Chapter 1302: DA
Chapter 1302: DA
Hagrid ultimately remained unconvinced, much to the frustration of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They all felt that Sirius had made valid points, but since Hagrid was adamant about his decision, they couldn't say much more.
That evening, Hermione joined Harry and Ron in their dormitory to discuss their plans for the next day and to help them ensure they had packed everything they needed. After all, they didn't know when they would return from their quest to find the Horcruxes.
"So, we're going to visit the students at the safe house first and then go to Godric's Hollow," Hermione said, furrowing her brow slightly. She understood why Harry was insistent on going to Godric's Hollow, but...
"Don't worry, Hermione. Even if someone is watching the place, it's unlikely to be You-Know-Who himself," Harry reassured her. "Besides, we have the detection watches. If we sense any danger, we can always leave."
Harry didn't consider the trip to Godric's Hollow overly risky, and he believed that if they were afraid of such minor challenges, they would never be able to face Voldemort.
"But Harry..." Hermione hesitated and lowered her voice. "Don't you think they might guess that the first place you'd go once you're free to move around would be your parents' grave?"
"I doubt he's that bored to personally come and intercept me," Harry said scornfully. "That guy looks down on me, and that's our advantage."
"Harry, can you please not use that name?" Ron pleaded. "Can we just call him No-Nose or something?"
Ignoring Ron's comment, Harry continued, "We also need to go to Hogwarts. We'll need the Sword of Gryffindor or the Basilisk fang to destroy it once we find that thing."
"That's extremely dangerous," Hermione said, clearly not in favor of Harry's plan to return to Hogwarts.
"No, if we go to Hogwarts before the start of the school year, Snape probably won't be there," Ron countered. He felt they should steer clear of Snape and the Death Eaters for now. "It might not be as dangerous as we imagine, and they probably wouldn't expect us to go there."
"Of course, I know that, but..."
Hermione's words were cut off by Harry.
"Hermione, have you given any thought to where the Hufflepuff cup might be?" Harry asked suddenly.
"You know where the cup is?" Hermione asked, her eyes widening in shock.
"Since Voldemort entrusted the diary to Lucius Malfoy, what about the cup, the diadem, or the other objects?" Harry countered. "Do you think he might have given them to other Death Eaters to safeguard as well?"
"That's possible," Hermione conceded, seeing the logic in Harry's line of thought. "Do you think it's Snape?"
"No, I just feel that we need to get some useful information from the Death Eaters, and Snape is undoubtedly a good choice," Harry said. "If we can control Snape and get him to reveal something useful, that would be great." Harry shook a bottle containing Veritaserum. "Don't forget, there's probably only Snape at Hogwarts right now, and we can bring a bunch of helpers if he's really there."
"Where did you get Veritaserum from?" Ron asked, astonished.
"From Kingsley. Scrimgeour used to use this stuff to interrogate prisoners, and Kingsley had some too. I asked him for it," Harry said, handing the bottle to Hermione. "If we're lucky, we might even be able to find out something about the Ravenclaw diadem."
"It's a shame Lucius Malfoy is dead; otherwise, we might have been able to get some useful information from him," Hermione said.
"Yeah, it's a shame he's dead," Ron said, unable to hide his schadenfreude. "Draco Malfoy must be devastated. That guy's all alone now."
After the trio finished packing and carefully planning what they needed to do in Godric's Hollow, they retired for the night.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, the trio set off with Sirius, Kingsley, and Moody to the safe house.
"Shh!"
Moody made a shushing gesture to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. After carefully observing their surroundings with his magical eye, he lowered his voice and exchanged a few words with Sirius and Kingsley.
The two men exchanged glances and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, puzzled, after they returned.
"To deal with the Death Eater watching this place," Sirius explained. "We think it's best to keep your movements confidential, as the Ministry has had this place under surveillance."
"Let's go!"
Once Moody was sure the coast was clear, he led the way and guided Harry, Ron, and Hermione to a clearing, where he pulled out a silver card from his robe pocket and handed it to Harry.
"Er..."
"Don't speak here," Moody warned.
"Sorry."
A dilapidated hotel appeared out of thin air before them.
The group quickened their pace and soon disappeared from view.
This place was similar to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, except that the headquarters had been tidied up, while this place still looked semi-derelict.
"How's it going here?"
Kingsley greeted Ted, who had come to check on the situation.
"Not great," Ted said with a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He actually regretted taking over this job, as the expelled students kept coming to him with their complaints, as if venting to him would solve their problems. "They have no idea what it's like to be refugees. This isn't Hogwarts, and there are no house-elves to take care of their every need."
However, Dean seemed to pay no heed to Ted Tonks' words. Instead, he looked at Harry, Hermione, and Ron and said happily, "Harry, you've finally come to see us. I'm sure everyone will be thrilled."
As he spoke, Dean pulled Harry toward the stairs, intending to share the news of Harry's arrival with everyone.
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances and followed them upstairs.
As soon as they reached the third floor, Dean shouted down the corridor, "Look who's here!"
Doors opened along the hallway, and several heads poked out of the rooms. Soon, they heard someone scream, "Harry!"
More and more people were drawn out by the commotion.
"It's Potter! It's Harry Potter!"
"Ron!"
"Hermione!"
The corridor quickly filled with excited people, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione found themselves surrounded by enthusiastic well-wishers.
They were hugged, shaken by the hand, and pounded on the back, and everyone looked delighted to see them.
"Harry, are you going to stay here with us now?" Colin Creevey asked excitedly, his younger brother, Dennis, equally thrilled by the prospect.
"No, I just came to visit. We still have important things to do," Harry said, shaking his head as he met the expectant gazes of the crowd.
"What important things?" someone finally asked.
