Snape said nothing more. He looked at Dumbledore and suddenly felt that the entire wizarding world had that precarious feeling again.
Would ten years of peace be broken once more?
What was different about this time compared to before?
From Grindelwald to Voldemort, and now to the present, it seems that in every era there was always someone who would stand up and unleash a catastrophic revolution.
So this time, would it be Voldemort's resurrection and return, or would that Night Emperor be even more formidable?
No one knew the answer.
Not far away, Dudley glanced in the direction of Dumbledore and Snape. These two had not only shielded their surroundings but had even deliberately avoided Dudley, leaving him without even a chance to read their lips.
"How cautious indeed," Dudley thought to himself.
However, he had no interest in what these two were discussing. As long as they dealt with Quirrell, that would be enough.
After a while, the Great Hall's doors were pushed open with a bang. Professor McGonagall flew in from outside.
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, it was terrible! What on earth happened in the castle?"
Professor McGonagall's usually immaculate hair was disheveled, making her look somewhat haggard. Her robes also had several tears, clear marks from being whipped, though no wounds were visible—they had probably been treated already.
"Minerva, calm down. The matter has been resolved," Dumbledore said.
"Professor Dumbledore, I don't understand. What was that prohibition about? Did you create that rule?" McGonagall asked with some agitation.
Many people in the castle had been injured. Quite a few students had been whipped because they hadn't returned to their common rooms in time. Among them, several students had panicked and run around after being injured, resulting in extremely severe punishments. This was no longer a prank—it was seriously threatening the lives of everyone in the school.
"This was ancient magic of Hogwarts. I don't know what triggered it. The problem has been resolved now. We just need to wait quietly for the magic's power to dissipate," Dumbledore said calmly.
Snape glanced at Dumbledore. That lie was delivered without leaving any trace.
"Is that so?" Professor McGonagall finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Just as she was about to say something, her gaze suddenly shifted, and she saw Dudley sitting on a chair not far away.
"Mr. Dursley? How are you here?" Professor McGonagall looked at Dudley incredulously.
"Uh, Professor McGonagall, well... it's a long story..." Dudley stood up, scratching his head, not knowing how to answer McGonagall's question.
"Your Gryffindor lion is quite impressive. He just killed a troll in the dungeons—an adult one!" Snape said sarcastically.
"Oh! My goodness!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, covering her chest. If these words hadn't come from Snape's mouth, she definitely wouldn't have believed them.
"Is this true, Mr. Dursley?" McGonagall asked in disbelief.
Dudley's mouth twitched slightly. He glared at Snape and said, "Yes, Professor McGonagall, but some other things happened in between. I had no choice."
"Minerva, this matter is somewhat complicated, but Dudley was also helping his classmates, which is understandable," Dumbledore stepped forward to speak.
Professor McGonagall looked at Dudley. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Should she praise Dudley for being impressive, or should she ask why he always seemed to be present wherever incidents occurred?
"Professor Dumbledore, you're here! That's wonderful." As they spoke, Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw, flew in from outside, calling out loudly. Immediately after, several other Professor also arrived.
This Halloween night had been truly spectacular. Many people would probably never forget it for the rest of their lives.
Dumbledore briefly explained the course of events to everyone, still using the story about ancient magic. However, no one doubted this explanation, since anything could happen in Hogwarts Castle.
"So now we just need to wait for that magic to disappear?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"That's right," Dumbledore nodded.
"About how long?" Flitwick asked.
"About another half hour." Dumbledore looked at the time and made an estimate.
"To be precise, there are still twenty-seven minutes left," Dudley said to himself.
Fortunately, the trouble caused by the Trunsoest Brass Book this time hadn't spread too widely and hadn't caused serious consequences. Otherwise, Dudley would have become the culprit.
The only problem Dudley was worried about now was whether the Trunsoest Brass Book would continue to have problems in the future. Especially whether it would activate again after the one-hour countdown ended.
Because according to the information Dudley knew, if the Trunsoest Brass Book wasn't completely sealed, it would erase all previous rules after the "The following rules are invalid" clause appeared and begin formulating new rules again. If such a thing happened, it would truly be endless.
Time passed minute by minute. When the one-hour countdown arrived, Dudley's nerves tensed up.
"The rules have disappeared," Snape's voice came from the entrance of the Great Hall.
The yellow notice that had been posted there directly faded and disappeared, as if it had never appeared at all.
"I don't sense any magical aura," Professor McGonagall said with a frown.
"No dark magic aura either," Snape said.
Then Snape descended from the air to the ground and tentatively took a step. No punishment occurred.
"It's over now." Everyone who saw this scene breathed a sigh of relief. This included Professor Dumbledore as well. Although he had sensed the changes in the castle, he couldn't guarantee that his judgment was definitely correct.
In the Great Hall, Dudley sat tensely in his chair, reaching his hand into his inner pocket and grasping the Trunsoest Brass Book. He could clearly feel the slightly cool touch of this book. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Time slowly passed, and Dudley's breathing became much more suppressed. Finally, after about a minute, the book remained in his pocket and hadn't actively opened to write new rules.
"It seems there should be no problem." Dudley finally breathed a complete sigh of relief. Judging from the current situation, this book shouldn't activate again in the short term.
Just as Dudley was breathing a sigh of relief, Dumbledore suddenly spoke.
"Since everyone is here, I have something I need to announce." When everyone's attention was focused on him, he looked toward Dudley.
"Mr. Dursley, please come over here," Dumbledore said to Dudley with a smile.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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