Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0577 Talks

The long-awaited first task of the Triwizard Tournament had finally come to a thrilling conclusion. By any measure, this tournament could already be considered a classic, filled with many memorable moments that would likely leave their mark on the history of magic for years to come.

But for the organizers who had spent months meticulously planning every detail, things were far from over.

The excited spectators filling the stands included many important and influential figures from various circles of the European magical community. Some of them, eager to return home after the exhilarating show ended, directly left the scenic Hogwarts school grounds by apparating. Others boarded the Thestral-drawn carriages to travel to Hogsmeade station, planning to catch the last Hogwarts Express back to London.

Of course, there were also many distinguished guests who chose to stay and continue the post-tournament festivities, and so a grand feast immediately began in the castle's Great Hall.

Thousands of candles hovered and floated in midair over the spacious hall, their warm, flickering light making the lavish decor and architecture of the castle's dining hall appear even more breathtaking and enchanting.

The four long wooden house tables were covered with rich velvet tablecloths and the hardworking house-elves in the kitchens below had gone all out, preparing a dazzling variety of dishes that that were both beautiful and delicious.

To properly welcome and entertain these guests, nearly all of Hogwarts' faculty and staff had been called upon and mobilized. Even the usually stern, and reserved Madam Pince, school's librarian, stood grimly next to the hunched, grumbling Filch.

However, curiously, not many of the school's young wizards and witches actually attended this sumptuous feast. They preferred instead to return to their respective house common rooms to energetically discuss and analyze the day's spectacular tournament task with their classmates. This was much better than having to smile politely and feast carefully under the scrutiny of a roomful of prideful adults with fake smiles plastered across their faces.

Among the four Triwizard champions, three of them were currently staying under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey in the Hogwarts hospital wing.

So, as the sole champion representative, Hermione had no choice but to politely remain in the Great Hall. This led to a loyal group of her fellow Gryffindors staying behind as well to keep her company.

"What did you just say?!" Hermione's surprised shout suddenly rang out piercingly, disrupting the overall harmonious, jovial atmosphere permeating the Great Hall. Several nearby heads spun to stare at her. "How could Freodom... and Sirius--"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Harry hurriedly gestured for Hermione to hush, while Ron beside him had a flabbergasted expression.

"Sirius?" Madam Bones took a small sip of her tequila. She turned and said thoughtfully, "I heard your student shouting Sirius's name just now, Bryan. What, did he also come to watch the tournament? But I didn't see him anywhere... Oh, wait, I guess he must have used his Animagus form to sneak in?"

Bryan smiled wryly and replied, "For my sake, let's agree not to deduct his already meager Ministry pay this time--"

"A salary alone could never hope to coerce or motivate him," Amelia said, shaking her head. "Although the once great Black family has fallen on hard times, the wealth still remaining to them in their Gringotts vaults should be more than sufficient for Sirius to live out the rest of his days in comfort and prosperity. Honestly, he certainly doesn't need to keep doing this thankless Ministry job that he clearly dislikes, does he?"

Amelia raised her glass goblet from afar to a jubilant Ludo Bagman in the buzzing crowd, then turned her head and continued speaking to Bryan in a low voice, "Nearly everyone who works at the Ministry is well aware of the real reason why Rufus has always disliked him. When Sirius escaped from Azkaban and fled all the way to Hogwarts, the Ministry mobilized nearly every single available Auror and Magical Law Enforcement officer. And yet despite all that, they still failed to catch him. Rufus was criticized for this humiliating fiasco by both Fudge and Crouch on an almost daily basis..."

Even as Amelia spoke, Bryan knew exactly what she was likely questioning in her mind - his true reasons for going to such lengths to insert Sirius into the Ministry. At the time, Bryan had only vaguely asked Amelia for her assistance with the matter, but did not provide any particularly convincing reasons for the request. As part of a substantive political alliance, these lingering questions inevitably created a twinge of discomfort in her mind.

The two tacitly strolled past the clusters of glasses-clinking well-wishers who continuously tried to approach them to offer toasts. They walked together towards the torch-lit Entrance Hall, and the clear night air and cold wind sobered up the two who had drunk quite a bit.

They walked down the broad stone stairs, crossed the moonlit grounds and headed in the direction of the Black Lake.

The pale, ethereal moonlight that reflected on the surface of the lake did not illuminate the depths of the dark waters. Instead, it somehow caused the Black lake to appear even more ominous and pitch-black than usual.

"There's something I think you need to know, Amelia--" Bryan shifted his pondering gaze away from the lake and looked out towards Hagrid's hut at the edge of the looming, swaying trees of the Forbidden Forest.

With a slight smile, he observed Hermione, Harry, and Ron quickly and stealthily crossing the lawns, running towards the light spilling from Hagrid's hut. Then he turned to Amelia, who was focusing intently on him, clearly waiting for his next words.

"Perhaps you'll think that what I'm about to share with you is ridiculous, or abrupt," Bryan began slowly, "but the unfortunate truth is, the one who people in this country have long feared like a tiger, not even daring to even mention his name... will likely return among us again before too long--"

The wind continued to howl mournfully in the background, but this howling brought with it a surreal sense of "stillness", as if the entire world had faded away, leaving behind only that haunting, ceaseless, monotonous gale.

"I'm sorry, Bryan, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand. If you mean--" Amelia stammered in shock.

