the Minister of Magic's sudden departure undoubtedly cast a shadow over this solemn investiture ceremony.

Dumbledore frowned slightly, watching Rufus's departing figure, his heart filled with helplessness.

To be fair, Rufus Scrimgeour was neither a supporter of pure-blood cult nor a grand wizard. His anger stemmed from only one reason: pride!

If news of what happened here gets back to the magical world, the Ministry of Magic's reputation will be utterly humiliated.

At that point, an angry wizard would immediately remove him from his position.

As for the cooperation between wizards and Muggles, it will most likely proceed as normal; this is an inevitable trend that cannot be stopped.

Therefore, in the end, this farce will only result in his tragedy alone; as Minister for Magic, he is primarily responsible. His anger stems from Dumbledore's casual abandonment of him. His future, his political life, came to an end at this moment.

In the distant future, his name will surely be recorded in great detail in the History of Magic, and he will be remembered for eternity as the most disgraceful and incompetent Minister of Magic!

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Harker, who was not far from Dumbledore, watched the whole thing unfold.

As a top politician, he naturally understood the underlying logic. While feeling regretful, he was also genuinely relieved because he, not the other party, held the dominant position; otherwise, he would have been the one to slink away in disgrace.

The ceremony continued, but the atmosphere was completely different from before. Everyone was silently praying that no further accidents would occur.

But Irving's mind was no longer on these formalities, which were merely rituals for show.

He drifted into a trance, remembering something more important.

Now that Voldemort is dead, his soul is surely still lurking in some ditch, waiting for its chance to rise again.

If word gets out about what happened here, it will surely provoke his furious revenge.

But retaliation requires strength.

Therefore, Voldemort will definitely seek out the Outer Gods to rebuild his physical body.

Now, the seven divinely bestowed towers and the four remaining external divine powers have all been returned to him.

Of the remaining three divinely ordained towers, the one in Canada remains unknown, and the one in Britain, the one in the cave, was long ago hidden by the successive headmasters of Hogwarts. That leaves only the one on the Isle of Morthrace.

Therefore, Voldemort is most likely on the Greek island of Mothrace at this time.

This information is important.

But the island of Mothrace, which the Outer Gods have been cultivating for a long time, is certainly far more dangerous than the one in the Italian seas.

Going to the island rashly could be dangerous.

Within the Order of the Phoenix, it seems only Newt Scamander has ever set foot on the island. Professor Dumbledore once mentioned that the island is inhabited by countless unborn beings and all sorts of monsters, even terrifying creatures yet to be discovered in the magical world, whose attacks include both physical and spiritual methods. Even a legendary wizard like Dumbledore would be in danger. Therefore, despite knowing that Voldemort's stronghold was on the island, Dumbledore has never launched an attack on it over the years.

At present, luring fish to bite is still the safest method.

If we think about it this way, there's another explanation for Miss Granger's sudden prominence. If Voldemort knew that the real culprit behind his defeat was this "heir of ancient magic," he would probably have gone to great lengths to deal with her.

So, was this one of the reasons why Dumbledore agreed to award the medal?

Owen looked at the old wizard sitting at the head of the table.

That's not impossible.

Dumbledore was willing to give up his own life to kill Voldemort. Even after learning about the existence of Horcruxes, he initially wanted Harry to die. It was only after a series of changes, especially after he learned that Voldemort had used Harry's blood to resurrect himself, that he began to speculate that Harry might survive.

That's right, even Dumbledore didn't know if Harry could withstand Voldemort's Killing Curse; even at the end, he only speculated. What if he couldn't? Then Harry would truly die, but in any case, Voldemort would personally destroy one of his Horcruxes.

That's what makes him so terrifying; his plan is flawless, and even if it were to be revealed, it wouldn't be a big deal and wouldn't affect the final outcome.

Could such a wizard use Miss Granger against her?

Yes, he definitely will.

Thinking about this, the awarding ceremony became sinister and terrifying.

The once magnificent hall has become bloody and ghostly, and the solemn and grand atmosphere has vanished, leaving only distortion and conspiracy.

The awarding of medals is proceeding in full swing.

The Queen and her sixtieth son entered to the strains of God Bless the Queen and to the astonishment of the entire audience. The list of nominees was then read out by the Prince, and the Queen personally conferred the honors.

The first few on the list were Muggle soldiers who had distinguished themselves in the war. Among them, Owen even saw a familiar face, Jill.

She took the stage at the same time as two other beautiful and dashing women.

The three were knighted.

The other meritorious officials also entered in turn, but most of them were knights, or even ordinary lords. Very few were able to obtain the rank of viscount or higher.

This is normal; in modern Britain, honors are generally only awarded to ordinary lords.

Knights and viscounts are rarely attainable.

Higher ranks, such as earl and marquess, are rarely granted to non-royal members.

The highest title an ordinary person could attain was a life peerage, or a baron.

As for the Duke

Apart from the few hereditary dukes who followed William the Conqueror into the Central Plains, in modern times only direct descendants of princes can obtain the title of duke.

The awarding of medals continued, and soon a man dressed differently from the others appeared.

He was a wizard.

The man who was seen fishing was about forty years old.

Owen didn't recognize him, but he learned from a group of professors in front of him and officials from the Ministry of Magic who hadn't left that he was a Muggle-born Auror.

Originally a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Magical Inspectorate, she joined the Auror Office a few years ago.

Furthermore, due to his background and the fact that the Magical Vigilantes' job is inherently controversial, the Magical Vigilantes are among the worst-paid members in the magical world, basically the ones who do the heaviest work and get the lowest wages.

He actually accepted the Queen's award.

This caused some officials in the Ministry of Magic to grit their teeth in secret, calling them traitors, though it was unclear whether their feelings stemmed from jealousy or anger.

