One incident after another at Hogwarts finally made some parents unable to endure it any longer.
Even during this period, Gilderoy Lockhart would conduct pacifying propaganda activities in front of the public from time to time, but the frequent occurrence of incidents caused his propaganda effect to continue to decline.
Early the next morning, as nearly twenty student guardians came to Hogwarts and asked to meet Professor McGonagall, reporters from the Daily Prophet quickly got the news and rushed over.
It is foreseeable that tomorrow's newspaper will definitely not look good.
Of course, these parents are parents after all, and it is natural for them to think about the safety of their children. As far as this is concerned, there is nothing wrong with their actions and no one can stop them from taking their children.
Because of his feelings for Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall naturally tried to persuade him to stay. But even if the students are willing to stay in school, most of them cannot resist their parents.
In the end, eleven students from Hogwarts were suspended and three students dropped out, including five Ravenclaws who were injured in last night's incident.
Among the little wizards who are still recovering from their injuries, the more serious ones have been transferred to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries, while the less serious ones have been taken directly home.
To be honest, when the relevant report in the Daily Prophet comes out tomorrow, this number will definitely increase. As a result, there will inevitably be cracks in Hogwarts' good reputation.
After sending away the parents of the students with a forced smile, Professor McGonagall became obviously depressed.
Dumbledore had just died not long ago, and his public funeral had not even been officially held when this happened. Professor McGonagall suddenly felt deeply guilty.
She could clearly feel that the gap between herself and Dumbledore was indescribable.
As for Maca, Professor McGonagall actually knows it very well. Just by looking at the teacher's attendance sheet, she knew how much energy Maka had spent on the school and how much trouble she had quietly solved.
But Professor McGonagall knows better that no matter how capable and talented Maka is, she is still just a child!
To have a child running around and working hard, and even having to fight all kinds of darkness, Professor McGonagall's heart was almost full of unbearable. But if it hadn't been like this, I'm afraid Hogwarts wouldn't be in a situation as simple as a dozen students quitting school.
Seeing the parents leading their children, accompanied by Filch, towards the main entrance of the school, Professor McGonagall gave an extremely rare sigh.
"McLean, if you are tired, you can take a rest."
Maka, who was standing on the side of the castle gate, turned her head when she heard this and glanced at Professor McGonagall in surprise. Because he could hear the obvious gentleness in the other party's tone.
Minerva McGonagall, who had always been serious and tough, would not show her softness easily.
But to be honest, no matter how strong a person is, he will show weakness in certain situations. This is true even for someone as intelligent as Dumbledore, let alone anyone else.
Maka knew that Professor McGonagall must have been under too much pressure.
"Professor," Maka said softly, "I'm actually fine, I just try to work harder from time to time. On the other hand, it's very difficult for you to maintain the operation of the entire school. You have a heavier responsibility than me. too much."
He paused, then turned to advise: "Don't set too high goals for yourself because of Professor Dumbledore. That will only create more unnecessary pressure on yourself. Things are different now. Your burden must be heavier than Professor Dumbledore's."
"What we need to do now is for everyone to give their best - please don't put the entire Hogwarts on yourself."
Being a principal of a school with a long history and a global reputation must be difficult and walking on thin ice, even if there is an "agent" in front of the principal's name.
Maka couldn't do this kind of job, so he understood the weight of it better.
When Professor McGonagall was blinded by the pressure, Maka didn't mind trying to clear the way for her, because he could and could only do this.
"…good boy."
Professor McGonagall pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned her head and smiled at him, as kindly as an ordinary old lady. Then in the next moment, her face was covered with severity again, as if the glimpse Maka saw just now was just an illusion.
"McLean, I have worked hard for you during this period. However, the situation will definitely be more serious in the future. If there is any trouble again, I hope you can continue to work with me to protect this Hogwarts that belongs to everyone!"
"Of course." Maka nodded slightly.
"In addition," Professor McGonagall paused for a moment and then quickly continued, "it will be Christmas soon, and after the Christmas dinner there will be a holiday - Dumbledore's funeral will be held publicly during the holiday."
"Well," Maka immediately agreed upon hearing this, "Holding a public funeral is just to convey our confidence to the public. There is no need for all students to participate. After all..."
