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Harry Potter: A Certain Ancient Rune Professor of Hogwarts (TL)-Chapter 655
๐ง๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฃo๐ซ๐ฒ๐.๐o๐
Chapter 655: The Aftermath and Invitation
In the quiet night, Felix walked briskly on his feet, followed by a line of crooked wizards, their jaws jingling to and fro as if they were playing some odd rhythm.
The group turned into an alleyway, the shops on either side were closed, only the dirty windows of the Hogโs Head Inn remained dimly lit, the door opened and a bushy grey-haired and bearded Aberforth came out to take out the rubbish and couldnโt help but open his mouth in surprise at the scene.
โGood evening.โ Felix greeted calmly, his feet continuing forward with no intention of stopping to chat.
Aberforth stared, watching as a wizard with a stiff body and head dangling to their chest passing in front of him, and he yelled at Felixโs back in annoyance, โSo โ the incarnation of Death is back to work? It doesnโt look like a bad haul.โ He muttered empathetically, โWhich one of the guests is unlucky this time, Puddifoot? Three broomsticks?โ
His words stirred Felixโs memory.
At a time when rumours of the Elder Wand were spreading, Felix had, as he did today, appeared along with the night, picking out vermin one by one like an old farmer inspecting his own fields, and the Hogโs Head Inn, with its unique bar culture of allowing customers to hide their faces, in addition to its price advantage, was well received by the shady wizards, making the Hogโs Head Inn the most favoured area for Felixโs hunting.
Felix turned his head over his shoulder, flashed a broad smile to Aberforth, and continued to walk away.
Aberforth frowned and cursed twice, and instead of taking out the rubbish, he turned and went back into the shack, slamming the door with a loud thud. โWhatโs wrong?โ One of the guests inside asked drunkenly, โI thought I heard someone talking about death.โ
โShut up!โ Aberforth yelled, his hair standing on end, โIf you donโt get your drink money soon, Iโll tie you up on the sign at the door, you vile thief.โ
The male wizard with the dishevelled ginger hair looked up from his glass, opened his bloodshot eyes, and said with a confused look in his eyes, โAboufousse?โ He hiccuped, โWeโre good mates for sure โฆ isnโt it just some money? I have โฆโ
He rummaged through his dirty pockets and pulled out a few gold galleons and slammed them on the table.
โWhere did you get that money?โ Aberforth was astonished.
โWell โฆ Iโve recently got close, close to a big man, another โฆ thatโs the Minister of Magic, the Minister of Magic โ you know? โ The man giggled twice and downed two gulps of liquor into his mouth, a โhiss~ha~โ inhaling sound released from his mouth, โWow! Man, thatโs some strong booze.โ
If Felix had been able to come in and sit down for a moment, he would have recognized the unkempt man at once โ he is a friend (and colleague) of every thief and smuggler in the UK, and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mundungus.
Felix had introduced him, along with Rita Skeeter, to Amelia Bones, so it wasnโt hard to guess who the big man that Mundungus was talking about was.
Felix stood in the dense night darkness, his gaze remained calm as a dozen wizards descended from the sky.
These wizards are all Aurors, the wands in their hands glowing with light, illuminating their vigilant faces. A woman strides out of the crowd and walks over to Felix.
It is Amelia Bones.
Felix handed the men over to Aurors and stepped aside with Ms. Bones, and spoke in a whisper.
โIt is recommended to keep them in solitary confinement for at least -โ Felix calculated, โfour months.โ
Ms. Bones raised her eyebrows.
โAre you interfering with justice here?โ
โOh come on, Iโm your advisor, youโll know how serious this is once youโve interrogated the leader, whoโs a really clever man, Iโve seen the plan and thereโs a real chance heโll succeed with the lack of transparency of information.โ Felix gave a brief rundown about the men and Ms. Bonesโ jaw dropped in shock.
In a nutshell, this man, Mr. DeWitt, who went by the name โNoelโ, had planned to move around, gain Grindelwaldโs trust, use rhetoric to trick him into working for him, and then receive the old manโs political legacy through a series of meticulous plans and tactics.
