https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-472-The-Department-of-Mysteries-Silent-Watcher/13465206/
Chapter 471: The Praying Mantis and the Cicada
Chapter 471: The Praying Mantis and the Cicada
A familiar hillside, where young grass had just sprouted; a familiar farm, where cattle and sheep grazed on the pasture, and chickens and ducks of all sizes were pecking through the gradually softening soil, searching for insects and seeds.
When Annie Johnson arrived at this unfamiliar place, she was initially quite panicked. However, the familiar scenery gradually helped her relax.
She sat on the wooden deck around the house, cradling a plump cat with its eyes half-closed. Her gray-streaked hair, illuminated by the sun, seemed to glow.
The Obliviation Curse had severely affected her mind, but it seemed to have given her a different kind of peace.
Wade watched her, feeling a mix of emotions.
Beside them, the farmer couple took the potion Dumbledore handed them, nodding and smiling. “Don’t worry, Mr. Dumbledore. We’ll take care of her like family and make sure she takes her medicine on time.”
“Her name will be Annie Bull, and she’ll be your cousin in name,” Dumbledore said. “As for the rest, since she has forgotten, there’s no need for her to remember.”
The couple smiled and nodded, while their young children played and chased each other on the nearby grass.
Annie Bull’s vacant gaze slowly shifted to the children. She watched them intently, her eyes growing softer, and a tear unknowingly slid down her cheek.
...
“Both the Bulls are Squibs, kind and generous. The Bull family has been running this farm since their great-great-grandfather’s time.”
On the way back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore explained to Wade, “Half of Hogwarts’ meat supply comes from the Bull farm.”
“So there’s a dedicated farm?” Wade said. “I always thought it was sourced from Muggles.”
“Sometimes it is, but we usually don’t do that,” Dumbledore said.
Wade asked, “Because it increases the risk of exposing the school’s location?”
“That’s part of it,” Dumbledore smiled. “And buying from here, we can carry everything back with just a snake-skin bag. But with Muggle farms, we’d need to hire several trucks, and it would be hard to explain how everything vanished in the blink of an eye.”
“Trucks would have the same issue, wouldn’t they? You’d need a transfer warehouse, or the drivers would find it strange,” Wade said.
“Yes,” Dumbledore sighed. “Wizards often overlook these details, especially with the installation of cameras in some places… Once exposed, we have to move quickly.”
Wade nodded. “But we can’t move the castle, can we?”
Thinking about how everyone in the future would have cameras on their phones and how satellites constantly monitored the earth, Wade felt a chill for the wizards who insisted on keeping their secrecy.
He changed the subject, bringing up something he had been thinking about for a while.
“Professor… Mrs. Johnson can mostly take care of herself, but her intelligence is like that of a child. The Bulls will have a hard time looking after her. I was thinking of giving them a monthly care fee… Do you think that’s appropriate?”
Dumbledore looked at him gently and said, “Of course, you’ve thought it through very well… But I’m curious, why do you want to do this? Is it because of your friendship with young Mr. Johnson, or… guilt?”
Wade thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe it’s sympathy? And a sense of shared suffering? What happened to Carly could have easily happened to me. I just happened to be luckier…”
Even as a time traveler, he wasn’t always able to see the truth of the world clearly.
Fortunately, the people in this world were much like those in the original story, making it easier for Wade to distinguish between good and evil, and to control his own fate.
But before he traveled back, he had read some derivative novels. Although he couldn’t remember the specific plots, he had a vague impression—
For example, under the conspiracy theory, Dumbledore was the mastermind behind everything, with deep and sinister intentions; or Voldemort hadn’t been killed by Harry, and Hogwarts under his rule became as corrupt as Gotham City.
Dumbledore, unaware that Wade was building an image of a “cunning and ruthless white wizard” in his mind, said with satisfaction:
“I’m glad you haven’t immersed yourself in anger and hatred, Wade… But if you were in the same situation, I believe you would have found a more appropriate way to handle it.”
Wade smiled, but in his heart, he wondered—was there really a better way?
From Carly's perspective, perhaps the only choices she faced were these two extremes.
The difference lay in whether she was being driven by overwhelming guilt to desperately choose to save her mother's life, or whether she could rationally accept the tragedy that had already occurred and continue moving forward, bearing the pain of losing a loved one.
...
"Erecto Arocor—"
In the forest, Lockhart waved his wand, and an invisible wave "popped" outward, causing the withered leaves and shrubs on the ground to tremble.
"Alright, this should prevent the Aurors from easily tracking us", Lockhart said happily.
Gale didn’t say anything, just sighed wearily and walked to the stream, washing his hands and face with the cold water. He immediately felt much more alert.
Lockhart followed over, squatting beside him and said emotionally, "I never thought you would come back to save me, Gale. When those vampires caught me, I thought I was done for..."
—Me too.
Gale thought to himself.
The reason he hadn’t forgotten to bring Lockhart along when he fled and even helped steal a wand for him was that Gale assumed the wooden cabin had already been surrounded by Aurors, and possibly Dumbledore himself was outside.
As a weak vampire, Gale had no chance against those brutal and powerful wizards. So he had originally planned that if he encountered any resistance, he would throw Lockhart out as a scapegoat.
He had only smuggled a bit of merchandise banned by the Ministry of Magic, a much lesser crime compared to Lockhart, who had erased the memories of over a dozen wizards.
Unexpectedly, the two of them managed to escape quite smoothly. Seeing Lockhart’s heartfelt gratitude, Gale naturally wouldn’t reveal his sinister intentions. He nodded, accepting the gratitude, and asked, "How does this wand feel?"
"It’s definitely not as good as the original, but it’s still okay", Lockhart said, waving the wand. "It’s not very resistant to me."
"That’s good." Gale stood up. "We’re not completely out of danger yet. The Dementors might be summoned soon. We should keep running for now."
"Alright", Lockhart agreed decisively.
Ever since he had nearly been killed by the vampires, Lockhart felt a sense of urgency. Besides the sharp pain in his ribs from being carried by Gale, he didn’t feel particularly tired.
After a quick drink of water, the two continued deeper into the forest.
A few minutes later, a large black dog, resembling a bear, followed behind, sniffing the bushes and grass. It then trotted after them, its paws making almost no sound on the ground.
Not long after, Rook, draped in a tattered cloak, followed the same path. A small gray rat leaped over tree roots, running quickly and occasionally stopping to look back at him.
"No rush", Rook said, as if talking to himself or explaining to the rat. "If those two know Peter Pettigrew is dead, my appearance might expose me. So we need to time it right... find a moment they can’t explain."
"Chirp—" The rat stood on a branch, its front paws clasped in front of its chest, and said in a thin voice, "Should we let Sirius Black meet them?"
"Hmm? Of course not", Rook replied. "If he has that intention, lead him away."
"Got it!" The gray rat responded, diving into the bushes and darting away.
Rook glanced back at the direction of Hogwarts, then slowly followed.
He remembered that when he was first created, his master had a plan to both make "Peter Pettigrew" appear dead and deal a significant blow to Voldemort.
But for some reason, the master never mentioned the plan again... possibly because Voldemort hadn’t shown up for a long time, forcing the master to change his mind.
Before leaving this time, Rook hadn’t received more detailed instructions, so he had to think on his own.
Fortunately, this process wasn’t unfamiliar. He just needed a little time... and he had always been patient.
Rook touched his eyes, his expression as calm as ever.
(End of Chapter)
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