94 Diagon Alley

It's been discussed so many times, but Harry is still optimistic that the victory of the weapon will bring more breakthroughs. Hermione's gloom couldn't spoil his cheerful mood: the sudden turn of luck, the appearance of the mysterious doe, the recovery of the Gryffindor sword, and most importantly, the return of Ron, made Harry so happy it was hard to keep A serious face.

As dusk approached, he and Ron fled from the fierce Hermione again, and continued to exchange news while pretending to search for a non-existent blackberry under a bare hedge. Harry had finally finished telling Ron the story of his wanderings with Hermione, including the whole story of the Godric's Hollow distress; Ron was reporting to Harry all the news he had learned in the wizarding world over the past few weeks.

"...how did you find that taboo?" Ron asked Harry, after telling many stories of Muggle-born wizards fleeing the Ministry of Magic.

"That what?"

"You and Hermione don't say You-Know-Who's name?"

"Oh, yeah. It's just a bad habit we unknowingly get into," Harry said, "but I'm not afraid to call him fu-"

"Don't talk!" Ron yelled, making Harry jump into the hedge, Hermione frowning at them (she was reading a book in front of the tent). "Sorry," Ron dragged Harry out of the thorns, "but that name is under a spell, Harry, that's how they're stalking! Just saying his name breaks the protective magic, causing something Magical interference - that's how we were discovered on Tenghan Palace Road!"

"Because of his name?"

"Exactly, you have to admit that their trick is enough, and it makes sense, only people who really want to resist him, like Dumbledore, dare to say his name. Now they There's a taboo on the name, and anyone who says it will be stalked—so it's quick and easy to hunt down members of the Order of the Phoenix! They almost got Kingsley—"

"No way?"

"Really, a bunch of Death Eaters blocked him, Bill said, but he made his way out and is on the run, like us." Ron said thoughtfully. The tip of the wand scratched his chin. "Do you think that deer might have been sent by Kingsley?"

"His patron saint is the lynx, we met at the wedding, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

They walked along the hedge and left the tent and Hermione.

"Harry...do you think it would be Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore what?"

Ron seemed embarrassed and whispered, "Dumbledore...that deer? I mean," Ron glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, "he was the last to keep the real sword Yes, isn't it?"

Harry didn't laugh at Ron, he knew too well the longing behind the question: Dumbledore was finally back, Dumbledore was watching them, and there was an indescribable consolation in the fantasy. He shook his head.

"Dumbledore is dead," he said. "I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the body. He must be gone. Besides, his patron saint is a phoenix, not a deer."

"But Patronus changes, doesn't it?" said Ron, "Tonks changes, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but if Dumbledore was resurrected, why didn't he show up? Why didn't he just give us the sword?"

"I don't know," said Ron, "probably the same as why he didn't give it to you when he was alive, why he left you the old snitch, and a children's storybook for Hermione, Does it make sense?"

"What's the point?" Harry turned to stare at Ron's face, eager to hear the answer.

"I don't know," Ron said. "Sometimes, when I'm a little stuck, I think he's making us laugh or—or just making it harder for us. But I don't now. Thinking so. It made sense for him to give me the deluminator, didn't he? He—hmm," Ron's ears were red, and he kicked the tuft of grass beside his feet intently with his toes, "he must have known I was leaving you."

"No," Harry corrected him, "he must know you've always wanted to come back."

Ron seemed grateful, but still a little embarrassed. Also to change the subject, "By the way... I also got this." He rummaged through his huge backpack again, and took out a crumpled card. "It's not easy to get a chocolate frog these days, Bill got it from Gwen - she's helping out at the Hog's Head now, and Bill says she's got a lot of doors. Look, I took a whole dozen to get him."

Harry looked over, and the picture showed a man's face, wearing a pair of half-moon glasses, with a long crooked nose, silver hair and a drooping beard. Although for some time he had held some grudge against Dumbledore, about his boyhood and so-called "Life and Lies". But when he saw the familiar face, he had to admit that he was inspired and relieved.

"But how does it help?" Harry asked.

