cycle

I woke up hungry, slowly waking up to realize that I was not in the soft and pleasant mattress of Gryffindor Tower, but on the hard table in Dad's office (Dad was never a person who bothered to make himself life has become more comfortable, he can't even find a sofa cushion in his office), the soreness in the neck and shoulders finally overwhelmed the loud protest of the stomach because I didn't eat dinner, and I remembered what happened before. I got up and knocked my knees to the corner of the cabinet beside me. The pain made me jump up and down several times before I recovered. While wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, I was trying to find out what non-toxic, harmless and barely edible foods were in my father’s medicine cabinet. As I was getting the materials, I heard the door lock click open behind me.

I immediately took out my wand and pointed at the quiet office door, but it sounded like no one was there.I cautiously moved to the door with small steps, and just as I reached out to touch the doorknob, it fell to the floor with a crisp sound, and then the door was cut into pieces by I don’t know how many spells it was. The building blocks that took away the core components collapsed, and I finally saw the dimly lit corridor and the flickering light of the torches on the walls.I didn't feel the slightest joy of regaining my freedom. On the contrary, the coolness remaining on my fingertips in the underground office quickly traveled from my limbs to my heart at that moment. Two possibilities, the first is that he dispelled the magic himself, the second...

I was running in the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, as if the only sound of my panicking footsteps was left in the huge castle. The sky outside the window was gradually turning white, and the morning sun could be vaguely seen from the distant mountains. Many dozing portraits were awakened by the sound of my running, but I had no time to pay attention to or hear their small mutterings—only the thunderous heartbeat was left in my ears, and I longed to meet them. To a living person, even Filch who announced that I must be locked up and whipped because I got out of bed in the early morning, and tell me what happened—

"Ouch!" I slammed into the almost headless Nick's pearly white body, as if I had been poured from head to toe by a basin of ice water, before I could make a sound, he yelled exaggeratedly, with his head attached The skin of his neck was dangling dangerously, and when he saw me clearly, he said in a reproachful tone: "Young man, why are you wandering in the corridors in the early morning? There seems to be no more in the Gryffindor hourglass." The ruby ​​can be deducted."

"Did you hear anything?" Nick wasn't alive, but I was glad I had someone to talk to, "Did you see my dad? Did something happen at school last night? Did you Did you see anyone else, I mean other Gryffindors? Harry, Hermione, Ron—"

"You didn't answer my question. Instead, you asked me so many questions. Even a beautiful and lovely lady needs to pay attention to her manners. Although I have been trying to be an approachable ghost, in a sense, I think I am also a ghost. A symbol of Gryffindor House.” Nick looked a little angry, but he still said, “Okay, I just came over from the school hospital and saw your father helping Madam Pomfrey take care of the injured students, saying To be honest, you guys never let adults worry—hey, I haven't finished yet!"

"I'll find time to make a good apology to you!" I hurriedly dropped the words and turned and ran to the hospital hospital (Nearly Headless Mr. Nick until I went back to Hogwarts with my husband who was invited to the war memorial last year) I was still thinking that I kept forgetting to apologize to him, and I would like to express my sincere apologies), just when I arrived at the gate of the school hospital, I heard Harry's screams.

"Can't you even bear this level of pain?" I heard my father's contemptuous voice, "Although I'm not surprised."

Dad whispered a few more spells afterward, but I heard nothing from Harry again.Madam Pomfrey shuttled between the beds with the curtains drawn down, carrying cups filled with steam of various colors. It seemed that there were people sleeping on the entire two rows of beds. She only took one look at me and then turned away. go.I saw Hermione sleeping on the bed closest to the door, her hands hanging limply on the edge of the bed, only a slight rise and fall of her chest could prove that she was still alive; Ron's voice came from the other side of the bed curtain. Silly laughter, he seemed to be chanting something deliriously; Madam Pomfrey poured a small bowl of liquid emitting light yellow smoke into Luna's mouth, her eyelashes trembled a few times and slowly opened her eyes, After seeing me, he smiled blankly at me; before I could go further inside, Dad came out, he threw a piece of blood-stained paper aside in disgust, and said a disappearing spell, Madam Pomfrey I hurried over and pointed to Hermione's bed and said a few words to him. Dad nodded and accepted a piece of parchment, then looked at me.

I would like to ask how everyone is doing, have they gone to the Ministry of Magic, have members of the Order of the Phoenix also gone to the Ministry of Magic, and will your lord be injured more seriously?But Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips tightly. I had a premonition that anyone who dared to disturb her at this moment would be chased away immediately. I wanted to see some clues from Dad's expression, but he only said to me: " You should go back to bed."

