Chapter 411
How could you forget?
Chapter 411 How could you forget?
"…The Ministry of Magic has decided that in order to restore safety and order in the British wizarding world as quickly as possible, it will send Dementors to search for the Obscurus…"
The streaming mirror on the table was playing a magical version of today's news. Fudge, wearing a purple suit, was waving his fist vigorously and said:
"It is completely untrue that Dementors are attacking students at Hogwarts! In fact, they are checking the buses to ensure the safety of the students."
"Of course, we also made some small mistakes here. Because the Ministry of Magic and the school did not communicate in time, some misunderstandings occurred. Several students fainted due to fright, but other than that, no greater damage was caused..."
Harry, who was eating breakfast, felt a pang in his heart and put down the bread.
"The students and a professor on the train attacked the Ministry of Magic staff who were performing their duties without authorization. This is absolutely wrong! However, considering the children's feelings, we decided not to hold them responsible..."
Michael sneered silently, shook his head, and cut the fried egg on his plate with a knife.
"I can assure you that the Dementors always obey the orders of the Ministry of Magic and there is no possibility of them getting out of control... The concerns and suspicions about the Dementors attacking innocent passers-by are unnecessary... Once Obscurus is captured, the Dementors will be immediately returned to Azkaban..."
"It's just a misunderstanding... I'm glad the Ministry of Magic didn't investigate..." Fiona breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "What does a Dementor look like?"
"It looks like a big rag covered with a black cape, and it's the kind that's rotten and smelly." Michael made a face and said, "It's so ugly!"
"Hahaha..." Fiona was amused by him and said, "They sound like powerful prison guards... Isn't that Obscurus a match for them?"
"I don't know. There is no record of these two species fighting each other in history," said Wade.
"Maybe Dementors are powerful... after all, there are so many of them." Fiona simply guessed.
"Whatever happens, send those guys back to Azkaban as soon as possible." Harry muttered, "I don't want to encounter another 'inspection'."
The news in the streaming mirror ended and was soon replaced by a Muggle musical. Dozens of handsome men and beautiful women sang and danced in the mirror, looking extremely cheerful, which dispelled the gloom brought by the news just now.
"I can't believe it!" Michael said indignantly, "Such a big thing was suppressed like this!"
"Based on the Dementors' behavior in the car, it is indeed difficult to tell whether they are checking or attacking." Wade said calmly: "After all, no one has really been...really hurt."
He glanced at his mother and swallowed the words "sucking away the soul".
Unlike Ferdinand who focuses on the dangers and dark side of the wizarding world, Fiona usually focuses on the wonderful side of magic.
All she knew about Dementors came from the news in the Mirror and the Daily Prophet, which did not mention the evil and horror of these creatures, but only repeatedly emphasized -
Dementors are the most reliable guards in the wizarding world.
In Fiona's imagination, they were a group of tall and strong, mysterious troops who were content with loneliness, walked in the dark, and never revealed their true faces.
Of course, after the attack on the Hogwarts train, the image in her mind had been updated to a group of extremely rude and cold-tempered barbarians.
Dementors, also known as “dementors” - just from the name, it is hard to imagine what kind of dark and rotten creatures they are.
After breakfast, the three little puppets jumped around to clean up the dishes, while Fiona and Ferdinand went upstairs to change into clothes for going out.
"We are going to visit some friends. You can have fun at home. There are drinks in the refrigerator and new snacks in the cupboard. For lunch, you can order pizza or Chinese food nearby. I've left the number next to the phone."
Ferdinand warned.
"Okay, Dad," Wade said.
"See you tonight then, dear."
Fiona kissed Wade's forehead, then kissed Harry and Michael in the same way, and said with a smile:
"Don't be shy, just treat it as your own home. If I come back and see everything is tidy, I'll be angry."
"You are underestimating Coco and the others' ability to work, Mom," Wade replied.
"Don't worry, we won't treat ourselves badly!" Michael also said generously.
Harry was still holding his forehead, looking dazed and stupid.
Mr. and Mrs. Gray smiled and said goodbye, put on their coats and left.
After sending them out, Wade turned around and asked, "What do you want to do next? Watch TV? Play games? Or do homework?"
"...Except for the last one, all the others are fine!" Michael put his arm around Wade's neck and pretended to complain, "But Wade, you didn't tell me your house is so cool!"
"Yeah..." Harry followed suit, "I thought it would be similar to the Dursleys! But it looks like..."
Harry looked around.
"It looks like a family of pure-blood wizards."
There are early warning mirrors hanging near the doors and windows, and a streaming mirror and TV are placed in the living room, but the latter looks like it has been idle for a long time.
Three little puppets are cleaning the room diligently. The mirror in the dressing room will loudly comment on the clothes and appearance of the person in front of it, and give some seemingly pertinent suggestions.
"Scars are ugly, but lightning-shaped scars are cool! Boy, you can wear a blue beret!"
Harry was startled when he heard this sound for the first time.
In addition, there is a large astronomical telescope in the attic. In the middle of the room is a glass ball with a movable constellation model inside, which Harry likes very much.
There were many books on the history of magic on the bookshelf in the attic, all of which showed signs of being frequently read. Mr. Ferdinand also collected a thick stack of The Daily Prophet, some of which were covered with dense annotations.
Harry felt a little ashamed that he would throw away his own newspaper after reading it. Most of the time, the thing he read most seriously was the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.
"Fortunately, my parents are just both very interested in magic."
Wade took the two to the attic, dug out a bunch of unopened boxes, and asked, "What do you want to play? I have Contra, Desert Storm, and... Raiders of the Lost Ark?"
Vader flipped through the box and read the name.
Most of these were Christmas gifts he received last year, and some were video games brought from abroad by Ferdinand's business partners who knew he had an underage son at home.