In short, the appearance of the first wizard immediately ignited the previously somewhat deathly atmosphere in the hall.

Everyone stared intently at the man.

The Queen's bestowal of honors exceeded everyone else's; he was granted the title of Earl, and more importantly, a hereditary Earl.

It's important to know that in modern Britain, all peerages are not hereditary; they are called life peerages, meaning you remain a peer for life, but your children will not.

Even princes cannot pass on their ducal titles to their children.

This bestowal of honor is nothing short of astonishing.

This is enough to prove the royal family's intention to win over wizards.

How many low-level wizards like this are there in the magical world?

How many wizards are frustrated and unfulfilled in the officialdom dominated by pure-bloods?

How many of these people are loyal to the Ministry of Magic?

To put it bluntly, most lower-level wizards don't care whether the Ministry of Magic falls or rises; they might even be better off with someone else in charge.

Sure enough, with this male wizard leading the way...

Over the next hour, several more wizards appeared.

They were all richly rewarded.

"Having a title is really nice. I also want a knighthood. How cool is that?" Suddenly, Ron said out of the blue next to Owen, "I've seen it in many wizarding novels. In the past, when wizards and Muggles coexisted, ancient wizards could also serve as knights, conquering the world and commanding armies of tens of thousands of people with a wave of their hand. Hmm—it's really something to look forward to."

"I read those novels too, all those magical princesses and magical princes and stuff. I was obsessed with them when I was little," Hannah continued, but as soon as she said it, her expression became a little awkward. "Um—I was too young back then to understand those things."

Irving glanced at the two of them.

Most of the novels in the magical world before were like this. They were stories of war, princes, and princesses disguised as magic.

Lockhart then emerged as a dark horse, writing live-action adventure stories, which swept such fantasy stories into the dustbin of history.

Compared to Lockhart's books, with their thrilling adventures, battles of wits with various magical creatures and wizards from different countries, fantasy stories naturally have no audience.

However, the fact that Ron and Hannah could say such things shows that, in the eyes of some Muggles, cooperating with Muggles, or even being granted titles and vassals, doesn't seem so bad.

Being a duke is a prestigious thing.

The Malfoy family used to have a title, and it was a hereditary title, but they no longer mention it.

Now that wizards and Muggles have merged and the Law of Secrecy has collapsed, they can naturally pick up their titles and put them back on their heads.

"Once you defeat Voldemort, Her Majesty the Queen will surely bestow rewards upon you. She might even grant you a marquisate. After all, your family is related to the Knights of the Round Table by blood, making you legitimate Celts. The Queen's bestowal of titles upon you will also serve as a testament to her legitimacy."

"Ha—that's a long way off. We don't even know where he's hiding," Ron said.

"I've guessed a location, should we tell the Muggles?" Owen's eyes suddenly lit up, "So they can blow it up again?"

But after a moment's thought, he gave up. "Forget it, that place is too dangerous, and Voldemort can't be killed by explosions. As for whether it's possible..."

Destroy the Outer Gods

He really wasn't sure about that.

While they were talking about knights and wizards.

The awarding ceremony has finally come to an end.

He was the last wizard to be awarded the title.

Miss Granger, wearing the same elegant gown she wore in the auditorium, walked slowly toward the head table.

The next moment, the military band on the second floor began playing God Save the Queen again.

The entire audience stood up again.

Harry remained silent for a moment, looked around, and then stood up as the others did.

The same applies to the other young wizards.

As for Kyrie Irving, what's the big deal about him giving his girlfriend a look? He can just get up.

However, not all wizards were as understanding as he was; some Ministry of Magic officials did not stand up and remained seated with dark expressions.

In contrast, the professors, especially Professor McGonagall, had no other ideas whatsoever.

Her face was flushed as she watched the girl being crowned by the queen, her eyes filled with excitement, and she even shed tears.

He had the air of someone who was proud of their student's success, and Horace Slughorn was trembling with excitement. Judging from the upturned corners of his mouth, he probably wished he could stand next to Hermione right now and have someone take their picture so they could be remembered for generations.

"A crown?"

Amidst the excitement, some of the invited Muggle participants secretly frowned.

A crown is a symbol of royalty.

A crown is not required to confer a noble title.

Then, when the Queen spoke, the bestowal of titles made everyone gasp in astonishment.

She was granted the title of princess and the hereditary title of Duke of Hampshire.

?

"The Duke of Hampshire?"

"Princess?"

Owen and Harry spoke at the same time.

Hampshire is a county located in southeast England, bordered by the Solent to the south and Surrey and West Sussex to the east. Its capital is Winchester. It is one of the 48 honorary counties and one of the 34 non-metropolitan counties in the UK, and comprises the two boroughs of Southampton and Portsmouth.

The population is approximately two million.

Compared to London, Hampshire is practically the countryside.

But the main point is that this county, according to legend, was the capital of the Camelot dynasty, and some relics from the ancient Roman period still exist there.

Miss Granger's intention in bestowing this title upon her was undeniably malicious.

Now King Arthur has truly become the Queen's subordinate—well, I don't know if he's a subordinate, or a daughter or granddaughter.

"It seems we can't call Hermione by her first name anymore," Ron said. "We'll have to call her Princess Hermione."

"Why is that so strange?" Harry said. "The two words together have an inexplicable weirdness."

"Then you can call him Duke Granger," Ginny said, her eyes shining.

"Princess." Hannah couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and look towards the main seats. It has to be said that even in the magical world, even those who have been taught by wizarding culture have a special expectation for the title of princess.

"So what if she's a princess?" Owen said nonchalantly. "Queen sounds much better."

(End of this chapter)