The Return to Hogwarts

One can imagine how terrified the three of them must have been by what they saw. As young wizards, the most sensible thing to do would have been to get away as quickly as possible, but these three stubborn little guys insisted on finding out what was going on.

Since graduating, Amosta had visited many ruins, including some gruesome mass graves and seas of blood. The sight before him didn't evoke the same feeling as the path he had seen in Azkaban, with its steps made of elf hands and handrails made of heads, nor as much as the Lake of Corpses created by Voldemort in his hidden cave by the sea. He quickly put those heads behind him and strode onward.

Tick ​​tick

Twenty minutes later, Amosta had reached the very depths of the corridor. The head of the little elf on the stone wall to his right was still dripping blood onto the ground, while the head was no longer on the wooden shelf further ahead.

“It’s just ahead, Mr. Blaine—”

Ruijia said in a low voice, suppressing her eagerness.

After another ten minutes or so of hurried walking, the long corridor, filled with a chill, gradually began to stir in the deathly still air. A cold wind swept in from ahead, and the further they went, the stronger the wind became, until it made Amosta's gray hair dance wildly on his head.

Finally, half an hour after entering the corridor, a stone wall emitting a ghostly blue light and as smooth as ice blocked Amosta's path.

Chapter 654 The Strange Room

2023-12-19

"Well--"

After a few painful groans, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dobby and Doom lying beside them gradually regained consciousness. The sudden change in space had caused them physical and mental pain, leaving the three young wizards and two house-elves in a daze. However, the room they were in forced them to regain their senses as quickly as possible.

"We are..."

Harry stared wide-eyed at everything before him, mouth agape, muttering incoherently.

"where?"

They were currently in a room the size of a classroom, decorated with yellow and black curtains, wallpaper, floors, and drapes. Judging from the furnishings, it was a combined office and living room.

"have no idea--"

Ron blinked in surprise. He was facing the window, where soft sunlight streamed through and onto the floor, making the young wizards, who had been freezing in the long, chilly corridor for most of the day, feel genuinely warm and comfortable.

"--Look at the weather outside, Harry, oh my god, I can't imagine how long we've been unconscious!"

Ron said in surprise.

"Perhaps after we passed out, a professor found us, took us out of there, and temporarily placed us in his office."

Hermione said hesitantly, but she herself did not trust her own reasoning.

If what she said was true, then the professor who saved them should have taken them to Madam Pomfrey instead of bringing them back to his office. Especially since Hermione glanced at the floor where they had just been standing, which was clearly illogical—even Professor Snape wouldn't have just left them on the floor after rescuing them.

But Harry clearly didn't realize Hermione's deduction was flawed. He looked around; everything in his field of vision seemed perfectly ordinary, yet it gave him a strange feeling.

"Perhaps it's Professor Sprout—"

Harry spun around in circles, continuing to survey his surroundings.

“The kitchen we broke into is near the Hufflepuff common room. Perhaps Professor Sprout found us and took us to her office. Hermione, have you been to her office?”

Judging from the direction of the sun outside the window, they had been unconscious for at least twelve hours. Professors Dumbledore, Blaine, and McGonagall must have known about such a significant event. There is no reason why the professors would leave them in Professor Sprout's office; this speculation is simply untenable.

"No--"

Hermione's voice betrayed her panic. She noticed something new: the office was unusually quiet, as if none of the noise from the castle or the outside world could be heard.

"No, Harry Potter—"

Dobby's eyes and voice were filled with confusion as it looked around.

“Dobby used to clean Professor Sprout’s office, sir. This isn’t Professor Sprout’s office. Dobby has never seen this room before. It’s not the office of any professor in the castle—”

Dobby's words surprised Harry and the others. The office in front of them looked very clean and tidy, and was obviously in use. As a house-elf who served the castle, Dobby had never seen this room before. So, who was using it?

A chill ran through all three of them.

"Whoever it is, we'd better get out of here right away."

Ron said in a panic,

"If nothing unexpected happens, we've missed at least two professors' classes. Oh, and if we're lucky, Professor McGonagall will probably be happy to release us from confinement before Christmas."

Ron's words made Harry and Hermione realize the serious consequences of their reckless behavior. The three of them rushed towards the office door. Harry was the first to grab the doorknob. He gripped the slightly cold brass handle, twisted it hard, and then his heart sank.

“It won’t open—” Harry looked at Hermione, a hint of fear in his emerald eyes. “The door is locked!”

"Step aside!"

Hermione yanked Harry away from the door, pulled out her wand, pointed it at the doorknob, and decisively called out...

"Open the Alaho hole!"

A sharp crackling sound came from the brass handle as the spell struck it, but Hermione found that her spell had no effect whatsoever when she tried to turn the doorknob.

"This door probably has a powerful anti-intrusion spell on it—"

Hermione bit her pale lips, her voice filled with annoyance and regret. Their current predicament was mainly her fault, and if they were to be put in solitary confinement by Professor McGonagall, the responsibility lay entirely with her.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger, Dobby can help!"

