Chapter 235: The Second Type of Riddle
Sadolin and Dmitri, who came back in the middle of the night, were taken to two separate conference rooms. Maggie wanted to use Sadolin as a tool to establish her authority, and Della wanted to solve the trouble of Dmitri.
Because the two people handled the situation differently, everyone gathered in Maggie's conference room, while Della had a one-on-one meeting with Dmitry in another conference room.
"I didn't expect that I would be talking to you at this time." Della looked at the silent Dmitri sitting opposite her. She tapped her fingers on the table twice, making a crisp "dong dong" sound. "Your views are very radical, but I thought you were a person who knew your limits."
"..." Dmitri opened his mouth, and countless things flashed through his mind. He wanted to tell Dela Sadolin that she recognized their cause, and how happy Dela Sadolin was in this one and a half months of freedom. But in the end, he said nothing, and only said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken Sadolin out."
"An apology is necessary," Della's expression did not change, and her voice did not fluctuate. She continued to speak in her usual calm voice, making it seem that the matter was not so serious, but her words were merciless. "But unfortunately, an apology cannot offset the impact you have caused, nor will it reduce your punishment."
"Punishment?" Dmitri looked at Della anxiously, but he was not anxious for himself. "Will Sadolin be punished too? I took her out. Don't make her feel bad."
"I'll probably get a lecture," but Maggie's words might be more severe than the most torturous torture. Looking at Dmitri's relaxed body, Della sighed inwardly and stopped talking. She turned to ask about Sadolin's situation, "I heard Sadolin can already read and write. Did you teach her?"
"Sadolin is willing to learn," Dmitri smiled slightly when he mentioned Sadolin. He didn't worry about the punishment he would receive. After all, it was what he deserved. "She also learns very quickly and is a very good student."
Looking at the smile on Dmitri's lips, Della raised her right eyebrow slightly and then frowned fiercely. She confirmed the ambiguity between the two and felt unhappy that Dmitri approached Sadolin during her ignorant period.
Sadolin doesn't understand anything yet. She is such a simple and innocent child, and is not yet suitable for emotional contact.
So, when is it appropriate for Sadolin to get in touch with emotions?
After thinking about this, Della realized that she was not as good as Dmitri. At least in Dmitri's eyes, Sadolin was studious and dynamic, while she only had the impression that Sadolin was ignorant, and she had never taught her about this obvious shortcoming.
This is obviously what she should do.
Della narrowed her eyes, and the guilt that surged in her heart squeezed out her unhappiness towards Dmitri. "I saw the book "Mud, Dirt and Land" in her room. Did you read it with her? Does she like the book?" She asked, wanting to know more about Sadolin's situation.
"Sadolin always listens very carefully and asks a lot of questions." Dmitri did not answer the question directly, but still had a faint smile on his face. "I have always wanted to take her to the base outside our organization to have a look-"
Dmitri stopped talking at this point, and the smile on his face disappeared. Not only did he not take Sadolin to their base where they at least had no worries about food and clothing, he also showed the cruelty he faced to that innocent girl.
"Where did you take her today?" Della noticed that something was wrong with Dmitri. She originally thought that the two of them went out on a date somewhere, so she had no intention of asking. But seeing Dmitri like this, she had to ask.
"My motherland." Dmitri's throat choked and he spoke word by word.
"E Ross..." Della murmured, not thinking that there was anything special that needed special attention in this country.
In the English and French Muggle newspapers she had read, there were only some comments on the transformation of E Ross. The occasional text describing the current situation of the people became evidence of the challenges faced by the democratization process. Della did not know the real situation of that country, so she did not think that there was anything special that needed special attention in this country.
"Why take her there?" Della asked Dmitri, who was confused.
"..." Dmitri was silent. He lowered his head, and his throat became more choked. After a long while, he replied in a muffled voice, "I want to show her what I am doing."
"Go to E Ross?" Della felt that this didn't make any sense. "If I remember correctly, the flag of your organization is the red flag of the S League."
She only said this much, and Dmitri heard the second half of Della's sentence - in a place where the red color disappears and other colors are actively transformed, what can you see? Can you see how the past colors are dispersed?
......
