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Chapter 1298: The Final Safeguard
Chapter 1298: The Final Safeguard
In a room with the window ajar, a radio on the table was broadcasting the Wizarding Wireless Network News. However, the young man sitting on the edge of the bed seemed utterly disinterested in the news as he busied himself with packing useful items into his backpack.
"Dean, are you packing?"
A tanned young woman poked her head through the half-open door, eyeing Dean curiously. "Are you planning to leave?"
"I don't know, Annie. But I feel like I need to be prepared to leave at any moment," Dean replied as he stuffed a thick cloak into his bag, zipped it back up, and placed it on the desk. He gave his half-sister a gentle hug, feeling resigned to the situation. "I'll talk to Dad and Mom about this later."
"But where are you going? Aren't you going back to Hogwarts?" Annie's confusion only grew.
"I want to, but..."
"Dean, what's going on?" Mrs. Thomas appeared at the doorway, her face etched with worry as she looked at her son.
Ever since the summer break from Hogwarts, her son Dean had been acting strangely worried. He started paying attention to the wizarding world's newspapers and radio broadcasts and had been writing letters to his wizarding friends in the past few days.
This sudden change filled her with a sense of foreboding. The last time a man acted like this, he left and never returned.
Mrs. Thomas had a feeling that Dean's father might not come back either.
"I'm sorry, Mom. Some terrible things have happened. Anyway... let's talk about this in the living room."
Dean gave his mother a guilty hug and picked up his backpack, heading for the door.
And so, the Thomas family meeting began.
Dean knew that he would most likely not be able to return to Hogwarts, and he didn't want to involve his family too much, fearing for their safety.
But as Mrs. Thomas had said, everyone had a right to know.
Dean decided to confide in them about the changes in the Ministry of Magic.
"...so a group of terrorists have taken control of the magical government, demanding that everyone prove their wizarding heritage. Otherwise, they will expel you from Hogwarts and even imprison you," Mr. Thomas said, pausing as he tried to recall the name of the school.
"Hogwarts," Dean supplied.
"Right, Hogwarts. And they plan to throw you in prison just because of your Muggle-born status?" Mr. Thomas found the whole situation utterly absurd.
"Yes. The Ministry has even established a new department called the Muggle-born Registration Commission. I heard they sent all the Muggle-born wizards working at the Ministry to Azkaban the same day," Dean said with a bitter smile, looking at his stepfather.
"That's outrageous!"
The entire Thomas family agreed that it was beyond ridiculous; even television dramas wouldn't dare to portray such a scenario.
"But how are they getting away with this? Why is no one stopping them?" Mr. Thomas asked, perplexed.
"Who dares to stand up to the Death Eaters?" Dean countered with a bitter laugh. "I heard the previous minister was killed in the line of duty because of this, and now everyone is scared."
"They deserve whatever comes their way," Mr. Thomas muttered.
"The unlucky ones are people like us," Dean said helplessly. "Muggle-born wizards have been abandoned."
"But... I mean, your biological father might very well be..." Mrs. Thomas trailed off, unsure how to continue.
"Even if that man was a wizard, I have no way of proving it. After all, he's already dead, killed in the last Wizarding War, probably due to persecution," Dean sighed, resigned to the fact that he would never know the identity of his biological father, despite his suspicions.
However, Dean didn't blame his father. If he had been in the same situation, he might have made the same choice.
"But even if you don't go back to Hogwarts, you can still stay here with us," Mrs. Thomas said, not wanting her son to leave. She doubted he could even take care of himself outside their home.
"I can't prove my wizarding heritage, so I'll definitely be accused of stealing magic from a real wizard. The Ministry might send people to arrest me, and you'll be implicated. You must have noticed the strange events happening in Britain lately—they're all caused by those terrorists. That's why I must leave to ensure your safety," Dean insisted, determined not to stay.
"Where do you plan to go? If not, we can temporarily move to another place. If we can't fight them, we can at least hide, right?" Mr. Thomas frowned, concerned about their options.
"I plan to seek refuge with a friend."
Dean had tried multiple times to contact Hermione Granger via owl, hoping to join Albert Anderson's Defense Association through her.
Unfortunately, his owls had not been able to locate Granger, and he lacked other connections.
With Severus Snape now the new headmaster of Hogwarts and expelling all Muggle-born students, Dean knew he had to leave his home immediately to protect his family from potential harm.
"By the way, after I leave, you should stay away from home for a month or two. I can't be sure if the people who might come here are employees of the Ministry or Death Eaters. But it seems there's no difference between them—they're all dangerous. It's best not to interact with them because dark wizards have a habit of killing ordinary people to vent their anger. You often see mysterious deaths on TV, and most of them are probably caused by these people," Dean warned, his anxiety evident.
Mr. Thomas fell silent, finally understanding why Dean felt the need to leave.
"Take care of yourself and remember to keep in touch with us through owl post," Mr. Thomas said, giving Dean a tight hug.
Just then, an owl flew into the room through the open window and dropped a letter onto the table in front of Dean.
"Who's writing to me?" Dean asked, puzzled as he picked up the letter. After quickly reading its contents, he jumped up from his seat and ran to the window, looking out as if searching for something.
