I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 473 An Unheard-of Attack

"Huh?" Ginny turned to look at her mother. "Eight excellent?"

Normally, each fifth-year wizard only has nine subjects.

It's rare to find someone like Bill and Percy, who excelled in all twelve courses and passed all their electives; such a case might not appear for several years.

Hermione took eleven exams this year, giving up Divination and Muggle studies in favor of Alchemy.

Irving also had eleven subjects, but he didn't have Muggle Studies or Arithmetic Divination.

"I never knew you, Mom."

"It seems quite clear now that Charlie, Bill, and the Twins inherited their intelligence from whom," Owen said with a smile, biting into an apple.

"Of course." Mrs. Weasley became slightly proud. "After I graduated from Hogwarts, Gringotts invited me to join them as a spellbreaker."

"But in the end."

"Alright, alright, that's all in the past. Oh—kids, I have good news for you: your father has been promoted."

"In response to the current situation, Rufus Scrimgeour has created several new departments, and Arthur is now in charge of the 'Office for the Investigation and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defense Spells and Protective Equipment.' This is a very important job, and there are now ten people under him," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile.

But whether it was Ron, Ginny, or anyone else present, they all saw a hint of melancholy in her eyes.

Only then will people realize that a mother with so many gifted children could not possibly be an unknown, ordinary person.

Having graduated from Hogwarts with excellent grades, why did she refuse the job at Gringotts? It's likely because she was already pregnant with Bill, the Weasleys' first child. Or perhaps it was because of her love for Arthur, making her unsuitable for the job of a Gringotts anti-curse breaker who traveled the world.

Yet she was also fascinated by Gilderoy Lockhart. Perhaps she wasn't fascinated by Lockhart's greasy face, but rather by the free-spirited, courageous, and adventurous stories he wrote.

She was also a Gryffindor.

She also possessed courage.

She simply chose to be the mother of Molly Prewitt and her children over the other option.

-

The atmosphere around them was somewhat somber.

But Mrs. Weasley seemed oblivious, continuing to speak to herself, "You know, the Mysterio, the Imposter, the Purifier and all that, it's making everyone panic. People everywhere are making all sorts of weird things to sell, saying they can ward off the Mysterio and the Death Eaters."

Can you imagine that stuff, the so-called self-defense potion, which is actually just broth with a little bit of lymphatic pus? The instructions for using the defensive spell will actually just make you lose your ear, and... well, generally speaking, only people like Mundungus Fletcher do these bad things. They've never done a good job in their lives, and now they're taking advantage of people's fears to rob them.

But occasionally, some truly terrible things would happen. That day, Arthur confiscated a box of bewitched spyglasses.

She always mentions him.

Her eyes shone brightly, her emotions were connected with her husband's, and she felt anger, relief, and sadness for him.

But in her story, she herself is conspicuously absent.

"Mom—" Ginny suddenly stood up and hugged Molly tightly.

She buried her head in her mother's arms.

For some reason, an overwhelming sadness welled up in my heart.

Ron was also somewhat tempted. He quickly got up, and the three of them hugged each other.

Irving thought they probably had a lot to say.

He gave Hermione a wink and then got up and left the garden.

Harry and Coyatt also left, creating space for the Weasleys to be alone.

A gentle breeze was blowing through the mountains and fields.

In the countryside, although it is summer, it is not scorching hot.

On the contrary, it feels quite comfortable.

After Owen and Hermione met on the back of the mountain, they found a bare rock and sat down hand in hand.

Before them lay the Weasley family's fence, with countless tall fruit trees standing as far as the eye could see.

"It's so sad," Hermione murmured. "She dedicated her whole life to the Weasleys."

"I don't think the word 'contribution' is quite accurate." Owen held Hermione's left hand with his left hand and rested his right hand on her waist. The little witch leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "Compared to Harry, for me and Koyatl, Mother is a harbor we can never reach."

"She is happy too."

Hermione looked up at the boy's profile and said, "I just think that there should be a better ending for the two of them together."

"Yes! Pursuing a better life. That's what sets you apart from other girls." Owen lowered his head and looked at Hermione. "You know your own life's script. You're not a sequel to your parents' lives, not a prequel to your children's, and certainly not an extra chapter in your friends' stories."

"When they all think you're weird, that's when you're truly yourself."

"Nobody saw it."

"I saw it."

Upon hearing this, Hermione's face immediately turned red.

There was some redness on my neck and behind my ears.

She turned her head away and looked at the orchard in the distance.

The wind blows up on my face.

She pressed herself even closer to the boy beside her.

In the afternoon, Owen and Hermione had Kreacher take them back to the Black family home.

Pack your things.

They went to their home in Hogsmeade.

Rufus Scrimgeour only asked Harry to stay in the Burrow, but Coryat might not necessarily live there either.

After all, there were too many of them, and the rooms were overflowing.

That evening, they returned to their humble abode.

Mrs. Weasley had prepared a sumptuous dinner long ago.

The table was laden with all sorts of food.

