Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Water Margin

Chapter 288 The Azure Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise

After leaving the Chamber of Secrets, Harry went to the Headmaster's office, barged in as usual, and called out loudly, "Professor, are you here? Harry's here to see you!"

This shout startled all the portraits of the school principals on the wall, who glared at him angrily.

After a while, Dumbledore came out wearing a dressing gown, his eyes still sleepy, and said, "Mr. Potter, please come during the day if you need anything in the future."

"Old people can't stand Umbridge every night?!"

Upon seeing the severed head, Dumbledore was instantly wide awake.

Harry didn't say anything, but strode to the table, slammed the severed head down on it, and said, "Professor, I'm going to rebel now."

Dumbledore stared at the severed head for a long time before asking, "Why did you kill her?"

Harry glared at him and shouted, "Professor, don't joke with me! When did you become so sentimental?"

"That old hag hasn't caused any trouble at school lately, only because she's afraid I won't let her get away with it! Don't forget, she was a wicked woman in the Ministry of Magic!"

"I understand that perfectly well, but—well, let's make exceptions for special times." Dumbledore waved his hand and sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

Harry then took the Hogsmeade map and spread it out next to the heads. He then recounted in detail the arrangements made since the uprising began at Hogsmeade. Finally, he also gave Dumbledore detailed instructions on how to handle the situation.

After Harry finished speaking, Dumbledore nodded and said, "I have no objections."

Harry, satisfied, rolled up the map and put it in his pocket, laughing, "Professor, you should get some more sleep; you'll be up all night tomorrow."

Dumbledore didn't answer that question, but instead asked, "How's your counterfeit money?"

Harry, his face contorted with rage, spat and said, "Don't mention it! Don't mention it! Those damned sages are truly inhuman! They've abandoned the entire British wizarding world without a second thought!"

"The money I've been printing day and night for months is now less than half a day's output of the gold yuan!"

He grew angrier with each word, then waved his hand and turned to leave, leaving only Umbridge and Dumbledore staring blankly at each other.

The next morning, Draco and Pansy quietly left the gates of Hogwarts.

When the house-elf came to report, Harry sent it to follow him, so that Draco wouldn't reveal the secret of the uprising, and nothing else needed to be concerned.

At midday, Dumbledore summoned a group of professors to the headmaster's office for a meeting, while all the students were given the day off.

When the younger students had free time, they would gather in groups of three or five, or even seven, and spend all their time traveling and having fun, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

The older students drove Thestrals, carrying rolls and bundles of gold coins, like small mountains, to Hogsmeade.

Upon reaching the village entrance, the passengers dispersed like a flowing stream. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the village entrance was deserted, with only a group of Thestrals remaining to rest.

Nassim and three or five others each carried a sack of gold coins and went to Honey Duke.

Upon entering the store, they tossed aside their sacks and strolled around in front of various counters, browsing the shops.

Even as the sun set, not a single student had left the shop. Everywhere was bustling with people, the lights were on, and the atmosphere was just as lively as during the day.

When it was completely dark, the demon patrol team finally stepped onto the street.

Then, three or five fairies, including Pull Ring, escorted the leader and swayed into the Honey Duke's gate.

The lead goblin glanced inside and, seeing the room full of people, immediately showed impatience. He then shouted, "You should all go back to Hogwarts, wizards. Curfew is coming to Hogsmeade soon!"

Having said that, without waiting for a reply, he turned and left, with the group of demons swaying and following behind, going off on their own.

Upon reaching a secluded spot, with no more wizards in sight, a goblin chuckled and said, "Look at those wizards, carrying a sack of money to go shopping. I almost burst out laughing."

Another chimed in, "Their brains simply can't comprehend finance. To be honest, they're not even as smart as Muggles."

Upon hearing this, the fairies all clapped and laughed. The pull-ring, who had remained silent the whole way, suddenly said, "I have a bad feeling about this. When have those wizard brats ever stayed out this late?"

"Don't they usually go back in the afternoon?"

The leading fairy glanced at the pull ring once and then sneered, "You're really eager to redeem yourself, aren't you?"

Pull ring remained unmoved, and said firmly, "I think we should go back and take another look."

"Alright, alright, pull ring. When we get back to Gringotts, I'll put in a good word for you with the elders."

Before he finished speaking, a burst of sneers erupted from all around, like crows cawing at dusk, each one louder than the last.

The pull ring barely touched his ear before dragging the group of fairies back to Honey Duke.

