Chapter 84: Slaying the Dragon (Part 1)

"Enough playing around. Finish him," Grindelwald said, watching Voldemort, who was still struggling with the implications of Daniel's words.

"Alright." Daniel picked up his wand, ready to destroy the diary with Fiendfyre. But then he seemed to recall something and lowered his wand. Instead, he approached the basilisk's body, which was partially buried under rubble. With a wave of his wand, he cleared away the debris and then donned a glove on his left hand before prying out one of the basilisk's fangs.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Tom Riddle shouted desperately, realizing what Daniel intended. Unfortunately, as a mere spirit, he couldn't interfere. He could only watch helplessly as Daniel drove the fang into the diary.

As the fang pierced through the diary, Tom screamed in agony before his spirit dissipated completely. At this point, Tom had not yet begun to revive using Ginny's body, which would have allowed him to partially materialize and pick up Harry's discarded wand.

Daniel had chosen to use the basilisk fang instead of Fiendfyre for a couple of reasons. First, he wanted to see the fang's effect on the Horcrux. Secondly, he had a soft spot for Dobby, the house-elf who eventually sacrificed himself to save Harry. Destroying the diary entirely would have made it harder for Dobby to gain his freedom from the Malfoys. By keeping the diary intact, Daniel hoped he could replicate Harry's actions and help free the house-elf.

After Tom's spirit was completely eradicated, Daniel and Grindelwald checked the Chamber of Secrets. They then moved the basilisk's body to the central pathway and began disassembling it. The meat, teeth, blood, gallbladder, and even the venom were all valuable materials and ingredients. The gallbladder was particularly prized, given that this was a thousand-year-old basilisk, likely the only one in the magical world.

Since the basilisk's body couldn't be prepared like ordinary food, Daniel had volunteered to handle the creature to solve the problem and harvest its materials.

Once they had finished dissecting the basilisk, they returned to the bathroom, where Professor McGonagall and Snape were anxiously waiting.

"It's done," Grindelwald announced, summarizing the situation without mentioning the resurrection of Voldemort. Hearing this, both McGonagall and Snape sighed in relief. Despite his stern exterior and cold demeanor, Snape did care deeply about the students' safety, though it was hard for most people to see through his tough facade.

Professor McGonagall immediately left to inform the students, eager to quell their fears and prevent anyone from leaving the school out of fear. The founder of Slytherin, though a staunch pure-blood advocate, didn't intend to kill all half-blood wizards. The Chamber of Secrets was primarily meant as a deterrent to scare Muggle-borns away from Hogwarts, aiming to keep the school pure-blood only, much like Durmstrang.

Once McGonagall spread the news, the students celebrated, except for those from Slytherin who were displeased. She also cleared up any misunderstandings about Harry's involvement. With the basilisk dead and the Chamber exposed, there would be no more talk of a Slytherin heir. However, while the basilisk was dealt with, the Chamber still posed issues that needed addressing. Thus, the bathroom would remain off-limits. This wasn't much of a problem for most students, given that Moaning Myrtle haunted the place, making it unpopular.

Even Harry and his friends only used the bathroom as a secret hideout, not for its intended purpose. After all, who would want to use a bathroom under the watchful gaze of a ghost, even if she was female?

Using the bathrooms at Hogwarts was a test of nerve because of the numerous ghosts and Peeves, who often caused mischief.

Dumbledore soon returned from his trip. Learning that the Chamber had been dealt with, he also breathed a sigh of relief. Every Hogwarts headmaster, except those from Slytherin, had wanted to solve the Chamber's mystery but had failed due to its hidden nature. It was finally resolved under his watch.

The portraits of former headmasters in Dumbledore's office buzzed with excitement upon hearing the news. The Slytherin headmasters were displeased, but the others were jubilant. With the overwhelming majority against them, the Slytherin headmasters had no choice but to accept the outcome.

"Too bad these aren't real souls," Daniel muttered to himself as he observed the lively conversation among the portraits. Although they appeared to have their own thoughts and could converse as if they were sentient souls, they were merely a product of magic.