Faith has collapsed, compatriots are living in dire straits, and even the glory of the past is being smeared. Yes, why did he take Sadolin there?
"It's the S League Red Flag. My grandfather changed it. He was a pure-blood wizard who participated in World War II." Dmitri seemed to be answering Della's words, but actually changed the subject. "He didn't use magic on the battlefield. He lost an arm and a leg in the Great Patriotic War. After retiring, he started writing books and then founded our organization, the Witches and Hemp Solidarity Alliance."
"Karkaroff told me about Leon Isaev, who was a professor at Durmstrang," Dela didn't mention that she had also read and even had no objection to Isaev's book "Mud, Dirt and Land". "And every year before his death, Isaev would use his former teaching status to allow his children of unknown ancestry to directly enter Durmstrang."
"Grandpa never got married. We were all orphans brought back, both Muggles and wizards. Muggles were sent to school, and wizards were stuffed into Durmstrang," Demetri smiled. "It was funny to see the headmaster holding his nose to get us into school."
"Orphans?" Della had never noticed this. She immediately realized that an organization that recruited people like this would not be small. She was a little surprised at the development of the Wu Ma United Alliance. "How is your organization now?"
"Since I took over the organization two years ago, I basically haven't brought back any new children." Dmitri's voice became muffled again.
"You?" Della did not hide the doubt in her words. Besides not believing that a teenager like Dmitri could support a large organization, she also believed that under normal circumstances, an organization with such a high level of perfection would not be interrupted to the point where a child would be responsible for it.
"It's just me..." Dmitri lowered his head, his face in his hands, his voice choked.
Yes, he was only a teenager and should not be the leader of a large organization. After his grandfather passed away, the organization was indeed taken over by other elders. At that time, Dmitry was just an ordinary middle-grade student in school with an impulsive personality.
Then, suddenly, the S League collapsed. A month later, his eleven uncles and aunts committed suicide. Two months later, the Muggle shops that could have provided them with food and funds went bankrupt one after another, and the wizards expressed their disapproval. Some more uncles and aunts died, and one of them was killed in front of the police. The murderer has not been caught and sent to prison until now.
Four months passed, and while Dmitri was struggling to maintain his organization with so many mouths to feed, three more people died. Their deaths were not glorious, and their bodies were covered with scars of "traitors". They were tortured to death. They violated the organization's agreement and wanted to gain benefits by leaking the existence of wizards or the organization to Muggles.
Two years ago, Dmitry was just a child. He had almost no choice but to finally look back at the campus that he had never cared about.
From then on, he really started to promote it, and the initial purpose of the promotion was just for the leather jackets that the students had changed out of.
Durmstrang fur coats are of very high quality and can be sold at a very good price in the Muggle world.
At the same time, Dmitri took the risk of using magic to bring some people to other places, forged their identities with magic, and let them work abroad. The money they earned outside of life would be sent back to the organization, and the wizards in the organization also began to earn Galleons in the magical world.
There is no point in working in the country because the money you earn is always decreasing.
In the past few years, Dmitry has kept a clean record of all private matters. He uses the money to buy food and clothes wherever he can, and brings them back to the organization to meet the livelihood needs of all children and the elderly. While ensuring their survival, everyone tries to save as much as possible to help others.
There was really little they could do to help, except to exchange as much durable food as possible at the barter market, and to try to give the highest possible price to the veterans who they saw reduced to selling their medals.
Their fellow men do not need charity, but they need to live.
"You're the only one? Excuse me, Isaev, but your words don't seem that firm." Della couldn't understand Dmitri's grief, but she could hear another negative meaning in his choked words. "Do you really believe in your cause and organization as much as you usually show?"
"...You have to stay alive." Dmitri lowered his head and did not refute Della's words.
He watched faith collapse, honor sold, and compatriots die. He gradually understood the collapse of suicides, experienced the chaos of social unrest, and finally even empathized with those shameful betrayers.
It has reached the point where it is difficult to live.
If there weren't so many elderly people and children in the organization who could not live independently, Dmitry didn't know whether he would be alive today.
Another reason why he can survive until now is that he has another identity and can rely on another society to survive.
But what was the point of the Muggle side of the League of Wizards and Muggles when he could only live on wizarding society?
