aircannonsinc Chapter 257 The envoy sent was not to offer amnesty
Chapter 257 The envoy sent was not to offer amnesty
Chapter 257 The envoy sent was not to offer amnesty
Picking up where we left off, Fred and George, having just killed the sage, didn't dare delay for even a moment. They quickly disassembled the sniper rifle and put the parts into the box.
But outside the window, a commotion could be heard, mostly from the group of surviving sages shouting and cursing. Some were ordering the wizards to search the entire village, while others were questioning the Aurors for arriving late. Their voices were menacing and unforgiving, causing widespread unease.
Hearing the commotion, the two brothers broke out in a cold sweat and their hands moved even faster.
Fred, who was fiddling with the sniper rifle, suddenly stopped, glanced at his brother, and pondered, "Speaking of which, should we go retrieve the bullets?"
"It would be bad if they could deduce where we fired the shot by analyzing the ballistics."
Upon hearing this, George glared at him as if he were a madman. "What nonsense are you spouting? There are hardly any wizards who have even heard of guns, and you actually think they could understand ballistics?"
Fred paused for a moment, then shrugged and bent down to tidy up again.
"That's true. As long as the boss isn't involved—"
, 7
Before he finished speaking, a tall, thin old man appeared behind him. His white hair and beard were clearly visible, and his face was clouded with gloom, making him look anything but kind.
The old man's expression turned hostile, and he said coldly, "Enough with the nonsense. You should have run away three minutes ago."
"Potter can disregard those sages, but where do you two idiots get the guts to do that!"
"Just because you assassinated a sage with that thing? Don't be naive! They're definitely among the smartest people in the world!"
Fred, seemingly unconcerned by the old man's question, kept his head down, fiddling with the tools in his hands, muttering to himself, "Oh, boss, you're saying that as if you're denying you're a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
George carefully positioned the butt of his rifle, then caught his breath and looked up to ask, "Speaking of which, how were we supposed to get out of here?"
"Walk it yourself!"
Having said that, he grabbed the two men by the back of their collars, dragged them away, and left.
The two brothers stumbled and were pulled along, falling unsteadily. The box containing the sniper rifle parts that George was holding slipped from his grasp and overturned.
Fortunately, Fred reacted quickly, pulling out his wand and casting a levitation spell on the box, which then floated steadily and stopped bobbing.
He swallowed his anger, pried open the old man's iron grip on the back of his neck, and complained, "Please! Be gentle, this gun isn't one of those mass-produced Type 54 rifles."
"This is the prototype gun; there's only one in the entire world!"
George echoed, "If it's damaged, we'll have to start from scratch."
The two brothers started talking at once, one after the other. The old man ignored them and dragged the two brothers into the living room, pulling them in front of an oil painting.
His expression immediately softened, and he leaned closer, lowering his voice, and said to the woman in the painting, "Ariana, let them pass."
After saying this, he took two steps back, and then saw that the woman in the painting had come to life. She nodded slightly to the old man, turned around and walked deeper into the painting.
Ariana's figure gradually shrank until it turned into a glimmer of light and suddenly disappeared.
Just then, a "click" was heard, and the wall behind the portrait split open, revealing a dark passageway.
The old man stretched out his palm to probe the cave entrance and, finding the air flowing freely, beckoned and shouted, "Go on, this tunnel connects to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts."
"According to the previously agreed plan, the Order of the Phoenix and those kids should be staying in school now."
He said that, but there was no response.
Turning his head, he saw two red-haired men staring intently at the cave entrance, completely mesmerized.
George slowly put down the box in his hand, and sighed as if waking from a dream, "My God, Fred, all these years of schooling have been a complete waste."
Fred nodded, his eyes filled with fascination, and said, "The eighth tunnel connecting to the outside world, we've never even discovered it—wait, what's the Room of Requirement?"
The old man, hearing the two of them chatting idly and refusing to flee for their lives, had long since lost all his good temper.
He abruptly drew his wand, pointed it at the two of them, and roared, "This is where you two are fucking going right now!"
"Flying around!"
As soon as the incantation ended, Fred and George were lifted off the ground and floated in mid-air, shooting into the black hole like arrows released from a bow.
After the two men went inside, the old man strode to the cave entrance and shouted at them, "You two madmen who love to talk nonsense, stay away from my shop from now on! I have no interest in risking my life for you!"
His roar was loud, echoing through the tunnel, but Fred and George's screams inside were even louder, shaking the tunnel walls and drowning out the old man's words.
It should be noted that these twins have been mischievous since childhood, and they were not easily frightened.
The constant screaming today was due to the unevenness of the cave, with the two men constantly bumping into the rock walls on either side. They stumbled and fell, their entire bodies aching.
Just as they were shouting, a wooden door was suddenly slammed open with a "bang," and the two fell to the ground with a muffled groan before the call ended.
The two struggled to their feet and looked around. They found themselves in a vast library, with towering shelves and an ocean of books.
Without even opening the book, just a glance from afar is enough to make one dizzy.
Fred, his face bruised and swollen, scrambled to his feet and looked around in astonishment. "What the hell is this place? I don't remember the Hogwarts Library looking like this."
George opened the box and examined it carefully. Seeing that the sniper rifle parts were intact, he breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Did you rent out your ears? The boss just said that this tunnel connects to the House of Requirement."
