Chapter 726: Inevitable Chaos

Silence settled over the conversation.

For hundreds of years, the Statute of Secrecy had kept the existence of wizards hidden. Now, for the first time, magic had been exposed to the ordinary world on a global scale.

The divide between wizards and Muggles was growing sharper by the hour. At the same time, both sides were fracturing from within, each splitting into opposing camps with radically different ideas about what came next.

Chaos was inevitable.

As for where fate would ultimately lead them... no one could say.

Even Tom, who wielded the power of time, couldn’t see the future. Every possible timeline lay hidden behind a thick veil of mist.

Yet there was something strangely ironic about all this.

The crisis might also be a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

Wizards couldn’t hide in the corners of the world forever. Sooner or later, people like Grindelwald or Voldemort would always rise to challenge the status quo.

Meanwhile, Muggle technology continued advancing at a breathtaking pace.

If things went on like this, wizardkind might genuinely face extinction someday. So at least now, while the gap wasn’t yet insurmountable, they still had a fighting chance.

What made Dumbledore gloomy was that he carried a burden far heavier than Tom’s. He valued every life far more deeply than Tom ever could.

Whatever the future held, he knew one thing was certain. Blood would be spilled.

Some of the students who had sat in the Great Hall listening to his speech only yesterday might one day become nothing more than cold corpses.

He hoped that possibility would never come to pass.

Seeing Dumbledore’s gloomy expression, Tom deliberately changed the subject, "Professor, I heard Fudge and Amelia Bones arguing just now. What was that about?"

The distraction worked.

Dumbledore sighed before explaining, "The British Prime Minister and the Cabinet received a call from senior officials in America. They held a lengthy meeting, and afterward the Prime Minister contacted Fudge, demanding an explanation."

"In order to reassure them and maintain stability, Fudge revealed quite a bit. He insisted that the British magical community remained fully under control and that nothing like what happened in America would occur here."

"But Amelia believes he disclosed far too much about the wizarding world. If war does break out, that information could become a serious liability for the Ministry."

Tom could easily imagine why the government was furious.

It wasn’t simply because magic existed. It was because wizards had shattered an agreement that had stood for centuries, revealing themselves to the world with almost brazen confidence.

That meant the old understanding was effectively dead. An entire hidden race had suddenly become public knowledge, creating an enormous headache for governments trying to maintain order.

"Professor... I think Amelia is overreacting." Tom shook his head helplessly. "Even if Fudge hadn’t said a word, how many half-bloods and Muggle-borns do we have at Hogwarts?"

"If the government really wanted answers, they’d only need to find one or two cooperative people. Places like Diagon Alley or the Ministry’s location aren’t exactly impossible secrets to uncover."

"Has the pressure gotten to her? Is she just not thinking clearly?"

Dumbledore hesitated before deciding to tell him the rest.

There was no point hiding it. Tom would find out sooner or later anyway.

"Amelia’s proposal..." He paused, "...is that every wizard with close ties to the Muggle world, whether they’re adults or not, should be required to swear an Unbreakable Vow to prevent them from leaking magical secrets."

Tom frowned instantly.

He could hardly believe those words had come from Amelia Bones.

"Has she lost her mind? How could she even suggest something like that? I’m Muggle-born myself. Does she expect me to sign one too?"

A bitter smile crossed Dumbledore’s face. "Tom, you’re different. There isn’t a single person in this world who can force you to do something against your will. Amelia isn’t foolish enough to try."

"The problem is that everyone else lacks your... deterrence. And to guarantee absolute secrecy, quite a few people actually support her proposal. Fudge believes it would be an enormous undertaking. There are simply too few wizards capable of performing the Unbreakable Vow."

"Also, he opposes it because the resentment it would create before the process was completed might drive even more people to reveal magical secrets voluntarily."

He rubbed his forehead. "In short, everything is a complete mess. I’d like you to come to the Ministry. Your presence is irreplaceable. You’re the only one who can get both sides to calm down and seriously discuss a reasonable solution."

Tom thought it over for a moment before nodding. "I’m coming soon."

Internal conflict never ended.

That was true for ordinary people. It was just as true for wizards.

The two worlds hadn’t even started fighting each other yet, and cracks had already appeared within the wizarding community itself.

His worries had become reality much sooner than he’d expected. In less than a day, the Ministry had already begun viewing half-bloods and Muggle-borns with suspicion.

Across the globe, similar debates were unfolding inside ministries of magic.

Newspapers everywhere devoted pages to the events in New York.

Fear and uncertainty spread like wildfire.

In times of upheaval like this, ordinary wizards had no control over their own fate. No one knew what tomorrow would bring.

The American wizards understood that feeling better than most. Only a few years earlier, they had already lived through a world-changing upheaval of their own.

...

..

Far away in Central Asia, Voldemort had somehow made his way to the region.

He, too, was reading the morning paper.

{Ancient Dark Wizard Revived! Herpo the Foul Ravages America!}

The headline immediately caught his attention.

At first, he assumed it was just another sensational story meant to boost newspaper sales.

Still, curiosity got the better of him.

As he read on, he discovered that the most ridiculous, unbelievable part... was actually true.

Herpo the Foul, confirmed by Dumbledore himself to have returned from the depths of history, had truly appeared in the modern world.

Horcruxes.

The answer came to Voldemort almost instantly. Only Horcruxes could explain it.

After all, Herpo had invented them.

Years ago, Voldemort had inherited a portion of Herpo’s knowledge and understood better than almost anyone just how terrifying the ancient wizard’s mastery of Dark Magic had been.

A man like that could never have simply vanished without a trace, leaving behind only legends.

But once Voldemort became certain that the resurrected figure really was Herpo... he felt no excitement.

Instead, an overwhelming surge of killing intent welled up inside him like never before.

.

.

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