Chapter 1310: A Narrow Escape
Chapter 1310: A Narrow Escape
"Who's there, show yourself!"
Harry, who was on night watch, suddenly closed 'The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore', pointing his wand in a certain direction. Even though he didn't see anyone and his detection watch didn't react, Harry was sure he had heard something. His instincts told him that someone had been there just now.
"You've made quite some progress since the last time."
A voice suddenly sounded from behind, and Harry felt a wand pressing against his neck.
"Harry, what's going on?"
Ron stepped out of the tent, startled by the scene outside.
"Albert!"
Hermione's voice suddenly broke the awkward standoff.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, reaching up to touch the spot where the wand had been pressed against his neck after Albert lowered his wand.
"Everyone's been looking all over for you, worried that you might be murdered by a Death Eater," Albert said, patting Hermione's shoulder gently before turning to Harry. "I hear you want to go to Hogwarts?"
"Don't we have the communication bookmark?" Ron stared at Hermione, who had just let go of Albert, and muttered, "Did you tell Albert about our location?"
"Hogsmeade Village is already under the control of the Death Eaters. We can't get in by normal means," Hermione explained to her companions. "Instead of randomly trying and attracting the attention of the Death Eaters, it's better to seek Albert's help. He definitely has a way to get us in."
Harry looked at Albert with anticipation.
"Why do you want to go to Hogwarts?" Albert asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"In addition to the Hufflepuff's Cup, the Ravenclaw Diadem is also likely to be a Horcrux. I need to go back to Hogwarts to gather information about the Diadem," Harry said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Also, I suspect that Voldemort may have hidden one of the Horcruxes in Hogwarts."
"Don't use that name, Harry!" Hermione screamed.
The next moment, a deafening blast sounded from outside, followed by five red dots appearing on the detection watch. A standard search party had arrived at the abandoned apartment.
"You really haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Albert said with a peculiar expression as he looked at Harry, who had just spoken Voldemort's name. "Or do you want to use me to take revenge on those Death Eaters?"
Outside, voices could already be heard, and they were getting closer. The four of them could make out the rude and excited tones of the group of Death Eaters.
"Isn't this place protected by the Fidelius Charm?" Harry asked in confusion.
"I'm the Secret-Keeper here," Albert reminded him. "Let's deal with them first. Do you need some practice?"
The three of them exchanged glances and then cast Disillusionment Charms on themselves. Hermione then summoned their Patronuses to attract the attention of the search party members while the three of them took the opportunity to leave their shelter and cast Stunning Spells directly at the five Death Eaters.
The ambush was successful, and they managed to take down two of the Death Eaters.
Chaos broke loose in the corridor.
This was followed by a standoff.
The two stunned Death Eaters were soon awakened, and Harry's group found themselves at a disadvantage.
After eight minutes of confrontation, Hermione finally broke the stalemate by throwing two Blasting Curses.
"It took longer than I expected," Albert said, closing his watch.
"We did pretty well, considering they had two more people than us," Ron argued. "If they had only three people, we definitely would've taken care of them quickly."
"You were at an advantage. Anyway, what do you plan to do with them now?" Albert raised his hand to decline the wand Hermione offered him. "Keep the wands for yourselves, and if you find one that suits you better, you can use it as a backup. Although most of the wands used by Death Eaters may not match you very well."
"This is amazing, a huge haul!"
Ron's eyes lit up with excitement as he reached into the pockets of the stunned Death Eaters and pulled out a handful of Galleons.
"Ron," Hermione said, feeling a bit embarrassed by Ron's action and wanting to cover her face.
"It's fine. They're all enemies, and we don't need to be polite to them. If you had killed them, that would've been normal too, let alone taking their loot," Albert said with a smile as he looked at Ron, who was collecting the valuable spoils of war. "However, I suggest you wear dragon hide gloves when searching for spoils of war. It's safer that way."
"Ahem, what do you plan to do with them?" Harry turned to Albert for his opinion.
"They were defeated by you."
"Can we send them to a Muggle prison?"
"Of course," Albert glanced at Hermione and continued, "but we probably don't have much time, so I suggest you modify their memories."
"I thought you'd kill them," Ron said as he put the valuable loot into his bag, a little surprised that Albert had let them off.
"To be honest, I don't like killing. If we can avoid it, it's better not to," Albert said.
"I remember you saying that being merciful to the enemy is the greatest cruelty to yourself."
"That's not mercy, it's just that I don't like it. Killing easily makes one disregard life," Albert shook his head and explained.
Ron was left speechless. He felt that Albert was the last person qualified to say such a thing. The number of Death Eaters and dark wizards who had been pitted to their deaths by him was not small. Although those people were eventually killed by the Ministry of Magic, if one were to assign blame, the person before him should at least bear half the responsibility.
"Then I'll erase their memories now," Hermione said, raising her wand to cast the Forgetfulness Charm.
"Let me do it, to prevent them from causing trouble in the future."