Seemingly pleased with himself for being able to make a difference, Dobby said happily, while Dom pushed past Dobby and looked at Hermione with eager eyes.

"Dum can also help Mistress Granger leave this place!"

"Oh, I almost forgot!"

Hermione immediately realized, "The magic that prevents Apparition in the castle doesn't work on house-elves!"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Ron shouted. "Get us out of here quickly, maybe we can still make it to Professor Flitwick's Charms class, which would at least save us a week of confinement!"

So, prompted by Dobby and Dom, Harry, Ron, and Hermione crouched down, holding hands. Hermione grabbed Dom's arm, while Harry took Dobby's hand. The two house-elves simultaneously cast spells, and the figures of the three people and the two house-elves instantly became ethereal, but—

Boom, boom, boom!

Several heavy thuds followed, and the three people who hit the wall staggered back several steps, each clutching their heads and groaning in pain.

"Damn it!" Ron rubbed his reddened forehead and yelled angrily, "What the hell is going on?"

Harry was comforting Dobby, who was apologizing profusely for his magic failing, while Hermione quickly pulled away Dom, who was about to punish himself by banging his head against a pillar. When she looked up, she found herself in front of the room's owner's bookshelf. Almost instinctively, she began to examine the books on the shelf, and upon seeing them, Hermione's brows immediately furrowed.

Out of politeness and caution, Hermione did not touch the books on the shelf, but instead identified them by the gilded lettering on their spines. She assumed that the books on the shelf would all be related to magic, but the reality was not as she had imagined.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

Harry sensed Hermione's confusion from her retreating figure and prolonged silence, so he quickly walked over and also focused his attention on the bookshelf.

“This is…” Harry stared, utterly bewildered, at the words on the spine of the book. “A recipe?”

“Not entirely—” Hermione nodded seriously and pointed to a book on the side of the middle bookshelf, “There is a book here called ‘A History of Hogwarts’.”

Ron came up behind the two of them and, following Hermione's directions, saw the book. Then, he understood why Hermione's tone was so unusual.

Because of Hermione, Harry and Ron had some impression of "A History of Hogwarts," which was the thickest book they had ever seen. However, the one on the shelf was very thin and light, completely different from what they remembered.

"let me see--"

Ron was getting fed up with the many odd things about the office. Before Hermione could stop him, he reached out and touched the school history book. The moment his fingertips touched the spine, Ron's body trembled violently, and he recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

Under the bewildered gazes of Harry and Hermione, Ron said blankly,

Something's wrong, I can't find this book.

Seeing that Harry and Hermione couldn't understand what he was saying, Ron simply pointed to the bookshelf and said...

"You can try it yourselves!"

“That’s impolite, Ron—” Hermione hesitated at the suggestion. “We shouldn’t do it without permission. Oh!”

Ron ignored Hermione's nagging and grabbed her wrist to touch the books on the shelf. Harry also made his attempt at the same time. Then, the three young wizards looked at each other and fell silent.

The books on the bookshelf, including "A History of Hogwarts," and other books, seemed to be there, but when they actually tried to touch them, their fingertips felt like they were touching posters on the wall. They simply couldn't take these books off the bookshelf!

The three turned to observe the ordinary room again, a chill creeping into each of their hearts. Just then, Dobby, who had also been wandering around the room, jumped onto the desk in front of the French windows. He glanced at the newspaper-sized sheet of paper spread out on one corner of the desk, his huge eyes filled with confusion.

"Royal Wizarding Society, sir"

Dobby looked up at Harry.

Do you know what this is?

Chapter 655 Convergence

2023-12-20

"--Recently, in response to the horrifying incident widely circulated in the magical world, in which the enforcement team of the Holy See's Inquisition publicly executed three children with wizarding talents by burning them at the stake in Kellard, the Royal Wizarding Society Council dispatched an investigation team to Kellard to conduct an on-site investigation and, after negotiating with the Holy See, uncovered the truth of the matter."

It is said that the three children were actually out-of-control Obscurians who were causing widespread destruction in Kelder at the time of the incident, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Muggles. Upon discovering the incident, Vatican officials immediately rushed to the scene, quickly subdued the three out-of-control Obscurians, and, at the strong request of the surviving Muggles, burned at the stake.

Following the report were several hand-drawn images of cities burning and exploding in flames, rather than the animated photographs they were used to seeing in the Daily Prophet.

The rest of the content beneath the photo was covered by a book titled "How to Make a Good Soup." Ron reached out to lift the book, but just like when he tried to grab the oddly-looking "A History of Hogwarts" from the bookshelf, he couldn't pick it up at all.

"What kind of crazy trick is this?!"

Frustrated, Ron tried desperately to pick up the cookbook, but no matter which angle he tried, he failed. Whenever his fingers touched the book, the seemingly substantial book stuck to the table like a thin sticker. Harry's attempt to pull out the newspaper-like notice also failed.

"This is probably some kind of defensive magic—"

Hermione frowned as she watched Harry and Ron frantically scratching at the table, and said uncertainly,

"To prevent unauthorized intruders from tampering with things in this office"