The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

The sun has not yet appeared, but there is already some light in the distant sky, and the dark blue sky is gradually fading.

The path leading to the swamp clearing outside the stone house was damp and narrow, and the scrawled lanterns lit up with bits of orange light. I didn't meet any pedestrians along the way, but when I walked to the place where the door keys were stored, there were suddenly more people.

Molly took the children to join the team. Arthur thought for a while and went to the side to maintain order with Basil.

"What happened last night?"

"The matter has not yet been clarified. An announcement will be made after the investigation is complete."

"That python is the basilisk, right?"

"I am not sure as well."

"Who conjured that mark?"

"Not sure yet."

"Arthur... could he be... that person?"

Arthur waved his hand: "Of course it's not him. We don't know who it is. It seems that he has disapparated... Please queue up to receive the door key. Like you, I just want to go home and have a good sleep."

Hearing the exchange not far away, Loren looked at Percy who was standing obediently behind Molly and asked curiously: "Percy, why don't you maintain order?"

Hearing this, Hermione and others around them also looked over curiously. In the past, Percy was most interested in this kind of thing.

Percy was silent for a moment and said slowly: "I was thinking about what happened last night..."

"He bumped his nose last night, got a bit of wind and caught a cold, and now he's sore all over." Molly bluntly said, but couldn't help but feel sorry for this most well-behaved son, "I'll take out the cold medicine when I get home. I’ll make a pot for you.”

George and Fred immediately looked at Percy with pity. The medicine at home was given by their mother at home. It was unclear whether it would cure the disease, but it was definitely very unpleasant to drink.

Percy also knew this and glanced at his old mother with a resentful look: "I was really thinking about what happened last night... There was a safety issue at the World Cup, and the ministry may provide some compensation."

The Weasley child's eyes lit up, and Hermione looked at him suspiciously: "There are a hundred thousand wizards in the camp, and there are tens of thousands of tents. Can magic afford to pay for it?"

"The ministry has raised a lot of money recently, and..." Percy paused, "The financial losses from being burned may not be compensated, but mom you were attacked, and if Mr. Crouch doesn't object, compensation should be no problem."

Molly's face softened a little and she snorted: "This won't make me change my opinion of Crouch."

In the end, they finally got an old tire before the sun rose, and relied on it to return to Stoat Mountain. In the dim light of dawn, they passed through the village of Ottery St. Catchpole and walked along the wet huts towards the Burrow. Go.

Everyone said little along the way and just wanted to go home quickly and have breakfast.

…

In the early morning, the city of London has been awakened by the noisy whistle, and the smell of coffee and breakfast sandwiches is wafting on the road.

"Taotao Department Store."

Dumbledore looked at the sign on the red brick store with great interest, and in his mind used a Scrabble game to reorganize it into "Dad's foot was bitten by a snake". This secret little thought hides an unknown interest. .

"I want to write this matter into my travel diary after retirement..." Dumbledore thought silently.

Suddenly, he squinted his eyes and looked at the sign carefully... Although the name was still the same as before, the style was even more outdated. It should be that St. Mungo's Hospital had received another donation from the Malfoy family not long ago, so there was enough funds to replace the sign.

Well... I had enough funds, so I replaced the sign with a more worn one.

Dumbledore nodded to the ugly doll in the window and smiled: "Good morning, I'm visiting the patient who was sent last night."

Silent magic fluctuations covered the window glass, and Dumbledore stepped through the glass and came to the crowded waiting room of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies.

"Dumbledore, you are finally here!"

A middle-aged wizard came up to him immediately. He had dark brown hair and thick eyebrows mixed with gray, and a pair of sharp eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses.

He was a bit lame, but he walked with a graceful stride that made people immediately feel that he was a sharp and tough guy.

Dumbledore turned his head with a smile: "Sorry, Rufus, there are a lot of things going on at Hogwarts as the term begins."

Rufus Scrimgeour, Director of the Auror Office, spent most of his time fighting against Dark Wizards after joining the job. Only a few people in the entire Ministry of Magic believed Dumbledore's warning about the return of the Dark Lord. Firth is one of them.

He is a man who hates evil as much as he hates it and is resolute in his actions... although he always disagrees with Dumbledore.

