Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 573 Victor's Attack

Arthur left the principal's office.

He didn't do this entirely because of the arrival of Harry and the others. As the commander of the Hogwarts raid, he had more important things to deal with and had no time to waste here.

You know, their offensive mission this time is not only to kill the enemies inside Hogwarts, but to rule Hogwarts. This will face many problems, such as how to deal with the remaining prisoners, and how to deal with the reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic that may be late.

The former is relatively simple. Chris has already built a punishment room, so all he has to do is throw all the prisoners in there.

But the latter is a bit tricky.

To ensure that Hogwarts is not taken away again, everyone, including Chris, must concentrate and be on high alert.

In addition, it is necessary to open the seal leading to the Masonic secret realm inside Hogwarts so that the Masonic reinforcements can come in easily.

Of course, these things have nothing to do with Harry and others.

The reason why Mike agreed to let them join this operation was just because he hoped to use this incident to ease the relationship between them.

At this moment, they looked at Arthur leaving the principal's office without looking back. They were stunned at first, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief.

It has to be said that Arthur now puts a lot of pressure on Harry and the other two. They only found out today that this man who usually stands in the corner with a sword in his hand and remains silent actually possesses such terrifying power.

If it wasn't for protecting Dumbledore, none of them would dare to stand in front of Arthur even if they had ten panthers' courage.

At this time, the portrait of Dumbledore behind the three of them sighed softly and said:

"You misunderstood. The child was just chatting with me and had no intention of hurting me."

"Um...this..."

Harry and the other two were speechless. After standing there stiffly for a while, Ron lowered his head and whispered:
"We're just...just worried about you..."

"What stands before you now is nothing more than a magical portrait with the memories and way of thinking of Albus Dumbledore. I am already dead, and the living are always more important than the dead. Please remember this! So next time you encounter this situation, I hope you can make protecting yourself your top priority. Okay?"

Before Ron could finish his words, Dumbledore's portrait spoke up.

As soon as these words were spoken, the three people from Ha Ren felt warm in their hearts, and the atmosphere in the principal's office became gentle again.

Then, Ron and Harry, who had not seen Dumbledore for a long time, began to tell Dumbledore about their recent strange experiences and how they ended up here today.

As for Hermione, compared to talking to Dumbledore like a child, she wanted to know more about the magical portrait.

For example, what is it like to become a magic portrait? Is the magic portrait a continuation of the consciousness of the original owner of the portrait, or is it a completely new existence that just somewhat resembles the original owner?

Facing these three people, Dumbledore answered every question with a smile on his face, looking like he was enjoying it.

You know, making magic portraits is very lonely.

Especially the portrait in the principal's office.

Except for the portrait of the witch with silver curly hair, which could be secretly transferred to St. Mungo's for some fresh air, the rest of the portraits could basically only sleep or quarrel with each other every day.

The last time Harry came, he saw Dumbledore knitting wool socks. In fact, Dumbledore didn't really want to knit, but was just passing the time.

So, as a magical portrait, Dumbledore actually really enjoyed chatting with Harry and the others.

But good times always pass. After chatting for a long time, Ron and Hermione left the headmaster's office, and only Harry found an excuse to stay alone.

Finally, only Harry and Dumbledore were left in the empty office.

At this time, Harry's expression gradually became serious. He stared at Dumbledore, who still had a warm smile on his face in the portrait, and asked in a somewhat puzzled voice:
"Principal Dumbledore, remember the last time you asked me to protect the invisibility cloak?"

"Of course. Is there something wrong?"

Harry was silent for a while, and finally said through gritted teeth:
"I think you might be mistaken. Mike...he doesn't seem to be interested in the Deathly Hallows."

"Oh? How do you say this?"

"You know, Michael has been my good friend since I first entered Hogwarts. Therefore, he also knows that I have an invisibility cloak that you gave me. I believe that with Michael's wisdom, he should be able to easily guess that it is the last Deathly Hallows.

So if he wanted, he could have arrested me and tortured me about the whereabouts of the invisibility cloak. Even though I had learned the art of occlumency, I would still have been very likely to have leaked information about the cloak. After all, it was Mike, and it wouldn't have been difficult for him to do so.

Therefore, I have been very nervous and afraid to face Mike.

But as you can see now, I am still standing in front of you safely, and Mike has never asked me about the invisibility cloak, not even once.

So I want to ask, about Mike, are you...are you mistaken?"

Harry said what was in his mind in one breath, then gasped and looked at Dumbledore nervously.

God bless him, the pressure he has been under during this period of time is almost driving him crazy.

Therefore, he was now very eager to get the answer from Dumbledore: "Mike is a good person."

On the one hand, this is to help his friend get rid of suspicion, and on the other hand, it is also to relieve the tremendous mental pressure he is under to a certain extent.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore in the portrait fell into deep thought.

After all, he was just a magical portrait. Although he inherited Dumbledore's memory and way of thinking, he was not Dumbledore himself. So for a moment, he didn't know how to answer Harry's question.

Fortunately, Dumbledore's more than a hundred years of life experience still helped him. After pondering for a moment, Dumbledore's frown finally relaxed.

He looked at Harry and smiled. He said:

"I know. I have a deep understanding of Mike. He is one of the most talented young wizards I have ever seen in my life. While this powerful talent makes him successful in everything, it also makes him a proud person. Just like when I gave him the elder wand, he was a little reluctant at the time. Such a proud person may not be interested in the Deathly Hallows, because he simply disdains to rely on this method to defeat death."

