Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 268 Reunion

Harry never expected that his reunion with Hermione would be like this.

She sat quietly on the swing in her yard, wearing a gray sweatshirt, gently rocking back and forth, holding her grapewood wand. She leaned against a large tree in her yard, panting heavily, forcing herself not to vomit.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore patted Harry on the shoulder and asked with concern, "The first Apparition experience will be very uncomfortable; you'll just have to get used to it gradually."

"N-nothing." Harry waved his hand, took a deep breath, and finally straightened up, even though his ears were still ringing as if hundreds or thousands of mosquitoes were buzzing around him.

"Well, he'll be fine after a while..." Dumbledore glanced at Harry, whose face was still quite pale, before turning to Hermione, who had already stood up from the swing, and greeted her with a smile.

Good evening, Hermione.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore, Harry." Hermione waved as she walked to Harry's side, gently tapping him with her wand.

A soft white light flashed, and Harry felt much better, with almost no discomfort.

"A very beautiful spell." Dumbledore clapped his hands, his charred right hand causing Hermione to involuntarily frown. Just as she was about to ask, Harry beside her said anxiously, "Hermione, you just used magic!"

"It's alright, I'm an adult now," Hermione replied. Harry was about to ask something when Dumbledore interrupted him.

He extended his left hand and said, "Alright, I can attest that Miss Granger is able to use magic freely in any situation and in any place... But now, please hold my left arm; we still have things to do."

Hearing this, Harry had no choice but to suppress his questions for the time being and, together with Hermione, grabbed Dumbledore's arm. The next second, Dumbledore waved his wand, and the uncomfortable feeling from before returned to Harry.

Suddenly everything went black. He felt pressured from all directions—up, down, left, right, front, and back—as if countless iron hoops were tightly constricting him, and he felt a tightness in his chest.

He finally exhaled when his feet touched the ground firmly again. Then came the familiar heavy breathing, but this time it was much better, and Hermione's wand landed on him immediately.

"Alright, this way." Dumbledore glanced back at Harry, then turned back. After looking around, he pointed in a direction and walked straight ahead.

Harry and Hermione followed behind, looking around at the unfamiliar scenery with a blank expression.

This place resembles an abandoned village. They seemed to have been in the village square just moments before, but it was deserted, with only an ancient monument and a few benches.

Following Dumbledore, they passed several shops, houses, and a tavern, but without exception, they were all empty and deserted.

"How are you...?" Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who was walking at the front, then moved closer to Hermione and asked in a low voice, his words full of concern.

"I'm fine, Harry," Hermione replied cheerfully.

Harry looked at her face but couldn't see anything unusual. However, he still felt something was off and was about to ask when Dumbledore spoke up.

"Oh, right, Harry, I forgot to ask, does your scar still hurt?"

"The scar? It's gone." Harry quickly changed the subject and replied, "I was wondering why. Logically, now that Voldemort is back, it should be burning with pain. It was like this last year."

He looked at Dumbledore and saw a satisfied expression on his face.

"That's a good thing, Harry," Dumbledore said as they walked. "It means Voldemort has finally realized that you've been able to invade his mind all along, and he senses danger. It looks like he's used Occlumency on you."

"Oh...that's great," Harry said, finally relieved of a long-standing worry in his heart; he had had enough of those tormenting nightmares.

As they walked, they went quite a distance. Harry looked at the still empty phone booths and bus shelters and asked, "Professor, where is this? And what are we doing here?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Dumbledore said, pointing in another direction as they walked, "This is Badley Barberton Village. We're here to persuade one of my retired colleagues to return to Hogwarts."

"To be honest, I can't even remember how many times I've said this in the last few years."

"So, how can we help?"

"I think you'll be able to help..."

They walked quite a distance further when Harry asked again, "Professor, why don't we just Apparate to your old colleague's house?"

"That's impolite, Harry," Hermione said before Dumbledore could speak. "We need to give other wizards the opportunity to refuse us, and besides, most wizarding homes have anti-apparition charms, like Hogwarts... I told you."

"Okay." Harry nodded subconsciously, about to ask something, when he saw Dumbledore suddenly stop in front of him, and he bumped into him without noticing.

Looking up, they realized that they had unknowingly arrived at a small house with a neat garden. The lock on the garden gate next to it had been violently broken, and the gate was hanging crookedly.

Dumbledore looked to both sides, but there was still no one there.

"Pull out your wand and follow me," he whispered, quickening his pace up the garden path and gently pushing open the door.

"Fluorescent lights!"

A soft white light emanated from the wand, revealing a chaotic hallway. Dumbledore didn't linger; he walked into the living room, wand in hand.

Entering the living room revealed an even more chaotic scene. An old clock lay shattered on the floor, its face and pendulum scattered everywhere. Beside it lay a broken chandelier, its shards strewn about. Feathers, having escaped from the cushions, lay scattered on the floor, beneath which lay many pieces of broken glass.

But what's most eye-catching is the bloodstains on the wall that have turned somewhat black, one of which is stretched out very long.

"This is terrible, isn't it?" Dumbledore said heavily, holding up his wand.

"There was an attack here?" Harry said. "A fight, and then he was dragged away, was that it, Professor?"

Harry's question went unanswered. He saw Dumbledore carefully stepping over the shards on the ground, while Hermione stood motionless behind a broken sofa, her attention completely focused on it.

Dumbledore clearly noticed Hermione's unusual behavior. A look of realization crossed his face. He then put his index finger to his lips and beckoned, signaling Harry to quietly join him and Hermione in surrounding the sofa.

After they had formed their formation, Dumbledore swung his wand and pierced right through the chair cushion.

"Ouch!"

The sofa let out a scream, startling Harry so much that he shuddered. Then, to his astonishment, the thick cushions on the sofa transformed into a plump, somewhat bald old man. He rubbed his stomach, squinted one eye, and a hint of tears welled up in it.

"You didn't have to stab me so hard with your wand, it hurts so much, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, a mischievous smile on his face, and said:

Good evening, Horace. It's been a long time.

(End of this chapter)