Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 766 The Collapse of the Ministry of Magic

At the end of August, the usually unchanging life in our humble abode suddenly became lively.

Tomorrow is the first day of school.

Thankfully, Hogwarts did not close down due to the recent series of events, and everyone can still go to King's Cross Station on September 1st to take the Hogwarts Express to the school.

But it's hard to say how many students will be willing to go to Hogwarts this year.

"I suggest you pack your things now," Mrs. Weasley said, placing a plate of fried sausages on the table. She frowned. "The journey to King's Cross Station tomorrow won't be easy, and we must take that into account and leave early. But that means you won't have much time to pack tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry, Mom, I've already packed everything I need," Ron said.

Having spent two whole months in a cramped, dilapidated room where even turning around was difficult, he had never looked forward to the start of school as much as he did now.

"We've already packed up," Siren said.

He didn't have much luggage to begin with. The teacups, washbasins, and most of his shoes and clothes were created using Transfiguration, so there was no need to pack anything.

"That's good." Mrs. Weasley put down the sausage and hurriedly turned and left.

"No, I need to discuss with Mad-Eye how you're getting to Hogwarts tomorrow. Taking the train is too dangerous; it would be best to take you directly to Hogsmeade!"

In fact, it wasn't just Mrs. Weasley; Sirius Black, Lupin, and Tonks all thought so.

Although Hogwarts was not shut down, it was obvious to everyone that the Death Eaters wouldn't just watch the Hogwarts Express depart smoothly without doing anything.

It's fair to say that this train journey to school was more dangerous than ever before, especially for Harry and Siron.

Voldemort wanted to kill them, and the Hogwarts Express was the perfect place.

The train is so small, finding two people is incredibly easy. Even with Harry's invisibility cloak, it's hard to guarantee absolute safety.

Furthermore, the difficulty of Apparition increases exponentially while the train is in motion, which directly increases the difficulty of escaping.

Mad-Eye Moody was certainly aware of Mrs. Weasley's concerns, but Apparition was not safe either.

According to the information he received, in addition to Diagon Alley, there were also Death Eaters in Hogsmeade, and in considerable numbers.

Meanwhile, the enemies hidden within the Ministry of Magic have essentially taken over the Department of Magical Transportation.

If they discovered a large-scale Apparition event near St. Catchpoll Village at this time, they would certainly assume that the Order of the Phoenix was sending students to Hogwarts.

Once the Death Eaters catch up and form a pincer movement with those already lying in ambush in Hogsmeade, they'll be in trouble.

"Why can't we fly there?"

Harry spoke softly as they discussed their options.

"What did you say?" The group turned to look at Harry at the same time.

"I mean, flying to Hogwarts on a broomstick," Harry said casually. "A broomstick is much faster than a train, and Death Eaters can't exactly lie in wait in the air, can they?"

Moody's eyes lit up.

This is indeed a good idea. I doubt even the Death Eaters could have imagined that they would fly all the way to Hogwarts on broomsticks.

Moreover, the broom is highly mobile, allowing it to escape immediately even if discovered by the Death Eaters—just like when they went to the Dursleys to pick up Harry.

But soon, Moody's thought of another problem.

"But Harry, it's not a short trip from here to Hogwarts. It'll take you at least six hours to fly there. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I have Oliver Wood to thank for that," Harry said with a laugh. "He designed fatigue training for us, saying it was to prepare for long battles of attrition. I once flew for ten hours on a broomstick."

Although Ron hadn't undergone Oliver Wood's grueling training, as a member of the team, long flights weren't too difficult for him.

"I...I'm fine too," Hermione said through gritted teeth, her face resolute.

"Don't force yourself," Xilun comforted her.

"I won't force myself," Hermione said stubbornly. "It's just riding a broomstick, I can do it."

"What I mean is, we don't necessarily have to ride brooms; we have other options," Celen said, gesturing outside. "Don't forget we also have a Thestral."

There were originally two Thestrals, but when we went to rescue Bill and Charlie last time, we didn't have time to ride them back, so we just let them leave first.

One of the Thestrals returned to the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, while the other went back to the Burrow.

Hermione blushed; she had really forgotten about Thestrals.

But then I breathed a sigh of relief.

Thestrals are much better than brooms; you can ride one all day without getting tired.

"Alright, that's settled for now." Mad-Eye thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Tomorrow morning, you'll fly directly to Hogwarts on your brooms. I'll cast an invisibility spell on your brooms beforehand."

"But if they're riding brooms, then there can't be too many people to protect them, otherwise they'll be more easily spotted."

"I'll go!" Sirius Black was the first to step forward and say.

"And me," Lupin said.

"Alright," Moody nodded. "How about Sirius, Remus, and I take them tomorrow?"

The group exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

This arrangement is the most reasonable, and naturally no one will object.

After making the decision, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.

The next day, Xilun was awakened from his sleep by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Are we about to leave?"

Xilun opened his eyes and glanced at the sky outside, which was still tinged with indigo.

He had considered that Moody might let them leave earlier, but he didn't expect it to be this early.

"No, it's something else." Fred, who was knocking on the door, was deathly pale.

"We've just received news that the Ministry of Magic has collapsed!"

Xilun sat up abruptly from the bed.

"The Ministry of Magic is collapsing—" he looked at Fred, "but it's still early morning, the Ministry of Magic hasn't even started work yet."

"I'm not entirely sure either, that's what Mad-Eye said." Fred rubbed his forehead.

"It seems that a mysterious figure bypassed the Ministry of Magic and directly attacked the Minister and the Directors. The Directors of the Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Transportation are dead."

"What about Fudge?" Siren asked. "Was he killed, or did he join the mysterious man?"

"I don't know, they seem to be missing," Fred said. "Everyone's here, in the kitchen, discussing what to do right now."

Xilun nodded, quickly got dressed, and left the room.

On the stairs, he also encountered Harry and his friends, who were equally bewildered and shocked.

"Oh, there's one more thing," Fred suddenly remembered something, "your plans to return to Hogwarts will probably have to change."

"Why?" Harry asked hastily.

"Moody said it." Fred turned his head. "He said that after the Ministry of Magic collapses, the Death Eaters will take over the Department of Transportation."

In that case, the flying broomstick isn't so safe anymore.