A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

“That’s true, but the Ministry of Magic also has a duty to protect ordinary people in the area from magical threats,” Hermione said. “Especially when some wizards and Muggles marry, they tend to protect their neighbors. This is more common during periods of large-scale social unrest, and the Ministry of Magic has a lot of information on it—well, I mean, criminal records.”

Ron rolled his eyes.

"You mean, some wizards spontaneously protected their neighbors during wartime, and were punished after being discovered using magic?"

Hermione looked somewhat embarrassed; at least in this matter, the Ministry of Magic hadn't played a positive role.

"However, if something really goes wrong, they usually just get fined a little money, they're unlikely to be sentenced to prison, let alone sent to Azkaban."

“Okay,” Ron muttered.

“But overall,” Hermione raised her voice slightly, “the wizards depicted here are mostly positive… there are some who steal and play pranks on Muggles, but you’ll find that these people are punished by the Ministry of Magic, which speaks volumes.”

“That’s not all,” she continued. “I think the most important part of Part 1 is that it fully elucidates two points, and their importance is paramount. The first point, of course, affirms the role of wizards, mentioning several magical calamities that wizards have always been the ones secretly eliminating. The second point—have you noticed that all the ‘wizards’ are preceded by a certain word?”

Harry glanced down.

"British wizards? Britain?"

"That's right, this discussion focuses on British wizards and obscures the fact that many pure-blood wizards have no nationality. By discussing this issue within the context of national affairs, we don't need to worry about external voices—"

“But the Pan-Magic League?” Harry murmured.

“They’re different, Harry, they’re different,” Hermione explained patiently. “Although they are both essentially aimed at reducing the constraints on wizards, they are very different in their target audience. The former—the term ‘British wizard’ basically excludes other countries from daring to discuss or argue about wizarding affairs internationally; the latter, the Pan-Magical Alliance, strives to maximize the autonomy of wizards internally.”

"That sounds complicated." Ron was already feeling dizzy.

“These are all very serious political issues,” Hermione said solemnly. “Even a tiny concept can have a chain reaction in the future, which is why the Ministry of Magic has been putting off drafting all sorts of detailed rules all at once for a while. Think about it, wizards don’t even have a profession like lawyers…”

“Hermione,” Harry said, “I know you’re right, but there’s one thing you might be overlooking, and that’s the power of wizards themselves. You know what I just thought of?” He didn’t wait for Hermione’s answer, but instead said the answer himself, “Grindelwald, who’s all over Africa.”

"Two months ago, in early August, all we saw in the newspapers about the situation in Africa was chaos—at that time, the International Confederation of Wizards had not yet regained its prestige with Professor Hyp's help—all of this changed with the appearance of one man."

“Harry,” Hermione said nervously.

"Back then, many predicted that in two weeks, wizards would become an uncontrollable force involved in the regional conflict. Now, two months have passed, and the situation there hasn't become more chaotic; on the contrary, it has completely stabilized—at its most dangerous moment, Grindelwald defeated three hundred wizards in one night, all by himself! Not a single one of them died. I don't know if it's due to the oath... Sometimes I have the illusion that Professor Hyp and Grindelwald have reached a tacit understanding, a silent agreement, to not interfere with each other..."

“Some newspapers claim they are planning an unprecedented duel, just like the legendary duel half a century ago,” Hermione’s voice trembled slightly. “The two strongest men in the world, if not for each other’s deterrence, each could cause terrifying destruction to the other side.”

Ron added, "All wizards are eagerly anticipating this, but it's not the right time yet."

“It’s not just the wizarding world that’s looking forward to this,” Hermione shrieked.

Indeed, it wasn't just wizards who were looking forward to it; governments around the world had taken notice of this issue, showing extreme apprehension and curiosity towards wizards with the title of 'Archmage'. Gellert Grindelwald and Felix Heap were two such individuals. Gellert Grindelwald appeared to be an ambitious man, and a failed one at that, but his threat level steadily increased after he appeared in the wizarding tavern in the Egyptian capital.