Rufus said hello and walked up the stairs. Next to the cross sign of St. Mungo's bones and wands on the wall, there was a road sign with "Second Floor - Biological Injury Department" engraved on it.

Dumbledore walked up with him, smiling and nodding to the magical portrait of Dilys de Winter and saying hello.

Going up the steps, Dumbledore asked softly: "Is there anything you can tell me now, Rufus?"

"I don't think you know any less than me..." Rufus frowned, but still explained, "There was a riot at the Quidditch World Cup last night, and a group of Veela and wizards launched an attack..."

"..."

Listening to Rufus recounting everything that happened last night, Dumbledore had a strange expression on his face, especially when he heard that a basilisk with gray scales petrified a hundred Veela and three or four hundred wizards participating in the parade. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"The petrified people have been moved to the Biological Injury Department on the second floor. Therapist Hibbert Smethyk has repeatedly confirmed that it is indeed the influence of the basilisk." Rufus paused, "One thing is very special Strangely, no one was fatally injured."

Dumbledore's lips curled up: "Perhaps, this is a kind-hearted basilisk."

"..."

Seeing the smile on the old wizard's face, Rufus was silent for a moment: "We have contacted the MACUSA and confirmed that this basilisk is the same basilisk that appeared in New York. From New York to Devon, the basilisk There must be a mysterious wizard hiding behind it, and we will summon Newt Scamander later. Many people in the ministry suspect that the Basilisk was ordered by him."

Dumbledore: ...

He had a hunch that Newt might be blamed for more than just this in the future.

There were not many steps, and the two of them soon arrived at the closed ward on the second floor. Hundreds of beds were neatly arranged. Even though Rufus witnessed the execution of the Traceless Stretch Curse with his own eyes, he was still a little shocked for a moment.

"If it's just petrified, the treatment is very simple. It's just that procuring mandrake might be a little more troublesome." Dumbledore looked at the person lying on the hospital bed, "So, do you have any plans to come to me?"

"I want you to check these Veela. There are traces of the Imperius Curse on them, but the magic of the basilisk interfered with our exploration."

"Is that just that?" Dumbledore stopped and turned around, with a pair of bottomless blue eyes, "I thought you cared more about the Dark Mark, Rufus."

…

On the dining table of the Burrow, the crisp sound of knives and forks clashing with dishes kept ringing, and the steaming breakfast had a pleasant smell wafting around it.

Arthur took a sip of strong tea and hurriedly browsed the first page of the "Daily Prophet" he had just received. Percy looked over his shoulder, his expression getting increasingly ugly.

"The Ministry of Magic is panicking...the criminals have not yet been caught...security is relaxed...the basilisk saved the Ministry of Magic...bringing shame to the country..." Arthur's eyebrows knitted together, "Who wrote this? Ah... It's her, Rita Skeeter."

"That woman is specifically against the Ministry of Magic!" Percy was indignant. "She said last week that we should go all out to deal with vampires and werewolves, but she wasted a lot of time on the thickness of the crucible! Really, she I don’t seem to know that the International Federation of Wizards has revised the “Code for the Treatment of Non-Human Half-Wizards”..."

Harry quickly swallowed the bacon in his mouth: "Isn't Rita Skeeter working with the Ministry of Magic? She has written many articles in the past to advocate Fudge and slander Dumbledore..."

"She's not with the Ministry of Magic, she's just with Dolores Umbridge..." Percy muttered.

"Oh, my God! I was mentioned in the newspaper!" Arthur turned over a page of the newspaper and continued reading with wide eyes, "The first news from the scene, when the wizards were lining up to evacuate in the early morning, a Ministry of Magic official revealed, He claimed that no one was harmed, but refused to disclose more information. Whether his words are enough to quell the rumors that bodies are being lifted out of the woods one after another remains to be seen..."

"She writes like I'm lying. It's true that no one was harmed. What else can I say?" Arthur handed the newspaper to Percy angrily. "The body was taken out of the woods. She is clearly spreading panic. rumor!"

Molly said with some annoyance: "If you don't say anything, that old guy Rita will comment that people from the Ministry of Magic don't say a word, which is beneath their status."

