days at Hogwarts

Chapter 535 Departure
"Hagrid, what's wrong with him?" Hermione's voice was a little anxious.

In the current situation where Voldemort has made a comeback and the Death Eaters are lurking in the dark, the old headmaster's words are inevitably disturbing.

The golden flame fluttered twice because of the sudden and urgent words, and then slowly recovered to its normal state under the soothing of the internal magic circulation, burning quietly and releasing soft light and heat.

Dumbledore was still looking at the flames, with a smile on his face and a calm expression: "Don't worry, there is no danger to life at the moment. We just encountered some trouble on the way back to Hogwarts from the professor of Care of Magical Creatures."

"What trouble? Where did he go?" Hermione demanded.

"He wants to bring a strange-looking friend who is unable to travel back to Hogwarts. He needs to avoid the local natives, Muggles, and other wizards, so he has been unable to set off..." Dumbledore paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "I need you to go and pick him up."

Hermione put away the worry on her face, expressionless, and asked coldly, "His friend is not a magical animal like a dragon, thunderbird, or ermine, a dangerous beast of level 5X, the kind that can destroy a large city if it gets out of control."

"Please rest assured. I guarantee in the name of the principal that his friend may be a little taller, but he has two hands and two feet, eyes, nose and mouth, just like us. He does not have any extra scales or wings, and he will not spit fire from his mouth at will, nor will he use his sharp horns containing highly toxic substances to butt against others..."

Loren carefully put the Gublei fairy fire into a high-temperature resistant snake bone container, put it into the pendant around his neck, and fell into deep thought while holding the pendant.

According to the time calculation, Hagrid should be on a diplomatic mission to win over the giant tribe.

If I remember correctly, the friend he wanted to bring back was his half-brother, the pure-blooded giant Grawp...

Pooh!
This old man with a white beard has no shame in ruining the reputation of the headmaster of Hogwarts with such a calm face.

Loren squinted his eyes and glanced at Dumbledore: "Just tell me if it is a 5X dangerous creature rated by the Ministry of Magic?"

"Well..." Dumbledore twirled his beard with a conflicted expression.

Hermione's slightly softened eyes became sharp again, and she looked at the old headmaster expressionlessly: "He's a little taller, but he's the same as us in other aspects... He's a giant, right? From your tone, he's an orthodox pure-blooded giant, and he's as dangerous as an adult dragon."

"Ahem..." Dumbledore looked away guiltily and said weakly, "I'm not sure about the details. Wait until you see Hagrid and ask him in person..."

It's so strange, why do Hermione's eyes look exactly like Minerva's?
But the person who made the mistake was Rubeus Hagrid, professor of Care of Magical Creatures. What does it have to do with him as the headmaster?
Hermione looked at the headmaster's gradually calm expression, frowned and asked:
"Where is he hiding now?"

"At the foot of Ben Nevis. I don't know the exact location."

……

It was mid-August and the weather was nice and sunny.

Hermione went upstairs after breakfast and found Kreacher behind the curtains in the second-floor living room.

After the vixen was cleared away, this old house-elf seemed to have replaced them and lived here. It often stood alone behind the curtains, saying nothing, just standing there in a daze. The other people in the old house did not object, as they believed that out of sight, out of mind.

As the sun rose, the white hair sticking out from the old elf's ears was coated with a layer of gold by the sunlight, dispelling some of the gloom on this body.

"Kreacher."

Hermione called softly, and came to the window and spread out her right palm, showing the slightly charred locket: "The locket has been destroyed by Dumbledore, and Regulus' wish has been fulfilled. We were in a hurry last night and forgot to inform you."

"It's done..." Kreacher whispered, his expression dazed.

Hermione had no good feelings towards this elf who discriminated against bloodlines, but seeing his appearance, she felt inexplicably sad. She paused and said softly, "Sorry, I can't give the locket to you for the time being. Loren wants to keep it to study the magic runes on it." "It's the Dark Lord's stuff. Keep it if you want it..."

The old elf, who had been alone in the old house for more than ten years and never felt bored, exhaled a breath. The obsession that had been holding on for a long time came out at this moment, and his skinny back became a little lower.

"Loren and I are leaving. We will probably go straight back to school when school starts. You...take care of yourself."

Hermione sighed, stood up and walked downstairs.

The old elf kept murmuring Regulus' name, tears streaming down his face before he knew it. He slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of the Leo constellation, his lips trembling: "Master Regulus, did you see it, did you see it..."

I walked all the way to the basement kitchen and approached Loren.

There were many people crowded in the room, all standing not far from the fireplace, watching Sirius rummaging around, checking whether the fireplace, which had been covered in dust for a long time, could still be used to carry people on a long journey.

"Isn't it said that minors cannot join the Order of the Phoenix? Why are they sent out to complete the mission?"

Harry and Ron angrily questioned the adult wizards present, their faces full of indignation.

Loren glanced back at him, spread his hands and sighed helplessly: "It's Dumbledore's arrangement. I don't really want to go either."

"..." Harry and Ron became even more angry when they heard this. They gritted their teeth and took a deep breath, like Crookshanks who was angered by a vixen.

Mundungus had a messy head of ginger hair and a pipe in his mouth but didn't dare to light it. He murmured with envy, "Look at this, a fireplace that is not supervised by the Ministry of Magic. It's worthy of being a big family. With this, they can never be too poor..."

George and Fred's eyes lit up, and they tacitly avoided Molly's sight and moved over in small steps to ask the reason.

"You don't understand, the fireplace is not monitored by the Ministry of Magic, which means a secret transportation channel, and a secret transportation channel means scarce goods, and no tax is required..."

After tinkering with it all morning, Sirius straightened his back, patted the coal dust off his body, and spit twice. "It's still pretty sturdy, and the fireplace can still be used. If you want to go to Ben Nevis, there's an open swill bar in the wizard village over in Scotland. The owner is the cousin of Old Tom from the Leaky Cauldron, so he won't meddle in other people's business. Just leave when you get there... The return trip is a bit more troublesome, see if you can take the Knight Bus."

"We have a more convenient way when we come back, don't worry." Loren nodded and said calmly.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place does not prohibit Apparition, so they can just teleport back when the time comes. If it takes some time to find Hagrid, they might be able to return to Hogwarts directly in time for the start of school.

"I made you some pies to take away, and Remus said you had some fresh food, and some fried steaks and fish..."

Molly came over in her apron, wanting to hug Loren and Hermione, but she found that the grease and flour on her apron had stopped staining. She withdrew her hands and complained in a tearful voice, "I really don't know what Dumbledore was thinking. Doesn't the Order of the Phoenix have any more adult wizards? Why did he send you two little guys to do the mission..."

"It's okay. We're not dealing with Death Eaters."

"If I'm lucky, I'll be back in less than two days."

Loren and Hermione left it to Mrs. Weasley to pack up all the hot food and stuff it into the pendant. After saying goodbye to everyone, they walked into the fireplace.

Floo powder rose up and a flash of green flames appeared.

(End of this chapter)