I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 494 The Death of the Wizard

It took Owen some effort to remove the "Dead Root" larva from Bella's neck.

Behind him, Hermione took a glass jar from her waist pocket and put the clump that looked like some kind of fungus inside.

"So this is?" Owen didn't seem to mind and sat down on the ground.

Looking up at Bella, who was covered in cold sweat as if she had been pulled from the river, she said.

"Methods of control," the woman said weakly, then immediately began to gasp for breath.

"Hmph—monsters are definitely more obedient than humans," Owen sneered.

He scoffed at Voldemort's methods.

An organization that relies solely on fear cannot survive for long.

People are inherently proactive. Only when others feel that following you offers opportunities for advancement and a promising future will they be willing to work for you. Otherwise, the organization is not far from disintegration.

If you also control others and threaten their lives, they will rebel.

Unless your race is Zerg.

Obviously, one cannot expect Voldemort to learn the Muggle organizational structure.

Playing with terrorism is already the limit of his intelligence.

Now, our senior Tom has even more ideas about building a "hive" mentality.

It has to be said that Voldemort has really gone further and further down the path of monsters.

Suddenly, Owen remembered something and said, "I encountered 'imposters' in Egypt; they seemed to be uncontrolled by anything!"

Consider the Voodoo High Priestess Lavian, who organized a massive sacrificial ceremony to seize her and Hermione's bodies and recruit other "imposters." If she had absolute control over the "imposters" she created, why would she have gone to such lengths?

This shows that she had absolutely no control over the "Impersonator" she created.

"He modified that magic." Bella said weakly, pulling a large jar of potion from her bosom and swallowing it in a few gulps. Clearly, she was prepared.

After taking the potion, her condition began to improve, and the blue and white discoloration on her face diminished considerably.

"The methods used to create 'Deadroot' are completely different from those used in the past," she explained. "The magic of 'Deadroot' is hidden within it."

"Got it, it's just like the Dark Mark." Owen glanced at the pattern on Bella's left arm that looked like it was made up of goblins.

It was an enormous skull, composed of countless emerald green star-like things, with a large python emerging from its mouth like a tongue.

This is an extremely complicated and powerful spell.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a curse.

Voldemort has a certain influence on Death Eaters who possess this mark. He can sense the location of Death Eaters who touch the Dark Mark on his left arm and can also punish them through the mark, such as causing them burning pain.

It's quite obvious that the Deadroot that Voldemort cultivated should have a similar effect.

Even more terrifying.

Having figured everything out, Owen suddenly looked at Bella with a mocking expression, "So, you've defected, haven't you!"

Her current actions are tantamount to running to Dumbledore's camp shortly after being given the Dark Mark by the Dark Lord and asking him to remove the mark.

Voldemort might not discover it immediately, but it was only a matter of time.

This is blatant betrayal.

"Oh—no, look at you, you're becoming more and more womanly, completely unlike that crazy girl you used to be—well, you must have been spending the last year living a shameless life with our dear sixteen-year-old Tom, recharging your energy. How is that betrayal?"

Owen paused, his gaze sweeping sharply across Bella's face like a knife, before continuing, "However, it seems you can no longer return to the Death Eaters' ranks. And you'll likely be hunted down by them."

"We can keep it a secret for a while longer." Bellatrix used one hand to support herself against the fir tree behind her, and with the other hand holding her wand, she managed to stand up.

"A period of time?" Irving raised an eyebrow and stood up from the ground. His eyes revealed a hint of mockery and disdain.

This woman's current behavior is undoubtedly like dancing with swords.

She had no idea how terrifying ancient magic was, let alone what kind of methods Voldemort, who had already mastered a portion of this power, possessed.

However—Irving's lips curled into a mocking smile.

Who cares? What does her death have to do with me?

"Alright," Owen said, rubbing his neck. "I don't think you came here just for yourself."

"What other purpose do you have?"

Upon hearing this, Bellatrix's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Of course I have my own purpose," she said slowly, with a hint of fanaticism in her voice. "The Dark Lord's wisdom is beyond your comprehension."

"He just needs time, he needs to be quiet."

"Oh?" Owen raised an eyebrow and chuckled noncommittally. As for that sixteen-year-old—no, wait—if he had been resurrected last year, he would be seventeen this year.

Owen had absolutely no desire to know about Tom's plans.

The reason is simple: in the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are useless.

He didn't think that a fragmented soul whose memories only extended to Voldemort's sixteen-year-old self could stir up any trouble.

Let alone facing Dumbledore, it's questionable whether he could even defeat Bellatrix—or even Hermione.

Miss Granger is standing on the shoulders of giants. Judging from her current growth trajectory, it's only a matter of time before she surpasses legendary wizards like Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

Perhaps she can reach the level of a legendary wizard in her early twenties.

Harry and his friends should not be underestimated.

Therefore, he couldn't imagine how young Tom could possibly gain power and experience surpassing that of a legendary wizard within a few years.