Although Wade is not interested in these, Harry and Michael are real thirteen-year-old boys and will definitely like this kind of game.
Harry picked up another box from the side. On the cover were printed several big-nosed old men holding swords or shields and wearing bull-head hats.
He looked at the jeweled sword and felt strangely fond of it. He whispered the name on it: "The Lost Viking?"
"Vikings? Sounds good, shall we play this?" Michael said with interest.
Harry's eyes lit up too - although there were game consoles at the Dursleys' house, everything belonged to Dudley and Harry was not even qualified to touch one.
Although he always pretended to be disdainful, only he knew how curious and envious he was in his heart.
"Okay!"
Wade had no objection to which game they played, so they unpacked the box, plugged in the power supply, and turned on the console.
Accompanied by the sound of "dong dong dong", the screen went dark and bright, and three pixelated little people appeared on the screen. …
"Squeak... squeak..."
Boots squeaked in the snow. Abigail and Major Baird walked along the street, their expressionless faces completely different from the happy crowd around them.
They walked through street after street, and finally, Baird stood outside a tavern.
There was a crooked sign hanging above the tavern - "Deerhorn Tavern", and near the door handle there was a small wooden sign that said "Temporarily Closed".
Baird ignored the wooden sign and knocked on the door. After a while, he heard the sound of chains colliding from inside.
A dull-looking elderly woman stood at the door.
"Come in," she said. "Brolin has been waiting for you for a long time."
Baird took a deep breath, looking excited, but he took a step back and motioned Abigail to go ahead.
Abigail pursed her lips and strode in, followed closely by Baird.
The wooden door slammed shut behind me.
The tavern was half underground and half above ground. The room was very dim and the few lights that were on were not very bright.
The gray-haired bartender was mixing cocktails with skillful techniques, and in front of the bar sat a handsome man in his forties or fifties.
There was a cocktail next to him, but he was not drinking it. Instead, he was reading a fancy newspaper.
Abigail could tell at a glance that it was a popular tabloid in the British wizarding world, which often published unconfirmed gossip and nonsense speculations.
"Sierra, Major, long time no see."
The man turned around and spoke gently.
"Mr. Brolin." They both bowed their heads in greeting.
"Yeah." Brolin nodded, then suddenly asked, "Did you watch this episode of The Quibbler?"
The two looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.
Baird explained: "The Quibbler publishes a lot of weird, rubbish...articles that I personally don't think are worth subscribing to."
"I used to think that this magazine was good for jokes, but sometimes I would read some news in it that I couldn't see in the Daily Prophet. For example..."
Brolin suddenly turned his gaze to Abigail and said with a smile, "Sierra, I heard that you used the Patronus Charm on the train to protect those students?"
"Yes." Abigail lowered her head and said, "Dumbledore knew I was on the train. In that situation, if I didn't take action, I would definitely be questioned..."
"Well, no need to explain, I understand." Brolin said with a smile: "But this magazine is talking nonsense, saying that the two patronuses that drive away the Dementors are eagles and Dobermans. Do you think it's possible, Sera?"
"Of course it's impossible." Baird said relaxedly, "Those wizard cubs must not be able to distinguish the types of hounds, or they just saw it wrong, right, Sera?"
He turned his head, only to see his companion lowering his head and remaining silent.
"—Sera?"
Baird frowned, looking somewhat puzzled.
Brolin sighed softly.
"Expecto Patronus, Sera," he said without question. "Show me your Patronus."
Abigail slowly drew out her wand.
A moment later, a silver-white hound ran around the room twice and came to Abigail.
It has a thin and agile body, a narrow and long head, and looks majestic and elegant.
This is indeed a Doberman.
Baird's expression changed slightly, and he slowly raised his eyes and looked at Abigail, as if he was looking at a stranger.
"Abigail, your previous patronus was a pit bull!" Baird asked, "When did it become like this?"
The silver hounds dispersed and disappeared, and Abigail said, "I don't know."
If she had known that her Patronus's form had changed, she would not have cast the spell, or at least hidden the form.
When Abigail saw the Patronus running towards the Dementors, she felt no less surprised and uneasy than the other students on the bus.
Brolin asked quietly, "Under what circumstances would the image of the Patronus change, Abigail?"
"When..." Abigail paused, then continued, "When you suffer a mental blow or... or when your emotions change drastically..."
"Did that school change you?" Brolin continued. "Did they make you weak? Did they make you start to believe in poisons like love or friendship and forget your own position?"
Abigail: "I didn't!"
"The patronus can reflect your true thoughts better than words." Baird said coldly.
"Don't be so severe, Major. It's not uncommon to be infected by innocent children."
Brolin said in a gentle tone: "But Sera, the world of children is indeed pure and kind, but those children can't always be just children."
"They will soon walk out of the school and use magic to harm innocent people, becoming the kind of wizards you hate the most."
"Have you forgotten how your parents died? Thirteen years ago, two wizards chased each other and killed twelve innocent Muggles with one spell - just because those people were on the same street!"
Abigail's eyes turned red instantly, and she gritted her teeth and said, "I haven't forgotten!"
Brolin looked at her with pity and continued, "No reason, no explanation, not even an apology! Your parents were wiped out and their names are not even worthy of appearing in a wizard's newspaper."
"Poor child... You joined the organization out of revenge. Later, you heard the news and thought that the two unscrupulous wizards had been punished. One died and the other was imprisoned in the most terrible prison in the world."
"But what actually happened? One of them became a world-famous hero, and I heard that he might even join the Ministry of Magic as an Auror; the other one is still at large, and his whereabouts are still unknown."
"Only you...child, you are the only one who remembers those who died. Your parents only live in your memory."
"Abigail, how could you forget? How could you be weak?"
(End of this chapter)