I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 544 Planning

(This chapter has been revised)

"How badly is the professor hurt?" Harry asked quickly.

"I don't know—" Moody said.

"Don't know?" Irving raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"That means we haven't seen Dumbledore and Grindelwald for three weeks," Mad-Eye Moody said angrily. "He wrote to us demanding that we not tell you the truth, and maybe he's plotting something. Anyway, these things are none of your business anymore."

“How can it be alright—we—” Harry tried to argue, but Moody abruptly interrupted him. “Instead of discussing this, worry about yourselves,” he said. “Right now—it’s simply not safe to stay in the Burrow. I don’t understand why we’re gathering here, and having this wedding; it’s ridiculous!”

"Why can't we have a wedding!" Ginny retorted.

"Exactly—why isn't the Burrow safe?" George and Fred said in unison. "We used to live here."

"The past is the past, the present is the present!" Moody scoffed, his magical eyes darting around as he surveyed the surroundings. "The Burrow isn't 12 Grimmauld Place. Too many wizards know about this place. It's impossible to protect it with the Faithful Charm. If the Death Eaters wanted to attack, they could find it with just a little effort. Do you really think this place can withstand their attack?"

We must find a new safe house immediately.

"How about number 12 Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.

"I can—but—" Moody hesitated, his good eye briefly meeting Kingsley's gaze.

The current Keeper of the Secret at 12 Grimmauld Place is Dumbledore, who was wounded in a battle a few weeks ago. Although he did not die at the time, they have not seen Dumbledore in person since.

Moody had to consider what to do if something happened to Dumbledore.

Once a Secret Keeper dies, everyone Dumbledore revealed the location of Grimmauld Place to him becomes a Secret Keeper, which includes a vast number of people.

In addition to members of the Order of the Phoenix, some members of the Saints, including some officials of the Federation, also visited Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore trusted them.

But Moody wouldn't trust these people so easily.

"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, then forget it," Owen said bluntly. "The Burrow is still safe for now. As long as the Ministry of Magic hasn't fallen—besides, we can't find any suitable safe houses anytime soon."

Because it did not experience the seven Porter transfer events.

Therefore, a humble dwelling is indeed not safe.

In the original story, Moody prepared more than a dozen decoy targets. The Burrow was just one of the safe houses.

Today—although the Burrow is not safe, the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic have cast an astonishing number of security spells on it over the past year. These spells have made its security level comparable to Hogwarts to some extent. The most direct manifestation of this increased security is that no one can now directly enter the Burrow using magic.

It won't be easy to find another place with so much protective magic.

Owen himself has a few safe houses, like the one in Hogsmeade. Or perhaps back in Paris, Rosier's safe house. Or—Miss Granger's castle would be nice too.

However, the castle costs at least a month to maintain.

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, so it is indeed not advisable to act rashly now," Kingsley said.

"However, given the current situation—several Death Eater attacks have occurred in the wizarding world. The mysterious man seems to be looking for something?" Mad-Eye Moody said, panting, "the situation is still not optimistic. We need to find out their plot as soon as possible."

"He's looking for something—" Irving said.

If I'm not mistaken, they're looking for the Deathly Hallows.

However, Voldemort probably wasn't that motivated at that point.

In the original books, Voldemort and Harry fought twice.

The first time they fought was at Voldemort's father's grave, when Voldemort's wand was hit by a flashback spell.

The second instance was the Seven Potters Transfer Incident, where Voldemort attacked Harry but was repelled by Harry's Phoenix Wand automatically counterattacking.

These two incidents made Voldemort realize the problem with the wand, which led him to devote his efforts to finding the Deathly Hallows.

Here, Harry also fought Voldemort twice.

One instance was the Battle of Hogsmeade, where the two fought a battle that triggered a flashback spell.

One instance was the battle atop Azkaban's tower, which also triggered the Flashback Curse.