"I hope you can help resolve the 'Dead Root' within some of the Death Eaters who are loyal to the Dark Lord."

"Sure!" Irving said directly.

Bellatrix was surprised by his decisiveness; she had expected him to make some unreasonable demands.

I'm prepared to pay a heavy price.

To my surprise, he agreed so quickly.

"but--"

Bellatrix's expression changed, and she thought to herself, "Just as I thought."

"Two requests," Owen said. "First, Voldemort has a family heirloom called the Gauntlet Ring. Find it and bring it to me."

"Secondly, Voldemort will definitely make a move soon, and I need to know his next plan."

Bellatrix looked at the boy and calmly said, "Okay."

Upon hearing this, Irving took out a small glass bottle from his waist pocket, squeezed a few drops of blood from his index finger into the bottle, and handed it to Bellatrix.

"You know how to use it."

"Um!"

With the deal complete, Owen turned around and led Hermione and the others to open the Forbidden Forest.

He remained silent the entire way.

Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were like a bomb going off, constantly asking why Bellatrix would make a deal with Owen, and whether she was one of them.

Hermione explained patiently.

They put all the blame on Dumbledore.

Of course. In the little witch's mind, this was indeed Dumbledore's plan.

Irving was merely the executor.

What she didn't know was that this plan was spearheaded by Owen and proposed to Dumbledore.

Harry and Ron were unsurprisingly shocked when they learned the 'truth'.

The two stared wide-eyed at Irving in disbelief.

My perception of Dumbledore's "intelligence and wisdom" was amplified countless times in an instant.

Good heavens—this tactic of turning the opponent's most trusted subordinate into one's own is simply unheard of.

Besides admiration, they also felt a sense of fear.

After all, it was truly horrifying that such a thing had happened.

This was a serious blow to Old Deng's glorious image.

Five minutes later, they returned to the covered bridge.

Owen had no intention of returning to the common room immediately; he needed to find Dumbledore and report what he had just witnessed.

Hermione chose to go with him.

Harry and Ron then returned to the common room.

A dozen minutes later, he and Hermione walked out of the principal's office.

There wasn't much to say to begin with.

This time, Bellatrix didn't send any intelligence, and they couldn't deduce anything from it.

Before leaving, Old Deng took the Deadroot seedling from Hermione's hand.

The two parted ways after leaving the principal's office.

They need to process what happened today.

Before you know it, a night has passed.

Hufflepuff was up to its usual antics last night.

The reason was that several Muggle-born wizards got into a fight with Ernie and the other pure-blood wizards.

Hufflepuff, as the most approachable house in Hogwarts, also has the largest number of Muggle-blooded wizards.

On the contrary, pure-blood wizards like Ernie are rare.

Clearly, Ernie lost this oral gymnastics due to being outnumbered.

Enraged, he attacked.

In the end, it was Hannah herself who took action to calm the situation down.

However, she only managed to comfort everyone.

The contradictions still exist.

Throughout this struggle, Irving chose to remain on the sidelines, because he knew very well that words couldn't change anything, and all he could do now was wait!

He believed that a new storm would soon be brewing.

Morning—in the auditorium.

Today is the weekend, and also the day of the DA rally.

The time was set for 10:00 AM.

It lasted until 4 p.m.

There will be a one-hour lunch break in between.

At eight o'clock, Irving was already sitting in a chair next to the Hufflepuff table in the auditorium.

Koyatl sat next to him.

The atmosphere in the lounge was a little strange.

The past two weeks have seen absolutely dramatic changes.

As a non-Hogwarts student, it would be difficult for her to play any role in it.

This annoyed the girl; the atmosphere wasn't as harmonious as it had been last semester.

She didn't want to stay in the lounge, so she went to the auditorium with Owen.

In reality, the atmosphere of all four Hogwarts houses has changed, simply because they have the most Hufflepuff Muggle wizards.

It seems that Slytherin is the most consistent now.

Although they were also divided into two camps due to their support for Voldemort and their inaction.

This is not a good sign.

Owen knew very well that the magical world was about to fall apart.

If young wizards all turn out like this, what about adult wizards?

Ultimately, half-blood and Muggle-blood wizards make up the vast majority of the wizarding world today, with pure-bloods being only a small minority. And even among them, they aren't entirely pure-blooded; over the centuries, pure-blood families have always had sporadic instances of Muggle blood mixed in. This is something no one can change.

For example: Hannah.

Born into the pure-blood wizarding family, the Abbots, both her parents were wizards.

Strictly speaking, she is indeed of mixed race.

Because their grandparents married wizards of Muggle descent—their father was a wizard, and their mother, though a wizard, was Muggle-born like Hermione.

To die-hard purebloods like the Gaunt family, Hannah was a half-blood, even though her ancestors were all wizards.

"Hey—Owen, I heard Ernie got into a fight with some fourth-year wizards in the common room?"

