Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 383 Evil Ritual
Harry is such a smart guy. Although he doesn't know how to reply yet, he makes a good point: since he can't answer the question, he'll change the subject.

He immediately came up with a solution to the problem.

Instead of answering Vivi's question directly, he chose to throw this crucial question at Gellert.

“I have a question, Gellert,” Harry said with a mischievous grin, looking at Gellert. “Why do you think I want to give this tiara to someone else? Do you think your sister isn’t worthy of it? Or…”

Gellert took a deep breath.

Okay, okay, Scarface Veena...

Is that how you play?

How should he answer this?

This is such a narrow-minded approach, it's blocked at both ends!
When he turned to his older sister again, he found that she had turned her "gentle" gaze on him.

“How could that be?” Gellert said hastily. “Scar-Potter, don’t make false accusations—I’m just curious why you kept this tiara instead of giving it to my sister!”

“Oh~” Harry nodded, and in that short time he had figured out how to reply.

So he said, “Shouldn’t we choose a suitable time to give such a gift? It is precisely because I respect Vivi from the bottom of my heart that I would not choose to give her this crown hastily, but to choose a suitable time, don’t you think?”

Gellert sullenly chuckled.

refute?

How to refute?

They've already checkmated him.

“You’ve got a bit of a twisted logic, Potter.” Gellert wasn’t one to back down either. “If I find out you’ve ever done anything to betray my sister, you’d better watch out, I’m not finished with you!”

Vivi looked away and returned her gaze to the documents on the table.

Gellert and Harry exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief of surviving a close call in each other's eyes.

Damn, this tightrope walking is amazing.

"There are a few more Horcruxes to go," Dumbledore tried to change the subject. "Harry, would you like to continue?"

“I suggest we rest for a while, Dumbledore,” Vivi suddenly said. “Removing the soul fragments from the Horcruxes isn’t something that can be done in a day or two, is it? Harry needs rest too.”

“Alright,” Dumbledore nodded, glancing at the Horcruxes still on the table before deciding not to say another word.

Harry sat down next to Vivi, and the house-elf served him a cup of black tea.

He still had plenty of courage left, but after all, this was Vivi's concern, and he couldn't bear to refuse her kindness.

Then just relax and rest for a while. Anyway, there's no rush to destroy all the Horcruxes right away.

After taking only two sips, Vivi put down the documents in her hand.

“Come with me, Harry,” Vivi said, standing up.

Harry stood up as well, and when he turned around, he saw Gellert mouthing to him, "You're done for, Scarhead."

He restrained himself, and finally managed to suppress the urge to give Gellert a little curse.

Why has this guy become so cheeky?

He followed Vivi into the small cubicle in the office, and as soon as they stood still, he saw Vivi turn around.

"Don't move." Vivi reached out and pressed his head down. "Let me check if your body is overloaded."

A cool sensation came from her forehead, and then Vivi lowered her hand.

"As strong as a fire-breathing dragon, huh." Vivi said with a light laugh. "Well then, let me guess—are you planning to give this crown to Cassandra or Papiyas?"

"Why would you think that?" Harry wondered suspiciously.

Is this woman trying to scam me?

“Why can’t I think that way?” Vivi asked with a smile. “Don’t give me that nonsense about waiting until an important day. How could you, you little rascal, possibly have such a delicate mind? Tell me, is it Cassandra or Papiyas?”

Okay, okay, since you've found out, I'll stop acting!

Harry asked, "Why not guess Anne?"

Vivi gave me a knowing look and said with a smile, "It's easy to guess. Anne is a very smart girl, she doesn't need this crown at all... As for Cassandra... I think she does need to add some wisdom."

“Where’s Pappy?” Harry asked.

“Papie is a bit dim-witted.” Vivi said, turning her face away. “I don’t recommend you give her this crown. After all, wisdom isn’t the same as being dim-witted. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Okay,” Harry said with a shrug, pulling out the tiara and handing it to Vivi. “Here you go.”

Vivi reached out and took the crown, saying to Harry, "I'll give it to Cassandra later, and I'll say it's a gift from you."

Then, she paused for a moment and said again, "It must have been very frustrating for Cassandra that she couldn't become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. I could tell she was quite upset about it."

“It’s my fault,” Harry admitted, head bowed. “I shouldn’t have told her before things were certain, giving her hope only to disappoint her…”

“It’s good that you realize your mistakes.” Vivi put away her crown and reached out to pat Harry’s head. “But I need to remind you that Cassandra is a very proud girl, unlike me.”

Harry thought to himself, "You're much more arrogant than Cassandra," but he couldn't say it out loud.

To be honest, he was a little touched.

Vivi is so kind; even in this situation, she still speaks up for me.

She's the woman who could be my mother!
“Thank you, Vivi,” Harry said sincerely.

Vivi rolled her eyes at him.

“I’ve heard that line so many times, Harry,” she said.

When they came out of the cubicle, they found Dumbledore and Gellert playing wizard chess.

"Are you just going to watch?" Harry turned to Vivi and asked in a low voice. "What else can I do but watch?" Vivi sighed and said softly, "They're already like this, can I force them apart? Besides—well, it's my fault too."

"Why?" Harry asked in a low voice.

“It’s my fault for not fulfilling my responsibilities as an older sister,” Vivi said softly. “If I hadn’t been so willful back then and had stayed a hundred years ago, perhaps Gale wouldn’t have turned out this way… Of course, I never regret my choices, just as I chose you, you little rascal.”

Harry shrugged. What else can I say?

"How is the Godfather doing lately?" Vivi asked.

