Milk_Is_My_Drug
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Chapter 122: A World Learning to Breathe Again
🕑 Added 2025-05-25 08:23:34 +0000 UTCThe days continued to pass, and with them, the weight of Dante’s presence slowly faded into normalcy. The students no longer carried that awkward unease around him, and the whispers of fear became mere echoes of the past. It was as if Hogwarts had simply accepted that Dante Malfoy, the man who had revealed the world’s impending doom, was just another professor.
But the first true shift came from an unexpected source.
Professor Severus Snap with his cold, distant, and infamous for his ruthless demeanor began visiting Dante’s office frequently. At first, it was subtle. A quiet knock, a brief exchange of words, and Snape would leave. But as the visits grew more frequent, it became impossible to ignore.
When Dumbledore finally confronted Snape about this strange behavior, the potions master merely sneered, his voice laced with dry sarcasm.
"We have the greatest and oldest living library of magic inside Hogwarts, and we can have it only for three years. It would be foolish if we don’t use it."
Dumbledore was taken aback. Snape, who had been nothing but guarded, perhaps even hostile toward Dante, was now speaking with him openly? Seeking him out? Learning from him?
But Snape was only the beginning.
His actions sent a ripple through the rest of the staff. The realization struck them like lightning, Dante was here, now, and for a limited time. A being who had seen the rise and fall of it all, who had walked the earth for thousands of years, was within their grasp. The knowledge he possessed was unfathomable, and yet, he was offering it freely.
Professor Flitwick was the next to follow in Snape’s footsteps, seeking Dante out with burning curiosity. Then, the other professors began to follow suit, each bringing their own questions, each seeking knowledge they had never dared to dream of obtaining.
The students were not blind to this shift. Rumors spread like wildfire, and before long, they too began approaching Dante, not just with questions about their studies, but about magic in its entirety. If Dante knew the answer, he would give it without hesitation. The realization dawned upon them all, he would not be here forever, and once he was gone, all that he knew would be lost.
It ignited something within them. A hunger for learning, a desperate desire to uncover what had been forgotten for so long.
For the first time in centuries, Hogwarts was not simply a school. It was a place of true discovery.
But the impact of Dante’s presence did not remain confined within the castle walls.
Outside Hogwarts, wizards and witches began turning their eyes toward the Muggle world, watching, observing, studying it in detail. Fear clung to their every thought. If the day came when they were exposed, if the Statute of Secrecy crumbled, and Muggles decided that wizards were a threat, what would happen?
The answer was chilling. The Muggles were too advanced. Their weapons, their technology, their sheer numbers, if they wished, they could wipe out the wizarding world.
Panic spread like a plague. The Ministry of Magic, previously stagnant and slow-moving, suddenly found itself in a state of emergency. Under the leadership of Amelia Bones, drastic measures were implemented. Incentives were created to encourage the development of new magic, protections were reinforced, and contingency plans were drawn up in case of exposure.
No one could afford to remain complacent any longer. Dante’s declaration had shattered the illusion of safety that the wizarding world had clung to for so long. The future was no longer a certainty—it could turn into a battlefield in any moment.
And for the first time in centuries, the stagnant world of magic began to move forward once more, driven not by ambition or curiosity, but by the desperate will to survive.
___________
One day, Hermione Granger arrived at Dante’s office, her usual confidence tempered by something more hesitant. Knocking lightly, she greeted him with her usual politeness before stepping inside.
"Professor," she began, "will the elves… will they really be free? After thousands of years?"
Dante met her gaze, his expression calm. Then, with a simple nod, he answered, "Just as you wanted, they will have freedom and dignity again."
Hermione didn’t reply immediately. She shifted on her feet, her fingers tightening around the edge of her robes. There was something uneasy in her stance, something that betrayed her usual unwavering belief in justice. Finally, she spoke, her voice quieter than before.
"Is that… okay?" she asked hesitantly. "I thought you hated them."
Dante observed her in silence for a moment before responding.
"You don’t want them to be free," he said calmly. "You’re afraid of them, aren’t you?"