Owen put a rune collar on Sirocco to prevent the cat from being lured away by the goblins.

As for Bakal, with Hagrid around, the silver dragons won't go hungry.

In the room, Mrs. Weasley suddenly stood up from her chair.

"He's back," she said, her gaze sweeping over the clock on the living room wall.

The pointer belonging to Mr. Arthur was pointing to "home".

Mrs. Weasley grasped the ball handle, pressed her face against the wooden door, and softly called, "Arthur, is that you?"

"Yes," came Mr. Weasley's weary voice from outside the door. "But if I were a Death Eater, I would say the same thing, my dear. Ask your question."

"Oh, to be honest..." Mrs. Weasley said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Molly"

"Okay, okay... what's your biggest ambition?"

"Find out how an airplane can stay in the air."

Hermione turned her head to Ginny and asked, "What are they doing?"

It's not some kind of romantic little thing, is it?

With someone constantly on her mind, she couldn't help but think in that direction.

"Oh, you didn't know that, did you!" Ginny said. "It's a safety manual authorized and published by the Ministry of Magic."

"It suggests that family members, colleagues, or friends agree on a security code to identify Death Eaters using Compound Elixir to impersonate others or as imposters."

"..." Hermione was somewhat surprised. Her bright brown eyes looked towards the door. "How could this possibly work?"

"Whether it's a Death Eater in disguise or a [pretender], they must have thoroughly searched the victim's memories beforehand."

"Just for peace of mind," Ginny mumbled, taking a sip of juice. "What can an ordinary wizard do?"

"Hmm—" Hermione was speechless. Although she wanted to refute the Ministry of Magic's futile efforts, which she felt were a waste of valuable social resources and government credibility, she couldn't think of a better solution after careful consideration, so she had to give up.

At the door—Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned the handle to open the door, but Mr. Weasley was clearly gripping the handle tightly from the outside, and the door remained firmly in place.

"Molly, I need to ask you that question first."

"Arthur, honestly, this is ridiculous..."

What do you like me to call you when we're alone together?

Even in the dim light of the table lamp, Koyatl, Harry, and Hermione could clearly see Mrs. Weasley's face turn bright red.

Irving laughed, then said in a condescending tone, "Looks like we're part of their game too."

"Huh?" Hermione's face also looked a little red. She stared blankly at Owen, and after thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized.

Then she quickly kicked him, signaling him to lower his head and drink the soup.

Of course, if Kyrie Irving were that obedient, he wouldn't be Kyrie Irving.

He pricked up his ears and stared intently at the doorway.

Ron looked a little embarrassed, while Ginny tried to make a loud clattering sound with her spoon in the bowl.

"Molly, little tremble," Mrs. Weasley said shyly to the crack in the door.

"That's right," said Mr. Weasley. "Now you can let me in."

Mrs. Weasley opened the door, and her husband appeared, a thin, bald, red-haired wizard wearing horny-framed glasses and a drab travel cloak.

"I still don't understand why you do this every time you come home," Mrs. Weasley said, helping her husband remove his cloak, her face still slightly flushed. "I mean, they must have searched the victims' memories."

"I know, but I have to set an example. What is it—onion soup? Mmm—it smells delicious!"

Mr. Weasley smiled and looked past his wife's cheek toward the restaurant.

"Oh—welcome! It's been a long time since I've seen you all sitting together so neatly. About a year, I think."

He laughed even harder.

He walked over and shook hands with them one by one. Mr. Weasley finally sat down in the chair next to Owen, and Mrs. Weasley also placed a bowl of hot soup in front of him.

"We really are part of their game," Owen whispered in Hermione's ear.

The little witch blushed slightly, but nodded with great certainty.

Didn't you see Mr. Weasley was even happier?

Dinner was enjoyed in a pleasant atmosphere.

Most of the time, Mr. Arthur is talking about the troublesome prank props he encounters at work.

Oh, it should be called a black magic defense item.

Although in Irving's eyes most of them were not even as good as the Weasley twins' prank props.

There wasn't much news from within China that attracted attention.

Meanwhile, abroad—Mr. Arthur said that a few days ago, the Federation's special operations team (the wizarding army that Dumbledore hoped to establish) captured a "pretender" in Sweden who attempted to infiltrate the Federation headquarters. He is currently being held on the seventh floor of the Magical Injury Hospital in Paris, France. That area was originally used to hold severely mutated wizards, the kind of wizards who are just one step away from becoming "Omen Children," so the building is quite sturdy and has been enchanted with numerous protective spells.

The Federation seems to have used that place as an experimental building specifically for researching "Impersonators," hoping to find a way to identify these monsters.

Irving was unaware of this matter. The hospital's daily operations did not require his involvement; the Rozier family was in charge of everything. This was probably arranged by his grandmother.

After dinner, everyone played around in the back garden for a while.

Although Mrs. Weasley had kindly invited them to stay at the Burrow, they could squeeze in, and there were still empty rooms for Bill, Charlie, and the twins.

