The Return to Hogwarts

The next two days were probably the most boring two days they ever spent at Hogwarts.

To ensure they could get better rest, Mrs. Pomfrey arranged for them to have their beds in a small ward and barred all visiting classmates from coming. The three of them had heard Ron's siblings shouting loudly outside on several occasions. Neville had also come once with some people, as had Hagrid, but Mrs. Pomfrey showed unprecedented resolve; she did not let a single person in.

Harry had been hoping that Sirius would come back to be with him, but Sirius seemed to have forgotten his promise and hadn't returned. He knew things were different now, but he still couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

Furthermore, Professors Dumbledore and Blaine seemed to have forgotten about them, not visiting them even once in the past two days.

Completely cut off from the outside world, the only news they received was from Madam Pomfrey, who told them that Professor Dumbledore had announced Voldemort's return to everyone in the Great Hall at the dinner on the day they announced his return, and asked everyone to be vigilant. At the same time, he also announced Karkaroff's death.

Harry had assumed that he would have a heated discussion with Ron or Hermione about what had happened that morning, and why Professor Blaine had replaced Gabrielle.

Did he foresee Voldemort's plan? If so, why did he allow Voldemort to regain his magic? But no.

Harry didn't want to recall those hours when he thought Ron and Hermione were dead. It was too bleak. Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine. Reason compelled him to look away. Ron and Hermione had essentially died once, and it was no small matter for them.

But they also discussed some things, such as Hermione's warrior status.

They now know that Hermione's identity as a champion was orchestrated by Cleopatra, who was impersonating Moody, and Harry has learned from Voldemort why she made such a suggestion.

It's a bit absurd that Hermione risked her life to protect Harry in the box on the night of the Quidditch final, which was seen by Creona. So, knowing all the details of the match, she suggested to Voldemort that Hermione become a champion. This way, they could create an opportunity to get Harry out of Hogwarts and also create a fog to confuse Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine.

"If they intend to continue the three-way battle, how will the results of the second match be calculated?"

Ron frowned as he looked at Hermione.

"Apart from Cedric, no one finished the race. If they only give Cedric a score and everyone else a zero, then Cedric has already secured the victory, right?"

"Unless they announce a second round of competition, I mean, a different event."

Harry scratched his arm and said that the wound that Barty had given him had completely healed without leaving a scar, but the new flesh growing in the wound was a little itchy.

"There's not enough time --"

Hermione fluttered her dark eyelashes.

"According to the plan, we will hold the third competition in June, but it's already March. They need to redesign the new project and mobilize resources. This will affect the third competition, and it will make all the participating schools, including the Ministry of Magic, a laughing stock—"

"Ministry of Magic"

Harry grunted, his expression darkening. He still couldn't forget Cornelius Fudge's ridiculous reaction that day, and the chilling confrontation between Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine in the university hospital.

"Have they made enough fools of themselves?"

The sound of footsteps outside the door interrupted Hermione's reply. The door opened, and Professor McGonagall walked in with a smile. Her words immediately made the three people who were practically rotting away in the school hospital cheer with joy.

"I thought they were planning to lock us up until Easter!"

After packing their things, the three of them left the school hospital almost like they were fleeing a disaster. On their way back to the common room, Ron shouted excitedly, and Harry couldn't wait to get back to his dormitory and his classmates. But as they rushed toward the Gryffindor tower and turned a corner, Hermione suddenly stopped and screamed.

"Oh, it's a school day today!"

"Don't you dare tell me you're planning to go to class, Hermione!"

Ron said in surprise.

“But today is Friday—” Hermione said, “Professor Blaine’s PE class.”

Harry, who was subtly showing his reluctance, paused for a moment. If it were any other course, he wouldn't mind skipping it 'legitimately'. But after experiencing that horror and being locked up in the school hospital for several days, Harry couldn't wait to be free. They had already agreed to go to the dormitory to change clothes first, and then go to Hagrid to inquire about the current situation.

But Professor Blaine's physical education class

Having witnessed Voldemort's resurrection in that eerie and unsettling cemetery, they realized with profound clarity how crucial practical training was, and that the likelihood of encountering such dangerous situations in the future would undoubtedly increase.

Ron shrugged.

"Okay, I'll go change my clothes first, then I'll go to the Quidditch pitch to warm up. After class, we'll go to Hagrid's together."

To be honest, it was torture for Harry to be left out of gym class every time. However, Professor Blaine, who was usually easy to talk to, was very principled on this matter, and they could not sway his will.

Professor Blaine killed Barty Crouch Jr. in front of Voldemort, and in the inevitable recollections of the past few days, this was the most exhilarating thing for Harry. Yet even he himself didn't realize that he could now so calmly contemplate killing and death.

"Hopefully, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine have reconciled—"

On her way to the classroom, Hermione's delicate brows were furrowed with worry.

"They shouldn't be at odds, should they? Their goal is the same: to fight Void. They just have different ideas. Oh, I'm not too surprised by this. Wizards like them always have their own style. But I think Professor Blaine is right. The Ministry of Magic must take responsibility and not stand idly by. If Professor Dumbledore relies solely on Sirius and the others to deal with Void, it will undoubtedly be very difficult—"

After a moment's hesitation, Harry nodded in agreement. He and Hermione quickly crossed a narrow corridor, leaped around a corner, and prepared to ascend the stairs, however—

Looking at the platform between the stairs, a group of Slytherin wizards stared at Draco Malfoy, while Harry and Hermione stopped in their tracks.

Chapter 871 The Second Generation

2024-04-19

The Slytherin students participating in physical education class stood on the stairs. Draco Malfoy stood at the top, with Pansy and Astoria, Daphne and Millison beside him. Nott, Blaise and others stood below him. They spotted Harry and Hermione, who had been missing from school for several days. Almost everyone had a cold expression on their face.