As for the latter... he seems to be skilled in a kind of magic called ancient runes, and has even been to the moon. Although his specific combat abilities are shrouded in mystery, his survival skills are at least unmatched.

This desire to confront and analyze power is entirely instinctive; almost every regime does something similar, but that doesn't mean they intend to wage war against wizards, especially their own.

What they really can't stand are guys who carry nuclear bombs around everywhere... If they have the chance, the fewer of them the better.

During this process, they also discovered something strange.

The power gap between wizards seemed ridiculously large. Even though those wizards generally possessed abilities that made them extremely troublesome—such as apparition, traveling on fire, creating Fiendfire that was difficult to extinguish, and folding space—these seemingly powerful wizards paled in comparison to the 'Archmage'.

They can only attribute it to the wonder and mystery of magic. Modern weapons are fundamentally based on physics, with many branches extending from it, making everything seem traceable. But unfortunately, current scientific theories still struggle to explain the principles of magic. Just look at those scientists who are practically working themselves bald.

"Part 2 and Part 3..."

Similar analyses are being conducted around the world. Around the same time, Grindelwald's declaration also began to spread after two weeks of build-up.

Chapter 713 Speculation

Since the start of the school year, Harry felt as if his attention had been split into six or seven pieces—Quidditch, Dumbledore's biography, the student council, clubs... The difficulty of seventh-year coursework had only increased, and the professors seemed to have been waiting for this moment, intending to cram all sorts of profound magical knowledge into them all at once.

In the Charms class, the short, excitable professor Flitwick exclaimed in an exaggerated tone:

"Good heavens! I really want to list all the useful spells, but I'm worried that your barren little brains can't hold them all!"

The students below looked at each other in bewilderment.

“But don’t worry,” he said with a smile, standing as usual on a stack of thick books. “I will teach you more practical things, closer to the essence of spells… such as the storage spell, which allows you to cast two completely different spells at once; and how to analyze and construct an unfamiliar spell, which will definitely come in handy if you plan to invent spells in the future; or other advanced spellcasting techniques, such as the order of different spells applied to the same target, how to reduce disturbances… and so on.”

Even in Potions class, no one was spared. Harry felt as if he were back in his first year—after the failed scabies potion-making attempt in the first lesson, Snape had spent weeks training them in the most basic potion-making techniques—

In each advanced class, students had to do their best to meet Professor Slughorn's various requests, such as "using rose petals and agaric mushrooms to reduce the toxicity of aconite" and "how to maximize the efficacy of lady's mantle with limited materials"...

Even Emily Vance, the newly appointed professor of Transfiguration, after becoming familiar with the teaching tasks, set new requirements for her students: Seventh graders would continue learning about human transformation and try to combine transformation theory with various complex models for comprehensive application. After saying this, she transformed a feather into a small bird, then the bird's long beak flattened, its feathers fell out, and black satin-like down grew out, transforming into a Niffler. The students were amazed.

“It’s all just appearances,” Emily Vance said. “My takeaway is that you shouldn’t stick to the morphological images you’ve learned before, but rather figure out what effect you want to achieve.”

Snape's attitude was the most likely to make students uncomfortable.

Even when his favorite subject was changed, his attitude didn't change much. In a recent Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Snape flipped through the textbook to the very end, and the students watched his movements, trying to guess which part he was about to learn. But when Snape reached the last page, he simply tossed the book aside.

“Today’s lesson is an extension topic, and you will find that the exam will not cover this part of the knowledge at all.” His dark eyes swept across the classroom. “This means that this lesson will not be of much help to those who just want to get the certificate. Those who do not want to listen or do not understand can come back next week.”

No one left voluntarily. Although everyone was angry and felt slighted, they secretly harbored a desire to retaliate. However, after class, the students walked out of the classroom dejectedly; clearly, not one of them had met Snape's expectations.

“You know what’s most infuriating?” Dean exclaimed indignantly, “He actually suggested that I use my free time to do something else… like go swimming in Black Lake or something.”

