days at Hogwarts

Chapter 746 Death Eaters
The side hall of Ilvermorny Hall.

Dinner is over.

Several figures sat around a long table.

In front of Snape was a silver metal tray filled with flesh and blood and a few snake scales. He frowned slightly and said, "Without the snake tree, Crabbe's flesh and blood will wither quickly."

"Um……"

Hermione and Nancy frowned and tried to suppress their nausea as they looked at the bloody pieces of flesh being peeled off.

Loren sipped his steaming ice cream with a relatively calm expression.

The first time he saw the body, he had checked it with the Soul Stone. There was no emotional fluctuation at all. The original soul had been devoured. Only an empty shell remained of the body, absorbing the vigorous vitality of the snake tree to survive. The evil magic in the body assimilated and transformed the body and the snake tree bit by bit.

Crabbe was not only made into a living Horcrux, but also the wand core prepared by Voldemort. Once the assimilation and transformation were completed, he would be able to imitate Slytherin and create a brand new snakewood wand.

He was not surprised by the test results, but there was one thing he couldn't understand: why did they have to display the pieces of meat after dinner?

Loren sat there thinking quietly.

If you think about it carefully, this actually makes sense. Displaying it after dinner will only make people feel nauseous and want to vomit. If it is displayed before dinner, people will probably lose their appetite to enjoy dinner.

"Crabbe has no consciousness, does not respond to external stimuli, cannot move, cannot eat, and is more like a plant than a snake tree."

Snape calmly stated the current situation, rationally and indifferently: "If we forcibly separate Crabbe and the snake tree, it will cause damage to both of them. The snake tree can slowly recover with its strong vitality, and Crabbe can only rely on potions to maintain his life, and his body will become weaker and weaker."

“Like the vegetative state in No-Maj medicine?” Nancy asked weakly.

"Yes."

Fontana's heart sank.

During his stay at Ilvermorny, Dumbledore and Snape respected his ideas very much, and he was the lead in the investigation of the Horcruxes and the snake tree. Now, when dealing with Crabbe and the snake tree, although they suggested postponing the decision for two days, they still had to listen to his opinion in the end.

The principal's thoughts are somewhat complicated.

The snake tree is the most valuable asset of Ilvermorny, and he does not want the tree to be damaged. However, while maintaining the tree, he also does not want to see a student's life disappear. After searching the relevant archives, he already knew that this student was not only Vincent Crabbe of Hogwarts, but also Pierre Crabbe of Ilvermorny.

Fontana is a little conflicted now.

After graduation, he chose to stay in school to teach. He has been working hard for more than ten years and has only encountered difficulties in teaching. There are no dark wizards in the magic world that are rarely seen in hundreds of years. The Magical Congress maintains the stability of the magic world. There are no twists and turns. He has been promoted to the position of principal step by step. He cannot abandon the life of a student in a short period of time.

There is still one day left until the deadline set by Dumbledore, so let's wait and see.

"Albus..."

Fontana's voice was filled with expectation: "Can the relatives of Crabbe you mentioned arrive in time? Or can they make a rational decision after witnessing Crabbe's current miserable condition? The Magical Congress of the United States of America and the Board of Directors have already become suspicious. Ilvermorny will prepare for the opening of school two weeks in advance. We don't have much time..."

"I don't know the details either."

Dumbledore's words made the junior headmaster nervous. He turned his head to look at the student who was sipping ice cream and said, "Loren is in charge of the liaison. Loren, is there any response from the other side?"

Loren took a tissue and wiped his mouth. "I didn't contact Mr. Malfoy directly. It was Draco who conveyed the message. Mr. Malfoy clearly expressed his opposition to Voldemort, but their current base has been set up with a Fidelius Charm, so they cannot reveal the specific location. The secret keeper may be Rodolphus Lestrange, or it may be Bellatrix Lestrange. She hasn't shown up for two months."

"What about the snake tree?"

"He has conveyed it to Mr. Crabbe."

"Is that so? Let's wait and see."

"..."

Fontana nodded slightly, thoughtfully, as if he had learned something.

Hermione also lowered her head with a thoughtful expression, with a gleam in her eyes. Compared to Potions and Alchemy, which she simply didn't understand, the old headmaster's methods were more thought-provoking. If she thought carefully, she could catch a few clues. The more she thought about it, the more cunning it seemed, and it was inspiring.