"I thought about it." Ron pulled Harry towards the tent, "Remember? Dumbledore said that as long as he didn't remove him from the Chocolate Frog's card, He doesn't care what they do."

"We all know he's an old man with a sweet tooth," said Harry.

"But we also know now that everything he left has meaning," said Ron. "I thought, if we can't talk to Dumbledore's portrait, why not try the Chocolate Frog What about the picture?"

Hermione, who was reading at the entrance of the tent, also came over after hearing this. She still didn't speak to Ron, but took the card from his hand and frowned for a while.

"He can't talk, can he?" Hermione asked, knowing that no one knows more about Chocolate Frogs than Ron Weasley.

"No," said Ron, "but he can move."

Hermione thought for a while, holding her chin, trotted into the tent, Harry and Ron hurriedly followed. I saw Hermione put the picture of Dumbledore on the bed, raised Gryffindor's sword and asked, "Professor, is this sword real?"

Harry and Ron flanked the picture, watching him intently.

Dumbledore looked at the sword in Hermione's hand through the half-moon glasses, smiled slightly, and nodded almost invisible to the naked eye.

Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest.

"Should we use it to destroy the Horcrux?"

Dumbledore tilted his head, turned in Harry's direction, and nodded slightly.

Ron and Hermione couldn't control their excitement, they wanted to hug each other, but at the last moment they stopped awkwardly.

Dumbledore in the picture seemed to think the picture in front of him was a little funny, and his beard moved.

"Professor." Harry knelt in front of the bed and shouted anxiously, "Can you tell me where the other Horcruxes are?"

It is disappointing that the great wizard did not give them the answer they wanted this time. Dumbledore just looked at Harry lovingly, then turned away, leaving behind the black card.

"The picture can't speak." Hermione helped the lost Harry, "Maybe next time we have clues about the Horcrux we can ask him. At least he can nod and shake his head."

If Ron's backpack full of cans could not extinguish Hermione's anger, this accidental "communication" with Dumbledore finally made her feel better. When Ron smiled tentatively at Hermione this time, she didn't walk away, just lowered her eyes and pretended not to see.

As night fell, the three returned to the tent together, with Harry on the first shift. He sat at the entrance of the tent, trying to use his sloe wand to raise the little rocks at his feet, but the magic still didn't seem as smooth and powerful as before. Hermione was lying on the bed reading a book, and after giving her a lot of unease, Ron took out a small wooden radio from his backpack and started to tune the station.

"There's a show," he whispered to Harry, "it's real news. The other stations have sided with You-Know-Who and followed the Ministry of Magic's line, but this one... you heard You know, it's amazing. It's just that they can't broadcast every night, they are afraid of being raided, they have to change places often, and you have to know the password to receive... The problem is, I didn't listen to it last time..."

He tapped the top of the radio with his wand, whispered the words he came up with, and glanced furtively at Hermione, obviously afraid of her having a seizure, but Hermione just thought he wasn't there at all. For about ten minutes, Ron knocked and read, Hermione turned the pages, and Harry continued to practice magic with his sloe wand.

Finally, Hermione crawled off her bed and Ron stopped knocking immediately.

"If it bothers you, I'll stop," he said nervously.

Hermione did not deign to answer, but walked towards Harry.

"We need to talk," said Hermione.

He looked at the book still in her hand, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.

"What to talk about?" he asked worriedly, quickly remembering that there was a chapter in the book about him, wondering if he would have the courage to listen to Rita's description of his relationship with Dumbledore . Hermione's answer was completely unexpected.

"I want to meet Xenophilius Lovegood."

Harry glared at her. "what?"

"Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father, I want to talk to him."

"Er—why?"

Hermione took a deep breath, seemed to muster up her courage, and said, "It's the mark, the mark in "The Poet's Story", look here!"

She shoved The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore under Harry's reluctant eyes. He saw a photo of Dumbledore's letter to Grindelwald, in the familiar slender italicized letters of Dumbledore. He really didn't want to see that Dumbledore actually wrote those words, not Rita's coined words.

"Signature," said Hermione, "look at the signature