days at Hogwarts

Chapter 664: A School Sheltered from the Wind and Rain

"I sincerely hope that you can enjoy the food with a good appetite, so before lunch officially begins, I have to say a few words..."

Dumbledore stood in the middle of the main guest seat, speaking at a moderate pace with a gentle and powerful voice, "Due to some special reasons, I cannot reveal the whole truth to you, but I can tell you for sure - with the professors of Hogwarts here, the Death Eaters' spell will not fall into the castle; with me here, Voldemort cannot set foot in the school gate..."

The principal's expression and tone were very calm, and it was this calmness that made people feel at ease.

"Now, enjoy your lunch in peace!"

As soon as the words fell, the depressing auditorium became lively again.

In a closed school, news spread quickly. Susan Bones received a letter from home in the morning. During the first break, all the little wizards in the school knew about the shocking incident that happened last night.

The spread of panic has disrupted teaching order to a certain extent.

"In just half a class period, seven crucibles exploded in the dungeon, and rue essence was scattered everywhere. If it weren't for Professor Slughorn's quick reaction and using magic to control the splashing potion, the entire class of students would have been sent to the school infirmary for treatment of burns...

"The Transfiguration classroom was filled with smoke, and Professor McGonagall's face was blackened...

"In the Potions classroom, all kinds of big books were flying around, and many people were hit and had big bumps on their heads...

"Professor Bagshot has temporarily stopped teaching practicals, so nothing unexpected happened in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

After saying this, Seamus smacked his lips with a look of unsatisfied feeling, and looked at Loren and the others expectantly, "What about you guys? Did anything unexpected happen in your advanced herbology class?"

At this moment, they were sitting around the Gryffindor table, enjoying lunch and exchanging information. Seamus was the biggest information dealer in the student group.

"..."

Loren hesitated for a moment and glanced at Ron who was chewing a chicken drumstick next to him. "Nothing unexpected happened in the greenhouse, but one of the students got distracted and fell into the dragon manure pile. Professor Sprout was very distressed."

"Do you feel sorry for the students or the compost pile?"

"..."

Upon hearing this question, the students next to him fell silent.

Ron bit the chicken leg in his hand fiercely, feeling indignant. He was thinking about his love at that time, and he didn't fall into the heap because he was afraid of Voldemort!

Hermione turned her head and looked around, and smiles reappeared on her classmates' faces.

"This is probably what the four founders hoped for when they built Hogwarts."

"what?"

Loren looked at the little witch beside him.

Hermione said nothing, just shook her head slightly.

Be it war or chaos, no matter what happens in the outside world, as long as they are in Hogwarts, as long as the professors and the headmaster are there, they have a peaceful and pure land.

You don’t have to worry or be displaced, you can be an ordinary student.

"Thanks to Headmaster Dumbledore..." she said softly.

"Yes." Loren glanced at Dumbledore in the guest of honor seat and was silent for a moment. "Don't you think the headmaster's face is a little swollen, as if he just woke up?"

"..."

Sunday, May 11.

Hermione had a busy schedule today.

In the morning, I completed my arithmetic divination and ancient runes exercises. In the afternoon, I completed a review of the articles published in Transfiguration Today in the past six months, a potion science paper, and an observation report on herbology.

Hermione successfully finished her potion study paper, but encountered an obstacle when checking the Gordigan observation report. The shape of the nodules she recorded was different from the textbook content. So she borrowed the greenhouse key from Neville, the teaching assistant, and planned to observe it again. When she walked out of the hallway, the cold wind blew, and Hermione couldn't help but shrink her neck, tightening her scarf before moving forward.

Not far away, I saw a familiar figure on the road.

"Professor Dumbledore."

"It's Hermione..." The old headmaster turned around and smiled. He stopped and waited for her to come to him. He took out his wand and lightly touched her. A transparent magic barrier spread out, isolating the wind and snow from outside.

The extended application of the Bubble Head Charm, isolating the wind and snow while allowing the air to circulate normally, Loren and Hermione also know this skill, but they are not as handy as the old headmaster. Hermione herself will feel damp and stuffy when she uses it, so she would rather suffer a little cold in order to breathe fresh air.

Dumbledore slowed down his pace and kept the same pace as the little witch: "Why are you outside alone? Where's Loren?"

"He's been fascinated by astrology lately, but he hasn't taken either the Divination class or the Advanced Astronomy class. He can only ask Mr. Filch and Professor Sinistra for advice on weekends." Hermione's boots rustled as they stepped on the soft snow. "Professor, why are you out there too? Didn't you ask Harry and Ron to look for you? Loren also said you were going to destroy the fifth Horcrux, the Hufflepuff cup."

"That was originally the plan, but I suddenly received a letter from a friend and had to go to Hogsmeade to meet him in the snow."

"It's so urgent. Is there any news about Voldemort?"

"I'm not sure, maybe."

"Professor, we will win, right?"

"Of course, I am quite sure of that."

"..."

Hermione didn't pause for a moment, she completely believed his promise and had no doubts: "Professor, can you tell me some recent information? I want to know."

"Hmm, where should I start..." Dumbledore glanced at the Whomping Willow not far away, estimating how much he could say in such a short distance. "Not long ago, Rufus received news about the next move of the dark wizards. On the night of Halloween, he organized the Aurors to ambush, and Voldemort took advantage of the Ministry of Magic's defense to occupy the underground base..."

Hermione listened quietly, not asking for details in the intelligence, nor asking about future plans, just thinking silently.

Just like the howling snowstorm, under the protection of the old man, all the cold was kept out.

After saying goodbye to the little witch, Dumbledore still maintained the same pace, but his speed increased suddenly. He was at the fork in the road in front of the greenhouse the previous moment, and was already near the Whomping Willow the next moment. The footsteps left on the snow were not continuous.

Dumbledore walked out of the school gate and easily saw the agreed meeting place, a Thestral carriage.

After opening the door curtain and entering the carriage, Minister Scrimgeour, with an unshaven face, sat inside. He had probably not slept for a few days, as his eyes were bloodshot and his loose hair was stuck together in clumps, making him look extremely disheveled.

"I'm sorry Albus, there's a mole in the Ministry, and I can't let anyone know that I'm in Hogwarts, so I can only come to see you like this."

Dumbledore sighed, "You can relax a little, Rufus."

"I've been thinking about it for several days, but I still can't make up my mind. I can only come to you for advice."

"you say……"

"Voldemort wants to exchange the captured staff for the imprisoned Death Eaters..." Scrimgeour's voice was a little hoarse as he talked about what had happened in recent days.

After the negotiation with Snape that day, Kingsley returned to the temporary base and reported to him secretly that someone had used the Floo network to pass on information and exposed the location of the temporary base. The underground headquarters was occupied and the Floo network was paralyzed. At this time, using the Floo network to pass on information, it was easy to know who the other party was.

He looked up at Dumbledore, wanting to ask if Snape, whom Dumbledore insisted on protecting, was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but the words suddenly changed when they reached his lips:
"Albus, what plans do you have for this situation?"

"I need you to buy me some time."

"how long?"

"About Easter."

(End of this chapter)