Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 488 The Demon (Two chapters combined)

George and Fred's fireworks quickly caught Umbridge's attention—

Given that OWLs have just ended, it's perfectly reasonable for these two troublemakers to want to set off fireworks and have some fun.

Umbridge didn't suspect anything, but still picked up her wand and prepared to go downstairs to deal with the fireworks.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took the opportunity to sneak into Umbridge's office.

They removed their invisibility cloaks, and Hermione hurriedly went to the window, standing out of sight of those outside, and took out her wand to peer into the area below.

Harry rushed to the fireplace, grabbed the Floo Powder can, and sprinkled a pinch into the hearth, where a vibrant green flame immediately ignited. He knelt down and stuck his head into the dancing flames, shouting, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!"

Although his knees remained firmly planted on the cold office floor, his head began to spin, as if he had just dismounted from a carousel. He squinted at the swirling ash, and when the spinning stopped, he opened his eyes to find himself staring at the long, deserted kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place.

There was no one in the kitchen. He had expected this, but looking at the empty house, a sudden surge of intense unease and panic welled up in his stomach, catching him off guard.

"Sirius?" Harry called out. "Sirius, are you there?"

His voice echoed in the room, but there was no response except for a faint shuffling sound of footsteps to the right of the fireplace.

"Who's there?" he called out, thinking it was probably just a mouse. But soon, the house-elf Kreacher crept into his line of sight. Although his hands looked like they had been recently badly injured and were wrapped in thick bandages, he seemed to be very happy about something.
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486? "It's Potter's head in the fire," Kreacher said to the empty kitchen, glancing furtively at Harry with a strange, smug look. "Kreacher's strange. What's he doing here?"

“Where is Sirius, Kreacher?” Harry asked.

The house-elf chuckled softly, panting.

"Master has gone out, Harry Potter."

"Where did he go? Where did he go, Kreacher?"

But Kreacher didn't answer; he just chuckled.

“I’m warning you!” Harry said, fully aware that he was in no position to punish Kreacher. “Where’s Lupin? Mad-Eye? Either one will do. Is anyone with them?”

“Nobody’s here except Kreacher!” the house-elf said excitedly, turning his back to Harry and slowly walking towards the door at the other end of the kitchen. “Kreacher thinks he should go and chat with his mistress for a while now. Yes, he hasn’t had a chance in a long time; Kreacher’s mistress always keeps him away from her—”

"Where's Sirius?" Harry shouted from behind the house-elf. "Kreacher, did he go to the Department of Mysteries?"

Kreacher stopped in his tracks. Harry peered through the forest of chair legs and could only make out the back of his bald head. "The master didn't tell poor Kreacher where he was going," the house-elf whispered.

“But you know!” Harry shouted, “Don’t you? You know where he is!”

After a moment of silence, the little elf let out its loudest giggle.

"Master won't be returning from the Department of Mysteries!" he shouted joyfully, waving his arms. "Kreacher and his mistress can finally be undisturbed again!"

He hurried forward, passed through the door, and disappeared into the hall.

"you--!"

Before Harry could utter any curses or insults, he felt a sharp pain on the top of his head—

He felt as if he had inhaled a lot of soot, choking and unable to breathe, and realized that he was being pulled backward through the flames.

Finally, in a sudden wave of fear, he looked up and saw Umbridge's pale, broad, ashen face.

She grabbed Harry by the hair and dragged him out of the fire, then twisted his neck backward with such force that it seemed she wanted to tear his throat apart.

“What do you think?” Umbridge brought her fat face close to Harry’s ear and said menacingly, pulling Harry’s neck back so that Harry was now staring at the ceiling. “After two Nifflers, would I let another dirty little scavenger carry me into my office? After the second Niffler came in, I put a burglar-detecting charm on the door, you idiot!”

“You! Take his wand,” she shouted at someone Harry couldn’t see, and Harry felt a hand rummage in the breast pocket of his robe and take the wand away. “And hers too.”

Harry heard a struggle by the door, and he knew that Hermione's wand had also been taken away.

“I want to know why you’re in my office,” Umbridge said, shaking the fist that was gripping Harry’s hair, causing Harry to stagger. “Your head is in my fireplace. I want to know who you’re trying to contact?”

“Nobody—” Harry said, trying to break free from her, feeling some hair separating from his scalp—

Harry had no idea that Umbridge was so powerful. Even though Harry had used all his strength, he still couldn't break free from Umbridge's grip.

“Liar!” Umbridge shouted.

She shoved Harry away from her, and Harry slammed into the table.

Now he saw Hermione pinned against the wall by Milison Burstdle, her hands twisted.

