I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 535 Preparation

attack?

Compound decoction?

It feels familiar; I think I've heard it somewhere before this year.

Before the young wizards could ask any questions...

Dumbledore went on to explain, "If Tom were still sane, he wouldn't target all the young wizards, so the main targets would likely be just a few of you."

He looked at Owen, Hermione, and the others.

Indeed, Hermione, in particular, is the biggest target.

"So, you're planning to have them impersonate me?" Hermione asked, frowning. "But wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"There is danger," said Mad-Eye Moody, his enchanted eyes fixed on Hermione, "but there's no better way."

"The mysterious man needs a grand spectacle to announce his return. Of course, secretly developing his power is also a good option, but I don't think he will, because of the shame—"

"Disgrace?" Hermione muttered to herself a few times before she understood.

"Yes, I suppose you've figured it out by now," Moody continued. "He was killed by Muggles, died so silently, which is a great disgrace to him. So, if he's resurrected, he'll definitely seek revenge, and you're his primary target. If we choose another way to send you away this time, such as using a Portkey, then without a target, he might indiscriminately slaughter Muggles or wizards."

"Are we bait?" Harry said unhappily. "Well, I'm used to it anyway, like the time at the top of Azkaban Tower."

"Harry," Sirius walked over and looked at him earnestly, "they are no safer than you. I hope you understand that this isn't about exploitation, but about fighting side by side."

"I know," Harry said, pursing his lips. "I was just venting."

"Alright," Mad-Eye Moody interrupted their conversation. "Time is limited. I need your hair, kids. Hurry."

"But," Hermione wanted to argue a bit more, but Tonks had already come up behind her.

The little witch's hair was fluffy and thick; a few strands would fall out if you touched it even slightly.

The others, Harry and Ron, reluctantly plucked a few strands of hair from their heads and handed them to the people next to them.

Finally, we come to Irving.

He also handed over several silver threads.

"Alright, now you can go and get ready. Everything as usual, board the train," Moody instructed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were dragged out rather reluctantly.

And Irving.

As he turned around, Dumbledore called him back.

"Owen, you stay behind for a moment," the old headmaster said, then looked at the others. "Everyone, go and prepare. Brewing Polyjuice Potion is very difficult, and this year we've only managed to have some stockpiled thanks to the help of a young wizard."

"But that's still far from enough. Divided equally, each of you will only have enough for less than an hour. Before that, you'll have to board the Hogwarts Express without attracting attention."

"I think Tom will launch an attack on the train at King's Cross Station."

"Then see you at King's Cross Station," Moody said curtly, striding out of Snape's office. His alchemical mechanical leg looked incredibly light, and he walked without a limp.

The others also left one after another.

Soon, only Owen, Dumbledore, and Snape remained in the office.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Irving asked.

"That's how it is." Dumbledore then used very concise language to explain the Bellatrix deal to Owen.

"Hmph—" Owen then snorted coldly, "I knew she knew where the ring was."

"Hmm—" After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's a deal. Since she wants her child to jump into the abyss of ancient magic, let her jump. There's no need to stop her."

"This can be done by my grandmother; she has experience in this area."

"That's what I'm thinking too," Dumbledore said. "For now, let's focus on eliminating Tom. We can decide on other things later."

"It's really unexpected that she would have a child, and it's Tom's child," Owen said with a light laugh, his tone teasing.

In the book *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child*, Voldemort and Bellatrix did indeed have a daughter named Delphi Riddle.

Born before the Battle of Hogwarts.

If you calculate the timeline, it was around this time that I conceived.

She was an exceptionally talented witch, both in beauty and power. Outwardly, she appeared as a capable, lively, and cheerful girl with a captivating voice, silver hair with blue tips, and brown eyes with blue eyeshadow—truly beautiful. In reality, however, she was vicious and determined, possessing strong sadistic tendencies. She inherited Slytherin's Parseltongue and Voldemort's magical talent. She never attended Hogwarts, yet at the age of seventeen, she easily defeated Harry Potter, who was then the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Although Harry was defeated by her sneak attack due to underestimating her, this was enough to prove that her magical talent was absolutely no less than her father's.

In that timeline, Delphi Riddle was determined to go back in time to stop her father, Voldemort, from killing Harry Potter in Godric's Hollow, thus changing the future.

Although she ultimately failed, she did change part of the past.

Three years ago, Irving explained to Luna that the time-tamper could only repeat what had happened and could not change history.

Irving did not observe any stowaways from the future during those years, so The Cursed Child would not happen.

After all, if everything were normal, Tom might be alive in this world. Since the whole family is together, how could the story of traveling through time to save the past happen?

Meanwhile, a rare smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. He looked at Owen and said, "Good thing, good thing."

"It seems Tom has finally understood the true meaning of life."

To live one's short life to the fullest and leave one's achievements for future generations—this is how humanity grows and matures, a process that is truly remarkable.

Tom's life was finally on the right track.

"Perhaps." Snape interrupted Dumbledore with a stern face, seeing him about to launch into his usual clichés about love and family. His attitude towards that young Tom had always been that he was "usable," and once he was no longer of value, he would find an opportunity to kill him.

As for anything else, he hadn't even considered it.

"Take this." He said coldly, taking a bottle of something that looked like mud from the table. Besides that, there was a strand of silver-gold hair.

"Compound Herbal Elixir? Draco's?" Having already learned the details from Dumbledore, Owen naturally knew what it was.

"Find someone to impersonate him, or you can do it yourself. The Mystic won't be focusing his efforts on him," Snape said.

"Why did you make me do this?"

"Hmph—" Snape's expression turned impatient. "Think about it! He's been impersonating you for six whole months. Don't you want to get revenge?"

