Chapter 1034 Burnt Offering

earlier in the evening

Joseph came to the greenhouse along the road he accidentally discovered a few days ago.

It had not rained when he set out, but it started to rain, and the hem of his robe was soon soaked by the splashes.

Father Stein was driving the chickens back to the coop, and he had just closed the cage door when the emissary from the Vatican came to him.

"Alex Brown was infected with amoebas in Florida, and his aggressive behavior may be related to brain tissue injuries," Joseph said.

"Very well, it's not demon-possessed." Stein said calmly, "I think the brothers can finally feel at ease."

"Can you give me an explanation?" Joseph asked.

"What explanation?"

"How did Mr. Brown come from Venice to this deep mountain? I asked other people, but they didn't see any other helicopters except mine."

Father Stein did not answer.

"The day Mr Brown came there were strangers visiting, including a woman, who was she?"

"We shouldn't discuss this issue." Sterling was about to leave with the hoe on the door.

"I don't think so." Joseph stood in front of Stein.

"What do you want to know from me?"

"the truth."

"I don't think I know any more than you, Father Joseph, it's raining heavily, you'd better go back early."

"I will report it to the church." Joseph said, "At that time, more people will come to investigate. I believe those people may not be as good at talking as I am."

Stein laughed.

"what's so funny?"

"After the investigation, what can they do to me? Like the Inquisition, in the name of using witchcraft, and sentence me to death? Young man, any nursing home at my age is better than the one I live in now, If you're going to threaten me, you should be more serious."

"How impious you are to God..."

"On the contrary, I have more devotion to God than many people. He is in my heart. I don't need to use ascetic methods to show others, let alone miracles."

"You rebellious..."

"I'm sorry that Mr. Brown was parasitized by amoeba, but if he had other diseases, we locked him in this monastery, and investigating whether he was possessed by the devil is a waste of precious treatment time. There’s a reason so many people believe in science.”

"How much do you believe in God?"

"I don't believe that there is such an instrument in the world that can measure it, and more importantly than questioning the beliefs of a small person like me, we still have a common enemy. We should not fight among ourselves because of our different opinions and positions. , to give the enemy a chance to sneak in, how many times in the past hundreds or thousands of years, we have always split when we need to unite! You should see a more magnificent scenery, envoy."

"Terrible things happened in this monastery. The Archbishop of Cologne suspended the investigation in order to prevent the situation from spreading, but do you think these people are really innocent?" Joseph yelled at Stein, "Magic Worship Ceremony It's not just dancing around the fire, but also offering sacrifices, in that barbaric era, do you think that the people participating in the ceremony just used chickens and sheep?"

The two of them stared at each other for a while, and finally Stein left first.

"Scars can predict the future. When the weather changes, the scars are always the first to know. The storm is coming. Looking at the current weather, I'm afraid the helicopter will not be able to pick you up." Stein said without turning his head.

Joseph watched Stein's back.

Thick dark clouds covered the sun, and it was getting dark early.

Just four years before the bizarre murder at the Prince's Monastery, the Cologne War took place. It was during the Reformation, and the two sides involved in the war were Protestant and Catholic mercenaries.

When the bishops and the king quarreled for power, Bruno was burned in the Campo de' Fiori.

According to the record in Leviticus in the Old Testament, the best sacrifice is to burn the whole beast with fire.

"Sometimes it is really difficult to strictly define the difference between humans and animals." Joseph said to himself, which attracted a chicken in the chicken coop to "cluck" in response.

Of course he ignored the crowing of a chicken and walked towards the monastery on the rain-soaked road.

At the same time, there was a muffled thunder in the distance, as if, as Stein said, a storm was coming soon.

=======================================

England, London, Ministry of Magic Underground Whitehall, Interrogation Room

The weather in the UK is always so cloudy and rainy, but the annual rainfall is not very high. It seems that the rain is not real rain, just like a thin mist, and it is difficult to see when the sun is shining.

It is precisely because of the sudden sunny and rainy weather that even on rare sunny days, the British still have to go out with umbrellas and raincoats.

Harry Potter recalls the first time he saw Hagrid and the first time he entered the courtroom.

Hagrid kept his wand in an umbrella, and Mrs Figg, who lived with her in Little Whinging, always wore a raincoat.

She is indeed weird, not because of her dress, but because she has a lot of cats, but compared to Peggy who was turned into a balloon by him and floated away, she actually raised 32 cats dog.

Fortunately, it was night, unlike the day when he and Ron drove the flying car to school, and there were not many witnesses.

He couldn't help laughing at the thought of himself and Ron being panicked by the Whomping Willow and Ron receiving the Howling letter, and then he was pulled at his sleeve.

Percy Weasley was sitting next to him, as if he had pulled it just now, and at the same time he found that everyone in the large conference hall was looking at him, including Calvin Robaz, the director of the Auror office.

"What do you think, Mr. Secretary?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt's agent and his cousin Robert Shacklebolt, taking his place.

Harry looked around in confusion, hoping that someone could give him some hints. Hermione Weasley, the director of the house elf placement committee sitting in the farthest corner, looked worriedly at Harry Potter, who was sitting in the presiding judge's seat. , silently mouthing the word "werewolf".

Harry saw it, but still didn't know what it was talking about. At this moment, Calvin stood up and said to Robert.

"The intention of the werewolf is now obvious. They not only want to subvert the Ministry of Magic, but also want to expose the entire magical world. Adopting a soft policy cannot curb their ambition. I suggest that the werewolf be listed as a harmful creature from now on, and Immediately enter the state of war."

"No!" Harry said subconsciously, and everyone turned their attention to him again.

