harry potter book of crimes

"Bang!"

The windows were closed tightly and heavy curtains were drawn, making the room dark.

Neville stood next to the rocking chair in the middle of the living room, watching his grandma close the doors, windows and even the transom for air circulation, leaving not even a crack.

To be honest, he didn't think this would make them feel more secure - would those monsters really leave because the doors and windows were closed?

"Milk, grandma——"

"Silence!"

Grandma was still Grandma, Augusta Longbottom, the one who raised him on behalf of his parents.

She was wearing her favorite dark green robe, with a fox fur scarf around her neck. The hat decorated with a stuffed eagle was placed next to the rocking chair. She would wear it whenever she went out.

superior.

Although Neville never thought it was very good-looking, and sometimes even thought it was a little funny.

But grandma is extremely stubborn. What she likes is the best, and everything else doesn't matter. For this, Neville, who didn't dare to disobey, could only feel depressed in his heart.

"Let's go to the back door..."

The old lady grabbed her grandson's sleeve, put the hat on his head with the other hand, and then dragged him back without any doubt.

Although she is getting older, her temper does not seem to be much different from the past. She is still so tough, self-centered, and even seems a little unreasonable.

Of course, Neville has always respected her very much... Well, it's better to say "awe", because she has the "firmness" that Neville always felt he lacked.

After being dragged to the back room by his grandma, he saw his grandma continuing to wave her wand, closing and locking all the doors and windows, and doing things that made Neville feel that his efforts were "in vain."

After all, didn’t they, grandfather and grandson, just see an Auror from the Ministry of Magic on the street outside, who was severely injured by a monster and almost died?

For such a powerful monster, just closing the door...is it really useful?

After the old lady "isolated" the entire room from the outside world, she waved her hand and asked Neville to sit on the chair in the back room, while she stood quietly behind the curtain.

This was obviously another move that Neville didn't understand: she was standing there neither looking out to observe the situation, nor sitting down to rest... So what on earth was she doing?

However, there are many things that his grandma has done since he was a child that he does not understand. After all, he has long been used to it.

The now tall Neville was huddled in a small chair, holding his pet toad Leif in his hand. On his left hand side, the space between the chair and the wall was filled with all kinds of strange miscellaneous things.

items, and on the right is a tall utility cabinet.

Sitting here, let alone stretching his arms and legs, he would hit something even if he moved his elbows.

But he still shrank like this and didn't say another word, because grandma had just asked him to "silence".

Suddenly, Neville moved his gaze, which had always been on his grandma, to the side of the closed curtains. The silence in the room made him involuntarily think about it.

At first, he was a little worried about his parents who lived in St. Mungo's for a long time, but after thinking about the concealment and defensive magic of the wizarding hospital, he began to worry about his other classmates who lived in London.

There is no doubt that this is a terrible disaster, a catastrophe that spans both Muggles and wizards.

In such a disaster, almost any individual, whether it is a Muggle or a wizard, appears to be very small, and anyone may die miserably on the streets under the attack of those monsters.

And when he thought about this, Neville couldn't help but feel distressed.

I still remember that since joining R.A. and becoming one of them, he can be said to be the one who practices the most diligently and hardest among all the people.

Whether it is collective training, group training, or his personal additional training, he spends much more time and energy than others.

However, only he himself knows that his talents in "Charms", "Transfiguration", and "Defense Against the Dark Arts" can only be described as "terrible".

Even so, frequent practice eventually gave him a spell-casting level that was much higher than that of his classmates.

But today, when he saw the brutal battle between the Auror and the monster, all he could feel was loss again.

He couldn't help asking himself - what's the point of practicing for such a long time? When disaster strikes, when a crisis comes, can't he just shrink at home and watch his grandma close the windows, lock the doors, and draw the curtains?

In this way, Neville felt more and more depressed the more he thought about it, and finally couldn't help but stood up suddenly.

"grandmother……"

"Shut up! Sit quietly!"

After all, grandma was still his grandma. Just a look back at her made Neville shrink his neck habitually. But this time, after being choked, he took another step forward.

