Chapter 680: Gaunt's Old House

Kyle also learned what happened this morning from Chris.

The process was not complicated. Umbridge took the strikers to Hampshire early in the morning to find some materials for the front page of today's Daily Prophet.

She was very familiar with this kind of thing now, so the people she brought were all veterans who had many experiences and cooperated well with each other.

When they arrived at the place, the strikers dispersed skillfully, looking for useful clues, but by chance, they actually ran into the Death Eaters who came to do business this time.

Then when the strikers came back after a round of walking, they saw an extremely horrifying scene.

Umbridge, who was always arrogant, rolled on the ground in pain, struggling for mercy, and next to her was Bellatrix, holding a wand and laughing wildly.

Almost subconsciously, a striker with a camera took pictures of the scene, but for the face of the Ministry of Magic, the newspaper did not choose this photo in the end, but used another one.

"So, Umbridge took the initiative to bump into it?" Kyle asked incredulously.

"I guess so..." Chris said, "Now the You-Know-Who hasn't shown up, obviously he is hiding something. Under normal circumstances, Death Eaters would not do such boring things if they are not threatened.

"But Umbridge is an exception. Now everyone knows that she is a person who firmly opposes Death Eaters, and both her attitude and speech are better than Barty Crouch back then.

"And Bellatrix is ​​one of the You-Know-Who's most crazy and loyal followers. Since she has met him, she naturally wants to get rid of such a threat for You-Know-Who."

"Then can't she just use the Killing Curse?" Kyle glanced at the photo in the newspaper, "Why use the Cruciatus Curse? This curse can't kill people."

"I think she probably wants to get some useful information from Umbridge." Chris thought for a while and said, "For example, the Ministry of Magic's plan, or the location of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, which is also her usual method."

"She thinks Umbridge is a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Chris looked at Kyle with a strange expression, as if he was surprised that he could ask such a question.

"Do you think..." he said, "Is there anyone who is more like the Order of the Phoenix than Umbridge now?"

"Well, it seems so." Kyle muttered.

Judging from her recent performance, Umbridge is indeed more like a standard member of the Order of the Phoenix than anyone else... including Sirius or Moody, the genuine members.

Especially Dumbledore who appeared in the newspaper at the end, just proved this point.

"Umbridge will probably be very happy." Kyle muttered softly: "She became an important figure in the Order of the Phoenix overnight, and by the way, she also fulfilled her promise in the newspaper... Fighting the Death Eaters to the end, irreconcilable..."

Chris shook his head and said nothing.

Half an hour later, Kyle left the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and returned to his office.

To his surprise, Fudge acted very calmly and was not panicked by Bellatrix's appearance and actions.

Of course, there was still some surprise, but he soon returned to normal, as if he had really accepted the news that Voldemort had been resurrected.

Since Voldemort has resurrected, there is nothing strange about what happened today.

At noon, Kyle went to St. Mungo's to visit Umbridge with Fudge at his request.

As soon as he arrived on the fifth floor of St. Mungo's, Kyle heard Umbridge's shrill cry in the corridor.

"I want to go out... I want to see the Minister!"

"It's not safe here, that crazy woman may come at any time..."

"You can't stop me, I'm the Senior Minister of the Ministry of Magic, get out of here!"

Hearing the last sentence, Fudge's face suddenly changed a little... If Umbridge is a senior minister, then what is he.

Then for some reason, the screams stopped again.

A healer ran out of the room sweating and saw Fudge standing in the corridor at a glance.

"Sorry, Minister, I didn't know you were here too." He quickly explained, "Ms. Umbridge's screams were too loud. In order not to affect other people's rest, we can only find a way to let her fall asleep temporarily."

"Oh, it's okay, this is what we should do." Fudge didn't mean to blame the therapist at all. He smiled and said, "We really shouldn't scream here. There's nothing wrong with what you did."

Hearing this, the therapist breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that we're going to make a wasted trip this time." Fudge looked at Kyle and said meaningfully, "I think we should let her rest for a while, which will help her recover."

"That's right, Minister." Kyle said. Since Fudge said so, he naturally wouldn't refute it.

But to be honest, Umbridge is still quite powerful. She was tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, but she could still scream. This is not something that ordinary people can do.

