In the autumn of 1996, the British Ministry of Magic officially announced the fall of Voldemort and the victory of the Second Wizarding War.
A large number of Death Eaters became demoralized and became a mob, some scattering and some fleeing.
Some Death Eaters wanted to repeat their old tricks and pretend that they were under the control of the Imperius Curse and had no control over themselves; some wanted to flee overseas, looking for illegally sold portkeys, preparing to move their families to a country that was beyond the reach of the Ministry of Magic...
However, under the leadership of the current Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, these Death Eaters' plans have been unsuccessful.
As soon as she learned from Dumbledore that Voldemort had been eliminated, she promptly arranged for the Aurors to concentrate their forces to hunt down the fleeing Death Eaters. At the same time, she sealed off all underground outlets for the sale of portkeys in the country in order to catch any Death Eaters who wanted to flee overseas.
As for those Death Eaters who pretended to be under the control of the Imperius Curse in order to escape trial, they were personally interrogated by Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, and as an exception, Potion Master Damocles Belby prepared a truth serum to ensure that no evil Death Eater would be spared.
The Aurors' operation went smoothly.
After all, the most dangerous core Death Eaters, such as Rodolphus Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr. and others, had been captured by the Aurors in Voldemort's previous failed operations.
Bellatrix Lestrange, a capable lieutenant of Voldemort, was tricked by her cousin Regulus Black, and not only lost a Horcrux, but also herself.
The remaining Death Eaters had almost no power to resist the Aurors' full-scale siege, and were soon thrown into the courtroom on the tenth floor underground of the Ministry of Magic.
The war finally ended.
…
At the same time, Hogwarts was holding a grand banquet to celebrate the end of the war.
"Harry, look at that Malfoy guy, look how proud he is!"
At the Gryffindor table, Ron looked indignantly in the direction of the Slytherin table.
There, Draco Malfoy was chatting and laughing with others with a smug look on his face, talking about how wise the choice his father made was at that time.
Theodore Nott, who was originally in the center of the crowd, and Crabbe and Goyle, who had stayed away from Draco, were now hiding in the corner of the long table like a transparent person. They dared not say a word, fearing that others would notice them and spit on them, the Death Eater supporters, again.
"I don't understand." Ron said, "In the second half of the war, their family hid like turtles in the safe house that Professor Dracula built for them, but now they have become war heroes like us."
"But the information Lucius Malfoy obtained while undercover did help us a lot." Harry said hesitantly, "And have you forgotten? When we were lured to the Department of Mysteries by Voldemort, it was his sudden betrayal that changed the situation."
Ron was still a little unconvinced, and curled his lips and said, "I know all this, but..."
"Ron, no matter how much we don't get along with their family, their contribution in the war can indeed be called a war hero." Hermione interrupted Ron and emphasized.
Then, she glanced towards the professors' seats at the front of the hall, "Just like Professor Snape."
For a moment, Harry fell silent and looked at Snape who had returned to his professor's seat, wondering what he felt.
He vaguely remembered that during his years at Hogwarts, although he had many conflicts and countless confrontations with Snape, it was undeniable that Snape had saved him many times.
In the past, in order to avoid giving in to Snape, Harry always used the excuse that the Potions Professor was not a good person and resolutely went against Snape.
However, when the Daily Prophet published a list of war heroes in the Second Wizarding War, Harry realized that he was wrong, so wrong!
The list of war heroes includes young wizards such as Harry, Ron, and Hermione who took the initiative to participate in the war, Aurors who performed extremely well in the confrontation with the Death Eaters, civilian wizards who fought against the Death Eaters together with the Aurors regardless of danger, and Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, two undercover agents hidden among the Death Eaters.
It turns out that Snape is the most deeply hidden undercover among the Death Eaters. Not only is he not a bad guy, but he is one of the bravest people Harry has ever met!
"So his apparent badness is actually just an act?" Harry thought aimlessly.
At this moment, Dumbledore, who was sitting in the middle of the professors' seats, stood up from his tall chair and pressed his palm towards the audience.
The little wizards gradually quieted down and looked up at their headmaster.
"Good evening, everyone!" Dumbledore said with a smile, "Today is a happy day, isn't it? The war is finally over!"
