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Chapter 1050: Owl Rain Strikes Again
🕑 Added 2024-03-12 06:58:25 +0000 UTCClassroom eleven, where Firenze resided, was rarely used. It therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom.
But at this moment, the classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light.
Firenze let them in, standing in the middle of the room, where there were no trees.
"Hello, Firenze!" said Evan, looking at the Centaur who had not changed much. "How did you come to Hogwarts?"
"Obviously, because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore... "
"I mean, what do the other Centaurs in your herd think about you coming to Hogwarts?" said Evan, looking at the shadow of a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest. "They wouldn’t agree easily, would they?"
"They have already banished me. They see my behavior as a betrayal of our kind," said Firenze. "This is not surprising at all. You know them, Evan, and you know what they think. I don't think they made a mistake in banishing me. Similarly, I don't think I made a mistake in coming to Hogwarts. According to the guidance of the stars, I should be here."
The Centaurs had been observing the changing trajectory of the planets all their lives, believing in the destiny foretold by the stars.
However, it was quite a stretch for the stars to guide Firenze to Hogwarts as the Divination professor; the stars wouldn't bother with such matters.
It was he who wanted to come here, being an unconventional Centaur interested in human civilization.
Of course, since he came to the castle, he was ready to pay the corresponding price.
Firenze, like other Centaurs, knew many secrets, but he never told them directly.
But overall, he was still relatively reliable among the Centaurs and was willing to help. Although he could not use magic, he had strong melee and archery skills.
They chatted for a while, and then Firenze told Evan that the Centaurs were losing patience with the giant Grawp.
He hoped that Evan would persuade Hagrid to abandon it. In his opinion, Hagrid was losing his mind and that kind of effort was useless.
Evan promised to talk to Hagrid, but Hagrid would definitely not give up. He was as stubborn as the Centaurs on this matter.
Not to mention, because Elaine wanted to make friends with Grawp, Hagrid was now in high spirits.
He’d even revealed Grawp's location and asked Evan to lead Hermione and Elaine over to see Grawp when they had time.
That evening, the topic in the castle quickly shifted from the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff to the ferocious Umbridge, poor Professor Trelawney and the new Divination professor Firenze. Only Evan, Harry and Hermione were looking forward to tomorrow morning's report. Elaine knew about it but didn't take it to heart.
She now wanted to see the giant wholeheartedly. The girl was very interested in big things she had never seen before.
On Monday morning, Hermione kept staring at the ceiling, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest newspaper delivered by owls.
She wasn't the only person eagerly awaiting the Hogwarts Magic News. Nearly everyone was eager to hear the latest news about the escaped Death Eaters.
Although many people had reported sightings of them, none had been caught so far.
Umbridge had prohibited the ordering of Hogwarts Magic News, but not many people had complied.
They found other ways to have it delivered, sandwiched between other items.
The number of owls every morning was so huge that it was impossible for Umbridge and Filch to check them all.
They only focused on the owls delivering mail to Evan, Harry and others.
"Oh, here we go," said Hermione, who had been staring at the ceiling since morning.
A black owl landed and brought the latest issue of Hogwarts Magic News. The headline on the front page was about the interview with Evan and Harry:
REVEALING THE TRUTH:
WE WITNESSED THE RETURN OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
Below the huge title was a photo of Evan and Harry.
Then, there were rows of headline summaries:
The Return of You-Know-Who and Its Impact
Dumbledore's Speech at the International Confederation of Wizards
Harry Potter Accuses, the Boy Who Lived Names Death Eaters Still Among Us
The truth about the Azkaban prison breakout
Facts Concealed by Minister Fudge, Loopholes in Ministry Management
What to Do in the Face of Danger …
Today's Hogwarts Magic News was a special edition about Voldemort, and it was substantial.
It began with an interview with Evan and Harry, and was followed by reports on Voldemort, Death Eaters, and the incompetence of the Ministry of Magic.
Hogwarts Magic News called on all wizards to recognize the truth and stand up to resist.
“Looks good," said Hermione, flipping through the newspaper quickly. "There's a lot of heavyweight news in it."
"It's really good, but I don't know how the reaction will be?"
This question was soon answered. Five minutes after receiving Hogwarts Magic News, the Great Hall experienced another onslaught of owls. Their number was astonishing, with owls crowded together like a dark cloud; and they kept pouring in.
All students, whether they had ordered Hogwarts Magic or not, immediately turned their attention to Evan.
They had seen this phenomenon once before, when the truth about Sirius’s incident was reported.
At that time, the entire Wizarding World seemed to have gone crazy. People kept writing letters to Evan and Harry until the end of the term.
But this time the number of owls was far greater than the previous one, and everyone knew that Evan must have done something again.
Imagine that scene, hundreds of owls rushing in at the same time, with more to come.
They kept squeezing around, fluttering down and jockeying for position, and each attempting to give Evan and Harry their letters first.
"I never thought I'd see this scene again. I thought once was enough," said Ron.
"These are all letters from readers; this report is a great success," said Hermione excitedly. She picked up an envelope and ripped it open. "Look, this person wants to believe us, he wants to believe that You-Know-Who is back!"
“Not everyone!" Harry had also ripped an envelope open and crumpled the letter absentmindedly. "This guy says that Evan and I are off our rocker. He recommends we try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo’s."
“This one’s in two minds,” said Fred, who had joined in the letter-opening with enthusiasm. “Says you don’t come across as a mad person, but he really doesn’t want to believe You-Know-Who’s back so he doesn’t know what to think now... Blimey, what a waste of parchment…"
"One of them is mentioning my uncle here," said Elaine. "He thinks the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet are very unfair, blaming vampires for everything, But since the Quidditch World Cup, he hasn't seen a vampire. Well, what this guy says makes sense, but I have always been here."
“Okay, stop opening them," said Evan, looking up at the owls that had covered almost the entire ceiling. He hurriedly pulled Hermione up. "There are too many; we can't open them all. If you don't want to be surrounded by owls and letters, leave now. I'll ask Dobby to help handle these letters.”
Evan and the others left, but the Great Hall had already descended into madness, and this was just the beginning. ...