The magical portraits were created by specialized wizards before the headmasters died. As powerful wizards, they had a clear sense of their life's end. These portraits were enchanted to interact and move between frames, provided they were magical. Ordinary frames wouldn't suffice.

These portraits were invaluable for quickly transmitting messages. It was a portrait that had relayed the message when Ron's father was attacked by Voldemort, saving his life. Within a certain distance, their speed was comparable to modern communication methods like phones.

"Make way." As Dumbledore examined the diary, now damaged by the basilisk venom, an angry voice echoed from outside. Moments later, Lucius Malfoy stormed in, followed by his house-elf, Dobby.

"Quick on the draw, Fudge," Daniel thought, watching Malfoy fume. The issue with the Chamber had just been discovered and resolved, and here Malfoy was already causing a scene. It was obvious where he had gotten his information. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had once deeply respected Dumbledore upon taking office. But over time, he had grown increasingly dismissive and saw Dumbledore as his main rival. To secure his position and maintain his power, Fudge had aligned himself with Malfoy, hoping to leverage the influence of the pure-blood families to bolster his own authority.

Fudge viewed Dumbledore as his greatest threat to re-election, despite Dumbledore's lack of interest in the position. This drove Fudge to constantly undermine Dumbledore, unable to believe that Dumbledore wasn't after his job.

The power of a country's Ministry of Magic was immense, comparable to that of a president or king in the Muggle world. Other nations' Ministers of Magic wielded significant authority, and Fudge envied their unchallenged control. In contrast, he felt constantly overshadowed by Dumbledore and resented having to defer to him.

However, this time, Daniel's assumption was wrong. Malfoy hadn't gotten his information from Fudge but directly from Dumbledore. Both Dumbledore and Malfoy had been at the Ministry of Magic earlier.

Dumbledore did indeed have plans to run for the next Minister of Magic, aiming to reform the magical community from that position. Though he wasn't keen on the role, he agreed to do it for the greater good of the magical world, as per the plan Daniel and his allies had laid out.

"Do you know who this belongs to?" Dumbledore asked, pointing to the diary on the table before Malfoy could speak.

"No idea," Malfoy replied, his eyes momentarily flickering when he saw the diary but quickly regaining his composure. The current Dumbledore was very different from the one Malfoy used to know. There was no way Malfoy would admit to owning the diary.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been discovered. I'll be inviting the Ministry and others to discuss its fate. Do you have any other business here?" Dumbledore said, smiling.

"Hmph." Malfoy, who had stormed in angrily, now found himself speechless.

"People love to bully the kind-hearted," Daniel mused silently as he watched Malfoy's twisted expression. When Dumbledore was kind and uninvolved, everyone piled problems on him. But as soon as Dumbledore showed strength, they backed down.

In reality, dealing with Malfoy would be easy. If Grindelwald revealed his identity as the Dark Lord, Malfoy would instantly abandon his current master and cling to the new one, crying out for protection. The power dynamics between the two Dark Lords were vastly different, and Malfoy would undoubtedly side with the stronger figure. 

This was a classic example of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, a tradition in the wizarding world. During Voldemort's reign of terror, only the Order of the Phoenix, led by Dumbledore, dared to stand against him. The Ministry of Magic, on the other hand, was too frightened to act, mirroring the situation when Voldemort returned and controlled the Ministry.

But once Voldemort was defeated, the Ministry quickly took credit for the victory, marginalizing the Order's contributions. If it weren't for Harry's presence and the possibility of Voldemort's survival, the Ministry might have even claimed the kill as their own.

The existence of Horcruxes was something the Ministry likely knew about but chose to ignore.

After Voldemort's defeat, the Ministry threw many Death Eaters without influential connections into Azkaban, while those with powerful allies were often released under various pretexts.

In contrast, none of Grindelwald's followers faced persecution after his capture. They remained untouchable, their loyalty and unity deterring any action against them. The Death Eaters, on the other hand, were fragmented without Voldemort's leadership, making them easier targets for the Ministry.

Grindelwald's followers were a different story. They were cohesive and fiercely loyal. Anyone who dared to move against one of them would

 face the wrath of the entire group. Given such a daunting prospect, the wizarding world wisely chose not to provoke them.

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