Mysterious Journey
Chapter 408: A Belated Apology
According to the original course schedule of Hufflepuff, Aileen should have been at the Quidditch field, preparing for the weekly flying lesson with the Ravenclaw students.
However, judging from the current situation, she would obviously have to miss this week's flying lesson again - although according to Madam Hooch, Aileen didn't actually need to take this class anymore, she flew better than most of the seventh-year students.
"Um... is Professor Binns alright?"
Standing on the long bridge in front of the Hogwarts Castle gate, Aileen glanced at Dumbledore, who had a serious face beside her, and asked cautiously, "I didn't expect that just asking a few more questions would make the professor become...well, like that..."
"It's not a question of whether he's alright or not. Professor Binns is now in a... well, a rather special state."
Dumbledore rubbed his temples, shook his head helplessly, and sighed softly.
"Having read so many documents about *Hogwarts, A History*, I'm sure you already know. When Hogwarts was first founded, Professor Binns' History of Magic class was once known for being humorous and interesting, but it gradually became what it is now after he became a ghost."
The long passage of time is the deadliest poison in the world.
Even the Nicholas Flamel couple were already starting to feel weary of their lives, let alone Professor Binns, who had existed for several times longer than Nicholas Flamel. To put it in a more vivid analogy, Professor Binns had previously entered a low-power energy-saving mode, and Aileen's questions and actions happened to reactivate the old professor.
"If nothing else goes wrong, when Professor Binns comes back next week, perhaps the History of Magic will become interesting again. This is thanks to Miss Kaslana's help... but in the future, try not to torment the old professor too much."
Dumbledore said, glancing meaningfully at Aileen.
"What I mean is not just asking questions, but also some strange inductions and hints... ghosts are not truly immortal, and in some cases, ghosts who cannot use magic are much more fragile than wizards."
Dumbledore had always been somewhat puzzled about how Professor Binns discovered the Slytherin Chamber.
From Moaning Myrtle's ghost to the bathroom, from Salazar Slytherin's questions to Professor Binns' obsession, from Tom Riddle's abnormality to the description of the Basilisk, even if all the chains of evidence formed a closed loop, Dumbledore's intuition could still clearly perceive the hidden mastermind behind the scenes.
"Ehehe, I'm just worried about you."
Aileen stuck out her tongue and shrank behind Gellert Grindelwald, who was silently watching the show beside her.
In fact, from the beginning, she had never thought of completely hiding it from Albus Dumbledore.
The biggest advantage of working with smart people is that as long as both sides have the same goals and demands, many things can be muddled through in tacit understanding - clearing out the unstable factors in the school and clearing Hagrid's name are all things that Dumbledore wants to see.
As for where Aileen knew all this from, it was not that important to Dumbledore.
Whether it came from reasoning, or the castle's wonderful entanglement, some pure-blood families related to Slytherin, or even the prophetic talent that might exist in her blood... as long as those three unbreakable vows were still imprinted on Aileen's hand, the interests of the girl and Hogwarts would always be on the same side.
"So, Albus, how long are we going to stand here like fools?"
Grindelwald raised his eyebrows, turned to look at Dumbledore, with a hint of disdain on his face, "So many years have passed, it seems that the Ministry of Magic still has considerable room for improvement in its attitude towards you."
"Our views have always been different on this matter..."
Dumbledore shrugged noncommittally, took out his pocket watch from his robe and glanced at it, "If nothing else goes wrong, they are already on the way - welcome to Hogwarts, Minister."
As the old wizard's voice fell, a short, stout middle-aged wizard appeared in front of the three.
Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic in the United Kingdom, whose clothing combination was still the same uncomplimentary hodgepodge as before: a pinstripe suit, a bright red tie, a black long cloak, purple pointed boots, and a dark green top hat, with a large roll of parchment tucked under his arm.
"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, I'm sorry, I may be a little late."
Cornelius Fudge said, raising the large roll of parchment under his arm and waving it, "You know, finding a dossier from decades ago, and then getting the Wizengamot members to sign the revised opinion on it, is a thankless and troublesome task."
Now that the existence of the Slytherin Chamber had been confirmed, and after investigating and confirming that there were indeed Basilisk activity, the Ministry of Magic's accusations against Hagrid more than a decade ago were naturally untenable, and revoking the verdict was a matter of course.
"Thank you for your hard work, Cornelius, and thank you for the cooperation of the gentlemen."
Dumbledore nodded with a smile, "At least this way, there is one less person in the world suffering from injustice. Let's go quickly, otherwise Hagrid may be so anxious that he will stomp the floor to pieces."
"This is what our Ministry of Magic should do." Cornelius Fudge nodded politely, glanced at Aileen standing behind "Otto," and asked with some doubt, "However, this child..."
"This child is a friend of Rubeus Hagrid, and also the head chef of Hogwarts. This time, there are some questions about ingredients that need Hagrid's help, so she simply came along with us."
Dumbledore waved his hand and explained with incomparable naturalness, "At this happy moment, I don't think Hagrid would mind having one more person to share the joy - you know, he has been waiting for this day for almost fifty years."
There is no doubt that 1942 was the worst year of Rubeus Hagrid's life.
In that year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened by Tom Riddle, who had not yet become Voldemort, and Hagrid was framed for the death of Moaning Myrtle, leading to his expulsion from Hogwarts and a ban on holding a wand. In the same year, Hagrid also lost his father, which led to the almost interruption of his path to learning magic.
If there is anyone in this school who most wants to discover the Slytherin Chamber, it is Rubeus Hagrid.
