"They were all brutally killed by Death Eaters in front of the asylum. Why didn't anyone..."
"It's normal, isn't it? The British wizarding world hasn't erupted yet. After all, too few people died in this wizarding war. Otherwise, how could everyone tolerate the Death Eaters' reckless behavior? They would have picked up their wands and fought them long ago."
Listening to the latest news on the Wizard Lookout Station radio, Kenneth couldn't help but speak up in the face of the doubts of his colleagues.
“Too few people died?”
This statement really irritates people's nerves.
Several people around looked at Kenneth in surprise, staring at him with an annoyed look as if to say, "How could you say such a thing?"
"It's normal for some people to die in a war. Can it still be called a war if no one dies? That's just a brawl. Sometimes people get killed in a brawl." Kenneth thought it was Albert's fault that these people were so childish. "It's just that Albert protected you too well. If we had frequent deaths like the Order of the Phoenix, I don't think you would have that look on your face right now."
"Do people often die in the Order of the Phoenix?" someone asked curiously.
"Most of the current members of the Order of the Phoenix have the last name Weiss. What do you think?" Kenneth's meaning was already very clear.
"The Defense Society is not the Order of the Phoenix."
"Yeah, that's why there are so many cute little ones."
Kenneth looked around at the people around him and continued, "I remember what Albert said: Either explode in despair or perish in despair."
"The British wizarding world is now gradually dying in despair."
"You should all be able to feel that, in order to protect themselves, most wizards dare not stand up and resist. They can only kneel down and silently endure the You-Know-Who's reign of terror and the Death Eaters' unscrupulous oppression. A small number of wizards place their hopes on Harry, but how can Harry, who fights alone, be a match for You-Know-Who?"
"So, you just give up on them? Give up on those 28 people."
"We didn't give up on them. They gave up on themselves. We did remind them." Kenneth looked at the girl and felt that she should not have joined the Defense Association. This place was really not suitable for her.
"But we can obviously help them. The Death Eaters attacked them outside the shelter. If we only..."
"We won't risk sacrificing members of the Defense Association to save a group of people who are seeking their own death." Kenneth interrupted bluntly, "Even if it's 1 for 28, it's a loss, not to mention that these are a group of people who are seeking their own death. They are not worth saving at all."
"you… "
"Honestly, I'm really curious as to why you didn't know that."
"Know what?"
"The enemy outnumbers us, so we must awaken people's courage to resist and encourage other wizards to stand up and fight the Death Eaters."
"But this is different from..."
"The best way to wake them up is blood." Kenneth's smile was cold. "We will not tolerate that while the members of the Defense Association are fighting the Death Eaters to the death, they will just stand by and watch silently, waiting to enjoy the sweet fruits of victory."
"Remember, this war will require casualties. As long as the casualties are not your own, then there is no problem. This is also the consensus of the members of the Defense Association, and I am surprised that you don't know this."
"So even though you knew they would most likely die after leaving the shelter, you just let them die?"
"We reminded them that it was them who... "
"Okay Kenneth, stop talking!" Cedric tried to stop the argument because he knew very well that not everyone was as firm in their beliefs as they were.
"I think you should make her face reality." Kenneth reminded in a strange tone: "Remember to tell Albert to transfer your girlfriend to handle logistics. It will be good for her."
"I will!"
"etc!"
Qiu Zhang tried to stop Kenneth, but the latter was too lazy to pay attention to her and left directly.
"We can't save them, and we can't stop them from leaving. Adults must be responsible for their own actions!" Cedric looked at his girlfriend who was taken care of too well by him and still had a naive look, and explained with a sigh: "I know what you mean, but the death of those people is not our fault."
"But what's the point of rescuing them from Azkaban if we let them die meaninglessly like that?" Qiu Zhang still couldn't understand. The deaths of those people were even within Albert's expectations.
"You think that way only because Albert is so powerful that you have similar thoughts," Cedric also tried to change Qiu Ke's ridiculous thoughts. "I know you think the reason they left the shelter is that the environment there is too bad, but you need to know how many people we have rescued. Even to live a relatively comfortable life at the headquarters requires a considerable amount of expenses every day. Where does this money come from? Have you ever thought about it?" Cedric asked back.
Qiu Zhang was silent. As a Ravenclaw, she was not stupid.
“Kenneth also contributed some money, although it was not much, but… you didn’t, not only you, but many members didn’t, they even ignored this issue and took it for granted.”
"So, I'm not qualified?"
