"What? Harry? Are you okay, son?"
When Erik brought the late night snack, he heard Charles ask with concern, and immediately he strode over to ask Charles what happened.
Charles blinked at him, and then told him after a while, with an expression on his face that made him want to laugh: "Harry pretended to be the wizard and took Draco in - but they were attacked by their classmates. What a coincidence. How lucky is it for this to happen?”
Erik: "What level of attack are you talking about, Charles? Their classmates? How could their classmates be there? That's Germany."
Charles thought about it seriously and laughed: "Sit down on the ground and then scream for grading?" He laughed happily, "Our little boy hasn't had time to say to his friends, 'Hey, it's me, Harry.' They were knocked down by the spell, and then Draco pushed their friends down in one breath, and they are yelling now."
——What are the children thinking about?
Erik: "......It's okay."
But he was right to ask one question - this was Germany, not the UK. What were the chances of running into a classmate while destroying the dark wizard team's lair to save children? Anyway, Erik doesn't think the chance is greater than 10%.
…………
In fact, what Erik thought was less than a ten percent probability happened just like that.
When Harry finally figured out the situation, Ron finally stopped shouting, 'How could this be Harry? How could this be Harry?' He instead exclaimed: "Are you a Disguise Magus Harry?!"
——No, I'm not, I haven't. Harry rubbed his butt and stood up, thinking quickly about this wonderful encounter, and then quickly accepted the fact.
Draco was still there and said in disbelief: "If I hadn't made sure we hadn't started school yet, I would have thought this was the corridor of Hogwarts - you can meet these three Gryffindors here, what is this called!"
"Um...I think it was just an accident, Draco."
Actually, Harry counted on his fingers that there were six underage purebloods living in the Weasley family at one time. Although he was surprised, he still felt that such a thing was not impossible! It stands to reason that if this group of dark wizards wanted to capture pure blood, then every pure blood child would be captured. However, in the Burrow where security was not strict, the dark wizard could reach into Weasley's house with his eyes closed and fish for it. With a handful, at least one can be fished out, and Ginny is thin and small. It is not impossible if she is considered to be ten years old or younger. Many girls grow much faster than boys of the same age, so if Ginny was targeted. Harry was stunned and could only sigh - this girl is so unlucky.
But like Draco asked——
"If this red-haired girl is a victim, what happened to you? How did you escape here?"
——Why are Neville and Ron here, and how did they take Ginny out and run away? The dark wizard would have only captured Ginny. If they had followed him at that time, the dark wizard's first reaction would probably have been to kick the two boys who had enrolled in school as soon as he saw it, far away to prevent any accidents.
Neville blinked desperately, while Ron was a little excited: "After we chased him, we defeated the dark wizard who kidnapped Ginny on the corridor! Neville has a pair of magical door keys, which were given to him by his uncle. We secretly stuffed one of them into Ginny's pocket when we were at home..."
Neville had to cough loudly, and Ron suddenly understood. He glanced at Draco nervously and said to Harry: "Harry, this matter must be kept secret. Don't let Malfoy tell it. This kind of door key is against the rules." Legal!"
neville: "…………"
Harry: "..." He patted Neville's shoulder sympathetically with his free hand. How can I put it, Harry now feels that there is hope that the gap between Draco and Gryffindor can be bridged. Look, Ron doesn't even have the idea of 'Malfoy can't know this'.
Draco sneered and said in Harry's ear: "I will remember this when our family wants to bring the Longbottom family down!"
Harry scratched his palm dumbfounded, meaning don't do this.
Draco snorted coldly.
"Wow, you guys are so cruel. You made a big hole in the wall. Do you think a motorcycle can drive in through here, Harry!" Peter, who rushed forward first, gave a heartfelt praise, "As a twelve-year-old—— Oh, I'm sorry, you're doing a great job for thirteen-year-olds, but there's just one problem-" He changed his tone, "But what about the other children?"
"We tried to look for it, but couldn't find it. There is only Ginny in this room." Ron said quickly, "I heard from my father that there are many kidnappers recently, so Neville and I tried to find another child -" He was nervous and nervous. He said urgently, speaking too fast and almost turning into a mumbling voice, "But I couldn't find it. Merlin, it's so good to see you. Harry, do you know if there is a magic spell that can help?"
"-But, there should be at least 20 children here!"
Harry quickly speeded up and ran with Draco to where Peter was standing - that was exactly where the wizard kept the child in his memory, but there was no fallen wizard at the door. He looked inside through the big hole in the wall. A fainted wizard lay inside, with golden curly hair exposed from under his cloak, and a snake coiled on a six-pointed star brooch on his chest. Harry discovered that this was the witch whose identity and status were unique.