It was hard to say with certainty whether the expression currently on Amelia's face was one of sheer confusion or of terror. Possibly both in equal measure. In any case, she looked up at Bryan Watson, who was half a head taller than her, her eyes searching hard on that calm face, seemingly trying to find some evidence of lies.

"--if you mean... You-Know-Who?" Amelia choked out in a fearful whisper.

Amelia's extreme reaction caused Bryan to sigh inwardly. Although Amelia's reputation for toughness was perhaps not quite as widespread or well-known as that of Barty Crouch Sr., her integrity and character far surpassed his.

Bryan knew that such a principled, upright witch would never shy away from bravely fighting against the forces of evil. Yet merely hearing him implicitly hint at Voldemort's return was apparently enough to leave this normally calm woman ashen-faced and at a total loss for words.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's him, Amelia--" Bryan said calmly as he continued to steadily walk along the pebbled lakeshore. After stumbling momentarily in shock, Amelia quickly caught up to him.

"You have to understand, Bryan, this is an incredibly, I mean INCREDIBLY serious matter--" Visible beads of nervous sweat rolled down Amelia's furrowed brow as her chest heaved with difficulty. "You're absolutely certain that this isn't some sort of tasteless joke? But wasn't You-Know-Who's power completely destroyed when he tried to kill little Harry Potter all those years ago? He... Oh, I know Dumbledore has indeed been constantly telling anyone who'll listen that he believes You-Know-Who will return someday, but still..."

Overwhelmed, Amelia couldn't speak anymore. Her overstressed mind was filled to the brim with flashbacks to the countless terrible atrocities and horrors that had occurred during Voldemort's last brutal reign of terror - riots, senseless assassinations, gruesome tortures, violent massacres, utter chaos, betrayals, everyone living in fear...

In today's overall peaceful Magical Great Britain, very few people ever willingly recall or talk about those dark days that had brought such widespread suffering and sorrow to so many with Amelia included. She had no desire to ever relive those grim times when one's own life or death was often not even in one's hands.

Bryan did not speak again immediately, just continued walking quietly by Amelia's side, lost in his own thoughts. He knew that Amelia likely needed some additional time alone with her whirling thoughts to fully process and digest this revelation. 

"Dumbledore has already reached some sort of consensus with you about all this, hasn't he?" After a long time, Amelia finally gritted out through clenched teeth. "You've indeed obtained substantive evidence that this is real? That this is actually going to happen?"

"Surely you must know, Amelia, that no one, least of all me or Dumbledore, would ever joke or lie about something of this magnitude," Bryan replied seriously. "We've discovered certain evidences and signs that, taken together, confirm this will really happen. And the time won't be too long, maybe only a few months."

"Well then, if that's truly the case--!" Amelia became increasingly agitated and distressed. "Surely it must be possible, I mean, if you and Dumbledore have already discovered the warning signs, surely you MUST be able to step in and prevent this from happening in the first place?! If the two of you join forces, then there's no logical reason... I mean, you should definitely be able to thwart You-Know-Who's plot to return, right?"

Amelia looked eagerly at this young wizard who was about only half her age, hoping for an optimistic answer, even though she had already guessed that the reply would definitely not be good.

"I'm so sorry, Amelia, but I'm afraid we can't--" Bryan responded in a regretful tone, confirming her worst fears. "Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we mustn't interfere….

There are multiple complex factors and reasons that I cannot explain at this time. Let's not talk about this right now. I'm sure you definitely understand that this matter must be kept absolutely confidential. I only told this to you now because I hope that you can begin mentally and emotionally preparing yourself for the dark days to come. After all, having the Ministry of Magic remain a functional, stabilizing presence will be absolutely essential once open war eventually breaks out against a powerful, ruthless enemy force seeking to overturn our entire way of life--"

After a long silence, Amelia turned to look at Bryan with a complex mix of emotions. She'd never imagined that she, who had originally come to Hogwarts just to support Bryan and maintain their mutually beneficial "political alliance", would hear such shocking, distressing news from him.

"So, after the Greyback incident, you deliberately chose to support me for the sake of today, right... But why didn't you go to Cornelius... Okay, Cornelius is indeed not suitable to lead the Ministry during wartime. Then what about Barty? You didn't go to him because he's not a wizard willing to have his decisions interfered with or questioned?"

Bryan had to privately admit that none of these prominent Ministry officials with substantial power in their hands were simple characters.

Bryan's deep gaze that blended into the night flickered. He smiled as he faced Amelia, his tone gentle, "I'm not a schemer, Amelia. I have no desire to control you, or to control the Ministry through you. I simply hope that once war begins, the Ministry can truly play some positive role for once by being open to constructive outside opinions and willing to note wise advice as needed.

Surely, you'd agree that's not an unreasonable request? And yet, as you pointed out, neither Cornelius Fudge nor Barty Crouch can clear even that low bar. As for those bureaucrats in the tier below them... they simply lack the necessary respect and authority to successfully lead the Ministry in such times."

"I am very willing to accept well-intentioned and sensible advice Bryan, even in state of crisis--" Amelia took a deep breath, "I agree to keep this dreadful news strictly confidential, otherwise it will probably cause panic and interfere with your and Dumbledore's plans. But since you told me, you must hope that I'll do something, right?"

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