"Professor, are you all right-"
"I'm fine." Felix got up from the ground, and Harry hurriedly found him a chair to sit on, while he closed his eyes and gasped slightly. The trio looked at Felix worriedly, the professor seemed to have recovered from that horrible state before, but not too completely - his face, neck, hands ... every now and then transformed into dense runes, then the next second they turn back into full skin, repeating the process over and over again.
"I am not yet familiar with this state, in order to avoid scaring people, I will not go out ... you go and find Headmaster Dumbledore and tell him what happened."
Felix opened his eyes, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were startled, the professor's light blue pupil is replaced by a myriad of runes, the eyes are like two shrunken runic balls embedded in the sockets. When he finished and closed his eyes, his body began to flicker again.
The trio looked at each other.
"Obviously, the professor needs time to master his new powers, and someone needs to be on guard during this time." Hermione said.
"I'll go, you and Ron keep watch," Harry decided after a brief pause, "you're both injured-"
" You are speaking as if you weren't the one who got hit with several Cruciatus Curses." Ron bristled.
Harry answered back with a smile. "At least my leg is still fine, and-" he hesitated, not quite sure, "Actually, by the end of the session, I didn't feel Voldemort's curse was affecting me that much, it was like ... as if my body was gradually adapting to the pain caused by the Cruciatus Curse ..."
Ron and Hermione stared at him suspiciously.
Ron said uneasily, "Harry, you'd better get Madam Pomfrey to look at it, I've heard that enduring multiple Cruciatus Curse can cause serious side effects-"
"You think I'm crazy?" Harry glared, and Ron averted his gaze from him, muttering in a small voice, "It wouldn't be a bad thing to at least make sure."
"It could be the effect of - er - the protective magic present in Harry's blood," Hermione said, picking her words carefully, "Let's just not take any wild guesses, and to be honest, I'm a little concerned, that Headmaster Dumbledore isn't here." She glanced carefully at Felix, as her hand covered her pocket, where the ring he had handed her is kept.
The professor's excuse before was that the ring contained some prohibited materials, and in order to guard against the Ministry of Magic's inspection, it is temporarily given to her for safekeeping. She didn't think much of it before, but now that she was out of danger, she began to wonder if it is just a general investigation, is it necessary to go to this extent?
Harry nodded and walked towards the door. As he was about to lift the curtain of the tent, Hermione called out to him.
"Wait, Harry--"
Harry turned around and saw Hermione looking at him seriously.
"You know what to say, don't you?"
"You-Know-Who-" Harry didn't understand her for a moment.
"The time-turner." Hermione reminded him.
It dawned on Harry, yeah, Hermione had gone back in time and modified history ... No, according to all that information he had recently looked up, there are only two outcomes when using a time-turner.
Failure - the user suffers a backlash and poses a threat to 'time' from the past to the present.
Or success - everything the user does while travelling in time becomes a part of history, a kind that complements history. It's like 'destiny', but Hermione explained to him that the so-called destiny is actually because the user succeeds, and if he fails, it will have extremely serious consequences, like Eloise Mintumble.
So what should he say? Harry seriously thought about it, and soon came up with a solution. In fact, it is very simple, as long as the process of Hermione using the time-turner is omitted, it will be all right. As for how the professor came back from the dead, he did not know. Maybe it's a special magic that he is not supposed to know, isn't it?
Harry suddenly remembered a small detail, Crouch Jr. obviously recognized the time-turner, and wanted to break the secret ... so the professor chose to kill him immediately? Harry's heart somewhat repulsed killing, but immediately he blamed his weakness, this is war, he admonished himself, not to mention that Crouch Jr. had done so many bad things. Professor Moody had the students read out loud in class about the Death Eaters and Aurors vividly ...
He had never before realized that war is so close to him. Harry suddenly became emotional, realizing that he would be fifteen years old in a month.
The night sky is dotted with stars, to his left is the dark and lofty Maze tower, standing silently in the darkness, and to his right is the high stands in the circular shape, he squinted, and there are figures walking everywhere on the ground.
