Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Chapter 403 The Seventh Seal

"Who is that?" Henry asked, frowning.

"Bagman," Elizabeth sighed, "Bagman was sitting in the judges' box, and when Krum was hit, Bagman's wand was under the table."

"This is his own report. He received an order before the competition from a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic. The order was to ensure that Durmstrang's champions were incapacitated during the third event," Elizabeth continued. "Bagman didn't know who issued the order, but he knew that if he didn't carry it out, his family would be in danger."

"Have you found the source of Bagman's instructions?" Henry asked.

"We're investigating," the Queen said. "But this is more complicated than you think. Bagman received the instructions through an internal Ministry of Magic memo, the signatory's name erased by magical ink. Barty Crouch Sr. was also investigating similar memos before his death. In the last six months of his life, he frequently received memos from unknown sources."

"From the same person?" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Or the same system," the Queen said. "There is a person or a system within the Ministry of Magic that can bypass the normal approval process and send orders to any official. This system can erase its own name, track Crouch's movements, and give orders to Bagman."

Henry carefully put the crystal bottle away.

He recalled the letter Old Barty wrote in his study before he died. If the person who sent the memo was the one who installed the receiver, then that person had been operating within the Ministry of Magic, controlling multiple pawns at the same time.

“Grandmother,” Henry began, “the seal along the Black Lake has three arcs on the symbol. The entrance weavers’ emblem is missing the fourth. The anonymous letter Old Barty received also had three arcs. The sender claimed to be from within the alliance, but didn’t draw the fourth arc.”

The Queen looked at him: "Do you know what this means?"

"The fourth arc represents someone outside the alliance," Henry said. "The fact that the sender didn't draw the fourth arc suggests that he doesn't consider himself outside the alliance. But he used the alliance's emblem, which I think means he's in the alliance, but not in yours."

The Queen remained silent for a moment.

"Let's go to Black Lake," she said. "Eileen has prepared a key for you in the next room. It will take you directly to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, near Hagrid's Hut."

Henry stood up.

"I'll be back before evening."

"If you don't come back, tell Eileen," the Queen said. "She will tell me."

Henry came out of the study, and Eileen was waiting in the hallway, holding a small box in her hand.

Inside the box was a silver brooch shaped like an oak tree.

"The oak tree on the west bank of Black Lake," Erin said. "The door key. Hold it, thinking of the clearing behind Hagrid's cabin."

It will take you there.

Henry took the brooch and pinned it inside his cloak.

"Thank you, Eileen."

Eileen bowed slightly.

Henry grasped the brooch and closed his eyes.

After a spinning and pulling motion, he landed on the ground again.

In the morning mist, the outline of Hagrid's cabin could be seen not far ahead, with smoke rising from its chimney.

The Black Lake in the distance was faintly visible in the mist, with a thin layer of ice floating on its surface.

Henry took a deep breath and strode toward Hagrid's cabin.

Hagrid was already standing in the doorway, wearing a thick mole-skin coat and clutching a pink floral umbrella.

That was probably a wand disguise; Henry had never seen him actually use a wand.

His hound, Tooth, crouched at his feet, ears perked up, and let out a low growl toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Henry!" Hagrid greeted him with a smile. "You've come at the perfect time. I just brewed some tea, Darjeeling, the one you said you liked last time."

"Hagrid," Henry said, walking up to him, "anything happening at the pebble beach?"

Hagrid's expression darkened. He crouched down and ran his rough hand over Tooth's neck.

"I went to check on it last night, and the stone was burning up."

"What about the crack?"

"The crack is still there." Hagrid stood up and took a lantern from behind the door. "I reached down and touched it; something was moving underneath. Like breathing."

"Take me to see it," Henry said.

They entered the Forbidden Forest via a path behind the cabin, with Tooth running ahead, stopping every now and then to sniff the ground and look back at Hagrid, as if to confirm their direction.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the trees thinned out, and a wide, open pebble beach appeared ahead.

The pebble beach faces the Black Lake, where a thin layer of ice floats on the surface, with a ring of water melting around the edge, and very faint white steam rising from the water.