The key link in the plan is the recent riots in the US and Grindelwaldโs teaching at Hogwarts. DeWitt has no intention of keeping it a secret, as he says he will, instead he will use Grindelwald as a banner to recruit people while using spies lurking in the International Confederation of Wizards to create conflict, and when the time is right, he will trigger his plan.
When the time comes โ
Old man Grindelwald would naturally be portrayed as an ambitious man trying to make a comeback and be imprisoned back at the first opportunity. DeWitt may be at that time rightfully crowned as the number two (self-appointed) head of the Acolytes under the banner of being Grindelwaldโs heir.
Not to mention, the inevitable fall of Dumbledoreโs reputation that would accompany this affair would also drag Felix into this mess.
โPretty good planning, it is just a shame that he didnโt practice the Occlumency well.โ Felix said sighing, โAnd didnโt know about me well enough, Iโm not as bright as Dumbledore, who has to care about his reputation all the time.โ
Ms. Bones rolled her eyes in resignation, โYouโre surprisingly honest. But are you telling the truth?โ She trailed off.
โYou find it incredible too, donโt you? But thereโs never a shortage of ambitious people in this world, let alone ambitious people who gamble heavily,โ Felix said, โso when I confirmed he is an enemy, I breathed a hard sigh of relief, because frankly, if all that suspicion and malice later turns out to be just personal โ -you know, like corporate rivalries or something,โ he shrugged, โI would have found it tricky too, but of course, now theyโre your problem.โ
Ms. Bones gave him a blank look.
She stroked her hair and after a moment said, โAs it happens, Iโm planning to meet with the new Confederation President Babajide recently, the spy is called Wollaston, an official assistant under the Confederation, isnโt he? Iโll move as soon as I get these people settled.โ
She walked over and instructed the Aurors a dozen feet away to confine the men one by one with their magic, and of the three Aurors on guard, a female Auror with pink hair stood out in the darkness.
Felix paced over to her.
โTonks.โ
Tonks looked around warily and after a few seconds she spoke in a whisper-like voice, โWhat is it?โ โHow have you and Remus been?โ Felix asked quietly. Tonksโ shoulders slumped, looking moody, and she said feebly, โUgh, just like that.โ
โLupinโs birthday will soon -โ
Tonks jerked her head around and looked at Felix up and down, and it was Felixโs turn to wonder.
โDo you have time that day?โ She asked eagerly.
โUh-โ
โWeโd like to invite you to Remusโs birthday party, what do you think?โ She asked with a look of anticipation.
โItโs okay, but-โ
โItโs a deal!โ She said decisively, and then with a โpleaseโ look on her face she asked, โWell โ is that okay?โ
Felix cleared his throat and muttered in a quiet voice, โIt seems thereโs something going on that I donโt know about.โ
Tonks sighed with a glum face.
โIโll be brief about it, weโre planning to spend our birthday at my parentsโ.โ
Felix blinked and immediately had the urge to back out, โWell, on second thought, something might come up that day, it happens to be Monday โฆ or maybe another day-โ f๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ผัต๐l.๐๐ฐ๐ถ
He was startled.
Tonks had made her face look haggard and her hair greying, and several extra wrinkles had appeared on her forehead, a natural ability of the Metamorphmagus with a gift to change her appearance from birth.
โIโm worried to death, you wonโt have the heart to watch Remus being questioned alone, right? If you are there, there will be someone to help pull the weight or something in case of a fight โฆโ she glanced at the bound wizards, โYou can easily subdue a dozen dark wizards alone, not to mention just three.โ
Felix looked at Tonks and mentally contemplated just how pessimistic she is about the family dinner that would soon follow, to even contemplate such a notion.
At last, everything was in place, Ms. Bones brought out two portkeys and the group of Aurors split into two groups, each forming a circle in a slightly comical position, tugging the unconscious prisoner with one hand and touching the portkey with the other, and after a dazzling blue light, the group disappeared into the darkness.
โDonโt never forget-โ Tonksโ shout came to a screeching halt.
Felix stayed where he was, mulling over his role in the awkward dinner party that would soon follow, and he preferred to deal with a dozen more dark wizards rather than be the jokester who enlivened the atmosphere or the terrorist who put down the Tonks family.
He quickly had an idea.