He saw two large, sturdy figures, several sizes larger than the rest as if they had been under an Enlarging Spell. They must be Hagrid and Madame Maxime, and not far from them, Harry saw a tall, thin silhouette with a translucent silver beard fluttering casually in the cool night air ... It would be Dumbledore, and Harry's heart quickly calmed as he dragged his weary feet and moved over to them, one step at a time.
"All around the forbidden forest was searched, no trace found!" Hagrid waved his arms in great annoyance, "I asked the centaur to assist in the search, and no news yet ..."
"You heard it, Cornelius, the specifics are still unknown ... I'm afraid we can only wait in peace." Dumbledore said rather calmly.
"How can I rest easy, Dumbledore?" Fudge shouted, " three champions who won the championship of the tournament just disappeared collectively, their life and death are still unknown ... what will those reporters write tomorrow?"
"Cornelius, it doesn't matter what the reporters write, what matters is the meaning behind this incident represents-"
"What meaning?" Fudge immediately pursued the question.
"Isn't that obvious enough!" An angry voice roared close to Fudge's ear. Fudge was startled and turned around, Mad-Eye Moody is standing next to him somehow, his heavy body leaning on his cane, as his magic eye staring straight at him.
"I'm sorry, I can't see it." Fudge said coldly while glancing disgruntledly at the Aurors behind him, who had clearly failed their duties.
"Think about the reason why I was used as a puppet. And who threw the names of Harry Potter and his two friends into the Goblet of Fire?" Moody said gruffly, his cane tapping the ground with a loud thud.
"Do you mean Barty Crouch, Jr.?" Fudge frowned, "But he's gotten away, and a third of the Aurors have been tracking him everywhere this whole time, except tonight ..."
"So you think it's over? Crouch Jr. and the forces behind him went to great lengths to get Harry out of school and just gave up so easily? Doesn't what happened today put you on guard?"
Moody spat viciously on the ground, and Fudge turned red.
"Alastor has a point, Cornelius, you can't turn a blind eye to the approaching danger, I can almost conclude that we are in the middle of a great conspiracy." Dumbledore said lightly.
"Conspiracy?" Fudge repeated the word as Harry stood behind the crowd, the moon isn't exactly bright tonight and Fudge's face is shrouded by a large shadow, which makes him look far less amiable than he did when Harry saw him in the Leaky Cauldron Bar, during the summer holidays in the second year - even though they were discussing Harry's illegal blow-up of his aunt at the time.
"I know what you're going to say, the same old story again ... I told you at the dinner, I've sent an elite squad, and everything is subject to their investigation." Fudge said impatiently, "If I have to talk about conspiracy, I would like to ask, where did that Felix Hap go? You have been evasive, Dumbledore ..."
"I think," Dumbledore said steadily, "Felix may have got a special induction about the whereabouts of Potter, Weasley, and Granger, and he is very good at making all sorts of gadgets that often work wonders at critical moments... ...like the amulet he gave me at Christmas, which helped me a lot."
"I don't have time to listen to your ramblings-"
"I was just giving an example," Dumbledore said gently, "on the contrary, I'm equally curious - there seems to be one less guard coming out of the Maze Tower? And where did he go?"
Fudge turned his head to the two Aurors behind him, one of whom nodded toward him and said softly, "Yaxley is missing."
"That doesn't mean anything," Fudge said immediately, "Maybe he found something unusual ... add him to the search list as well." He said to the Auror. The Auror nodded and turned to leave.
"The Yaxley you are looking for is a Death Eater!" Harry couldn't hold back any longer, as he shouted from behind where he stood.
The people in the front were taken aback, and the one closest to Harry - one of Beauxbatons's champion Jacqueline jumped in fright, she followed Madame Maxime to watch the fun, and now her eyes went wide as she looked back at the dirt-covered Harry.
The crowd of onlookers broke into a commotion. "Harry is back!" A voice shouted, "He's back alive!" The news spread with jaw-dropping speed, and people kept approaching, footsteps coming toward him from all directions.
People raised their wands to get a better look, and the dense dots of light made Harry dizzy; there were a lot of gasps and screams, and he heard Mrs. Weasley's distinctive voice among the many voices along with Hagrid's excited roar.