“That’s not surprising,” Seamus said, suppressing a laugh. “Your hair loss curse almost hit him. Think about it—”

“But the seventh-year course was really valuable, with dazzling advanced applications of various defensive and dueling spells,” Daphne Greengrass chattered excitedly. “You can’t even imagine how amazing it would be to replace ‘Spell Stop’ with ‘Spell End’…”

On the afternoon of the last day of September, Hermione came out of her dormitory carrying a box and sat down opposite Harry and Ron. The two stared intently at the box, and Harry said hopefully, "Hermione, is there some kind of badge inside?"

"—And it even has ambiguous abbreviations?" Ron added.

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

“Of course not!” She opened the box and emptied its contents, revealing a thick stack of clippings that immediately piled up on the table like a small mountain. Harry and Ron gathered around to look. “These are what I’ve collected over the past month since school started, and now I need to reorganize them.”

"Sorting like we did during summer vacation?" Harry asked.

“Hmm,” Hermione said.

"Can you see anything?" Harry asked as he and Ron rummaged through the table, picking out what interested them.

Since the start of the school year, the summer news-cutting work had stopped. Other students might subscribe to one or two newspapers at most, except for Hermione—who subscribed to every newspaper and magazine she could find. Every week, the Grangers would send her a package containing the Muggle newspapers they could buy.

"News is always a bit delayed, but you can still get some useful information. I have to say, things are changing rapidly," Hermione said, tidying up as she did so. "Especially when reading it alongside the book 'Promoting the Publicity of Magic'..."

“I know without even looking,” Ron muttered. “The whole world is changing, but Professor Binns’s class remains the same.”

Harry's gaze fell on a small clipping, and he looked down to read its contents.

The new wizarding town will be located in Cornwall and named Rutherford. Two hundred wizards have already moved there. Rutherford is reportedly adjacent to another wizard-Muggle community—Dingworth village—and with the new town's completion, wizards in the surrounding area will have more options…

Dingworth… Harry stared at the name in a daze, then suddenly asked Ron, “What’s the name of the place where Bill and Fleur finally settled?”

“A seashell hut,” Ron said casually.

No, I mean a specific location.

“Oh, it must be on a cliff overlooking the sea in Cornwall,” Ron said with a look of recollection. “Bill wrote to me about it—it’s on the outskirts of a village, called… what was it again?”

“Dingworth,” Harry said confidently.

"Yes, that's it."

Harry nodded and continued reading the neatly printed text on the clipping: 'Rutherford will become the second town in England entirely composed of wizards, the first being Hogsmeade Village. The town's construction involved twenty-four staff members and fifty-seven wizarding families who decided to settle here. Thanks to their contributions…'

Harry saw Longbottom's last name in a long list of names.

The second news item was an interview reprinted in the Daily Prophet from a Muggle newspaper, in which a seemingly influential guy criticized the Wizarding Trade Association for disrupting existing business rules and argued that they should be banned from certain industries... Harry put down the clipping, used to the occasional opposition, and reached for a small piece of paper the size of his palm.

The note, written in tightly packed small print, stated that the Ivermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America had accepted twelve children with magical talent, all too young to attend school—the oldest being ten and the youngest only six. Harry read uncomfortably that these children had been forced to take special drugs and undergo various tests. He paused for a moment before continuing. The second paragraph described their origins—'Descendants of the Purifiers. The Purifiers had despicably betrayed their own kind, choosing to marry Muggles to escape punishment and abandoning any child who showed magical talent… These people were ultimately punished.'

A surge of anger and relief welled up inside Harry, and a vague idea popped into his head, but it was interrupted before it could take shape.

“Hey! Listen to this,” Ron exclaimed excitedly. “This Muggle newspaper praises Dumbledore for single-handedly intimidating two generations of Dark Lords, and now it’s Professor Hyp’s turn to take the baton. They’re curious to see who the strongest wizard is—”

Hermione scoffed sarcastically, "They just want Grindelwald and the professor to fight."