"How are things here?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"Not great," a girl complained. "Sometimes I feel like a prisoner here. We're not allowed to leave, and there's nothing to do."
"Why can't you just leave this place?" Hermione sharply reminded them.
Everyone's expressions turned a little unnatural.
"This place is just meant to give you a temporary hideout from the Ministry's pursuit." Hermione felt that this group was truly ungrateful. "If there's something you need, you can spend some Galleons to have Mr. Tonks get it for you."
These words were indeed piercing.
It was undoubtedly a mockery of everyone present, but they couldn't refute it.
"It's indeed not very safe out there."
Harry interrupted what could have been an outburst, "Lupin or Moody will come over to teach you some Dark Arts Defense when they have the time."
"Of course, it's all voluntary." Harry added.
"Harry, why don't we overthrow Snape?" Justin Finch-Fletchley couldn't help but ask.
"And then what?" Harry asked in return.
"What?" Everyone was a little perplexed.
"I mean, what happens after we drive Snape out of Hogwarts? What's your plan?" Harry sighed and countered, "Don't you realize why you're here? It's not because Snape expelled you, but because of Voldemort..."
As Harry spoke Voldemort's name aloud, those around them couldn't help but gasp.
"You need to get used to it." Harry looked at the fearful crowd and reminded them, "Voldemort won't spare us just because we don't utter his name."
"We're not exaggerating, you know. Many Muggle-born wizards have been sent to Azkaban," Ron added, his voice hardening. "I hear most of them don't last more than two weeks."
"Ahem, it's best not to directly use his name outside," Hermione took a deep breath and said, "because there's a curse on the name Voldemort, and using it out there could very well attract Death Eaters."
"So, it's better to give him a nickname, like No-Nose." Harry brought up that mind-boggling nickname again, "That guy has no nose, not even lips."
Everyone stared at Harry, their mouths agape, unable to believe what they had just heard.
"Maybe there will come a day when we can drive Snape out of Hogwarts, but not now." Harry knew what they wanted to hear but chose to deliver the cruel truth, "Even if we drive Snape away now, we'll only end up losing to Voldemort and the Ministry's siege, and we'll suffer heavy casualties. Such a sacrifice would be meaningless."
"We don't have much support," Hermione reminded them.
"Nonsense!"
"Unfortunately, most wizards in the magical world choose to remain neutral." Harry shrugged helplessly, "But I'm still working hard to defeat You-Know-Who."
"We support you, Harry!" The Creevey brothers shouted.
They quickly garnered scattered voices of support, mostly from Harry's acquaintances.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"I'm not asking for your support. This war is too cruel for you." Harry was unaffected by the awkwardness and spoke calmly, "However, I suggest you take some time to study Dark Arts Defense. Whether you eventually face off against Dark wizards or just want to protect yourselves, you'll need power. Unless you plan to stay here and wait for the end of the Second Wizarding War."
"If you don't want to stay here, Mr. Tonks can send you away safely, but it might not be safe out there." Hermione emphasized again, but this time, she earned glares from many.
"Professor Moody will teach you some Dark Arts Defense later." Harry raised his hand to quiet the noise, "If you want to attend the lesson, go to the second floor. They should be cleaning up there now."
As he spoke, Harry started to walk downstairs. He felt that he shouldn't have come today.
"What's wrong, Harry?"
"Nothing."
"I think they don't really understand their situation."
"They're just..."
Dean wanted to say something but stopped short. However, he knew Ron was right; many students hadn't adjusted their mindset yet.
"The environment here is indeed not great, and it's unavoidable that people will complain." Dean sighed.
"Why don't you clean it up? You have your wands, don't you?" Hermione scoffed, feeling disappointed in the people around her.
"This isn't Hogwarts. Everything you use here is bought with the Galleons donated by others. But those few hundred Galleons are barely enough to maintain the food supply so that you don't starve."
This remark was directed at the students eavesdropping.
"Do we need hundreds of Galleons just for the food?" Dean couldn't help but shout.
"That's normal!" Ron was puzzled by Dean's reaction and reminded him, "You probably forgot, but there are dozens of people here. If we spend one Galleon a day, that's three hundred and sixty-five Galleons a year. In other words, we can only sustain ourselves for about a year, but who knows how long this Wizarding War will last?"
Dean fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is the Order of the Phoenix still recruiting?"
"You'll have to ask Moody and the others about that."
"I thought you'd join the Defense Association." Hannah approached them, and Justin beside her smiled and shook Harry's hand.
"If you had come a few days later, the situation might have been much better. Cedric said Albert would come by soon to handle these matters."
"I just want to get out of this damn place. I'm sick of eating potatoes." Dean muttered.
"Oh, and Harry, this is for you." Hannah handed him a signed communication book.
"What's this?" Harry took the communication book curiously.
"I've been in touch with Neville, and we plan to reorganize Dumbledore's Army. We hope you can..."
"Sorry, Hannah, we have our own matters to attend to." Harry directly refused.
"We can help you. You need our help." Justin said.
"Sorry, but you can't help with that matter." Harry shook his head.
"Why can't you trust us?" Dean whispered.
"Because it's a top secret, something even others don't know." Harry lowered his voice and interrupted, "If you really want to help me, train your Dark Arts Defense. One day, we will have to face You-Know-Who, and I'll need your help then." Ron patted Dean's shoulder and said, "As for the task Dumbledore left us, this needs to be kept confidential."
"Shut up, Ron. Maybe I should sew your mouth shut." Hermione glared at Ron, annoyed.
"What task?"
"Don't ask, and don't spread rumors. It won't benefit you in any way, and it'll only cause us unnecessary trouble." Harry regretted coming here.
However, he also knew that it was better to meet them once in a while to boost morale. Even if the members who settled here couldn't all become a force to resist Voldemort, there were still some worth fighting for.
(End of Chapter)
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