Chapter 1189 DA and Defense Association
“Perhaps, we should hurry up, I suspect we are going to be late.”
“The agreed time is at twelve o’clock noon.”
Hike to Hogsmeade in the wind, sleet, and snow is by no means a pleasant experience. They had to bend down and move forward slowly against the cold wind, rain and snow. Even though they had wrapped themselves in thick scarves, the exposed skin was still painful from the cold.
Even Harry himself admitted that staying in the warm common room in this **** weather would definitely be more comfortable than it is now. Unfortunately, they have no choice now. Turning around and returning to school is obviously not a good option.
"It would be great if I could apparate directly to Hogsmeade." Ron pulled the scarf around his neck, looked at the Hogwarts students in front of him and complained in a low voice, "I feel like His cheeks were so cold that he lost consciousness."
"Don't complain, we can start learning Apparition this semester." Hermione seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly turned to the person next to her and said, "Harry, I remember you are not old enough."
"My birthday is at the end of July." Harry said a little depressed, "I may not be able to take the Apparition test until next semester."
"I think you should learn to Apparate first, just in case." Hermione suggested seriously, "And Ron, you too, it's best to pass it in one go."
“Hermione, do you know something?” Harry suddenly asked: “Did Albert tell you anything?”
"No." Hermione shook her head and said, "But do you remember? He predicted it."
“Prophecy? What prophecy?” Ron asked loudly.
"The real turbulent period... is coming." Hermione glanced at Ron and lowered her voice to remind, "According to Albert's prediction, it is not yet a turbulent period, so what do you think is the real turbulent situation? "
"The situation is worse than it is now." Harry couldn't imagine what it was like.
"He also reminded other Muggle wizards that they had better learn something useful before the turbulent times come. That's why the "Self-Defense Guide" was born." Hermione told her two companions about what she had figured out. "I think he wants to tell us that after the real turbulent period arrives, Muggle wizards will be in big trouble. I suspect that You-Know-Who will completely control the Ministry of Magic and persecute Muggle wizards."
"But, as long as Dumbledore is still there, it is almost impossible for Voldemort to control the Ministry of Magic." Harry felt that this possibility was not high. He had confidence in Dumbledore, but even a weakling like Fudge did not give in to Voldemort. , not to mention Scrimgeour.
"Yes, I thought so too." Hermione's voice was very low, and only a few people around her could barely hear it clearly: "Do you remember the injury on Dumbledore's hand? It was probably caused by some kind of very terrible It was hurt by the curse, I doubt Dumbledore would..."
For a while, the three of them were silent.
This is undoubtedly a very serious topic.
Perhaps, without Albert's prophecy, they would not have thought about this, but everything is pointing to one thing. Dumbledore is likely to gradually lose the power to check the mysterious man, or leave them forever. .
Without Dumbledore's deterrence, nothing the mysterious man does will be surprising. Perhaps at that time, the real period of turmoil will arrive.
Harry actually had similar thoughts, but he quickly suppressed them. At least, he didn't think the situation would be that bad. After all, Dumbledore was omnipotent in Harry's heart.
"I remember that Fred and George were taken by Albert to practice Apparition." Ron seemed to feel the depressing atmosphere around him and randomly found a topic, "They both passed the Apparition exam easily, and now they Being led by Albert to make a lot of money, dad said they are becoming the richest people in the family."
Ron was envious of the twins' good luck. Even though Fred and George were hiding now, they were still doing owl mail order and continuing to make a lot of money.
Feeling that the atmosphere around him was still very stiff, Ron changed the topic: "Those two **** also said that if they can't find a job in the future, they will go to the store to help. What are you going to do in the future?"
"When I entered the Ministry of Magic, I wanted to help the house elves change their current predicament." Hermione said without hesitation, "Wizards should not treat house elves like that."
"I think this may be difficult to do. The probability of Percy becoming the Minister of Magic is higher than this." Ron ignored Hermione's dissatisfied look and continued to ask, "Harry, what about you? Or do you plan to become one?" An Auror?"
Having something to say can be a good distraction from the exhausting trek to Hogsmeade.
“Well, if possible, I do want to become an Auror, but it seems to be more difficult than I expected, and...”
After learning about the prophecy between himself and the mysterious man from Dumbledore at the end of last semester, Harry put down a lot of things and no longer cared about his future employment.
The first thing he should consider now is how to defeat the mysterious man, or be defeated by the mysterious man. If he failed, there would be no point in thinking about the future.
"I always feel like you all have your secrets." Ron couldn't help complaining. He changed the subject and talked about another thing: "By the way, I heard that Fred and George took Zuko's Joke Shop Become one of their branches? Maybe, we can see it when we go there later, they seem to have a large-scale discount event today."
Looking at the two people who were silent, Ron couldn't help but sigh and comforted: "Actually, you don't need to worry too much. Even if something happens, isn't there still Dumbledore? Isn't there still Albert? I don’t believe they didn’t make any preparations, and it’s not our turn to worry about those things.”
After several people arrived in Hogsmeade Village, they were shocked by the changes in Zuko's Joke Shop. This shop, which is very popular among Hogwarts students, has not only been renovated, but also placed at the entrance. A comical statue.
That is clearly an upgraded version of the pink toad statue.
Sitting on the toad, Umbridge not only had rough skin, but also had pimples. She looked like she had taken a compound potion with toad skin scraps added. There was also a pink toad on her head, which surprised everyone the most. Yes, three toads were arranged neatly and making croaking sounds.
"I knew they were the ones who made that statue for me." Hermione looked at the toad statue in front of her and lowered her voice to Harry and Ron next to her.
