Dobby left happily. Ron thought the house elf's screams were too appalling that they scared the others away. The ward is left only with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Felix after Mr. Weasley went to visit Mrs. Weasley, who lost sleep all night.
"Professor, here's your ring," Hermione said reluctantly, pulling a ring from under her pillow, "I haven't had a chance to open it yet."
Felix accepted it, but seeing the look on Hermione's face, he dumped a large pile of runic journals out of the ring, nearly overwhelming her.
"It was meant for you, Miss Granger, what you need now is to read and practice broadly and develop your own perceptions. No one else can help you much in this regard."
Harry took the opportunity to ask about the protective magic in his body.
"That's an area I haven't touched." Felix said with a shrug, "I suggest you find the opportunity to ask Headmaster Dumbledore, he has placed more than one protective spell on you."
Ron looked at Hermione as she gleefully collected the runic journal into her beaded pouch, and asked curiously, "Professor, how did you come back from the dead? And," he deliberately lowered his voice, "Hermione used the time-turner, which means you arrived early and watched the whole time?"
Felix laughed. "In fact, at that time I was placing cameras around, did not see the specific process ... but your scream was quite seeping, I almost thought there was an accident." He said to Ron.
Ron scratched his head in embarrassment, but when he thought about the terrible torture of the Cruciatus Curse, a shiver ran down his spine.
"As for coming back from the dead ... I have never died, you can assume that I have mastered magic like Apparition, only it looks a bit intimidating." Felix explained.
"So." Ron's kind of disappointed, "I thought--"
"Thought I could resist Voldemort's Killing Curse directly?" Felix asked with a smile, and Ron nodded. " That curse is probably Voldemort's best magic, he understands the Killing Curse better than anyone else in the world, and I'm not interested in experiencing it personally ..."
"Cruciatus Curse, Imperius Curse, and Killing Curse, they are together referred to as three Unforgivable Curses, because there is no counterspell, besides, there is another important reason thought, that is, the power of the curse vaguely touches the realm of the soul -"
"Soul?" Ron asked in shock.
"Yes, torture, control, destruction ..." Felix said softly, and the three people on the hospital bed couldn't help but shudder, "Although I haven't tried it personally, I believe these three curses are effective against ghosts as well. " Seeing their faces filled with horror, Felix changed the subject and said, "In fact, the first two curses still have solutions to counter them, a high-level memory magic is one; of course, I believe it is the result of an extremely high degree of control over one's will."
" Do you think willpower can help us resist both Cruciatus Curse and Imperius Curse?" Hermione asked sharply, thinking this claim is a bit of a myth.
"It's a firm will." Felix corrected, "I can point you a few examples, such as the Longbottoms, and Harry's experience last night, but of course, the evidence is flimsy and there are too many interfering factors ... However, there are quite a few records that indicate that wizards are able to get rid of the influence of the Imperius Curse by themselves. "
He cocked his head toward Harry. Harry had gotten rid of Crouch Jr.'s Imperius Curse when Crouch Jr. was disguised as Professor Moody in class, and Harry had approached the real Moody to confirm it, who regretted very much that it was not an idea he had come up with.
Just as Felix recommended the Cheering Charm to Harry and Ron, Madam Pomfrey walked in and poured a large glass of the Elixir that Induce Euphoria for each of them, regardless of the protests of the three. After drinking it, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all giggled.
Madam Pomfrey said worriedly, "I can only do my best to keep them positive and upbeat, without allowing them to think about the horrible experience they had that night for a while ... maybe it won't be so horrible when they remember it again after some time."
"Madam Pomfrey, they are stronger than you think." Felix said to her as he walked out of the ward.
At the door of the ancient rune office, he saw Juria, Byers, and Bethany waiting outside.
They had come to say goodbye.
"Mr. Hap, I appreciate the exchange during this time, and I have an idea - starting a newspaper to promote the views of the Revolutionary Society. I would like to ask if you would mind if I release some of our previous discussions on ..."
Felix didn't see any reason to refuse.
...
Harry spent five full days in the ward, cooperating with Madam Pomfrey on various examinations every day, and he felt like a mouse. Hermione was the first to heal and leave the hospital wing, followed by Ron, which made his next few days difficult. Madam Pomfrey finally agreed to his request after he applied for discharge a dozen times.
But before he left, Madam Pomfrey gave him a large pot of Elixir that Induce Euphoria, and Harry felt that the entire stock of the hospital wing is here "All three of you, have a small glass a day during this time." She said seriously. Look at her stance, if Harry did not agree, she would force him to stay and supervise him to drink all the potion in the jar.
