The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 585 Contact War

After Professor McGonagall discussed with others, they decided to divide the most capable professors and volunteers into several teams to guard the entrances of several schools, while teams composed of students patrolled the various floors of the castle in pairs.

It has to be said that this is the most reasonable arrangement under the current circumstances. The professors with the strongest fighting power are placed in the most dangerous places, while the students with weaker abilities are placed in relatively safer floors. In theory, if there are really intruders, they must pass through the professors' defenses to reach the students who come to help.

Soon, Professor McGonagall began to assign specific personnel. Ryan and Hermione were assigned to the seventh floor, while Malfoy and Pansy were assigned to the eighth floor, where the Room of Requirement was located. Ryan thought this might not be a coincidence, but was deliberately arranged by Snape when the professors gathered together to discuss.

However, this also further confirmed that Malfoy would take action tonight. Fortunately, Ryan was assigned to the seventh floor this time. For him, this was the best place tonight, and he could just monitor what Malfoy was going to do.

"Okay, now you all take your positions. I think tonight will be a peaceful night not much different from the previous ones, but you will need to work a little harder." Professor McGonagall said to everyone as they went to their patrol positions.

"I really hope tonight will be peaceful, but I don't think it will be like this." Ryan said to Hermione through the Phoenix Mark as they walked up the big staircase to the seventh floor.

"Is Malfoy's plot about to succeed?" The attentive Hermione had already observed the change in Malfoy's state before, and now she knew the truth as soon as Ryan mentioned it. "I want to see how effective the trap you have been bragging about for most of the semester is?"

"Just watch." Ryan seemed very confident, "I will give those invaders a big surprise."

Because they walked fast, Malfoy and his friends had not come up when they reached the seventh floor. So Ryan asked Hermione to help him watch the staircase, and then he went to the eighth floor and placed a few alchemical monitors he made on the vase next to the tapestry. After everything was ready and he went down to the seventh floor, Malfoy and Pansy slowly walked up from the bottom of the stairs.

After seeing Ryan and Hermione standing in the corridor on the seventh floor, Pansy showed an expression as if she saw chewing gum stuck on the sole of her shoe and moved her lips, as if she wanted to mock something. But Malfoy suddenly pulled her upstairs.

Less than five minutes after Malfoy went upstairs, a small badge on Ryan's body vibrated, which meant that there was only one person left in the corridor on the eighth floor. Ryan immediately grabbed Hermione and pointed to the stairs upstairs. Hermione nodded to show that she understood. Then the two ran upstairs along the stairs.

Pansy was looking down nervously at the stairs at this time. When she saw Ryan and the others, her face turned pale, and then she said in a sharp tone, "You two mudbloods shouldn't come up now. You shouldn't come here tonight. I warn you-"

But before she could finish her words, Hermione drew out her wand without warning and waved it at her. A red beam of light flew directly towards Pansy, but when the beam got close to her, a white barrier suddenly popped out of Pansy's body, blocking the beam and neutralizing the attack.

Just as Pansy raised her chin slightly and was about to smile and say something, Hermione clenched her left hand with the ring on it into a fist, and the white barrier immediately shattered like glass, and then another Stunning Spell hit her chest. Pansy's knees immediately weakened and she fell forward, then rolled down the stairs to the seventh floor platform before stopping.

"Don't the Weasley twins look at people when they sell things?" Hermione stepped forward and walked to Pansy's side and rolled up her left sleeve. Ryan immediately saw that she was wearing a copper bracelet, which should be one of the dozens of bracelets sold in the store before.

"We can't help it. There won't be much investigation before selling such low-end bracelets. And we also know that most of the people who can spend money on such things are pure-bloods. If we don't sell them to them, our market will probably be reduced by more than half." Ryan explained while looking at Hermione who was removing the bracelets and wands from Pansy. "Okay, let's go upstairs and wait." Hermione said after collecting the spoils and using magic to tie Pansy up like a dumpling and throwing her into a compartment for brooms.

The two of them went upstairs and found the corridor empty, without a single person. So Ryan asked Hermione to help watch the exit of the Room of Requirement, while he set up alchemy arrays at both ends of the corridor to create barriers to prevent intruders from bypassing the interception and running to other places to hurt others.

After spending more than 40 minutes setting up the alchemy array, Ryan was about to set up enough magic traps at the door of the Room of Requirement with Hermione when he heard Professor McGonagall's voice in the corridor. "Patrol personnel on each floor please hold your posts. Someone is trying to attack from the Forbidden Forest. We are confronting them at the main gate of the castle. But don't worry, the attackers should not be able to break through the castle's defenses."

"Is this to attract attention?" Ryan immediately thought of this aspect. First, he attacked the Ministry of Magic to attract Principal Dumbledore, and then attacked the castle gate to drag the professors to the first floor. It seems that Voldemort and his men have spent a lot of money on this attack! This also indirectly shows that the group of people brought by Malfoy must be no simple people.

Maybe this time he could catch a big fish, Ryan thought, and threw a few silver badges into the corridor. Then he and Hermione hid aside and used the alchemy array to hide themselves.

The next ten minutes were spent in pure waiting, but Professor McGonagall downstairs had not lifted the alarm. Ryan thought it was probably because the Death Eaters coming from the Forbidden Forest were not numerous and not very strong. But if they could hide their bluffing, then Professor McGonagall and the others would have no other options except to stay alert at the door.

Even if Professor McGonagall and the others could guess at this time that the people outside were attracting their attention, they would not take the initiative to attack, because she did not dare to gamble the safety of all the students in the school with this possibility. After all, for her, as long as she could ensure the safety of the students and wait until Headmaster Dumbledore returned, it would be enough. If she took the initiative to attack, if the enemy lured them out and killed them before attacking Hogwarts Castle, she would definitely regret it.

After waiting in silence for more than ten minutes, a door appeared on the wall in front of Ryan and the others. Malfoy sneaked out of the door alone. There was a black bruise on his face. This wound was not there before he went in. It should be because he was beaten just now. In addition, he held up a disgusting withered hand. There was a candle in the withered hand, but from Ryan's perspective, the candle was not lit.

"What is he doing?" Hermione asked through the Phoenix Brand.

"Malfoy is observing the situation around him. He is holding the Hand of Glory. It is made from the hand of a hanged person, wrapped and soaked with mandrake or other herbs. The person holding the hand can use it to illuminate in the dark, but others cannot see it. This kind of thing is a good companion for thieves or robbers. It seems very appropriate for Malfoy to use it now."

At this time, Malfoy whispered towards the stairs: "Pansy, Pansy, where are you?" But now Pansy was knocked unconscious, tied up and stuffed in the broom cupboard downstairs, and there was no way she could answer his shout.

After shouting twice, Malfoy also realized that something was wrong, and he immediately turned around and prepared to run back to the Room of Requirement. But at this time, Hermione was faster. She waved her wand and released a thin line of black mist that wrapped around Malfoy's left hand holding the Hand of Glory and pulled it hard. Malfoy's left hand immediately fell to the ground with the Hand of Glory.

Malfoy let out a scream, but didn't stop as he rushed into the Room of Requirement.

(End of this chapter)