The Return to Hogwarts

Ron said excitedly as the Gryffindor group stepped out of the foyer and stood on the top step of the marble staircase, gazing at the jubilant scene on the lawn, which was green with the spring breeze.

It was strange—Harry used to be as enthusiastic as anyone when Quidditch was mentioned, but this time, he seemed a little uninterested.

“Hmm—good idea, Ron—”

Harry glanced in the direction of the school gate and said absentmindedly,

“You know where I put them, you can go and get them.”

Ron, completely unaware of what was amiss, readily accepted the proposal. He, Seamus, and Neville excitedly turned around and rushed up the stairs. After all, every opportunity to come into contact with a world-class flying broomstick like the Firebolt was a rare one.

pat-

Hermione, who had been absorbing knowledge every second since emerging from the basement, snapped the book shut. She glanced at Harry, took a deep breath of the fresh evening air, and

"Want to talk to me, Harry?"

“Oh!” Harry was a little surprised. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

Instead of standing foolishly at the door, the two walked down the steps, bypassed the group of little wizards flying on the lawn, and headed towards the lakeside.

A gentle breeze swept across the land, and the ripples on the vast Black Lake rose in layers, resembling a huge, wrinkled golden silk ribbon under the setting sun.

They sat on a raised platform fifty feet from the lake, and Hermione once again opened the old book filled with scrutiny and began to read it carefully.

"You've been reading this book lately, what's it about?"

Harry found it a bit strange. Hermione had suggested talking to him, but he had been engrossed in his book without saying a word. After thinking for a moment, he decided to find a topic to talk about himself.

“A Simplified Theory of Ancient Spells,” Hermione showed the book cover to Harry. “The content of this book is quite profound, especially the annotations, but I’m recently starting to find it enjoyable—”

Hermione brushed aside the stray strands of hair in front of her eyes and said calmly.

"This is the book Professor Blaine gave you—" Harry immediately realized.

Hermione nodded, still focused on the gentle prose in the book, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed as if she were struggling to think. After a long while, she finally turned to the next page.

“You’ve been in a bad mood lately, Harry—”

Hermione got straight to the point.

"Are you still thinking about that dark wizard who killed Peter?"

Harry pursed his lips, not answering the question immediately.

Well, Hermione's guess wasn't wrong, it was just incomplete.

After the Daily Prophet published that unexpected news, a huge uproar swept through the wizarding world and even the peaceful Hogwarts school.

Everyone was discussing who had killed Peter Pettigrew, who had gone from a renowned war hero in the wizarding world to a despised and infamous figure overnight.

The most widely accepted answer is that Peter Pettigrew was killed by one of Mystic's former followers.

After the fall of the Mystic, most of the dark wizards who were loyal to him were imprisoned in Azkaban. Some cunning individuals claimed that they had no connection with the Mystic or that their actions were controlled by the Imperius Curse. There were also a very few wizards who were so well hidden that their evil deeds while following the Mystic were never discovered.

Peter Pettigrew has now 'replaced' Sirius Black as the most trusted henchman of Mystic. He must know the identities of those people, so after Peter Pettigrew's arrest, in order to get a lighter punishment, he is very likely to betray them and reveal their identities. After all, there is precedent for this.

Given their foresight, it was only natural for those wizards to strike first and eliminate Peter.

Peter Pettigrew died on his way to Azkaban, a disgrace to the Ministry of Magic that shattered the image of competence it had painstakingly cultivated during the Greyback incident. The Minister of Magic and other powerful officials were furious and vowed to find the murderer within a month.

But wizards familiar with the Ministry of Magic's past know that its promises cannot be trusted, and this matter will most likely remain unsolved.

Barty Crouch, on the other hand, had a stroke of good luck.

Despite the controversy surrounding his mistake in sending Sirius Black to Azkaban, he didn't face much criticism after this unexpected incident. Furthermore, the 'accidental' leak of Barty's tough performance at the Wizengamor Tribunal further enhanced his reputation, allowing him to retain his position as Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. This was one of the reasons Cornelius Fudge was furious.

Harry and his friends had been trying to figure out who killed Peter Pettigrew for some time. Their primary suspect was Lucius Malfoy, and as for the reason, they didn't need any reason to hate Malfoy. Of course, their Potions professor was also a suspect. Otherwise, how could they explain why Snape's expression was so much more 'friendly' than usual after Peter Pettigrew's tragic death?

Hermione probably regrets not killing Peter Pettigrew herself. This isn't exactly a wrong assumption.

Professor Lupin never returned to Hogwarts after leaving that night, and rumors have circulated that he is no longer able to serve as their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

This isn't too surprising news; in recent years, no professor has been able to stay in this position for more than a year. However, it is indeed surprising that Professor Lu Ping met with misfortune after only six months.

The young wizards assumed that Professor Blaine would be called upon to take over Professor Lupin's position as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in a time of crisis. After all, he had substituted for Lupin last semester, and he had held that position for six months without incident.

But this is just speculation. Not long after Greyback and the werewolf gang were wiped out, Professor Blaine left Hogwarts and has not returned since.