……

The summer night flows inside the spacious manor.

A faint blood-red light was flowing on the fence poles outside the courtyard wall. Reconnaissance and warning magics densely covered every inch of bricks and stones. Only a few entrances and gates had breakpoints, and guards were set up at those places. Some fringe Death Eaters hid in inconspicuous tool sheds and security booths.

There were also patrols of Rabastan Lestrange coming and going.

This is the Death Eaters' new temporary residence, a spacious manor in the suburbs of New York.

Since the announcement of the impending attack on Harry Potter, Rodolphus had been extremely excited, thinking that he finally had the opportunity to play his role, and immediately added a series of security measures, claiming that this was to prevent leaks.

The originally vague vigilance became stricter. The Death Eaters on guard duty had many complaints, but they did not have the courage to complain to Voldemort. Several core Death Eaters of high status would not get involved in these tedious tasks, so Rodolphus' measures were implemented.

It was all boring and tedious work. All the Death Eaters secretly prayed that some blind Muggle thieves would sneak in to add some fun to the boring and long night. If they really encountered Muggles breaking in, they would have fun for the next few days. There were such people in the Brooklyn station some time ago.

In order to make the fun last a little longer, Rodolphus even forbade anyone to cast the Unforgivable Curses.

Old Crabbe and Old Goyle were among the guards. Although they were senior Death Eaters, they escaped trial after the defeat sixteen years ago and did not serve their sentence in Azkaban. They felt ashamed of their colleagues who were serving sentences. They also did not search for the Dark Lord's trace in the past sixteen years, so they felt ashamed of the Dark Lord. Naturally, this kind of hard work fell on them.

The two were assigned to a security booth at the side door, one in charge of the first half of the night and the other in charge of the second half.

At midnight, old Goyle arrived at the security booth a few minutes early, ready to replace old Crabbe. They were old friends, so the handover was completed quickly. But what happened next made old Goyle a little puzzled. Old Crabbe did not go back to the house to sleep, but prepared to go out.

"You're going out so late?"

Old Crabbe paused and said, "Yeah, it's too uncomfortable to be here, so I plan to go out and have some fun."

"Let's have some fun..."

Old Gore grinned, without doubting his old friend's excuse, and continued to ask with a smile: "Why don't you go in the first half of the night? Anyway, you are the only one guarding here, and no one knows when you go out?"

"Brother Lestrange is leading patrols. Sometimes he'll come over to say hello. I can't leave for too long."

"It's the Lestrange brothers again!" Old Goyle got angry when he talked about this. "They have only been in Azkaban for more than ten years, and they are riding on our necks. They are a family of brainless lunatics. Even their wives can't take care of them. Let's see how long he can laugh."

"Don't say that to his face."

"I'm not stupid."

Old Crabbe was silent for a moment, looking at this old friend whom he had known since school days, with a complicated expression: "Really? Sometimes I think we are both pretty stupid."

"It's just that he's a little slow to react and can't think straight, but he's not stupid." Old Goyle was very stubborn about this question. "When I was in Hogwarts, people always said that. After the third year, no one said that. You still remember why, because we were bigger than the seventh year students. Anyone who dared to say that would be blocked in the bathroom by the two of us and beaten. After graduation, we joined the Death Eaters and pledged allegiance to the Dark Lord, and no one dared to say that anymore."

"Join the Death Eaters and serve the Dark Lord..." Old Crabbe muttered these words.

"Okay, go and have fun. Bring me something fun, too."

"I'm leaving……"

Old Crabbe walked out of the side door and walked a distance. The surroundings were desolate and he had no idea where he was. He just stared at the dim night, thought for a moment, took out his wand, and turned back to the security booth:

"I suddenly remembered that there is something important that I haven't done yet."

"What's important?"

"【Everything is forgotten】"

Seeing old Goyle's eyes gradually becoming dull and his expression slowly becoming sluggish, old Crabbe narrowed his eyes and seemed to have returned to his student days in a trance, seeing that greedy, lazy and bad-tempered accomplice.

Even when he saw himself approaching with a wand, he was not on guard at all.

Those classmates were right, this guy is just stupid.

He himself was a fool, and only acted smart for once tonight.

