Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

"Huh?" Anthony Goldstein came out from behind Wade and looked at them curiously: "What are you going out for?"

"Ah? This..." Michael laughed out loud after accidentally letting the cat out of the bag, and quickly said, "Of course I went out for a walk. The snow is so nice today!"

Anthony stared at him suspiciously and said, "You're not thinking of sneaking out of Hogsmeade during the weekend, are you? I tell you, it's best not to do that! Several students have already been caught by Filch."

"Ah?" Michael asked with amusement, "Who is so stupid?"

"A few first-year Gryffindors," said Anthony. "They thought it was cold today, so as long as they wore something thicker, they wouldn't be discovered by Filch!"

"Gryffindor... that's not surprising." Michael said seriously, "But I really didn't want to break the school rules. I just wanted to enjoy the snow scenery."

"Of course, of course, the snow scene for a few days is really fascinating!"

Suddenly, a voice whose tone seemed to be jumping suddenly interrupted their conversation. Michael and Anthony reflexively wanted to leave quickly, but someone had already stretched out his arm and pressed their shoulders.

"Let me see who this is... Michael and Anthony! Two of my favorite students!"

Lockhart smiled and embraced the two students, then looked to the side: "Oh, and Padma! Are you also worried that you won't be able to see me at Christmas?"

"Don't worry! Don't worry! Although I have to go to France to attend an important event during Christmas, I will definitely come back on time to teach you in January! I promise, dear students!"

The three of them smiled at the same time and said politely, "Good morning, professor."

"Yeah, hello, everyone." Lockhart nodded randomly, his eyes searching around, and finally saw the person he wanted to see: "Come here, Creevey! Take a picture of us!"

"Okay, professor." Colin Creevey, who always carried a camera with him, trotted over.

Michael and others showed expressions as if they wanted to run away. He wanted to find Wade for help, but found that the classmate disappeared without a trace.

"What a cunning guy, he must have cast an Ignore Spell on himself!" Michael said to Padma angrily.

Padma nodded randomly, but subconsciously showed a beautiful smile in front of the camera.

With a click, Colin took the photo.

"I'll print the photos and send them to you," Colin said. He then asked Lockhart, "Professor, can you take a photo with Harry Potter as well?"

"That's exactly what I was going to do!" Lockhart said happily, quickly releasing several of his "favorite" students just now, and with his sharp eyes, he accurately picked out Harry from the crowd.

"Come on, Harry, you must want a picture of me too, so you can look at it often during the holidays, right? Don't be shy, boy, you know I'll always indulge your little admiration!"

Lockhart grabbed Harry's arm and forced him to his side, smiling his much-praised smile.

Harry looked at Michael and the others desperately and accusingly, his eyes saying, "What the hell are you doing? Why are you taking pictures with Lockhart?"

Michael and others avoided his sight in shame.

Lockhart kept reminding Harry to strike a charming pose, but Harry had no interest in cooperating with him. Only Colin was excitedly clicking the camera.

Michael felt extremely sympathetic towards Harry, but then he suppressed his conscience and quietly pulled Padma, signaling that they should take the opportunity to slip away.

The two men squeezed out of the crowd, and suddenly, Michael stopped.

Draco Malfoy stood in the shadow of the corner with his arms folded across his chest, watching the excitement over there coldly.

It suddenly occurred to Michael that it seemed like it had been a long time since Malfoy had been so arrogant as to cause trouble for Harry.

Not only Harry, but even Neville was no longer bullied by him.

Ever since Crabbe and Goyle stopped following Malfoy like stony pillars, the presence of this Slytherin had suddenly decreased a lot.

Michael shook his head, not taking it seriously, and walked away along the stairs with Padma.

Soon after, Crabbe and Goyle also passed through the corridor.

Goyle was holding a few pieces of cake in his hands, eating the dessert with big mouthfuls, while Crabbe beside him imitated Malfoy's tone and lectured him -

"You should be smarter, Gregory!" Crabbe said unhappily, "It's because you're so stupid that Tracy and the others laughed at us..."

Goyle nodded dazedly, not listening to what he was saying.

Suddenly, a figure stood in front of them.

"Vincent, Gregory."

Malfoy looked at them both grimly.

"Ah, Draco." Goyle stopped, looked at Malfoy stupidly, walked towards him and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

Crabbe grabbed Goyle and said to Malfoy with a bad expression: "Don't think we will be your followers and listen to your orders, Draco! You and your father are just rich. I am much better than you!"

Malfoy looked at this stupid former companion and laughed at him.

"—better than me? Are you sure?"

He drawled, raising his wand.

A little further away, a senior Slytherin was leaning on the railing, watching the scene below with a smile.

……

The waves beat against the black rocks, and foam accumulated on the sea surface near the cliff, floating back and forth with the sea water.