“I’m quite curious too,” Ron read the news with relish. “They call Dumbledore the Swordholder, which is a really cool title, but he’s holding a wand, not a sword… who knows, maybe it refers to the Gryffindor sword?” He gestured in the air with one hand, pretending to hold a goblin sword that could cut through iron like butter.

"How's the biography coming along?" Hermione asked Harry, clipping a stack of clippings together with a small clipper.

“It will take at least a few more months to complete,” Harry muttered. “Mr. Dorje has very high expectations.”

Hermione shrugged, took the small piece of paper from Harry, glanced at it, and then sighed, "I hope these children are well taken care of." But then her gaze froze, and the sympathy in her eyes was replaced by horror.

"No, it shouldn't be, it's impossible..." she muttered to herself, staring at the table.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

Hermione held her breath and asked softly, "You mean... these children, will they be the first? Only them? Could there be more—"

"What first batch?" Ron stopped what he was doing and asked.

Harry's eyes widened suddenly. The vague idea that had been lingering in his mind became clear all of a sudden, but he wished it weren't true.

“You mean there were others controlled by the local government before them—” Harry was speechless; the thought was terrifying.

Ron looked around, snatched the note from Hermione's hand, and quickly read it. Combining what he heard with his own words, his face gradually paled, filled with unease. But then he immediately realized something. "I said—it shouldn't be like you think, that Ivermorny and Hogwarts have similar magic, and any young wizard who shows magical talent is recorded—well, these twelve children are just underage, which gave the villains an opportunity."

Harry and Hermione paused, Ron's words seemed to make sense, and they couldn't find a flaw in his argument for the time being. They both breathed a sigh of relief. After tidying up the clippings, Hermione pulled out the book "Promoting the Publicity of Magic" from her beaded pouch, but she seemed restless for a long time, even losing her appetite for dinner.

Finally, Harry suggested visiting Hagrid. Ron and Hermione had no objections, but after leaving the castle, they stood at the door of Hagrid's hut and knocked for ten minutes without receiving a response. There was no one inside. "Hagrid isn't home; he's probably out patrolling the Forbidden Forest," Harry said. "It's strange, the lights have been on the whole time."

“Maybe he took Grop for a walk—either way, we made a wasted trip,” Ron said, frowning.

They could only turn back, and Harry looked back several times but didn't see Hagrid or anyone even more imposing than Hagrid.

“Come again tomorrow, Harry,” Hermione advised.

“Remember to bring a Marauder’s Map, so you don’t get lost,” Ron suggested.

“Good idea,” Harry said, “but there’s no need to carry it with us. We can just check if Hagrid is home before we come. My Marauder’s Map doesn’t go deep into the Forbidden Forest—what’s wrong, Hermione?”

Hermione suddenly stopped, her eyes wide with fear.

“Lights… Marauder’s Map… I can’t see it…” She suddenly jumped up. “Oh, I just remembered something important—but I’d better check first. I’ll come find you later.” Before Harry could ask any questions, she dashed into the hallway.

"What did she think of?" Ron asked, puzzled.

“I don’t know,” Harry thought, a shadow falling over his mind. He thought of the American Purifiers, and the heavy topics they had discussed during the day, but what could the lights and the Marauder’s Map possibly remind Hermione of? “Let’s go, let’s follow them!”

They ran towards the stairs, but after climbing five floors, they still couldn't find Hermione. "She might have gone to the library," they thought. They turned back and, under Mrs. Pince's sharp gaze, searched the library again, but still found nothing. They had no choice but to return to the common room and wait for Hermione to come back on her own.

On the other side—

Hermione returned from the ancient runes office, which was also locked. Clearly, the professor hadn't returned to school yet, so late. She hesitated for a moment, still undecided. Just then, a strange sound came from her, and she took a glowing spyglass from her beaded pouch.

"Is it Varen?" Hermione's eyes lit up. If Varen was back, the professor would definitely be there too.