The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

London, an unknown street.

In early spring, the air still had a chill.

The news that the Dark Lord had captured the Ministry of Magic had spread throughout the wizarding world. Although mainstream newspapers had not reported it in detail, Scrimgeour had repeatedly published soothing messages in the Daily Prophet, and the whole of Britain was still in turmoil.

As the long-standing center of wizard politics, London, where the Ministry of Magic is located, became deserted for a while. Some moved away, some moved away, and even Diagon Alley, which is also located in London, became much quieter. Even if they were not targeted by the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters, they were worried that they would be too close and killed by the Killing Curse.

Half-blood or Muggle-born wizard residents were full of panic, pure-blood wizards were uneasy, and families associated with the Death Eaters were undecided. Rumors were spreading that Scrimgeour was ready to lead the Aurors to launch a counterattack, and black market rumors said that Voldemort wanted to expand his rule. There were all kinds of outrageous news.

The whole of London has been shrouded in heavy dark clouds, and the wind is surging.

There are probably hundreds of streets in London, and no one can remember all their names, not to mention that there are duplicates. The city has 25 Albert Streets, 25 Victoria Streets, 37 King Streets, 27 Queen Streets, 22 Prince Streets, 17 Duke Streets... In addition, there are 64 Charles Streets, 37 Edward Streets, 47 James Streets, 36 Henry Streets...

Among them is a street that is not so prosperous and famous, and can even be regarded as dirty and dilapidated. Everything on the street can be seen at a glance. Several dilapidated buildings seem to have been completely abandoned. The bar signs are not clear. There is no business at all. The nearby walls are painted in a mess. If there is anything useful, it is probably the dilapidated red telephone booth.

Passers-by hurried past, and it seems that no one has ever noticed the telephone booth.

The cold wind blew, and two pedestrians came to the street.

One of the middle-aged men was wearing a black robe, his eyelids were slightly drooping, his eyes were dark and deep, his slightly long hair was slightly greasy, and he was not handsome. He swung his robe with big strides like a bat, but his expression was indifferent. The other one was much older, also wearing a black robe, thin, like a skeleton crawling out of a grave, with even greasy hair, pockmarked face, and a disgusted and sinister expression.

The bat and the skeleton walked side by side through the street. Suddenly, three pedestrians passing by on the opposite side noticed the strange attire of the two and cast their eyes. The middle-aged bat man had no expression on his face and did not react, but the person next to him who looked like a skeleton would look at people, and his eyes revealed undisguised malice that made people shudder.

Passing by the door of the bar, the two of them slowed down their pace at the same time and waited for the pedestrians to leave tacitly.

Snape's eyes were indifferent, and his lips seemed to be completely motionless, but a cold voice sounded: "Rookwood, restrain your eyes, there is no Ministry of Magic memory cancellation officer to help you deal with the turmoil caused by violating the Statute of Secrecy."

Rookwood said nonchalantly: "I used to be an employee of the Ministry of Magic, and I may become an employee of the new Ministry of Magic soon, and I can also perform memory cancellation."

Snape responded with a few words indifferently, and the two stopped in front of the telephone booth.

The old Ministry of Magic was fragmented and even forced to give up its territory. The new Ministry of Magic is still in preparation... but it is not the one organized by Scrimgeour.

Rookwood's full name is August Rookwood. He was originally an employee of the Ministry of Magic. Later, he was absorbed by Voldemort and became a senior Death Eater. After the fall of the Dark Lord last time, he failed to conceal his identity and was exposed by Karkaroff and imprisoned in Azkaban. Later, the dark magic made a comeback, and they, the old guys, were rescued and participated in the task of snatching the prophecy ball, but were petrified by the sudden appearance of the basilisk.

Then there was treatment at St. Mungo's, interrogation at the Ministry of Magic, transfer to another place, interrogation after transfer... In short, the senior Death Eaters were strong-willed.

The Ministry of Magic was occupied by Voldemort, and Snape negotiated with Scrimgeour on behalf of the Death Eaters. During the Christmas holiday last year, the two sides exchanged prisoners, and Rookwood regained his freedom at that time.

