A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"I can tell you're very nervous," the examiner said reassuringly. "Why don't you go to the school hospital first?"

“I’m not going to the school hospital. I just spaced out,” Harry stammered. “I’m really fine, sir.”

"Don't push yourself. This isn't the first time this has happened." The examiner patted Harry on the shoulder and comforted him sympathetically. "I suggest you go get a glass of water to clear your head. If you have time, you might still make it to the end of the exam."

“Professor, I’ll take him to the university hospital,” Aaron said, raising his hand.

"You?" The examiner frowned slightly. "But what about your exam?"

“I’ve finished answering all the questions,” Ya Lunren said confidently. “Then he handed the fully-written exam paper to the examiner.”

Seeing this, Harry's eyes flickered slightly. "I... I've finished answering too?"

The examiner glanced at him suspiciously, then looked at the exam paper on the table, which was still at least half blank, and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Just because you don't want to take the exam doesn't mean you can just not take it! What nonsense are you spouting!

Harry seemed to notice the examiner's exasperation at his lack of effort and awkwardly added, "I've answered everything I could."

The examiner chuckled helplessly, feeling that his intelligence had been insulted.

This lie is only slightly better than the previous one. The second half of the test paper is completely blank, and all the questions you know how to answer are concentrated in the first 50%. That's too much of a coincidence!

"Alright! Since you've said so, I'll put your test paper away for now."

"Mr. Gaius, could you please take Potter to the school hospital? He needs a good night's sleep."

"Ok."

As soon as the two left the Great Hall, Harry rushed up the stairs and headed straight for the second floor.

Aaron didn't stop him, after all, he was still tightly covering the scar on his forehead when he fell, so it was obvious that he had probably seen something again.

Harry didn't even knock on the door, he just rushed into the school hospital.

“Potter, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Pomfrey asked.

"Where's Professor McGonagall?" Harry glanced around the ward but didn't see her. His anxiety grew. "It's urgent! Where is she?"

“She’s not here,” Mrs. Pomfrey said sadly. “She was taken to St. Mungo’s Hospital. At her age, how could she possibly withstand several spells? It’s already a miracle that she survived.”

Those people are truly despicable and shameless. They would never be a match for Minerva in a direct confrontation; they could only launch a sneak attack under the cover of night.

Upon hearing this, Harry froze on the spot, his face filled with shock and a hint of fear.

Dumbledore is gone, Hagrid is gone, and now even Professor McGonagall is gone. He doesn't know who else he can trust. And when he thinks back to the images that just flashed through his mind, he can't help but feel despair.

Chapter 491 A Dream Full of Coincidences, Snape in a Pleasant Mood

Harry walked out of the school hospital with a blank look in his eyes, as if a huge cloud of misfortune was hanging over his head.

The bell rang suddenly, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Having another nightmare?" Aaron asked in a deep voice. "I'm guessing the Dark Lord got the prophecy orb he wanted, or someone else has been harmed?"

"Neither, but the situation is more serious, extremely serious."

"It's obvious that your reaction just now was like the sky had fallen."

“I have no idea what to do. Umbridge has managed to get rid of anyone at school who could help,” Harry said irritably. “She’s practically sent by Satan to punish me.”

"So what did you dream about?"

Harry was about to speak when Hermione and Ron rushed over.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Ron asked anxiously. “Don’t tell me you’re having another nightmare.”

“This isn’t the place to talk,” Harry said calmly. “Come with me, this is very urgent.”

He found an empty classroom along the second-floor corridor, and after the three of them went in, he immediately closed the door and looked at them nervously. "Sirius, Voldemort has captured Sirius."

"what?"

"How could you?"

“I accidentally fell asleep during the exam, and then I saw him take Sirius to the room full of prophecy balls and tell him to get the prophecy ball at the end of the ninety-seventh shelf.”

"And then?" Aaron asked, intrigued.

“Sirius certainly didn’t agree.” Harry’s voice trembled as he spoke with difficulty, “They used the Crucifixion Curse on him, and I saw him covered in blood, trembling and curled up on the ground, howling in pain.”

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

Aaron clapped his hands. "The examiner is right. You do need to get some rest."

“I’m not kidding,” Harry said angrily. “We need to figure out how to get to the Department of Mysteries. Sirius is waiting for us to rescue him!”

"Forget it! If you want to walk into a trap, don't drag me into it." Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "I taught you Occlumency for two months, and you haven't had any nightmares for two months, so why can you see them today?"

“How should I know?” Harry roared. “Maybe you didn’t teach me well. I’ve just improved my ability to resist mind absorption, but that doesn’t mean I’ve actually mastered Occlumency.”

“That makes some sense,” Aaron chuckled, “but don’t you think what you’re seeing is too easy for you to lose your temper?”

"You mean Voldemort deliberately made him see that?" Hermione asked.

