Chapter 1326: I Really Don't Want to Cause Trouble
Chapter 1326: I Really Don't Want to Cause Trouble
"You're really not going?"
Cedric, who was prepared to go to Hogwarts, still couldn't help but pay a visit to Albert's office before leaving.
"No, I have other matters to attend to," Albert replied casually, picking up a piece of parchment from his desk and waving it in front of Cedric. "This time, Harry is the main focus, and I don't want to steal his thunder."
Cedric quickly snatched the parchment from Albert's hand and frowned as he examined its contents. "What is this?"
"It's information about the Death Eaters," Albert admitted.
"All of them?" Cedric asked in surprise.
"Yes, all fifty-four of them," Albert confirmed.
"The number of Death Eaters has increased again," Cedric muttered. "How did you get your hands on this?"
Although most of the Death Eaters were already known to everyone, such a detailed list was truly astonishing.
"I have my sources," Albert said, not intending to elaborate further.
"Fine, I won't pry," Cedric said, suspecting that Albert had spies among the Death Eaters.
"When you go to Hogwarts, don't provoke those students. We don't want them to think we're up to something and start causing a ruckus," Albert reminded him.
"Aren't we planning to stir up trouble at Hogwarts?" Cedric asked, his expression turning peculiar.
"Not yet," Albert shrugged, not denying his intentions. "They lack patience and might mess things up."
"I bet they don't want to be treated like children," Cedric pointed out.
"Just make sure you know what you're doing," Albert trusted Cedric's judgment. He specifically reminded him because Dumbledore had contacted him a couple of days ago.
The wise wizard did not want DA to create chaos at Hogwarts and give the Death Eaters an excuse to harm the students.
It was a good idea, but not very reliable.
Even with Snape as the headmaster of Hogwarts, it would be almost impossible to maintain the previous peace after Voldemort took control of the school.
Moreover, Hogwarts was the site of the final battle, and without proper training, more students would likely perish.
He was curious about Dumbledore's reaction if, after defeating Voldemort and achieving ultimate victory, he learned that dozens of students had died in the battle. Would he consider those deaths necessary sacrifices, or...?
Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't have the chance to find out.
Albert believed that well-trained students wouldn't suffer the same heavy losses as in the novel, with over fifty deaths on Harry's side during the final battle.
"Don't make excuses for your laziness. I'll be off then," Cedric rolled his eyes. Seeing that Albert had no intention of going, he didn't press the issue further.
With the help of the house-elf Dobby, Cedric departed from the Defense Association headquarters and headed to the safe house to meet with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
"So, you never intended to give up, did you?"
Sana knew that Dumbledore's portrait had visited Albert, and she was aware of their conversation regarding the students of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore truly didn't want Albert to involve the students of Hogwarts, but Harry needed more helpers. The members of the Order of the Phoenix alone wouldn't be enough. In the novel, over fifty people died on Harry's side during the final battle, and now, with Albert's influence, the situation was likely to be even more intense.
"Obviously," Albert replied with a twist of his lips. "The professors at Hogwarts might not be reliable at critical moments. Putting our hopes in others is foolish. Look at what happened to the Hufflepuff girl who was captured on the train. If she had the ability to protect herself or bravely fought back, I believe many students would have been willing to lend a hand."
"So, that's why you always say we should learn to protect ourselves?" Sana raised an eyebrow, agreeing with Albert's point but sensing that there might be another reason as well.
"Moreover, Dumbledore is already dead," Albert said, gazing at the empty frame. "The dead should not interfere in the affairs of the living."
In Albert's opinion, Dumbledore was out of touch with the current situation.
He also didn't know that due to Albert's presence, the difficulty of the "Defeat Voldemort" quest had increased significantly. If they didn't improve their abilities as much as possible, it was hard to predict what would happen next.
Thus, Albert intended to follow through with his plans.
Of course, he was aware that this was a common flaw among geniuses—overconfidence.
But he truly had the capital to be confident.
In fact, Albert knew that Dumbledore was trying to use him. After all, it was Dumbledore who had left him the Elder Wand, and that wand had become Albert's biggest advantage in defeating the mysterious man.
Fortunately, both parties were united in their goal of defeating Voldemort, so Albert didn't mind becoming the blade that pierced the Dark Lord's heart when necessary, especially since Dumbledore was offering a substantial reward.
In the end, he was younger and less cunning than those who had lived for a century.
Being pushed from the position of observer to participant by Dumbledore was unavoidable.
Although Albert was reluctant to engage in a contest with Voldemort to buy time for Harry Potter, he was well-prepared and had his own advantages. If things didn't go his way, he could always flip the chessboard and disrupt Voldemort and Dumbledore's plans.
After all, his bottom line was much lower than Dumbledore's, and that could sometimes be an advantage.
Turning his attention back to the latest Death Eater list in his hand, Albert decided to find a new spy.
As for whether the person would be willing to act as his informant and pass on information, well, Death Eaters had no human rights to speak of.
Cedric, of course, had no idea that Albert was working towards defeating the mysterious man. He had just met with the trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the safe house.
Noticing Hermione glancing around as if searching for something, Cedric smiled and explained, "Albert has handed this matter over to me."
"I thought he would come himself," Hermione said, a little disappointed.
"His exact words were that this time, Harry is the main focus. But I think that guy just wants to be lazy. He always likes to use training others' abilities as an excuse to pass his work to others," Cedric said. Seeing the house-elf re-enter the room, he turned to the trio and said, "Let's go."