Voldemort once wanted to dig out the location of the Ministry of Magic's new prison from his mind, and the way of digging did not consider the consequences, but Snape persuaded him not to do it. Rookwood did not say anything grateful, but just became closer in attitude.

The other Death Eaters now completely obeyed Snape's orders, and now they are dormant to collect intelligence. Rookwood is preparing for the next exchange of prisoners.

Muggle pedestrians brushed past them, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Rookwood glimpsed their figures disappearing around the corner, and said sinisterly:

"Severus, I heard that you hid spies among the Ministry of Magic employees you released? I'm not surprised at all. After all, you can lurk around Dumbledore for more than ten years. It's not difficult for you to persuade one or even a few cowardly guys to lurk in the Ministry of Magic.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm praising you. I'm different from stupid guys like Bellatrix. As long as the Dark Lord is willing to believe you, I'm willing to believe you too. Thanks to you, the incident more than ten years ago didn't happen again. How is it going?"

Snape's voice was cold: "What's the matter?"

"Hey..." Rookwood sneered twice, "Why are you pretending to be confused with me? Tell me directly, have you figured out the temporary base of those guys? Have you found the address of the new prison?"

"No. "

"These stupid guys have become smarter." Rookwood narrowed his eyes to hide the cold light, and his voice was cold and cruel, "I really don't want to deal with them procrastinatingly. I can't wait. If I know the address, Kill them directly with the master, let the dark mark float over the Ministry of Magic again, and kill everyone who is unwilling to surrender this time. "

Snape glanced at him calmly: "Bellatrix and the others haven't come back yet. Do you want to give up those fellow Death Eaters who are still imprisoned?"

"Of course not." Rookwood sneered twice, "Just dig the addresses from those people's minds. There are always some smart people who are willing to cooperate."

Snape shook his head and said no more about this matter: "Let's go and see the master."

Opening the phone booth, it was a bit crowded for two adult men to enter together. Snape dialed the number with ease. There was no female voice asking about the purpose of the call. The entry method after the Death Eaters took over was much simpler, probably the same as a combination lock.

Enter the correct number, and the phone booth space slowly falls.

The building located underground is even more humid and cold. The candlesticks and torches have been extinguished. The fireplace in front of the main hall is completely blocked. There are only sporadic dim magical lights. The entire Ministry of Magic is in a silent and deep darkness. The two people use the dim light to enter the elevator. , instead of going up to the minister's office, he sank down.

On the ninth floor underground, they walked through the corridor, opened a black wooden door, and entered the room of the Department of Mysteries. One of the doors was open, with bright light coming from inside. The two of them walked into the Hall of Brains without hesitation.

Metal chains hang the chandelier from the ceiling. In the center of the empty room is a huge glass water tank. In the dark green liquid, many white and greasy things are constantly floating and swimming.

Next to the water tank, Voldemort stood silently, slightly furrowing his hairless brows. His already pale face became colder and colder, his expression focused. There was a faint light flickering in his dark snake eyes. His eyes were constantly alternating between obsession and puzzlement. He was wearing a black robe and dragging his feet. On the ground, it looked like a dead statue.

Rookwood glanced at the water tank, while Snape observed Voldemort calmly, and both of them made the same respectful noise.

"Owner."

"Owner."

"Reporting work again?" Voldemort did not look away, and his very soft voice showed impatience, "If there is no important news, don't bother me every week."

Snape lowered his head slightly: "There has been some progress in the intelligence collection work. With the help of the lady, the temporary base of the Ministry of Magic has been found. And according to the data monitoring of the Floo Network, we have learned about thousands of wizard families. position, including most half-blood wizards and some Muggle wizards..."

Snape paused at the right time, causing Voldemort and Rookwood to unconsciously imagine what happened next: "The last group of Death Eaters are about to return, including Lestrange and the others. When the time comes, all it takes is your words." Order, and the British magical world will fall under our control..."

"Except Hogwarts!" Voldemort interrupted coldly.

"The biggest obstacle is Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore..." Voldemort murmured softly, finally looking away and focusing on the two loyal servants, "Do you have any ideas, Severus?"

Lukewood: "..."

Unconsciously, he lowered his head lower.