After all, this funeral would probably not be peaceful - Maka did not say this. But even if he didn't say it clearly, Professor McGonagall knew it all.
Proclaiming that Hogwarts is confident enough to resist foreign enemies will not only give parents a little peace of mind, but also show determination to the forces of darkness. In addition, whether Dumbledore is dead will also become a fear in the hearts of the dark wizards who intend to invade Hogwarts.
Because of this, although there will certainly not be any big-scale, vigorous all-out attack, small-scale testing will most likely be inevitable.
Not to mention Greenwald, at least Voldemort would never miss this opportunity.
After Maka chatted a little more with Professor McGonagall about the Obscurus last night, Professor McGonagall, who still had countless tasks to complete, left quickly.
Maka thought for a while, then went back to the campus hospital ward to accompany Luna.
Although he actually wanted to take Hermione to Rowena's secret island and try to persuade the group of elves to come down as soon as possible. But right now, he really doesn't want to leave Luna's side, because it always makes him feel uneasy.
Just like this time, even though he had been more or less vigilant from the beginning, he was always on guard against those refugee students from Greece. For this reason, he even deliberately avoided having too much contact with Luna, for fear that Luna would be targeted by some people with evil intentions.
But who would have known that, despite being unable to do anything, an irreversible tragedy almost occurred.
He didn't want to do this again!
Therefore, he decided to wait for Luna to fully recover before taking her to the island to meet the elves. As long as Luna stays by his side, that will at least put him at ease.
"...Aren't you going to do something today?"
In the ward, Luna was half-relying on the elevated pillow, looking at Maka with hazy eyes. Her words were still empty and free, as if what happened last night had nothing to do with her and she didn't care at all.
"Well," Maka smiled gently, "I feel like I haven't sat with you for a long time. I don't have anything to do today, so I'm just here to accompany you."
"Really?" Luna tilted her head, looked at Maka up and down, and said with great interest, "I heard that you went to the United States. Did you encounter anything interesting?"
"Of course, there are quite a few!" Maka nodded, "By the way, there is one thing you will definitely be interested in - I saw a Thunderbird over there!"
"Oh—" Luna seemed a little surprised, and even her dazed eyes became much clearer, "Then the wind must be blowing! They will create storms..."
"Yes, the wind is strong." Maka said with a smile, "It is said that they are close relatives to the phoenix, but except for the tail feathers, I really can't see how they are 'closer'? The thunderbird is bigger than I thought. The ones are bigger. According to me, they are at least not inferior to the fire dragon in terms of size... "
By the sunny window, Maca deliberately selected some things from a peaceful perspective and slowly shared them with Luna. Although the darkness he encountered was obviously deeper than the light, he was really unwilling to contaminate this pure-hearted girl with those disgusting people and things.
As the two talked gradually, time gradually passed by, and they seemed to have returned to the leisurely time they spent quietly together in the back of Lovegood's house.
…
However, Luna and Maka deliberately suppressed their gloom, while Hermione and the others were completely depressed.
Regarding Helen, Hermione felt very complicated. She obviously had a crush on that girl. When she learned that Helen had somehow become the murderer of her classmates, it took her a while to accept the fact.
But after she accepted it, she felt endless regret in her heart.
Maka was indeed right last night, when Hermione and the three of them quickly rushed to the foyer and had a brief encounter with Maka. And Luna, who was held in Maka's arms, was naturally noticed by them.
Hermione thought she would be jealous, but she realized afterward that her mind was filled with worry. Luna is a good girl. Although she often behaves strangely, her heart is undoubtedly pure and kind.
For a girl like Luna, not only could she not feel jealous openly, but she could not stop blaming herself for trusting Helen wrongly.
Harry and Ron somewhat understood Hermione's silence because they were also secretly afraid.
In the aftermath of this incident, the three little lions of Gryffindor House all fell into a low mood. It is precisely because they believe in the power of friendship that they have doubts about it.
Although Maka caused some misunderstandings at the beginning, at least the ending was good. But this time, what they faced was the fact that someone had truly deceived their friendship.
In this silence, Ron, who was also feeling heavy, suddenly raised his head.