Albert raised his wand and pointed it at one of the Death Eater's heads, and from that day forward, there were five more vagabonds in the British wizarding world.
"What did you do?"
Ron looked at the Death Eaters, their appearances changed and dressed in tattered clothes.
"They have forgotten their identities as wizards and will continue to live as vagabonds. They will no longer pose a threat to anyone's life."
Albert smiled and shushed the trio, reminding them, "Remember to keep this under wraps."
"That's a good thing," Harry nodded. "At least they're still alive and can live on to redeem themselves."
Ron's face twitched as he looked at the unconscious individuals, feeling a deep sense of malice.
"It would be better for them to die than to live in a daze," he muttered.
After dumping the bodies elsewhere, Albert turned to the trio and asked, "Are you heading to Hogwarts now?"
"Can you come with us?" Harry suddenly asked.
"Do you need an escort?" Albert asked with a quirky expression.
Harry shared his suspicions.
"That makes sense, and your line of thinking is spot on," Albert nodded. "I can come with you, and if Snape is at the school, I can help you subdue him depending on the situation."
"How are we going to get to school?" Ron asked. "Are we taking the secret passage?"
"House-elves have different magic than wizards, and they can freely use apparition within Hogwarts," Albert explained as he waved his wand and summoned Dobby, the house-elf who was currently at the Defense Association headquarters.
"Mr. Anderson, Dobby is delighted to serve you," the house-elf bowed respectfully as soon as he appeared.
"Harry, Hermione, and Ron plan to go to Hogwarts," Albert informed Dobby. "I'd like you to take us there."
"Oh, Harry Potter, Dobby is very happy to help Harry Potter," Dobby exclaimed, turning to see Harry and giving him a hug.
"Long time no see, Dobby," Harry said, looking the house-elf up and down with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. Dobby was dressed in a cloth suit, which was cleaner, more presentable, and more spirited than before.
"How have you been lately?" Hermione asked, delighted by Dobby's transformation.
"Dobby loves his current job," Dobby replied excitedly.
"Did Albert give you that outfit?" Hermione inquired.
"Miss Granger, this is not an outfit," Dobby said sharply as he tugged at the cloth on his body. "This is just a piece of cloth."
"Just a piece of cloth?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Yes, a piece of cloth," Dobby repeated.
"I think it would be great if all house-elves could have something like this," Hermione commented.
"I'm afraid that might be difficult," the house-elf said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Well, I think we should get going now," Albert interrupted.
The house-elf raised his arm and said sharply, "Please hold on tight to Dobby."
The next moment, the four of them vanished.
"Why did we need to apparate twice?"
Ron leaned against the wall and pretended to dry heave near the entrance of the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor of Hogwarts.
"For extraordinarily powerful wizards, it's not difficult to track someone down by following the traces left by their apparition," Albert explained as he opened the door to the Room of Requirement. "The mysterious man obviously has that ability. So, the best option is to use a no-apparition zone as a springboard to avoid being tracked."
"We can't apparate within Hogwarts, can we?" Hermione asked as she stepped into the Room of Requirement and surveyed the resting area before taking a seat on the sofa to catch her breath.
"I know, but it's important to maintain the habit to avoid forgetting, or it could bring us big trouble," Albert replied, waving his wand and conjuring a few cups of beverages.
"Thanks," Hermione said, taking a sip from her cup. But then, she seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, what just happened back there? Did the Fidelius Charm fail?"
"I'm glad you asked about that," Albert said.
"That reminds me of Dumbledore," Harry mumbled, though he, too, was curious about the reason.
"The Fidelius Charm hides a secret eternally within the soul of a living person," Albert explained to the trio. "You can think of that shelter as a box, and that box was hidden in my mind. By entering there with my permission, you were essentially hiding within my mind, so naturally, no one could find you because you were hidden within me. But I, myself, couldn't because I can't hide within my own mind. So, when I appeared in the area protected by the Fidelius Charm, it created a risk of exposure."
"Therefore, the best solution is for the two Secret-Keepers to keep each other's secrets. As long as you hide within each other's souls, you can't be found."
"I see," Ron said, remembering George, who was the Secret-Keeper for the Phoenix Society headquarters and was currently under Albert's protection.
"Snape isn't at Hogwarts," Harry said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Lucky him."
"What about Professor McGonagall?" Albert asked.
"She's in her office," Harry replied, looking up. "Aren't you coming with us to find the Ravenclaw Diadem?"
"No, I'll go find Professor McGonagall, and we'll meet up later here," Albert said as he got up to leave.
"Harry, where should we look for the Diadem?" Ron asked, turning to Harry.
"We'll go see Professor Flitwick first," Harry said, taking out a Felix Felicis potion and drinking it. He could use some luck right now.
"It would be best if we could get help from the Ravenclaw ghost. They might have some information about the Diadem," Hermione suggested.
"I know, so we'll go see Professor Flitwick first. He's in his office," Harry said, now feeling bold enough to take action after confirming that there were no Death Eaters in Hogwarts.
(End of Chapter)
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