Malfoy leaned against the windowsill, smiling smugly as he tossed Harry's wand into the air with one hand and caught it.

There was a commotion outside, and several tall Slytherin students walked in—

Ginny, Luna, Fred, George, Cho Chang...

Almost all members of Dumbledore's Army were captured.
“It’s obvious that speaking to that person is very important to you. Is it Albus Dumbledore? Or Hagrid the bastard? I don’t believe it’s Minerva McGonagall; I heard she’s too badly injured to speak to anyone.” Umbridge asked fiercely—

Two days ago, when Harry was taking his astronomy exam, he saw Professor Umbridge, along with some Aurors, raid Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid eventually escaped into the Forbidden Forest, while Professor McGonagall was injured while trying to stop Umbridge.

“Who I talk to is none of your business,” Harry roared.

Umbridge's relaxed face seemed to tighten.

“Very well,” she said in the most frightening, hypocritically gentle tone, “Very well, Mr. Potter, I gave you a chance to confess to me voluntarily. But you refused. I have no choice but to force you. Draco—bring Professor Snape here.”

Malfoy stuffed Harry's wand into his robes, smiled smugly, and left the room, but Harry barely noticed him. He had just realized something—

He couldn't believe he had been so stupid as to completely forget about it.

He believed that all the members of the Order of the Phoenix, all those who could have helped him save Sirius, were gone—

But he was wrong. There was still a member of the Order of the Phoenix at Hogwarts—

That's Snape!

Harry glanced at Umbridge again; she was staring intently at him.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Draco Malfoy entered the room, leaving the door open for Snape to come in.

Harry deliberately put on a stern face and put on a calm expression.

"You want to see me, Headmaster?" Snape asked calmly, his expression indifferent as he glanced at each struggling student.

“Ah, Professor Snape,” Umbridge said, standing up with a smile, “Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as soon as possible, please.”

“Last time you took my last bottle of Interrogation Potter,” he said, giving her a cold look through his greasy, curtain-like black hair. “I suppose you didn’t use it all up? I told you, three drops are enough.”

Umbridge blushed.

"Could you make some more?" she asked, her voice growing sweeter and sweeter, like a little girl's, which was always how she sounded when she was annoyed.

“Of course,” Snape said, pursing his lips. “It takes a whole lunar cycle to prepare, so I’ll have it ready for you in about a month.”

“A month?” Umbridge roared, raising his voice like a toad. “A month? But I need it tonight, Snape! I just discovered Potter using my hearth to contact one or more unknown people!”

“I’ve already told you,” Snape frowned, a hint of impatience in his calm voice. “I don’t have any more Veritable Fluid. Unless you want Potter poisoned, and if you really want to do that, I assure you I’ll wholeheartedly agree. Otherwise, I can’t help you. The only problem is that most venoms work too quickly, so quickly that the victim barely has time to speak—”

"He's grabbed Bigfoot!" Harry suddenly shouted. "He's grabbed Bigfoot where he's hiding that thing!"

Snape paused, then looked at Harry with a very strange expression.

“Bigfoot?” Professor Umbridge exclaimed, glancing anxiously at Harry and then at Snape. “What is Bigfoot? What is it hiding somewhere? What does he mean, Snape?”

Snape was still staring at Harry.

His expression was inscrutable.

Harry wasn't sure if he understood, but he didn't dare explain it any more clearly in front of Umbridge. "No idea." Snape raised an eyebrow with his zombie-like face, then immediately turned, pushed open the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, and walked out.

“Good, good, good, very good.” She said, drawing her wand. “Very good, I think I have no other choice. This is more important than school discipline, more important than anything else. It concerns the safety of the Ministry of Magic!”

“You forced me to do this, Potter, I really didn’t want to,” but her body betrayed her. Umbridge spoke, her voice trembling with emotion, as she raised her wand and pointed it at Harry. “But sometimes it turns out that, when it is used properly, some forbidden spells are justified, and I’m sure the Minister will understand that I had no other choice.”

Malfoy looked at her with a longing expression on his face.

“The Cruciatus Curse should make you talk,” Umbridge said softly.

"No!" Hermione screamed, "That's illegal!"

“And Professor Dumbledore won’t let you get away with this!” Hermione warned.

“Hmph, Dumbledore,” Umbridge scoffed.

She was breathing heavily, like an excited female dog in heat, pointing her wand back and forth at different parts of Harry's body, clearly trying to decide which spot would hurt the most.

"squeak--"

Just then, the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office was gently pushed open, but there was no one outside.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the door.

"Bam—"

The door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office suddenly slammed shut again.