Immediately afterward, a pair of strong arms grabbed him, and Harry struggled to keep his eyes open; it is Dumbledore.
"You're all back?" He asked quickly.
"Yes." Harry said, and in the side glance, he saw Sirius and Lupin trying to squeeze through.
"So, Felix made it?" He continued to whisper in confirmation.
"Y-what?" Harry looked at Dumbledore in shock. Dumbledore winked mischievously and mouthed wordlessly: the Time-Turner.
Harry was too shocked to speak. But Dumbledore seemed to read the answer in his expression, and his voice regained its composure and calmness as he asked at a normal volume, "You saw Voldemort?" The people around him were startled by this question, everyone simultaneously stopped the movement of crowding forward, and looked at Dumbledore and Harry with unblinking eyes.
Harry noticed that Fudge's eyes widened as big as oxen's.
"Yes! Headmaster Dumbledore, we met Voldemort, who came back to life months ago! He's the one who planned tonight's plot, and-" Harry suddenly remembered something, "Yaxley! He's the one who modified the destination of the Trophy!"
The influx of people once again rioted uneasily, the ripples spreading even wider, and hundreds of people around them drew in their breath at the same time.
"Are you sure?" Fudge rushed over like a brute, grabbing Harry's collar with a death grip and spitting, "Are you sure? Where's Hap? Where's Felix Hap? What did he do?"
"He saved us!" Harry exclaimed in annoyance.
"And everyone is alive?" Fudge asked with ragged breath spewing from his nostrils.
Harry suddenly felt very reluctant to answer Fudge's question, but he saw the Weasleys and the Grangers' in the crowd, their eyes flashing with fear and hope. So he said out loud, "That's right! Ron and Hermione are alive, and they're both fine! Except for the Death Eater, I don't know if he died in the aftermath of the battle."
Mrs. Granger screamed and then fainted, Mrs. Weasley fared slightly better, just sobbing loudly as their loved ones whispered reassuringly nearby.
"Get Madam Pomfrey over here," Dumbledore said in a hushed voice, grabbing Harry's shoulder as Fudge's hand loosened as if he had been electrocuted, "there are some people here who need treatment. Minerva, look after the Granger's for me."
Professor McGonagall nodded.
At that moment Hagrid squeezed in, Sirius and Lupin following him, along the huge gap that Hagrid had created to get in front of Harry.
"You're hurt? Harry, are you hurt?" Sirius tried to discern something from Harry's body, but Harry is covered in dirt like he's been rolling in the mud for half an hour. He couldn't make anything out.
"It's nothing," Harry whispered, "just a few Cruciatus Curses ..."
"Hiss! That's a Cruciatus Curse!" Sirius shouted, "Why didn't you mention it earlier!" He glared at Harry, but Harry felt warm inside, and then Sirius tried to carry him up.
"Let me do it." Hagrid said gruffly, and he held Harry in his arms like a baby.
"No, wait," Harry struggled desperately in Hagrid's arms, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Hap is still in the makeshift tent with Ron and Hermione, Professor Hap ... he's, um... . He's dealing with an injury and doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone else ..."
"I see." Dumbledore said, "I'll set up another makeshift tent next to it."
Hagrid, Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, and the rest of the group walked in the direction of the temporary tent, the crowd followed in silence, they all wanted to get a definite answer ... Fudge stayed where he was, his expression is hesitant.
At that time, the Auror who had just left returned and whispered to Fudge for a while, Fudge stared in surprise, his mouth opened and closed several times.
"Wait, Dumbledore!" He shouted.
"Fudge," Dumbledore showed impatience for the first time tonight, "you saw the state they were in - they need to be treated, not questioned by the Ministry of Magic. If you want to get to the bottom of the matter, you might as well stay tonight, and we'll listen together in the morning-"
"No, Dumbledore, you'd better listen to this," Fudge's expression looked both confused and relieved as he pointed to the Auror, "repeat the information you've been given."
The Auror, who is watched by the crowd, stammered, "Just obtained the news that Yaxley was found, he, he died - but before he died, he told us ... he said that everything was Felix Hap's conspiracy, he is the culprit!"
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