Chapter 175 - 174 — Dumbledore Is Gone

Chapter 175: Chapter 174 — Dumbledore Is Gone

# Chapter 174 — Dumbledore Is Gone

"How many people did you threaten before they finally agreed to remove Dumbledore?"

Hagrid demanded angrily.

Lucius’s expression turned cold before he sneered.

"Very well, Hagrid. I’m a patient man, so I won’t hold your words against you. But when you arrive in Azkaban, I doubt the guards there will be so tolerant!"

Hagrid took a deep breath at the mention of Azkaban.

Lucius snorted and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"There have been far too many incidents lately, and two students were attacked today alone. If this continues, I doubt there will be any students left at Hogwarts before long."

"You can’t remove Dumbledore from office! Who else can catch the basilisk? The students will be in danger!"

Hagrid shouted desperately.

But Dumbledore interrupted him.

"That’s enough, Hagrid. Since this is the Board of Governors’ decision, I will, of course, relinquish my position as headmaster.

"However, I must make one thing clear. I will leave Hogwarts completely only when everyone here has turned against me. Anyone who needs my help will still receive it, provided they are willing to ask!"

Harry was certain that Dumbledore glanced toward their hiding place again.

"How noble and touching! But the rest of us have nothing to do with your little display of sentimentality," Lucius sneered.

Dumbledore’s blue eyes swept meaningfully over Lucius and Piers. He nodded politely before walking toward the door.

Lucius didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He cheerfully opened the door and respectfully escorted Dumbledore outside.

Then he followed him out.

Piers watched their departing figures as though he had just witnessed an entertaining performance. He sighed.

"Well, I suppose it’s time for us to leave, too."

He turned toward Hagrid.

Hagrid snorted and took the initiative to walk toward the door. But just as he was about to step outside, he suddenly raised his voice.

"If anyone wants to find clues, they should follow the spiders!"

Piers raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Are you confessing?"

Hagrid glared at him angrily.

"If you’d just listen to me—"

"I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you!" Piers interrupted, shaking his head.

And with that, they left.

Ron tore off the Invisibility Cloak.

"It’s over! Dumbledore has been driven away, and there’s still a basilisk hiding somewhere in the school. Hogwarts is definitely going to close! And even if it doesn’t, there’ll probably be attacks every day from now on!"

Harry’s face turned pale.

"If Dumbledore is gone, do you think the basilisk will attack Vesey in the open again? She’s still asleep. If it bites her gently enough..."

Ron fell silent, unable to finish the thought.

Fang began biting frantically at the door, letting out a series of shrill cries.

Summer was quietly approaching.

Ripples danced across the lake beneath the shimmering sky.

Beautiful flowers, their petals resembling little cabbages, bloomed throughout the greenhouses.

But Hagrid was no longer to be seen in his hut.

Vesey and Hermione were absent from their usual places on the way to class and in the classrooms themselves.

Their absence left many students feeling uneasy.

Harry and Ron wanted to visit Vesey and Hermione every single day.

Madam Pomfrey had told them that Vesey should be waking up soon, while Hermione and the others would have to wait until the Mandrakes matured.

She had also ordered Harry and Ron to stop visiting the hospital wing.

The hospital wing was full of students who had been petrified, and Madam Pomfrey feared that the basilisk might break in and attack Vesey and the others. She had already cast numerous protective spells throughout the ward.

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread through everyone’s hearts.

Even the warm summer sunshine could no longer cheer them up.

Harry and Ron began considering Hagrid’s advice. They wanted to follow the spiders and see whether they could uncover any clues.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy.

There weren’t enough spiders in the castle for them to follow, and they weren’t allowed outside the grounds.

Every class was now escorted by professors, who led students directly to their respective common rooms beforehand. There was no opportunity to wander off alone.

This left Harry and Ron deeply frustrated.

Meanwhile, their dislike of Malfoy continued to grow.

He was unbearably arrogant every day, and many students believed he was celebrating his revenge against Vesey. According to the rumors, he had persuaded his father to have Dumbledore removed, blaming the headmaster’s poor supervision for what had happened to Vesey.

Malfoy even suggested that Snape should become the new headmaster.

Harry clearly noticed the smile that appeared on Snape’s usually gloomy face when Malfoy made the suggestion.

However, Snape immediately responded with feigned modesty.

"Oh, Dumbledore has only left temporarily. He’ll be back."

Harry found the whole thing rather irritating, though he supposed it made sense.

Even Snape, the most disliked professor in the school, understood that Dumbledore would return and that Hogwarts couldn’t do without him.

Yet Malfoy seemed completely oblivious.

It was as if he were missing a few pieces of his brain!

During Herbology, Ernie approached Harry and formally apologized.

"I misunderstood you before, but now I know you really weren’t responsible. You would never want to kill Vesey!"

After all, Ernie had always known that Harry and Vesey were close.

Now that Vesey had been attacked, he was finally willing to put aside his prejudice against Harry.

Harry understood why Ernie was apologizing, but he didn’t forgive him.

How could he possibly feel like making peace with anyone when he was this miserable?

Two weeks had passed, and Vesey still hadn’t woken up.

Harry was beginning to fear that she might never wake up at all.

There were cases like that, weren’t there?

In *An Introduction to the Consequences of Magic*, Harry had read about people who fell into a state from which they would never awaken.

At night, he began having nightmares. In them, Vesey lay asleep, and no matter how long he waited, she never woke up.

"Look!"

Harry was lost in these thoughts when Ron suddenly tapped the back of his hand with a pair of scissors.

"Spiders!"

Ron exclaimed excitedly.

They immediately turned their attention to the spiders. They watched as the creatures crawled through the greenhouse and continued onward, farther and farther away, until they disappeared in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

"Looks like we’ll have to go on another nighttime adventure!" Harry said resolutely.

That evening, after classes had ended, Harry asked Professor McGonagall to take him to the hospital wing so he could look at Vesey through the window for a little while.

In truth, he couldn’t see anything.

Madam Pomfrey had drawn the curtains tightly around every bed.

However, she opened the window a crack and reassured Harry and Ron that Vesey might wake up within a day or two. They didn’t need to worry so much.

The news filled Harry and Ron with such joy that they hurried to put on the Invisibility Cloak that night.

They carefully avoided the patrolling professors, made their way through the entrance hall, and finally slipped outside the castle.

Their first stop was Hagrid’s hut. They intended to take Fang with them.

Although Fang was a coward, he could at least try to be brave when it mattered!

The moment Fang saw them, he barked excitedly.

Harry and Ron quickly found a jelly bean and stuffed it into Fang’s mouth, sticking it between his teeth to keep him quiet.

"Come on, Fang. Don’t make a sound! We’re just taking you out for a walk!"

They coaxed Fang toward the Forbidden Forest.

Along the way, they lit their wands and followed the spiders crawling across the ground until they reached a stretch of deeper, darker shadows.

They had arrived at the innermost part of the Forbidden Forest, somewhere Hagrid had never taken them before.

Naturally, they felt a little apprehensive.

But their trust in Hagrid ultimately won out, and they pressed forward into the darkness.

Hagrid would never hurt them.

Never!