Harry didn't know where to go for a while when he left the hospital wing, he thought he must look pretty silly holding the pot. He also did not want to go back to the common room and spent the last few days in bed, he, Ron, and Hermione spent a lot of time discussing the impact of Voldemort's resurrection, Hermione constantly searching for useful information from the newspaper. His brain is somewhat numb.
He stood in the hallway, looking out of the window. From where he was he could see Hagrid's hut, and Beauxbatons' carriage is still there, but the statue of the magical creature at the Quidditch pitch where Ilvermorny is stationed is gone, and Harry realizes that the tournament of champions is over, and they should have left Hogwarts ...
However, Durmstrang's spooky sailboat is still docked at the Black Lake, and he saw ant-like figures moving around on it and wondered if Krum is in there.
"Hey, Harry." Neville's voice said, "You're out of the hospital. Wow, this must be Euphoria, but you're holding a lot more than Ron's one. You missed something while you were in the hospital, the Ilvermorny and Uagadou's teams left."
Harry felt some regret. He hadn't thanked Nona in person yet, and her amulet still worked pretty well. Then there is Byers, he thinks they are already considered friends, but Dumbledore forbade others from bothering them during their hospital stay. It couldn't be helped, they were so popular that Madame Pomfrey carried baskets of fruit and flowers that filled the ward.
"... They couldn't meet you, so they prepared some farewell gifts and left them in the dormitory ... Ron decided to wait for you to return before opening them, he is holding back quite hard." Neville said with a stifled smile.
Harry thought about it and grinned.
" Why Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are still here?" He asked.
"You mean this," Neville scratched his round face, "Beauxbatons' students are staying behind voluntarily, and Madame Maxime is still at the school, which I don't know why. But the Durmstrang students are screwed."
"What happened to them?"
"The Headmaster of Durmstrang, the one called Karkaroff, left his students and slipped away. No one knows when this happened, but Aurus Poliakov claimed that Mr. Karkaroff has been missing since the night you returned."
Harry got surprised, a magic school headmaster was scared away by the presence of Voldemort who was hundreds of kilometers away? It made his heart sink, his stomach felt like bolting a stone, a heavy falling stone.
"So how are they supposed to get back? They must be freaked out."
To Harry's surprise, Neville laughed.
"Well - to be honest, they're pretty calm, Karkaroff isn't very popular, remember? Just because Poliakov demonstrated some dark magic in dueling class, he was given a serious lecture by Karkaroff when he got back."
"But he was trying to defend his school's reputation!" Harry shouted.
Neville shook his head, likewise finding Karkaroff's actions incomprehensible.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall hurried over from the other side of the hallway.
"Potter, come with me, the Headmaster wants to see you--"
Harry said goodbye to Neville, who offered to help him bring the Elixir back to his dormitory, which made Harry a million times more grateful. He followed Professor McGonagall to the statue that stood in front of the Headmaster's office. Professor McGonagall didn't follow him, so he pushed the door open alone and almost collided with Snape. Snape's face didn't look that good, his face looked paler and radiated coldness from the inside out.
Not waiting for Harry to look twice, Snape flung his robe and walked away from him.
Harry walked into the office, Headmaster Dumbledore rested his hands on the table, staring at a shallow metal basin, Harry recognized what it is, it is Pensieve. It would be the first time he had ever seen a real Pensieve, but he had seen something similar at the Magic Rune Club.
"You should have recognized what this is, right, Harry?" Dumbledore looked up with a smile.
"Yes, Professor," Harry's heart thumped up, "Professor Hap has made some Runic Artifact by imitating a Pensieve ..."
"Ah, ancient runes do come in handy," Dumbledore said with a smirk, "both for ancient magic and for making artefacts. If I wasn't busy these past few years, I'd have certainly spared some time to study ..."
"So, Harry, perhaps you can guess what I'm looking for you?" He folded his fingers and quietly looked at Harry from behind his glass, his gaze carrying too many emotions that Harry couldn't read them all.
"Well, I guess - you wanted to tell me something?" Harry honestly said what he had in his mind.
"You can also put it that way; Voldemort is resurrected, and Harry, you are already deeply entwined with his fate, I think - it's time to let you know something and clear some of your doubts in focus," Dumbledore's blue eyes peered through his half-moon glasses as he said, "And, of course, I have a request."
"A request?" Harry looked at him in surprise, unsure of what he can do for the Headmaster.