"Most likely." Aaron snapped his fingers. "Sirius is the person Harry cares about most, without a doubt."

But he's a wanted criminal! He probably won't be able to leave the Order of the Phoenix until he's proven innocent!

“That’s not necessarily true,” Ron said inappropriately. “Sirius doesn’t have that kind of self-awareness. Last year, he even turned into a big dog to take Harry to school.”

“Yes.” Harry nodded repeatedly. “His personality makes it impossible for him to stay in one place for a long time, and he has always felt guilty for not being able to help the Order of the Phoenix, so it’s possible that he took it upon himself to run away.”

“Okay! This is the second coincidence!” Aaron waved his hand, both amused and exasperated. “But how do you explain the timing of this dream?”

Just the day after Dumbledore left the school, Professor McGonagall was hospitalized, and Hagrid ran away, the person you care about most had an accident when the people you trust most were not around.

"This is such a coincidence! Even appointments don't happen this coincidentally."

"But it's true, I really saw it."

"Your brain-occlusion technique is not up to par. Even a peak Archmage can make you see something with a little effort."

“Aaron is right,” Hermione nodded. “This might be a trap, Voldemort’s trap to get you.”

"So what? Am I just going to watch him die?"

"Good heavens!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "Can't you be a little more intelligent?"

So many coincidences, it's almost like it was all scripted.

“So you think I should pretend I didn’t see anything?” Harry demanded.

"You might not like what I'm saying, but that's really what I mean." Aaron shrugged. "You should calm down now, and perhaps you need to..."

“I don’t need a sedative,” Harry interrupted.

"You're overthinking it. Potions are so expensive!" Aaron said with a hint of disdain, then drew his wand. "The Stunning Charm is different. It doesn't cost anything, but it's more effective. It's just not very friendly to you."

"What are you going to do?" Harry took two steps back in alarm.

"Relax, I'm careful with my actions, and you'll thank me later."

“No, you can’t do that,” Hermione immediately dissuaded her.

"But this is the easiest way; I'm stopping him from going there to his death."

“Avoid your weapon.” Ron suddenly attacked.

A beam of white light shot straight toward Aaron, but he easily dodged it by sidestepping.

"Heh! It's good to be loyal, but at least take a look at your own abilities!" Aaron said speechlessly. Even though he only had half of his magic power now, beating a mage was a piece of cake for him.

Ron gave an awkward laugh. "I just wanted to tell you not to be so impulsive."

“I’m very calm,” Aaron said calmly. “Besides… I’m not the one acting impulsively right now.”

“That wasn’t a dream,” Harry emphasized, enunciating each word clearly. “The reason Dumbledore made me learn Occlumency is because what I saw was real.”

"It's self-deception, but there should be a limit to self-deception!"

“Of course you’re not in a hurry. Sirius has nothing to do with you, but he’s my only family,” Harry said to Aaron, his voice filled with excitement.

"I completely understand how you feel, but there are consequences to courting death."

Suddenly the classroom door opened, and Ginny and Luna walked in.

“I happened to hear you talking outside,” Ginny said. “What were you talking about?”

"Don't worry about it."

“No need to be so rude!” Ginny frowned. This was the first time Harry had ever lost his temper like this. “I was just wondering if I could help.”

"You can't help."

“You really can’t help him.” Aaron sighed. “He dreamt that his godfather was captured by the Dark Lord and taken to the Department of Mysteries, the same place where your father was attacked by the snake.”

"What?" Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, finally understanding why Harry was in such a hurry.

"That sounds serious." A string of question marks floated above Luna's head. "But I remember Harry was an orphan. Does he have any family?"

“This is the only one left,” Harry said painfully. “The only one.”

Aaron took a deep breath, then looked meaningfully at everyone except Harry. "He's going to rescue people, and I can't dissuade him, but you'd better not impulsively go with him."

"Why?" Ginny asked, puzzled. "If Sirius has really been captured, we should have a plan in mind, at least to notify..."

“I can’t notify them,” Ron interrupted. “Umbridge has driven them all away.”

Ginny paused for a moment. "We can't just do nothing, can we?"

“We really can’t do nothing. We don’t have time to waste. Sirius is still suffering!” Harry said, wishing he could teleport to the Department of Mysteries immediately.

“Perhaps we should verify the situation,” Hermione said hesitantly. “What if this is Voldemort’s trick?”

"How do we verify it?" Harry asked, both angry and annoyed. "How are we supposed to verify it?"

Aaron seemed to have thought of something. "This is not a good idea."

"It's better than him going to the Department of Mysteries to rescue people without any preparation!"

We can check Sirius's safety through the fire in Umbridge's office and the Floo Network.

"If he's there, then it proves this is Voldemort's trap; if he's not..." Hermione gave a wry smile, "then we can use the Floo Network to get to the Ministry of Magic."

However, her hearth might not be connected to the Ministry of Magic, so we might have to go through several transfers.