At this moment, the scene inside the Leaky Cauldron looked extremely strange.
A panting waiter waved the newspaper in his hand, while opposite him stood a large crowd of customers with bright eyes, their heads swaying back and forth along with the movement of his arm.
In the end, the waiter seemed to notice it too. He deliberately began waving the newspaper around, directing everyone in front of him to make funny movements.
It made the atmosphere rather comical.
"Don't fool around with the customers!"
Old Tom barked as he brought his knuckles down hard on the waiter's head. The waiter clutched his head, cried out, and stumbled backward, nearly falling into the fireplace again.
The newspaper, still warm from the printing press, was snatched away by Old Tom.
Everyone crowded around and craned their necks to look.
The brand-new paper clearly bore The Daily Prophet logo, but compared to the morning edition, its contents were much simpler.
Declaration of War!
Or, to be more specific...
The British Ministry of Magic Declares War on the French Wizarding World!
Just seeing the huge W-shaped British Ministry of Magic emblem in the middle of the front page made everyone's head spin.
"They really declared war? How is that possible? How could they dare?!"
Ap muttered absentmindedly.
Just moments ago, he had been wondering why the British Ministry of Magic had so openly released every detail about the Hogwarts attack, even ignoring its own information classification policy.
Doing that would definitely stir up public anger.
But now it all made sense.
The British Ministry of Magic wanted to stir up that anger and then direct all of it toward the French wizards.
But how could they dare?
Weren't they afraid of anti-war protests at home?
Weren't they afraid of sanctions from the International Confederation of Wizards?
Shouldn't negotiation have been the normal way to handle something like this?
Why weren't they following common sense?
Ap felt as if his head were about to split open.
He had studied magical history and had read about plenty of reckless and even bizarre rulers.
But he had never imagined anyone would be this reckless.
"Good! Wonderful!"
"Long live the British Ministry of Magic!"
"Long live Lord Link Flamel!"
———
After a brief silence, deafening cheers suddenly erupted.
The huge bearded man had already torn open his shirt, exposing his hairy chest as he roared nonstop.
Beside him, Adam, the editor who had always appeared gentle and refined, had also taken off his suit jacket and was waving it around while cheering.
The sight looked rather funny with Adam's thin body.
But no one laughed.
Everyone present was even crazier than he was. Every person's emotions had been ignited by the simple headline in the newest issue of The Daily Prophet.
Ap swallowed hard.
The madness before his eyes gave him a bad feeling. He slowly backed away, trying to leave the Leaky Cauldron.
But before he had taken more than a few steps, a large calloused hand grabbed him by the collar.
"Old Tom, let go of me! I just remembered I left a machine running in my workshop. I have to go back now!"
Ap spoke anxiously, his eyes drifting toward the frenzied Adam.
Old Tom's hands, however, stayed locked onto his collar like iron clamps as he smiled at him.
For some reason, Ap felt that the way Old Tom looked at him was no different from looking at a huge pile of Galleons.
"As you've just seen, the British Ministry of Magic has declared war on the entire French wizarding world. That means the whole British magical community has now entered the highest wartime alert and is under military control."
Old Tom said softly,
"And under military control, every British wizard has the responsibility and duty to report foreign spies."
Ap's heart skipped a beat.
Still, he forced out a smile.
"You're saying I'm a foreign spy? How is that possible? I'm not French. I'm a real British wizard! Old Tom, I'm warning you, don't mess around! The Ministry clearly explained the reporting policy under military control. False accusations carry the same punishment!"
"That's right. I remember it clearly too. False reports are punished the same, and failing to report is punished the same. It's all written down and strictly enforced. But I never said you were French. Wasn't that a confession?"
Ap's face became extremely ugly.
His hand quietly moved toward his wand holster.
At this point, nothing he said would matter.
His only option was to force his way out.
But just as his fingers touched his wand, a fist as big as a cauldron suddenly filled his vision.
Bang!
The huge bearded man sent Ap flying with a single punch, smashing him straight through the bar counter.
"Sorry. I broke your family bar."
The bearded man spoke awkwardly.
Old Tom burst into laughter and grabbed the man's fist, which was still hanging in the air.
"Haha! It's fine, it's fine! I was already planning to replace it anyway. You actually saved me the trouble. Besides, you were saving me. I should be thanking you!"
Hearing that, the bearded man finally relaxed.
Just then, Adam shouted and led a large group of customers toward the Floo Network fireplace once again.
Old Tom's smile instantly froze, and he hurriedly shouted,
"Merlin's beard! Where are you all going?"
"Isn't it obvious? To the Ministry of Magic!"
"But... why? Haven't they already declared war? Didn't you all get what you wanted? Why go to the Ministry now?"
Adam turned around and looked at the anxious Old Tom in confusion.
"To enlist, of course! Auror, Hit Wizard, anything! I'm going to France myself and avenge my son!"
"That's right! I'm going to get revenge too!"
The big bearded man roared as he followed after Adam.
Everyone else echoed the same.
Under Old Tom's stunned gaze, the entire crowd soon noisily poured into the Floo fireplace and disappeared into the rising green flames.
The huge Leaky Cauldron was left with only Old Tom standing among the wreckage.
Even the waiter Old Tom had hired had quietly slipped away with Adam.
Outside the Leaky Cauldron, Old Tom could still see the crowds flooding through Diagon Alley.
More and more people had received the news that the British Ministry of Magic had declared war.
Everyone was raising flags bearing the Ministry's emblem, waving them while shouting and roaring.
Even more people were rushing toward every shop with a Floo Network fireplace.
