Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 748 Take Your Positions

The sunset was orange-red, and the clouds were orange-yellow.

As the sun sets, one side of the mountain forest canopy is dyed golden red, while the other side is shrouded in shadow. The top of the graceful canopy is the boundary between the glow of the sunset and the shadows.

In the very center of the forest, a grand funeral is taking place.

The intense light shone on old Crabbe's tired, numb face, making the bronze busts in the flowerbed appear not as the afterglow of the setting sun, but as constantly raging flames. The snake trees crackled as if they were crying out, and thousands of fallen leaves were swept up by the air currents, swirling and igniting themselves to form whirlwinds of flame. Yet, they were confined to the snake tree area by invisible magic, burning and turning to ashes that scattered everywhere.

Deep within the tree hollow, Vincent Crabbe, now just an empty shell, huddled inside, eyes closed. The flames, fueled by half a tree branch, seared him and quickly ignited him. Snake scales melted into black sap, the charred human form writhed in the fire, and the massive tree canopy burned.

The firelight and the glow of the sunset mingled together, coloring the sky.

Two figures stood on a thick branch of a fir tree outside the vine barrier. Their bodies were dyed the same red as the tree, concealing their forms. Only upon closer inspection could one discern that they were an old wizard and a young wizard. The old wizard had white hair and beard, while the young wizard appeared to be underage with delicate features. They gazed at the snake tree from afar.

I remember being chased all over the castle by Crabbe when I was in first grade. I still remember his violent and fierce appearance very clearly. Now, Mr. Crabbe's appearance and physique have not changed much, but you can no longer see the arrogant shadow of that board member from back then.

Loren said with some emotion, "Headmaster, do you think that if his son were still alive, he would still be loyal to Voldemort?"

Who knows?

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes were exceptionally profound: "I am 115 years old this year, and nearly a hundred years of experience have taught me that setting up an illusory condition and speculating on its impact on the present situation is meaningless to the present reality."

The old headmaster gazed at the raging flames ahead, his eyes reflecting the firelight: "We always imagine 'what ifs,' but there are never any 'what ifs'..."

"Oh." Loren was too lazy to talk about philosophy and life with the principal, and continued to stare at the raging fire.

Inside the soulless body, wisps of black smoke rose, and the thick black mist condensed into a skeletal face amidst the churning flames, emitting a mournful roar. But the roar lasted only a few seconds before being swallowed up by the swirling flames.

Old Crabbe wasn't afraid; he even found the sound somewhat pleasant, as the Dark Lord let out a wail like an ordinary wizard.

The afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded, the evening glow completely disappeared, the fierce fire gradually died down, and the whole world became dark. The color of the sky was somewhat cold, the stars began to appear, and a crescent moon hung obliquely in the sky.

In the end, only the lower half of the snake tree's trunk and root knots remained. Salazar Slytherin's snakewood wand, left behind a thousand years ago, was brought across the Atlantic by his blood relatives to this faraway land, where it took root, grew, and healed life. A thousand years later, it was tainted by his own blood relatives with dark magic and finally turned to ashes.

The living Horcrux that carried the Dark Lord's victory over death, the son of a certain father, also turned to ashes.

He stared at that face, his breathing rapid, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. He couldn't help but reach out and cover his chest; his heart was throbbing slightly.

"Vincent Crabbe."

The middle-aged man called out the name again, then turned and walked toward the castle. He needed food and sleep; he needed to gather his strength before launching a revenge attack.

A father seeks revenge on his son against the world's most powerful dark wizard.

……

That evening, dinner was a little later than usual, but the dishes were still plentiful. As Loren walked down the corridor, he glanced around and didn't see old Crabbe in either the side hall or the main hall. During the meal, several young wizards eavesdropped on the professors' conversation and gleaned some information.

Old Crabbe revealed some information and was transferred to the school infirmary to recuperate. He wasn't in any major problems, just exhausted from enduring a full day and night, and the significant setback had left him somewhat listless. A good night's sleep would fix it. His bear-like physique was truly remarkable; it took three drops of Hellfire Potion to fall asleep. An ordinary wizard would have been knocked out by just one drop.

Voldemort has been recuperating since his defeat last year, so he has been relatively well-behaved during this period.

