Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 180 The News Leaked by Mundungus

"Nobody knows where he is; he's hiding himself," Sirius said. "He doesn't want to attract attention, and it's obvious he's planning something..."

"What are you planning?"

"There are many, such as finding his former henchmen, Death Eaters, wizards who once followed him, and all sorts of monsters and ghosts, werewolves and the like," Mr. Weasley explained. "It's not hard to guess; obviously, he won't just take those few Death Eaters and go against the Ministry of Magic."

"We're doing everything we can to stop him from gaining more followers, but frankly, it's not working very well."

"The Ministry of Magic has been hiding the news of his resurrection and has done everything in its power to smear Dumbledore," Bill said. "We have to admit, the Ministry has done a very good job in this regard. Because the vast majority of people don't want to believe that man has returned; they're running away from the truth."

"But that's the truth!" Harry exclaimed excitedly.

"The truth is harsh, Harry," Lupin said calmly, "and we haven't come away empty-handed. Tonks chose to believe us, and so did Kingsley."

"And what about Ike?" Harry asked again.

"Ike, it's that..." Sirius paused, glancing at Hermione sitting on the other side of the long table, and the others subconsciously looked over as well.

"Nobody knows where he is, but I think he's with the Mystic," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Actually, you don't need to worry about me; it was his choice to become a Death Eater."

"And I think, in the current situation, we really should keep an eye on Ike. After all, with his strength, probably only Dumbledore could beat him." Hermione turned to Harry and said, "He easily defeated you in the graveyard, didn't he, Harry?"

“That’s right.” Harry nodded. “I heard him call Voldemort ‘teacher’ with my own ears. Voldemort’s attitude towards him was completely different from his attitude towards the Death Eaters.”

"It is indeed a problem," Sirius said. "But we don't have much of a solution right now. Our priority is to convince the public as much as possible that Voldemort has returned and to stop him from recalling his former followers."

"As for the rest, to be honest, there's nothing we can do about it right now..."

"If it's Ike, I do know something about him," Mundungus, who had been reclining in his chair, suddenly said. "Speaking of which, I've dealt with him a few times."

"When did you see Ike?" Hermione asked.

"It was a long time ago. If you hadn't brought it up, I would have completely forgotten about it." Mundungus sat up a little straighter. "It was about two years ago, I think. I did business with him twice at the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade..."

"The Pig's Head? I remember you were banned from that place," Mr. Weasley said.

Upon hearing this, Mundungus replied, "That's right, but that's actually none of my business, it's someone else's..."

"Ike, Mundungus," Sirius tapped the table and said, "Don't change the subject. Nobody wants to hear your stories."

"Alright, Ike." Mundungus subconsciously shrugged. "He asked me to sell him potions twice, large quantities of healing potions and compound elixirs, as well as Baffy's Mind-Awakening Potion, all of very high quality."

"As you know, I couldn't possibly miss this opportunity. Potions of that quality have no trouble selling; I can make a fortune just by reselling them..."

"Mundungus!"

"Alright, alright..." Mundungus continued, "What I mean is, the potions he brews are of very high quality and very unique. Although I've only had contact with them twice, I'm confident that if any of his potions appeared on the market, I would definitely be able to recognize them."

"Did you find the potion he was brewing?"

"no."

"Then what's the point of saying that!" Sirius shouted. "And do you think he'd still sell potions now? He's got plenty of Galleons with Voldemort!"

"Alright, Sirius," Lupin stopped Sirius, "it's still a clue. We all know he must be with the Mystic. Maybe in the future we'll find Ike through the clue Mundungus mentioned, and then find the Mystic."

"Let's talk about it later, let's talk about it later..."

Sirius Black seemed unimpressed by this supposed "clue" and went on to talk to Harry about other things. But soon after, Mrs. Weasley returned, forcefully ending the "interrogation" and sending Harry and the others back to bed.

Hermione followed Harry and the others upstairs to their room. Ginny was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Seeing Hermione return, she immediately asked, "What did you all talk about?"

There was no intention of hiding anything from Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley was well aware of this. Hermione simply repeated what she had just said to Ginny before lying down on the bed and covering herself with a cup.

Ginny could tell that Hermione was in a bad mood, so she didn't ask any more questions. She turned over, closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep.

On the other hand, Hermione didn't fall asleep so quickly. Hidden under the covers, she rhythmically tapped her fingers on the pendant of her necklace.

"Da, da da, da..."

After a long time, the clouds on the pendant suddenly changed, sometimes dissipating and sometimes gathering, in a very rhythmic way.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Hermione's lips, and she tapped her fingers lightly again.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but the clouds on the pendant remained unchanged. Hermione waited a while longer before finally giving up. She poked her head out from under the covers, breathing heavily; she had really been holding her breath for a while. But compared to the new information she had just learned, holding her breath for a short time was nothing.

"Harry is here."

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him do anything foolish."

"How have you been lately? What have you been up to? It's been a while since I heard from you."

"I'm too busy brewing potions to concentrate."

"You actually went and brewed a magic potion!"

"What?"

"Mundungus said today that he used to do business with you at the Pig's Head, and he thinks he can use that lead to find you and that person."

"Then he'll be disappointed; this batch of potions will never be available on the market. By the way, how's your Disillusionment Charm coming along?"

"Just a little bit more."

"You can take a look at the notes I left for you, on the third shelf of the bookshelf. They contain some of my insights on using the Disillusionment Charm, which should be helpful to you."

"I will go see it, but not now. I have to wait until I get back to school."

"No need to rush. Okay, I have to go now. V, look for me."

"Then be careful."

He shoved his hand into his pocket, feeling the ring vibrate, but Ike's face remained expressionless.

He glanced at the insect's tail outside the door, then gently waved his other hand, extinguishing the fire under the crucible.

"Let's go, Wormtail."

(End of this chapter)