Hearing this, Harry nodded first, then seemed to realize something, widened his eyes and said:
"So you gave Michael the elder wand, not him taking it. You gave him the elder wand, one of the Deathly Hallows, and now you want me to protect the invisibility cloak?"

"Ahem... it's not important. You can think of this as another form of protection." Dumbledore coughed awkwardly a few times. "With Mike's current strength, as long as Mike himself is not interested in the Deathly Hallows, he will become one of the strongest protectors of the Deathly Hallows. After all, the elder wand is pretty good, and he won't let anyone take it away easily."

Harry looked at Dumbledore with dissatisfaction, obviously not satisfied with this answer.

But in the end, he breathed a sigh of relief and accepted what Dumbledore said.

After all, he didn't want to be an enemy of Mike. It was too tiring and the chance of winning was too low. However, Dumbledore continued to say:
"But you can't let your guard down yet. Harry, even if Michael himself is not interested in the Deathly Hallows, the people around him may not be. The temptation to defeat death is too great, and not everyone can resist it. Sometimes, the means these people will take will be more cruel than you can imagine! So I hope you can continue to work hard, just like Ignotus, the youngest brother of the three Peverell brothers, escape the pursuit of the god of death, and finally defeat the god of death!"

Hearing this, Harry's expression became serious again. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and finally nodded to Dumbledore with a serious face.

"Good boy!"

Dumbledore said with satisfaction.

At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind Harry.

"Hmm? I thought I heard someone talking about the Grim Reaper."

"who!"

Harry screamed and turned his head, only to see that Victor had come into the office without him noticing and was now leaning against the wall picking his ears.

"Ah! Did I scare you? I'm so sorry."

Victor flicked the non-existent earwax on his fingers. Although he said words of apology, his expression did not show any apology. Instead, he looked at Harry with sharp eyes.

That look was like a traveler who had been hungry and thirsty for days and suddenly found a table full of delicious food, and couldn't wait to devour everything in front of him.

Harry naturally noticed the unkindness in Victor's eyes.

Under the tremendous pressure from Victor's eyes, Harry couldn't help but step back twice, but still gritted his teeth and pulled out the wand from his pocket.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I've already apologized, why are you still angry?"

Victor raised his eyebrows, and while he was making a witty remark, the finger that had just been touching his ear flicked again.

But unlike the ordinary snap of his fingers last time, Victor's snap of his fingers this time directly produced a sonic boom.

"boom!"

A fingernail whizzed through the air and pierced Harry's wand-holding hand at lightning speed, and then the blood-stained fingernail was embedded in Dumbledore's portrait.

"what!"

A howl came out of Harry's mouth. In pain, Harry loosened his hand, covered the wound with his other hand, and collapsed to the ground. The wand was thrown away.

The next moment Harry reacted and struggled to pick up the wand.

But at this time, the magic wand had already been stepped on by Victor.

"Now, Mr. Potter, and Headmaster Dumbledore, could you explain to me what you just said about Death and Ignotus?"

Victor looked down at Harry. Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were still sharp and intimidating.

As he spoke, he pointed the finger without a nail at Harry. Blue light flashed on it, and the condensed energy seemed to be about to pour out and hit Harry in the next moment.

Harry didn't care about the pain in his hand at this moment. He panted, looked directly at Victor and said:
"Did you get Mike's consent to do this?"

"Hmm?" Victor's smile froze. "You don't have to worry about that. You just need to answer my questions."

"He doesn't know anything. If you want to ask, just ask me."

Dumbledore, who was behind Harry, bent down carefully to avoid the fingernails embedded in the portrait, and came to the corner near Victor and said.

But Victor had no intention of paying any attention to Dumbledore and continued to stare at Harry.

Victor also graduated from Hogwarts, and he had a clear understanding of Dumbledore's cunning and cruelty.

Besides, the other party is just a portrait now. It is simply wishful thinking to want to extract real information from him.

Under Victor's gaze, Harry broke out in a sweat.

He felt that he might die here today.

At this moment, a dark purple light flashed in the office, which was originally dim with the curtains drawn.

Harry looked over instinctively and saw Zhou Hong, who was in a transformed state and full of murderous aura, appearing behind Victor without him noticing.

"Victor, what are you doing?"

Zhou Hong's emotionless voice echoed in the office.

Upon hearing this, Victor retracted the finger that was glowing with blue light, turned his head and said with a chilling smile:

"Zhou Hong, you're here so fast! Don't worry, I was just joking with Harry."

Zhou Hong did not say anything. He just looked at Victor expressionlessly. The purple light surrounding his body became even more intense.

Victor shook his head helplessly, then walked towards the door with a smile.

And Zhou Hong had no intention of stopping him.

It was not until Victor left the office that Zhou Hong stopped transforming into the windowsill, and a serious look appeared on his face.

Harry rolled and crawled to pick up the wand on the ground, and looked at Zhou Hong cautiously.

Seeing this, Zhou Hong frowned again. He looked at Harry and said slowly after a while:

"Dumbledore is right. You are just like Ignotus now. The only difference is that Ignotus has only one Grim Reaper. But for you, everyone who is bewitched by the legend of the Deathly Hallows is your Grim Reaper! If I were you, I would run away with my cloak. You know, I can still stop Victor, but some people..."

Zhou Hong didn't continue speaking, but turned and walked towards the door.

It was not until he was about to leave the office that he suddenly turned his head and continued:
"Harry, don't trust others too much. You have to know that people's ideas will change. Some people may not care about some things now, but you can't say for sure in the future."

After saying this, Zhou Hong disappeared at the door.

(End of this chapter)