He came closer to take a look, squatted down and applied a coma spell to the witch, pretending not to see the scratch marks on her face, and found that all the original cages in the room were gone, leaving only one open - —It must be used to lock up Ginny.
Wanda stepped over the big hole in the wall and walked in, followed by Neville and Ron, but Ginny pulled the youngest brother's clothes in fear, insisting that he did not want to step into this dark room again. There were no lights or torches in this place. They relied on a dim light from a candle. Wanda came closer and turned on the flashlight to shine on the ground. Harry's eyes lit up, and then he saw circles of traces on the ground in the dust. There is a small circled area that is particularly clean, which means that many things with the same bottom were placed here before, and then this thing was taken away.
He squatted down, used his flashlight to illuminate more areas, and then took a breath.
"What?" Draco put down the notebook on the only table in the room, squatted down and leaned over to ask.
"You see there isn't a lot of dust here, and it's still very clean. Of course, I mean very clean compared to other places," Harry pointed at the clean circles and said, "This means that this thing was moved not long ago." With a tense face, he flicked his wand and levitated the cage where Ginny was to be kept. Wanda shone the flashlight there appropriately. Finally, Harry discovered that the clean circles on the floor under the cage were not the same as the others. There is no difference, that is to say, the other cages were moved for a short time, so these places have not had time to accumulate new dust. "
"Then the question is, why have the other cages here been moved?" Wanda said, "What do you think the answer is?"
"Well... the best case scenario is that the children have been taken away to make other preparations, and the worst case scenario is that there used to be twenty-one missing one, but now there is no shortage." Harry looked at his calves wearing a pair of pajamas. Ginny stood trembling and almost cried, "So they are going to start the ceremony."
Draco didn't understand the logic, but when he thought about it, when all the dishes were not served, of course you could not move at all; but, assuming you knew that the other dishes would be served soon, it wouldn't be wrong to take a few bites first. What a bad thing.
"Contact r□□en," Wanda said. "The situation - if nothing unexpected happens, it should be the worst. Where is the place they use to perform magic, Harry?"
"...Um, the basement in the next room? Open the floor and go down, then walk through another corridor."
"Hey, Charles, where are Raven and Scott?" Peter said, flipping through a few pages of the notebook that Draco had left behind, and then put it into the pocket bag that seemed to have a larger internal space than the surface.
Neville and Ron were confused and didn't know who he was talking to when he didn't take anything.
Charles, who was sitting far away in the United States, told Peter: "Let me see - they are at the other end of the corridor."
Peter turned to Harry: "Rescuing the children is our first priority, right?"
…………
Hardly any signal is caught here.
Harry bent down and walked through a long corridor - God knows why so many corridors and passages were built underground when this was a cave - the space under the floor was like something out of a fairy tale, and what he finally saw was often Not a door, but something else, like now, they saw an entrance obscured by a huge tapestry.
The tapestry is brightly colored, entirely emerald blue, with several bells hanging at the end and hand-woven runes on it. Harry didn't recognize any of those runes, nor did Draco, but there was obviously magic attached to them. However, when Harry stretched out his hand to test, the tapestry had no intention of activating any magic.
"Let me take a look - there is nothing." Draco grabbed Harry's hand, which was covered with a pure gold bracelet. It was a women's bracelet with hollow carvings and intertwined flowers and vines forming a beautiful shape. pattern, and finally twisted together to form a hollow ring. This looks very awkward and not very manly, but there are beads that look like silver but not silver rolled in the hollow bracelet, and the surface is covered with a layer of pearl-like brilliance.
It was a precious alchemy product that could resist malicious magic. Godric was worried and asked Harry and Draco to bring one piece each, a pair of women's bracelets, and the two boys each got one. The accessories Salazar gave them were quite good. Things, even if Harry was always embarrassed to take anything, he still wouldn't be polite when it comes to security issues. Even if he wanted to be polite, Draco wouldn't let him be polite.
Godric said: "You can learn alchemy yourself, collect antiques, and then give Salazar a few similar ones? Don't be polite at this time! You are students, and we are teachers. Teachers always try their best to protect their students. They’re safe, aren’t they!”
And if those beads darken a little, it means they have been attacked by malicious magic. Harry had just touched half of the tapestry with his hand, but the beads did not dim. This meant that even if the magic on it existed, it was not of the type that would be activated by touching it.
Harry gestured reassuringly towards the back. He was holding Draco, and Draco was holding Peter, and Peter was holding Wanda, and Wanda was holding Neville, and Neville was holding Ron and Ginny. A long line of people were like water under the leadership of Harry. It passed through the tapestry like it melted into the lake, and no one noticed it because of the darkness. The bell was also silent because the tapestry was not lifted up significantly.
