Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

The next morning came, and all the students gathered at the four long tables in Hogwarts without saying a word, Harry James Potter-Evans-Verys was one of them.He collapsed from exhaustion last night, and woke up in the medical room the next morning, still in a daze, with the Philosopher's Stone hidden under his left sock.

The table of honor looked like it had just been swept away by a disaster.

Dumbledore's head seat disappeared, and with no replacement on top, there was a gap in the center of the head table.

Severus Snape sat in a suspended seat, the wizarding equivalent of a wheelchair.

Professor Sprout was gone.According to what they had told Harry last night, a Legilimency sent by the court would examine her to see if there was any residual control, but there was a good chance no charges would be brought against her.Harry had emphasized to Professor McGonagall and the Oros as seriously as possible that Professor Sprout was probably just a victim.The Boy Who Lived asserted that he saw no evidence in Voldemort's mind that Professor Sprout had committed a crime.

Professor Flitwick was gone, probably still by Hermione's side.

Professor Sinistra had disappeared, and Harry had no clue about it.

The numbness wrapped around Harry's thoughts like a Mylar blanket, protecting if not comforting.Scenes of the black robe falling down and blood overflowing appeared in his head from time to time, and he forcibly suppressed them.He'll deal with this later, but not now.At some other time would be more appropriate, and the future Harry would have a comparative advantage in dealing with the problem[1].

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind was a fear that it wouldn't hurt him, that it wouldn't make him pay for it.But this fear can also be pushed into the future first.

Breakfast did not appear on the long table.The students sitting near Harry waited, silenced by the shock.Owls have been banned from Hogwarts since the early hours of last night.

The hall door opened again, and Deputy Headmaster Minerva McGonagall stepped forward.She was dressed in formal black robes and hatless, and the witch's hat, which was always on her head, had been taken off.Her hair, a mix of gray, brown, and blonde, was pulled into a coiled braid, as if preparing for a hat to be put on later; though this was the first time Harry had seen her without it so far.

Minerva McGonagall walked to the podium set in front of the guest of honor.

All eyes were on her. "I'm afraid I've got a lot of news to tell," began Minerva, her voice sad and still with her Scottish precision, "and most of it is terrible. First of all. Standing here now to It is I who you are talking about, because the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus," her voice paused, "Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, is missing. Mysterious Man trapped him out of time, and we don't know if we'll be able to bring him back to us. We, we've lost, possibly, the greatest Hogwarts has ever had headmaster."

Horrified whispers rose from across the table, no obvious gasps or moans, just numerous gasps; mostly from Gryffindor, but also from Hufflepuff and Lavon. Crow.Everyone already knew the bad news, but now it too was announced with authority. "Second. You-Know-Who returns for a moment, but dies again. All that remains of him is two hands around Miss Granger's throat. No more threats from him, at least not us. I think so." Minerva McGonagall took another breath, "Third. Professor Quirrell is dead, facing the mysterious man, still holding a wand in his hand. Not far from the place where the mysterious man was eliminated again , we found him, and died of the mysterious man's death curse." Another wave of whispers of verified bad news sounded, this time from four long tables.

Minerva took another deep breath. "Last night we also lost what was probably the greatest defense professor Hogwarts has ever seen. Not just his teaching...our defense professor has gone by many names, but his real name was David Monroe .As the last of the most ancient and noble Monroes, his funeral--his second, and true--was to be held two days later in the Halls of Antiquity at the Wizengamot. Except In addition, we will have a wake for the Hogwarts Defense Professor, our Professor Quirrell, in this castle. For a Hogwarts teacher, he died in a very noble way."

Harry listened in silence, holding back the tears that welled up in his eyes.Not only was this unexpected, it wasn't even true; but it was still very distressing to hear.Anthony Goldstein, who was sitting next to him, put his hand over his comfortingly, and Harry didn't resist. "Fourth. A completely unexpected piece of good news. Hermione Granger is alive and in good physical and mental health. Miss Granger is under observation at St. Mungo's Hospital, and whatever happened to her needs to be checked Whether there are any unexpected sequelae, but considering her previous physical condition, her current performance can be said to be surprisingly good."

The news would have drawn rapturous cheers in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor if it had been announced on another occasion, or had been more taken by surprise.Harry saw some smiles now, but only for a moment.Maybe they had cheered before, but there was only silence at this moment.Harry understood, and he didn't cheer, that now was not the time. "Finally—" Minerva McGonagall hesitated, then raised her voice, "I'm afraid I have to tell some of the students possibly the saddest news. The You-Know-Who seems to have summoned his former followers; and many of them The men heeded the call, either out of misguided loyalty or fear that their refusal would bring persecution to their families. You-Know-Who's resurrection ritual seems to have required sacrifices to complete; it is also possible that You-Know-Who blamed his failure on My former followers. We found 37 dead bodies, and more You-Know-Who followers escaped Azkaban than we expected. I'm afraid—" Minerva.McGonagall paused again, "I'm afraid the parents of many of our students were among the dead—"

no no no no no no no no no

As if by a terrible magnetism, Harry's eyes turned to this image: Draco Malfoy's terrified face.The cotton that wrapped Harry's thoughts and comforted him was torn, as fragile as a tissue.

How could he forget, how could he not realize—

Somewhere around there were already screams, but the auditorium seemed still to be silent. "Celia, Flora, and Hestia Carroll. Lost both of their parents last night. Students who lost their father: Robert Gargson, Ethan Gargson, Sarah Garg Sen. Michael McNeill. Riley and Randy Lockwood. Lily Lou[3]. Sasha Sprouch. Daniel Gibson. Jason Gross. Elsie Ambrose -- "

Maybe Lucius escaped, maybe he was smart enough to stay out of it, maybe he realized it was Voldemort who attacked Draco—” Theodore Knott. Vincent Crabbe. Gregory Gor R. Draco Malfoy. That's the general list."

