Chapter 1308: Everyone is Making Progress
Chapter 1308: Everyone is Making Progress
Ron's words left Harry and Hermione speechless. They hadn't considered that possibility, but it did make some sense, especially regarding the shelter—a topic Ron seemed to know a thing or two about.
Harry's confusion grew as he watched Ron casually stash the box from beside the fireplace into his bag. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked.
Ron's actions made it seem like he was planning to clean out the place.
"This contains Floo powder," Ron explained, pointing to the fireplace. "I'm sure this fireplace is connected to others through the Floo network. If we fail to find them but our presence triggers the outer warning charms, they'll likely summon a bunch of Death Eaters through the fireplace to surround us, just like what happened to Sirius and Lupin last time."
"Looks like our luck isn't too bad," Harry said, gently stroking the badge over his chest.
"I've erased their memories," Hermione said as she stood up again, motioning for Harry and Ron to move the two men onto the chairs and disguise them as if they were asleep. "They won't remember that we were here. If other Death Eaters come to replace them, they'll probably just think they fell asleep."
Looking at the two unconscious Death Eaters, Harry suddenly asked, "What would Albert do with these Death Eaters if he were here?"
"Probably..." Hermione hesitated. "He'd make them forget they're wizards and send them to a Muggle prison. But we can't really do that now."
"That's actually a good idea," Harry agreed. "At least it would stop them from hurting others." Killing wasn't an option for Harry, but these Death Eaters were their enemies. He couldn't just let them go, so he understood Albert's perspective. At the very least, they had to ensure these enemies couldn't continue to harm others.
After dealing with the straggler, the trio quietly left through the back door to locate the third red dot on the detector. Before dealing with the two Death Eaters in the room, they had suspected that the dot might indicate an accomplice of theirs. Now, however, they suspected it might be some kind of dark creature, like a Boggart hiding in someone else's house.
Nevertheless, they had to take the time to investigate and confirm that the area was safe before they could focus on their own tasks.
As they passed by the park, they noticed that the originally name-engraved obelisk had been transformed into a statue of the Potter family. James and Lily were depicted leaning against each other, with Lily holding baby Harry in her arms.
Next to the statue was a golden plaque that read:
October 31, 1981 Lily and James Potter died in this village,
Their son, Harry, is the only known wizard to have survived the Killing Curse.
We commemorate the Potters
And stand against the violence that tore their family apart.
The golden plaque was inscribed with various writings—messages left by wizards who had come to pay their respects to the "Boy Who Lived."
"Let's go. We should check out the situation first," Harry said, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the statue of the Potter family and heading in the direction indicated by the detector watch.
Hermione and Ron exchanged anxious glances before hurrying to catch up.
Along the way, Harry mentioned that he had seen a dilapidated house, which he claimed was his home.
"Harry, are you sure there's a house there?" Hermione and Ron looked in the direction of Harry's gaze but saw nothing.
Harry turned to his friends, puzzled. "You don't see it?"
"No," Ron shook his head.
"I know what it is," Hermione said suddenly. "It's the Fidelius Charm."
"I almost forgot," Harry nodded. "The house was protected by the Fidelius Charm, and Peter Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper. But he's dead now."
"So now everyone who knows the secret becomes a Secret-Keeper themselves," Hermione said, taking Harry's hand. "And you're also a Secret-Keeper for that location now."
"Oh, I almost forgot about that," Harry said, pointing. "The house is over there, but it's been badly damaged and is completely abandoned now."
After showing Hermione the location, Harry also pointed out the house to Ron.
However, they didn't linger there but continued on their way to search for the red dot on the detector watch.
Just then, someone who seemed to have seen through their Disillusionment Charms stood at a distance, watching them and waving.
"He's spotted us!" Hermione gripped her wand anxiously, alerting Harry and Ron. It wasn't normal for someone to be able to see through their concealment.
"That person is definitely not a Muggle." Ron already had his wand raised.
"Bathilda Bagshot." Harry suddenly had a bad feeling, his gaze shifting from his detector watch to the old woman before him.
