Hogwarts Homecoming

The kitchen of Blake's old house was crowded, and a sense of urgency about the future of the war enveloped everyone's mind.

After a loud bang, the members of the Order of the Phoenix focused their attention on the wooden door on the stairs.

With a harsh creaking sound, the figure of Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared in front of everyone.

"How's it going, Kingsley?"

Remus stood up from the top of the long table and looked at Kingsley who was greeting everyone with a smile.

"I mean, what's it like to be the head of the Auror office?"

"Sorry, I'm late -"

Kingsley breathed a sigh of relief and then shook his head. There was a bit of hoarse exhaustion in his usually steady voice.

"I just came from Upper Flagley. When the Muggle police there were counting the population of a village where wizards and Muggles lived together, they discovered that an old lady living alone was missing, and there were people in her old house. There were some blood stains, and the Muggle police believed it was a home invasion robbery, and the murderer also destroyed the body after committing the crime--"

Kingsley pulled up a chair and said to the people whose attention he had attracted,

"But the ministry knows the old lady is a wizard."

"Any sign of the Dark Mark, Kingsley?"

Alastor shouted at the top of his lungs.

"No--"

Kingsley shook his head,

"I personally inspected the house and I believe that a very skilled dark wizard has been there -"

After sighing softly,

"There are murders and robberies everywhere, and even though Secretary Bones had the foresight to expand the department's strike force, there's still not enough manpower."

Kingsley said.

"I'm following Amelia these days—"

Sirius put his hands on his chin and said solemnly,

"She is also troubled by the soaring crime rate, but it is true that she cannot allocate so many people to guard all areas where wizards live. Only Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and St. Mungo's are places where wizards are densely populated. Put some people in place.”

"These dark wizards are like sewer rats, everywhere!"

Alastor arched his hideous nose,

"Have Amosta and Albus used their clever minds?"

"When I was chatting with Amosta yesterday, we talked about this-"

Mr. Weasley gently rubbed his eyebrows,

"I can see that he has some ideas, but he seems to have some concerns. As you know, his methods have always been more intense. Maybe it is not suitable for the current situation."

Everyone was silent.

The current situation in the magic world can indeed be said to be terrible.

On the one hand, although Voldemort and his Death Eaters are not that active yet, some local and foreign evil elements who come here to attack the magic world either spontaneously or in an organized and planned way.

The security situation was no better than when Fudge was in office, and was even worse.

On the other hand, although Amosta was decisive and sharp in forcing Amelia to take the position, it still caused quite a ripple.

Domestically, it is fueled by the pure-blood wizard families who control the economic lifeline.

Abroad, the coup that took place in the British Ministry of Magic also had a considerable impact on other political organizations, workshops, and enterprises throughout the European magical community.

Foreign capital began to treat business in Britain more cautiously, even though Amosta Brain and Albus Dumbledore were behind this coup.

People are waiting to see what happens, and the capital side is also afraid that the methods used by Amosta and the British Ministry of Magic to treat the criminals who escaped from Azkaban will be used on themselves. After all, which company does not have some illegal crimes?

"In short, I don't expect this situation to improve in the short term--"

After sighing again, Kingsley calmed down and looked at the members of the Order of the Phoenix with solemn eyes.

"Let's talk about the escort the day after tomorrow. Amosta, Albus and Minister Bones held a meeting specifically for this matter——"

"What are their plans?"

Bill asked nervously,

"I heard from my friends at Gringotts that they have begun secretly sorting out the gold in the underground vault."

"That's right--"

Kingsley nodded,

"The plan is this. On the morning of the day after tomorrow, at six o'clock, seven o'clock and eight o'clock, the Transportation Department mobilized three Hogwarts Express vehicles to stop at Diagon Alley Station according to the time, and use the train to transport the gold to London.

The Aurors from the ministry are responsible for escorting the first train, the Order of the Phoenix is ​​responsible for the second express, and the third one."

Kingsley hesitated.

"The Ministry has found some powerful bounty wizards."

"Bounty Wizard?"

Remus said in surprise, and other people in the Order of the Phoenix were also discussing the arrangement of the Ministry.

However, Remus immediately realized the origins of those bounty wizards, and he coughed slightly,

"What should I do when the gold arrives in London? How should I place that large sum of gold?"

"Amosta said he would be back at King's Cross with some more hitters."

Kingsley answered the question.

"Where's Albus?"

Alastor asked gruffly,

"What's his plan?"

"Minister Bones has invited Albus to stay at the Ministry—"

Kingsley spoke again,

"In order to ensure that the gold can reach the ministry smoothly, all strikers and Aurors have been sent out. If Voldemort is waiting for an opportunity to retaliate, it will be troublesome. Therefore, someone must be responsible for the safety of the ministry."

In the anxious meeting, the members of the Order of the Phoenix had a heated discussion about the actions the day after tomorrow.

Every detail that was easily overlooked was unearthed and fully discussed at the meeting, leaving Harry and others upstairs with monitoring ears to enjoy listening to it.

"-The Ministry will block Diagon Alley from all directions for three hours."

Unknowingly, it was late at night.

Kingsley stood up from his chair, and before leaving, he concluded,

"The Department of Transportation will strictly control the floo network to ensure that no one breaks into Diagon Alley through the fireplace. The anti-Apparition spell will also work to make Apparition unusable. Similarly, the door keys are also under key monitoring. "

The moon was high in the sky, and the endless wilderness in the suburbs was enveloped by the noisy chirping of insects.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix left one after another, and in the end, only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Remus, who were temporarily staying in the house, remained.

Sirius waved his wand and a bottle of whiskey appeared in the air and landed in his hand.

After pouring wine for the three remaining people in the kitchen, Sirius raised his glass and drank it all.

"How is Amelia doing?"

Sirius let out a long breath and looked at Remus.

"She went to Germany on a business trip——"

Remus said,

"Because of Fudge's problem, some of our suppliers seemed a little worried. Amelia went to negotiate with them on my behalf."

Sirius nodded and fell into silence.

"She's a very good witch--"

After hesitating for a moment, Remus looked at Sirius,

"If you think she's pretty good"

Sirius took a breath and shook his head slightly.

"Let's talk about it later, Remus—"

He turned to look at Mrs. Weasley,

"Molly, can you do me a little favor?"

Mrs. Weasley frowned.

"This is not normal, Sirius, you would not normally be so polite-"

Sirius did not say this. Under the dim light, the sharp corners of his eyes seemed to soften a lot.

Smiling, Sirius put his hand into his pocket. After a moment, he took out a thick letter. After rubbing it with his fingertips a few times, he handed it to Mrs. Weasley.

"Do you want me to hand it over to someone, Sirius?"

Mrs. Weasley asked hesitantly as several people were looking at Sirius, who looked a little uncomfortable.

"It's for Harry-"

Sirius said calmly,

"If I don't come back the day after tomorrow, please give him this letter."

Bang!

In the dark room on the fourth floor, under the silent gaze of Hermione, Ron, the twins, and Ginny, a pale Harry dropped the monitoring ear in his hand, fell backwards, and hit the wall hard with his back! (End of chapter)