"Is it good news?" Mrs. Thomas asked, her face lighting up with hope at her son's reaction.
"Someone's coming to get me!" Dean exclaimed excitedly.
The Thomas family exchanged bewildered glances.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Dean, wand at the ready, cautiously opened the front door and found a tall, dark-skinned wizard standing there.
"It's not a good idea to linger outside for too long right now," the middle-aged wizard said, shaking Dean's hand. "I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Oh, welcome," Dean said.
"You're the minister's assistant."
Upon seeing Kingsley, Mr. Thomas was astonished as he recognized him from television.
"Good day to you all," Kingsley said with a nod to the Thomas family. "I'll get straight to the point as we are pressed for time. The Ministry of Magic has fallen under the control of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers, as you may have heard from the newspapers and radio broadcasts. They are persecuting Muggle-borns, and Muggle-born students at Hogwarts have been expelled. I suspect they will soon send people to arrest Mr. Thomas here. My suggestion is that you temporarily leave this place to avoid drawing their attention."
"Are you here to help us?" Mr. Thomas asked eagerly.
Kingsley smiled and said, "Not exactly help, but I'm here to offer you some advice to prevent certain unfortunate events from happening. This is Mr. Anderson's intention. We are currently setting up a temporary shelter for all students expelled from Hogwarts, and it is protected by the Fidelius Charm."
"You can understand that the shelter is protected by a very powerful magic. Only those permitted by the Secret-Keeper can enter, otherwise, not even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can do anything. The Secret-Keeper for this location is Mr. Anderson."
"So, Mr. Shacklebolt, you're taking me to the shelter that Anderson built?" Dean asked, feeling relieved that this was a much better option than fleeing aimlessly on his own.
"Yes, we are offering you a choice. If you have a better place to go, no one will force you to come with me," Kingsley added, not forgetting to remind them, "However, there is something you should know. This shelter was hastily put together by the Order of the Phoenix, the Defense Association, and the professors from Hogwarts in just a few days. Due to the time constraint, the shelter is still very rudimentary, and the help we can provide is limited. We can only ensure your basic safety and provide simple food so you won't go hungry, but that's about it. You are free to choose to stay or leave, but you will be responsible for your safety."
Saying so, Kingsley took out a button-like object and placed it in front of Dean. "If you don't plan to go to the shelter, then take this."
"What is this?" Dean asked curiously.
"It's a signaling device made by Mr. Anderson. Once you use it, someone will come to guide you to the shelter," Kingsley explained. "Of course, it might take some time as we need to make sure there's no issue with your identity."
After saying this, Kingsley stood up, ready to leave.
"No, Mr. Shacklebolt, I've decided to go with you," Dean said firmly.
"That's a wise choice. It's always good to have a place to fall back on in case things go wrong," Kingsley nodded. "If you ever find yourself with nowhere else to turn, you can always come back here. That's the reason we built this place."
"The final safeguard," Mr. Thomas murmured.
"Yes," Kingsley affirmed.
"Do my parents need to go into hiding as well?" Dean asked further.
"We usually suggest they lie low for a while, at least until the start of the school year in September. After all, no one can be sure if they will come here to arrest people," Kingsley checked his watch and said. "Now, we should leave. Gather your things and bid your family farewell."
"Can I Apparate from here?" Dean asked excitedly.
"We need to walk a distance before we can Apparate. Are you of age?"
"Yes, I am," Dean corrected him again.
This was the very reason Dean dared to leave on his own—he had passed his Apparition test.
"That's good. If you're ready, I'll take you there first. Then I need to go inform the other Muggle-born students," Kingsley said.
"Thank you, Mr. Shacklebolt," Mrs. Thomas said gratefully.
"You're welcome. In these difficult times, we should help each other," Kingsley said.
Kingsley and Dean left the Thomas household and Apparated to a nearby deserted alley.
When Dean regained his bearings, he found himself in a dilapidated room. He heard footsteps outside, and then Lupin appeared at the door, wand in hand.
"How's it going?"
"You're the third batch to arrive. We don't seem to be under surveillance yet, but we should hurry," Lupin said, tapping Dean with his wand and casting a Disillusionment Charm on him. "Follow me."
After leaving the run-down building, Dean was led by Lupin to an empty street.
Then he saw Mad-Eye Moody.
Moody glanced at a silver card, and a run-down hotel suddenly appeared on the empty lot in front of them.
"Go on in!" Moody urged, scanning the surroundings warily.
"Is this the shelter?"
Dean stood there with his mouth slightly agape, feeling disappointed as the hotel before him was even more dilapidated than he had imagined.
"Unfortunately, this is the situation we're in. Are you disappointed? But at least it's safe here," Cedric appeared from somewhere, "Follow me, the third and fourth floors have been tidied up a bit, so they're not too bad."
"Cedric, do you live here too?" Dean asked curiously.
"No, I'm just here to help out." Cedric led the way upstairs.
"Am I supposed to live in this creepy place?" Dean muttered. No matter how he looked at it, the place seemed like an abandoned hotel.
"You can choose to stay or leave. But there's no doubt that it's safer here than outside. Mr. Shacklebolt should have told you that this is your last safeguard," Cedric said calmly.
(End of Chapter)
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