Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 789 Familiar Building

"Speaking of which, where are we right now?"

After walking a distance, Ron suddenly remembered this crucial question.

Strictly speaking, Hermione's Apparition wasn't entirely successful. The pressure from Voldemort was so great that she momentarily lost her balance at the last moment.

Although they escaped without splitting apart, they strayed from their original destination and ended up in an unfamiliar place.

"Anywhere is better than Mystic's hometown," Hermione said without turning her head.

Harry shrank back.

He should have realized this sooner—that was Voldemort's last Horcrux, how could he possibly do nothing?

Voldemort must have set up some kind of spying device or shrieking spell in Riddle Hall so that he could immediately detect any strangers who broke in and rush over at the first opportunity.

But they still fell for it, barging in unprepared and nearly losing their lives.

It's all his fault. If only he had realized it sooner—

"Harry, Harry—"

Hermione's voice brought Harry back to his senses, and he quickly said, "I'm here—excuse me, what did you just say?"

Seeing Harry's expression, Hermione knew what he was thinking. She immediately turned around and said earnestly, "This is not your fault, Harry."

"No, it's my fault. I should have realized it sooner. Possessing the mysterious man is a dangerous thing. He knew I was looking at that snake and set a trap beforehand, just like when we went to the Department of Mysteries!"

Harry felt increasingly guilty as he spoke, clenching his fists tightly.

"Listen to me, Harry, listen to me—"

Hermione put her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't forget, it was me who told you there was no black magic in the room, not you—"

"But there really isn't any dark magic in there—" Ron muttered to himself, only to be glared at fiercely by Hermione.

“I’m stating the facts.” Ron shrugged, then looked at Harry. “And if you ask me, the Man of Void probably didn’t know you successfully entered the snake’s body, otherwise we would have been killed by him long ago—I mean, he had plenty of time to wait for us at the old house, didn’t he?”

Harry entered the snake's body last night while half asleep and half awake, and deduced from the images he saw that it was hiding in Riddle Hall.

It was already past midnight, giving Voldemort ample time to arrive at Little Hangleton and wait for them to walk right into his trap.

But he didn't do that.

"If I'm not mistaken, the mysterious figure's presence there isn't dark magic at all, but rather a warning spell. For example, if someone opens the door, a skeleton will scream—my father said that there were many such spells during the First Wizarding War, which the Death Eaters used to protect their shady dealings."

It must be said that Ron's speculation was very reasonable, and he quickly convinced Harry—at least he didn't seem so remorseful anymore.

"I think the most important thing for us now is to get out of here as soon as possible—" Ron crossed his arms and nervously looked around at the deserted bushes and woods.

"Hermione, can you Apparate us one more time?"

"Of course not." Hermione rejected the seemingly reasonable suggestion without hesitation.

"Actually, I'm quite glad that Apparition failed this time. If we had actually appeared on Tottenham Palace Road as originally planned, the Death Eaters chasing us would probably already be at the alley entrance by now."

"Ah, why?"

"It's because of the Ministry of Magic, of course!" Perhaps because of what had just happened, Hermione patiently answered Ron's somewhat silly question.

"The Department of Magical Transportation can accurately track every wizard who uses Apparition, including where they used the spell and where they last appeared. They know everything."

"Like a thread?"

"It's more troublesome than Apparition," Hermione said, frowning. "I heard that to guard against a certain wizard, the Ministry of Magic can even pinpoint a specific house number when it comes to Apparition."

"Is it the mysterious person?"

"I don't know, maybe it's another, even more terrifying dark wizard," Hermione said absentmindedly, while cautiously observing her surroundings.

There is neither Voldemort nor Death Eaters here.

"So, it's actually a good thing that we're here?" Ron seemed rather pleased.

The Death Eaters certainly didn't know they hadn't made it to Tottenham Palace Road, but were here for some special reason.

"It was a lucky accident," he said with a smile.

But Hermione doesn't have his positive attitude.

Their escape this time was only temporary. As long as the Ministry of Magic remained under the control of the Death Eaters, they would never be absolutely safe.

"Let's hurry up and leave before the Death Eaters find us."

The three walked through the dense bushes and continued onward, but their pace became slower and slower.

Having not slept all night, and having just escaped death from Voldemort's clutches, the three of them were on edge. Now that they relaxed, drowsiness and exhaustion immediately overwhelmed them.

Hermione, in particular, was starting to sway uncontrollably, and every few steps she would slap her head hard to keep herself awake.

"We need to rest."

After passing through the bushes, Harry immediately decided to rest for a while; they could sleep for more than three hours before dawn.

Harry found a flat spot and took out the magic tent.

This was given to him by Sirius Black; it perfectly replicates the room layout of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, and could easily accommodate more than a dozen people.

However, just as Harry was about to set up the tent, he vaguely saw a very familiar spire in the distance.

The moonlight was fairly bright tonight, and there weren't many clouds. Under the hazy moonlight, Harry could clearly see the crooked two-story building in the distance.

Perhaps due to years of wind and rain, the entire building looked gray and decayed under the moonlight. The roof tiles were incomplete, and the whole building looked like it could collapse at any moment.

From a distance, it looks like a house-shaped ghost floating in mid-air.

He happened to have seen similar places before, and was very familiar with them.

No way————

"Ron, Ron!" Harry nudged Ron's arm in a flustered manner, pointing ahead under the other's questioning gaze.

"Look over there, doesn't it look familiar?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron subconsciously looked up and saw the crooked house as well.

In an instant, his eyes, which had been a little dazed, widened in surprise.

"That's—the Screaming Shack!"

"Wait, we're in Hogsmeade?!"