Just then, Harry suddenly walked over.

He was with Ron Ginny.

It's rare to see these two get up so early on a weekend.

"Bad news travels fast!" Irving shrugged. "It's nothing serious."

“Or to tell you the truth!” Harry sat down next to him. “The atmosphere in Gryffindor hasn’t been great these days either. Colin and his brother got into a fight with Cormac, but with Hermione around, they didn’t dare fight in the common room.”

Hermione walked over.

She was holding many textbooks in her hands, and it was obvious that she had come from the library.

Harry immediately made way for her, and Hermione didn't hesitate and sat down in Harry's original seat.

"The school should be more disciplined," the little witch said, glancing at Ron sitting next to Koyatl with a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

"You're a Gryffindor prefect, why don't you care about anything?"

"How am I supposed to manage this?" Ron picked up a meat pie from the table. "I'm caught in the middle. Colin thinks I'm a pureblood, and Cormac thinks I'm a traitor. If Harry hadn't stopped me, I could have beaten them both to death!"

Hermione pursed her lips; she was well aware of the Weasley family's awkward position in this conflict.

Just then, many owls suddenly flew over the auditorium.

The things the little wizards bought have been delivered.

Hermione ordered various newspapers, and Harry bought some Weasley joke products which were delivered.

"Any news?" Ron asked casually, taking a bite of his minced meat. He always asked this question whenever Hermione opened the newspaper.

"Where have the Death Eaters attacked this time?" Harry leaned closer.

Then, he saw a news headline that he would never have imagined in his life, not even in his dreams.

The Death of a Wizard: A War Started by Muggles

"My God!" Harry exclaimed.

His eyes widened as he read the details below.

—Herman Clayton, a renowned apothecary in the wizarding world. He was murdered by Muggles in London on October 19th for allegedly committing a dangerous attack.

Muggle police have declared Herman Clayton a terrorist, stating that his actions were entirely within the law.

"Herman Clayton?" Harry had never heard of that name before. But—a Muggle killed a wizard.

"Members of the Dark Ravens," Hermione said, frowning. "A dark wizarding organization that originated in the Nordic region, which has now sided with Voldemort."

"No, that's not the point," Harry said anxiously. "Maybe Herman Clayton really deserved it, but—"

"But what?" Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry.

"A wizard!" Harry exclaimed. "That's a wizard!"

Ginny and Ron were both drawn to Harry's reaction and turned to look at him.

All eyes were on the newspaper in Hermione's hand.

"A Muggle killed a wizard?" Ginny's face showed a hint of confusion.

"How could they?"

Hermione was still reading the newspaper, but upon hearing Ginny's words, she immediately became unhappy. "Why not?"

"He's a dark wizard who has killed countless people. It's perfectly reasonable for the police to arrest or kill him."

"But," Ginny said, her face turning a deep red as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

"No buts. He deserved it!"

Although Hermione said so.

But whether it was Ginny, Ron, or the other young wizards in the Great Hall who suddenly started shouting, it proved that their acceptance of the news was completely different.

Throughout wizarding history, while there have been conflicts between wizards and Muggles, most of the time it was just wizards playing tricks on Muggles.

The history of the Middle Ages is too complex and chaotic, and wizarding history and Muggle history are separate and cannot be perfectly interwoven.

The missing part—the incorrect one—is unknown to anyone.

Like Nick, who nearly lost his head, a tragic political victim, and the last magical dynasty that began after his death, history records nothing of him.

But regardless of the past, there has never been a case of a Muggle killing a wizard in the hundreds of years since the enactment of the International Wizarding Secrets Act.

While it did drive some minor wizards mad and lead to the emergence of new, silent movements, none of these incidents ever made it into the mainstream media.

The fact that the Daily Prophet is now giving this so much publicity suggests a deliberate attempt to sow discord and exacerbate tensions between wizards and Muggles.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall became unusually heavy, with shock and unease etched on everyone's faces. Ginny and Ron looked pale, and although Hermione tried to appear strong, a hint of worry flickered in her eyes.

"This is really big news," Ron stammered.

"Yes, and it could cause a whole host of problems." Hermione took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "The relationship between wizards and Muggles has always been delicate, and this will undoubtedly exacerbate tensions between them."

"But...but aren't wizards more powerful than Muggles? Especially dark wizards, how did they do it?" Ginny asked hesitantly, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"The power of Muggles is nothing like it was hundreds of years ago in the Middle Ages, you've seen their weapons before," Hermione said seriously.

Just then, with a "poof," Kreacher reappeared beside Irving.

It placed a letter on the table, then with a "poof," it disappeared, the action completed in almost a few seconds.

"She sent a message?" Hermione whispered.

"It seems so," Owen replied, then picked up the letter on the table, quickly opened it, and began to examine it.

"this"

The letter was very brief, consisting of only one sentence.

He was preparing to target the heads of state of Muggle countries.

(End of this chapter)