Hogwarts in the shadows

PS: My family members, please don’t read this chapter for now, it will be revised.

Hephis devoured Voldemort's soul fragments and obtained his memories accordingly, or rather, merged his memories.

Voldemort's memory is very fragmented, but his memory of the Horcruxes is very clear.

The Golden Cup was the fifth Horcrux created by Voldemort.

Marvolo's ring, Riddle's diary, Ravenclaw's diadem, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup.

These four were Horcruxes created by Voldemort before.

The diary had been destroyed by Hephes.

The ring is in the ruins of Gaunt's old house, and the locket is on the cliff behind the orphanage.

Both of these Hephis have spoken to Dumbledore.

I just don't know if Dumbledore got it.

But that ring is indeed interesting.

The unremarkable stone on the ring turned out to be the Resurrection Stone, one of the Three Deathly Hallows.

Although Hephaestus doesn't care too much about the Three Deathly Hallows, he can still collect them if he can.

After all, Gellert also said that by collecting the Three Deathly Hallows one can defeat death.

He also wanted to see if the Three Deathly Hallows had such a powerful function.

The diadem has always been at Hogwarts.

And it was in a place he was particularly familiar with, that is, the Room of Requirement.

It was left behind when Voldemort returned to Hogwarts for the last time and wanted to apply for the position of professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Hephis counted, except for the Sword of Gryffindor.

The belongings of the other three founders were all destroyed by Voldemort.

The locket and the golden cup were both Voldemort's, after graduating from Hogwarts and working at Borgin and Burke's.

He came into contact with Mrs. Hepzibah Smith.

Then he used his beauty to seduce her and got the two items.

After sorting out Voldemort's memories, Hephis actually felt some sympathy for him.

When Voldemort applied to be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, he actually just wanted the young wizards to learn some knowledge.

But after being rejected by Dumbledore, his thinking changed completely.

Voldemort felt that the world was deformed.

The wizard obviously possesses such powerful strength, but he has been living in this world. He must change first.

He wants to change the situation in the wizarding world by educating the next generation.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore stopped him.

That's why Voldemort finally decided to rule the wizards first and then conquer the Muggles.

For some reason, Hephis felt a little sympathetic towards Voldemort.

Although Voldemort embarked on a path of no return because of dark magic.

But in his heart, he has always wanted to ensure the survival of wizards.

It's just that the method he chose in the end was wrong.

"… the Muggles who lived nearby heard the banging and the shouting, and they went to call the - what did you call them - the Ginchers. Arthur, you have to go -"

"Here you go!" gasped Mrs. Weasley, thrusting a sheet of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a crumpled quill into Mr. Weasley's hands.

"—I'm glad I heard about it," said Mr. Diggory's head. "I had to be at the office very early because I had to send two owls with a letter, and I found that the Improper Use of Magic Office was out—if Rita Skeeter had made a big fuss about it, Arthur—"

"What did Mad-Eye say happened?" said Mr. Weasley, unscrewing the cap on his ink bottle and filling his quill with ink, ready to record.

Mr. Diggory rolled his head. "He said he heard someone break into his yard. Said he was creeping toward the house but was ambushed by his dustbin."

"What did the dustbin do?" asked Mr. Weasley, writing down his notes in a frenzy.

"There was a terrible bang and it blew the rubbish everywhere, that's all I know," said Mr. Diggory. "Apparently one of the dustbins was still spewing rubbish when the Ginch got up—"

Mr. Weasley groaned. "Where's the man who broke into the yard?"

"You know Mad-Eye, Arthur," said Mr. Diggory, rolling his eyes again. "Who would sneak into his yard in the middle of the night? Perhaps a stray cat that had been defeated outside and was wandering around aimlessly with potato peels hanging from its body. But if the Improper Use of Magic Office caught Mad-Eye, he would be in trouble - think of his criminal record - if the crime is minor and your department is handling it, we should let him go - what is the punishment for making a dustbin explode?"