"No, grandma!" He also imitated the old lady's behavior and said stubbornly with his neck raised, "Don't you often say that I am weak, useless, and have no independent opinion? Now I want to go out to fight, and I want to help others!

While we are cowering at home like this, many people must be being killed...including my junior classmates!"

When the old lady heard this, she did not show the relief Neville imagined. Instead, she came over with her lips pursed and pinched his ears.

"I told you, sit quietly!"

She pinched her grandson's ears, pushed him back to the chair, and then let go. At this time, Neville's ears had turned red and it must have hurt.

But although Neville was forced to sit back, he did not cover his ears with his hands, but still looked up at his grandma persistently.

This may not be the first time he has shown courage, but it seems to be the first time in front of grandma.

Unfortunately, his grandma doesn't seem to buy it.

"Go out to fight? Help others?" the old lady lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think this can make you look less 'cowardly'? Your performance only tells me that you are afraid - cowardly

Softie!"

Yes, Neville is afraid, he is afraid of his own incompetence.

That's why he was forced to stand up by his own fear and wanted to go out and fight those monsters to the death... and then the outcome was that he was quickly killed by the monsters.

Courage without value is not courage, it is just the self-comfort of weaklings.

Maybe Neville is a little braver than before - at least now he dares to joke with his own life, but he still can't get grandma's praise.

"But... aren't we cowardly if we hide here?" Neville couldn't help but retorted, "We didn't do anything!"

"Because we can't do anything!" the old lady admonished in a low voice without expression, "remember, we can't do anything now - be quiet!"

Grandma's dressing style is still so exaggerated and funny, but perhaps it is this contrast that makes the intimidation she displays become more distinct.

Neville, who was forced back into the chair, didn't know how to answer. After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally fell silent again.

Grandma's words seemed unreasonable, but somehow they contained strong persuasiveness.

But at the next moment, the old lady, who had always remained calm-faced, suddenly frowned, and her skin, which had lost its elasticity due to age, slowly knitted together.

Suddenly, she suddenly raised the wand in her hand, and took a step across to block Neville's body. Immediately afterwards, the back door was reopened with a strong force, and countless wooden fragments poured in like a storm.

Sweeping in.

However, when those fragments were stabbed in front of the old lady, they were fixed in the air by an invisible barrier, and then they were thrown aside as she flicked them.

Looking at the boards and sawdust that had fallen to the floor, Neville didn't have time to be surprised when he saw a hooded head sticking out of the door from his grandmother's side.

"boom!"

Almost at the same time as the head stuck its head through the door, a ball of silver-white light mist rushed over and pushed it back.

"Let's go through the front door!"

The old lady didn't even look back, and she didn't know where she got the strength from, but she grabbed Neville by the collar and dragged him towards the front room.

Neville staggered along the way, bent over and ran a few steps after his grandma. As he ran, he was thinking whether it was because he had spoken too loudly that he had attracted the monster.

You know, even when grandma scolded him, she always lowered her voice.

"Click."

Even though the monster behind could catch up at any time, the old lady opened the front door as quietly as possible, as if every move she made was carefully considered.

"Run by yourself, remember, be quiet!"

After going out and coming to the big tree at the door, she tapped her wand on the heads of herself and Neville respectively. Immediately, a chill poured down from their heads and spread all over her body in the blink of an eye.

This is the Disillusionment Curse, a spell that even Hogwarts does not require to learn. Due to its difficulty, ordinary wizards cannot use it at will.

But the old lady's movements were as smooth as flowing water, without any lag.

And at the moment when the two of them had completed their invisibility, a monster suddenly appeared from the rooftop behind them, its blood-red gaze directed toward the street below.

Unlike Neville who was so shocked that he immediately covered his mouth, the old lady still did not stop, but continued to release a silencing spell after casting the Disillusionment Curse.

Seeing the monster floating freely in the air, scanning everything on the street, Neville felt that a layer of cold sweat had formed on his back.

What were you talking about just now? Going out to fight?

Only at such a close distance could he feel the strange aura emanating from the monster - it was far more terrifying than the dementors that could suck the happiness of others!

Will I... be discovered by it? (To be continued)