The walls of Hogwarts might as well have been made of paper. The news of Eda debating with Umbridge in class spread like wildfire.
Even by Hogwarts standards, the speed at which the news spread was astonishing. In the corridors, in the classrooms, students could be found everywhere discussing what had happened.
While marveling at Umbridge's courage, the students analyzed Eda's words line by line, figuring out which parts were true and which had been exaggerated.
At the end of the previous school year, Dumbledore had announced in front of all the students that Voldemort had returned. This was a fact that was difficult for the students to accept and believe. Even if Dumbledore revealed every detail, it would still be difficult to change that situation.
During the summer, the Daily Prophet, acting on the Ministry of Magic's instructions, went all out to smear Dumbledore, paint a picture of peace and prosperity, and promote conspiracy theories about Dumbledore. Being at a disadvantage in public opinion also put Dumbledore in an unfavorable position, leaving him besieged from all sides.
Last night's remarks from Umbridge might not have been understood by everyone at the time, but after fermenting overnight, everyone now understood that the Ministry of Magic wanted to interfere with Hogwarts' management and take control of the school.
Most students felt that the Ministry of Magic interfering with the school was nothing serious and was something they could accept. It was certainly much easier to accept than Voldemort's return.
Put simply, no matter how much the Ministry of Magic targeted Dumbledore, suppressed him, or smeared him, those were matters between the people at the top. They had nothing to do with the students.
The students had no place to express their opinions, nor was it their place to point fingers. All they could do was watch from the sidelines and wait for the two sides to determine a winner.
But after the news of Eda's debate with Umbridge spread, when the students laid out both sides' arguments and examined them, they were surprised to discover that they seemed unable to continue watching from the sidelines. They had been caught up in the Ministry of Magic's indiscriminate, wide-ranging interference.
No one wanted to silently read textbooks and copy textbooks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone wanted to learn something real, something useful.
People often said that when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat are caught in the disaster. But the Ministry of Magic's series of actions had failed to do anything to Dumbledore. The Ministry had failed to set the city gate on fire, but had successfully dragged the fish into the disaster.
At lunchtime, the moment Eda entered the Great Hall, she was greeted by the students' attention.
Eda's remarks during Defense Against the Dark Arts might have contained some personal motives and exaggerations, but she had indeed spoken from the students' perspective and defended their interests.
This was also where Eda's cleverness lay. She had not mentioned Voldemort at all. Instead, she had refuted Umbridge from the students' point of view. Eda had done what the students wanted to do but did not dare to do.
Umbridge did not appear in the Great Hall. Perhaps she had not figured out how to face the students' questioning looks. But avoiding the problem would not solve it. Defense Against the Dark Arts still had to continue.
So in the afternoon, another piece of news came out of Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Umbridge had gotten into an argument with Harry Potter again.
This time, however, Umbridge had learned her lesson. She did not give Harry any more opportunities to show off. After saying only two or three sentences, she gave Harry detention for a week.
Harry Potter, what a miserable guy. Umbridge, what a miserable... Never mind. Longbottom's Trevor would probably get angry.
By evening, Eda left the Gryffindor common room. Of course, she was not going to serve detention with Harry. She went straight to the 7th floor of the castle and stood in front of that ugly stone statue.
After she spoke the password, the stone statue jumped aside, revealing the staircase hidden behind it.
Eda climbed the stairs. Before she could even knock on the door to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore's voice came from inside.
"You are a little early compared to the agreed time."
Eda pushed open the door and entered the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore happened to be getting up from his chair as well.
The Headmaster waved his hand, and the door of a cabinet opened. The Pensieve flew out of the cabinet and landed steadily on a table.
During the summer, Dumbledore had told Eda that after returning to school, he would give her a proper explanation. So he had asked a student to pass a message to Eda, asking her to come over tonight.
Walking over and looking at the Pensieve, its surface shimmering with light, Eda asked, "Professor, are we watching your memories again tonight?"
