Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Water Margin

Chapter 275 Is this the right time or the wrong time?

After Grindelwald and Rozier had gone far away, Harry carefully put the parchment with the prophecy written on it into his pocket.

He turned around and stepped back into the Thestral, opened the locket, and Scrimgeour rolled out.

He was soaked to the bone, his hair and beard were all stuck together in clumps, just like a chicken egg pulled out of the water.

He collapsed to the ground, catching his breath for a long while. Wiping the tears from his eyes and brows, he asked, still shaken, "What place was that?"

"There's a huge snake inside, and it can fly... Where's Grindelwald? You let him go?!"

Harry didn't respond to Scrimgeour's rapid-fire questions. Instead, he stepped over him, turned to the carriage seat, and reached out to pick up two tiny figures that looked like Maxim's, which appeared to be the two Aurors who had been guarding him earlier.

Scrimgeour also turned his head to look, immediately recognized her, and temporarily put Grindelwald aside.

He hurriedly took the two men and placed them in his palms, whispering that he wanted to ask these two scoundrels if they had truly given the order to kill him.

Before long, the two little figures woke up and found themselves standing in Scrimgeour's hands. They froze, looking at each other as if they were in a dream.

Before Scrimgeour could speak, the female Auror turned ashen-faced with fright, her fingers gripping the male Auror's arm tightly, trembling with fear.

The terrified girl screamed, "We've been exposed! We've been captured!"

The male Auror abruptly pulled her arm away, a fawning smile plastered on his face, and said, "Boss, Fudge made us do this. He forced me to do it—"

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour realized that it was exactly the same as what Grindelwald had said when he was impersonating him. His last thought vanished instantly, and he knew that Fudge really wanted to kill him.

Harry then brought the two true Aurors before him, omitting the details about Grindelwald, and only saying that the shady business they were up to had been thoroughly investigated by his men.

There is evidence to support the story of the plot to harm Scrimgeour that day.

The two Aurors were terrified upon hearing this, nodding their heads vigorously and stammering, not daring to utter another word.

Harry then used his wand to restore the two to their original forms and taught them to steer the flying chariot directly to Azkaban.

About half an hour later, Harry peered out of the car window and saw a solitary island emerging from the vast black sea, eerily resembling a crouching beast.

The previously dilapidated Azkaban has been rebuilt, and several jailers were already standing on the shore, presumably having been waiting for some time.

Harry cupped his hands in a respectful gesture toward Scrimgeour and said, "Brother, we're not far from Azkaban. Those guards are all here; those two will definitely not be able to harm you."

"I'm breaking up with you now, but we may meet again someday."

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour felt a surge of emotion, his throat tightening with a thousand words of gratitude. But then he remembered his own guilty conscience; even with such heartfelt thanks, it would be futile. To offer only empty words would appear frivolous.

He suppressed his gratitude, vowing to repay the debt with his life. Then, his expression hardened, and he said to Harry in a deep voice, "Harry, whatever Grindelwald told you, I hope you don't believe him. No one knows how to manipulate people better than him."

"The Ministry of Magic has at least a bookshelf full of his old files, and those cases are enough to be included in 'The Wizarding Anti-Fraud Handbook'."

"Don't forget he was a prophet; he naturally knew more information than we do."

Harry laughed and said, "Brother, don't worry, I know what's going on."

Harry and Scrimgeour then exchanged a bow, and Harry used a teleportation technique to transform into a cloud of black mist and head straight for Hogwarts.

Before long, they arrived at the castle. Harry didn't waste any time and rushed straight to the headmaster's office.

Before even reaching the door, he kicked it open with a thud, sending the two wooden doors flying. Inside, Dumbledore was still bent over, perusing documents, and without looking up, asked, "What is it, Harry?"

After saying this, the old man casually pushed aside the case he was handling, and then raised his eyebrows to look at Harry.

Harry slumped into the chair opposite him and blurted out, "Did Hagrid go with Maxim when he went to contact the giants?"

When Dumbledore heard him speak with a question, his heart sank inexplicably, but he still slowly nodded.

"That's right."

When was the last time you contacted my brother Hagrid?

When was the last time you spoke to my brother?

Five days ago.

"Did they give each other any protective magical artifacts before they set off?"