It's a pity that Crabbe and Goyle, those two idiots, aren't here, otherwise we would have had a complete team.

Hermione's breathing paused for a moment, then returned to normal. She remained silent, her right hand's five fingers curling unnaturally, ready to grasp her wand at any moment, while her clear brown eyes held hostility.

Aside from Professor Blaine, who experienced it firsthand, Hermione, Ron, and Professor Dumbledore were among the few who knew all the details of what happened that morning. Harry told them all the names of the Death Eaters he had heard or seen at Voldemort's resurrection ceremony.

In the past few days, Harry and the two of them had discussed whether Professor Dumbledore would go directly to their door based on the list he provided and send all those ruthless and stubborn Death Eaters to Azkaban.

Ron patted his chest confidently, certain that Professors Dumbledore and Blaine would do just that. Hermione cautiously agreed.

But now it seems they were wrong.

The two legendary wizards on whom they placed their high hopes did not take any action; otherwise, these Slytherin students would never have remained so calm after seeing themselves.

"Step aside--"

Harry said he was expressionless, but inwardly astonished by his own calm state of mind.

Even though he had almost died at the hands of the fathers of these people and their fathers' masters just a few days earlier, Harry found that he didn't seem so angry when facing Malfoy and his clique.

Pansy, who was most 'fond' of Malfoy, twitched her nostrils as if she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, she glanced at Malfoy and ultimately chose to remain silent.

"Congratulations on surviving another close call, Potter."

Malfoy seemed different from usual; he no longer wore his usual sarcastic expression. He looked down at Harry, and although his words were barbed, his tone remained calm.

Judging from Hermione's surprised expression, she seemed completely bewildered by Malfoy's behavior. Harry wasn't so surprised; he could vaguely understand why Malfoy was behaving this way.

Harry, of course, couldn't apologize to Malfoy. He nodded and said calmly,

"I am indeed very good at slipping away from Voldemort."

Only a handful of people are immune to the word 'Voldemort.' Almost all children from magical families develop a fear of those three words during their innocent childhood, after being subjected to their parents' near-hysterical roars for casually uttering them.

The Slytherins all shivered involuntarily, and Draco was no exception. He shuddered a couple of times, his expression slightly grim, but he said nothing. He simply pursed his lips, uttered "Let's go," and led the Slytherins upstairs.

"What's going on, Harry?"

Once they were out of sight, Hermione frowned and couldn't help but ask,

“Their behavior is a bit off, I thought. Oh, I thought they would be even more hostile towards you. You know, in Slytherin, the Mystic's reputation isn't that bad; in fact, many people admire him!”

“Just call him by his name, Hermione. There’s nothing scary about the name ‘Voldemort.’”

Harry shrugged.

"Perhaps they've changed their idols."

One can imagine the sensation that Harry caused when he appeared in the gym classroom.

Besides Slytherin, students from the other three houses surrounded them, many talking to him and asking questions they wanted to know, such as how they disappeared from the bottom of the lake, what they experienced during their disappearance, whether Voldemort had really been resurrected, and if so, how they escaped back. They also wondered how the renowned Director of the International Department of Magical Cooperation could have died, and what about the Headmaster of Durmstrang?

Harry had already explained these questions to the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, and faced with these students' questions, he could not answer some of them, and did not want to mention others, so the questions he could answer were very limited.

"It was the sportswear that Professor Blaine prepared for us that played a crucial role; everyone, those clothes saved us all."

Harry managed to give a perfunctory reply. There was another reason why he didn't want to reply too much: in his opinion, not many of his classmates were willing to believe that the Man from the Dark Lord had returned, even if Dumbledore had told them about it himself.

"The Daily Prophet has not mentioned this at all in the past few days."

After Harry clearly showed his impatience, the crowd slowly dispersed, until only the Gryffindor students remained surrounding him. Neville spoke in a serious tone,

"As you can see, most people don't really believe this, Harry. People don't want to see that terrifying Dark Lord return to the wizarding world. Besides, the Ministry of Magic hasn't issued an official statement. For the vast majority of people, the Ministry of Magic is the most authoritative body."

“But do you believe it, Neville?” Hermione asked, her tone quite certain.

“Oh, of course,” Neville said firmly. “I know you wouldn’t joke about this, nor would Dumbledore. And, although Professor Blaine hasn’t made a public statement, when someone asked him about it at the castle, he also gave an affirmative answer.”

Professor Blaine arrived, walking in as usual with a gentle smile. He didn't even pay much attention to Harry and Hermione who were in his class.

It was a perfectly normal class. They continued practicing team breakout in Professor Blaine's mental world. Compared to the beginning, their performance had undoubtedly improved a lot. Both their siege and breakout were commendable, and each had its own unique style.

A sense of contrast permeated the entire course, a feeling shared by both Harry and Hermione.

They were young wizards who had witnessed Voldemort's resurrection ceremony and knew that the Dark Lord had indeed returned to the wizarding world, and that everything would change. But the problem was that it seemed that nothing had really changed.

With this strange feeling, today's physical education class ended.

Ron was still waiting for them, so Harry and Hermione didn't linger in class. They had plenty of time to discuss Voldemort's resurrection with their close friends.

Professor Blaine

As Amostella finished packing up and prepared to leave the classroom, Draco Malfoy suddenly called out to him. He looked up at Draco and realized that he wasn't the only one who had something to say; all the Slytherin students were staring intently at him, seemingly suppressing some emotion.

"What's wrong, Draco?"

Amosta left his neatly tidied notes and asked with a smile.

"Do you have any questions that you'd like me to answer?"