Due to the recent decline in Fox's powers, the group had to Apparate to Hogsmeade and then return to school.
It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening when they arrived, but the castle was still brightly lit, with occasional noises coming from the Great Hall.
Alicia, Bill, and Molly were anxiously waiting for them in the hall. When they arrived, Mrs Weasley rushed to greet them.
"That's great, you're both safe!" Mrs Weasley said as she hugged Harry and Ron close to her chest. She looked around the room and was relieved to see that no one was missing.
On the other hand, Alicia pulled Ivan to a corner and examined him carefully. She was relieved to see that he looked well and was not injured at all.
Alicia then proceeded to interrogate Molly about what had happened, although she was able to gather quite a bit of information from her.
"It's You-Know-Who! He sent someone to take Harry under the guise of Sirius, and used his blood to restore his powers and gain a new body," Ivan explained grimly.
"So You-Know-Who has come back to life?" A dark look came over Alicia's face. Having fought in the last Wizarding War, she knew exactly what this meant.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore and I worked together to wound him. I think he'll behave himself for a while…" Ivan began.
Instead of being happy that Ivan had injured the legendary Dark Lord, Alicia became more worried, worried that Lord Voldemort would seek revenge on them once he was cured.
Ivan understood this as well. When he went to save Harry, he knew he would attract Voldemort's attention.
Even if he hadn't, he would have been a thorn in Voldemort's side for destroying three Horcruxes over the course of four years.
Fortunately, he had already thought of a solution last summer…
"Mom, remember that spell I told you about last time?" Ivan asked suddenly.
It took a moment for Isiah to understand Ivan's meaning. "You mean the Fidelius Charm?"
"Yes," Ivan said. "We can use it to create a safe haven."
The worried look on Alicia's face disappeared. She knew exactly what this spell could do. Even if Voldemort wanted to get back at her, he wouldn't be able to find them…
"But who will be the Secret-Keeper?"
Alicia frowned at the thought.
The Fidelius Curse was indeed powerful, but it was not invincible. Its greatest weakness was its bearer!
Ivan specifically mentioned to her that it was impossible to stay in a safe house for long periods of time due to the secrecy that the Secret-Keeper had to endure.
If Voldemort were to scout the vicinity of the protected area at this point, there was a good chance that he would find something…
Therefore, the Secret-Keeper must remain outside most of the time and face the risk of being hunted.
This was one of the reasons why Peter, who had been tasked with the job of Secret-Keeper more than a decade ago, had to find another place to hide instead of living with James and Lily.
Because of this, the Secret-Keeper had to be a powerful and truly trustworthy wizard, or the location of the Secret-Keeper would be exposed if they betrayed or were killed.
There are too few powerful but trustworthy wizards at this stage, and although she and Ivan meet the requirements, they are equally unsuitable as Secret Keepers, as the use of the Fidelius Charm in the construction of the safe house was designed to keep them both safe…
"How about Doggett as the Secret-Keeper?" said Alicia hesitantly.
"No, never!" Ivan shook his head vehemently.
When You-Know-Who came back to life, Doggett's position became ambiguous, and it was doubtful whether he could be trusted.
After all, this fellow had a history of betraying his colleagues and defecting to Lord Voldemort. Even if he had a thousand reasons, he would not be able to completely clear his name!
Therefore, Ivan did not have much faith in him, and the Dark Mark on Doggett's left arm had not yet been removed, which was an extremely unstable factor!
If not for the fact that he did not see Doggett among the Death Eaters when they came to Harry's rescue tonight, he and Alicia would be discussing how to lock the fellow up…
"How about this, Mom? You go around Knockturn Alley for the next couple of days looking for a suitable location, and I'll do the casting myself…" Ivan hesitated for a long time before deciding to take the risk.
However, before he could finish, he was met with strong opposition from Alicia.
"You want to be the Secret-Keeper? Are you crazy? You're the one the You-Know-Who wants to kill the most!" said Alicia angrily. Even if she had to be the Secret-Keeper, it would be better than having Ivan do it himself.
"You-Know-Who isn't as strong as you think he is," Ivan said. "He can't kill me, Mom. Have you forgotten? I just fought him off!"
Ivan never worried about his own safety, and although he was no match for Lord Voldemort in terms of strength, he was confident that he would be able to escape from Lord Voldemort without being dragged down.
Not to mention, he also had the bloodline magic Boggart Transformation, which allowed him to disguise himself as anyone, even any creature.
After more than ten minutes of persuasion from Ivan, Alicia reluctantly agreed.
This is the best solution in the present, as Ivan spends most of his year at Hogwarts, where Dumbledore is around and Voldemort is afraid to go on a rampage, and where he can spend his summer holidays learning Alchemy from Nicolas Flamel…
At least all of these places seemed safe to Alicia.
While they were chatting, Molly Weasley and the others were listening to Harry and Sirius.
When she learned that Harry had been tortured by Lord Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse and nearly killed by it, Mrs Weasley nearly lost control of her emotions and said in a trembling voice, "Oh my God, how could he … how could he bear to cast such a vicious spell on a child … it's horrible!"
"You-Know-Who doesn't have a heart, Mum…" Ron complained, but was quickly met with a glare from Mrs Weasley.