Three days had gone by since the funeral of Lord Edmund Bones, and for a lot of people, especially those who were sitting at positions of power and responsibility, these three days had been the longest and toughest days to endure.
The storm that had been unleashed by the Dark Lord's attack on the Wizengamot had not yet calmed. The fear and horror it brought remained persistent in the air, and people knew it would be a long time before calmness and normalcy returned.
That was, of course, assuming the Dark Lord did not make another move. Given the immense daring he had already shown, no one was foolish enough to assume he would not repeat such an atrocity elsewhere.
But amidst this chaos, panic, and anxiety, there was one silver lining. One hope that people might have been willing to place their bets on. Albus Percival Dumbledore.
The way the Dark Lord had retreated in Dumbledore's presence gave the public hope and confidence that the Dark Lord might actually be hesitant when facing the Hogwarts Headmaster.
Perhaps Antonio Olario had been correct. Though he had painted a target on his back, it seemed he had not been wrong when he challenged the Dark Lord to go against Dumbledore. Dark Lord Might actually be fearful of Albus Dumbledore.
The presence of Albus Dumbledore was the primary source of optimism for the majority of Wizarding Britain. However, a small minority also placed their hopes in Antonio. The way Antonio had gone toe to toe with the Dark Lord had proven his strength. He had proven his worth. He had shown he was not all talk, but possessed the abilities to back it up. Despite the setback he suffered, they were hoping for him to return even stronger.
The Minister's announcement acted like a match tossed into a room full of gunpowder. By revealing the security breach while withholding the betrayal of the Unspeakables, he effectively threw the rest of the Ministry staff under the bus to protect the Department of Mysteries' reputation.
But even before the initial chaos had subsided, another storm was unleashed upon Wizarding Britain. This time, it had been triggered by the Ministry of Magic itself.
After receiving the nod from William Ilvagar, the Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum, revealed to the world how the Dark Lord had been able to seize control of the Ministry wards.
The only piece of information the Minister held back, at William's firm insistence, was the existence of a traitor within the ranks of the Unspeakables. The Minister had been reluctant to hide such a detail, but William had assured him that it was a one-time failure that would never be repeated. He guaranteed that he would act and no traitor would be left among them.
William argued that if the truth were revealed, public trust in the Unspeakables, the last protective barrier of Wizarding Britain, would crumble, which would serve no one. And given how things already were, this was not a thing they should do. Reluctantly, the Minister had agreed to the proposal.
The public, on the other hand, was unable to believe that a group of people had invaded the Ministry, walked to its lowest floor, and seized the Keystone without anyone noticing. Was the security in the Ministry truly so lax? It sounded almost laughable. Absurd. Unbelievable. But they were forced to believe it. The Minister himself was making the announcement.
While all of this was happening, there was one place in Wizarding Britain that was much less affected by the political storm. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There were two reasons for this.
The first was that the school was almost isolated from the outside world. Apart from the newspapers and the occasional letters students received from their families, there was no other way for them to become entangled in the outside chaos.
Although they had heard about the attack on the Wizengamot, they did not fully realize the massive wave of unrest it had caused in the world beyond the gates.
The second reason, and probably the bigger reason, was the presence of Albus Dumbledore. In such times, his presence in the school provided a sense of relief and confidence that no one else in the world could have given. His presence ensured that calm prevailed within the school, allowing it to run as smoothly as ever.
Minerva was sitting in her room, her mind constantly wandering back to Antonio. He had taken Lily for training six days earlier, and tomorrow was the day he was scheduled to take her for her next session. But she was not sure if he would come.
Since the day of the funeral, when she had last seen him, he had almost vanished from the face of the earth. Although she, too, lived a mostly isolated life in Hogwarts, she kept her eyes on the outside world, and Antonio was missing from it.
She did not know if he would ever continue what he had promised. If it had only been about training Lily, she could have managed it through some other method. But her plan had focused on Lily's future, and it depended heavily on Antonio, and she could only hope that he would continue to hold to his word.
She had already paid a part of the agreed price, having repaid one of the three favors. In truth, it did not matter. Even without the favors, she would have stood against the Dark Lord. But a deal was a deal, and she expected, for Lily's sake, that he would continue the training.
A knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Professor," a feminine voice came from outside. "It is me. Lily."
"Lily!" Minerva remarked, her voice tinged with surprise. "Come in."
Lily pushed open the door and entered. Her face was serious and stern, and Minerva could already guess why she was there.
"Have a seat, Lily," Minerva said.
Lily nodded and took her seat.
"Professor," she said, taking a deep breath, "I am here to talk about something."
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