At 3:05 p.m., after finally waiting for Cornelius Fudge's writ of pardon, Aileen and her "grandparents" left the castle and walked across the empty forest towards the small wooden house where Hagrid lived.
The sky had just rained, showing an extremely refreshing light gray color, and the air was filled with a pleasant scent of grass. Aileen turned her head to look at the Quidditch pitch on the other side of the castle - the flying lesson had already started at this time, and the feeling of skipping class in front of the headmaster seemed pretty good.
Hagrid's small wooden house is located on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and a giant crossbow for hunting and guarding and a set of non-slip rubber overshoes the size of a small dolphin are hung on the door all year round. Nowadays, there is also a small piece of newly reclaimed vegetable garden next to the small wooden house, which is a private vegetable garden exclusive to Hogwarts faculty and staff.
Under normal circumstances, Fluffy, the three-headed dog, would lie in the open space next to the vegetable garden to drive away crows and "vegetable thieves."
However, considering that the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge would be visiting here today, Fluffy temporarily returned to the castle under Dumbledore's suggestion to continue guarding the trapdoor leading to the Philosopher's Stone - after all, a hellhound with three heads and blue fire all over its body might be a little too stimulating for this minister.
Although in Aileen's opinion, this was nothing strange.
You know, most non-magical farms and pastures also raise several similar large dogs to help their owners guard the land and livestock, except that the dogs in the magical world are a little bigger.
Beyond that lush vegetable garden is Hagrid's small wooden house.
Aileen saw Hagrid standing at the door of the cabin from afar, like a small mountain, constantly looking towards this side.
Unlike usual, Hagrid was not wearing his thick moleskin coat, but a super-sized Gryffindor house wizard robe that was a little old but well-preserved - with the passage of time, the gold and red on it had long become dull and white, but the majestic lion house emblem on Hagrid's chest was enough to explain what this was.
This was the first time Aileen had seen such an uneasy and expectant expression on Hagrid's face, just like the expressions of those first-year wizards during the sorting ceremony. The little giant twisted his hands nervously, and a trace of excited red could be vaguely seen on his dark face.
Different from the perfunctory apology and erasure of the verdict in the original book.
Due to Aileen's extra instructions, coupled with Grindelwald's superb negotiation skills, this time Cornelius Fudge brought not just a verbal message of "suspicion cleared," but also a joint signature document from the Wizengamot court, a wand permit issued by the Ministry of Magic, and... a re-enrollment notice from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Alright, alright, Hagrid, I don't think you want to hear any polite words."
Cornelius Fudge quickly walked through the rubble behind the vegetable garden and waved the parchment in his hand with a smile towards Hagrid.
"Although it may be a few decades late, from now on, you are once again a recognized official wizard. At the same time, if you don't mind, you can continue to complete the studies you didn't finish at Hogwarts before... oh."
Before Fudge could finish his words, a huge black hound sprang out from behind Hagrid, blocking Hagrid in front of him with hostility, barking wildly at the approaching Minister of Magic.
"Fang, don't get excited, don't get excited. They are good people this time."
Hagrid glanced at Cornelius Fudge, who stopped in his tracks, patted his forehead awkwardly, walked over and dragged the hound behind him, rubbing his hands vigorously, his black beetle-like eyes constantly wandering over the roll of parchment in Fudge's hand.
This time?!
Cornelius Fudge raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, selectively ignoring the offense in Hagrid's words.
"This is very rare, Hagrid." Fudge said in a crisp, fast tone, "You must know that this is almost unprecedented in the entire magical world. The Wizengamot court collectively admitted its mistake for a case decades ago. If it weren't for Professor Dumbledore's insistence, and the possible threat of this Chamber of Secrets..."
"So, everything has been found out? Minister, Professor."
Hagrid looked at Cornelius Fudge and then at Dumbledore, asking expectantly.
"Have you found out who did it back then?! If you need to identify or arrest them, I can do it!"
"I'm sorry, there is no news yet, and we still need to rely on the help of the Ministry of Magic."
Dumbledore shook his head, a light flashed in his blue eyes, and frowned.
"But one thing is very clear, as... well, your background determines that you will definitely not be the one who opened the Slytherin Chamber. As I have been saying all these years, I fully trust you."
"Oh, Rubeus, you must understand one thing."
Cornelius Fudge said, glanced at Professor Dumbledore, and casually played with the top hat in his hand.
"That was fifty years ago. Now we can only determine that the culprit back then was a descendant with Slytherin blood. As for who it is, we are still slowly investigating - after all, the marriage relationships in the magical world are too complicated, unless the murderer runs to us himself, the hope is very slim..."
"Um, alright."
Hagrid nodded sullenly, took the parchment from Fudge's hand, unfolded it and looked at it carefully, his tone immediately becoming excited and cheerful again, "Then what it says on this, I can get a wand again, and join Hogwarts to continue my studies..."
"If you don't mind, Hagrid."
Dumbledore said with a smile, winking flexibly, "And if I remember correctly, you still have four years of courses to complete, including a Transfiguration homework that you haven't submitted to me... of course, if you don't want to participate, it doesn't matter."
"No, no, no, Professor Dumbledore, I'm willing!"
Hagrid took out a large handkerchief and wiped the corners of his eyes, choking with tears of joy.
"Before my dad passed away, he always wanted me to finish my studies at Hogwarts. It's a pity that he left with great regret when he passed away, Professor, I'm really grateful..."
At this point, Hagrid's eyes were already filled with tears, and he didn't even have time to wipe them with his handkerchief - he never thought that he would be able to rejoin Hogwarts one day.