The air was filled with a unique salty smell of the ocean. On the steep cliff, a red light suddenly flashed, and two figures appeared here.

"Oh, this is the place..."

Dumbledore looked around, his long beard and hair flying in the wind. He had to hold down his precious beard with his hands, which was tied with a golden red bow.

Vader also raised his hand to hold down his hood to prevent his hair from flying around in the wind and making him look like a madman.

The Phoenix's fire flashed again, and this time it was Lupin and Sirius who appeared on the cliff.

"Good morning, Dumbledore, Vader."

"Good morning." Dumbledore asked with concern, "Sirius, how are you recovering?"

"much better!"

Sirius showed off his wand and the arm that finally had some muscle on it.

"For me, movement is the best medicine! But Lupin always wants me to lie down in the ward at St. Mungo's!"

He complained to Dumbledore.

Lupin turned a deaf ear to him. He leaned over to look at the large rocks protruding from the sea, then looked at the deserted scene around him and asked, "Where is this?"

"It's outside of London," Wade said. "There's a small village nearby, but there are hardly any people."

Sirius looked a little solemn, the smell of the sea breeze reminded him of the days in Azkaban.

He tried hard to suppress the discomfort in his heart, took a deep breath, and asked: "Which village are we going to?"

"No." Vader pointed to the rocks below and said, "We have to go down there."

"Down there?" Sirius stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the steep rock wall and the bottomless sea below. "You can Apparate. I hope the rocks aren't too slippery."

Lupin held out his hand to Vader: "Let me take you, Vader."

"No, I'll take you."

Wade opened the backpack and tapped it with his wand. Several old brooms came out of it and whizzed towards the crowd.

These brooms were originally placed in the Room of Requirement, and Zoe and the others gave the best one to Wade.

For this trip, Wade had made various preparations in advance, including four flying brooms, so that everyone would not have to take the risk of Apparating to the rocks or climbing down the slippery rock walls.

Sirius quickly grabbed a broom and was the first to sit on it. Then he was hanging in the air and heard Vader say:

"Our destination should be nearby. It's a crack close to the sea surface. It's not too wide and might be submerged by sea water during high tide. There are steps and a large cave inside."

"So we need to find the crack first?" asked Lupin.

"Yes." Vader nodded.

As he spoke, he glanced at Dumbledore's expression, confirming that the old headmaster had not yet tracked down the cave where Voldemort had hidden his Horcruxes.

Sirius was a little surprised. On the one hand, it was because he found that the leader was actually Vader, even though Dumbledore was right next to him; on the other hand, it was also because of Vader's vague expression.

He knew there was such a place, but had never been there?

Who told him that?

Sirius thought naturally.

Seeing that Lupin and Dumbledore didn't ask anything, he suppressed his doubts, kicked off the battle, and swooped down the cliff on his broom.

Then came Vader, Lupin, and Dumbledore.

They were like four swift swifts, shuttling between the waves and the rocks.

The sunlight shines on the rock wall, and the smooth stone reflects the light like a mirror, sometimes hiding a shadow behind it.

Soon after, Vader and the others heard Lupin's voice: "--Here!"

He shouted loudly. When everyone looked over, a red beam of light emerged from the tip of his wand, pointed directly at the rock wall, and was swallowed by the dark crack.

Several people all flew over.

The crack was only about one meter wide, and from above it looked like a long, narrow black stone. The sea water slapped against the rough rocks on both sides, and some slimy algae hung on the stone walls.

The beam of light shone in and seemed to extend all the way to the deepest part of the cliff.

Vader hovered at the entrance of the cave, not knowing how Lupin had discovered it so quickly, and not knowing how much effort Dumbledore had spent in the original plot to determine that Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux here.

Unfortunately, in the end, everything was in vain.

The sound of the waves made no one want to talk. They lowered their brooms, leaned down, and flew slowly into the narrow crack, their shoulders and arms occasionally rubbing against the seaweed on the rock walls on both sides.

The further you go in, the wider the crack becomes, until a few rough stone steps appear in sight, and a huge cave ahead.

"Lumos!"

Sirius raised his wand high, and a dazzling light spread out, illuminating the entire cave.

"It seems like there's nothing." He muttered.

The sound waves bounced off the rock wall, and Sirius was startled to hear that his own voice was louder than expected.

Lupin was also observing the surrounding rocks, but found nothing, then he looked at the other two people.

Dumbledore's expression could be described as ecstatic. He seemed to have forgotten the people around him and was concentrating on examining the rock wall and the cave ceiling.

He also walked slowly around the cave twice, stroking the wall with his fingers, muttering spells in a strange language, and occasionally stopping to grope around in a certain place.

Obviously, Dumbledore was not like them, who had nothing to gain.