days at Hogwarts

Chapter 748 Everyone is in their place
The sunset is orange-red and the clouds are orange-yellow.

One side of the forest canopy is dyed golden red under the setting sun, while the other side is shrouded in shadow. The top of the towering tree canopy is the boundary between the glow and the shadow.

In the middle of the woods, a grand funeral was taking place.

The blazing light shone on old Crab's tired and numb face, just like the brass busts in the flower bed. They were not the afterglow of the setting sun, but a raging flame. The snake tree crackled as if it was crying. Thousands of fallen leaves were swept around by the air currents, igniting themselves into a whirlwind of flames, but were confined in the snake tree area by invisible magic, and could only burn into ashes and scatter everywhere.

Deep in the tree hole, only the empty shell of Vincent Crabbe was left curled up in the hole with his eyes closed. The flames that used half of the tree as firewood were burning him and quickly ignited him. The snake scales melted into black juice, the charred human figure twisted in the fire, and the huge tree crown was burning.

The firelight mixed with the sunset glow, dyeing the sky with color.

Two figures were standing on a thick branch of the fir tree outside the vine barrier. They were dyed the same red as the tree, which concealed their shapes. Only by looking closely could one see that they were two wizards, one old and one young. The old wizard had gray hair and beard, while the young wizard looked like he was not yet an adult, with a handsome face, and was looking at the snake tree from a distance.

When I was in the first grade, I was chased around the castle by this Crabbe. I still remember his violent and ferocious look very clearly. Mr. Crabbe's appearance and body shape have not changed much now, but there is no trace of the arrogance of the board member back then.

Loren sighed: "Principal, if his son were still alive, would he continue to be loyal to Voldemort?"

"Who knows?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes were particularly profound. "I am 115 years old this year. Nearly a hundred years of experience has taught me that setting up an illusory condition and speculating on the impact on the current situation has no meaning for the reality in front of us."

The old principal looked at the raging flames in front of him, his eyes reflecting fire: "We always imagine what if, but there is never an if..."

"Oh." Loren was too lazy to talk about philosophy and life with the principal and continued to stare at the fire.

Black smoke rose from the soulless body, and the thick black fog condensed into a skull-like face in the billowing flames. The face let out a shrill roar, but the roar only lasted for a few seconds before being swallowed up by the swirling flames.

Old Crabbe was not afraid, and even found the sound pleasant to the ear. The Dark Lord wailed like an ordinary wizard.

The afterglow of the setting sun gradually dimmed, the evening glow completely faded, the fierce fire gradually went out, and the whole world became dark. The color of the sky was a little cold, the stars showed their traces, and a half-moon hung obliquely in the sky.

Eventually, only the lower half of the trunk and the root knot were left of the snake tree. The snakewood wand left by Salazar Slytherin thousands of years ago was brought to this distant country by his blood relatives across the Atlantic Ocean, where it took root, grew, and healed lives. Thousands of years later, it was defiled by his own blood relatives with black magic and eventually turned to ashes.

The living Horcrux that carried the Dark Lord's victory over death, a certain father's son, also turned to ashes.

He stared at that face, his breathing quickened, sweat dripping from his forehead. He couldn't help but put his hand over his chest, his heart aching slightly.

"Vincent…Crabbe."

The middle-aged man called out the name again, then turned and walked towards the castle. He needed food and sleep. He needed to accumulate energy and then launch a revenge.

A father's revenge for his son against the most powerful dark wizard in the world.

……

That night, dinner was a little later than usual, but the dishes were still as rich as usual. Loren paid a little attention when he passed by the corridor, but he didn't see old Crabbe in the side hall or the main hall. During the meal, several young wizards quietly listened to the professors' conversation and learned some information.

Old Crabbe revealed some information and was transferred to the school infirmary for recuperation. There was nothing wrong with him. He had just endured a day and a night of hard work and was too tired. In addition, he suffered a major setback and was a little depressed. He would be fine after a good sleep. His bear-like body was different. He took three drops of the Living Hell Potion to fall asleep. If it was an ordinary wizard, he would fall asleep with just one drop.

He has been recovering from his injuries since Voldemort's defeat last year, so he has been relatively well-behaved during this period.