For example, Sirius, he was weak for several days after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse. Kyle didn't think that Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse would be worse than others.

Because of this incident, Fudge just walked around the fifth floor of St. Mungo's and went straight back to the Ministry of Magic without even entering the ward.

Then, Kyle returned to his previous idle state in the afternoon. There was nothing to do, so he could only play the automatic wizard chess in the office.

Kyle chose the black chess. Every time he made a move, the white chess would automatically move to the corresponding position. It was very suitable for killing time when he was alone.

A day passed quickly. When Kyle returned to Hogwarts, the people in the castle were still discussing the contents of the newspaper this morning.

Although the Daily Prophet has always published some news about the Death Eaters every now and then in recent times, it is basically retelling the words of the striker or someone, as if the Ministry of Magic can only follow the Death Eaters and will never catch them.

But today's newspaper came with a clear photo, in which Bellatrix's crazy look caused another panic.

Fortunately, someone also saw Dumbledore flashing in the corner.

"The headmaster is here too..." a Gryffindor girl said with relief, "This Death Eater is definitely finished."

"No wonder the headmaster has not been in school recently. It turns out that he went to deal with the Death Eaters..."

"But if the headmaster is not here, what if the Death Eaters choose to attack Hogwarts..." Someone said worriedly.

"Don't worry, don't forget that there is Professor McGonagall..."

"Yes, with the professors here, if the Death Eaters dare to come, they will definitely suffer."

...

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, and such voices could be heard wherever you went.

However, this situation soon disappeared.

There was less than a week left before the exam, and the increasingly heavy schoolwork made them think about the next exam, and they couldn't think about other things at all.

And the Quidditch final originally scheduled for this week, for some reason, was arranged by Professor McGonagall after the exam.

Maybe she felt that reviewing could distract people more than playing.

After a Transfiguration class, they got the exam schedule and specific requirements.

"The exams will last for two full weeks, just like the exams in the past." Cedric said during dinner, "One class per day, theory exams in the morning, practical exams in the afternoon, and you can continue to review in the rest of the time."

"I think it's better to finish the exams as soon as possible." Mikel seemed to remember last year's experience, and said with a bitter face, "To be honest, I was always very nervous during the exam days and couldn't read anything at all. What about you guys?"

"I'm fine." Cedric said, "and I think I should be able to pass the exams."

Although he said that, Kyle noticed that Cedric always couldn't help rubbing his hands and taking deep breaths. It seemed that Cedric was also very nervous about the upcoming exams.

Hogwarts entered the exam week.

At the same time, a ball of fire suddenly appeared out of thin air on an empty country road, and then there was an old man with a white beard on the road, and then there was a man wrapped in a black cloak with a sinister look beside him.

"Dumbledore, your plan is very successful. The Dark Lord seems to think that he was dead before you found Ogden..."

"Severus, whether you believe it or not, it was not my plan for Umbridge to appear there." Dumbledore said.

Snape sneered from his nose, obviously not believing such words.

Bellatrix had just found where Ogden was, and Umbridge appeared in front of her. If it was not arranged in advance, how could such a coincidence happen? Do you think he is an idiot?

Looking at his appearance, Dumbledore also knew that he could not explain it clearly anyway, but what he said was true, and everything was really just a coincidence.

Dumbledore sighed and simply stopped explaining. He had more important things to do now.

"Thank you for your hard work, Severus. You should go back to Hogwarts first."

"I don't think this is a good idea." Snape said without moving, "The Dark Lord has been very unhappy with me recently. I need to know what you are doing."

Dumbledore turned his head and looked at him, "Believe me, Severus, if you tell Tom what I am going to do, he will kill you immediately.

"This is related to his biggest secret, he will not let anyone know."

Snape was silent for a moment.

"It's a Horcrux, right?" He said, "What clues have you found?"

"Ogden's memory should be helpful to us. "Dumbledore said.

He did not persuade Snape to leave, but continued to walk forward and came to a wooden signpost.

There were two arrows on it, which read: Great Hangleton, 5 miles. Little Hangleton, 1 mile.

Dumbledore turned in the direction of Little Hangleton, and Snape followed.

They walked for a while and followed the tall hedges on both sides to a valley. Between the two steep hillsides stood a village.

