Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 365 Let's celebrate Valentine's Day together
However, to Hermione and Ron's surprise, the Hogwarts students did not feel any panic when they were reading the newspaper. In fact, their reaction was quite calm, as if they were reading a news story that had nothing to do with them.

"Don't they feel any sense of crisis?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

"What sense of crisis?" Harry asked, chewing on a sausage.

"The Death Eaters have broken out!" Hermione exclaimed, rubbing her forehead. "Isn't this a big deal? Just think about it, so many vicious Death Eaters have escaped from Azkaban. I can't imagine what kind of danger the wizarding world will face this semester!"

“But that has nothing to do with the students, right?” Ron said from the side. “You see, they’re at Hogwarts, protected by the school. Even a mysterious figure like Vander can’t enter the school to harm any student, can he?”

“No, we have to make them feel the pressure and realize the danger!” Hermione whispered.

“You’re always so responsible, Hermione.” Ron waved his hand dismissively. “It’s a thankless task, buddy—listen to me, I suggest you abandon this dangerous idea and don’t ruin your reputation among the students.”

"How could you think such a thing!" Hermione looked at Ron in disbelief. "Harry, tell me..."

“I think Ron is right,” Harry shrugged. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if everyone thinks it’s commonplace. It’s an MP, not a YP.”

“MP? YP?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Minister’s Problem, or MP for short,” Harry said.

"So YP is your problem, isn't he?" Hermione sneered repeatedly.

“I don’t think the students should feel any urgency about this, Hermione.” Harry tapped his fingers on the table. “Don’t you think the Ministry of Magic should feel the urgency first?”

"Uh—" Hermione suddenly felt she couldn't object; what was said made perfect sense.

“You see, the students shouldn’t be bothered by this; it’s really far removed from their lives,” Harry shrugged. “Besides, even if they broke out, do you think they’d dare storm into Hogwarts and attack the students?”

“Yes, that’s true.” Hermione rubbed her temples. “You’re right, Harry, I overreacted.”

He glanced toward the faculty desk, where a different scene unfolded: Papbi and Professor McGonagall were engaged in a close conversation, both with unusually serious expressions.

Professor Sprout leaned the Daily Prophet against a ketchup jar and was engrossed in reading the first edition, his spoon held high in the air, so engrossed that he didn't even notice the egg yolk dripping onto his leg.

Professor Umbridge, on the other side of the table, gulped down her cereal, her toad-like eyes not searching the auditorium for any misbehaving students for the first time.

She ate with a frown, occasionally glancing maliciously at Papiyas and Professor McGonagall.

“I can tell,” Hermione said in a low voice. “Umbridge isn’t really interested in this either. For her, getting Miss Sweetine and Professor McGonagall out of the school is what matters most.”

“But,” Hermione added, “Harry, I’ve thought about what you just said carefully, and I still disagree… I think the students should be made aware of the seriousness of this matter.”

Harry looked up.

"Do you really think so?" he asked.

“Yes,” Hermione said firmly.

“Let’s wait for the news to spread,” Harry said with a smile. “You don’t need to do anything, Hermione. Just wait for the news to spread, and then spread some information—like that escaped prisoners have been spotted in Hogsmeade. That’s much more effective than you standing up and telling people how terrifying these escaped prisoners are.”

"Huh?" Hermione was stunned, clearly not expecting the problem to have this solution.

“You see,” Harry said with a smile, “there are different ways to solve every problem, Hermione—if we can’t solve it head-on, then let’s try a different approach, don’t you think?”

"It has to be you again," Hermione said with genuine admiration, giving Harry a thumbs up.

Soon, the students had only one topic to discuss during their breaks: the ten escaped Death Eaters.

The news eventually seeped into the campus through a few newspaper readers, and rumors spread that someone in Hogsmeade had recognized several escaped convicts, and that the convicts were hiding in the Shrieking Shack and might break into Hogwarts like Sirius Black had done.

"I don't feel safe at school anymore!" said Abercrombie, a first-grader, as he huddled and trembled.

Oh, what a young child.

Harry reminisced about the first time he entered Hogwarts, when he heard about the existence of dark wizards in his first year and acted just like Abercrombie.

Cassandra often mocked him for this.

Children from magical families, like those who grew up hearing about the Death Eaters, whose names were almost as terrifying as Voldemort's, and whose crimes under Voldemort's reign of terror were well-known.

Sometimes, when their children cried as kids, their parents would scare them by saying, "Stop crying! Bellatrix Lestrange is coming soon!" and it worked surprisingly well.

The story of the madwoman Lestrange is something young wizards have heard since childhood, and it's practically legendary.

Hearing that she escaped from prison is nothing, but hearing that she appeared at Hogwarts is truly chilling.

Among the Hogwarts students were also relatives of victims, who found themselves unwillingly the center of attention in the corridors: Susan Burns, whose uncle, aunt, and cousin had all died at the hands of an escaped convict, said painfully in Herbs class that she now deeply understood Harry's feelings.

“I don’t know how you can stand it, it’s horrible,” she said frankly, explaining that she had added too much dragon manure to the seedlings of the biting vine, causing them to writhe and scream in discomfort.

“You get used to it,” Harry said with a shrug. “I’ve been doing this since first year.”

Burns sighed. She was really fed up. Her classmates were talking behind her back about the deaths of her uncle, aunt, and cousins. Although she knew there was good intention in their words, she was still in great pain.

Not only have the students' emotions changed, but now it is common to see two or three teachers talking nervously in the corridor, and they stop talking as soon as a student approaches.

“Obviously they can’t talk freely in the teachers’ lounge anymore,” Hermione whispered as she, Harry, and Ron bumped into Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout outside the Charms classroom. “Umbridge’s over there.”

