Harry Potter: Westeros’s Plant Life
0196 Faculty Meeting

The evening shadows had lengthened considerably by the time the official announcement was posted throughout Hogwarts, declaring the end of the emergency measures that had gripped the school for months.

As twilight settled over the castle grounds, a gathering was taking place in Professor McGonagall's office. Dumbledore, the four house heads, and Adrian had all gathered there, with a somewhat heavy atmosphere.

Adrian explained in detail to everyone about Voldemort controlling Lockhart.

After hearing Adrian's description, Professor McGonagall was the first to break the heavy silence.

"We should have recognized the signs much earlier," She said, her voice trembling with anger. "Lockhart's behavior this year was so erratic, so completely detached from any facade of competence. He always acted like a complete fool at every turn—"

Then she turned her gaze to Adrian and praised with relief, "You did exceptionally well, Adrian. The school—indeed, the entire wizarding world—owes you a debt of gratitude."

Adrian acknowledged her praise with a subtle nod.

In fact, Professor McGonagall had already received a preliminary briefing from Dumbledore earlier in the day, and had mentally prepared herself which explained her relative composure despite the magnitude of the revelation. The other house heads, however, were all experiencing varying degrees of shock.

Especially after hearing Voldemort's name.

"So..." Professor Sprout's face was pale as she said in a low voice, "You-Know-Who... has returned?"

Professor Flitwick's usual cheerful demeanor had been replaced by distress. His small body seemed to tremble as his high-pitched voice cracked with emotion. "He actually came back? Possessed one of our own colleagues? And you... you discovered this deception and managed to eliminate the threat, Professor Westeros?"

"Ah, yes," Adrian nodded and said calmly, "But I want to say that he hasn't truly returned yet—he just hasn't died. Perhaps in the near future, he will truly make a comeback."

Each person in the room seemed lost in their own thoughts. They all needed some time to digest this momentous news.

"By the way, Professor Westeros," Professor Sprout suddenly remembered something, "The students' petrificatio —those were the result of You-Know-Who controlling the basilisk that was supposed to live in the Chamber of Secrets, weren't they?

My Mandrakes will reach full maturity by the end of this month, and we'll be able to brew the restorative draught, but we cannot allow that creature to continue harming our students. Where is the basilisk now?"

Adrian's response was delivered with such casual indifference that it initially failed to register with his audience. "Oh, that? You mean the basilisk…. Harry killed it with a sword."

Professor Sprout blinked several times, her brain struggling to process the words she'd just heard. "I'm sorry... could you repeat that? I'm not certain I understood you correctly."

While she had clearly heard each individual word—"basilisk," "Harry," and "sword"—the combination seemed to create a sentence that defied logical understanding.

"It might sound absurd, but that's the truth," Adrian shrugged and repeated, "Harry used Gryffindor's sword to personally kill the basilisk."

The moment Harry's name left Adrian's lips, the entire dynamic in the room shifted. Up until that point, Snape had remained in the shadows, his presence felt but not actively engaged in the conversation.

He had been content to listen with his head bowed, processing the information in his typically brooding manner. However, the mention of Harry caused an immediate change in his demeanor.

Snape's head snapped up, his black eyes focusing on Adrian with intensity.

"Harry Potter single-handedly defeated a basilisk," He seemed somewhat amused by anger, and stared at Adrian and said, "Oh, how perfectly fitting for our celebrated Savior. Tell me, Professor Westeros, should I be impressed by this obvious fabrication, or should I be concerned about your mental state? Are you trying to make fools of us all, or have you perhaps suffered some sort of head injury? Maybe a troll stepped on your brain?"

In fact, although Adrian thought this matter was quite reasonable, it did sound rather exaggerated when said aloud.

Snape's reaction was also reasonable.

"To be fair, Professor, Harry didn't face the basilisk alone," Adrian clarified, hoping to provide some context that might make the story more digestible. "Professor Dumbledore provided him with Gryffindor's sword, and Fawkes helped in the battle."

Rather than calming Snape's skepticism, this additional information seemed to inflame it further. His sharp gaze shifted from Adrian to Dumbledore, and his voice took on an even more dangerous edge.

"So, what you're telling us," Snape said with deadly softness, "is that we needed a second-year student to handle a threat that the entire faculty of Hogwarts could not manage? How utterly absurd. How completely ridiculous."

Dumbledore said gently, "Harry showed extraordinary courage and ability, Severus. You don't need to worry about him."

Snape's sneer deepened, and his voice dripped with disdain.

