After Tom completed the last step of the spell, the sea of fire changed a little: the flames parted on both sides, forming a path, and [Sister] lifted Tom up and jumped off the roof. The sea of fire gradually receded, moving in the direction of the back hill.
[Sister] landed so lightly on the ground that Tom didn't even feel a strong jolt. When he landed, he could see that the flames had vanished and the ground was covered with a layer of smoldering debris, and the smell of burnt rabbit meat filled his nostrils.
[Sister] led Tom towards the mansion gates, and on the way he regained some of his magic and changed back into Lockhart's form.
No sooner had he reached the mansion gate than the mansion collapsed with a roar, leaving the flames to ravage its remains. The sea of flames continued onward, rising to the crest of the hill behind them, where it remained for a long time, burning ever more intensely, with the smoke billowing upward, the flames gradually rising along the smoke, and finally joining the swirling clouds in the sky to form a tornado of fire thousands of feet high.
The fire was so intense that any Muggle who wasn't blind could see it. All of Bristol was in chaos as people rushed into the streets, scrambling to get to the opposite end of the tornado, some swimming upstream to get a first-hand account of the scene. The streets were soon filled with cars. Everyone was trying to get out of the city, and as a result, no one could get out.
The whole city was covered by the sound of car horns.
Desperate people abandoned their cars and fled. Not that they were alarmed, but a fire of this magnitude is not something that can be put out by human hands. A normal fire can be put out with a few fire extinguishers or a few fire engines and a high-pressure water jet.
But once a fire has spread, it easily escapes human control. If it reaches the level of a forest fire, it can only be extinguished by rainfall and fire breaks. If a country can extinguish a fire with man power, the government must be world class in terms of organization and mobilization. And, of course, there must be enough firefighters willing to die.
Unfortunately, Britain has none of this, or rather it does, but not in Bristol.
Well, firefighters in Great Britain have organized several strikes....
In the UK, firefighters are an independent public service and have their own union. Their presence is very strong in the lives of international students, and many of them deal with them, leaving a strong impression: because every time a fire engine and a fireman shows up, it means a big reduction in the wallet.
In student apartments there are smoke alarms that, in the interest of strict craftsmanship, are made to be so sensitive that a cigarette or a steak can set them off, and the ensuing fire engine will give you a very memorable fine.
But these are the problems of British and American students. Smoke alarms are also found in the homes of French students, but they have never managed to call the fire department or fire engines. Instead, they have attracted some seniors and sisters who kindly told newcomers that you can wear socks to cover the alarm, just remember to take them off when you leave or check the room.
These firefighters, who are very aggressive when it comes to smoking and barbecuing, are helpless when it comes to fire. They have a lot of experience, but they are helpless in the face of such a large fire.
How ineffective are European and American firefighters? On April 15, 2019, at around 6:50 p.m., a fire broke out in Notre Dame, France, in the upper tower of Notre Dame, which quickly engulfed the spire of the Notre Dame tower, eventually destroying the entire building. Several international students who had come to Paris for a hot meal and countless Parisians witnessed the Notre Dame spire fall into the flames. Any news report that could have included a moving image would have chosen this scene as one that would have shocked the world and gone down in history.
The fire was not "effectively contained and partially extinguished" until 3:30 a.m. on April 16.
Nine hours! Nine hours to "partially" extinguish a fire that started in the capital of a country whose buildings are national treasures! The burnt spire has not been restored, the French should be thankful that they at least kept the data intact, otherwise it would be a joke if they actually went to Ubisoft to ask for the Notre Dame data to restore it.
Anyone aware of this news would not have expected much from Europe and the United States in the way of firefighting capabilities.
The citizens of Bristol had no prophetic powers, no foresight, but a clear idea of their municipal capabilities, so they desperately fled and prayed that the wind would not pick up, because once it did, the fire would spread rapidly.
"Professor Lockhart!" In the center of the fire, Harry and Ron waited for a frail-looking Professor Lockhart, and the two of them, one on each side, helped Lockhart to his feet, and got him into the car, with [Sister] following.