The difference is that while Voldemort was aware of a possible connection between his wand and Harry's, his level of concern differed. Because Voldemort had acquired powerful ancient magic several times, he wasn't particularly interested in the wand issue.

A few days ago, he arrested Garrick Ollivander, presumably just to ask him some questions.

Otherwise, he should have arrested Garrick Ollivander long ago; he had plenty of time years ago and would never have delayed until now.

Owen speculated that Voldemort's wand malfunctioned after he returned and gained powerful ancient magic.

Just like his magic wand.

Owen's wand is now three-quarters crystal clear. Only the very end still shows signs of being made of wood.

This is the result of the wand being affected by ancient magic.

Ancient magic—magic that originally belonged to the stars.

Crystallization is also inevitable.

It seems that Voldemort discovered that his wand was crystallizing.

Only then did I start paying attention to the wand again.

"However, I think Professor Dumbledore has a plan for what he's looking for, so we don't need to worry about it."

"Our problem now lies with the Ministry of Magic," Owen said. "It's certain that the Ministry won't last much longer, whether it's the Death Eaters' infiltration or the social upheaval caused by Scrimgeour's mistake being exposed."

This time—the Ministry of Magic will definitely fall into Tom's hands amidst the turmoil.

"And this will be in the foreseeable future. I estimate it won't be more than a few weeks."

"A few weeks!" the wizards present exclaimed in surprise.

Moody and Kingsley's expressions turned extremely grim.

Because they all knew that Irving was right, and that it might even happen sooner than he predicted.

"What should we do if the Wizarding World falls into Tom's hands?" Harry asked, distressed.

"Isn't anyone prepared to resist him?" Ron said angrily.

“Of course, Ron, but many more are afraid,” Mr. Weasley replied. “Afraid of being the next to disappear, afraid that their children will be the next to be attacked! Terrible rumors are circulating everywhere. For example, I don’t believe that the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts has resigned. She’s been missing for weeks. During this time, Scrimgeour has been locking himself in his office all day, and I really hope he’s working on a plan.”

For a moment, everyone fell silent again. Because Mr. Arthur was right.

Not all wizards are as righteous and indignant as Sirius Black.

Not all wizards are like Harry, without any worries.

Not all wizards are like Hermione, possessing powerful magical abilities.

Most of them have families, jobs, and need to eat.

It's human nature to stand by and watch; those who truly step in to help are often acting against human nature.

They cannot be too harsh on the vast majority of people.

Because living is not easy.

"If the Wizarding Tribe falls into the hands of the Mystic," Mad-Eye Moody gritted his teeth, "you might not be able to go to Hogwarts this year."

"What?" Harry's reaction was the most intense.

Hogwarts was his home.

He is now homeless.

“It’s simple—” Owen said, looking at Harry. “If the wizarding community falls into Tom’s hands, they will definitely use their power to force the Hogwarts Board of Trustees to expel Dumbledore.”

"And once Dumbledore is driven out of the school, Hogwarts will fall into their control."

"Harry!" Owen's lips curled into a smile. "If Tom were the headmaster, would you still want to go to Hogwarts?"

"That's definitely not going!" Harry said firmly, but he quickly realized his mistake and lowered his head in frustration.

"What if Dumbledore just won't leave Hogwarts?" Hermione frowned, then continued, "The castle is sentient; it only obeys the commands of the headmaster it approves of. Even if the Death Eaters take over the castle, they can't completely control it."

"If Professor Dumbledore doesn't leave—" Owen shook his head, "then a war will break out, a war that Voldemort would even destroy Hogwarts to win. A large number of young wizards might die—I don't think Professor Dumbledore would ever make such a choice."

He will choose to give up the castle.

"Give up the castle?" The young wizards' stomachs tightened. Their faces were filled with fear.

"Yes, give up the castle, and then plan to make Snape the new headmaster."

"Snape?" Harry was taken aback.