"He'll probably be warned," said Mr. Weasley, still taking notes rapidly, his brow furrowed. "Mad-Eye didn't use his wand? He didn't actually attack anyone?"

"I'm sure he jumped out of bed and looked out of the window and took whatever he saw," said Mr. Diggory, "but they can hardly prove it because there was no one killed."

"Okay, I'll be off now," said Mr. Weasley, stuffing the parchment with the records into his mouth, turning around and rushing out of the kitchen again.

Mr. Diggory turned and looked at Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm so sorry, Molly," he said, in a calmer tone, "to bother you so early in the morning... but only Arthur could have excused Mad-Eye and saved him from punishment, and he was to start his new job today. I don't understand why he chose last night..."

"Oh, never mind, Amos," said Mrs. Weasley. "Would you like a piece of bread or something before you go?"

"Oh, all right," said Mr Diggory.

Mrs. Weasley took a piece of bread and butter from the pile on the dining table, picked it up with the tongs, and put it into Mr. Diggory's mouth.

"Thank you." He said vaguely, and then there was a slight "puff" sound and he disappeared.

Harry could hear Mr. Weasley shouting a hasty farewell to Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the two girls, and five minutes later he was back in the kitchen, running a comb through his hair, his robes straightened out.

"I have to go quickly - I wish you all the best this term, children." Mr. Weasley said to Harry, Ron and the twins, as he threw a cloak over his shoulders and prepared to Apparate. "Molly, will you have any problem taking the children to King's Cross Station?"

"Of course," she said, "You take care of Mad-Eye, and we'll be fine."

As soon as Mr. Weasley disappeared, Bill and Charlie walked into the kitchen.

"Anyone mentioned Mad-Eye?" Bill asked. "What's he done?"

"He said someone tried to break into his house last night," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Mad-Eye Moody?" mused George, spreading marmalade on his toast. "That lunatic—"

"Your father thought highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Yeah, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" Fred whispered, after Mrs. Weasley had left the room. "They're the same kind of people..."

"Moody was a great wizard back then," Bill said.

"He's not an old friend of Dumbledore's, is he?" said Charlie.

"Dumbledore isn't what you'd call a normal guy, is he?" said Fred. "I mean, I know he's a genius, he's amazing..."

"Who's Mad-Eye?" asked Harry.

"He's retired now. He used to work for the Ministry of Magic," Charlie said. "I met him once. Dad took me there when he worked with him. He was an Auror - the best one... an expert at catching Dark wizards." He saw the confusion on Harry's face and continued, "Half of the cells in Azkaban were filled with him. But he also made a lot of enemies for himself... mainly the relatives of those he caught... I heard that as he got older, he became more and more suspicious and didn't believe in anything. He saw Dark wizards everywhere he went."

Bill and Charlie decided to see everyone off at King's Cross Station, but Percy apologized repeatedly, saying that he was too busy to go.

"I have no reason to ask for leave at this time," he told them. "Mr. Crouch is beginning to count on me for many things."

"Yeah, you know, Percy?" said George seriously, "I guess he'll know your name pretty soon."

Mrs. Weasley mustered up her courage, used the phone at the village post office, and ordered three ordinary Muggle taxis to take them to London.

"Arthur wanted to borrow the Ministry's car to take us," Mrs. Weasley whispered to Harry as they stood in the rain-spattered yard, watching the taxi driver load six heavy Hogwarts trunks into his cab, "but the Ministry's car couldn't be free... Oh, dear, they don't look too happy, do they?"

Harry hadn't told Mrs. Weasley that Muggle taxi drivers rarely transported frantic owls, and that the piglets were making a deafening racket, not to mention the sudden opening of Fred's trunk and the unexpected explosion of many of Dr. Filibuster's self-igniting, water-blooming magical fireworks, which frightened the driver who was carrying the trunk and added some pain to his shout as Crookshanks climbed up the man's legs with his sharp claws.