Even so, he didn't drive me away and hurriedly disappeared in front of the school hospital.

"Alice?" When I lifted the curtain of the bed closest to the window, Harry was still using the wet towel that Madam Pomfrey handed him to wipe the blood here and there, some of which had already stuck to his cheeks. It clotted into blood clots, and some flowed down his chin and into his neck.In the absence of a mirror, his clean-up left even more blood on his face, including his shattered glasses.

"Give it to me." I sat on the edge of his bed and pulled his towel away. It looked like most of the blood clots on his face came from his nose, which was still a bit swollen, and the few scratches on his forehead had stopped bleeding, Madam Pomfrey can heal such small scratches in the blink of an eye, and I think she is too busy, "Where are Tallus and Neville? I asked Ginny to inform you, but it seems—"

"They're all fine, Hermione is the worst wounded, but Madam Pomfrey said it wasn't enough to go to St. Mungo's because she put a silent spell on the Death Eater who attacked her. Tallus' leg was Madam Pomfrey returned to Gryffindor Tower after being cured, there are too many people who need beds here, and Neville should still be with Professor Dumbledore." When I wiped the clotted blood on Harry's eyelids with a handkerchief, he With his eyes closed, his voice was much hoarse than usual, as if he had yelled hysterically not long ago.

"Professor Dumbledore is back too?" I finally heard some happy news, but Harry's expression was too heavy, and I noticed that his clenched fist was shaking slightly.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" The familiar palpitations made me feel breathless again, "Someone we know—"

"Mr. Longbottom is dead." Harry was silent for a long time before saying this. He took off his glasses that I had just repaired and wiped his eyes. He didn't look up at me, but stared at his palms. He murmured, "He...would be fine. If we hadn't fallen into a trap, if we had trusted the adults a little more...it wouldn't have happened."

I unconsciously squeezed the towel as the heat gradually dissipated, and found that everything seemed pale.Madam Pomfrey seemed to be saying something to Ron, but Ron still let out a hehe laugh without hesitation. I didn't need Harry to describe the tragic danger they faced, and just when they encountered this All the time I was locked in my father's absolutely safe office, and I even took the time to browse through my father's memories.

"What Neville saw...was just a trap." Although I didn't ask, Harry started talking on his own, "We went into the Department of Mysteries and found the one in his dream that was full of shelves and glass balls." room, found a prophecy ball with his name on it - that's what the Death Eaters called the ball, they suddenly appeared and surrounded us after Neville took it, it seems that this is what You-Know-Who always wanted something to get."

"But if it's just a trap, the mysterious man didn't capture Mr. Longbottom, right?" I was confused, and Harry buried his head in his palm in pain after hearing my question.

"The members of the Order of the Phoenix got the news, it should be your dad who informed them, so they split into two parts, one went to St. Mungo to see if the Longbottoms were still there, and the other went directly to the Department of Mysteries - my dad found the Longbottoms When I was still in St. Mungo's, I realized what was going on all at once, and started to use Patronus or other methods to contact other people in the Department of Mysteries, and planned to go to the Ministry of Magic to help. During this period, Mr. Longbottom may... …heard that Neville was in danger, and caught Tonks in one fell swoop as she Apparated."

"It was very chaotic at the time. We were besieged by a group of Death Eaters. My father asked me to quickly gather other people and leave the rest to them. At that time, only Neville and I were not seriously injured. I think Neville is about to lose his strength. , let him quickly throw the prophecy ball to me... But the stone steps under my feet were suddenly blasted by Lucius Malfoy, I rolled down the steps without grabbing the ball, and it shattered in front of me .”

"Just... broken?" I asked blankly. "there is none left?"

"No, I just saw a white shadow rising up. I didn't hear anything. There were screams and explosions everywhere." Harry also answered me in a daze, "Until your mother pulled me up and I didn't hear anything." I didn't even think about what it meant when it was broken, I only heard her shouting at me like my father, telling me to take Hermione and the others away quickly."

"Mr. Longbottom... I think Tonks is too worried about the situation in the Department of Mysteries. We made a lot of noise. She thought Mr. Longbottom had no ability to act, so she rushed over to help. If it wasn't for her Even if it blows up Dolohov... Hermione is likely to be dead, but Mr. Longbottom actually groped to where we were, probably because he heard Neville's voice. Bellatrix heard the prophecy After the ball shattered, she went crazy, and she used the Cruciatus Curse on Neville to make him admit that he was lying... Seeing this scene, Mr. Longbottom went crazy. He rushed over and roared to protect Neville. Bellatrix's spell hit and he didn't even have a wand... We watched him fall into a veil."