Henry crouched down, and the moment the palm of his positioning stone glove touched the surface of the gravel, a clear warm pulse came through.

It's stronger than yesterday, stronger and more regular, like a heartbeat.

He stood up and walked north along the pebble beach.

The crack remains in place, revealing the dark stone surface beneath.

Three arcs were carved on the stone surface, but today, the crack itself was a little wider than yesterday, and a very faint green light shone through the crack, which was very similar to the color of the Flame of Flying Path.

Henry crouched down and placed his palms on the stone surface.

The pulse from the positioning stone gloves suddenly intensified. There was an energy channel beneath the cracks beneath their feet, with energy surging within the channel. The energy flowed from the direction of the Black Lake, converging beneath the gravel beach and flowing northward along the main vein.

The aftershocks disappeared in this passage last night, but the energy in the passage now is several times stronger than it was last night.

"Hagrid," Henry looked up, "there's something rising up from down here."

Hagrid crouched down, his large face almost touching the stone surface.

He reached out and touched the rubble at the edge of the crack, his fingers lingered on the stone for a moment, then he abruptly pulled them back.

"It's hot," he said. "The stone is hot, like the bottom of a scorched pot."

Henry took the dark green book out of his inner pocket and turned to the page about the Black Lake shoreline.

Next to the symbol on the page is a line of very small text: End of branch, seal.

He hadn't had time to look closely at it at Kensington Palace, but now, as he drew near to the firelight, he noticed an even smaller line below the first line, which used blood as a guide and a name as a key.

Blood is the catalyst, and name is the key.

Henry repeated the words in his mind, closed the book, took out his wand from his robe, and gently made a very shallow cut on his left palm. Blood seeped out and fell onto the stone surface.

The moment the blood droplet touched the stone surface, the green glow in the crack suddenly brightened.

The three arcs on the stone surface began to glow, and the arcs expanded outwards. At the position of the fourth arc, an extremely thin ray of light appeared, slowly taking shape from nothing to something, from dark to bright.

The fourth arc.

It is completing the task.

Henry held his breath, and as the fourth arc reached its brightest point, a voice came from the crack.

It was low and deep, like an echo rising from the depths of the earth.

The voice uttered a single word.

"Return to your place."

The light then dissipated, the crack returned to its original state, leaving only a faint warmth.

The four curved lines on the stone surface have all disappeared, leaving only a smooth, dark stone surface, as if nothing had ever been carved there.

Henry slowly stood up.

Hagrid stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape, speechless for a long time.

"What is that?" Hagrid finally asked.

"The seal," Henry said. "The first seal has been awakened. It recognizes me."

"You recognize me?"

"It needs blood as a catalyst." Henry looked at the shallow wound on his palm. "It needs a name as a key. I just gave it blood, and it recognized my name."

Hagrid's expression became very complicated.

"You mean—this seal is related to you?"

"I don't know." Henry pulled his hands back into his cloak. "But someone is waiting for me. When that fourth arc was completed, it said it was back in place."

He turned and walked toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid following behind and Toothbrush running ahead.

Henry took a few steps and then stopped.

There was a string of footprints on the muddy ground at the edge of the pebble beach.

It was fresh, stretching from the depths of the forbidden forest, stopping at the edge of the scree beach and then turning back.

The footprints were large, and the person was barefoot.

"Hagrid," Henry said softly.

Hagrid saw it too, and his expression changed.

"Those aren't human footprints, they're too big."

Henry crouched down and measured the size of the footprint with his hand.

It was almost twice the length of his foot, with clearly defined toes and a deep arch.

He stood up and looked in the direction of the footprints—the footprints turned back into the depths of the forbidden forest and disappeared among the shadows of the trees.

"It came," Henry said. "Last night, or early this morning. It stood on the edge of the scree for a while and then left."

"What is it?"

"I don't know," Henry said, "but it knows where the seal is. It's waiting for the seal to be awakened."

He walked a few steps in the direction of the footprints, and something was moving among the shadows of the trees.

Henry stopped, and a faint pulse came from the palm of the positioning stone glove, pointing directly at the shadow of the tree.

"Hagrid, you stay here," Henry said.

"Are you going alone?"

