A magical journey that begins in Azkaban.

Chapter 502 Haha, continental balance?
Ron said with certainty that the two of them had played a prank on him, but George and Fred firmly denied the groundless accusation.

Harry and the others looked at each other, and for a moment, the balance of trust wavered.

After all, the twins had a notorious record of pranks, and Ron's hair looked like theirs. However, they never shirked their pranks and took pride in them.

At the Great Hall table, their confrontation became increasingly tense, their eyes locked on each other like swords, until the Ravenclaw prefect mentioned the song Peeves had sung the night before, and George and Fred were finally cleared of all charges.

"George, Peeves is a really good ghost."

"Yes, he made us see Ron's true colors."

"How can you call him by his first name? You should call him Mr. Prefect!"

"Oh, dear George, thank you for correcting my mistake. I should indeed apologize, honorable Gryffindor prefect." Fred immediately stood up and bowed to Ron, chanting in a joking but sincere tone, "Prefect, please be merciful and forgive my slip of the tongue."

The Gryffindor table instantly turned into a sea of ​​joy. Ron tightly grasped the bread in his hand and left his seat with red eyes.

Behind him, there were laughters and many people pointed at the inconsistent hair color on his head.

Susan's heartbeat quickened, her eyes were fixed on the breakfast, her heart was filled with nervousness and uneasiness. This was the first time she had done something bad, and she was afraid that her secret would be discovered by others.

However, when everyone blamed the prank on Peeves, she felt unprecedented excitement and thrill.

She looked up from time to time, looking at the Slytherin table. Roger was enjoying his breakfast leisurely, and as if he felt her gaze, he gave her a smile.

On weekends, even if students go to Hogsmeade to have fun, the heavy homework left by the professors is still a burden for fifth-year students.

In the Three Broomsticks, they sipped butterbeer and discussed their papers, while some of them gathered wood of various sizes from the woods and clumsily made handles for their wands.

Some people even took the opportunity to sell the prepared handles and made a lot of Galleons from the students' wallets.

Ariana and Hermione ran to Aberforth's bar to discuss how to win Professor Lupin's prize.

"I saw that Roger had finished his homework." Hermione whispered, slowly cutting the mahogany with the knife in her hand. "I must not lose to him this time."

"Why?" Ariana asked puzzledly, "Is Professor Lupin's prize important?" She took the cherry juice handed to her by her brother and looked at Hermione puzzledly.

"I just... I just want to win." Hermione muttered stubbornly, "Since the first year, I always lose to him. Even in..."

"At what?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed unnaturally, and she shook her head quickly: "Nothing, I even lost to him in flying class."

"We were flying almost as fast," Hermione recalled, "but Madam Hooch gave him a higher score."

Ariana pondered for a moment, then asked Aberforth for a piece of old oak. Her fingertips released a ball of black light, gently covering the surface of the wood.

"I can help you." As she said this, the old oak in her hand quickly decomposed, and soon it turned from a rough piece of wood into a smooth cylinder.

Hermione stared at her in amazement and asked in surprise: "Is this...is this a vanishing spell? But Professor McGonagall didn't teach this?"

"The power of the Obscurus?" Aberforth interrupted. "Does this have any effect on your body?" he asked with concern.

Ariana smiled and shook her head, explaining softly: "Mr. Green taught me how to use it. It's okay, the Obscurus is a part of my body."

She turned to Hermione and continued, "In fact, Roger's answer in class inspired me. The essence of the Vanishing Spell is decomposition, which is very similar to the characteristics of the Obscurus."

“Look,” she said, gently grasping the oak and shaping it into a grip that fit her hand.

The whole process is simple and smooth, with no flying sawdust and no need for further sanding or fine-tuning.

Ariana took Hermione's hand and carefully covered her hand with the power of the Obscurus.

"Our magical connection allows you to suppress the power of the Obscurus. Try it," she encouraged.

Facing Ariana's sincere smile, Hermione carefully held the mahogany. She felt the wood in her hand melting rapidly like snow under the power of silence.

"Like kneading plasticine," Hermione smiled and spread out her palms, the wood already molded into the perfect shape for the handle.

Next, all they needed to do was cut holes in the handles to fit their respective wands.

"Thank you so much, Ariana!" Hermione cheered excitedly, and then said firmly: "I bet Rogue's grip is definitely not as comfortable as ours."

Ariana nodded and handed her retractable magic thread to Hermione, "Two magic threads will definitely be faster than one."

"how about you?"