"Harry, we should leave right now." Hermione tugged at Harry's arm.
"Maybe she's under the Imperius Curse cast by a Death Eater." Ron eyed the old woman warily. "But I think we can take her."
"Don't be foolish, Ron. The Imperius Curse can't be detected by the watch." Hermione frowned as she glanced at the detector, certain that the red dot was indicating the person in front of them, Bathilda Bagshot.
"Let's check out the situation first. If there's any danger, we'll leave immediately." Harry took the detector watch from Hermione, glanced at the red dot, and stepped forward, following Bathilda.
After passing by several houses and walking down a path, the trio arrived at Bathilda's home. Her garden seemed to have been neglected for quite some time.
Bathilda unlocked the door and invited them in.
As Harry stepped inside, he caught a whiff of a strange odor. Hermione and Ron, standing beside him, also wrinkled their noses in disgust. They all gripped their wands tightly, alert for any potential attack.
"Miss Bagshot?" Harry asked, taking off his Invisibility Cloak.
"Come in and talk," Bathilda said to the three of them.
"Harry!" Hermione shook her head at Harry. "We shouldn't take the risk. This looks like a trap."
"Hermione's right. We shouldn't go in."
Ron agreed with Hermione, not because he was cowardly, but because the red dot on the detector was right in front of them, indicating the old woman rather than her house.
Moreover, as they stood at the doorway, they caught a whiff of a repulsive odor—the scent of decay. Ron had no desire to step inside.
"I know it's impolite, but could we just chat outside? I hope you don't mind." Harry asked tentatively.
"You are Harry Potter."
Instead of answering, Bathilda turned and looked at Harry, who had taken off his invisibility cloak.
"No, I'm not."
Harry met Bathilda's cloudy eyes, and the uncomfortable feeling in his heart intensified. He took a step back and reached out to pull Hermione and Ron with him.
Hearing Harry's words, the other two turned to look at him. They didn't know what Harry had discovered, but their usual tacit understanding led them to point their wands at Bathilda.
"Back up, let's get out of here." Harry said, his lips quivering.
The next moment, Hermione led the two away, moving swiftly and decisively.
A green light flashed past where they had just been standing, hitting the old woman at the door.
"That was indeed a trap. I think I just saw..." Ron panted, his hand that held the wand covering his chest. He thought he had just seen Voldemort.
"Hermione, do it again."
Harry's mind was echoing with Voldemort's furious roar.
The next moment, the uncomfortable feeling of the apparition arrived again.
Harry panted as he took out his invisibility cloak and put it on. Once again, he used the Disillusionment Charm to disappear with the other two.
"Can we not use the Disillusionment Charm anymore? I feel like throwing up." Ron couldn't help but pretend to retch. He still couldn't adapt to the intense use of the Disillusionment Charm.
"That guy is chasing us. Let's go to Grimmauld Place, number twelve." Harry said.
"Why don't we go back to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix?" Ron thought the headquarters was safer.
"No, let's go to Albert's shelter."
Hermione didn't give Ron and Harry any time to react. She grabbed the two of them and headed straight for the shelter that Albert had specially prepared for them.
"This place is so dirty."
Ron followed Hermione into an abandoned building and couldn't help but complain, "Are you sure this is the shelter?"
"There's a room here that's protected by the Fidelius Charm." Hermione took out a piece of paper and handed it to Harry and Ron.
"Why don't we go back to the headquarters of the Order?"
Ron looked at Harry and Hermione, confused.
"I'm worried there might be Death Eaters lying in wait at the entrance." Hermione explained.
"Right."
Harry also didn't want to take the risk. If they hadn't left decisively just now, they really would have been blocked by Voldemort. He could still feel Voldemort's anger.
Hermione was right.
Voldemort did intend to do that. If they had apparated directly to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, they might have been blocked by Death Eaters at the entrance.
Ever since Voldemort and the Death Eaters had been beaten up by Albert through Scrimgeour, they had clearly become smarter than before.
If it hadn't been for Albert's special enhancement, they might have indeed failed midway.
(End of Chapter)
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