Suddenly, a smell of sulfur and rotting meat filled the air.

"Bam—"

"Bam—"

"Bam—"

"Bam—"

Everyone looked out the window.

"Bam—"

The strange clattering sound came from outside the window again, as one black crow after another crashed against the window of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The crows were smashed to pieces and fell to the ground.

Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, "whoosh—"

The cat-shaped disc hanging in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office suddenly fell down, and the remaining cat-shaped discs on the wall formed an inverted cross shape.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Umbridge looked around warily, like a mouse.

Umbridge straightened her back and gripped her wand tightly.

"what--!"

Umbridge was suddenly blasted away by an invisible force and slammed hard against the wall.

But clearly, this damage was not enough to completely render Umbridge defenseless.

Umbridge jumped to her feet, pointed her wand at Harry, and asked menacingly:
"What are you doing? What kind of magic is this?"

"I didn't do anything!" Harry shouted nervously.

"vomit--"

"vomit--"

At this moment, the Slytherins suddenly released Dumbledore's army, which they had been controlling, and began to vomit on the ground.

After gagging for a while, some of them twisted their bodies backward, supporting themselves on all fours in a way that exceeded the limits of human physiology.

Some were lying on the ground, scribbling and drawing with their fingers while muttering something under their breath.

Some of them imitated animal figures, crawling and sniffing around on the ground.

Others huddled in the corner, hugging their legs, humming eerie songs over and over again.

The members of Dumbledore's Army remained normal, but they were also afraid and huddled together in a corner of the room.

"Hehehehe...hehehehe...hehehehe..."

A terrifying laugh suddenly echoed in the room.

Umbridge looked around fearfully, and finally her gaze fell on the full-length mirror on the left side of her desk—

A familiar figure appeared in the mirror.

"Tiera!" Umbridge roared viciously, "What do you want to do?"

The one reflected in the mirror was Tyella.

Tiera smiled and looked at Umbridge with an air of superiority.

"Tiera! What do you want? You want to betray me?" Umbridge roared, her voice trembling with fear. "Don't forget, those three souls you wanted are still in my hands! Let me tell you, they're almost finished, don't mess with me now!"

“I know, I know.” Tierra smiled, stepping out of the frame and circling the crowded Defense Against the Dark Arts office. “Of course I know, I know that you chose Marzan Kessler of the Reversal of Accidental Magic Group to sow the seeds of plague, Isaiah Duncan of the International Office of Magical Law to sow the seeds of famine, and Alexander Thorne of the Auror to sow the seeds of war.”

“The seeds of war, plague, and famine have taken root deep in their souls. They were tormented to the point of near death, and you locked them in the Invisible Extension Box.” Tiera’s figure appeared on all reflective objects in the office. Wherever he passed, the Slytherins who were lying on the ground making strange movements were pushed aside by an invisible force. “The Invisible Extension Box is on top of the third filing cabinet in your Ministry of Magic office.”

“First of all, thank you very much for your efforts. I can take over these three souls now,” Tiera said.

“But remember this next time.” After circling around, Tiera returned to the full-length mirror and looked at Umbridge like she was a fool. “Don’t try to fulfill a demon’s demands before signing a formal contract and then use those demands to blackmail the demon.”

Ministry of Magic, basement level.

A thick book, a staff, and a crown burst through the door, stormed into the office of the senior deputy minister, and knocked over the third filing cabinet from the left.

A worn-out suitcase fell off the filing cabinet, rolled a few times on the ground, and then the clasp popped open, releasing a loud, painful howl from inside.

The three magical items fell into the suitcase as if they were shooting stars.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman covered in sores and black mold emerged, holding the scepter of a decaying queen.

Following closely behind were a skeletal black man wearing a desolate crown and a Yugoslavian man holding the "Red Priest's Manual," his body broken and engulfed in flames.

Their eyes were as blank as puppets'. Before them, a massive gate of light opened.

"Tap tap tap tap tap tap."

A series of hoofbeats sounded, followed by the emergence of three magnificent horses that appeared to be cast from gold, silver, and bronze, respectively—

It was the Sky Gold, Flowing Silver, and Pillar Bronze that had been processed together by Tierra and Slytherin.

The three puppet-like undead touched the three fine horses blankly, and then simultaneously, they turned around and mounted the three horses.

The horses reared up and neighed, circled in place, and charged back towards the portal.

The portal closed the instant the horses and the dead rushed back.

The entire office of the senior deputy minister instantly fell silent again.

To be precise, apart from a few Death Eaters, the entire Ministry of Magic was deserted and extremely quiet.

(End of this chapter)