A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"Run!" Harry made a quick decision and led the five of them in a mad dash in one direction.

After a few turns, Lucius descended from the sky amidst a cloud of black mist, blocking their path.

To facilitate the movement of staff, the Ministry of Magic did not set up anti-apparition spells, which ironically made it easier for Death Eaters to move around.

The room was filled with densely packed shelves, which obstructed the view. If it were in an open space, Harry and his friends probably wouldn't even have had a chance to escape.

“Give it to me,” Lucius said coldly.

They paused for a moment, then made a quick decision and turned onto another side road.

Lucius was not surprised and Apparated after them.

However, Luna hesitated for two seconds and was knocked to the ground by another Death Eater who caught up with her.

"The Golden Bell Upside Down."

She hurriedly picked up her wand and cast a spell, sending the Death Eater flying.

The crisis was temporarily averted, but Luna had become separated from Harry and the others. However, it didn't matter, as they were all headed to the same exit of this room.

Because Death Eaters would suddenly appear at any time, the others had to split up during their escape.

Neville and Ginny had just dealt with a Death Eater using a petrification charm when they unexpectedly bumped into Luna, who was running over. Without wasting time talking, they teamed up again without hesitation.

A Death Eater transformed into black mist and caught up with Harry, his upper body floating in mid-air as he stared at Harry.

However, because Harry possessed the prophecy orb that Voldemort desired, the Death Eater hesitated to attack, and was instead knocked unconscious by Harry's Stunning Charm.

Hermione and Ron were also entangled by a Death Eater. They fought and retreated, but their dueling skills were clearly not on the same level as their opponent's, and their spells were easily blocked.

As the two drew closer, Hermione switched her attack to one side of the shelf.

Hundreds and thousands of prophecy orbs rained down, forcing the Death Eaters to deal with the trouble above them first.

From the shattered orb of prophecy floated illusory, milky-white figures. These were the prophet's prophecies, and they began to recount their contents, barely obscuring the Death Eaters' view.

The six of them ran at top speed and finally met up at the intersection closest to the gate.

A strange sound suddenly rang out, and three clouds of black mist flew in from different directions, blocking the gate. Lucius happened to be among them.

“I knew you would come here. Just hand over the prophecy orb obediently, and you'll suffer less.”

"Shattered to pieces."

Ginny suddenly waved her wand, and a blue-white light, accompanied by a faint surge of magic, shot straight ahead.

Lucius raised an eyebrow in surprise, then drew his wand from his scepter and held it in front of him.

The spell flew in front of the three people but was blocked by a transparent semi-circular barrier, turning into thousands of white light spots and dissipating.

“That’s great. Molly must have taught you such a dangerous spell!” Lucius said casually. “If she had used this spell, I might not have been able to block it head-on, but you’re too young and your magic power isn’t up to par yet.”

Ginny seemed to feel mocked, glaring at him through gritted teeth, but ultimately suppressed the urge to attack.

The spell she just used was her most powerful magic, but its effect was clearly not ideal.

Lucius extended his right hand again. "Give it to me. Don't force me to do it."

Harry gripped the orb tightly, a bead of cold sweat forming on his forehead. "If I give it to you, we'll really be sitting ducks."

“Actually… it wouldn’t matter much if we didn’t give it to them,” Lucius sneered.

"Get out of the way, or I'll smash it," Harry said, trying to sound calm.

“You won’t,” Lucius said calmly. “Smash it, and we won’t hold back at all.”

Potter, you have a major weakness: individualism.

The Dark Lord understands this perfectly well, which is why he lured you out of Hogwarts. You wouldn't want your friends to pay a heavy price for your foolishness, would you?

“We can’t give it to him, Harry,” Neville said very seriously.

"I know, but..."

“We were prepared,” Ron said, though his voice sounded a little shaky.

“I’ll do it!” Hermione hesitated for a few steps forward. “I don’t know if it will work, but maybe it can create an opportunity.”

“This is no time for jokes. If we go all out, we might have a chance,” Ginny said in a deep voice. “There are three of them, but there are six of us. If we give it our all, we might not lose.”

“You’re right,” Luna said softly, drawing her wand.

"Sigh!" Lucius shook his head helplessly, "They won't shed a tear until they see the coffin!"

But the next moment, he couldn't help but swallow.

Hermione pulled a flintlock pistol from her pocket, its dark muzzle pointing directly at them from a distance of over ten meters.

Hey!

Lucius felt an urge to curse out loud. He had witnessed the power of the gun firsthand, but he absolutely did not want to experience it himself. If he were hit, he would be badly injured, if not killed.

What's even more thought-provoking is why this gun ended up in her hands. If it was stolen, that's one thing, she probably wouldn't be able to use it anyway. But if Aaron Gaius gave it to her, then he has to change his attitude towards this Muggle-born wizard. At the very least, he can't let her die here.

If they anger Aaron, the Malfoy family's future might be cut off.

