Chapter 713: The Growth of New Saints

Chapter 713: The Growth of New Saints

After dinner, Professor McGonagall stood up and addressed the students, "First-year students and prefects, please stay behind. Students from other years may leave now to avoid any confusion or ending up in the wrong common room."

The students slowly pushed their chairs back and headed towards the exit. "Does anyone actually get lost on the first day?" Harry curiously asked. "Oh, yes," Hermione hurried over and said, "But it's easily noticed since each bed in the dormitories has the new student's name on it."

At the professors' table, where she had been quiet and spoken little all evening, Emmeline Vance suddenly spoke up, "We haven't sung the school song." The professors sitting close to her stiffened immediately.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat awkwardly, "Ahem, it's not an annual event."

The other professors murmured in agreement, "Yes, yes."

A look of visible disappointment crossed Emmeline's face, as if a wish she had held dear was dashed. She calmly said, "I know, it's usually for important occasions. I've only heard it once, during my enrollment..."

"What was the occasion then?" Felix politely inquired.

"I can't quite remember," Emmeline shook her head slightly.

"So the school song has been without a tune since then?" Felix was somewhat surprised to learn this.

"There was one, actually. Later, a copy was found in the library," Slughorn explained, "But Dumbledore thought it sufficient to keep just the lyrics, allowing the melody to be changed at will."

Later—Harry sat on his four-poster bed in the dormitory, taking things out of his trunk one by one. He lifted the lid of the trunk, and a stack of thick parchment spilled out. Ron picked up a piece that had fallen in front of him, raised his eyebrows, and said, "I didn't know you had developed a hobby of connecting names with lines. Is there a pattern?"

"They're real," Harry said, "And I plan to write to each of them."

Neville stood behind Ron, looking at the parchment with his tongue in cheek.

"Is it because of Dumbledore's biography?"

"Yes, seeking some details. Elphias Doge hopes the biography could be as perfect as possible," Harry said. In the following minutes, Ron and Neville excitedly called out familiar names, treating it like a game to see who could recognize more names—usually meaning the person mentioned had achieved something notable.

Seamus, who was making his bed, looked over and grinned, "Cormac McLaggen is going to be green with envy."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, at the cost of pondering over every word, grammar, and phrasing daily." In reality, Harry's efforts extended far beyond that; he had spent a lot of time guessing Dumbledore's thoughts at different times, which was no easy task. Harry had a similar experience—there was a time he could delve into Voldemort's mind, sensing his emotions and guessing his intentions. Harry felt like he was doing the same thing now.

"Let's think about something more tangible," Ron asked, "What do you think Emmeline Vance will teach us tomorrow? I never knew she was good at Transfiguration. I thought she specialized in dueling, remember? She was our guard once."

"She's skilled in many subjects," Harry said without hesitation, "Charms, potions, Transfiguration, and she's even invented a few simple but useful spells. Dumbledore held her in high regard."

"That's impressive," Ron said as he carefully placed two wizard chess pieces on the bedside table, then lay down on his bed, "And that centaur—I noticed Trelawney didn't show up all evening, she must be livid."

Harry shrugged, imagining Trelawney in the attic, fuming in front of a mirror. His thoughts then turned to Luna, who was in her sixth year and likely to take Firenze's classes.

At that moment, Neville, who was still standing there, hesitated before speaking.

"Harry, when you have Transfiguration tomorrow, could you call me along?"

Harry looked at Neville in surprise, but then a distant memory was jogged, "Oh, I remember you took the O.W.L.s for Transfiguration last year, so that means you—"

"Passed!" Neville beamed.

Ron sat up abruptly from his bed.

"What grade did you get?"

"Exceeds Expectations," Neville whispered.

A chorus of exclamations echoed around the dormitory.

"That's fantastic." Harry gave a thumbs up as the boys gathered around Neville to celebrate, "So, you're still aiming to be an Auror?"

"How did you manage that, considering Transfiguration was one of your weakest subjects?" Seamus asked him.

"I think it was the Animagus transformation," Neville said softly, "During the practical exam, the examiner said I could be at the front."

"Is the effect really that noticeable? I'm tempted to try," Seamus envied, feeling somewhat enticed as both he and Dean had mastered the Patronus Charm, which could aid in learning to become an Animagus.

"Neville also worked very hard, spending a lot of time on it," Harry recalled, struggling to remember exactly what Neville had been doing during that time but vaguely remembering him spending a lot of time with Hannah and borrowing notes from Hermione.

"Honestly, it's a bit late now unless you plan to stay back a year," Dean said regretfully, and they discussed this topic for a long time until going to bed.

"I remember there was a Slytherin Quidditch captain who stayed back a year, what was his name?"

"Marcus," Harry remembered vividly.

"Right, him. He only graduated with one N.E.W.T.s certificate, in Ancient Runes!"

"Amazing, isn't it?"

...

Over the next week, Felix enjoyed a rare period of leisure at the school. As he had mentioned in conversation with the other professors at dinner, after a month of non-stop activity, both he and Babajide Akingbade needed a break. The International Confederation of Wizards wasn't just him, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't solve all the problems at once.

Through Felix's mediation, the various Ministries of Magic held off on making any rash moves (they too were waiting for the outcome of negotiations in Britain) but reached a consensus on two matters. The first was naturally to mimic the British Ministry of Magic's approach in establishing a Pan-Magic Alliance locally. Felix mentioned this to Mrs. Bones, who immediately decided to dispatch six experienced squads, with the local Future World company branches providing as much support as they could.