But Koyatl still chose to return to Black's ancestral home.

As for Owen and Hermione, Mrs. Weasley didn't stop them much. She just subtly reminded Owen to be mindful of his age before letting them go.

I had a good night's sleep.

Early in the morning, Owen planned to go to Hogsmeade Village to buy some things.

Miss Granger got up even earlier than him.

She was holding a large stack of newspapers, including a month's worth of The Daily Prophet and parts of The Quibbler.

They were trying to figure out what major events had recently occurred in Britain.

After washing up, he took Hermione's hand and they went out.

What's so interesting about newspapers?

That's all news from the past.

"Wow, there are so many people!"

After navigating the gravel path, the two arrived at the main road.

The commotion immediately drew their attention.

"Are there this many people here during summer vacation?" Hermione was surprised; there were wizards everywhere, but everyone looked rather unwell.

"It's probably because of the siren in the Black Lake! It's summer—it should be breeding season for them." Owen chuckled. "But there are too many people, and—"

"Irving!" A shout suddenly came from ahead.

As the person approached, it turned out to be a Gemini.

"What are you doing here? Where's the shop in Diagon Alley? Doesn't it need guarding?"

George and Fred came over. "Half and half," they explained. "We can manage in the afternoon. We've hired two clerks specifically to sell the goods."

"This is our alchemy workshop," Fred said. "Great works aren't just for selling; they're about dreams!"

"What? Are you two on a date? That's not a good time."

The four of them, talking and jostling, entered Irving's own bubble tea shop.

"Sir." Dobby stood behind the bar and waved to him.

Irving waved back, then found a seat by the window.

Then he saw a large group of wizards, dressed in blue robes and wearing some kind of strange badge on their chests, hurrying past down the street.

"Those are all from the Federation's special operations team," George said.

Then he took out a newspaper.

That's clearly not the Daily Prophet.

Because Owen couldn't understand the text above.

But the front-page photo shocked both him and Hermione: a woman giving a speech in front of flashing lights, with dilapidated buildings behind her.

"Is this... the headquarters building of the Federation?"

“That’s right!” George said. “The Death Eaters attacked there last night.”

"There's a Black Demon sign in the sky," Fred said.

"They claimed it was in retaliation because the Federation had recently arrested an imposter who attempted to infiltrate the Federation headquarters building."

"This is truly the first time in history, since the establishment of the International Wizarding Federation, that someone has dared to openly attack the headquarters building. Even Grindelwald never did anything like this back then," George said.

"Oh my god—didn't anyone stop it last night?" Hermione said in disbelief.

"They found a good opportunity," George said. "Bill was just here. He was investigating the Death Eaters and found this place. There's been a lot of foot traffic in Hogsmeade Village for the past month."

"The Swedish headquarters is short-handed," Fred continued. "The excavation committee, the special operations team, and the magic hospital are all on guard. The Death Eaters caught the Federation completely off guard."

"Even Percy went to the Special Operations Team; he was previously the Ministry of Magic's ambassador to the Federation."

"Are the Death Eaters' goal just to vent their frustrations?" Owen suddenly asked, frowning and pondering for a moment before replying, "Obviously not. They couldn't be doing it for venting, because that would expose them, and such a pointless act would only cause them trouble. It would make more sense if the Federation had something that Senior Tom wanted."

"Who knows?" George scoffed. "There are tons of treasures inside the building; just think about it, it's a collection spanning hundreds of years."

"It's definitely related to the Outer Gods," Owen said with certainty. "After the Brazilian Divine Tower incident, he couldn't possibly not miss that power. But the International Wizarding Excavation Committee has stepped ahead of them, and Senior Tom probably wants to seize the data from the Excavation Committee during this period."

"Very likely." Hermione felt the same way.

"This is a time of great anxiety, and the Death Eaters have suddenly pulled this stunt."

"The situation is getting increasingly chaotic."

Irving calmed down.

There are seven divinely ordained towers in the world.

The ancient magic hidden in the four sacred mountains of India, Australia, Italy, and Brazil has all converged upon him.

In addition, there are Canada, the United Kingdom, and Greece.

His grandfather, Grindelwald, had already gone to inspect the one in Canada.

The one in England has its entrance inside Voldemort's Infernal Cave.

Newt has been investigating that Greek island of Mothrace for a long time, but it's unclear if he's found anything.

In short, so far, only the one in Canada seems to be the most full of surprises.

The only thing the Death Eaters could get ahead of them was that one.

Hmm—I could send a message to Bella and ask her what Tom's plans are lately.

"Bang bang bang—"

Someone was knocking on their nearby window.

Everyone looked up and saw Bill, and—Hibiscus.

"Go home, you two," Bill said to the twins.

"Oh—hello Owen, and Hermione too." He then looked at the other two. "Hogsmeade Village is going to be under martial law. The Ministry of Magic will be sending Aurors over soon."

After saying that, he gave a few more warnings, then quickly pulled Furong away.

(End of this chapter)