Some impatient ones even broke the law by Apparating directly in the street.
There was no doubt that all of these people, burning with anger, were headed for the Ministry of Magic.
Old Tom's own heart burned with excitement.
But after looking at the wrecked state of his pub, it quickly cooled again.
Now the Leaky Cauldron would probably have to follow those newly opened taverns outside and undergo a complete renovation.
How many Galleons would that cost?
Old Tom couldn't even bear to think about it.
Fortunately, there was still Ap to make up for the losses.
"A full renovation... five thousand Galleons should be enough, right?"
Old Tom muttered to himself as he gave the unconscious Ap another heavy punch beneath the rubble.
———
At the same time, thousands of miles away in Spinner's End.
Link, along with Madam Flamel and Emily, walked down the run-down street toward the riverbank.
The dozens of people in the procession remained silent, while the residents inside the houses lining the street watched the group in black robes with curiosity.
Most of their attention, however, was fixed on the black coffin decorated with silver patterns, which was being pulled by a carriage in the middle of the procession.
A luxurious coffin like that appearing on a street filled with human waste and all kinds of garbage was simply too eye-catching.
In terms of comfort and luxury alone, the shabby brick houses they lived in looked more like coffins than that one did.
Many people quietly followed the mysterious funeral procession, wanting to see where the coffin would be buried.
As for what they planned to do after learning the location...
That was already obvious.
Yet Link and the others paid no attention.
The group continued along the filthy river, and then, at a certain point, suddenly disappeared.
The residents of Spinner's End who had been following them were stunned.
Unwilling to give up, they searched around the riverbank but found nothing.
In the end, they fled the area in fear, leaving behind yet another terrifying rumor in Spinner's End.
What they didn't know was that Link and his group were still standing not far away on the riverbank.
Concealing them was a spherical barrier.
Its radius was nearly a hundred meters, enclosing both the sky above and the ground below.
Outside the barrier was a lifeless gray world.
Dirty snowflakes drifted down from thick black clouds, piling into a thick layer of brownish-gray snow along the riverbank. But whenever they landed in the river, they melted without a sound.
The muddy water, filled with chemicals and garbage, seemed to have lost the ability to freeze, flowing steadily even in the middle of winter.
Inside the barrier, however, everything was green.
It was as if spring had arrived here ahead of the rest of the world.
Everywhere they looked, green grass covered the ground.
At the highest hill in the center of the barrier stood an ancient willow tree.
It was the only living large plant within several kilometers.
Its very existence was nothing short of a miracle.
The environment around Spinner's End simply wasn't suitable for a tree like this to grow.
Living in such terrible surroundings for so long had left it severely undernourished.
Its bark was dry and peeling, while its trunk and branches had twisted into awkward, crooked shapes.
Yet even so, this willow tree, which had arrived in this land decades ago together with tea leaves and porcelain, was still alive.
Without any help from Link or anyone else, it had even grown fresh green branches.
To do that, it had to be struggling every single moment.
"But now you can finally rest. Life should be easier from now on."
Link gently stroked the willow's rough bark and murmured to himself.
Hearing those words, Sigfen, John, and the others behind him all silently lowered their heads.
None of them could understand why Link insisted on burying Professor Snape in a place like this.
In their opinion, Hogwarts was the best resting place.
Only the honor of being buried at Hogwarts matched Professor Snape's sacrifice.
Or, perhaps, being buried beside Lily wouldn't have been impossible either.
It sounded disrespectful to the dead.
After all, to do that, they would first have to dig up the shared grave of Lily Potter and James Potter, separate James Potter's body, and bury it somewhere else.
Such an act would probably bring protests from many people, including Dumbledore.
But so what?
With Link's current reputation, even if he really did that, no one could stop him.
Yet in the end, Link chose this stretch of riverbank on the outskirts of Spinner's End.
He had also spent a huge amount of money to build a massive barrier centered around the willow tree.
The soil and air inside the barrier had all been magically improved, and a climate control system identical to the one at Durmstrang had been installed, keeping the temperature and humidity at spring levels all year round.
The barrier itself was made up of dozens of protective spells, including the Shield Charm, the Anti-Apparition Charm, the Muggle-Repelling Charm, the Fidelius Charm, and many others.
Its level of protection was already comparable to the Ministry of Magic's committee offices.
None of that was really a problem.
After all, those measures were meant to improve the beauty and safety of Professor Snape's grave.
The problem was that after transforming the entire cemetery, Link had deliberately left that crooked, undernourished willow tree untouched.
In such a paradise-like place, its presence looked completely out of place.
Was that really appropriate?
"Link, it's time."
Dumbledore's voice sounded at just the right moment, pulling everyone from their thoughts.
Link nodded and silently walked to the back of the carriage. With a light tap of his wand, the entire coffin floated gently into the marble grave that had already been prepared beneath the willow.
As the oldest person present, Dumbledore opened the black notebook in his hand and began the eulogy.
Everyone quickly lowered their heads in silence according to tradition.
Emily had already buried herself in Madam Flamel's arms, quietly sobbing.
Only Link remained standing before Professor Snape's coffin, expressionless as he stared at the great willow tree.
Others might have thought Link was overwhelmed with grief.
But in truth, only Link himself knew that his heart was completely calm, and even his mind was empty.
It was like the state just after waking up, when a person's mind had not fully returned.
This wasn't the effect of Occlumency.
It was Link's truest and most instinctive emotional response.
His body instinctively rejected all outside information, focusing all of its attention on the willow before him, studying the scars covering its trunk and the branches swaying in the wind.
Link knew very well that this was his body's instinctive way of protecting his mind.
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