"I can't think of an idea, but I can feel that the master is becoming more powerful." Snape said calmly and without any expression, "Even if Dumbledore can temporarily withstand the terrain of Hogwarts, In our invasion, the final winner will still be us, or in other words, you..."

Voldemort looked interested: "Oh, why?"

"That prophecy has no basis in reality. At least for now, I can't think of any possibility of Harry Potter resisting. And Dumbledore, that old man is over a hundred years old, and he is aging. His stubborn and pedantic character We cannot accept any method of extending his lifespan, even if we are in a stalemate with Hogwarts for decades, waiting for him to grow old and die..."

Snape paused for a moment and stared at the floor at his feet. "No one will be able to resist the rule of the Death Eaters then."

"ha……"

Voldemort chuckled, showing pleasure: "Yes, you are right, Severus, I shared the most powerful magic in the world with you. This is the right choice."

"Your gift."

"But I don't want to see Dumbledore grow old and die in despair." Voldemort turned to look at the brain floating in the tank and said softly, "I want him to live to see the Death Eaters breach Hogwarts and the Dark Lord rule the wizarding world!"

Snape's head was lowered, his eyes dim and unclear: "This is his honor."

…

It was Scrimgeour's decision to station himself in Devon. With the help of Kingsley and others, he established a temporary base. Later, several senior officials of the Ministry of Magic were rescued. Before they had time to mourn for their deceased colleagues, Ms. Bones immediately Staff were mobilized and some Ministry of Magic functions were restored here, including the Floo Network.

For the security of the temporary stronghold, employees are picked up and dropped off by Aurors every day when they go to work, and they are transported directly with portkeys. Just like the Quidditch final venue, they arrive at the assembly point and then transfer. The interior of the stronghold is anti-Apparition.

The staff work hard, regardless of these troublesome confidentiality tasks, just to maintain the normal operation of the magic world.

Bertha Jorkins was very clear about the current situation. Not only wizards in London were migrating and fleeing, but wizards throughout Britain were migrating and fleeing. At the beginning, they were quite flustered, doing things in a hurry and without a method, and fled without understanding the situation. The situation eased a little after the Ministry of Magic resumed some of its functions, and the fleeing wizards would apply for exit documents.

The wizard trade was also shrinking, and a large number of shops in the country were closed. Goods were no longer purchased from abroad, and foreign suppliers did not dare to send them in.

Bertha Jorkins looked at the letter from the French Ministry of Magic on the table and sighed. The Magical Congress of the United States had also sent a similar letter before. On the surface, it was asking whether they needed assistance, but in fact it was asking whether they needed to prepare for war and whether Voldemort's Death Eaters would expand outward.

Not only in Britain, people were panicked and turbulent everywhere.

Jorkins was unsure how to reply, so he picked up the letter and stood up and went to Ms. Bones' temporary office next door.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in."

Minister Scrimgeour was also there, discussing something with Ms. Bones, and stopped immediately when he heard the knock on the door.

Jorkins pushed the door open and glanced at the two of them calmly.

Ms. Bones was fine. She had experienced Voldemort's inhumane torture, the torture and interrogation of the Death Eaters, and several months of imprisonment. After being rescued, she was very adaptable to this high-pressure environment. She thought that it couldn't get any worse, so she worked hard and fought for as much as she could.

Minister Scrimgeour was getting more and more haggard, and his condition was visibly worse. His eyes were full of red bloodshot, and his hair was greasy and sticky, and even tangled.

"Jorkins, what's up?"

"A letter from the French Ministry of Magic, I'm not sure how to reply."

"Let me see..."

Jorkins handed the letter over and waited silently by the side. Looking at Scrimgeour's tired face, he remembered the news he had heard and asked softly, "Minister, I heard you went to Hogwarts. Did you gain anything?"

Perhaps because he was too tired, or perhaps because he was facing his own staff, Scrimgeour rubbed his brows and temporarily let down his guard: "Harry Potter does not agree to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic. He claims that he is Dumbledore's man, Dumbledore's man completely."

"..."

Jorkins had a strange expression on his face and asked tentatively, "Anyway, it's the current situation. Otherwise, let's cooperate with Dumbledore?"

Scrimgeour paused and looked deeply at the staff in front of him, the rookie of the Ministry of Magic.