Chapter 455 A New War Will Begin Soon (2 in 1)

Jon looked at the vial of golden sand in Dumbledore's hand and pondered as well.

"So in the beginning when we asked the current Voldemort to choose between the Crouch and Snape, it was actually a blind cat running into a dead rat? He didn't realise Snape's true significance and just gave him to us as an object to be discarded at will. It wasn't until later that he began to realise something had gone wrong."

Dumbledore nodded.

"The secret as to what exactly the previous Riddle relied on to gain immortality lies within this golden sand, and that's what Severus promised to help me to get, by fleeing back to Britain, using himself to lure out Riddle, and then helping us to get our hands on this vial."

"His request was to have you guarantee Professor Potter's safety?"

"He didn't make that request." Dumbledore said calmly, "Because he knew that this was something I would have done even if he hadn't said anything. The reason he was willing to help us in this way was really just that he thought that the situation was no longer as it had been before, that we were no longer only a bunch of bereaved dogs in the face of Riddle as we had been before, but that there is a real possibility that we can reclaim Britain. Snape, after he learnt that there was no way for him to gain Riddle's favour anymore and that there was no way for the agreement about getting the Death Eaters to stop hurting Lily to be sustainable. He chose to sell Riddle out completely because the only way for Lily to have true safety is if we win."

Jon had speculated this, but now he was just making sure of it from Dumbledore's mouth.

"And what are his demands?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, the smile gone from his face, leaving only a heaviness.

"Just the things he got on this trip."

Jon fell silent.

What did Snape get on this trip?

It was death.

Being able to die at Lily's hands was the last thing he asked for.

After finishing this conversation with Dumbledore, Jon left the Headmaster's office.

The vial of golden sand was naturally left with Dumbledore to have someone to study it without him having to bother with it so much.

And by now, Jon was truly free.

In the period after the Triwizard Tournament, there had been a brief peace between Witching Horizon and the British Ministry of Magic.

Both sides respectively occupied France and Britain, the two largest magical societies in Europe.

Similarly, the situation in the whole of Europe had undergone an unspoken change. Originally, before the tournament, there were still many magical governments that were actually very much in favour of Voldemort's side.

After all, his strength is proven, coupled with the theory of bloodline that truly impressed the hearts of the old moths of this continent, making those rulers, although they did not say so explicitly; They all intend to move closer to the "great gentleman".

This is still the case when Grindelwald has already integrated the whole of Northern Europe in advance, if he is still locked up in that high tower, then before the Triwizard Tournament, Dumbledore and their situation will only be more difficult, and even cut off 80 percent of their logistical support, as well as the lack of a path of retreat.

And after the end of this Triwizard Tournament, especially in the case of Voldemort actually agreeing to Dumbledore's unequal agreement that night, the Ministries of Magic, which were originally still leaning towards the theory of bloodline, gradually began to see the situation clearly.

They did not immediately show goodwill towards the Witching Horizon, because it was obvious that Dumbledore was not a threat to the other magical regimes, and they were now the maintainers of the existing order, while Voldemort was the builder of the new order.

Except that this new order that Voldemort is constructing lacks any semblance of sophistication.

So when Voldemort was dominant, they needed to come closer to Voldemort, because only in this way could these people become vested interests after the theory of bloodline became completely popularised.

And now that it has become a situation where Dumbledore is dominant, they naturally don't need to express anything, as long as they temporarily cut off the connection between them and the British Ministry of Magic, then when Dumbledore really gets the victory, they will just join in the celebrations.

Therefore, from the end of the Triwizard Tournament, the whole of Europe was in a kind of peaceful illusion.

As if the war or something has never happened, everyone on their own territories; you and I are at peace, but in fact, privately there has always been a dark current.

It wasn't just Snape who fled back to Britain and was eventually killed by Lily that happened during this time. Voldemort One, who regained control of his identity, also took advantage of this interval to carry out a major cleansing throughout the British Ministry of Magic up and down.

From Cornelius Fudge, who had been Minister of Magic for eight years, down to Percy Weasley, a regular assistant in the office, all of them were removed from their posts.

After fifteen years, Voldemort, who had regained control of his body, became extremely temperamental.

He was so distrustful of everyone around him that he didn't even bother to put on a bit of a disguise, killing two of his henchmen with his own hands who had been mildly concerned about his change in policy even before the Snape thing happened.

After Snape's incident, because of the Death Eaters' unfavourable performance, he even personally executed Nott, who was mainly responsible for this matter.

Now the entire British Ministry of Magic, almost everyone is in danger, they would rather not do things than make the slightest mistake, for fear of dying in the hands of their own lord for no reason.

As time goes by, Voldemort seemed like he was also getting more and more reluctant to show his face, in the two months just after the Triwizard Tournament ended, he showed his brutal methods and authority to his own men at a high frequency, but after Snape's matter, he rarely appears in front of the public.

In the background, there were few even among the Death Eaters who could see him in person, and it was always Barty Crouch Jr., who was and still is always deeply trusted by him, who was assisting him to remotely direct the operation of the Ministry of Magic in Britain.

Regarding this matter, Dumbledore and his side of course also got part of the news.

At the most core meeting within the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore stated in front of everyone that Voldemort was currently somewhat unable to take care of himself.

Dumbledore said in front of everyone that Voldemort is currently a little concerned with his own body. Voldemort, who now occupies ownership of the body, doesn't know the secret of his other self, who has been maintaining a vigorous vitality, and the reason why Voldemort is reluctant to see his subordinates, is because he has no way to continue to maintain his original youthful appearance.

Voldemort doesn't care about his appearance, what he really cares about is that his subordinates seeing him now actually start to become old, and that would unconsciously rise a sense of alienation within their hearts.