The ride was uncomfortable, as they were all squeezed in the back of the cab with all the boxes. Crookshanks had a fright from the fireworks, and it took him a long time to recover. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were badly scratched as the cab drove into London. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they got off at King's Cross Station, even though the rain was pouring down harder than before. They were soaking wet as they carried their boxes through the busy streets and into the station.

By now, Harry was used to getting onto Platform 9. It was easy, just walk straight through the seemingly solid wall that separated Platforms 9 and 10. The only thing to be careful about was to do it inconspicuously so as not to attract the attention of the Muggles. They went there in groups today. First came Harry, Ron and Hermione (they were the most conspicuous because they were with the owl, Piglet and Crookshanks). They leaned leisurely against the dividing wall, chatting casually, and then slid sideways through the wall... As soon as they got through, Platform 9 and 3/4 appeared in front of them.

The Hogwarts Express was already there. It was a crimson steam locomotive that was spewing thick smoke. Through the smoke, the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform looked like dark ghosts. The piglet heard the hooting of many owls in the smoke and squeaked in response, making it even louder than before. Harry, Ron and Hermione began to look for seats, and soon they moved their luggage into a compartment on the train. Then they jumped back onto the platform and said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie.

"Maybe I'll see you all soon," Charlie said with a smile as he hugged Ginny and said goodbye.

"Why?" Fred asked eagerly.

"You'll find out," Charlie said, "Don't tell Percy I mentioned this... You know, this is 'top secret information, and it will not be released until the Ministry of Magic sees fit'."

"Oh, I really hope I can go back to Hogwarts this year," said Bill, with his hands in his pockets, looking at the train with a sad look on his face.

"Why?" George asked impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," Bill said, his eyes twinkling. "I might take some time off to watch some of it..."

"Part of what?" asked Ron.

But just then the whistle blew and Mrs. Weasley rushed them towards the car door.

"Thank you for letting us stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, leaning out of the window to speak to Mrs. Weasley once they were on the train and the doors were shut.

"Yes, thank you for everything you do for me, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Oh, I'd love to, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'd like to invite you to Christmas, but ... I suppose you'd all prefer to stay at Hogwarts for ... one reason or another."

"Mum!" Ron said irritably, "What on earth is going on that you three know about it and you're hiding it from us?"

"I reckon you'll find out tonight," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling. "It's going to be very exciting - and I tell you, I'm so glad they've changed the statutes -"

"What rules?" Harry, Ron, Fred and George asked at the same time.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you... Now, behave yourself, you know? Do you hear me, Fred? And you, George?"

The engine's pistons hissed loudly and the train started moving.

"Tell us what's going on at Hogwarts!" Fred shouted out the window - Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie were speeding away. "What bylaws have they changed?"

But Mrs. Weasley just smiled and waved, and before the train turned the corner she, Bill and Charlie Disapparated away.

Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to their compartment, the heavy rain pattering against the glass windows, making it difficult for them to see clearly outside. Ron opened his trunk, pulled out his purple dress robe, and covered the piglet's cage with it, its squealing was too noisy.

"Bagman was willing to tell us what happened at Hogwarts," he said glumly, sitting down beside Harry. "At the World Cup, remember? And my own mother wouldn't tell us. I don't know -"

"Hush!" Hermione whispered suddenly, putting a finger to her lips and pointing to the compartment next to them. Harry and Ron listened carefully and heard a familiar drawl floating in through the open door.

"…You know, my father really considered sending me to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts. He knew the headmaster of that school. Well, you know what he thinks of Dumbledore—that man likes Mudbloods too much—and Durmstrang doesn't allow those low-class people to enroll. But my mother didn't want me to go to school so far away. My father said that Durmstrang's attitude towards the Dark Arts is much more reasonable than Hogwarts. The students at Durmstrang really study the Dark Arts, unlike us, who learn some crappy Defense…"