Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 326 Public Opinion

With a final bang, the gates of Malfoy Manor collapsed, allowing Harry, his friends, and others to escape.

"Seashell House!"

After Apparition, Harry, Harry, and his two companions collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"call--"

Ron let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the aches and pains in his joints from exhaustion, and he expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

"It feels great to escape death, doesn't it, buddy?"

"Ah."

Harry wanted to laugh along with Ron, but exhaustion made him just grunt in response.

My eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, and my vision is getting blurrier and blurrier.

After an unknown amount of time, Harry finally heard voices around him:

"Harry?!"

One stone caused a thousand waves.

Soon, more and more people flocked over.

The three were carried into the house.

Compared to Harry's narrow escape, Thea's situation was far more perilous.

She ran at almost the fastest speed she'd ever been before shoving herself under the covers before Bella burst into the room—she'd never been so grateful for her rag doll-like body.

Naturally, she was found to have a fever.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, she had neither the motive nor the ability to "help Potter escape".

This became her best excuse to "exonerate" herself in front of Bella and the others.

Tinnitus and dizziness, like a pot of boiling water gurgling.

In the end, Thea couldn't even remember when Bella left, only vaguely recalling that the other woman seemed to have stood by her bedside for a long time.

She seemed to want to pull back the covers, but Thea's instinctive movement of curling her body made the other person stop—

The invisibility cloak is still in her blanket!

It must not be opened!

Absolutely not!

In the end, the other person did not make a move, but just stared at her intently for a long time.

No one knows what she's thinking, just as no one knows why Thea did this.

Long after Bella left, Thea's room welcomed another visitor.

Unlike the gentlemanly manners of a few hours earlier, the visitor rushed in without even knocking.

They looked like a homeless dog with nowhere to turn.

Stop acting all pitiful and helpless, like the sky is falling!

Thea's angry shout finally brought Lucius back to his senses.

"How...how dare you be so bold—"

Lucius's lips trembled, and his whole body shook unnaturally.

"If you're going to get involved, don't complain about the price of the ticket."

"Besides, this is just the cost of keeping your Malfoy family alive; I've already given you a very good deal!"

Like any successful salesperson resolving customer complaints, Thea put on an expression of helplessness and desperation.

Now that things had come to this, Lucius had no choice but to accept reality. He composed himself and prepared to report his achievements to Thea.

But Thea waved her hand at him, saying meaningfully,

"As an innocent victim of a malicious attack by the Order of the Phoenix, what do you think you should do now?"

Seeing that Lucius didn't immediately grasp the idea, Thea looked at him with exasperation:

"You should publish this in the newspaper!"

"Let the entire wizarding world condemn the Order of the Phoenix as a bunch of scum even lower in character than the Death Eaters!"

"They dared to lay a hand on the ancient and prestigious Malfoy Manor, so who knows if they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on ordinary people in the wizarding world?!"

"But...but everyone knows that the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters are mortal enemies!"

Lucius stammered, clearly shocked by Thea's outrageous declaration.

"No no no!"

Thea vehemently denied Lucius's words, her face still flushed with fever, her eyes burning.

"You are mortal enemies, so what?"

"Does your mortal enmity hinder the 'ordinary' wizarding community?!"

"No!!!"

"Arson, murder, looting—who can say you did all that without evidence?!"

"But things are different now. Everyone can see the current state of Malfoy Manor; those fireworks are still hanging in the sky above it!!!"

This is blatant humiliation!!!

Thea was so excited she could hardly breathe, but Lucius's expression defied the word "shock".

"We should strongly protest against this blatant disregard for the property and dignity of others!"

"Put it in the newspaper!"

"Within an hour, I will let the entire wizarding world know what a shameless and despicable organization the Order of the Phoenix is!"

“And another thing!” Thea narrowed her eyes slightly, “Cast aside all your aristocratic baggage, and face everyone’s questions as a victim. You must insist on one thing: your manor was maliciously attacked by the Order of the Phoenix, causing an incalculable huge loss!”

"……Yes."

After leaving Thea's room, Lucius looked ten years older with his hunched back, as if his entire worldview had been rebuilt and he had collapsed.

Ten minutes later, Lucius, who was highly efficient and had already arrived at the headquarters of the Daily Prophet, suddenly received a message from Thea.

"I heard there's a promising newcomer under Graybury? Go support him! Make up your own reasons!"

"Also, as your partner, I would like to kindly remind you to complete the following tasks before 10:00 AM today:"

"First, publish a strong condemnation of the Society of Phoenix in the newspaper!"

"Second, he scrambled to his father's feet to beg for forgiveness!"

“Take all the blame for negligence in guarding the property.” (Note: Bella and Graybury should have already complained to their father; please be sure to portray yourselves as ‘innocent victims’!)

After all, one of them is more capable than you, and the other has a more explosive temper. When the two of them clashed last night, you didn't have the ability to mediate!

"And most importantly, you absolutely must portray the Order of the Phoenix as utterly wicked bastards in front of Father! And use this to highlight our image as a 'force of justice'!!!"

Clutching the thin sheet of paper in his hand, Lucius took several deep breaths before he could regain his composure.

I glanced down at the time, and wow!

Eight o'clock!

This is truly a race against time!

Lucius smiled bitterly to himself, but deftly destroyed the note.

He had memorized every word. After all, it was a fool's operation. As a seasoned veteran who had worked in the Ministry of Magic and among the Death Eaters for many years, how could he not understand the hidden meaning in Thea's words?

The wind is about to pick up.