Professor Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts but disappeared again after only a short time.

Although everything at Hogwarts continued as normal when they weren't there, with no disruption to teaching or activities, Harry always felt something was off. He had the feeling that just because the two of them weren't at Hogwarts, the school felt almost empty.

But Harry didn't want to tell anyone, not even Hermione, because he had already been bearing the reputation of being 'cowardly' for a while after the Dementors incident last semester.

"Yes, it is indeed puzzling, isn't it?"

Harry sighed and said listlessly,

"I'm starting to miss the taste of Polyjuice Potion, Hermione. We should have kept some on hand."

The last time Hermione used Polyjuice Potion wasn't a pleasant experience. She looked away from her book, gave Harry a disgruntled glance, and was about to say something when two figures suddenly appeared in her line of sight, causing her to lose her words and become confused.

"Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall?"

Hermione frowned, staring at the black wizard's robes fluttering like a bat across the lawn and the hurried figures, and said in bewilderment,

"They seem to be heading to the Forbidden Forest?"

Chapter 362 The Vanished Heroes

2023-07-03

What were Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall doing in the Forbidden Forest? Harigan and Hermione exchanged bewildered glances, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

The heads of the two Hogwarts houses seemed to have encountered something urgent. They hurried along, ignoring the curious stares of the young wizards, and quickly disappeared into the distance along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Before long, their figures became blurred.

"Harry!"

Almost simultaneously, Hermione and Harry jumped up from the grass, and Hermione asked nervously.

"I brought it with me!"

Without a word, Harry immediately understood Hermione's meaning. He was glad he hadn't gone back to the dormitory with Ron. Without the Invisibility Cloak, Harry knew his tracking skills were definitely insufficient to keep up with the two schoolmasters.

Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak from his bag, cautiously looked around, then put it over his and Hermione's heads before running off in the direction Snape and Professor McGonagall had gone.

“I bet Ron will regret missing something important again!” Harry said.

"That's not necessarily true, Harry—"

Hermione, struggling to lift her bulging schoolbag, said breathlessly,

“I think you know what we’re doing, Harry. Following the professor is against school rules. Maybe Ron will get lucky and escape detention.”

Despite saying that, Hermione still followed Harry closely, showing no hesitation about her actions.

What happened that made Snape and Professor McGonagall seem so anxious?

If Snape were the only one going to the Forbidden Forest, Harry would have had many guesses. However, Professor McGonagall accompanied him, which made many of Harry's guesses untenable.

Five minutes later, the figures of the two deans became clear in the eyes of the two young wizards who were following them. Then, the two of them slowed down their running speed, afraid that the crunching leaves would alert the two deans.

Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall did not rush into the Forbidden Forest. Instead, they ran towards the lake and the distant intersection of the Forbidden Forest's edge. Twenty minutes later, when the noise of the young wizards in the Hogwarts courtyard had completely subsided, the two of them unexpectedly entered the Forbidden Forest along a path that was not very wide but easy to walk on.

“I never knew there was such a place in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe Fred and George have never been here!”

Harry, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, let out a surprised exclamation.

Although the forest path they were walking on was also covered with fallen leaves, it looked strangely clean under the golden glow of the setting sun.

The tall pine trees lining the path were also bathed in gold by the sun, which was still a dozen feet above the horizon. Behind them, the gentle lapping of the Black Lake against the shore blended with the ethereal chirping of insects and birds in the woods, making Harry and Hermione feel as if they had entered a fairy tale world.

"Shh—keep your voice down, Harry, someone will hear you!"

Hermione offered a quick reminder, but when she saw the moss-covered stone tablets nestled among the lush haystacks between the trees on either side of the path, she couldn't help but sigh.

"This place must be very ancient--"

With Hermione's prompting, Harry also turned his gaze to the ancient stone tablets, and then he immediately understood why Hermione had made that exclamation.

The stone tablets standing in the forest are actually tombstones. Because of their age and lack of care, these tombstones are covered with lush green vines, and the inscriptions on them have become blurred and almost invisible due to wind and rain.

Hermione observed the tombstones, her face gradually turning pale, and a terrible guess popped into her clever mind.

Because of this speculation, the surrounding environment suddenly became less welcoming. Hermione's lips trembled, and she felt that every breath she took was icy cold.

"Who could it be, Harry—"

Hermione glanced at Harry, noticing that his expression was also off, and immediately realized he had the same suspicion. So she asked,

"Could it be—could it be—look, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall, they're the Headmaster. Could it be that Harry—"

"No way!"

Harry's face turned ashen. He didn't know the answer, but he still answered resolutely.

The two professors leading the way did not exchange a word, but simply kept their heads down and walked efficiently. A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall noticed a spacious, flat, and beautiful circular area ahead of the path, resembling a garden.

“I see them, Severus—”

Professor McGonagall said excitedly, and then the two of them quickened their pace and hurried there.

Dumbledore, Amosta, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin on a stretcher, Kreacher in Black's old house, and of course, Regulus Blaine, whose appearance is forever frozen in his youth, are all in this little garden.

"They've arrived so quickly, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall—"