โSirius? Lately โ donโt hang up in a hurry, got something important to ask you โฆ yes, something to do with your best friend, well Tonks wants to liven things up a bit โฆโ
His steps lightened as Felix put away the communicating mirror and was even in the mood to consider what tone of voice to use in the morning to offhandedly spill the beans on what had happened tonight, the dark lord Grindelwald had become an object to be used and manipulated in some peopleโs eyes, and he couldnโt wait to see Grindelwaldโs reaction.
โIโm just curious,โ Grindelwald said slowly when Professor Sprout left from the neighbouring table, โwhy did he approach you.โ
โIs this another one of those sharp counter agendas youโve had in mind?โ Felix asked.
Dumbledore who had just finished listening to Felix with a serious face, now returned to his usual look, spreading butter and jam on his slice of bread as if nothing had happened.
โItโs normal for some young man to underestimate me after Iโve disappeared for half a century,โ Grindelwald said slowly, โbut โ Felix Hap, that name has gained a lot of notoriety in recent years, what makes someone think that you are easy to be used in a conspiracy?
The implication of his words seemed to imply that Felix should reflect on himself and what impression he had made on the public.
โOn that note,โ Dumbledore said with a sudden faint smile, โFelix has actually always been most remembered as a scholar, even if he has had a few bouts in public to promote his learning. He has never been publicly associated with any political activity. Perhaps โ in the opinion of that Mr. DeWitt โ the fact that a young man of only twenty-five has achieved so much just shows that he has devoted all his time and energy to study magic.โ
Grindelwald chuckled, โSo the man sitting next to me is someone with an incredibly simple mind.โ
Felix was pensive.
โIt does sound a lot better than the title of dark lord or dark demon, I mean how come more and more people have been writing to me with salutations since school started, especially this month during the festive season when greeting cards and chocolates could fill a bedroom. Albus, you must have the same experience, right?โ
Grindelwaldโs expression froze, and he paused, looking at Felix and then at Dumbledore.
Dumbledoreโs wrinkled face flushed slightly, and he coughed lightly twice, not quite comfortable, โFelix, Minerva asked me to tell you that three students have felt the throbbing of the Animagus. It will be difficult to change that number in the short term.โ
โOkay, I understand.โ Felix thought for a moment and said, โTonight then, in fact, Iโd like to think that in another week or two there may be a new student who will succeed.โ
โWhy do you say that?โ Dumbledore asked curiously.
You know, it is not an easy thing to feel the throbbing of the Animagus, and it is not unusual for many people to drag their feet for months or years on this, and during this time, the wizard undergoing the ritual must recite the spell twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, without fail. This process is actually a great test of perseverance and dedication, much more difficult than having a leaf of mandrake in your mouth.
โBecause of the Patronus charm.โ Felix said, โThe current three โ Hermione Granger, Hannah Abbott, and Draco Malfoy โ have one thing in common, they have mastered the Patronus Charm.โ
โThe first two are members of the โFrontline Lookoutโ club, and Harry has spent a lot of time in the club teaching this spell, and as for Draco, heโs not a member of the club, but heโs secretly mastered it as well, probably to try and compete with Harryโฆ โฆโ
Felix thought the boy was a bit of a dolt, because even if he had learned it he didnโt get to use it, for the reason that his dad, Lucius, was working under Voldemort at that time, but โฆ stupid people have stupid ideas.
โAll in all, the incline is still pretty obvious. The fact that those two seventh years in the Transfiguration Club havenโt received any feedback so far just backs that up. When Minerva and I were discussing this, we thought that the Patronus Charm tapped into the wizardโs spiritual powers, which happens to fulfil the requirements for the second stage of Animagusโ practice.โ
Dumbledore thought quickly for a while and nodded his head.
โThatโs a reasonable conjecture; some magic affects others, possibly in a gainful way or in reverse,โ he said with a smile on his face as his pupils dilated slightly, โand itโs a massive research topic.โ
He glanced thoughtfully at Felix.
โPerhaps it is only by relying on a student population as large as Hogwarts that magic can be pushed forward to keep progressing, no wonder those in the Ministry of Magic have been studying it for decades without much results โฆโ
At nine oโclock in the evening, the wind was howling and the rain was pouring down.
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