"No?" Calvin asked Harry in a smoky voice, "Why not?"

"As I said before, we should negotiate with the werewolves and try our best to meet their demands." Robert said in an interface.

"Satisfy their demands? Send them more little wizards to bite, or offer Muggles in front of them like fresh meat?" Calvin said with a smile, and then he changed his face and snapped, " Those monsters are blackmailing us! Wake up, Robert!"

His voice echoed through the courtroom like a magnifying charm.

"Why did we set up Aurors? It's for this time, and now it's a very urgent moment. What the werewolves are doing is declaring war, and our countermeasure is to fight. It's us, us Aurors, who are going to go There is blood on the front line, and you just need to wait for the battle report in the office or at home. I can't think of why I continue to waste time discussing this topic here. Excuse me, this is a particularly critical and terrible moment. I I know how worried you are, but the more we are at this time, the more we can’t hesitate and worry about whether we can win. We must win this war! I never worry about actions, but only worry about not taking any action. I don’t want to be Kang Like Nellie Fudge, accumulating popularity by being likable, sitting on a bucket to make himself rise."

There was an instant uproar in the Wizengamot, and Harry Potter gave the hammer a few hard blows to silence the crowd.

"Quiet, quiet!" Harry yelled, sweat beading his brow.

Calvin sat down now, with two black-robed wizards shaking hands behind him, and his vulture-like eyes were fixed on Harry Potter.

"He was the head of the Auror office appointed by Stringer," Percy whispered to Harry. "Stringer is now considered a war hero, and his appointment is considered wise and decisive."

It is because of this that Calvin can ignore the former and living Minister of Magic?

Thinking so, Harry looked at the wooden hammer in his hand again. It was Fudge who didn't believe that Voldemort was back, and used newspapers to slander him and Dumbledore. It was also Fudge who was in this position, almost because he used magic to defend himself. Convict Harry.

That year, the year Sirius escaped from prison, Harry turned Peggy into a balloon, and it was Fudge who said that it was okay for him to use magic outside of school, and someone had already dealt with it.

Fudge was indeed not a respectable Minister for Magic, and he even thought that Albus Dumbledore was eager to take his power away.

That's what Harry thought before, but now, he felt like he was sitting on a red-hot chair, feeling as if his whole body was on fire.

"So, what do you think, Monsieur Director?" Robert Shacklebolt asked the question again.

Harry subconsciously looked at Hermione, who was watching him worriedly.

Kingsley was away now, and while the Minister was away, some important issues would be voted on by the Wizengamot, and now Harry could announce a show of hands.

"Adjournment!" Harry said decisively, then stood up with his robes in the way, and left the presiding judge's seat amidst whispers.

"Where are you going?" asked Eugene Nelson, president of the Society of Extraordinary Pharmacists.

"Get some fresh air!" Harry said without looking back, leaving the suffocating place that didn't even have fake windows.

There is no elevator and no toilet in the courtroom. Even if Harry wanted to find a place to wash his face like Draco Malfoy, he couldn't do it, but when he was walking up the stairs upstairs, Hermione chased him and stopped him. he.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Okay? Sure, great!" He said with pugnacious steps like a boxer, "Do I look good, Hermione!"

"I know it's hard to decide..."

"No, you don't understand!" Harry waved his hands excitedly. "I'm Teddy Lupine's godfather, and you know what it means if I agree to this motion! His father will be as much a vermin as a bandimon." , don't you often say that Remus is your favorite professor? Can you kill Remus like a moth?"

"Stop!"

"Stop what?"

"You have to consider the overall situation. Ron is still looking for the whereabouts of Pete Pedilou. Our situation is very bad. Now is not the time for you to act emotionally."

"Do you still want to tell me that I am not a Horcrux guess?"

"Dumbledore can be wrong too..."

"Like what?" Harry looked at Hermione excitedly, as if he wanted to defend it to the end.

She didn't know what to say for a moment.

After spinning around like a trapped animal for a while, Harry stood tiredly against the wall, looking up at the ceiling of the same color as the floor tiles.

"The blood of innocent people will be shed, and I don't want to see that." Harry said wearily, "I want to protect Teddy."

"I know." Hermione walked over and hugged Harry. "That's one of the mistakes Dumbledore made. He tried to turn a werewolf into a human."

"Do you discriminate against him too, Hermione?"

"It's not discrimination." She said sadly, "He wants to repair an irreparable mistake, just like he wants to resurrect a person by wearing a ring with a resurrection stone."

"How on earth did werewolves come about?" Harry asked.

"Nobody knows," said Hermione. "Besides, I have something to tell you."

"What's up?"

"Do you still understand snake language?"

Harry looked at her in bewilderment.

"I think it's time to say your scar is starting to hurt."

"But I don't feel pain."

"I know, you just have to say that!"

Harry looked at the back of his hand, the scar was already blurred, but he could still make out the line.

I can't lie.

It was written by Umbridge when he punished him, because she used dark magic, so even if he dealt with it in time, it still left a scar.

"You're right." Harry looked at Hermione with eyes as green as his mother's. "Sometimes I feel pain."

"Very good." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, "You can't stop wizards from going to war with werewolves, but you can list werewolves as pests, at least you can't go extinct like the Peruvian Venomtooth."

"Then what should I do?"

"Remember retired auror sanitariums? I bet there were Aurors who were bitten by werewolves in battle."

"Thanks, Hermione, you have been a great help."

"One more thing."

"What?"

Hermione hesitated, then shook her head.

"Forget it, it's nothing, it's not important compared to what's in front of me."

Said Hermione took Harry's hand and walked back to the courtroom.

Calvin's speech borrowed from Churchill's speech