As he spoke, he began to cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron did the same to themselves.
The four of them exchanged glances and suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
It was clear that they had all been influenced by Albert.
After experiencing the discomfort of Apparition, the trio appeared in an empty room near Borgin and Burkes. Dobby had just checked, and there was no one there.
Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry immediately pulled out his Marauder's Map to check if the surroundings were safe.
"Let's go!"
Cedric beckoned the others to follow him towards the Room of Requirement to meet up with Neville as planned.
However, they were surprised to find Filch sitting right outside the door, reading a newspaper with a cup of tea and some treats on the table, looking rather relaxed.
"What's going on? What's Filch doing here?"
Harry's intuition told him that something was amiss upon seeing Filch blocking the entrance to the Room of Requirement.
"Should we knock Filch out?" Ron suggested, his wand already drawn.
"It's best not to. That would only make him more suspicious," Harry said, turning to Cedric. "You should have a way to contact Neville, right?"
"No need, I'm here."
A voice suddenly sounded from behind the group.
The four of them turned around to see Neville approaching with a roll of parchment in his hand, waving at them with a smile.
"Neville, how did you know we were here?"
Harry was astonished that Neville could see through their Disillusionment Charms.
"No, I can't see you, but Dobby brought me this from Albert." Neville waved the parchment in his hand. "Although it's not as good as yours, it's enough to keep us from being caught by Death Eaters."
"What's going on? Has the news about us regrouping Dumbledore's Army been leaked?" Cedric frowned.
"I don't know either. Moreover, I think it's not that easy to leak the secret." Neville shook his head.
"Gryffindor doesn't have many secrets. It's quite challenging to get them to keep quiet," Ron added.
"All right, Ron." Harry gestured for Ron to be quiet and then turned to Neville to ask, "What do you plan to do now? Are you giving up on the D.A. meeting?"
"That won't stop us." Neville smiled confidently. "When Snape sent Filch to block the Room of Requirement, we found another exit."
As he spoke, Neville led Harry and the others through a different entrance into the Room of Requirement.
"Is this also an entrance to the Room of Requirement?" The four of them were astonished.
"No, this is just a random exit. Of course, the exit can sometimes be used as an entrance as well." Neville took out a gold coin and shook it. "There are always more solutions than problems. Let Filch wait there in vain."
As he watched Neville's retreating figure, Harry was surprised to discover that Neville was no longer the timid boy he used to be.
"Look who's here!" Neville called out to the group of students who were huddled together in quiet conversation.
"Harry!"
"Ron!"
"Hermione!"
The room erupted in a chorus of excited voices, and the trio found themselves surrounded by a large group of students, all eager to greet them.
"All right, quiet down!" Neville raised his voice to address the group. "I know you all have a lot of questions, so why don't we all listen to what Harry has to say?"
The room gradually quieted down as everyone focused their attention on Harry, curious to hear what he had to say.
"I'm glad to see all of you here today, and I'm pleased that more people are standing up to fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Harry tried to recall the script that Hermione had prepared for him but found that he couldn't remember it, so he decided to speak from the heart. "I know you all have many questions and are confused as to why I haven't stepped forward to lead the resistance and instead disappeared like a coward."
Harry looked around at the others and said, "That's because I have something more important to do."
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but if I do, you might lose your lives because of it." Harry raised a finger to his lips, signaling for quiet, but the group murmured softly, suspecting that Harry was joking.
"I don't know if anyone has told you, but according to that damn prophecy, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and I are destined for a deadly battle." Harry tried to shift the topic. "Albert predicted this a long time ago. He told me that this unprecedented final battle will take place at Hogwarts."
Everyone swallowed nervously.
"So, you're preparing for that final battle." Neville's eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes, defeating... the Noseless One is no easy task. I need to make a lot of preparations, which is why I've been keeping a low profile." Harry spoke softly. "But don't worry, according to Albert's prediction, I will ultimately emerge victorious."
"We'll help you." Neville stepped forward. "That's why we reformed Dumbledore's Army, to fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named together."
"I'm glad, but you're not ready yet. Dark wizards are dangerous, and they won't show you any mercy. Dying needlessly would be pointless." Harry looked at Cedric and said, "But I believe Cedric will teach you well. He's an expert in this field."
After saying this, Harry patted Cedric on the shoulder, signaling for him to say a few words to the group.
"I wouldn't call myself an expert; Albert is the real expert." Cedric stood next to Harry and addressed the group. "I know you're all brave, but war is cruel, and dying needlessly is truly pointless. Fortunately, we have enough time to train you so that you can protect yourselves. Regardless of whether or not you decide to join that final battle, learning some self-defense skills will never hurt."
"Why isn't Mr. Anderson here to teach us?" someone asked.
"I know you all want to learn powerful combat techniques from Albert." Cedric didn't get angry but raised his hand to quiet the group. "But don't be in a hurry. That requires a solid foundation, which is what you lack at the moment."
"All right, time is precious, so let's begin." Cedric clapped his hands to regain everyone's attention, then conjured a blackboard and started explaining the spells they needed to master step by step.
Listening to Cedric's lecture, Ron's face fell.
"So, our Dark Arts defense skills aren't much better than those of other students?"
The trio had received training from Moody, but now they were being told that they weren't much different from the rest.
"Not quite," Hermione said softly. "Students trained by Albert's methods may not be exceptional in combat, but they tend to be a bit rigid."
(End of Chapter)
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