The burly and strong figure turned and walked out of the side door. Perhaps he was no longer young, so his back was a little hunched, but his steps were still firm, and he gradually disappeared into the dim night.

Behind the window of the second-floor room, Lucius glanced at the drunken Lestrange brothers with a calm expression, without any ripples in his eyes.

When he was young, he received the traditional education of the Malfoy family. There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Interests are the indestructible bond between people. The reason why the Malfoy family has survived for a long time is that it can bring benefits to most people most of the time.

The Goyle family and the Crabbe family will not take the initiative to bring benefits to others, but they are stupid enough to be easily instigated and obey the orders of others, so their existence itself can bring benefits to other smart people, so those smart people let these families survive.

Old Crabbe inherited the traditional virtue of the Crabbe family - stupidity.

When he was a student, Lucius gathered with them and gained a lot of benefits by inciting the two big guys.

Later, he joined the Death Eaters and supported the Dark Lord. In the Death Eaters' circle, he once raised his status by inciting Crabbe and Goyle, but Lucius always adhered to the principle of interest exchange. In addition to asking for things, he would also reward the two big guys when appropriate.

Otherwise, with their abilities, how could they have survived the last wizarding war, and how could they have escaped judgment in the subsequent reckoning?
Lucius had been adhering to this principle for a long time in the past few decades. Later, when he had his own family and children, he gradually realized that there was a bond stronger than interests, which was between his wife, son and himself.

He knew very well that even though old Crabbe was stupid and evil, he had the same bond.

Just a little tweaking and things will go the way you want them to.

Besides, this is not cheating.

Lucius picked up the goblet and drank it all, then fell drunk beside Rodolphus, completely unconscious.

……

Atop Mount Greylock, Massachusetts.

Loren woke up in the teacher's dormitory. Bright morning light shone through the balcony. The air was cool and moist. The chirping of unknown birds could be heard outside. A set of Ilvermorny school uniform was placed on the bed.

After changing his clothes and tying his Gordian knot, Loren looked at himself in the mirror. His handsome face was perfect for display in the school history museum.

When I walked out of the room, Hermione had woken up. She was wearing a cranberry red school uniform, which made her pretty face look even more beautiful. Her lively eyes were shining. She was standing in the corner of the corridor reading the words under the portrait.

"Come on."

"..."

"what happened?"

"nothing."

Hermione was a little helpless. She raised her hand to wipe the saliva off her cheek, which still had the fresh smell of toothpaste foam.

"looking at what?"

Loren spoke briskly, put his hands on her shoulders, and leaned over to read the text below the portrait, which recorded the life of an 18th-century wizard who established a shelter during the War of Independence, preventing many wizards from being involved in the war.

“Died of electrocution while repairing a light bulb with his bare hands at the age of 99.

"emmm..."

Loren had a complicated expression. Coincidentally, the wizard in the portrait woke up from his slumber. Hearing his sighing tone, he immediately stared at him with wide eyes. It seemed that he had been ridiculed many times.

Hermione quickly pulled him away.

Ten minutes later, Hermione took Loren and walked into the side hall of the auditorium.

Familiar figures were sitting around the dining table. A hot breakfast was ready, but without the Pukchi waiter around, it felt a little empty.

Hermione was a little surprised and sat on the right seat: "Professor Fontana, are the Pukkis on holiday?"

"They are busy with other things." Fontana turned around and saw two people in school uniforms. His eyes lit up and his smile became even gentler.

Nancy and Pickley found that their Goldilocks were not up to standard, and whispered instructions to them to adjust them. They noticed that a certain headmaster was silent and looked at the two of them silently, and Snape next to them had a smile on his face.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then asked calmly, "Loren, can you move freely in Ilvermorny?"

"Can...right?" Loren was a little unsure of what the principal meant.

"Then this task can only be entrusted to it." Dumbledore paused, raised his voice slightly and called, "Fawkes."

"squeak."

With a clear cry, a flame leaped up from nowhere, and Fawkes with colorful feathers emerged from the flame and slowly landed on Dumbledore's shoulder.

Dumbledore stroked its beak and said, "A visitor has arrived on the mountainside. Bring him up."

A brilliant flame rose up and the phoenix disappeared on the spot.

Pickley and Nancy, who were standing nearby, were stunned with their eyes shining.

Fontana opened his mouth, but stopped himself from speaking.

(End of this chapter)