"Yes, he is not qualified." Cedric said cruelly, "But that is not because of Garlon. From the beginning, the Defense Association has only protected its own people. This is Albert's intention and our consensus."
"consensus?"
"Yes, consensus."
"What about the others?"
"We are willing to lend a helping hand, but not everyone is willing to appreciate it, so as you can see, 28 people died." Cedric shrugged.
"But we could have prevented this."
"We will only warn them, but we will not risk the lives of our accomplices. Those who seek death are not worth saving. We will only watch them die silently. Even the members of the Defense Association are the same. Those who do not listen to advice and seek death will be abandoned by everyone."
Everyone around fell into a brief silence, and suddenly felt that the Defense Association had become very unfamiliar.
"The purpose of the Defense Association is to fight against the mysterious person and teach everyone how to protect themselves."
Cedric seemed to know what the others were thinking, and continued, “In the near future, we will all participate in the final battle between Harry and the mysterious man, and no one knows how many people will die in the end.
So, now you understand why Albert prioritizes protecting his own people.
Moreover, our limited resources only allow us to do that. For those bastards who just want to hide behind and wait to enjoy the fruits of victory in the end, we can give them a bite of food so that they don't starve. Unless you think we should rob Muggles to feed a bunch of parasites?"
The people around stared at Cedric with wide eyes, unable to believe that these words came out of his mouth.
"Remember to apologize to Kenneth." Cedric said seriously, "And I need to remind you, it will be even more cruel next time."
"What's the meaning?"
"The Death Eaters will take revenge. If they can't find us, they will only take revenge on the weak and vulnerable wizards in the wizarding world to vent their anger and fear." Cedric said contemptuously, "Perhaps, the families of members of the association will be affected, but if the Death Eaters use your family as a threat, will you betray us?"
"I have no idea."
"We allow you to do that, but if you do, you will be abandoned immediately!" Cedric reminded.
"give up?"
"Albert will erase your memory and implant some of your escape memories to ensure that the Defense Association's secrets will not be leaked. Of course, that may not be reliable, because the mysterious person has a way to dig out those hidden memories from your brain. Although it will cause that person to be completely useless, the mysterious person certainly doesn't care."
Everyone looked at Cedric in shock.
"Yes, Kenneth and I did it on purpose." Cedric actually admitted it directly.
"Potter's parents died because of betrayal. We must prevent similar things from happening again. Just imagine what terrible things would happen if Death Eaters attacked this village one night.
So don't think that's cruel, you need to get used to it. If you can't get used to it, the final result may be a tragic death, or the death of people around you. Of course, we also give others another choice, that is to leave Britain and stay away from this damn war, but members who join the Defense Association are willing to stay. "
Cedric paused, looked at everyone present and asked, "Does anyone want to quit the association and leave the UK directly?"
…
"It seems that you have convinced her?"
Kenneth appeared out of nowhere and walked side by side with Cedric on the way to the meeting room. "If I were you, I would temporarily tamper with part of her memory, send her away from England and hide her, and then bring her back after the war is over."
"Qiu is a smart girl." Cedric politely rejected Kenneth's proposal.
"There's no Hagrid to chop off their heads this time. I'm a little curious about what kind of outrageous thing those Death Eaters will do next?" Kenneth said it very easily, as if those things had nothing to do with him.
"How long do you think it will take the others to work up the courage?" Cedric ignored that.
"It's difficult, very difficult." Kenneth was not optimistic about this matter. "Even if Albert tried again and again, there would only be a few people willing to join us. And the number of people who really have the courage to fight against the mysterious man would probably be halved. I don't know how many people would die in the final battle."
"If those adults are unwilling to take responsibility..." Cedric didn't want to think about what terrible consequences that would cause.
"At least half a hundred students will die in the final battle," Kenneth sneered, "and some of them will cry by then."
"The situation is not as bad as you think. Our strength is gradually growing stronger, while the Death Eaters are weakening." Cedric murmured.
"We should now focus on the Death Eaters' subsequent revenge. Albert suspects that they may try to kidnap your family to threaten you to surrender."
"I actually envy Fred and George." Cedric felt that he probably couldn't convince his parents to hide.
Although the Weisleys all joined the Order of the Phoenix and joined the fight against You-Know-Who, it was actually safer that way, just like they had joined the Defense Society and were always well protected.
"There aren't many smart people in this world." Kenneth said meaningfully, "By the way, after the war is over, do you plan to move here?"
Cedric was stunned, probably not expecting Kenneth to suddenly mention this matter.
"Maybe... maybe!" Cedric wasn't sure. He had never considered something that far ahead.