Watching Dumbledore's memories was quite an interesting experience, but Eda found the lack of a fast-forward button very inconvenient. Watching a video without being able to fast-forward or rewind was simply soulless.
"Yes, that's right. A memory from many years ago," Dumbledore said. Of course, the Headmaster had no idea what Eda was thinking about. Even if he had known, he might not have understood.
"How many years ago is 'many years ago'?" Eda asked, making conversation.
"Fifteen or sixteen years," Dumbledore said. "It is a very important memory."
With that, the Headmaster pressed his wand against his temple and gently drew out strands of silvery memory, thin as spider silk. He then placed the memories clinging to his wand into the Pensieve.
The memory swirled and floated within the Pensieve. The ancient runes carved around the edge of the Pensieve lit up with a hazy glow, and Dumbledore and Eda instantly disappeared from the Headmaster's office.
...
The darkness before them dispersed, and Eda suddenly realized that she was standing in Hogsmeade. It was a cold, damp night.
"Let's go. I'm going in," Dumbledore said beside her.
Following Dumbledore's gaze, Eda saw a younger version of him with a slightly shorter beard.
The Dumbledore in the memory was pushing open the door of the Hog's Head Inn. Dumbledore and Eda immediately followed him inside the Hog's Head Inn, then went upstairs to a small room.
As they passed the owner of the Hog's Head Inn, Eda sighed, "Professor, I genuinely think you and the owner look quite similar."
"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "He is my younger brother, Aberforth. But he isn't our purpose tonight."
Eda did not ask any further. She looked at the Dumbledore beside her, then at the Dumbledore in the memory. Although this was not her first time experiencing a scene like this, Eda still found it strange.
After a while, the door to the small room opened, and Aberforth entered with a woman.
What surprised Eda was that she knew the woman who had walked in. Not only did she know her, she had even attended her classes!
Sybill Trelawney, Hogwarts' Divination professor, a charlatan whom Eda considered to be someone who had come to the school simply to freeload.
"I'm here to interview Sybill, although at the time I very much wanted to abolish Divination as a subject," the Dumbledore beside her explained. "But Sybill is the great-granddaughter of a very famous and talented Seer, so I thought it would be polite to meet her."
Cassandra Trelawney. Eda still knew the name of this famous Seer. But Cassandra had lived so long ago that Eda could not tell whether she really had been as extraordinary as the stories claimed, or whether later generations had turned her into something of a legend.
The Pensieve had no fast-forward or rewind function, and naturally, it had no pause function either. So it did not stop simply because Eda became distracted. The memory continued playing, and Sybill Trelawney's interview continued as well.
The Trelawney in the memory performed terribly. She failed to demonstrate any talent for prophecy, and her various charlatan tricks could not fool Dumbledore either.
Dumbledore, whose white beard was slightly shorter at the time, tactfully rejected Trelawney. The Headmaster gentlemanly comforted her with a few words, then prepared to leave the room. Sybill Trelawney sat there, wrapping her shawl tightly around herself with both hands, her shoulders trembling slightly as she cried.
Eda looked at the Dumbledore beside her in confusion. She did not understand. Since the Headmaster had already rejected Trelawney, why had Trelawney still become the professor of Divination?
Dumbledore gave no response. The Headmaster simply told Eda to keep watching. Carrying her doubts with her, Eda turned her attention back to the memory.
Just as the Dumbledore in the memory was about to leave the room, something unexpected happened.
Sybill Trelawney's weak sobbing suddenly stopped. She abruptly stood up. The force of her movement knocked over the table and chairs beside her.
The Dumbledore in the memory heard the noise behind him and turned around to look at Trelawney, who had stood up.
Sybill Trelawney stood rigidly in place, her eyes unfocused and her mouth open. Then her vacant eyes began to move, and she looked as though she were about to suffer some kind of fit.
In a low, hoarse voice, she said:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...
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