"Stop!" Lucius shouted. "Miss Granger, put that thing down. We can talk this over."

"Malfoy, there's no need to be so tense!" a Death Eater standing nearby asked, puzzled.

“Mursayber, if you want to die, you can try it yourself.”

The Death Eater called Murseb fell silent. He had been in Azkaban for over a decade and didn't have a full understanding of the outside world, but he was still clear about Malfoy.

He may not be the strongest, but his judgment of the situation is very accurate; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to thrive in the wizarding world.

"Aaron gave it to you?" A gleam of joy flashed in Harry's eyes. "Now we're saved."

Hermione nodded slightly, then mustered her courage and looked at the other side, "Let us leave."

“I’m afraid that won’t work.” Lucius’s lips twitched slightly.

What a joke! How can he explain releasing everyone to Voldemort? Even if he holds a high position among the Death Eaters, he can't withstand the Dark Lord's wrath.

“Then there’s no room for negotiation.” Hermione said, about to pull the trigger.

“Wait, hand over the Prophecy Orb, and I can back down,” Lucius reassured. “But I can only decide to let you leave alone.”

"What about them?"

“That depends on their luck,” Lucius said meaningfully. “I’m only backing down for the sake of the gun’s owner; you’d better not push your luck.”

Upon hearing this, Hermione smiled slightly and then pulled the trigger.

The spider lily pattern on the gun instantly lit up, greedily absorbing Hermione's magic.

"Run."

The moment she fired, Lucius transformed into black mist and flew away from the spot, leaving only a two-word warning for his companion in mid-air.

Before the two Death Eaters could react, they saw a crimson bullet carrying a red shockwave hurtling towards them.

But being experienced Death Eaters, they sensed the immense danger in their minds and, instead of retreating, almost instinctively held their wands in front of them.

boom!

A dazzling burst of fire suddenly erupted, and the magic that the two Death Eaters were exerting themselves to unleash was quickly consumed by the flames.

The impact of the explosion slammed the two against the wall before stopping them. Their defenses weren't exactly timely, but they weren't seriously injured; they just looked disheveled.

"What is that thing?" Murseb asked, still shaken. He couldn't believe that a witch who hadn't even graduated could make him feel threatened with death.

“You don’t know, but I do?” another Death Eater said indignantly. “Malfoy is fast, but if the three of us worked together, we could definitely stop him.”

Harry and the others stared blankly at Hermione, while Ginny and Luna even had stars in their eyes.

With just this one move, her image in their minds instantly rose several levels.

Hermione herself was also stunned, deeply shocked by the power of the gun. However, the weakness she felt was real; the huge loss of magic almost made her lose her balance.

"Let's go! The other Death Eaters will be here soon if they hear gunshots," Harry said. The others realized what was happening and immediately ran towards the gate.

After all, they were being hunted by Death Eaters; if they had been a step too late, they might have lost their lives.

However, when they finally managed to rush out of the main gate and return to the circular room, they were dismayed to find that the door leading to the hall was mixed up with the doors of other rooms, and even the marks they had made on the door had completely disappeared.

“The Department of Mysteries is certainly mysterious enough, isn’t it!” Ron forced a smile.

They heard rapid footsteps coming from the door behind them, realizing that the Death Eaters were catching up. Without pausing for a moment, they found a door and slipped inside.

......

On the other side, the Divine Palace.

Aaron slammed his hand on the table, and the image in the crystal ball was once again obscured by mist.

He and the object of longing performed divination four times. The first time, they rode Thestrals through the night sky, but the scene of them traveling was meaningless.

The second time, the Ministry of Magic's main hall was empty, which didn't surprise him. Voldemort had prepared traps, so surely he couldn't even handle the security guards on duty.

The third one was more important: Harry got the prophecy orb, and then the Death Eaters appeared.

To be honest, the escape scene was quite thrilling, but Aaron could still handle it, as the weapons he prepared for Hermione were sufficient to deal with the situation.

But when Hermione fired the gun for the fourth time, he really couldn't hold back anymore, and he finally realized what he had overlooked.

Both the spider lily and the moon drop were enough for her to protect herself, and Lucius readily gave her a way out.

But she didn't appreciate it. Giving a tool that could save one person to six people? That's a joke!

"Damn it! What kind of hero are you trying to be! "

The magic energy wasn't very high to begin with; that shot drained at least 30-40% of it.

"What should we do? Go or not?" the longing body asked.

"let me think again."

"Still want more?"

"if not?

She only used the weapon I gave her. Her family might just give her a warning and that's it. But if we get involved, our escape route will be completely cut off, and the cost will be too high.

Besides, as long as the Prophecy Orb is still in Harry's hands, they're not completely desperate. At least the Death Eaters won't kill them easily, and as long as they hold out until the Order of the Phoenix arrives, they'll be safe.

The thought rolled its eyes speechlessly. If it weren't for seeing the original body packing up all the items on the shelf, it might have actually believed it.