"Courage," He spat, as if the word itself tasted bitter. "That's the most useless quality in existence. Courage doesn't prevent death. Courage doesn't protect anyone from the consequences of their foolish actions. Courage is what gets brave idiots killed."

Adrian observed this scene with growing understanding. Snape's anger wasn't really about Harry's improbable victory—it was about the implications of that victory. He had clearly realized that Harry's confrontation with the basilisk hadn't been accidental or necessary.

For a wizard of Dumbledore's legendary power and experience, a basilisk would was a manageable threat. The headmaster could have dealt with the creature personally, quickly and efficiently.

Instead, Dumbledore had chosen to provide Harry with the tools for victory—Gryffindor's sword and Fawkes—and then allowed the boy to face mortal danger.

From Snape's perspective, this was a heartless willingness to risk Harry's life for some other purpose.

Adrian, however, viewed the situation differently. In his opinion, allowing Harry to face and overcome such a significant challenge had been valuable training.

The boy would need every advantage he could gain if he was to survive the coming conflicts with Voldemort. Better to face danger in a controlled environment with backup support than to meet it unprepared in the future.

The tense discussion was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the office door being pushed open without knocking.

Everyone turned in surprise as an unexpected visitor entered the room—Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, looking somewhat disheveled and out of breath.

Fudge still wore the same rumpled black robes that Adrian remembered from their previous encounter, and his round face was flushed with effort. His breathing was quick, showing he had hurried through the castle corridors to reach McGonagall's office.

Upon seeing the room full of Hogwarts faculty, he was stunned and paused briefly, clearly not having expected to interrupt such a gathering but quickly adjusted his expression.

"Albus!" He exclaimed, pulling out a handkerchief to dab at the sweat on his forehead. "I came as quickly as I could after receiving your message. I knew you would find a way to resolve this crisis."

Dumbledore rose from his chair and said calmly. "Cornelius, thank you for responding so promptly to my request. As you can see, we were in the middle of discussing urgent matters."

"Oh, of course, completely understandable," Fudge replied with excessive enthusiasm, nodding so vigorously that his bowler hat nearly slipped from his head. "This is about the matter you wrote in your letter, isn't it? The resolution of the Chamber of Secrets situation? I must say, I'm tremendously relieved. You know, Albus, despite what some people might have said during the height of the crisis, I was always confident in your ability to handle the situation. I was always on your side."

Dumbledore's didn't immediately reply to Fudge, neither confirming nor denying Fudge's claim of unwavering support.

Adrian watched the exchange with interest, noticing how the Minister seemed eager to rewrite recent history in his favor. It seemed Dumbledore had already told Fudge part of the story.

"Speaking of support," Fudge continued, apparently interpreting Dumbledore's silence as encouragement, "I took the liberty of expediting certain bureaucratic processes regarding Hagrid's situation. Originally, his case was scheduled to go through several additional rounds of review and investigation—you know how these things can drag on in the Ministry. However, given the new evidence that has come to light, I made the decision to have him released from Azkaban immediately."

Fudge's chest puffed out with self-importance as he continued, "He'll be able to return to Hogwarts as early as tomorrow. I want you to know, Albus, that arranging his early release required considerable political capital on my part. I had to call in several favors and override standard procedures. It wasn't easy, but I felt it was the right thing to do."

At this point, Adrian heard a sound that was either a snort of disgust or laughter emanating from Snape's corner of the room. It seemed he was very displeased with Fudge's attitude.

However, Adrian agreed with Snape on this point. Fudge's words carried the tone of someone attempting to take credit for fixing a problem he had created in the first place. He spoke as if he had been a reluctant participant in Hagrid's imprisonment, rather than the person who had ordered it to serve as a political scapegoat.

"Your assistance in this matter is much appreciated, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied with careful politeness. "How is Hagrid's condition after his time in Azkaban?"

Fudge's relief at Dumbledore's response was visible as his shoulders relaxed and his smile became more genuine.

"Oh, no problems at all, I can assure you of that," He said, waving his hand dismissively. "While Azkaban is never a pleasant place, I made certain that Hagrid received appropriate treatment during his stay. In fact, his unusual physique seemed to work in his favor—the Dementors appeared to keep their distance from him more than they typically would with other prisoners."

Adrian's eyebrows rose slightly at this information. The protective charm he had given Hagrid, crafted from Thunderstruck Wood, had apparently been effective.

He hoped Hagrid could return safely.

"Very good," Dumbledore nodded. "I'm very glad Hagrid is alright. Thank you for bringing us this encouraging news, Cornelius."

"It's simply my duty," Fudge replied with false modesty.

After a while, Fudge still showed no intention of leaving. This meant that the faculty meeting could not continue.

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