"Drapery?" I asked blankly.

"I was stopped by... Sirius, Neville was hugged by my dad, he almost broke free from my dad, and Lupine went to grab him to keep him from breaking free, and we yelled at them Leave us alone and go get Mr Longbottom, but they say...all say...Mr Longbottom is dead."

I can't speak, I can only feel the tears welling up in my eyes, thinking of those sugar wrappers that Neville showed us at Christmas, he said that the therapist in St. Mungo's told him that the Longbottoms no longer recognized Who he is now, but he believes that Mom and Dad must know that their son is visiting them, they just can't tell.

He was right, Mr. Longbottom remembered him, and even though his body was bruised and bruised by the Cruciatus Curse, he still remembered the love for his son that made him arrest him for a word about him. Grab Tonks' wrist, let him follow his son's voice to grope through the rows of shelves full of glass balls, let him fly out with his bare hands and let out a roar that belongs to a father whose sanity has long been incomplete, But love is not incomplete.

"In the end Neville managed to break free from my dad because Bellatrix ran away, and she wanted to run as soon as she saw Dumbledore, and Neville chased after her. I was stopped by several people, and they were right... We have caused too much trouble, your mother took me all the way to find other people, she was going to take us to her office first, but there was an explosion in the main hall-the mysterious person came, she asked me Make sure you don't run around again, and turn around to help."

"Amelia sent us to the gate of Hogwarts, Snape—Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey were waiting for us there, he told me that Neville was at Professor Dumbledore's, and I also Don't know how he's doing now... I guess whether he's injured or not is... terrible."

Suddenly there was the sound of an owl knocking on the window, and I realized that the sky was already fully lit, and the sun was shining brightly outside the window. Students who had already finished breakfast in twos and threes began to go outside to enjoy the rare leisure time after the exam.This kind of leisurely time existed in our fantasy just ten hours ago, but it suddenly became misty and ridiculous after more than ten hours. This kind of golden sunshine makes people feel unreal—why is it so After the tragic things happen, can there still be such beautiful things in this world?

Madam Pomfrey opened the window and let the owl fly in. It stopped at the head of Hermione's bed and tilted its head to look for a while, then stretched out its leg to me and motioned for me to take it instead.This is the Daily Prophet she subscribed to. The headline on the front page reads that the lead singer of the Goblin Band announced that she will close the microphone, and the last album has been looted by fans.

"What happened to the Ministry of Magic, is Fudge still going to pretend that nothing happened?" I glanced at the distraught expressions of fanatic fans in interviews, and I actually felt a little funny, "Or is he planning to use magic? Did the sudden explosion of the Ministry clear out all the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Fudge saw Voldemort." Neville startled me by speaking suddenly from outside the curtain of the bed.Because there is still anger in his eyes that has not been completely burnt out, that kind of light conceals the exhaustion he experienced overnight, but overall he is much calmer than I imagined. He said to Harry: "Dumbledore Said he wanted you to come to his office too."

"Oh, okay." Harry took the towel in my hand and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes carelessly, "Let's go."

"I hope you'll have some breakfast in the Great Hall, too." Madam Pomfrey said to me as I sat down on Hermione's bedside to help her brush her dusty hair after they had left, "You don't look too good. Well, I don't want another patient who needs night care, go!"

"The man who can't even mention his name is back." It was not until Sunday that the "Daily Prophet" published Fudge's special statement on Friday. Hermione, who had woken up, sat on the bed and read it word by word. We heard that she is still not fully recovered because of Dolokhov's spell. She had to stop and touch her ribs after reading a few words. Ron took the newspaper from her and continued reading. The "traces left by the brain" are still shocking.

"In a brief statement on Friday night, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, confirmed that the man who must not even be named has returned to the country and is operating again." Ron curled his lips as he read, "We have almost the same Regretful mood to report that there was a collective riot among the dementors in Azkaban. Mr. James Potter, the director of the Auror Office who has resumed his original post, said that the Auror Office has begun to hunt down fugitives. The important personnel changes of the Ministry of Magic are transferred to the third edition ——The report of the mysterious man and his followers breaking into the Ministry of Magic on Thursday night was transferred to the fourth page—shocking! The list of Death Eaters who were arrested and imprisoned recently, people you would never think of turned to the fifth page...Lu Xiu What is unimaginable about Malfoy? This newspaper has not yet contacted Albus Dumbledore. He has resumed all his positions as the head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the International Federation of Wizards, and the Wizengamot. He's been insisting for the past year that You-Know-Who is back, and he and the voice of 'The Boy Who Lived'—"

"Finally 'The Boy Who Lived' again?" sneered Talus, sitting at the end of Ron's bed. "They changed their tune really fast."