"Do you think they have any new information?" Ron turned to look at the three teachers.

"Even if there were, we can't listen to them, can we?" Ron said angrily. "What's the education order number...?"

The morning after the Azkaban breakout was reported, a new notice was posted on the Hogwarts bulletin board: Hogwarts Senior Investigator Orders prohibiting teachers from providing students with any information unrelated to their subject.

The above regulations are in accordance with Education Order No. 26.

Signed: Senior Investigator Dolores Jane Umbridge. This new ordinance has sparked many jokes among the students, with Lee Jordan pointing out to Umbridge that under the new law she cannot blame Fred and George for playing splatter cards behind her back.

"The Exploding Card has nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor! That information is irrelevant to your subject!"

However, when Lee Jordan appeared in the common room that evening, his hands were covered in blood.

“It’s my fault for dragging you into this, Lee,” Fred said, patting Lee Jordan on the shoulder in comfort.

Jordan rubbed his hands, grinned, and said, "That old toad really knows how to torment people. Damn it, I think we should teach her a lesson."

"How so?" George asked, intrigued.

"I can't let her torment me like this for nothing. I need to think of a suitable way to get revenge," Jordan said angrily.

They huddled together and started discussing how to deal with Umbridge.

“We have to think of something,” Ron said in a low voice. “We can’t just watch Umbridge mess things up at the school. I’ve heard that she’s planning to fire a professor to establish her authority—everyone knows who she’s planning to fire.”

“Poor Trelawney, isn’t she?” Hermione sneered. “She’s always disliked Trelawney, and I think this is definitely aimed at Professor Trelawney.”

“I can’t think of anyone else she would target besides her,” Ron joked. “It can’t be Professor McGonagall, can it? But considering what I said, we can’t let Umbridge keep messing things up like this. We have to find a way to get rid of her!”

“Soon.” Harry smiled mysteriously. “Just a few more days, and once we get to the final stages, we can get rid of that toad Umbridge from Hogwarts.”

"Really?" Ron asked suspiciously.

“Of course,” Harry said gently. “We have other things to do now, such as the upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I believe that after this incident, everyone is eager to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts to protect themselves.”

Just as Harry had predicted, the students were incredibly focused during Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

However, no one's progress was as obvious as Neville's. The news that the murderer who killed his parents had escaped caused him to undergo a strange and even frightening change.

In fact, he hardly said a word during Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but buried himself in practicing every spell Harry taught him. His round face was taut, and he didn't care about injuries or accidents. He practiced harder than anyone else in the room.

His progress was frighteningly fast; when Harry taught a knockback charm that could send a target flying, only Hermione learned it before Neville.

“Well done, buddy,” Harry praised Neville approvingly.

Neville nodded solemnly, wiped the sweat from his face, and continued practicing his spells.

"He's progressing so fast," Hermione remarked from the side, while simultaneously focusing intently on practicing her spells to prevent Neville from catching up.

The atmosphere in the classroom became visibly tense. No one wanted to fall behind, and seeing Neville working so hard, they all felt a sense of urgency.

Perhaps this is what is known as the "catfish effect"—with someone creating a lively atmosphere, it's hard not to pay attention in the classroom.

Draco was also very serious. He gritted his teeth and persevered, secretly vowing that he absolutely could not let Neville leave him behind!
January went by terribly fast, and before we knew it, February had arrived, bringing warmer and more humid weather, as well as the second trip to Hogsmeade this school year.

With Valentine's Day drawing ever closer, Harry was also feeling a bit troubled.

Valentine's Day in 1996 fell on a Wednesday, which was very unfortunate. What was even more unacceptable was that Valentine's Day was not a public holiday, and Hogwarts was not required to have a day off on that day.

So, in other words, if he wants to celebrate Valentine's Day like this, he has to ask his teacher for leave or simply skip class.

On a February morning, Harry was eating cereal when Anne suddenly sat down next to him.

"Have you decided who to spend Valentine's Day with?" Annie asked softly, a bowl of cereal just like Harry's and a glass of milk appearing in front of her.

It's not that she had to eat the same food as Harry, but seeing how much Harry enjoyed it made her hungry too.

“With you,” Harry slurped his cereal. “Is that okay?”

Annie's expression froze.

"You're planning to have Grindelwald hang me upside down in her Neumont Gardburg and bleed me dry, aren't you?" she asked, glancing sideways.

As a clever young girl, Anne certainly knew how to avoid trouble.

Harry smelled delicious, but considering there was a jealous European king sharpening his knives nearby, she had to weigh the consequences of monopolizing Harry.

Hanging upside down in Neumontaudeburg and bleeding profusely would probably be a good end for them; they might even be hacked to pieces and thrown into the Alps to be eaten by wolves.

Vivi is also a chopstick, right?

"How could that be?" Ha poked at the dried fruit in the cereal with a spoon. "Vivi wouldn't be that cruel."

"Really?" Annie almost laughed in anger. This love-struck Potter, doesn't he know just how cruel his Grindelwald really is?

“She’ll just hang you upside down for a whole day at most,” Harry said nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, Vivi knows what she’s doing.”

Anne was so angry she laughed.

Being hung upside down like a bell all day? That's not enough?
A normal person would die if they were hung upside down for half a day!
"So what are you planning to do? Are you going to be with Grindelwald?" Anne asked again.

“That won’t work either.” Harry sighed. “If I spend the holiday alone with Vivi, Cassandra will be unhappy… I have to treat them both equally.”

"Then let's live together."

Annie regretted saying it as soon as it left her mouth.

Look at my mouth!
Doesn't this give Harry an excuse?

You know what, after hearing Anne's words, Harry's worries vanished instantly, and he happily said, "Okay, it's settled then, let's celebrate the holiday together—"

(End of this chapter)