"Alright, Harry," Dumbledore finally sighed, "tell me what happened this time."

Harry snorted coldly, then took Maxim from his pocket and gently placed it on the table.

Upon seeing Maxim unconscious on the table, Dumbledore's expression changed drastically. He asked in a deep voice, "Where did you find her?"

"I was merely seeing my brother Scrimgeour off when this old man Grindelwald came to stop me halfway, trying to use my brother Hagrid as collateral in a deal. He's using this woman as a pawn first."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up, strode to the cupboard, took out a bottle of potion for treating headaches, and swallowed half of it.

He then plucked a silver whisker and bent down to place it on Maxim's nose. Seeing the whisker tip tremble slightly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He drew his wand from his sleeve and hissed, "Restore quickly."

Suddenly, a white light flashed from the tip of the staff, and the three-inch-tall figure grew taller in the wind, transforming into a towering body over three meters tall. It knocked the documents and ink on the table, scattering them everywhere and leaving a mess on the floor.

Then Maxim groggily opened his eyes.

Dumbledore stroked his beard with a smile and said gently, "It's been a long time, Madam Maxim."

"Could you please get down from my desk?"

Maxim sat blankly at his desk, glancing around in a daze, his eyes still unfocused. After a long while, he hesitantly asked, "Where...where am I?"

"In my office at Hogwarts." Dumbledore poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to him. "Harry said he rescued you from Grindelwald."

Upon hearing the name "Grindelwald," Maxim's expression changed drastically. He slammed his two massive palm-sized hands onto Dumbledore's shoulders, forcing him to slump back into his chair with a muffled groan, nearly breaking his shoulder blades.

"Dumbledore! You must go save Hagrid!"

"Grindelwald made a deal with the Giants! The Giants handed us both over to Grindelwald!"

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore's brow furrowed instantly.

Harry, equally startled, quickly pressed, "You two were just visiting, how did you end up being treated like commodities? Did those giants use some underhanded tricks to subdue you?"

Maxim nodded and said, "Hagrid fought with them."

Readers, please listen carefully: When Hagrid and Maxim first arrived in the land of the giants, the giants scoffed at their small stature.

It should be noted that this giant is known for his imposing stature, and seeing that the newcomer was only about ten feet tall, he spoke with much sarcasm.

Maxim had intended to maintain peace, but Hagrid, hearing those insults directed at his girlfriend, could no longer contain himself. He roared like thunder and began to fight with fists the size of heads.

Upon hearing this, Harry couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! These filthy giants make fun of other people's women for no reason, yet they won't allow anyone to stand up for them!"

"Sister-in-law, please don't worry. Once I get Hagrid back from Grindelwald, I'll definitely settle accounts with those bastards!"

Maxim glanced at him gratefully, then quickly shook his head and said, "No, Hagrid's conflict with these giants wasn't because of this."

Hagrid fought the giants head-on, and not only did he not lose, he even knocked the arrogant one to the ground. His victory over the giants with the smaller one impressed them, and from then on, they treated him as an honored guest.

The three spent three days in the giant tribe, and the alliance was already seven or eight parts complete. Unexpectedly, on this day, Hagrid bumped into a wandering giant named Grop near the tribe.

Hagrid, seeing his simple-minded appearance and seemingly mixed-race heritage, asked him a question. Little did he know that this was actually a pure-blooded giant, only born with deformities.

The giant who was accompanying them at the time took it as a joke, saying that Grop was born with a disease, probably because his mother had married a wizard man before, and his bloodline was not clean.

Hagrid found it increasingly strange and inquired about Gropp's birth mother's name. To his surprise, it turned out to be Friedwafa, the same name as Hagrid's own mother!

"After Hagrid discovered that Grop might be his brother, he went completely mad and frantically searched for his mother."

"But the leader of the giants told Hagrid that Friedwafa, having given birth to two small children, was too ashamed to remain in the giants' territory."

The tribe has already gone off to wander alone.

"So Hagrid wanted to take Grop away, but that went against the rules of the giants—"

"In the end, we were arrested and were to be executed when Grindelwald suddenly came to visit and bought us both."

Although Maxim didn't go into details about how Hagrid took Gropp away, Harry had a pretty good idea of ​​what happened next: Hagrid must have been outmatched in his fight against the giants.