The second matter was equally significant: the preparation for an International Confederation of Wizards convention.

Just like three hundred years ago when representatives from various countries gathered to formulate the "Statute of Secrecy," a new legal framework was to be established. In addition to the remaining personnel of the International Confederation of Wizards working tirelessly on preparations, senior officials from various Ministries of Magic were also making efforts for this.

A week later, after a short break, Felix left the school. The memory bodies in Classroom Seven were realistic enough to substitute for him in teaching. And for a wizard—especially for him—distance wasn't an issue; he could even return to the school for lunch every day.

When he saw Babajide Akingbade again, he was staring gloomily at the huge world map on the wall.

"Here, here, and these places..." he pointed more than a dozen times over the continent of Africa, saying, "are all occupied by Grindelwald. He has chosen new young saints there, replacing the original loose organizational form. Some wizarding groups attempting to resist or break away from control were brutally crushed."

"The transformations there are much more radical, truly vigorous," Akingbade said.

Felix wasn't surprised, as it was his own doing. He dredged Grindelwald's code from the ruins of history, selecting contents that were still suitable for this era, even somewhat radical, and under his own efforts, Grindelwald's name now carried significant weight, with various analyses about him laid on desks.

Meanwhile, as a representative of wizarding nationalism, Grindelwald also gained a large following, plunging Akingbade deep into fear and doubt.

"Grindelwald is smarter and more dangerous than we imagined! He's not sitting idly by but trying to break free from the 'Unbreakable Vow' constraints. He's chosen Africa, the most chaotic, to break norms in the name of saving wizards—I know what you're going to say," he addressed Felix, "Even if he's genuinely intending well, his arrogance in believing he's the chosen one to save wizards from dire straits—but you can't deny, his power is expanding rapidly."

"I don't deny that," Felix said.

"So—"

"If we can't attend to it for now, let's leave it to him. Don't you think some of his actions make sense? According to your analysis, Grindelwald's real goal is to streamline over two hundred loose wizarding community organizations into about twenty Ministry-like institutions... In the future, the land there will have higher wizarding cohesion and be easier to manage."

"But he will use the consolidated wizard army against us!"

"There's the vow to limit him..." Felix couldn't recall how many times he had brought up this argument, but having said it too often recently, Akingbade still stared at him, forcing Felix to change his approach, "Alright, if necessary, I'll step in to ensure a union between the two."

"How is that possible?" Akingbade exclaimed.

"Situations change rapidly, Mr. President. Therefore, anything can happen," Felix said earnestly, "At this stage, Grindelwald's impact on us is minimal. On the contrary, his presence can deter some with malicious intentions—more so than my deterrence."

"If only he were on our side, what a boon that would be," Akingbade sighed, his eyes reflecting a wistful gleam, "He wouldn't just be the man who overturned the Secrecy Law and inflicted deep wounds on the wizarding world by his own hand, but, but..."

What would that be?

Akingbade couldn't quite articulate it. His words weren't meant to defend Grindelwald but expressed regret and remorse.

After realizing he had been deceived, he wished he could smash that detestable, cunning face with his fists. This thought had occupied his mind for weeks, even intensifying upon learning Grindelwald intended to make Africa his stronghold. To him, it was a clear division of camps, splitting the wizarding community, a schemer's

meticulously crafted conspiracy.

Unfortunately, Akingbade could only watch, powerless to act or even return to Africa to see the situation of his homeland firsthand. He worried that instead of finding people, he'd be taken down by some nameless small fry adhering to Grindelwald's ideology, becoming a prisoner and brought before Grindelwald to face ridicule.

Felix, the only one capable of ensuring his safety, steadfastly refused to rush to Africa, focusing instead on Europe and, more precisely, sidelining America for the time being. Akingbade harbored some complaints about this, suspecting Felix feared facing Grindelwald.

But Akingbade had to admit a fact:

From a utilitarian perspective, Felix's actions were beyond reproach, increasingly proving correct over time. He hadn't rushed into conflict with Grindelwald, flaunting military might (which, to Akingbade, was inconceivable); nor had he wasted time on the nearly insoluble mess in the Americas, but instead worked against the clock to rebuild the prestige of the International Confederation of Wizards.

In a month, the Confederation was no longer a shell.

That was Akingbade's view, as well as that of a portion of the wizarding community. If it were Felix, his thoughts would be drastically different—indeed, no one could associate Grindelwald and Felix, two influential figures with contrasting personalities, as essentially two sides of the same coin.

With Felix intentionally making it so, Africa had almost become an independent kingdom.

What he did fully aligned with Grindelwald's consistent actions, to the extent that even Vita Rosier, the only one privy to the truth, sometimes questioned: Was Felix masquerading as Grindelwald, or was Grindelwald masquerading as Felix Harp?

At least in her view, Grindelwald's ideology was gently consuming the minds and living spaces of African wizards, thriving like wildfire over the past month.

"If not for his physical condition, he might have shone in this era. Of course, if that were the case, it would mean I'm completely opposed to him."

Felix mused. As he uttered these words, he had just used his personal force to take down a 'wizarding group that grew in chaos,' with more than fifty wizards lying on the ground, staring up at him with rage.

Felix casually waved his hand, and the new generation of saints stood tall and took orderly control of the area.

"So, whose ideology do you lean towards more? Grindelwald's or Dumbledore's?" Rosier asked softly.

"What ideology?" Felix countered, "I'm here to solve problems."

You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.

As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:

• Early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
• You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
• You Get Ad-free Chapters.
• Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.