The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 502 The calm before the storm

Ada didn't know how far Scotland was from Versailles. She only knew that the shortest part of the Strait of Dover was more than 30 miles. But it was this short distance of 30 miles that made the two countries very different, as if it was a natural chasm.

Ada couldn't remember how many times she had crossed the Strait of Dover. She would land in Calais and then head to Versailles.

The ferry cut through the waves, parting the sea water, and docked at the passenger port in less than two hours.

After getting off the ship and landing, Ada did not stop in Calais, nor did she choose to leave by train, but used Apparition to hurry on. She was so eager to go home that she had no time to appreciate the French scenery along the way.

When they returned to Rose Manor, it was time for dinner. Ada was greeted by dusted hands and a warm hug. Vida did not ask why Ada suddenly came back. This was her home, a place she could come back to at any time.

The next day was Christmas, and I received many gifts, including clothes, jewelry, etc. The most special gift was from the twins, who sent a howler letter.

On Christmas morning, the twins' angry roars lasted for a full quarter of an hour before they stopped. The deafening roars almost blew the roof of the manor off.

Feeling socially dead, Ada changed her clothes with a red face, walked out of the brick-red building and went to the pigeon house to feed the pigeons.

Watching the pigeons pecking at the scattered bread crumbs, Ada's red face gradually returned to its normal color.

In the idle days after Christmas, feeding pigeons became the first thing Ada did every morning. Listening to the pigeons cooing and watching them circling in the sky, Ada's chaotic mood would calm down.

The days in Rose Manor were peaceful and tranquil, without intrigue, deception, or Voldemort lurking in the dark. Now Ada was like a fisherman who had put away his fishing nets, finding a moment of peace in the midst of busyness.

In a blink of an eye, the two-week Christmas vacation was over, and Hogwarts lost its female student union president, just like losing the most dazzling gem on the crown.

Ida still stayed at Rose Manor, and she also wrote in her diary:

1996/1/1

Happy New Year! It is decided that we should love and work, that's it!
……

1996/1/2

I am so tired. I don’t want to love or work anymore. If possible, please let me be a useless person…

……

1996/1/3

My grandmother asked me what I was going to do next. I didn't answer because I was too embarrassed to say the word "idle".

……

Hogwarts had officially started school early in the morning. Ada appeared in front of the pigeon house on time, holding a small bowl full of bread crumbs.

After she scattered the bread crumbs, the pigeons flocked up. Ada stretched out her finger to count the number of pigeons, and she found that there were new faces in the flock. She didn't know whether they flew from somewhere else or were just little pigeons from their nests.

At this time, footsteps sounded behind Ada. Ada pointed at the strange pigeon and said with a smile: "Look, Laura, we have a new friend today. It's very beautiful."

"It's very beautiful, but I don't think you'll be in the mood to admire pigeons after reading today's newspaper," said Laura, handing over two newspapers.

One is the Daily Prophet of the British wizarding world, and the other is a newspaper in France.

I took the newspaper and opened the Daily Prophet, and ten black and white photos occupying the front page came into view.

Nine wizards and one witch either sneered silently or tapped their fingers haughtily on the sides of their pictures, each of which was annotated with their name and the crime for which they had been imprisoned in Azkaban.

Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov and so on, these ten people are all Death Eaters, Voldemort's loyal subordinates and his right-hand men.

Continuing to read, the newspaper said: The Ministry of Magic announced last night that a large-scale prison break had occurred in Azkaban.

Minister Cornelius Fudge confirmed in an interview in his office that ten felons escaped last night and that he had informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangers of the fugitives.

Putting down the Daily Prophet, he unfolded the local newspaper, which also reported the escape of ten Azkaban prisoners. However, the local newspapers were not as worried as their British counterparts, as they believed that these ten people could not threaten the safety of the French wizarding world.

The French magic community has always scoffed at the idea of ​​Voldemort's return, thinking that Dumbledore was hysterical. People in the French Ministry of Magic privately mocked Cornelius Fudge as a weakling and said he was worthless.

Now that these ten serious criminals have escaped from prison, and they are all Voldemort's men, the French wizarding community has finally stopped laughing and started to take the matter seriously.

But they still underestimated the seriousness of this matter, or rather, they underestimated Voldemort. After all, at the peak of Voldemort's power, he had never touched other countries.

Except for the United Kingdom, the wizarding world in other countries knew Voldemort's name and the crimes he had committed, but they did not understand how terrifying Voldemort was and knew very little about his ambitions.

In most places, Grindelwald's name is more famous than Voldemort's, because the horror brought by blood is often the most intuitive and impressive.

After handing the newspaper back to Laura, Ada continued to scatter the bread crumbs in the bowl, but at this time she had no time to observe the pigeons.

The importance of these ten fugitives is beyond doubt, and Voldemort has one more piece of the puzzle to success. Some are like Messi joining Saint-Germain, which is the most important reinforcement for the championship team.

Ada didn't know how many blank pieces were left in the puzzle. The fewer pieces were left, the more difficulties this war would face.

"Are we going to pack up and go back?" Laura asked, "Does this count as a mission in times of crisis?"

Ada shook her head, without stopping her movements. She said, "It would be useless for me to go back. I can't find all these people one by one. They must be gathered around their master, waiting for their master to blow the horn of counterattack."

It is said that it is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. Ada's final pressure on Dumbledore was to hope that the headmaster would make drastic changes instead of just making minor repairs to the leaky sheepfold.

Now it is not just a matter of lost sheep. A ferocious wolf has even entered the sheepfold. The situation has already developed in the worst direction. No amount of repairing the sheepfold will help.

As long as the wolf is in the sheepfold, no sheep can be saved.

"So what are you going to do next?" Laura asked, "Continue feeding the pigeons, writing in your diary, or chasing the small animals in the garden away?"

Ada frowned and asked, "Have I been behaving like an annoying kid lately?"

"You're not a naughty kid." Laura said, "You are!"

Ada was forced to swallow back the words "That's fine" before she could even say them out loud. She said, "That's not important. By the way, are the roses in the flowerbed blooming well?"

The reason why the Rose Manor is called the Rose Manor is because of the roses that bloom in the garden all year round. Ada didn't even need to open the window, she could see the beautiful roses just by standing by the window, so she didn't need to ask such an idiotic question.

Laura folded the newspaper in her hand and said slowly: "The flower garden is so small, but there are more and more roses, and it is crowded. Now there are more flower species other than roses, and those roses are beginning to stir."

The small bowl in her hand was empty. Ada flipped her hand and the bowl disappeared.

Ida shook her hands and said meaningfully, "Spring is coming, the season when everything grows. But the cold before spring is the cruelest."

"It's very simple. Just pull out what needs to be pulled out, prune the branches, water when necessary, and fertilize when necessary." Laura said, "You are the owner of the flower garden."

Ida put her hands behind her back, pretending to be a worldly-wise person, and said leisurely, "Yes, I am the owner of the flower garden. I almost forgot this, and always thought about the bad things in other people's gardens."

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," Laura said, with hatred burning in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)