"...I finally know how a certain rumor in Hogwarts came about," Ron said in a dreamy voice, "No wonder I heard that someone saw a pair of ghosts wearing student uniforms wandering around the castle-"
——That’s actually because we were taking shortcuts in class in the morning. Harry touched his nose.
Draco was about to speak, but Wanda made a shushing gesture, so he had to shut up.
This venue was larger than Harry imagined. A high platform rose from the ground, and many wizards gathered on it to be busy. And Harry looked up and found that there was no ceiling here. There seemed to be a big hole on the top. Looking up from here, he could even see the sky and the moon.
Although there is no light source around the foot of the high platform where Harry and the others are, there are wizards holding torches above. They wrap spices into the fuel, then ignite hyacinth-colored magic flames, and pour the flames into the snake heads around the high platform. In the pillar, the mouths of the seven snakes were jumping with flames. At the same time, a special fragrance filled the entire space and went into his nose. Ron almost couldn't help but sneeze. After Harry cast a silencing spell in time, he beat it out again.
Neville quickly glanced at Harry with what he thought was a small movement, and then lowered his head.
"My nose is going to be numb," Draco covered his nose and said with a blue face, "This is much worse than a gun. What did they do, throw all the precious spices in and burn them?"
"I'm a little dizzy." Neville whispered.
"Me too." Harry nodded.
Fortunately, the gas after burning the spices floated upwards, so except for Draco, Neville and Harry who all felt a little uncomfortable, there was nothing serious.
"Where is the child?" Wanda said.
"Over there." Harry handed Wanda a small telescope and pointed it out to her. What is more reassuring is that although they are locked in cages, all twenty children are still alive. They are placed in cages and hung like birds under the snake's head. Except for the last column, there are only two, and the rest are There were three children imprisoned there under the snake's head.
Like radishes hanging in front of donkeys and fish bait dropped in the lake, these children are undoubtedly sacrifices. They are all naked, and their pale, slender bodies are strangely hung with sterling silver ornaments, with unpolished beads on them. They were heavy gems, and almost every child had pure gold hair color. Occasionally, one or two black heads appeared. Harry didn't need a pair of glasses to see that almost all of those children had very decent looks, at least not one of them. It's ugly.
The moonlight and firelight shone down, casting a layer of light on their bodies, blond hair, and delicate faces. However, they were motionless and did not resist, but their faces had a ruddy color that belonged to life and a quietness that did not belong to life... like this The scene had a strange, eccentric, yet revolting beauty that even made Harry feel sick to his stomach.
If the person standing here is an artist, or an artist who came out to serve the powerful in Florence in the Middle Ages, this weird beauty will undoubtedly win their loud admiration. Yes, their appearance is unconventional, they are deviant, they were born in a moral and ethical society. A time when the lower limit could be trampled to pieces, when popes and bishops could have countless lovers and use the blood of healthy boys to sustain life, and when indulgences could solve some major sins...
——It’s a pity that we are in the 21st century. Harry considers himself a relatively healthy person and likes the beauty of soundness, health, and vitality. This kind of beauty that appears due to sacrifices and is worn by children who dress up in ancient or even primitive costumes. The forced expression of 'beauty' (if that is really a style) is really hard to look at, not to mention that when Harry thinks that these children are sacrifices, he -
All I can say is that fortunately his eyesight is not that good and he cannot see clearly.
Then the wizards on the high platform set up a large cauldron, chanting magic spells while stirring the contents, while other wizards began to pour something out of the sealed jars——
When he saw what they were pouring out and penetrated his consciousness, Harry lowered his head uncontrollably, covered his mouth and retched a few times, and suddenly remembered the one he saw with Erik and R□□en before he entered school. Nightclub - His compatriots, his mutant brothers and sisters are like commodities that are lower than pets. If they don't fight in that electrified fence, they will be punished; and Warren and Kurt, they look like It can be said that their origins are completely opposite, but when they are stuffed into boxes and cages as commodities and props, they all get the same pain, contempt, disgust and restraint.
why? Is this something a human being can do? No matter what happens, why do you force others and yourself to pay such a price, persist to this extent, or degenerate to this extent?
Why would you do that kind of thing? Why are such inhumane things and their by-products worthy of being privately pursued?
"Harry? Harry." Wanda gently put her hand on his shoulder.
At the same time, Draco suddenly started covering his mouth and lowering his head, and the two brothers almost hit their heads together.
"What's wrong with you?" Ron said in a panic, "Harry? Harry? Malfoy?"
"I finally remembered what this smell was like," Draco's face turned pale. "They came from people -" before he could finish his words, he started covering his mouth and retching again, "-it was the burning bones and hearts of wizards. the taste of."
Neville seemed to remember something, and his body was trembling.
