Chapter 303

Obviously, excluding Snape as headmaster, the school's teachers could roughly be divided into three categories. One group consisted of McGonagall and Hagrid—Dumbledore's loyalists—who were willing to aid the Order of the Phoenix in honor of Dumbledore's legacy; the second group included teachers like Hype and Arnold, who had their own agendas—though they were few; and by far the largest group were wizards like Trelawney, utterly detached from worldly affairs, wholly absorbed in academia and teaching.

To members of the Order, Snape himself could belong to the first category: they had no issue with him carrying out his teaching duties while quietly aiding the Order. But to the Death Eaters, Snape was nearly alone in the school.

At every Death Eater meeting, Snape had always appeared indifferent, as if he cared for nothing, content to remain in his corner. This was largely because he possessed no power base of his own, making it difficult for him to speak loudly.

If Snape truly wished to gather followers, the most cost-effective approach would be to intimidate and win over neutral professors, stamping them with his own label.

Viewing the past two days' events as Snape's self-directed performance made everything instantly clear: first, he publicly expelled Trelawney—a neutral professor—to imply the existence of an external force attempting to interfere with Hogwarts, a force capable of using the Ministry to persecute neutral teachers.

Then, through a twin-sister ruse, he feigned enduring all pressure to defend an innocent teacher. This clearly offered a chance for neutral professors, already trembling with fear at the thought of being next, to seek protection. Leveraging a fictitious external enemy, Snape would soon truly build his own faction.

Whether this plan would be uncovered seemed unlikely. First, most people would naturally suspect the Ministry's involvement—deceiving the vast majority of the ignorant public. Those with sufficient connections, aware of Arnold's elevated status and knowing the Ministry had no need to send other spies, would easily suspect Regulus. Yet Regulus himself and those who knew his secret were mostly occupied with other matters, with little attention to spare for the fate of Hogwarts professors.

Moreover, Harry hadn't immediately uncovered the scheme. A crucial factor was Arnold—the old fox who understood and cooperated with Snape's moves—who deliberately visited Hagrid's hut and subtly prompted Harry by mentioning, "Hagrid is Dumbledore's loyalist."

Someone like Arnold wouldn't help Harry without reason. More likely, Snape had exchanged a secret with him: he had learned Harry's true identity, and in return, revealed to Harry who was behind the Sibyl incident. This was, in effect, a considerable show of respect toward Harry.

As the Sibyl affair had just begun to stir minor discussion, another uplifting piece of news spread rapidly through the school: Snape announced that the Christmas Ball would be held again this year, open to any teacher or student.

Neville, though pleased, calmly reminded everyone: "This is Snape's move to divert attention from the Sibyl scandal."

But to Harry, this news held deeper meaning—specifically in the phrase "any teacher or student." Though this had been the unwritten rule in past years, Dumbledore had never emphasized it.

This might be Snape's attempt to further win over neutral professors, eager to elevate his standing among the Death Eaters. Harry quickly realized: if the ever-polite Severus suddenly began raising his voice, Lucius would be in serious trouble. And at that moment, it would be perfect if Pansy stepped forward to defy him, delivering a small but shocking blow to his Hogwarts authority.

At this thought, a mischievous thrill flashed through Harry: why not fix this timing just before the holidays, ensuring Lucius spent a deeply anxious Christmas?

Just as Harry began activating his earlier preparations to guide Pansy into confronting Lucius, Zhang Qiu found him and told him Donald was panicking.

"Donald? What's he panicking about?" Harry still didn't understand when discussing this.

"Hermione went to the Light Snap Photo Studio and found out about Cassandra," Zhang Qiu said. "And girls her age never miss a chance to dress up and take beautiful photos—Hermione will go again, sooner or later."

"You started this whole thing," Harry laughed.

"Ah yes, so Donald is a bit resentful toward me," Zhang Qiu sheepishly touched her face. "If Hermione visits repeatedly and grows close to the shopkeeper, she'll easily hear the story of Dak Fontroy. After all, it's a publicly known tale—and given time, it will inevitably reach Hermione's ears."