The Death Eaters' stronghold was sealed with the Fidelius Charm, and old Crabbe was not a secret keeper, so he could not reveal it.

The most important thing is that Voldemort received the news that Harry Potter was about to go to New York and was preparing to attack. It was said that the source of the news was a spy left in the Ministry of Magic, but it was not clear who it was. Dumbledore did not seem surprised. Anyway, Loren did not see any expression of worry or anxiety on his face.

"It's a pity that the snake tree burned down." Loren couldn't help but feel sorry.

Fontana took a sip of champagne and smiled, looking happy. "The snake tree is not dead. Its roots are still in Ilvermorny. After cleaning the rotten trunk and removing the borers inside, new branches will sprout next spring."

Hearing this, Pickley and Nancy breathed a sigh of relief.

Hermione looked at her headmaster and asked in confusion, "Professor, are Professor McGonagall and Harry still coming to New York? Why don't they just cancel the trip?"

"Because the flight tickets and formalities have already been processed."

"But the living Horcrux has been destroyed."

"Their goal was never living Horcruxes."

Dumbledore explained patiently: "Voldemort has experienced several setbacks. He is now very alert, like a rat in a water pipe. He will hide as soon as he hears a noise. If he learns that all the Horcruxes have been destroyed, it will be difficult to find his trace."

Dumbledore looked at the burning candlestick quietly, his eyes deep. "Moreover, Harry's fate was intertwined with Voldemort sixteen years ago. He still has a long life to live. He can't always lock himself up in a narrow place like the school or the Ministry of Magic to avoid Voldemort like he did this summer."

"..." Hermione thought.

The wizards in Ilvermorny were completely confused.

Loren raised his head and looked at the old headmaster curiously: "Professor, you have long anticipated that there are spies of Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic? So you deliberately leaked Harry's whereabouts in order to lure Voldemort, the venomous snake, out of his cave, and planned to take advantage of the opportunity of their attack to completely eliminate Voldemort and his Death Eaters?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It was just a guess before this, and Mr. Crabbe just happened to confirm my guess."

Loren curled his lips.

Who knows what this old man is thinking.

...August 4th, cloudy.

Loren saw the wizard hat-shaped portkey again, and also learned the arrangements for the ambush from Picli.

The investigation conducted by the Magical Congress of the United States a few days ago has yielded results. By retrieving relevant information from the No-Maj Police Department, it was confirmed that a group of dark wizards had stayed in Brooklyn for about two months. The presence of Death Eaters led to a significant reduction in crimes such as robbery, theft, and extortion, which greatly improved the level of public security in Brooklyn.

It wasn't until they moved away some time ago that the crime rate here slowly recovered.

Dumbledore and Fontana passed the information to the relevant departments. Previous investigations and old Crabbe's intelligence confirmed that a group of wizard terrorists were lurking in New York, which attracted the attention of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Thinking of the werewolf and infernal incident a few years ago, even the most conservative congressmen agreed with this anti-terrorism operation.

After breakfast, Loren and his group set off, first taking a car to the mountainside, leaving the space blockade area, and then activating the door key to go to New York. The three professors and old Crabbe used another door key, as they had other itineraries and needed to go to the Woolworth Building first.

Loren came to the handicraft shop next to the New York airport again. While waiting for Harry's plane to arrive, he listened to Nancy's description of the operation and discussed it in a low voice with Hermione next to him.

As for Piccoli?
He has already installed it.

"The fourth Auror team is setting up magic, waiting for the Death Eaters to step into the trap. We will immediately block Apparition...

"The third Auror team is guiding the passengers to evacuate. They are disguised as airport staff and are persuading those who can leave. The other passengers who cannot be persuaded to leave are being guided to the shelter room to ensure that the battle later will not accidentally injure the No-Maj.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

"The Second Auror Team has blocked the relevant electronic equipment, and all recording and video equipment will stop working at the appropriate time.

"The Department of International Magical Cooperation has agreed with the No-Maj government that all other flights arriving tonight will be diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport."

"..."

Looking at Pickley who was reporting to the Auror Chief, Nancy pursed her lips. Loren beside her turned around and asked, "The fourth to second teams are all in place. What is the first Auror team responsible for?"

