Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

Chapter 555 The Departed

The city was thriving, but Ron couldn't stop his habitual thoughts as he walked down the street.

He was no longer the empty-headed, impatient red-haired boy he used to be. Learning about the world of Wizarding Chess was like opening a new door for him, allowing him to apply the thinking he used when playing Wizarding Chess to his daily life.

"According to the intelligence sent back by Hilmi, the Aurora Messengers are roaming among many gathering places in the outside world, but Hogsmeade doesn't seem to have seen any trace of them —"

As an open global metropolis and a hub for exchanges between the seven schools, New Hogsmeade will not refuse any visits from wizards or Muggles. And until the Aurora Messengers cause any major damage, there's no reason to prevent them from entering or leaving, unless the authorities officially classify them as a cult.

"But it makes sense when you think about it. Their goal is to attract refugees and wizards who are unhappy with their lives to establish new homes. The residents of New Hogsmeade have a higher happiness index, so it's not worth it for them to work hard. It's too low a cost-benefit ratio."

Nowadays, other gathering places and cities have also begun to closely monitor the whereabouts of the aurora messengers and have started to refuse them entry into the city to preach.

But this did not deter them. On the main roads outside the city and on the routes of the defectors fleeing from East Asia, they could still often see wild men wearing white bear skins, using the magnificent aurora to gather groups of refugees.

Although Hogsmeade was temporarily safe, the legends of the Aurora Messenger and the paradise of the Arctic Ocean continued to circulate in the city, thanks to the word of traveling merchants in the taverns.

"Is this the place?" After wandering around the city streets for a long time, Ron finally found Mrs. Lockhart's house.

This is an inconspicuous two-story building, one of the units in the Malfoyburg resettlement housing batch.

If it weren't for Lockhart's story, perhaps no one would remember that his mother had also migrated here with the fall of Malfoy Castle.

Comparing the slip of paper in my hand with the resident statistics sheet I got from the government department, Mrs. Lockhart should live here.

But unlike the other houses, even though it was early morning and everyone around was starting to cook and eat breakfast, with children and men leaving for school and work, Lockhart's house was quiet and not a sound could be heard.

"Is he still not up?" Ron muttered as he went up and rang the doorbell.

The tricycle whizzed past, and the boy stood at the door for a long time, but no one came out to open it, and there wasn't even the slightest sound of a living person inside.

"What do you do?" A woman with a slightly wary expression leaned out of the window of the house next door.

The aroma of toasted bread and garlic sauce wafted from her window.

"From the Moonlit Society, here to see Mrs. Lockhart." Ron flashed the holy mark on his chest; this thing couldn't be faked.

It was obvious to the naked eye that the woman's attitude had improved considerably.

Over the past year, the Moonlit Society's reputation and influence have grown rapidly. As residents of Hogsmeade, no one is unaware of this organization, and everyone knows how many great deeds they have done.

"That family has been abandoned for a long time," the woman said.

"That strange old lady always covers herself up completely and doesn't interact with the neighbors."

She frowned and said with some disdain.

"Could she have done something wrong? But that makes sense; she looks like the kind of wicked witch who lives a reclusive life and uses dark magic to curse Muggles."

The women gossiped, speculating that these former Malfoy Castle residents, though not nobles, were all wizarding families with specialized skills, which was why they were able to live such fulfilling lives.

Ron smelled the freshly grilled sausages wafting from the opposite window, and his stomach rumbled. He had come out too early and missed Hogwarts breakfast.

"It was just some normal questioning. This old lady hasn't done anything wrong," he explained, swallowing almost imperceptibly.

"Well, that's a real shame~" The woman pouted, somewhat dissatisfied with the answer.

"But about a week ago, she left with a savage wearing a bearskin, carrying a suitcase, and seemed to have no intention of coming back."

Ron was shocked. Had the Aurora Messenger already been here?

However, just a week ago, the Radiant Moon Society was focused on the upcoming war against Magnet Mountain City, and the various settlements did not raise their vigilance against the Aurora Messengers. After all, they always wandered around the continent and made alarmist remarks, and had not committed any serious crimes in decades.

"Do you know where they went?" After asking this question, Ron felt he had made a stupid mistake again.

How could unfamiliar neighbors possibly know? Logically speaking, they most likely took a boat from the port and sailed out to sea.

After hurriedly saying goodbye to his female neighbor, Ron turned and headed back to Hogwarts. He needed to return to the Hall of the Round Table to reorganize the intelligence.

The threat rating for the Aurora Messenger needs to be raised again.

Did their silent removal of Lockhart's family mean they wanted to force Lockhart to comply?

This professor is really unlucky; he can be kidnapped even when he does a good deed.

However, Ron wasn't too worried about the professor's safety. Several years had passed since he left, and the fact that the Aurora Messenger went to such lengths to take Madam Lockhart away after so long meant that they at least didn't want to kill anyone.

"Perhaps he's just an ambitious person trying to build his own power in this new world?"

"What qualities and abilities does he admire in Professor Lockhart?"

This is the only reasonable explanation.

However, even before the war, Greenland was a desolate and cold place. How could they feed people they brought there?

While pondering these things, he walked towards the school castle.

"Hello, senior!"

"Weasley!"

Along the way, his students greeted him with great respect.

Even the chattering freshmen, influenced by the older students, timidly came over to greet them.

They were already prominent figures at school, which gave Ron a somewhat surreal feeling.

Looking up at the sky, Ron saw that the sun had climbed quite high, but he knew that the moon, which Hermione had transformed into, was still moving across the other half of the sky.

"We've all grown up, but where are we going?"

"Hermione is getting further and further away from us—she seems to have really become the moon, seemingly within reach, yet forever out of reach—"

The teenagers' innocent feelings were not diminished by time.

Many girls fawned over Harry, Ron was always receiving unsigned love letters, Hannah Abbott was always intentionally or unintentionally getting close to Neville, and Draco often complained that Daphne always asked him stupid questions.

However, none of the four boys ever had any real rumors of dating any girls. Even though most of the sixth graders had already dated or tried to enter into a relationship, the four of them seemed to be intentionally rejecting each other and keeping their distance from other girls.

Ron remembered something Hilmi had said in a joke.

"Hermione is going to create her own era. She will shape her own circle," weave her own laws, and like King Arthur with his divine right of kings, she will choose a king for that era—"

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