"My share is among your prizes. Tie it on quickly. I must beat him this time!"

Seeing her sincere eyes, Hermione hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. She tied the two magic lines to the handle and tried to quickly take out the wand from her belt.

The speed of the double magic line was indeed faster, but the difficulty of operation was also greatly increased. She pulled it lightly, and the magic wand spun like crazy and slammed into her palm.

"Hiss..." Looking at her red palms, Hermione gritted her teeth and continued practicing.

She was determined to bring Ariana's hard work to win back their victory in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class!
Aberforth stood quietly behind the counter, wiping the wine glasses and looking at the two girls who were studying hard with a gentle gaze.

Ariana had to complete five years of schooling in one year, and the pressure of homework and reading can be imagined. Fortunately, she has the excellent magical talent of the Dumbledore family and can quickly master spells. Not only that, she also helps her friends in her own way.

Hermione, who was born in a Muggle family, relied on her own efforts to continuously absorb all the knowledge that was beneficial to her. Aberforth secretly admired her diligence and ambition.

He thoughtfully prepared dinner for the two of them, and even bought some bread and biscuits from the Three Broomsticks. Then he hung up a sign saying that the restaurant was closed, and the three of them enjoyed their dinner while chatting leisurely.

"Hermione, your quill is so beautiful." Ariana praised, "It can also change color automatically. Did you buy it at the Literary House?"

"I don't know." Hermione shook her head and said proudly, "This is a Christmas gift from Roger. It seems to be made of Fawkes' feathers."

"Fox..." Ariana repeated the name in a low voice.

"Our family's phoenix is ​​at Hogwarts," Aberforth added.

Ariana nodded, her eyes penetrating the door and landing on the castle looming in the mist.

She could sense Fawkes' presence at Hogwarts, but she couldn't sense the presence of the feather pen unless she held it in her hand. If she remembered correctly, Roger had used the phoenix feather to fool her during the summer vacation at Travis Manor.

Ariana took a bite of the cookie and hummed softly, almost imperceptibly.

Now that I think about it, what I sensed in the manor was definitely not Fox's feather. It is very likely... No! It must be another phoenix.

There exists a magical contract between Fawkes and the Dumbledore family that will protect the Dumbledore bloodline no matter how many times it rises from its ashes.

But during that time, she was immersed in Rogge's collection of books and did not carefully distinguish the differences.

"Aberforth, is there a second phoenix in the wizarding world?" Ariana couldn't help but ask, "Besides Fawkes."

"That's unlikely." Aberforth thought carefully and replied, "If it's a dragon, a unicorn, or some other forbidden creature, I still have some information. But as for the phoenix, the only one in the wizarding world since ancient times is Fawkes of our family."

Ariana nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that Hermione's boyfriend, Roger, had some unknown secrets. Combined with the rumors she had heard in Gryffindor during this period, she began to suspect that he might be doing something illegal.

Roger, who was far away in London, never thought that he would be labeled as an outlaw just because he didn't want wizards from the Dumbledore family to touch the phoenix eggs.

Roger, who thought he was a good man, went to the Ministry of Magic early in the morning on the weekend for the sake of peace in the wizarding world. You know, he didn't even sleep in, which was really pitiful.

"Dolishi, here are 500 amulets that can resist an evil curse every 24 hours." Rogge gently lifted the edge of the package, revealing the neatly arranged Arcadia amulets inside.

These amulets glowed alluringly in the dim room, like the brightest stars in the night sky, and each one contained the power of alchemy and magic.

Dawlish quickly picked one up, examining every inch of the craftsmanship meticulously. His wand released a fainting sound, and the amulet immediately emitted a wave, dissolving the spell into nothingness.

"What a great thing." He exclaimed sincerely, and asked curiously: "Isn't school starting now? I remember that the school rules at Hogwarts are very strict. Students can only go to the village to play on weekends, right?"

"The dean has given special approval." Roger smiled and continued, "We plan to find an antidote to the Snake Man virus before Christmas. You know, this kind of experiment is too dangerous and not suitable for school."

Dawlish turned around quickly and carefully closed the door of his office. He lowered his voice, as if afraid of being heard by outsiders: "How far has Snape's research progressed?"

"Hmm?" Roger stared at him with a hint of surprise. "From your tone, it seems that you are not very welcoming to the arrival of the antidote?"

"It's not as if." Dalish hesitated for a moment and made up his mind to reveal some inside information: "Everyone... ahem..."