Bill spread his hands and said, "Rita Skeeter is like that. She never writes good things about others. She once interviewed all the curse breakers in Gringotts and then called me a "hairy ghost"! "

"No, I have to go back to the office. This matter needs to be clarified."

Arthur babbled and went to change clothes, and Percy followed him. In the end, the two of them disappeared into the flames of the fireplace.

…

The sun broke out of the clouds, and the sky that had been frozen for a long time finally let out light. The golden sunlight shone in from the window, illuminating the room and the heart.

The young man couldn't keep his worries in mind and was very sleepy on the road, but he became energetic after breakfast.

Ron and his brothers murmured for a while, then raised their heads excitedly: "Harry, how about we have a Quidditch match in the orchard, three people against three people, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George all participating... …You can try the Wronsky fake…”

"I don't want to play Quidditch now, I think we all need to go to bed..." Harry shook his head, his mind was in a mess, and the Dark Mark last night reminded him of the dream he had not long ago.

Ron was a little disappointed and turned to look at his sister: "Ginny, will you participate?"

Ginny hesitated and nodded.

Just as the Weasley brothers were about to go out, Harry stood up and said, "Wait a minute, I'm going to get my Firebolt."

Seeing them becoming active and going out in a lively manner, Molly gradually relaxed her heart and shook her head with a smile: "These kids!"

Hermione was looking intently at the newspaper on the table, not paying attention to the milk froth on her lips, and just biting the bread.

Loren tore off a piece of bread, wiped the foam from her lips, and stuffed it into the girl's mouth.

Hermione opened her mouth to accept the feeding, chewing and swallowing subconsciously. After completing a series of actions, she realized something was wrong and turned her head to stare at him blankly.

Loren waved his hand: "You're welcome."

…

For the next week, Arthur and Percy were rarely at home. They left home for work before dawn every day and didn't come back until late at night. Molly always sighed while watching the dinner which had been heated several times and became limp.

The day when school starts is getting closer and closer with such sighs.

At the end of August, the howling wind blew against the upstairs windows of the Burrow, and the old loose leaves made a creaking sound.

Charlie was darning a fireproof hood, and Harry and Ron were concentrating on maintaining the Firebolt, with disgustingly gentle expressions.

Loren grabbed Crookshanks' two front paws and controlled it to continuously attack Hermione's legs, muttering some strange words like 'Godzilla in the form of a cat nugget' and 'Element Devourer'.

Hermione was holding "Standard Spells - Level 4" in her hands, her face expressionless, she just thought he was bored.

It was a fourth-grade textbook. She borrowed George and Fred's to look at first.

It would be meaningless if the person being provoked did not respond. Loren simply left Crookshanks aside and massaged Hermione's legs himself: "The fourth-year spells are not difficult. Haven't you seen them before?"

"The test scores of the fourth grade are related to the advanced class of the fifth grade." Hermione looked at him seriously, "I will supervise your study after school starts!"

"Oh, Professor Granger."

"..."

There was a snap.

The "Thousands of Magical Herbs and Mushrooms" that was stuck with the magic transparent tape suddenly fell apart. Ginny looked at several books on the carpet, sighed, and started to paste and repair it again.

After putting the booklets together in order, Ginny looked up at her mother who was holding the list of items. Her mother had been in a daze for a quarter of an hour from just now.

"Mom..." Ginny poked Molly, "Can you pass me the tape?"

"Ah, oh, okay..." Molly picked up the tape and handed it over, then picked up the list again and was dazed.

"Dress robe..."

Molly couldn't help but worry as she read out the last item on the list of must-have supplies for fourth graders.

Many of the items brought from the Quidditch camp tent were burnt to ashes, and Perkins needed to be compensated for his tent. The family was in poor condition and was in a tight situation, so they couldn't afford to buy Ron a ceremonial robe.

He definitely couldn't accept ugly second-hand dresses. Molly planned to buy them behind his back tomorrow and hand them to him when school starts...

Molly looked at the twins in the corner. Fred and George were sitting there, holding quills, with their heads on a piece of parchment, talking quietly about something, and laughing from time to time.

Looking at Ron who was wiping the Firebolt, Molly pursed her lips. She decided to talk to Ron. Maybe they could go to a second-hand robe store to buy a nicer ceremonial robe.