There were loud cheers from the audience. Some little wizards were clapping wildly, some were screaming with joy, and some were crying with excitement and joy, burying their heads in the shoulders of their friends beside them.
The war affected such a large area that, although it did not last long, everyone was on edge. Now that the war is over, the tense situation in Xi'an has suddenly relaxed, and many people are crying with joy.
"Okay, okay, I understand everyone's happiness and joy." Dumbledore also smiled with some emotion, "So I decided to start a fireworks show over the hall!"
"Although the administrator, Mr. Filch, forbids students from bringing any joke items purchased from Weiss's Wizard Wheezes, I think it shouldn't be against the rules for the professor to bring them in person, right?"
He winked playfully at the little wizards.
As Dumbledore waved his hand towards the sky, four bright sparks of red, blue, yellow and green suddenly rose in the night sky above the magical transparent ceiling above the hall.
When the sparks rose to mid-air, they bloomed with a "pop" and turned into four badges made up of light spots. Four animals, a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake, bloomed in different badges - those were the emblems of the four colleges!
Then, an even brighter spark flew up to the night sky, and the next moment the four school emblems disappeared, they turned into a large emblem made up of four colors, with a capital letter "H" in the very center of the emblem - it was the emblem of Hogwarts!
The students in the auditorium opened their eyes wide and looked up to admire the beautiful and grand fireworks show.
Beams of sparks rose into the night sky. Many large colorful balls overlapped each other, shining brightly and brilliantly, and the night seemed to have turned into day.
After a while, they turned into gems inlaid in the night sky, and finally, they gradually turned into waterfalls of starlight slowly falling down, like a heavy rain of light, hitting the top of the auditorium.
These fireworks formed different patterns, recording countless frozen moments before and after the war.
There are scenes of young wizards bravely facing the Death Eaters, the excitement of the collision between the two groups of people around Stonehenge, the galaxy formed by the guardian gods, and the joy of the wizards reveling after the victory of the war...
Finally, a blindingly bright flame rose up and transformed into a huge light shield that completely enveloped the Hogwarts Castle. The space above the auditorium seemed to have become a sea of light.
"Oh my god!" Ron looked at the big firework with admiration and murmured, "Fred and George have always said that they want to build a big firework that can swallow the Hogwarts Castle. I didn't expect it to be successful..."
"They're both amazing," Harry said, nodding in agreement.
Dumbledore smiled and watched the lights in the night gradually fade away. He finally returned to the topic and turned to look at the young wizards in the hall.
"What a wonderful fireworks display!" He said with a smile, "On this joyous day, we are also happy to welcome a professor that we have been missing for some time-"
Amid the expectant eyes of the young wizards, Dumbledore pointed to Snape who was not far away from him.
"From tomorrow on, Professor Snape will be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts!" he announced loudly, "and Professor Slughorn will continue to be the Potions professor and concurrently the Head of Slytherin House."
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
The word echoed throughout the auditorium, and everyone wondered if they had heard it wrong.
Snape didn't care about the students' surprise. He stood up with satisfaction and raised one hand lazily towards the audience. It was obvious that he was in a good mood as he had gotten what he wanted.
Moreover, Voldemort was completely dead, and the curse he had placed on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had also disappeared.
In other words, Snape can continue teaching in this position without having to change someone every year.
"It's a good thing, actually." Ron glanced at the stage secretly, and then whispered, "Professor Slughorn is now the headmaster of Slytherin. At least Snape doesn't have the power to deduct points at will..."
However, before Ron could finish his words, Dumbledore's next words shattered his fantasy and even shocked the entire hall.
"There is one more thing." Dumbledore said slowly and firmly, "I am old, the war is over, and it is time for me to retire..."
"From now on, Professor McGonagall will take over as the headmaster of Hogwarts. As for the position of vice-headmaster, after discussion by the school board and all faculty and staff, it will be handed over to Professor Snape!"
Dumbledore said this as he stepped back from his chair, then pulled Professor McGonagall beside him to sit down in the middle of the professorial seats.
"Under their leadership, Hogwarts will surely have better progress and development!"
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