"Unless Cassandra doesn't tell it in such detail," Harry mused. "She might just think it's a tragic tale of a lover's sudden death, and Donald's care for the widow and orphan might even become a heartwarming story."

"But the problem is, Sibyl and Sibyl's twin-sister act is right before her eyes. If Hermione senses even a hint of oddness, she'll quickly suspect Donald and Dak are the same person," Zhang Qiu sighed, spreading her hands. "Donald has been ruling the Muggle world for some time and has long stopped paying attention to the magical conflicts in Britain. How could he have imagined that when both sides of wizards were deploying their schemes, they'd coincidentally trap him in such danger?"

"Indeed, this is an unjust misfortune," Harry said, suppressing a smile. "So what does he plan to do?"

"I don't know. He just wrote me a letter, accusing me of meddling," Zhang Qiu lifted her chin. "Of course, I didn't interfere—but his accusation may not be about that. He simply wants me to stay out of it from now on."

"You never intended to interfere anyway, right?" Harry stroked his chin. "But I can't imagine how Donald will handle this. No matter what lie he concocts, he can't explain away all the inconsistencies—it'll be hard to convince anyone."

"You just reminded me of Aurelius's story—when the Order faced the same dilemma," Zhang Qiu's voice grew quieter. "…And Donald investigated Aurelius. He must have closely followed the developments."

"Oh? Could Aurelius's story give him some inspiration?" Harry froze. "Do you think he'll find someone to impersonate his brother?"

"If he didn't already have a scheme in motion and was preparing to execute it, why would he insist so strongly that Tianchao not interfere?" Zhang Qiu countered.

On Friday night, Sirius sent a letter informing Harry that the Order would make a major decision the next day and urged him to attend. When Harry unfolded the second page to read the details, he couldn't help but sigh: Donald had indeed done it—but he seemed unusually desperate.

"... he important thing we're doing tomorrow is voting on whether to admit a new member to the Order. His name is Dak Fontroy—you know his brother, Donald. Crucially, we all agree that Dak's admission signals the White House's attention to the Order. Personally, I don't think this is a good thing, but for Dawlish and Albus's brother, receiving aid from the Magical Congress is undeniably encouraging."

"Dak is said to be a man of deep compassion and strong justice. He spent years conducting humanitarian work in Africa and has only recently finished his mission. For reasons unknown, he now intends to come to Britain to support our cause. Precisely because of his impeccable record, Dawlish proposed skipping the probationary period and admitting him directly."

I believe there are still many unresolved points here, but don't worry—our most vital assets aren't with the Order. If you have any findings or theories, we can discuss them before tomorrow's meeting. I'll wait for you at the Three Broomsticks around ten-thirty.

After reading the letter, Harry paused briefly and clearly saw Donald's full plan. From the Order's perspective, Dak's story was suspicious—but to show goodwill toward the Magical Congress, they could only pretend not to notice, welcoming him with open arms.

To Hermione, however, this added strong credibility to Dak's story. And if she happened to hear Cassandra's tale, she'd be led to believe Dak had returned to Britain solely for the sake of mother and child.

Why hadn't he returned earlier? Donald could easily fabricate any number of unverifiable stories: first, Dak never knew Cassandra was pregnant; then, he encountered all sorts of misfortunes in Africa—amnesia, accidents, curses, the usual melodramatic nonsense. Just as no one could verify Nix Tang's story in Tianchao, no one could verify Dak Fontroy's story in Africa. With just a little careful setup, Donald could solidify the story's truth.

Harry saw through the trick immediately—but he had no intention of exposing Donald. "Dak," though a ruse with ulterior motives, might still offer some benefit to the Order. And if someone truly intended to play "Dak" indefinitely, Cassandra might find some comfort. As for Hermione possibly being deceived and failing to see Donald's true nature, Harry could only regretfully choose not to interfere.

After all, nothing had yet happened between him and Hermione.