“He’s doing alright,” Harry said. “He’s been pretty busy lately, a bit overwhelmed. I heard from Ron that Percy barely gets any sleep these days, he’s been helping Sirius organize things and sorting out the Ministry of Magic.”

“Taking over the Ministry of Magic suddenly is certainly not a simple matter,” Vivi nodded and said. “Especially since his predecessor, Fudge, left him with such a huge mess. I think the Godfather will be quite busy these days.”

Harry thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.

Fudge was a man who valued his political life more than anything else, and would run away at the first sign of trouble.

It's easy to imagine the huge mess he'll leave for his successor.

Sirius had complained to him about the issue more than once, but there was nothing he could do. Fudge had stepped down and was on trial in Wizengamo, and the outcome was expected soon.

Of course, besides Fudge's mess, Sirius faced an even bigger problem: dozens of Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban, including the madwoman Bellatrix Lestrange.

Fortunately, they don't seem to be in the UK, so it won't become a problem for Sirius Black anytime soon.

Now, one of Voldemort's—possibly Riddle the effeminate—is causing trouble in America. Perhaps after learning the news, they will run to America to join Riddle the effeminate.

As for the other Voldemort... just assume he's dead. Anyway, he's practically out of contact now, and nobody knows where he is.

"And what about you?" Harry asked Vivi. "How's the Grand German Ministry of Magic doing lately?"

"It's alright," Vivi replied with a light smile. "There's nothing important going on lately, except that the Greek Ministry of Magic wants to merge into Greater Germany... Of course, if Greece merges, I think the Greater Germany Ministry of Magic will have to change its name."

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

“The Eastern Roman Ministry of Magic.” A glint of ambition flashed in Vivi’s eyes. “But before that, we must conquer Constantinople…”

“That’s Istanbul,” Harry corrected. “I need to remind you, Vivi—that’s still Turkish territory, since 1453.”

"Is that so?" Vivi smiled and didn't argue.

In the evening, Harry enjoyed a classic old Viennese meal.

As the host, Vivi was very enthusiastic.

The next morning, yawning, Harry stood in front of the Horcruxes again.

“I think…” Harry scratched his cheek and said, “we need a more efficient method. I’m tired of watching Riddle’s memories—it doesn’t help us at all. Don’t we know him well enough already?”

“It’s hard to say,” Dumbledore said. “Perhaps we can deduce where he will appear from fragments of his memory… Oh, don’t look at me like that, Harry—you should know that Nagini is also part of Tom’s Horcrux, and she only recently became Tom’s Horcrux. I think the Tom fragments on her must know about Tom’s evil plans.”

“Okay.” Harry shrugged. “If you insist, I’ll have a good talk with Tom this time.”

However, before he could use Legilimency, the communication crystal ball on his body started beeping, making random, incoherent noises, the tune of which seemed to be a unique melody of the Weasley twins.

It's the Hogwarts school song, and only their rendition of it can be so invigorating.

He took out the crystal ball and saw that the caller was Sirius Black, the godfather.

As soon as the call connected, Sirius's phantom image appeared.

"Harry?"

Sirius first saw Harry, and then he saw Dumbledore and Gellert standing behind him.

"Hello," Sirius greeted them.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Harry asked curiously.

He also wanted to know why the Godfather had suddenly called him.

Sirius cleared his throat and said, "Well, Harry, I've found out something—about the escaped Death Eaters, and Dumbledore is there too, of course. I just tried to contact you but failed."

"Oh, I didn't bring my phone," Dumbledore said apologetically to Sirius. "Sorry, Sirius, I'm not used to carrying a phone with me—"

Indeed, for an elderly person, carrying a mobile phone when going out is not a habit.

“It’s alright,” Sirius smiled and said. “According to the latest intelligence from the Aurors, the Death Eaters seem to have arrived along the Mississippi River and are carrying out some kind of evil ritual. They have already caused considerable damage in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Magical Congress of the United States is sending us a diplomatic note protesting that we released the Death Eaters.”

“This doesn’t really concern us, does it?” Harry asked doubtfully. “If they hadn’t been so arrogant and had let our people track down Voldemort, these Death Eaters probably wouldn’t be in America right now.”

“That’s none of your business, Harry,” Sirius said with a smile. “The point is that the Death Eaters are carrying out an evil ritual in the Mississippi River Valley.”

“Well,” Dumbledore stroked his beard and said, “that’s not something we need to worry about, Sirius. After all, the Magical Congress of the United States will not allow wizards from other countries to come to their country, and they will not allow it even if they join them in capturing dark wizards.”

"Why?" Sirius clearly had no idea what kind of arrogant bunch the Magical Congress of the United States was.

“If you don’t believe me, you can send a note to the Magical Congress of the United States,” Dumbledore said with a chuckle. “I’m sure you’ll be in trouble, Sirius.”

“Alright,” Sirius nodded and said, “I’ll have Percy send out a note right away.”

After saying that, Sirius hung up the phone.

"What do you think they're doing?" Dumbledore turned to Gellert and asked. "As a dark wizard, you should be aware of this situation, shouldn't you?"

This made Gellert laugh in exasperation.

"What do you mean I'm a dark wizard and should know this?" he retorted somewhat helplessly. "Al, it's true I'm a dark wizard, but I've never performed such evil rituals—have you ever seen me slaughter Muggles or wizards?"

Believe it or not, Dumbledore agreed with Gellert after a little thought.

Although Gellert is a dark wizard, he is more like a lawful evil politician with his own platform and creed.

And Voldemort? Voldemort was a chaotic, evil, and violent terrorist. To compare him to Gellert was a complete insult to Gellert.

(End of this chapter)