Chapter 164: Ending
This discovery caused Dumbledore's frown to deepen. Something wasn't right. Had he misjudged the situation? Was Richie's death not the result of an Unforgivable Curse after all?
Though puzzled, Dumbledore knew that his immediate priority was to get Phineas to the hospital wing.
In truth, the Hogwarts infirmary would have sufficed. Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the school matron, was no less skilled than any Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. In fact, she had already been the matron back when Snape and his classmates were students. Only highly complex or rare magical injuries ever necessitated a transfer to St. Mungo's—cases like Animagus transformations gone awry, which even St. Mungo's struggled to treat.
Still, Dumbledore chose to send Phineas to St. Mungo's, intending to use the situation to exert pressure on the wider wizarding community.
Although he disliked politics, Dumbledore was far from ignorant of its mechanics.
A member of the Nott family—Sakaski Richie—had died on school grounds. Regardless of his motives, the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors would surely seize this opportunity to challenge Dumbledore's authority. But if a member of the Black family had also been attacked, that would change the narrative.
Particularly since Phineas could testify that Richie and Nott had ambushed him first—and that Nott had died at Richie's hands.
This would throw the entire situation into political chaos. The Council of Elders would be forced to intervene. While the death of a single heir from a Consul family might not provoke much concern—such families always had more than one heir—the Black family was a notable exception. An attack on Phineas would be interpreted as an attempt to eliminate the Black family altogether. And Richie, a member of another Consul family, would be the one held responsible.
This effectively exposed an internal conflict among pure-blood factions within the Council of Elders, and the Ministry of Magic would seek to distance itself from the matter, shifting blame and avoiding Dumbledore's removal.
Dumbledore understood that his choices would create ripples, possibly leading to deaths and political upheaval—but compared to the threat of Voldemort, such concerns were negligible.
He had no intention of leaving Hogwarts before Voldemort's return was dealt with—especially with Harry Potter enrolling the following year.
Phineas was taken to a private room at St. Mungo's. A contingent of Aurors stood guard outside, ensuring no further harm would come to the heir of the Black family.
Everyone in the magical world knew of the Black family's rift with other pure-blood houses.
Given that St. Mungo's was under the Ministry's jurisdiction, any incident involving Phineas there would be seen as a direct failure by the Ministry. Reputations would be ruined, and numerous officials would face disciplinary action.
Phineas, for his part, was happy for the reprieve. He didn't need to worry about his safety, and he had proper care—though he was more accustomed to being served by house-elves.
Most importantly, his injuries and status allowed him to rest without being interrogated.
Dumbledore had told him not to worry about schoolwork. Having saved Hogwarts, slain a transformed Nott, and thwarted Richie's plan to harm numerous students, Phineas was awarded O grades in every subject. No exams required.
It helped, of course, that every professor who taught Phineas knew he would've earned those grades anyway. Better to reward him openly than waste his time.
He even received a Special Award for Services to the School—like the one Tom Riddle had once earned. His name now sat proudly in the trophy room's display cabinet. Or perhaps it would one day be defaced with slug-vomit. Either way, history had taken note.
During his recovery, Dumbledore visited once to ask about the events in the Chamber of Secrets—how Phineas had encountered Richie and Nott, and what had transpired afterward.
Before leaving, Dumbledore extracted a copy of Phineas's memory of that night.
Naturally, the memory had been subtly altered by Phineas's system. Any actions involving the system were automatically masked. The final version simply showed Phineas using his wand to defeat Richie before losing consciousness—exactly the story he wanted everyone to believe.
Phineas understood why Dumbledore had requested it.
The Pureblood Council had no doubt begun its investigation. Two Consul families and an Oath family were involved—such matters could never be ignored.
Moreover, the Nott family's secret lineage—descendants of gods—had been exposed.
The Council had no tolerance for secrecy in divine matters. The knowledge the Nott family had hoarded was precisely what the Council sought.
While Phineas continued to recuperate, news arrived that every direct descendant of the Nott family had vanished. Only one distant branch remained—and that branch, being close to the direct line, was expelled from the Oath families.
Of course, the Council publicly forbade any action against remaining Nott family members.
As for the direct heirs, no statements were issued—but the other Oath families could guess what had happened.
Phineas was sure they had been detained by the Council.
If the Nott bloodline truly held the key to godhood, then they would be studied, interrogated, and possibly used.
He also heard that while the Nott family's businesses still operated, their library and magical heritage had all but vanished. Only publicly known texts remained.
The Council was erasing every trace of the Nott family's connection to the divine.
Phineas could only sigh inwardly. These events, while momentous, were out of his hands.
He'd spent half a year recovering in the hospital. He didn't believe the Council had left him untouched. And with Hogwarts on summer break, he fully expected the Council's agents would come calling before term began.