The Death Eaters' stronghold is sealed by the Faithful Charm, and Old Crabbe is not a Secret Keeper, so he cannot reveal it.

Most importantly, Voldemort received news that Harry Potter was about to travel to New York and was preparing an attack. The source of this information was said to be a spy left in the Ministry of Magic, though his exact identity was unclear. Dumbledore didn't seem surprised; in any case, Loren didn't see any worry or anxiety on his face.

"It's a pity the snake tree was burned down," Loren couldn't help but lament.

Fontana took a sip of champagne, a smile playing on his lips, looking quite pleased: "The snake tree isn't dead. Its roots are still in Iphamoni. The rotten trunk has been cleared, the internal worms removed, and new branches will sprout again next spring."

Hearing this, Pickley and Nancy breathed a sigh of relief.

Hermione looked at her headmistress, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Professor, are Professor McGonagall and Harry still coming to New York? Why not just cancel the trip?"

"Because the plane tickets and all the formalities have already been completed."

"But the living Horcrux has already been destroyed."

"Their target was never a living Horcrux."

Dumbledore patiently explained, "Voldemort has suffered several setbacks. He is now very vigilant, like a rat in a pipe, hiding at the slightest sound. If he learns that all the Horcruxes have been destroyed, it will be difficult to find him again."

Dumbledore gazed silently at the burning candlestick flame, his eyes deep: "Moreover, sixteen years ago, Harry's fate was already intertwined with Voldemort's. He has a long life ahead of him and cannot always confine himself to narrow places like the school or the Ministry of Magic in order to avoid Voldemort, as he has done this summer."

"..." Hermione seemed to be deep in thought.

The wizards of Iphamoni were completely bewildered.

Loren looked up, curiously examining the old headmaster: "Professor, you anticipated all along that there were Voldemort spies in the Ministry of Magic? So you deliberately leaked Harry's whereabouts to lure Voldemort, that viper, out of his den, intending to take advantage of their attack to completely eliminate Voldemort and his Death Eater forces?"

Dumbledore shook his head: "I had only guessed before, but Mr. Crabbe has just confirmed my guess."

Loren pursed his lips.

Who knows what that old man was thinking?

……

August 4th, cloudy.

Loren saw the wizard's hat-shaped key again and learned about the ambush plan from Pickley.

The Magical Congress of the United States recently conducted an investigation that yielded results. By retrieving relevant data from the Muggle Police Department, they confirmed that a group of dark wizards had stayed in Brooklyn for approximately two months. The presence of the Death Eaters led to a significant decrease in crimes such as robbery, theft, and extortion, resulting in a substantial improvement in Brooklyn's safety.

The crime rate here only slowly recovered after they were relocated some time ago.

Dumbledore and Fontana relayed the information to the relevant authorities. Previous investigations and old Crabbe's intelligence confirmed that a group of wizard terrorists were lurking in New York, which aroused great concern from the Magical Congress of the United States. Recalling the werewolf incarnation incident a few years ago, even the most conservative members of Congress expressed their approval of this counter-terrorism operation.

After breakfast, Loren and his group set off, first driving to the mountainside to leave the spatial confinement area, and then activating the Portkey to travel to New York. The three professors and old Crabbe used a different Portkey; they had other plans and needed to go to Woolworth Building first.

Loren returned to the craft shop next to the New York airport, waiting for Harry's plane to arrive while listening to Nancy recount the operation and whispering with Hermione beside him.

As for Pickley?

He's already put it on.

"The Fourth Auror Squad is setting up magic, waiting for the Death Eaters to step into the trap. We will immediately disable Apparition..."

"The Third Auror Squad is guiding the evacuation of passengers. They are disguised as airport staff and have persuaded those who can be persuaded to leave to move to shelter rooms to ensure that no Muggles will be accidentally injured in the upcoming battle."

"The Second Auror Squad has disabled the relevant electronic equipment, and all audio and video recording devices will stop working at the appropriate time."

"The International Department of Magical Cooperation has reached an agreement with the Muggle government that other flights arriving tonight will be diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport."

"..."

Nancy pursed her lips as she watched Pickley reporting to the Auror Director. Loren, standing beside her, turned and asked, "We have squads four through two now, so what's the first Auror squad's role?"