A student at the long Gryffindor table let out a cheer, and was immediately slapped by the Gryffindor witch sitting next to him. If he was a Muggle, the force would have cost him a tooth. "Thirty points from Gryffindor, labor service for the first month of next school year," said Professor McGonagall, her voice stern enough to crush rocks. "You're lying!" screamed a tall Slytherin, standing up from the long table. "Lies! Lies! The Dark Lord will return, and he will, and he will let you all know—" "Mr. Gagson," came Severus Snape's voice.His voice was also unsteady, and it didn't sound like the Potions Professor himself at all. Although the volume was not loud, the Slytherin fell silent. "Robert, the Dark Lord killed your father."

Robert let out a scream of mingled fear and rage, then turned and ran out of the hall, and Draco Malfoy collapsed, like a falling house, and he made some noise but no one heard it, Because noisy voices sounded all around.

Harry lifted himself six inches off the bench, then stopped.

What should you say to Draco You have nothing to say to Draco You can't go up and pretend to be his friend now

You want to correct you want to make things right but you can't correct what he did to Vincent what Gregory did to Theodore

The world around Harry blurred, and he saw in a trance Padma Patil getting up and walking in the direction of the Slytherin table, Draco, and Sidney walking in the direction of Theodore. Mo.

And Harry, because he's read his dad's collection of science fiction and fantasy novels, because he's seen this scene in over a dozen main characters, Harry has an image of Mad-Eye Moody in his head, that A man named Alastor covered in scars.The figure of Mad-Eye was speaking at this moment, and his voice was exactly the same as the one Harry had heard in the Pensieve, the voice he remembered speaking to Albus Dumbledore.He is saying that the Death Eaters have pointed their wands at Harry, they have chosen to accept the Dark Mark, their crimes are immeasurable, and may be far beyond Harry's imagination, they have given up the ethical protection that only good people can enjoy, let themselves Becomes a target that can be sacrificed if given a good reason.Harry's innocent parents must be protected from torture and Azkaban, and the world must be protected from Voldemort.He was saying that ordinary Aurors and judges must have done more morally dubious conduct in the day-to-day judicial process than killing bloody, evil-minded Death Eaters in self-defense, and that their enforcement was not Less black and white, but still necessary for society.If Harry's approach is wrong, if it's wrong to choose a more morally ambiguous approach than what Harry has done, society as we know it cannot exist.Nobody with common sense would blame Harry for it, Neville wouldn't blame him, Professor McGonagall wouldn't blame him, Dumbledore wouldn't blame him, and Hermione would say he did the right thing if he knew .

These are all true.

It was also true that some part of Harry's brain had calculated that killing off the pure-blood political elite would make rebuilding magical Britain a lot easier.Although not a major consideration, it was calculated in a quick thought moment, its long-term consequences were tested to see if it fell into the category of catastrophe, and it was concluded that there was no problem at all.The test forgot about the Death Eaters and the Hogwarts kids, and the fact that one of them happened to have Draco's father's face.It doesn't change anything, it doesn't change anything at all.But with only a few seconds to think about it, this was the truth of the calculations performed in Harry's head.

At least Harry was still able to help, and if these Death Eater orphans had any financial difficulties, he could easily solve their problems.Transfiguring gold and using the Philosopher's Stone to keep it forever - unless doing so would cause general economic trouble for the wizarding world, or be protested by goblins who don't understand market currency economics - Harry wasn't without useful services to sell, though—

At this time, other cotton wrapping Harry was also torn apart. "It seems," said Minerva, her voice not loud but piercing through all the others, "that some of our students lost their guardians last night. If you become Hogwarts prisoners Guardian, please remember that I take the duties of my office with the utmost seriousness. You will be treated with the respect you deserve. Your family coffers will be managed properly and honestly. I will do my best to treat each of you with the utmost respect. My own children - I will protect you as my own children, no more, no less. I hope everyone at Hogwarts understands that."

The students nodded in agreement. "Very good," Minerva said.Her voice lowered, "There is one more thing that must be dealt with."

With a sad and solemn atmosphere, Professor Sinista appeared at the side entrance.She wore a white gown instead of the brown she usually wore, and instead of her usual witch hat, she wore a square hat with tassels that was almost faded to gray.

Professor Sinistra holds the Sorting Hat in his hands.

With the solemn expression of performing an ancient ritual unchanged through the centuries, Aurora Sinista knelt on one knee before Minerva McGonagall and held the Sorting Hat to her with both hands.

Professor Minerva McGonagall took the Sorting Hat from Professor Sinistra and put it on her head.

There was a long silence. "Headmaster!" "As Albus Dumbledore is not dead," said Minerva, her voice so low that the students struggled to hear, "just being taken from us, I am only accepting the position as Acting Headmaster - until Dumbledore returns."

A shrill cry pierced the hall, and Fawkes appeared, flying slowly along a spiral path over the four long tables.He passed each table, humming birdsong, a voice that spoke of absolute loyalty, capable of surpassing the death of ordinary flames.Wait, the voice seemed to say so.Be steadfast and wait for his return.

Fox circled Minerva McGonagall three times, the feathers of her wings brushing past her as tears rolled down her cheeks; then the phoenix flew out through a window at the top of the hall, leaving up.

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[1] Mila blanket, also used as a space blanket and an emergency warm blanket. //en.m.wikipedia/wiki/Space_blanket

[2] Relative advantage: baike.baidu/view/894779.htm

[3] The student list here is mostly HPMOR fans, among them Lily Lu is Lily from our translation team:-)