When he left, the setting sun was still hanging on the eaves; when he returned, dusk had already fallen, which was at least half an hour later.

Upon entering the store, it was still packed with people, just as crowded as when I left.

The lead demon stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed, and roared like thunder, "I said, why aren't you leaving?"

"Hogsmeade is under curfew!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire shop fell silent. All the wizards in the shop turned to look, but none of them uttered a sound.

Pulling the ring, a chill ran down his spine, but his face remained impassive as he silently moved his fingers toward his waist, gripping the knife handle tightly.

The leading demon wasn't stupid either; she sensed something was wrong. She inched closer and closer to the door.

The owner of the Honey Duke, unaware of the situation, assumed it was a racial conflict and was about to step in to smooth things over when Seamus suddenly drew his wand and shouted at the pull ring, "Out of body!"

As soon as the incantation ended, Rahuan held his shield horizontally in front of him, and the magical runes moved like dragons and snakes, shining brightly.

With a loud "hum", the Soul-Stealing Curse was blocked and scattered.

Pull-Ring, no longer willing to fight, darted towards the door, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Treason! Treason! All the students of Hogwarts have betrayed us!"

Seamus roared, "His shield has magic resistance! Get the weapons!"

All the heroes in the shop kicked the burlap sacks at their feet, and with a loud "clatter," the gold coins inside rolled all over the ground, revealing long and short firearms, knives, spears, halberds, copper hammers, iron whips, and the like.

Two burly men nearby each wielded a long spear and thrust it at the throat of the ring-handled man.

Two spears thrust at him from the left and right. He quickly pulled back his neck and lifted his shield. With a clang, the tips of the two spears struck the shield, sparks flying and making his hands go numb.

Just then, a sudden gust of wind arose from the side. A heavy, black iron spiked ball, dragging a chain, hurtled towards his face with the force of wind and thunder.

With a muffled "thud," half of the pull ring's face collapsed, its two beady eyes bulging out of their sockets and hanging from its blood-soaked face.

A hole the size of a bowl appeared in his face, and he fell backward, landing motionless on the ground.

As soon as the pull ring fell to the ground, the students swarmed forward. The remaining few fairies tried to escape, but were stopped by more than a dozen spears and clubs.

Some wielded single-edged swords, some carried short spears, and some swung iron chains. With a flurry of chopping, they all instantly became victims of their blades.

Inside the shop, only muffled thuds could be heard, but not a single shout.

The group worked quickly and efficiently, covering the paste-covered corpses with gold coins.

Simo took out a brass pocket watch from his pocket and looked at it. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the second hand swept half a circle and clicked to overlap with the minute hand.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Suddenly, three gunshots rang out from outside the street. Simo tore off a piece of yellow silk and tied it around his forehead, then pulled a Type 96 machine gun from a sack.

He shoved the butt of his rifle over his shoulder and roared, "Guys! Take the shopping street within an hour!"

At his shout, everyone responded in unison. A group of people rushed out of the door and surged into the long street.

Simo summoned two men, who rushed up to the roof of Honey Duke in a few strides, each taking a position on one side and setting up machine guns to fire incessantly.

On the street, heroes brandished their swords, spears, and magic wands, launching a fierce attack. Here, spells flew about like fireflies dancing wildly; there, gunfire splattered like a series of firecrackers. Where swords clashed, sparks flew; where shouts and battle raged, the rooftops trembled.

In an instant, the entire street was engulfed in flames, resembling a dragon. Smoke and flames filled the sky, turning half of Hogsmeade a blood-red hue.

While the fighting raged on one side, news had already spread to the Shrieking Shack. A group of Aurors burst into Scrimgeour's bedroom, urgently reporting, "Boss! Something's happened! Hogsmeade is under attack!"

Startled, Scrimgeour jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on his clothes, and shouted shirtless, "Sound the alarm! Are they Death Eaters or the Mughals?!"

"It's the Boxers!"

Upon hearing the name, Scrimgeour paused, his face contorting in shock, before roaring, "Harry Potter? Has he gone mad?!"

"To start a civil war at a time like this?!"

Kingsley stepped forward and handed over a letter with both hands. "Sir, this letter was delivered by an owl two minutes ago."

Scrimgeour took the letter; the cover was bare, without words, a number, or any heraldic markings. Upon opening it, he found the text inside was official; it was a petition demanding an audience.

The gist of the text is that the Ministry of Magic has failed its predecessors and disappointed the people. The Boxer Rebellion is seen as being in accordance with the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people.