He simply comforted her, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. I will definitely rescue your uncle and reunite your whole family."

Maxim's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, and he forced a smile. Before he could speak, Dumbledore suddenly interjected, "If nothing unexpected happens, Maxim, do you think the giants will agree to the alliance request?"

Without hesitation, Maxim replied decisively, "I will definitely agree."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore's face lit up, and he smiled, "Rest assured, Maxim."

"We will bring Hagrid back."

With that, he snapped his fingers, summoning a house-elf, and instructed, "Take Mrs. Maxim to rest. Ah, I think Nagini's old room was quite nice."

The house-elf bowed and accepted the order, then led Maxim away.

Once outside the door and their footsteps had faded into the distance, Dumbledore suddenly turned to look at Harry and asked, "What deal does Grindelwald want to make with you?"

"This guy only said he wanted that Herbo."

Dumbledore frowned even deeper, took another bottle of potion from the cupboard, took a sip, and asked, "This is really strange. What does he want this ancient Greek dark wizard for? Or is the reason he wants Helbo simply because he's from ancient Greece?"

Harry looked up, surprised. "Professor, you're quite well-informed. I didn't even explain in detail, how did you know it was a black witch from ancient Greece?"

"Oh, the house-elves told me about your ganging up on Helpo in the Forbidden Forest. That affected many rare creatures, some of whom are on the verge of extinction."

Dumbledore finished speaking to himself, took another sip of the potion, and said, "What do you plan to do? Hand over Helbo?"

Harry said firmly, "My brother Hagrid must be saved. At that time, we'll have to bring Helbo and Grindelwald face to face and see who's the real deal."

Dumbledore remained silent for a moment, pondered for a long time, and then raised his head and said softly, "This may be an opportunity."

"If Grindelwald comes in person, I think we can kill him."

Harry's spirits lifted. "Professor, would you really do that?"

"—Harry, I swore an oath."

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Harry was about 70-80% convinced, so he clasped his hands and said, "In that case, I thank you in advance, Professor. Please sit down, I still have some things to take care of."

After saying this, he turned and went out the door, his steps quick and swift, heading straight to find the traces of Hailbo.

Harry consulted the Marauder's Map and made his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. As soon as he entered, he saw Helbo practicing spells with a group of students, wand in hand.

The room was filled with magical light. Umbridge, however, remained nowhere to be found.

Helbo glanced at Harry, wand in hand, and announced loudly, "Gryffindor, deduct ten points."

"You're almost half an hour late, Mr. Potter."

Harry ignored the point deduction and simply clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Please, Professor, step aside. I have something urgent to ask you."

"Mr. Potter, I'm in class right now."

"What the professor spoke of has now come to pass, and I cordially invite the professor to witness it."

"Everyone, now pair up and practice."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students immediately raised their sticks and shot wildly, while others drew their knives and guns and got close, resulting in a chaotic brawl.

Helbo ignored everything and strode out of the classroom, turning with Harry into a quiet corner in the corridor.

Harry pulled the parchment with the prophecy written on it from his pocket, slapped it into Halberd's palm, and said, "Today I met Grindelwald and borrowed his third eye to glimpse the secrets of heaven, only to receive this prophecy."

"You must tell me the truth, is this prophecy true?"

Helbo unfolded the parchment and examined it carefully, a hint of lightness appearing on his face. He asked, "Why do you think it's not real?"

Harry glared at him and shouted, "Damn it! Voldemort has caused so many families to be torn apart and has stirred up endless trouble in the wizarding world, how come he's the savior?"

"In my lifetime, I have taken dozens of lives, all of whom were utterly wicked. How can I be branded with the name of a black devil?"

Helbo shook his head and said, "That's just from the current perspective."

"Mr. Potter, what if you take a longer view? Not a few hundred years, a few thousand years, but tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years."

"As time goes by, you'll find that everything is indirectly connected, like—what Muggles call the butterfly effect."

"Perhaps in the future, people will say that Voldemort saved the wizarding world with his iron fist, while you used sweet words to deceive the people at the time, or that it was the limitations and backwardness of ordinary wizards."

"If that's the case, Mr. Potter, what would you choose?"

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