"..." Suddenly, Owen realized that he might have gone a bit too far, and that he had touched on the core of Dumbledore's plan. This was not something that should be told to the young wizard.

Even Moody and his team shouldn't know this.

Be careful that they don't fall into Voldemort's hands, which could lead to the loss of intelligence.

Just then, a sound came from the humble dwelling behind them.

Mrs. Weasley walked over using magic, carrying several plates of apple pies.

"Alright, stop talking about those terrible things." She glared at her husband. "Don't say these things in front of the children."

"Let's eat first, then go back and rest."

Mrs. Weasley spoke with a smile, but her tone was one of unwavering resolve.

The young wizards did not object.

Before long, the table was filled with all kinds of delicious food.

In these perilous times, it's truly a luxury that these people can sit here peacefully and have a meal.

Dinner took more than an hour to eat.

Until it got dark.

Owen and Hermione used the Anywhere Door to return to 12 Grimmauld Place.

Ron, Koyatl, and Harry were also there.

The humble dwelling is now becoming too small to accommodate everyone.

Moreover, with Furong and Bill's wedding taking place in a few days, at least one room needs to be vacated.

There was no other way, so the young wizards had to move to number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Perhaps—this was Mrs. Weasley's intention.

In her heart, number 12 Grimmauld Place was safer than the Burrow.

For the next few days, Harry and his friends, like Owen, were trapped at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Of course, number 12 Grimmauld Place is much larger than Dursley's house.

Hermione was engrossed in her book once again.

She seemed to have her eye on the library in the ancestral home.

The day after Harry arrived, Fleur also moved in, along with her sister Gabrielle Delacour.

Finally, Hermione and Ginny found a breakthrough, and the two of them began to keep asking Fleur what was happening at King's Cross Station.

When this topic came up, Furong became very excited and began to describe in detail the chaos and horror of that day.

Compared to the brutality of the Death Eaters.

They massacred more than a dozen officials from the Ministry of Magic's Department of Law Enforcement.

The real highlight is the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Fleur witnessed Voldemort's return.

In her description, Voldemort seemed to have transformed back into Tom Riddle, with his handsome features and long-lost nose returning.

Compared to his youth, Voldemort's only distinguishing feature upon his return was his silver hair.

The battle with Dumbledore was even more astonishing. Both sides used every means at their disposal, and countless spells exploded in the air, even tearing apart part of the dark clouds that day.

Fleur did not witness Dumbledore's defeat.

She made an emergency retreat while the two were fighting.

Harry was deeply moved after hearing this. He wished he could be there too, witnessing the battle between legendary wizards.

"Sigh, you're not even seventeen yet, you can't go and deal with—" Ron mouthed the words Voldemort: "You still have a trail of clues on you. We can make our plans right here."

"The trail disappeared on the 31st," Harry said. "That means I only need to stay here for four days, and then I can—"

"Five days," Ron corrected him seriously. "We still have to stay for the wedding. Otherwise, they'll kill us."

Harry understood that "they" referred to Fleur and Mrs. Wesley.

In the morning, only he and Ron were in the kitchen. The others didn't seem to be up yet.

Dobby had already prepared for the morning.

Ron picked up a piece of pie and said, "To defeat that guy, isn't it to destroy his Horcruxes?"

"How many have we destroyed so far?"

"Five," Harry said. "There's a lead on one more. Dumbledore said he'll find it."

"The last one," he rubbed his head, "not a single clue."

"Are there seven in total?" Ron asked.

"Hmm—" Harry nodded.

"Hey—good morning!" Hermione and Owen walked into the kitchen at that moment.

Soon after, Furong and her sister followed them in.

A commotion arose at the bottom of the stairs, and Ginny appeared.

She had barely run into the kitchen when she said, "We're going to visit the Burrow today."

"What happened?" Ron immediately stood up and asked.

"Idiot!" Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Cleaning! Cleaning!"

(End of this chapter)