"Come on... let's get out of here..." said Tom breathlessly, already realizing that the crisis was not over, and as soon as they were all seated, he urged Ron to drive away.
The car's engine roared, but it hadn't gone far before Tom stopped Ron and told him to wait. Ron was a little anxious, a little intimidated by the tornado of fire that was so close, but he stopped the car and looked up at the sky with Professor Lockhart.
His doubts were quickly answered, with a thump, a drop of water fell to the ground.
The tornado burned silently thousands of feet away, the magic Tom had put into it had worn off, and without the lighters, the flames would have been extinguished, for it was strong on the outside and weak on the inside. As time went on, the tornado itself was diminishing at a rate unrecognizable to the naked eye.
Although no change in the intensity of the fire could be seen, the change in the color of the sky was quite obvious: dark clouds appeared in the sky, accompanied by a few raindrops falling, the raindrops gradually became denser and heavy rain fell from the sky.
People cheered up.
The rain was not a coincidence, nor was it man-made. The fires caused a lot of dust to rise into the air, which combined with water vapor to form condensation nuclei, resulting in the rain. Bristol happens to be a coastal city and the air is very humid. So the fire started by Tom caused a direct rain, which saved the city from destruction.
The fire was extinguished. The hill was left bare, the cold rain poured down on the hot rocks, the mountain creaked, and finally, with a loud crash, the hill collapsed.
It turned out that the mountain had been hollowed out by rabbits.
Tom got out of the car and headed for the slightly smoldering ruins. He had to make one last investigation before the fire department arrived to find the source of the disaster. Only when he reached the remaining ruins of the house did Tom feel his head spinning: the three-story house had completely collapsed, leaving only its crumbling walls. After such a fire, everything in the house had burned and it was almost impossible to find any clues. If there were any clues left, they were hidden by the collapsed rubble and could not be found during the night.
Boom!
The hill in the distance collapsed twice, leaving the center of the mountain, which had been full as a bun, completely collapsed, taking on the appearance of a volcano. With a start, Tom ran toward it.
As he reached the top of the mountain, Tom felt a stirring, something unsettling buried beneath the mountain, something calling out to him and drawing him in. Turning to Harry and Ron, Tom shouted, "Stay down here, I'll be back later."
Before he could make any other move, a pleasant sound of music came from the distance. Tom jumped to his feet and looked skyward in the direction of the music. The music was getting louder and louder from far away, a sound that was ethereal, mysterious and exhilarating to listen to. The scalp hairs of those listening bristled and their hearts beat faster and faster, resonating with the rhythm of the music. The music got louder and louder, and finally, the heart beat to the rhythm of the music and the whole chest seemed to vibrate. Just then, a flame burst into flames around Tom.
Among the flames, a crimson bird the size of a crane descended from the sky, accompanied by strange music. Dumbledore, along with Fawkes, appeared beside him, carrying a silver sword in his hand.
Fawkes proudly cocked his golden peacock-like tail and disappeared with a whistle.
Tom: "..."
"You're about as efficient as a police officer in a police action movie." said Tom with a half smile, but Dumbledore didn't understand Tom's off-color remark. Although he knew something of the outside world, this centenarian (Dumbledore) had probably never seen a cop movie like "Infernal Affairs" or "Police Story."
"Thank you, Professor Lockhart, it's my turn to address the source of this mess." With his wand in one hand and the Gryffindor sword in the other, Dumbledore strode into the collapsed mountain.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Dumbledore flicked his wrist and made a subtle flick of his wrist, a large amount of debris in the valley floated up, and finally a golden necklace appeared in front of his eyes.
"Evil feeling..." Tom frowned, at that moment Dumbledore waved his hand and the necklace flew towards them, floating half a meter in front of them, Dumbledore and Tom took the necklace from the mountain well. They climbed out and returned to Harry and the others.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry and Ron flinched, sweat cascading down their heads, but instead of giving them a hard time, Professor Dumbledore said kindly and benevolently, "You've shown me the value of a Gryffindor! Although I can't give you extra points... Alright, let's get back to school first, I've already looked into the matter clearly."