Chapter 217: Hogwarts without Della - The Mist
This Christmas holiday was the same as all his previous holidays. Snape returned to his home in Spinner's End alone. There were only three things in his life: reading newspapers, reading books, and making potions.
In fact, according to the date, Snape should have written two letters to his nominal daughter, Della Riddle, who is now generally believed to be the descendant of the Dark Lord, during this holiday. However, this girl, who, as far as Snape knows, is not close to the wizards of Country Y at all, has an unexpected empathy that can be called "naive".
Della told Snape that they could send two fewer greeting letters during the holidays, saying that 'Angel shouldn't work during the Christmas holidays'.
Usually, there was only one sentence in Snape's letter to Della, and the same was true for Della's reply to Snape. Most of the time, it was various expressions of "I know, thank you for your concern."
Della's reply letter would undoubtedly be placed on Dumbledore's desk. Perhaps Della knew this, so she didn't reveal anything in the letter.
Snape didn't know if Dumbledore had any other channels of information. Like the increasingly anxious Death Eater remnants in the country, he knew nothing about the so-called actions of Miss Riddle.
Precisely because he knew nothing, he could not reveal anything in the letter.
The mist called Della Riddle enveloped them.
But Snape didn't care much about the fog in front of him. Ever since Sirius escaped from Azkaban, the thing Snape wanted to do most was to take revenge on him.
Without that leak, Lily wouldn't have...
It's ridiculous. He became Dumbledore's spy for everything, but Dumbledore's spy made him lose everything.
The Christmas holidays were almost over, and Snape planned to keep a closer eye on Lupin and Potter in the new semester. One of them must be the reason why Sirius came here, and judging from Sirius's behavior on Halloween, it was very likely that Harry Potter would be his target.
......
Well, you really picked a good godfather for your son, Potter.
"Goo-Goo."
As Snape sat by the roaring fireplace, absentmindedly reading the new issue of the Daily Prophet, a black-gray owl flew in, hooting and flapping its wings, threw a letter into Snape's legs, and immediately flew away.
Snape frowned, and when he picked up the letter and saw that the sender's address was the Ministry of Magic, his frown deepened.
He used to have private interests with some people in the Ministry, but after the Nanny case, the Ministry of Magic underwent a power structure adjustment. At present, his interest connection with there has been completely cut off. Even before, Jobifer would only contact him using a private address.
Snape opened the letter and began to read. Oh, it was an invitation from the Ministry of Magic inviting him to attend the education program meeting this afternoon.
The Christmas holidays were almost over, and it was normal for the Ministry of Magic to hold an education meeting with the people in charge of Hogwarts before the new semester. However, as far as Snape knew, only the headmaster would be invited to this meeting, and there had never been a precedent of inviting the dean.
How come, because of Della Riddle, his status as an adoptive father has also risen?
Snape did not like the concept of a father's status being based on his daughter, and felt a sense of masked injustice; he had his own reputation and did not need Della Riddle to help him "go further."
But Snape had no other choice. Dumbledore advised him not to show any dissatisfaction with Della, so Snape went to the meeting in the afternoon "flattered".
When they arrived, the round table in the conference room was already full of people. Minister Fudge sat at the main seat, and Dumbledore sat at the second seat. There was only one empty seat to Dumbledore's left.
Snape and Dumbledore nodded and walked over. As soon as he sat down, Cornelius Fudge, who had fluffy white hair, spoke to him.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Snape," Fudge said with a kind face. He smiled at Snape, his face full of wrinkles, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which were full of scrutiny and fear. "Today I want to discuss with your school the plan for introducing a new project to the campus."
new project?
Snape didn't hear anything, but facing Fudge's unfriendly gaze, he suppressed his surprise and spoke in a low and slow voice as usual, as if he had expected this. "If everyone is here, then you can speak, Minister Fudge."
Fudge looked at Snape, suspicion in his eyes almost solidified. He didn't speak for a long time until Dumbledore reminded him. Then Fudge smiled stiffly and politely, and finally started the meeting.
"At the end of December, the Ministry of Magic of Country F launched an exhibition called 'Gold and Silver Letters'..." Fudge introduced the two school representatives to the situation that had been discussed many times in the ministry. As he began his speech, a silver smoke rose from the center of the round table, then became larger and thinner as if it was flattened, and slowly enveloped the entire conference room.
The scene on the day of the exhibition was faithfully displayed before everyone's eyes. No matter how many times they watched it, the members would be amazed by those works that were almost epoch-making. Snape also slightly widened his eyes. He was also amazed by the works, but not only by the works. He actually heard Fudge say, "The Ministry has passed the Technology Introduction Act, and is ready to fully apply it in the Ministry of Magic and even the wizarding world of Country Y."
A bill that almost subverts the traditional communications industry was passed in less than twenty days?
You should know that the Muggle Protection Act, which was widely publicized last year, took a full five years from the time it was first proposed to its final passage. Even ordinary changes to general management regulations almost always require a slow approval process of two months.
This is no longer a question of efficiency. It is obvious that various forces in the department have engaged in a struggle, and judging from the shortest approval time that can be recorded, one side has won a great victory.
And was Minister Fudge, who finally gave his nod to the bill, a participant in this struggle, or did he find himself a bystander who held great power but had no control over the outcome?
How much involvement did Della Riddle have in this?
No one knew, not Snape, not Dumbledore, all Dumbledore knew was that he couldn't allow anything that might have other uses into Hogwarts.
Dumbledore's refusal was expected. Several people at the round table expressed their opposition to Dumbledore symbolically, and Fudge tried to appease both parties very skillfully. However, when he spoke, his eyes were always glancing at the silent Snape, trying to find some clues on the face of Riddle's adoptive father.
What did Fudge want to see in Snape's face?
Certainty or doubt?
He couldn't explain it clearly, after all, both expressions could be interpreted as bad things.
Because no matter how much power Della Riddle had developed in Country Y, her career of unknown nature officially began at this moment.
The mist called Della Riddle will soon quietly cover every corner of the wizarding society.
What is even more frightening is what lies behind the fog.
Will it be light, or abyss?
Dumbledore was also thinking about this problem and he also had no idea. In the past, he could observe and guide Della's growth, but now he didn't know what new knowledge Della had learned, what new people she met, or what new ideas she had after leaving Country Y. He could only let this dangerous genius grow wildly outside.
Tom Riddle had similarly disappeared, only to return fully formed as Voldemort.
Dumbledore was worried about the future of the wizarding world, worried about his students, and worried about Della.