Hermione froze, her breath catching in her throat. She lowered her head slightly as if ashamed of her own thoughts.
Dante, however, only smiled.
"You don’t need to be afraid of them," he assured her. "They are not the same elves we fought and killed."
Hermione looked up sharply, surprise flickering in her eyes. Dante leaned back slightly, glancing toward the ceiling as he continued, his voice calm and measured.
"Thousands of years have passed," he said. "Back then, we fought the elves for our survival. The very idea of our own kind harming each other was unthinkable. But look at the world now… we changed. We are divided. Wizards and Muggles now live separately. Wizards themselves are split into factions, and Muggles have formed nations, fractured even further by their own beliefs."
He lowered his gaze back to Hermione.
"Just like us, the elves changed. Those who once arrogantly slaughtered us are gone. The ones who betrayed our mercy no longer exist. The elves you see today are different, they are peaceful, and their tyranny has long since faded. They are loyal to the houses they serve, to the families they have known for generations. You said it yourself, it isn’t fair to punish them for the sins of their ancestors. I showed you the past, so you know how lucky you are to be born in this world, how lucky to live in this time, the luxury that we never had in the past, and the possible fate that awaits you all"
Hermione stared at him, her mind reeling.
"But I don’t understand," she said slowly. "Don’t you hate them? Why the sudden change?"
Dante shook his head.
"I haven’t changed," he admitted. "I despise their kind because of what I have lived through. My hatred is my own, a deep, illogical hatred engraved in my being, I carry it from my past. Just the thought of looking at them sickens me, seeing them so different from the ones I remember fills me with rage. But you are not me, you didn’t live through what I did. Hermione, don’t let the experiences of others cloud your judgment. Keep an open mind, and more importantly, open arms to the world around you. Only then can you truly go far."
Hermione’s surprise gradually melted into understanding. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and she nodded.
"Thank you, Professor," she said softly before turning to leave.
As she walked down the hall, she felt… lighter.
The conversation had been far from what she had expected, but Dante was right. She shouldn’t judge the elves based on an ancient conflict she had never been part of. The past was not a prison, she would not let it dictate her views of the present.
___________
Albus Dumbledore had witnessed many inexplicable things throughout his long life. He had unraveled countless mysteries, understood the hearts of many, and seen the depths of both cruelty and kindness. But Dante was an enigma unlike any other.
Seated in his office, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he contemplated the events of the past weeks.
Dante's actions made no sense.
This was a man who had lived through countless eras, shaped by unimaginable experiences. His mentality was so extreme that Dumbledore found it impossible to accept. And yet, there was nothing he could do to change it. Dante was beyond persuasion, beyond reason in ways that defied logic.
But Dumbledore needed to understand him.
The more he observed Dante, the more contradictions he found. He was merciless, willing to throw the world into chaos without hesitation. Yet at the same time, he performed random acts of kindness. He guided the students, taught them, and cared for their education. Why? If he truly intended to let the world burn and leave the survival to the fittest, why bother nurturing everyone instead of selective few of the best? Despite how heartless it might be, this was the best logical move for Dante to give the wizards a surviving chance.
There was no consistency. No clear pattern. It disturbed Dumbledore more than he was willing to admit.
And then there was Severus Snape.
The man who had been fiercely guarded and even hostile toward Dante was now regularly visiting his office. Snape, who never sought counsel from others, who trusted no one, was suddenly speaking with Dante as though they shared an understanding.
That change had not come out of nowhere. Something had happened between the two men.
Dumbledore had known Snape for years. He knew what the man valued and what he hated. Snape had never cared about anyone beyond Lily Potter. His hatred for Voldemort was born from that love, his every action shaped by his grief. So what had Dante said? What had he done to cause such a shift?
Dumbledore sighed, his gaze drifting toward the darkened sky outside his window. Dante was changing things. Not just Hogwarts, not just the world, but people.
Dumbledore had spent his life believing he could understand the hearts of men. But for the first time in decades, he wasn’t able to see anything through the man standing before him now.
And that, more than anything else, unsettled him.
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