"No!" Owen said decisively. He was afraid of getting himself dirty!

"That's none of my business. Unless you're unwilling to work with that woman." With that, Snape shoved the bottle of Polyjuice Potion and the hair into his arms and kicked him out of the office.

Back in the hallway, Irving stared blankly at the compound decoction in his hand.

He cursed Snape countless times in his heart.

However, for the sake of the bigger plan, he had no choice but to endure it.

Moreover, he wouldn't actually do it himself.

There are quite a few excellent candidates.

Immediately, Irving strode towards the auditorium.

Breakfast service was still ongoing at this time.

The auditorium was filled with young wizards.

The expressions on everyone's faces ranged from worry to excitement. Although the professors had inexplicably conveyed a strong sense of pressure and anxiety over the past month, today was the last day of Hogwarts, and summer vacation would begin tomorrow. Everything seemed to be about to take a new turn.

The shadow cast by the professors has largely dissipated.

"Hey—Owen, over here!" As soon as Owen entered the Great Hall, he saw Harry waving at him.

Most of the DA members sat around them.

It seems that Harry wants to reveal some of the attack plan so that the young wizards can prepare in advance.

"What did Professor Dumbledore say to you again?" Hermione pulled him to sit down next to her.

"It's nothing—just..."

Then, Owen briefly told the others about Draco. He concealed the part about the Horcruxes and Bella, since it was a secret, and with so many junior wizards around, it was bound to get out.

He simplified the story to the fact that the Malfoy family betrayed Voldemort, so the Death Eaters might attack him, and Draco would also need someone to impersonate him.

"Heh—" After hearing Owen's story, Ron was the first to speak. He laughed disdainfully and sneered, "What, the young master is being chased, and we have to send a few scapegoats to die? If you ask me, their family deserves it. They're just opportunists. They saw the wind was blowing in their favor and pretended to jump to another camp."

"Say less about Ron," Hermione said, displeased, because their situation wasn't much better than Draco's.

Ron also realized what was happening.

He didn't continue his mockery; he just chuckled a few times and then fell silent.

"Didn't Dumbledore arrange for anyone?" Harry asked.

"No, I think it has something to do with Snape." Owen glanced at Hermione. "A twisted sense of humor—"

"."

Hermione understood immediately and whispered, "We can't put anyone else in danger. We don't have that right. Let me do it."

Irving's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Of course!" Hermione nodded firmly. "It's just impersonating other people. It's not like I haven't impersonated someone before."

"No—" Owen said, leaning back slightly. "I can't accept it. I was planning to send Harry; I think he'd definitely be interested in impersonating Draco."

Harry looked up, but before he could say anything, Hermione interrupted him. "If you don't want to do it yourself, you shouldn't put someone else to the risk," she said seriously. "Let me do it. I'm serious."

"No," Owen refused again. "If it's you, I might as well do it myself."

"Bang!"

To Owen's surprise, Hermione suddenly became very agitated. She jumped to her feet, braced herself on the table, and shouted, "Absolutely not!"

The room fell silent, and all the young wizards in the hall turned to look in this direction.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny and Neville, who were standing next to them, all looked at Hermione with strange expressions.

"Oh—" Hermione stammered, blushing slightly, and then said, "You know what I mean—I mean I have the ability to protect myself, no. not really. I—anyway, you can't become like Malfoy."

Good heavens—Malfoy had been impersonating Owen for months, and she had almost caught him several times. She was shocked to learn the truth yesterday at the entrance to the principal's office.

While I was shocked, I also secretly felt that it made some sense.

How could she not see through Malfoy's intentions? She's not stupid.

That's why Irving can't impersonate him; if the two of them switched identities, who knows what strange things might happen.

Anyway, the girl's mind was in turmoil at that moment, and all sorts of strange things appeared in Hermione's little head.

As for Irving, he was destined never to understand.

He was puzzled by Hermione's vehement opposition to him impersonating Draco.

"Then you can't either." Although Owen didn't understand why Hermione was so opposed, he agreed with her but also opposed her impersonating Draco. Just kidding, that's Polyjuice Potion. If she were to transform into any other girl, that would be one thing, but Draco—a boy! He would have to be crazy to agree to it.

He and Hermione were locked in a stalemate.

At that moment, Harry spoke up quietly, "Or, I'll do it."

"Okay, no problem, go ahead." With that, Owen quickly handed Harry all the Polyjuice Potion and hair from his pocket.

Then he looked at Hermione and said, "Look carefully, this time it was his own choice, it has nothing to do with me."

"You," the little witch said angrily, "Harry—"

"No need to say anything, you're a girl, how can you turn into a boy—okay, that last time doesn't count." Harry said, suddenly remembering the time in their second year when the three of them impersonated Owen.

I was young then and didn't realize the difference between men and women.

Young wizards typically begin to experience romantic feelings after the fourth grade.

But now—he certainly couldn't let Hermione dress up as a man.

"I'm just impersonating Malfoy. He's not the Death Eaters' primary target; maybe impersonating him is actually a form of protection for them."

Then Harry dipped the hair in his hand into the muddy liquid. As soon as the hair touched the surface of the liquid, the potion began to bubble, smoke, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a somewhat murky pale gold.

"It's a little better than I expected," Harry said.

The taste of the compound decoction is mainly related to the person who is to be transformed.

The more twisted a person is, the more disgusting and bizarre the smell of their potions will be. Harry had originally thought that Malfoy's potions would definitely be black, viscous substances that smelled like stinking sewers, but now they were just a slightly murky pale gold color, smelling like damp vines, which was completely beyond his expectations.

(End of this chapter)