"Yeah, it looks like they're going to fill in all the compliments they've been missing for the past year, and mention Harry in passing - and it's not 'teenage boy with all his heart' after all," Ron snapped annoyed. Clapping the newspaper in his hand, "I really don't miss it, it's disgusting, what's the 'lonely and incomprehensible persistence', and 'forced to endure insult and slander'... Aren't they the ones who slandered the most?"

"It seems that they don't have to worry about writing anything for at least half a month, and it seems that they have reprinted the exclusive interview with Neville and Harry in The Quibbler." I looked at the remaining pages of the newspaper, "It seems that they have decided to put The spearhead is aimed at Fudge, and speculation has already begun on the possible candidate for the Minister of Magic after he steps down... The No. 1 public opinion is your father, Harry."

"My dad sold them that interview, a lot of money, so we can go on a summer adventure in Sweden." Luna said vaguely, she was watching the latest issue of "The Quibbler", Neville sat On the stool next to her bed, although he seems to have been listening to us, we all know what he is thinking about himself.

I opened the stool to take a tray of potions from Madam Pomfrey—Hermione is now taking at least a dozen kinds of medicines every day, which made her miserable, and the sound of pulling the stool away disturbed the sleeping woman on the opposite side. Umbridge, she poked her bare head out and looked around in panic. I heard Harry later that she was attacked by the centaur in the Forbidden Forest because of her arrogance, and the centaur not only stomped on her wand. After two quarters, she was dragged into the depths of the Forbidden Forest until Dumbledore single-handedly rescued her.

"I hope the first thing your dad does when he comes to power—or whoever comes to power, is to fire her." Ron looked at the disgusted expression on the dazed Umbridge, folded the newspaper and told Harry explain.

"It's not certain that Fudge will step down." Harry said calmly, "Even if he steps down, there are still many candidates. Even if it really falls on Dad...he may not be willing, and Mom will definitely be the first to be unwilling." , at a time like this—speaking of the centaurs, will Firenze stay and teach divination classes in the future?"

He changed the subject abruptly, but everyone could see that he didn't want to continue the topic of the Minister of Magic, so Tallus laughed along with him: "It's as if you still plan to take divination in the sixth grade, then Isn't the class just rubbish?"

"How can you say that?" asked Hermione. "Didn't we just find out that there were real prophecies?"

There was a moment of silence, I'm sure Harry and Neville exchanged glances, both of them had been quieter than usual since they'd been in Dumbledore's office that day - Neville hadn't been very active, Harry more so.

"But it broke." Ron said carelessly. "No one knows what it's about, and You-Know-Who won't know anyway."

"Yeah," Harry agreed absently, looking away quickly when he caught me looking at him.

"I want to go for a walk," Luna said happily after a while of silence. "I just wanted to lose a coat. After they cleared up those education orders, there is finally a place to post notices on the notice board!"

"I'll go with you." Neville stood up. "Uh, I also have something... I want to find it."

In fact, he didn't need to make these excuses, and he didn't need to pretend that nothing happened. In Neville's later words, he longed for someone to accompany him at that time, and felt that it might be more suitable for him to sort out his emotions alone. The few of us The overly tacit understanding between "do not take the initiative to mention, do not specifically express grief" actually made him feel a little uncomfortable. Instead, Luna who thought of what to say made him feel a kind of relaxation. Those magical, illogical and trance words gave him He was a great comfort.She made him believe that his father just lived in a different way in this world, because he could hear the voices of his father and grandma whispering on the other side of the veil.

"I also want to go to Hagrid's place. He's worried about you. Madam Pomfrey thinks it will be too crowded for him...I'll go and tell him that you're all recovering well." Harry also stood up.

"I'll go too." Tallus stood up happily.

"Say hello to his little friends for us!" Hermione waved at them with one hand on her ribs, "Tell Hagrid that we'll visit him when we recover!"

Harry didn't look back, he waved his hand to show that he heard, I tried to use the comb to help Hermione, who couldn't raise her hand, to comb her tousled curly hair, she took a few chocolate frogs that Ron threw us, Weasley The twins have been sending him snacks by owl for the past few days, and now his bedside has been piled up with an assortment of packaging bags.

"Everything is going to change again, right?" Hermione looked at Harry and Neville's backs and shook her head. "The two of them have something to hide from us."

"And what's permanent?" I whispered. "I'm getting used to it."