Voldemort number one is crazy, not stupid. He could naturally sense that the purebloods of Britain, at this point in time, had developed some not-so-loyal attitudes towards him.

He is now purely relying on his absolute strength to impose fear on them, once even this thing is gone, then there is no need for Dumbledore to fight his way in, the British Ministry of Magic will start to mess up internally on its own.

This point is not only seen by this lunatic dark lord but also seen by Dumbledore, who is far away in France.

So from the very beginning, Witching Horizon had no intention of letting this peace at the moment last long.

Dumbledore had clearly stated that before the end of this year, they must take the initiative to start a war, a war to counterattack their way into Britain.

Outsiders didn't understand why he was in such a hurry, but only those who knew the inside story knew that the reason for such a rush was because no one could guarantee whether or not the current Voldemort would continue to make Horcruxes to maintain his desire for immortality.

This is something that would most likely to happen.

After seeing Voldemort Two take back all the Horcruxes he once had and become incredibly intelligent and powerful, the present-day Voldemort One would surely still be a little wary of Horcruxes.

After all, it was fine when he didn't know at the beginning, but now that he already knew how much of an impact splitting the soul would have on a person's consciousness, no one would be able to carry on without a little psychological burden.

Even the half-mad Voldemort was the same, but later on, if the situation in Britain continued to deteriorate further, no one could guarantee it, no, he would definitely make this kind of move to quench his thirst, re-splitting his own soul to maintain the state of immortality and stabilise the situation.

If such a situation occurs, then Voldemort, who has another resurrection to rely on, will undoubtedly protect the newly made Horcrux even more thoroughly, and at that time, even if Dumbledore can defeat him, he will drag on hard in Britain like an undying strong man, a sticky plaster.

Then the situation will become what it was originally during the 1970s in the British magical world, which is obviously what Dumbledore and the others don't want to see, because compared to 20 years ago, there is not only just the madman Voldemort, but there is also a Voldemort II who is now rooting and hibernating in an unknown place quietly recovering his power.

Not only would this not make the situation better, it would turn this war into a protracted war, which is certainly a situation that no one can afford to accept.

Therefore, this war had to be fought before Voldemort began to recreate the Horcrux, making sure to eliminate any future problems once and for all.

After bringing this matter to light, of course, no one within the Order of the Phoenix or Witching Horizon objected.

After knowing that the peace at the moment would not last long, the entire French magical community was secretly preparing within, just as Iniesta had promised to Dumbledore at the beginning. Dumbledore had helped them to recover France, and they would also help the Order of the Phoenix to counterattack back to Britain as well.

This is the core of unity that Witching Horizon has been maintaining now.

But this latter war certainly didn't matter that much to the students of Hogwarts.

Now they are in a much better situation compared to the previous period of being in exile, not only do they have a stable place to learn, but they also don't need to live that kind of displaced life.

Naturally, they were all looking forward to the day when they could return to Britain, for only on that day would they be reunited with their families, and the older students, who had forgotten what their parents looked like, would be able to see their families again.

It wasn't long after Jon had returned to school that the summer holidays began.

It was only at this time that he was able to relax and be as free as a normal student.

Within the school, the original relationship between the students on the wagon and him getting along hadn't changed much, and Jon had never put up any kind of attitude just because of how much credit he had earned, but it was those pureblood students who had been brought back from the castle who, as soon as they saw him, would lower their heads and walk around as if they were trying to avoid some kind of plague.

These students who were still alive to live normally at Hogwarts were of course those who had been screened and really hadn't committed many evil deeds.

Even if some of them had some bad behaviour, at most, they were just like Draco, who usually spoke ill of the half-blood students, but rarely went too far, after all, the half-bloods knew how to be tolerant.

And even if they stayed in Hogwarts, they all had to do some reformative work, as well as a daily lesson on character and moral education that was added to the list at Jon's suggestion.

Lectures were useless in most cases, but if they were fused with the environment in which they were placed, as well as supplemented with some other means of education, then maybe they would be of some use.

Just as the other students in the Hogwarts castle were avoiding Jon, Draco, who had remained in the school for labour after the summer holidays had begun, actually approached Jon privately one afternoon.

This young lord of the Malfoy family had completely lost his previous high and mighty attitude at this time, and what he was wearing was no longer exquisite robes, but just ordinary school robes like any other ordinary student.

When he approached Jon, Jon was chatting with Cedric concerning the questions on Transfiguration.

"Gre, Mr Green, can I talk to you alone?"

Draco used honorifics, words that clearly never used to come out of his mouth before.

Upon seeing this, Cedric had the good sense to give Jon a quick glance, make an excuse and turn away.

This time, Jon also turned his head to meet Draco's eyes which were subconsciously engaged in avoidance.

"Say, we are the only ones here now."

"Have you, have you already travelled to Britain to make contact with my father?" Taking a deep breath, Draco asked the question.

He had been right next to Lucius when he was making the deal with Jon about keeping Draco safe, so of course he was well aware of the contents of the deal.

Jon didn't deny this.

"Your father also asked me about your situation here." Jon raised an eyebrow and said, "He's thankful that you weren't sent to the gallows, and even more thankful that he didn't take you down that crooked path with him in the first place."

As if Jon's words had stirred up a memory of an extremely unpleasant episode from that day, Draco's face became noticeably paler, but he persisted and gritted his teeth as he turned to Jon and asked.

"Do I have a chance? A chance to save my mum and dad?"

Jon wasn't much surprised by his question, he just looked at Draco calmly.

"It's not about whether you have a chance or not, it's about your parents, and whether they themselves are still willing to take such a chance. But from the contact I had with your father earlier, he looked like he wasn't too concerned about it."

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