"Responsible for combat security."

"Combat... Security..."

Neither Loren nor Hermione quite understood how the two words were connected.

Nancy was silent for a moment, with a subtle expression: "Pickley is from the first team, and the other team members are responsible for protecting his safety in battle."

"..."

Loren and Hermione also fell silent.

……

The blue and white "Boeing 777" climbed upward, making a roar that tore through the air.

This is the world's largest twin-engine wide-body passenger aircraft. It has a three-class cabin with a passenger capacity of up to 368 people. It adopts a circular fuselage design and has a total of 12 wheels on the main landing gear. It has an outstanding design and advanced technology. Boeing has invested a lot of resources in developing this model in order to reverse its decline, and it has ultimately achieved great success... With this plane, they can fly across the Atlantic Ocean and reach New York in a few hours.

Under the light of the reading lamp, Harry flipped through the brochure he had picked up when boarding the plane. The color-printed hard paper felt completely different from parchment. Harry flipped through it with great interest, curious about everything inside this giant steel bird. As a Quidditch player, he was passionate about all flying equipment.

A distorted voice of a staff member came from the radio: "Good afternoon, passengers. This is the captain of this aircraft. First of all, welcome everyone aboard Flight 941. We are currently cruising at an airspeed of 400 miles per hour. The time is 10:25 am. The weather is good, with a tailwind, and we are expected to arrive in New York about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The weather in New York is cloudy... Enjoy the rest of the flight."

Professor McGonagall sat by the window with her eyes closed. The passenger on the front right was wearing a fedora all the time, so her face could not be seen clearly. The cabin was surprisingly quiet, and except for a slight tightness in her eardrum, the riding experience was very good.

Occasionally, a passenger would get up to go to the bathroom, but Harry didn't pay any attention to it and just kept his head down flipping through the brochure.

Until he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure passing by and slowly sitting in the seat in front of him. Harry glanced and found that the person next to him was even more familiar. The pink hair was very recognizable. He couldn't help but take another look and finally shouted in disbelief: "Remus, Tonks...Sirius!"

The two people in the front row turned around and smiled gently: "Harry, long time no see..."

The parties involved in this operation or the bait only learned the truth belatedly.

The Ministry of Magic also received the intelligence provided by Dumbledore. Minister Scrimgeour believed that as terrorist organizations in Britain, Voldemort and the Death Eaters were the responsibility of the Ministry of Magic to capture and eliminate them, and that the MACUSA could not be allowed to do the work of the Ministry of Magic. So he selected several core Aurors, temporarily joined forces with the Order of the Phoenix, and went to New York to participate in this suppression work.

Harry collected his chaotic thoughts and scanned the cargo hold. He then noticed many familiar faces: Kingsley, the Longbottoms, Prout, Williamson, Ephia Doge, Dedalus Digg, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore...

Sitting in the front row were the leaders of both sides, Minister Scrimgeour and Mad-Eye Moody. They were discussing battle arrangements in a low voice and analyzing the spies in the ministry. It took them a long time to quiet down.

"Will he never get tired?"

Scrimgeour could not help but glance at the Mad-Eye next to him. When this guy closed his eyes to rest, his bulging magic eye was still moving around and occasionally resting on his body. This gave him an inexplicable feeling, as if Mad-Eye was watching him even in his sleep.

Looking back on this emergency encirclement and suppression operation, I still have many doubts in my heart.

Why are the Order of the Phoenix, which has always been lurking in the dark, finally willing to reveal their identities? Do they think there is no need to continue lurking?
Why did Dumbledore know that the Death Eaters were hiding in New York and was sure that they would take the risk to attack Potter? Who was Dumbledore's spy among the Death Eaters? Who was Voldemort's spy inside the Ministry of Magic?
Why are so many key figures gathered in New York, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Harry Potter... something is attracting them.

"..."

Scrimgeour closed his eyes, pausing his chaotic thoughts and speculations.

At dusk, a huge city that was already brightly lit appeared under the wing. The street lights and traffic on the highway weaved a spider web of light, waiting for the giant steel bird to fall into the web. That was the city where the Magic Congress was located, and that was the city where the Death Eaters were located.

(End of this chapter)