"It wasn't coming for me," Henry said. "It was waiting for the seal to be awakened. Now that the seal is awakened, it will come back."

I need to find it before it comes back.

He walked toward the shadows of the trees, where the light was even dimmer in the depths of the forbidden forest, and vines and moss were entwined between the tree trunks.

Henry walked about fifty paces and came to a clearing in the bushes ahead. In the center of the clearing stood an old oak tree, thicker than the surrounding trees, its trunk covered with lichen and vines.

There is a stone at the base of the oak tree, with a symbol carved on its surface.

Henry approached and squatted down.

The symbol is a complete set of four arcs, with the fourth arc being green, exactly like the markings on the dark green book.

Next to the stone was a wooden box, which was unlocked, with the words "For the Duke of Cambridge" engraved on the lid.

Henry opened the box; inside was a roll of parchment and a badge.

The emblem is circular with a dot in the center and four arcs around it, the fourth arc being silver.

A few lines of writing were on the parchment, the handwriting neat but old, the ink faded to a light brown.

"The fourth arc has returned to its place, the alliance is complete, the seal has awakened, and the gate to the seventh level will open under the next full moon. If you have read this letter, it means you have found the first seal. The remaining six await you; the map is at the bottom of the box."

Henry turned the parchment over; on the back was a hand-drawn map with seven points in different locations, forming an arc.

The nodes along the Black Lake are at the southernmost end of the arc, marked "Way One". The northernmost point is inside Hogwarts Castle, marked "Way Seven".

He put the map away and took out a smaller piece of parchment from the bottom of the box, on which was written only one sentence.

"I'll be waiting for you at the seventh track."

There was no signature, but four curved lines were drawn in the corner of the envelope, the fourth of which was green.

Henry folded the parchment, put it in his inner bag, and turned to walk back to the gravel beach.

Hagrid remained standing there, with Toothbrush crouching at his feet, his ears still perked up.

"What did you find?" Hagrid asked.

"A letter," Henry said, "and a name."

"What's your name?"

"I don't know." Henry put the wooden box into the inner pocket of his cloak. "But he said he was waiting for me at Seventh Lane."

Hagrid's expression changed.

“The seventh seal—you mean the seventh seal inside Hogwarts Castle,” Henry said. “There are seven points marked on the map. The northernmost one is inside the castle.”

Hagrid was silent for a moment.

"Are you going to go look for it?"

"Tonight," Henry said, "we'll head back to the castle first. I need to confirm the location of the seventh seal."

They retraced their steps, and the morning mist had completely dissipated. Henry stopped when he reached Hagrid's cabin.

"Hagrid, keep watch over the pebble beach for me. Don't let anyone get close."

“No problem,” Hagrid said. “But does your mention of ‘anyone’ include Dumbledore?”

Henry glanced at him. "No. If it's Dumbledore, let him go down and see. He knows what to look for."

Hagrid nodded. Henry turned and walked toward the castle.

On June 27th, when Henry returned to the castle in the morning, there were already people walking in the corridors.

With the holidays approaching, the students have become much more relaxed, strolling around in groups of three or five in the corridors.

He walked through the crowd, not returning to the cellar, but going straight up to the eighth floor.

The door to Dumbledore's office was open. When Henry walked in, Dumbledore was standing by Fawkes' perch, holding a newly grown feather in his hand.

Fox called out softly from its perch.

"You're back." Dumbledore didn't turn around. "How's Hagrid?"

"The first seal has been awakened." Henry stopped in front of his desk. "It recognized me. The fourth arc is complete."

O

Dumbledore turned around, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles calm.

"You bled on the gravel beach."

"Blood is the guide, name is the key," Henry said. "The seal recognizes my name; it says, 'Return to your rightful place.'"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment.

"So you are the fourth arc, someone outside the alliance, now you're back in place."

"Not only that." Henry took the wooden box out of his inner bag and placed it on Dumbledore's desk. "I found this."

Inside the box was a letter and a map. The map marked seven points, the northernmost being inside Hogwarts Castle, labeled "Seventh Way."

Dumbledore opened the box, took out the parchment, and unfolded the map.

"The seventh one." He frowned. "Do you know where it is?"