On the hillside opposite the valley, there was a magnificent mansion.

"Is that where Riddle lives?" Snape frowned at the mansion, "So you are going there? Then why take such a long detour. "

However, what Snape did not expect was that Dumbledore did not go to the village, but walked to the side road, then turned right and disappeared in a gap in the fence.

Hidden entrance, just like St. Mungo's and the Ministry of Magic. Before the Muggle-Repelling Charm was invented, this was also the most common method used by the older generation of wizards to protect themselves from being discovered, and the effect was quite good.

Snape hurriedly followed.

The two came to a narrower dirt road, which was extremely desolate. The dirt road was winding, bumpy, and covered with rocks. The vines on both sides spread to the road. Obviously, no one had been here for a long time.

The path led to a dark forest. Dumbledore came to the front of the forest, pulled out his wand, and waved it gently.

The tangled trees in front of him were separated by an invisible force, revealing a strangely shaped house hidden in it.

The house had not been inhabited for a long time. Even the door was covered with lush vines, looking like a huge cocoon.

Dumbledore waved his wand again, and the vines automatically separated to both sides. With a "creak", the door that had not been used for a long time was opened.

Snape noticed that there was a snake on the door, with bright colors, as if it had been nailed on it yesterday, which was out of tune with the quaint and old appearance of the surroundings.

"Where is this..." he couldn't help asking.

"Gaunt's old house." Dumbledore bent down and walked into the house.

"Gaunt..." Snape's expression moved slightly.

"Yes." Dumbledore said, "This is the last place where Tom's mother lived... Be careful, I don't know if Tom has cast any additional magic, so it's best not to touch the things here."

"I know, no need for you to remind me." Snape said, "How did you find this place?"

"Bob Ogden." Dumbledore said, "As a former member of the Law Enforcement Department, he came here for a case, and I just got this news."

Every step the two took in the room, there was a harsh creaking sound on the ground, and it was obviously daytime now, but it was unusually dark here, as if all the sunlight was blocked by the trees outside.

"What are you looking for?" Snape asked.

He glanced around, and this place was more dilapidated than he thought, most of the things were gone, leaving only some shabby furniture or broken cups.

Dumbledore didn't say anything, he walked around the house and finally stopped in front of a small table with thin legs.

Snape guessed that this table should have been filled with exquisite and valuable decorations, but now there was only a thick layer of dust.

"Not a brilliant method... It seems that this is not the way Tom uses to protect it." Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped it gently on the table.

Then, the table turned over like a glove that had been taken off, and an ugly ring appeared in front of the two of them.

The ring was golden, with a black gem the size of a copper coin in the middle.

Snape looked at the ring carefully and felt that it looked familiar.

Dumbledore also saw the ring, and his eyes unconsciously fell on the black gem.

In an instant, his breathing became much heavier, and he subconsciously stretched out his hand.

"Stop!" Snape shouted hurriedly: "There is something wrong with this ring. Someone has cast a terrible curse on it."

Dumbledore seemed not to hear his reminder and had no intention of stopping at all.

Seeing that his hand was about to touch the ring, Snape was horrified to find that he had no time to do anything.

However, at this moment, a string of golden threads suddenly appeared on Dumbledore's arm.

These threads, like ropes, strangled Dumbledore's arm, forcing his hand to stop less than an inch away from the ring.

Subconsciously, Dumbledore wanted to forcefully break free from the restraints on his arm, but in return he felt a sharp pain.

Those threads embedded into Dumbledore's body, and in just a moment, several blood marks were left on his arm.

However, this pain also made Dumbledore's gradually confused brain sober up again.

He looked at the ring close at hand and gasped.

"I..."

Dumbledore was about to say something, but at this time, Snape had already run over. He didn't seem to see those golden threads, but only saw several blood marks on Dumbledore's arm for no reason.

In addition, Dumbledore's fingers were too close to the ring. In a hurry, Snape didn't care so much and directly raised his legs.

"Damn it, don't touch that thing!"

With a dull thud, Dumbledore felt a pain in his body, and then the scene in front of him suddenly began to move backwards rapidly.

When Dumbledore finally realized what was happening, he saw the dusty floor and the flash of Snape's soles.