"I want to see what happened that night," Dumbledore said lightly, "through differnt perspective."
"My perspective ...," Harry repeated slowly, his mind clouded a little.
"Yes, as I told you in the first year, Voldemort's failed killing curse linked you with him, which allowed you to perceive his emotions in some special situations--"
"Is that why you asked Professor Hap to teach me the Occlumency?" Harry blurted out.
"That's right." Dumbledore nodded gently, "Considering that Voldemort is becoming stronger and his resurrection seems unstoppable, I feared that as he grew stronger he would discover this connection and even control you with it."
Harry was horrified greatly, he dared not imagine this scene. The scar on his forehead ached vaguely, but it is nothing compared to the potential consequences; he had never considered that his scar would become something like a medium for an Imperius Curse.
"But you've learned Occlumency fairly well," Dumbledore said with a small smile, "I'm just explaining the worst consequences to you, and I'm sure Voldemort would have a hard time controlling your body from a distance."
Harry breathed a little sigh of relief. He thought about the Headmaster's request again, and an thought popped into his head, "So you believe that I can see things differently through - well - a different perspective?"
His attitude began to waver again; so far, his connection with Voldemort had been a good one.
But the potential dangers could not be ignored.
"I can't give an exact answer to that, Harry," Dumbledore said, "but I have a theory that when you and Voldemort get too close, the connection is strengthened, perhaps it'll reveal some of the secrets that are hidden in your memories."
"I agree." Harry said, then he hesitated: "But I don't know how to extract memories, I know the theory, but never tried it myself-"
"I can assist you in casting the spell." Dumbledore said, "But there's no rush, let's look at a few memories together first."
...
Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy froze while holding a letter.
The letter was sent to him by his mother, at first glance there is nothing unusual about it, the content of the letter is full of a mother's love for her son, not to mention that the letter also thoughtfully enclosed a list of cuisine for dinner.
It was only when Draco read it a second time that he realized something is wrong; his mother is rarely this nagging.
The Malfoys had many rules, but only one seemed to satisfy the situation at hand - Draco mentally recited a series of numbers while sorting out the words on the letterhead in order, and soon his eyes widened at the secret message.
Find a chance to fight with Potter.
...
The night before their departure from school, the front page of the Daily Prophet splashed a hot topic of discussion at Hogwarts as Fudge finally stepped out of his office and hastily acknowledged that the You-Know-Who is truly back; After that, he made it clear that he is not fit to lead the wizarding community, which is currently entering a state of war and decided to voluntarily step down from his position as Minister of Magic.
Harry stared at the photo of Fudge surrounded by flashing lights in the newspaper for a long while. Fudge looked like he had aged a dozen years when he showed up again, his whole body had lost more than a circle, and he looked haggard and relieved at the same time, and Harry felt some pity for him.
At that moment, Dumbledore stood up to give a speech, he affirmed the truth of the Ministry's claim that Voldemort had come back from the dead, and restated the purpose of the tournament, emphasizing that "understanding and unity among wizards" is more important than ever.
"Every guest in this great hall who wishes to return here is welcome to do so at any time."
Harry stared at the newspaper, the new Minister of Magic who would succeed Fudge next week is Amelia Bones, the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement ...
Is Sirius with her now?
"... Voldemort's methods of creating conflict and hostility are very clever. We can only fight it to the end if we can display an equally unbreakable friendship and trust."
The second page featured the Ministry of Magic's emergency wartime survival manual, which will be distributed in the last few days and sent by owl to every wizarding family.
Let's hope it works ...
"We are all going to face dark and difficult times ... Many families will be torn apart by this, and you will have to choose between the right path and shortcuts ..."
The fourth page featured bad news, a mass prison break occurred in Azkaban and the Dementors rebelled in mass. The good news is that there were not many casualties, and Acting Minister Ms. Bones decided to ease up on the restrictions and recruit a bunch of Aurors and Hit-Wizards.
The war picked up the pace ...
"We still have four people to thank, three of whom are still students, I'm talking about Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who has shown the fearlessness in all areas that only a few people have shown in the face of Voldemort ... courage and wisdom in equal measure, cleverly calling Professor Felix Hap for help and successfully escaped Voldemort's clutches and brought Voldemort's schemes to light."
Dumbledore raised his goblet. Harry followed suit fumblingly and welcomed the various looks from the people in the great hall, along with Ron and Hermione.
The school year is over, Harry thought.
But the war has begun.
------------
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