"-Yes, shut up, these things won't have a very representative taste, but in 2004, a German bastard who deserved to go to hell was captured in the UK. He claimed to have obtained the magic weapon by offering sacrifices to the devil. The secret recipe is used to preserve his pure blood, and he firmly believes that the bones, blood and heart of wizards are-"
"It's magical." Harry continued softly, "He killed ten entire families, drained all the hearts and blood of the seven girls he collected, and used the bones of their relatives as fuel to mix with other He made a powder with spices and a magical flame, and then lit them every day. He firmly believed that this would purify his blood and there would be no squibs in his heirs. Afterwards, the secret recipe was directly prohibited from being disclosed, and the court also insisted that it was just A fallacy, a delusion born out of the criminal's own mental disorder."
Draco and Harry looked at each other. If they wanted to know why they knew this matter so clearly, it was because Felton had ignited this kind of thing during his lecture. He lit the powder that looked like spices while giving a lecture. After the two boys wanted to run to the bathroom to puke, he said that what he was ordering now was the kind of thing that had a price on the black market. The court said Although it was concluded that this was just a thing that had no effect, some purebloods were still doubtful about it. The secret recipe was leaked out and was cooked (in a seemingly reasonable and gentle way). The taste of this kind of thing after being lit was unique. Felton wanted them to recognize it. clear.
This thing is like perfume. When you first smell it, it has a slightly featureless smell, like flames and dust burning. But later when this smell encounters moist air or blood, a special smell will appear. Disseminated.
Neither of them managed to eat anything properly that night. But now, except for Wanda, everyone started to cover their mouths and ran out, wanting to vomit.
…………
Charles was discussing the information about wizards obtained this time with Erik, but suddenly stopped.
"What?" Erik said, handing him a cup of hot tea.
"...Where did I just say it?" Charles's expression changed from relaxed to tired, and an unpleasant emotion came out, and Erik frowned even more.
"You talked about certain countries where dark wizards often appear." Erik replied, "What's going on? Charles? Charles?"
The reason why I use 'you' is because Godric Gryffindor, whom Draco considers to be a 'talkative' man, is chatting with Charles. He is very interested in Muggle inventions, such as communicators, masterminds, etc., and Charles is also interested in Muggle inventions, such as communicators, masterminds, etc. The wizard wanted to know more. While waiting for Harry and the others to sneak into the sacrificial site, they kept chatting occasionally. During the process, Charles would use the map simulated by Harry's computer software and coordinate his mental scanning with it. en for assistance.
"...Now it's really adult-rated." Charles rubbed his temples and said, "Oh, my poor baby... Even the program rating can't hinder reality. It seems that fanatical believers and mad murderers are everywhere. Same, seriously, have you really heard of such a secret recipe, Lord Gryffindor, using virgin heart and blood to burn together with the bones to make incense, in this way, the bloodline will always be kept pure, but I thought that the descendants of wizards Are ordinary people just a probabilistic event? The only thing that can solve the probabilistic event is to ensure as much as possible that the data used to calculate the probability are all there, and this probability can never be reduced to zero percent?"
"I don't know how to calculate the probability," said Lord Gryffindor, who still understands mathematics, "but I know that after doing such a tragic thing, this wizard's life can already be over."
"Of course I know there will always be ignorant people in this world, but," Charles paused, "You are a wise man who is both more experienced and older than me. Can you please tell me why no matter whether you are ignorant or knowledgeable, you can always What’s the point of abandoning the moral bottom line that belongs to human beings? To get what you want and your life at the expense of hurting others?”
Erik couldn't sit still and coughed a few times - but unfortunately no one paid attention to him.
"This is your idea, not theirs. The moral bottom line is set by humans, not God. God still yawns and makes mistakes," Godric said calmly, "Maybe in his heart, the bottom line exists in another world. Dimension, maybe in his heart, the bottom line does not apply to some people. When I was young, I would always say, "Merlin, is this what humans do?" But later I learned to say to myself, "This is just what you think in your heart." Things that can't be done', in fact, even the definition of human beings is diverse in the world."
Godric said: "It's like when I see a litter of injured wild cubs, I may not be able to know who it is, or understand why that person would harm a litter of innocent cubs. The harm has already happened, and all I can do is Heal the damage, provide shelter for the cubs, prevent them from dying, and see, the only things I can change are the present and the future."
Charles sighed.
"You're right, I used to think - why would you do that kind of thing? But now I will only say to my son - Hey, son, listen to me, it's time for you to focus on the present. Why go? What about wasting time thinking about the reasons why things happened? We can't change the past. The only thing we can do is to change the future that has not yet come." He said, "Sometimes, thinking about the past and the causes is not enough for things. It’s of no use.”
——The more you think about the past, the easier it is to get trapped inadvertently.
He has already tasted it deeply.
