Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 608 The world's most powerful basilisk king will protect you!
Suddenly, all the chatter in the living room stopped.

Everyone stared intently at Mr. Weasley's Patronus, as Mrs. Weasley accidentally broke a plate of pudding.

"What? Mr. Norton is dead?" Ron asked Harry in a low voice.

"Could the minister your dad mentioned be someone else?" Harry also seemed a little incredulous.

With the guardian spirit gone, Tonks hurriedly jumped up from his chair and ran out of the hallway.

Now not only is the Ministry of Magic in chaos, but even Number Twelve Grimmauld Place is in complete disarray.

"I have to go check it out." Sirius Black left Harry with those words and then rushed out.

The Weasley brothers also immediately disappeared from their seats; they still had a strong affection for Mr. Norton, their investor.

Harry and his friends were pushed upstairs by Mrs. Weasley, who was pale-faced.

“Mom—we want to go see what happened too—” Ron said.

“No,” Mrs. Weasley said, her voice sharper than ever before. “You have no idea what this means—you must stay here and not go anywhere! Go upstairs to your own rooms!”

"Who are you referring to as the 'dead' person?" Sophia asked Harry curiously.

“You should know Cohen’s father…” Harry said somberly.

"Huh?" Sophia's eyes widened.

"Was it done by the mysterious man?" Ron guessed. "Mr. Norton has carried out so many arrest operations, he must have become a thorn in the side of the mysterious man..."

“This is very, very, very bad news,” Hermione said gravely. “The Ministry of Magic may cease to exist—”

“But they’ll soon elect a new minister, won’t they…” Ron asked, somewhat puzzled.

“They won’t,” Hermione said. “If it really was Void who killed him, who would dare to be the minister opposing Voldemort’s rule? Mr. Norton’s abilities are undeniable; there’s no one more suitable to lead than him… First Dumbledore, and now Mr. Norton…”

“Cohen will be very sad,” Sofia said, her eyes red. “If my dad died, I would be very sad too…”

"It could be a false alarm..." Harry felt there was no point in saying that; whether the minister was dead or not couldn't possibly be a false alarm—who would dare to misreport something like that...

“Once the others return from the Ministry of Magic, we’ll know exactly what happened.” Hermione pursed her lips. “I really don’t want to imagine what will happen next…”

Mr. Norton is also dead.

After Dumbledore's death, the Ministry of Magic became almost the only safe haven for wizards—everyone hoped that this active and highly efficient minister could lead them to defeat Voldemort.

Even the rhetoric about Harry being the savior has decreased, indirectly reducing a lot of pressure on Harry...

Harry silently returned to his room, and Sophia followed him in. The two of them sat down at the foot of the bed without saying a word.

Hermione was right. If Voldemort really did kill Mr. Norton, then Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry of Magic would only be a matter of time—they all knew that most of the officials in the Ministry of Magic were actually opportunists, siding with whichever side was more powerful.

Mr. Norton used to take such good care of me...

When he was kicked out by the Dursleys, he was taken in by Mr. Norton and Cohen.

After Mr. Norton became a minister, he also helped him use government pressure to get the Dursleys to change their attitude.

And those interesting Defense Against the Dark Arts courses... Mr. Norton was a really good man—and now that good man is dead...

Voldemort's killing spree will not stop, because there are still members of the Order of the Phoenix resisting him.

So who's next? Sirius?

Mr. Weasley?
Lupin?

Moody's?

Must I continue to be protected as a fragile hope until everyone who stands in my way is killed?

Almost instantly, Harry made his choice.

He had to confront Voldemort directly; he had to find Voldemort's location and then kill him—

There can't be any more sacrifices; I can't bear to make any more...

Harry took a deep breath, and his mind cleared up.

Suddenly, Harry felt something peering into his brain—he remembered that feeling, the feeling of Voldemort trying to burrow into his mind.

However, this time he was different.

Stopping this intrusion suddenly became easy, and even Harry himself didn't know why.

He didn't want Voldemort to continue killing others, he didn't want Voldemort's actions to succeed—a strong emotion filled his lungs, becoming his powerful reliance against Voldemort's mental invasion.

"Sophia, I need to go out for a bit." Harry said to Sophia while packing his backpack, "Could I borrow your... pocket for a moment?"

“I want to go out with you,” Sofia said, shaking her head. “What if you don’t come back like Cohen?”

“This will be dangerous…” Harry said hesitantly, “I don’t want you to be in danger—I’m borrowing your pocket so I can destroy that Horcrux before I’m about to deal with Voldemort, using the fangs from your original body…”

“I’m not afraid of danger,” Sophia said, head held high. “I am the most powerful basilisk king in the world! I will protect you—”

“This is between me and that dark wizard,” Harry said. “You can’t interfere—”

“I’m going to get involved,” Sofia said stubbornly. “If anyone kills you, I’ll definitely bite them to death—so even if you don’t take me with you, the result will be the same!”

Seeing that Sophia was completely unmovable, Harry wanted to raise his wand to knock her unconscious, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

“So…you’ll just hide in the pocket?” Harry said, conceding. “You’ll have to help me destroy this Horcrux at the right moment—”

As he spoke, Harry retrieved Voldemort's pocket watch.

"—This is crucial. If we destroy it too early, and Voldemort discovers that his last Horcrux has been destroyed, he'll definitely escape and try to make another one," Harry said. "If we destroy it too late, he might be able to resurrect again—remember, it has to be just before I defeat him..."

"Mm." Sophia nodded.

boom!
Ron kicked Harry's door open.

“I told you he was still here,” Ron said to Hermione, relieved to see Harry still in the room.

“No, he’s already packed his things.” Hermione pointed to Harry’s packed backpack and said with a hint of displeasure, “Harry, you’re not planning to go find Vader alone, are you?”

“You don’t understand—” Harry grabbed his backpack, “No more people can be sacrificed—someone has to stop him—”

“Then let’s go together,” Hermione said, “just like when we went to that strange hotel with Cohen, just like every time we help each other get through a difficult situation—”

“Even if Cohen isn’t here now,” Ron shrugged. “Man, you can’t succeed by yourself. We have a better chance together.”

(End of this chapter)