He considered his words and continued, "Some people believe that the war in America has stabilized. The Dark Lord's men are limited in number, and even with the dark races, they can only control the east coast."

"As for the Muggles, that's not a big deal." He mysteriously took out a videotape and inserted it into the projector. "Look, this is what we filmed on an island in the South Pacific."

Roger's eyes were firmly attracted by the picture on the wall. A seagull landed on a small island in the South Pacific. Not long after, the Muggles were ruthlessly slaughtered by the snake people on a bloody night. Finally, the snake people wandered aimlessly on the beach and were eventually swallowed up by the surging waves.

"These snakemen have no thoughts, they are just the simplest war machines. The key to the problem lies with the Dark Lord and the wizards who master the snake language. Once the negotiations are completed..."

"Anyway, the snake people will slowly disappear because they can't eat."

The sound of the waves crashing echoed in Roger's ears. His eyes were fixed on Dawlish's face, and his tone became serious: "You are negotiating with the Dark Lord, right?"

"No..." Dalish's answer seemed a little hesitant, and his eyes subconsciously avoided.

After weighing the pros and cons, he finally chose to confess. Even if he didn't say it, the Travis family would be able to find out.

"It's not just us, it's mainly other wizarding communities that are involved." His voice was heavy as he continued, "There are many wizards within the MACUSA who are ready to surrender to the Dark Lord. If they succeed, the entire European wizarding community will face a huge threat from across the Atlantic."

"So, we must give some support to the resistance. Even verbal support is better than doing nothing."

Dawlish sighed deeply, his tone revealing a bit of helplessness and compromise: "The worst outcome is to acquiesce to the Dark Lord's rule over the East Coast, which in turn means tacitly recognizing the status of other magical races such as giants and werewolves."

"The MACUSA will manage the remaining territories, and the entire America will be in a delicate balance. As you know, after the emergence of the Snake Man virus, the management scope of all wizarding communities has been passively expanded."

"The problems that have accumulated in the wizarding world for a long time have been solved. Those dark wizards who always break the law and commit crimes can be exiled to the other side."

“As for problems like unemployment and poverty…” He smiled and said jokingly, “When resources are sufficient, these problems are no longer problems, but a difference in lifestyle.”

"Rogge, please go and persuade Professor Snape." Dawlish said sincerely, "At least don't let the antidote be completed before the negotiation is over."

After listening to Dalish's words, Roger suddenly laughed, a laugh that was full of irony and teasing. His laughter echoed in the office, making Dalish feel a little uneasy.

"Have you ever thought," Rogge's smile gradually faded, his tone very serious, "that the so-called worst outcome may actually be the best outcome?"

He sighed and finally understood what true appeasement and continental balance strategies were.

"Let's not consider the virus and the Muggles, nor the benefits that wizards have gained from it. Tell me, what if the goblins demand the restoration of their lost power? What if Gringotts is moved by them to the Dark Lord's territory?"

"This...this is impossible?" Dalish's lips trembled slightly, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

"Impossible?" Roger's voice rose a little, "Sir, this is not playing chess with wizard cards, this is a serious war!"

"History of Magic is perhaps the least important subject in Hogwarts' curriculum. However, you should know very well what our ancestors have done!"

"Werewolves can be considered traitors, but vampires, giants, goblins, centaurs, etc., they are all our enemies. Not to mention, Voldemort's target is the entire world."

"A temporary compromise is nothing more than a deception. He will never give up the British wizarding world, Dumbledore, and Harry Potter."

Rogge took a deep breath and forced himself to soften his tone. "I have no intention of interfering with the judgment of some knowledgeable people, but please remain vigilant."

"There are 500 retractable magic threads here that can increase the speed of drawing out the magic wand." Rogge took the box and wrote down the instructions for use quickly and skillfully.

These magic threads are indispensable weapons that allow wizards to maintain the upper hand in duels.

"Dawlish, be careful." His tone was full of concern, and he hurriedly accepted a large bag of Galleons and promised to provide more amulets and magic threads.

Looking at the endless dark clouds in the west, he felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart, and he felt it necessary to tell Dumbledore about this.

Although they had conflicts of ideas on pure blood, at this moment, both sides had a common goal in limiting Voldemort's power.

Rogge could delay the appearance of the antidote and seek greater benefits for wizards, but if the magic world recognized the status and interests of races such as giants for the sake of so-called peace, he would raise his wand without hesitation and beat them back to the corners.

Wizards are supreme! Even purebloods have to give way to this.

(End of this chapter)