Just seeing that scene once a month was shaking Dmitri's already shaky faith.
However, as long as you calm down, everything you see conveys another completely opposite message - you should never waver, and you should never put your destiny in the hands of others.
So Dmitri knew he couldn't waver.
But there are still so many mouths to feed, so many children who have no place to study, and there is no hope of ending the country's plight. He is really tired, very tired, very tired.
At this moment, Sadolin's necklace gave him a brief respite.
"Just stay alive? You want Sadolin to believe in something you don't even believe in?" Della frowned. She was disappointed with the Witches and Hemp Unity Alliance, an organization related to her favorite book. At the same time, she looked at Dmitri with a scrutinizing look, suspecting that he might have ulterior motives in approaching Sadolin.
"Rather, it was Sadolin who helped me strengthen my faith," Demetri sighed. He sat there, his body hunched over because of the movement of bowing his head, like a cold and hard sculpture. "Her last name is Slytherin, but she can approach our organization without any prejudice."
"She studied so hard, and she recognized us so much," Dmitri laughed softly. Although he was laughing, his laughter could not hide his distress. "Being recognized by such a pure person, doesn't it mean that there is nothing wrong with us, and we should not deny or waver?"
Dmitry has always known that a large number of students in the school who were attracted by his high-profile remarks were there out of curiosity, and he couldn't tell whether his high-profile attitude was more of a belief or a performance for the sake of survival.
But in front of the ignorant and pure Sadolin, Dmitry found the guiding significance of faith. Sadolin was getting better and looking forward to a better future, and such Sadolin strengthened his faith.
"Normally, I'm a very polite person and I don't like to expose other people's scars," Della shook her head at Dmitri, "To me, what you just said seems more like deceiving yourself."
"..." Dmitri still hunched his body, and only raised his head slightly to look at Della. He didn't say a word, and could neither refute nor confirm.
Because he didn't have a definite answer, the reality Dmitry faced shook his faith, but it also forced him not to waver no matter what. He was caught between hesitation and determination, but he was the maintainer of the organization who could not output any negative emotions.
He was really tired, and perhaps it was because of his tiredness that he brought Sadolin to the cruel reality he faced.
Dmitri wonders if Sadolin will be the final straw or the angel that strengthens his faith.
Sadolin was an angel, she would only ask in panic "what's going on here" instead of questioning everything he taught her.
Because it wasn't wrong in the first place.
His beliefs may have gone astray in the process of development, but they are not wrong at all and should not be completely denied by those sanctimonious people.
Dmitri had always had this understanding, but this understanding and his will were constantly beaten by the cruel reality, so that he almost forgot it, until Sadolin appeared. It was her pure to the point of illusion that brought back Dmitri's determination.
"I am not satisfied with your attitude of treating Sadolin as a refuge," said Della, who was very sensitive, although she could not understand the grief and entanglement in Dmitri's heart. She could correctly extract Dmitri's feelings towards Sadolin, "but you taught Sadolin language and reading and writing, and I must express my gratitude."
"Well, you have two choices, Dmitri." Della clasped her hands on the table and looked at the young man who raised his head with burning eyes. "The first choice is to disband your organization on campus and express your attitude. I can even stop restricting your contact with Sadolin."
"I will not give up my faith." Dmitri's eyes were gloomy. He did not even weigh the possible pros and cons between the two options and directly rejected the first option.
"Then you can go back tomorrow." Della was not surprised by Demetri's firm refusal. She just nodded slightly. "Your organization in school will be retained, but you will be suspended during the half semester that Sadolin has to stay in Durmstrang."
"I'm not an unreasonable person," Della continued, "I promise that you can go back to school in the fall to complete your studies."
"Can I..." Dmitri did not object to this punishment. He asked with a hoarse voice, "Can I see Sadolin again?"
"Okay." Della agreed straightforwardly. It wasn't that she had any sympathy for the two people who were forced to separate, but she knew Maggie's way of doing things very well.
Verbal education is just the beginning. It will be more deterrent to let the educated people tear open the scars themselves.
Even if Sadolin didn't ask, Maggie would ask Sadolin to say goodbye to Dmitri.