Also known as Ludo Bagman, the Director of the Sports Department, he owes Harry thousands of Galleons, which he has failed to repay for years, despite repeated attempts to collect. His trip to the ministry is both official and personal, and therefore perfectly legitimate.

Finally, it was written that all Boxer soldiers wore yellow turbans, yellow cloths, and yellow robes. Those who shared the same cause only needed to wear a single yellow garment.

Scrimgeour glanced at the letter, crumpled it into a ball, slammed it to the ground, and roared, "This is blatant—rebellion!"

"He must have been bewitched!"

He muttered some excuses to himself, while urgently ordering his men to quickly muster troops to prepare for suppressing the rebellion.

Unexpectedly, all the Aurora plants in the room seemed to be rooted to the spot and did not move for a long time.

Scrimgeour frowned. "Is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this question, Tonks quickly stood on tiptoe and shouted, "Boss, why can't we join Harry's side?"

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"Our wages have been two months behind, and the Ministry of Magic isn't even willing to issue those cheap gold coins as a token gesture."

Scrimgeour's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Nymphadora Tonks, do you know what you're saying?!"

However, Tonks' words struck a chord with the Aurors. They felt as if they had received rain after a long drought, or met an old friend in a foreign land. Their stomachs burned with emotion, and their faces flushed purple with suppressed rage.

A moment later, an Auror stammered, "Boss, to be honest, I've always hoped that Harry could oust Fudge."

These words were like a fuse, instantly igniting everyone's interest. The room was flooded with chatter, like a dam bursting open.

They kept yelling and yelling.

"Harry isn't our boss, but he's never treated us badly. Just think about how Fudge has treated the Aurors all these years."

"Boss, you've been screwed over by Fudge so many times, why are you still working for him? I bet he doesn't remember a single good thing about you!"

"As you know, I have two children to support, and if it weren't for Mr. Potter's help these past few months, they would probably have starved to death long ago."

After everyone had spoken their minds, Tonks clicked his tongue in disbelief. What was going on? It turned out everyone had the opposite idea.

She turned to Scrimgeour and said earnestly, "Boss, we've shared our thoughts. What do you think?"

Scrimgeour's noodles twitched, his face nearly contorting into a bitter expression. His lips moved for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth.

"This is—a rebellion. And my duty is to quell it."

"Bring me my robe."

These words were as cold as the dead of winter, as hard as a thousand-year-old rock. The Ao Luos in the room listened, their expressions varying. Some sighed, some sneered, some lowered their eyes in silence, and some secretly clenched their fists.

Just as the stalemate was at hand, Kingsley gave Tonks a wink.

Tonks understood, stepped forward, took a long robe from his bosom, unfolded it, and draped it over Scrimgeour's shoulders.

"Alright, Mr. Scrinker, I'll do as you say."

Scrimgeour's face showed a hint of relief mixed with a touch of disappointment as he said, "You made the right choice. Why is Niphador's robe yellow?!"

In the crowd, Kingsley tapped his wand and cast a sticky spell, and the yellow robe seemed to grow whiskers. Scrimgeour pulled and tugged, but couldn't tear it off or peel it off, and was so anxious that he was covered in sweat.

Tonks then pulled out bolts of yellow cloth from his robes, threw them to the Aurors, and shouted, "If our leader doesn't want to take them off! We're joining the Boxers too!"

As if waking from a dream, the Aurors grabbed the yellow cloths one by one, some tying them to their arms, some to their foreheads, and some to their waists. They were in a flurry of activity, but everyone was in high spirits and cheered.

"I'll work for you, boss!"

"Kill those bastard demons first!"

"Boss, it's you too!"

Scrimgeour was sweating profusely, but the Aurors didn't give him a chance to explain. They swarmed forward and led him out.

Scrimgeour, unable to control his own body and with his feet barely touching the ground, cried out in anger and frustration, "You've really ruined me! You've really ruined me!"

"Me!"

Tonks, who was supporting his left arm, curled his lip upon hearing this and whispered, "Boss, you were holding a wand when you were tearing your clothes."

Scrimgeour's face twitched, but he didn't answer. He first pulled his hand away and called to Kingsley, instructing him, "Shackley, tell all the Aurors not to forget to tie yellow cloth around their bodies."

Seeing that Scrimgeour was determined to rebel, Kingsley felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders and said cheerfully, "Yes, sir."

"But what about the wizards brought by those sages? Should we go and summon them?"

Scrimgeour glanced at him. "Do you think they'd want to stand with Harry?"