"Responsible for combat security."

"Combat... Security..."

Neither Loren nor Hermione quite understood how the two words were connected.

Nancy paused for a moment, her expression somewhat subtle: "Pickley is in the first squad; the other members are responsible for protecting him during the battle."

"..."

Loren and Hermione also fell silent.

……

The blue and white Boeing 777 climbed upwards, emitting a whistling sound as it tore through the air.

This is the world's largest twin-engine wide-body passenger aircraft, with a three-class configuration that can carry up to 368 passengers. It features a circular fuselage design and 12 wheels on its main landing gear. Its outstanding design and advanced technology made it a gamble for Boeing, which invested heavily in developing the aircraft in an effort to reverse its decline, and it ultimately achieved great success. Passengers on this aircraft can fly across the Atlantic to New York in just a few hours.

Under the reading light, Harry flipped through the brochure he'd grabbed while boarding, the texture of the color-printed cardboard booklet completely different from parchment. He devoured it with great interest, curious about everything inside the giant steel bird; as a Quidditch player, he was passionate about all flying machines.

A slightly distorted voice came over the intercom: "Good afternoon, passengers. This is the captain. First of all, welcome aboard Flight 941. We are currently cruising at 400 miles per hour at 10:25 a.m. The weather is fine, with a tailwind, and we expect to arrive in New York about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The weather in New York is overcast... Enjoy the rest of the flight."

Professor McGonagall sat by the window with her eyes closed, resting. The passenger in the front right was wearing a fedora and her face was not visible. The cabin was unusually quiet. Apart from a slight tightness in her ear, the travel experience was very good.

Occasionally, a passenger would get up to go to the restroom, but Harry paid no attention to it and continued to flip through the brochures.

Harry glanced at the familiar figure passing by and slowly sitting down in the seat in front of him, then realized the person next to him looked even more familiar. The pink hair was very distinctive. He couldn't help but glance again, and finally exclaimed incredulously, "Remus, Tonks... Sirius!"

The two people in the front row turned around, revealing warm smiles: "Harry, long time no see..."

The parties involved in this operation, or those who were used as bait, only belatedly learned the truth.

The Ministry of Magic also received intelligence from Dumbledore. Minister Scrimgeour believed that Voldemort and the Death Eaters, as terrorist organizations in Britain, were the responsibility of the Ministry to capture and eliminate, and that the Magical Congress of the United States should not be allowed to do the Ministry's job. Therefore, he selected several core Aurors and temporarily allied them with the Order of the Phoenix to go to New York to participate in this operation.

Harry collected his jumbled thoughts and scanned the cargo hold, only then noticing many familiar faces: Kingsley, the Longbottoms, Prout, Williamson, Ephia Dogg, Dedalus Deeward, Emily Vance, Stooge Bodmore…

Sitting in the front row were the two leaders, Minister Scrimgeour and Mad-Eye Moody, who were quietly discussing battle plans. The intelligence personnel in the analysis department finally quieted down after a long time.

"Doesn't he get tired?"

Scrimgeour couldn't help but glance at Mad-Eye next to him. Even when Mad-Eye was resting with his eyes closed, his bulging demonic eye was still darting around, occasionally lingering on his body. This gave Scrimgeour a strange feeling, as if Mad-Eye was watching him even in his sleep.

Looking back on this emergency operation, many questions still remain in my mind.

Why did the Order of the Phoenix, who always lurk in the shadows, finally reveal their identities? Did they no longer feel the need to remain hidden?

Why did Dumbledore know that the Death Eaters were hiding in New York and was certain they would risk attacking Potter? Who was Dumbledore's spy within the Death Eaters? Who was Voldemort's spy planted within the Ministry of Magic?

Why are so many key figures gathered in New York? Voldemort, Dumbledore, Harry Potter... What is it that is attracting them?

"..."

Scrimgeour closed his eyes, pausing his chaotic thoughts and speculations.

As dusk fell, a vast city, already brightly lit, appeared beneath the wings. The streetlights and traffic on the highway wove a shimmering spiderweb, waiting for the giant steel bird to fall into its web. That was the city where the Magic Congress was located, the city where the Death Eaters lived.

(End of this chapter)