The statue of Umbridge undoubtedly helped Zuko’s joke shop attract a lot of Hogwarts students. Everyone pointed at the toad statue, and some people actually took photos with the statue. The person who took the photo was none other than Lee Jordan.
“What the **** are you doing!”
The three of them walked over and asked Li Jordan who was posing for other students.
“So expensive?”
Ron couldn't help but complain: "You are robbing money!"
"It's enough to take a group photo with a few people. Then we can share the cost together. In fact, it won't cost much at all. It's not easy to find someone to take photos for you now, and the film itself is more expensive than you think. If it weren't for a promotion, Don’t expect it to be so cheap at all.” Lee Jordan said to the three of them, “If you want to take pictures, just go over there and line up!”
"I think that we should give up!"
Ron pulled Harry's shoulder, motioned him to look at the crowds of people in the joke shop, and said, "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink first to warm up, and then come back when there are less people here."
Harry saw the crowds of people inside through the floor-to-ceiling windows, nodded and agreed to Ron's suggestion, and got down to business first, then asked, "Are Fred and George here too?"
"They are helping in the store. Well, you should go in and have a look. We have recently got a batch of good things. You will definitely like them." After Li Jordan finished speaking, he went about his own business.
The three of them looked at each other and went directly to the Three Broomsticks bar. I met Cedric and Qiu Zhang there, and they were laughing and whispering.
Harry looked away from the two of them and was about to find another table when he was pulled back by Hermione.
"What's wrong?"
Harry followed Hermione's hand and saw Cedric waving to them. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and they both saw the worry in their eyes. They both knew that Harry had a secret crush on Cho Chang.
“I’m going to buy butterbeer.”
Ron said and walked towards the bar. Hermione glanced at Mrs. Rosmerta, who was still charming and charming, and then looked at Ron's slightly hurried back. She couldn't help but curled her lips and walked towards Cedric's table with Harry. Go.
“I heard that you were in trouble a while ago?”
When Harry faced Cedric now, he no longer felt the same jealousy as before, and when he looked at Qiu Zhang, he no longer felt the same excitement as before.
“I met a group of dark wizards and suffered a lot.” Cedric said lightly.
“You should pay attention to safety, and there is this incident and Fu…”
“Ahem!”
Hermione quickly interrupted Harry with a quick cough and helped her continue, "It has something to do with You-Know-Who?"
“Relevantly, according to Albert’s prediction, turbulent times are coming, and he thinks it’s best for us to stay together and spend the most difficult years together.” Cedric explained in a low voice.
“But this is not the same as…”
"We reorganized the Defense Association. When I was helping to recruit people, I ran into trouble. Maybe you have also heard that the group of Death Eaters were using the Imperius Curse on wizards everywhere. I happened to encounter them. It seemed that he really wanted to find the whereabouts of Albert, so he grabbed me and tried to extract some information from me." Cedric simply explained the main reason for his trouble.
“So, you quit your job at the Ministry of Magic?”
Ron appeared at the wooden table with three glasses of butterbeer, distributed the warm butterbeer to Harry and Hermione, and sat down next to Harry.
"Albert saved me, so I am not suitable to stay in the Ministry of Magic now, otherwise I will cause greater trouble." Cedric shrugged helplessly and explained, "In short, the situation is worse than you think. , even worse than the last Wizarding War."
"What kind of organization is the Defense Association?" Hermione was a little curious about this, "Is it the same as the DA party in school?"
“It is indeed similar to the previous DA. It will teach everyone the knowledge of defense against black magic so that they will not be helpless when encountering danger.”
"But isn't the Ministry of Magic also popularizing knowledge about defense against dark magic?" Hermione felt that the "Defense Association" organized by Albert was not just for teaching everyone knowledge about defense against dark magic. There must be other more important things. reason.
"That's different. The knowledge about defense against dark arts that Hogwarts students learn now is actually very general. The Defense Association will teach everyone more advanced knowledge about defense against dark arts." Cedric explained: "Moreover, the members of the organization will Keep in touch with each other and help each other. When you encounter trouble, at least you will not be helpless. If you are targeted by a Death Eater, we will also help hide the person. You can also think of this as a mutual aid organization against mysterious people. "
“After all, the Ministry of Magic is now occupied by heavy matters. If we want to protect our lives in the coming turbulent period, we need to unite everyone.”
"So, this is the main reason why you are willing to go to Hogwarts to teach everyone Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione stared at Cedric and asked, "You want the students at Hogwarts to join you."
"Yes, Hogwarts graduates are our targets, if they are willing to join us." Cedric admitted this directly, "However, the current students' defense against dark arts level is relatively average, Albert I feel that their level should be improved so that they have enough strength to cope with the next changes and protect themselves and their families."
"I think what Albert said makes sense. Now the entire magical world is in panic, and Scrimgeour doesn't know how long he can support it." Cedric reminded without hesitation, "Albert thinks Scrimgeour He has become a thorn in the side of the mysterious man and a thorn in the flesh. Maybe one day the mysterious man will find an opportunity, and Scrimgeour will die in the line of duty."
Harry, Ron and Hermione all couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. These are Albert's exact words. Scrimgeour has killed so many people, and there must be many people who want to kill him." Cedric looked around and lowered his voice and said, "I doubt Scrimgeour." In fact, Jie already knew that he might be killed in the end, so he was so cruel to those dark wizards."
"You mean Albert told Scrimgeour about this, but why did he..."
“Why not hide?” Cedric shook his head. “Do you think he can leave everything and hide by himself?”
The three of them were silent.
At this moment, a shrill scream suddenly came from outside, attracting the attention of all the customers in the bar.
(End of this chapter)