"I remember Harry saying when we were drinking that there's a room on the eighth floor, opposite the 'Troll Stick Beats Barnabas Tapestry,' that changes according to your needs."
Without a second thought, Fred turned and walked back. "Then we must have been taken to the wrong place. Under what circumstances would either of us be thinking about the library?"
George paused for a moment, then said, "When they were developing a new gun?"
Upon hearing this, both of them froze. After staring at each other for a long while, they hurried to a bookshelf and examined it closely.
Upon seeing him, his breathing suddenly became heavy, his face flushed red, and his heart burned as if he had seen a mixed-race Veela seducing him.
Why were the two of them so out of sorts? It turned out that the shelf was neatly arranged with firearms books such as "Illustrated Guide to High-Powered Firearms," "Complete Handbook of Firearms," and "The Age of Hot Weapons."
Fred and George, their hands trembling, took down the books and turned the pages one by one. Their eyes shone with a brilliance, as if they were mesmerized.
Fred slammed the book shut and said seriously, "I take back what I just said. My mind was indeed completely occupied by the library."
.
After speaking, he hurriedly took off his outer robe and spread it on the ground, then gathered all the books into the robe and tied them up as a bundle.
George, still somewhat lucid, knew that reuniting with Harry as soon as possible was of utmost importance.
Besides, the Room of Requirement is located at Hogwarts and won't grow wings and fly away. We can come back to collect the good books and volumes after we've finished our business; there's no need to worry about being late.
The two of them then recited a few healing incantations on the dough, and then ran away from the house to the secret chamber.
Upon entering the secret room, they found it brightly lit and bustling with noise.
The scarred man was drinking and eating heartily with a hundred or so Boxer brothers and sisters, enjoying himself immensely!
Thirty to fifty members of the Phoenix Society sat together, eating and drinking together.
Harry was drinking with Dumbledore when the two red-haired men burst in through the door. He immediately clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Professor, look! My two brothers arrived just a moment ago, and today's battle at the execution ground has resulted in a complete victory—no injuries, only deaths! Truly a total triumph!"
Before Dumbledore could speak, Fred rushed to Harry's side, gave him a high five, and whispered mysteriously, "Harry! You won't believe it, Hogwarts has an eighth tunnel leading out of the school!"
After saying this, he turned to greet Dumbledore, but when he saw Dumbledore's white-bearded face clearly, his words changed as he spoke.
"Speaking of which, Professor Dumbledore, has anyone ever said that the owner of the Hog's Head looks somewhat like you?"
"Ah, that's only natural." Dumbledore nodded readily. "He's my brother, Aberforth."
Upon hearing this, not only Fred and George, but also several old members of the Order of the Phoenix nearby were stunned.
"You have a younger brother?"
"Dumbledore, you never said any of these things."
"You're not hiding something from us, are you?"
The crowd bombarded him with questions, but Dumbledore only took a sip of his wine and sighed, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that Aberforth has a deep grudge against me."
"If Voldemort weren't still alive, I bet he would have left the Order of the Phoenix long ago and moved to a place I would never be able to find."
The old headmaster spoke with a desolate air, and although the crowd was curious, they did not dare to delve into what grudges existed between the brothers, so they had to stop talking.
Dumbledore didn't want to say more, and sent Fred and the other man away first. Then he suddenly turned back and grabbed Harry's hand that was holding the wine glass, saying, "Harry, now is not the time to drink and celebrate."
"Not just you and me, everyone here, and the students who aren't here, have now been labeled as 'rebels.'"
"I hope you don't underestimate the sages."
Dumbledore's words were earnest, and many people around him lowered their voices. Pairs of eyes secretly glanced at Harry, pricking up their ears to hear his explanation.
Harry, showing no sign of worry, simply flicked his wrist, freeing himself from Dumbledore's grasp, finished his drink, and laughed loudly, "Professor, why worry? There's no turning back now that the arrow has been released. Having started this rebellion, we should wipe it out completely!"
"Hogwarts has high walls and thick fortifications, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack; it's like an iron barrel. Let's use this place as our base and set up camp here!"
"Besides, there are several secret passages in the school that lead directly to Hogsmeade. Tonight, we'll sneak over there and catch those bastards off guard!"
""
"Once we occupy Hogsmeade and control the surrounding area, with your titles of 'White Lord' and 'Savior', how could we fear not attracting heroes?"
"Moreover, Scrimgeour and many Aurors have a history with me. Now Scrimgeour is being suspected by that scoundrel Fudge, and I don't know how much resentment he's harboring."
"Let me go and provoke him a bit. If luck is on my side, with some inside help, taking down that damn Ministry of Magic shouldn't be too difficult!"
"Even if things don't go smoothly, we still need to recruit a bunch of Aurors to join the Boxer Rebellion. Then we can stand up to the Magic Department on our own."
After he finished speaking, Dumbledore's eyelids started twitching uncontrollably.
This doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment idea—had he already been planning this for a while?
He usually thought highly of Harry, but after meeting him today, he realized he had underestimated him.
This scarred man often talked about rebellion, but it wasn't just youthful impulsiveness; he actually had a plan for rebellion in his mind.
As he pondered, Harry noticed that he remained silent and assumed that he was still unwilling to break ties with the Ministry of Magic.
The scarred man, growing increasingly agitated, flung his robes aside and knelt on one knee as if a mountain of gold were collapsing, pleading, "Professor, if you have any reservations, Harry is willing to relinquish this head seat. Logically and emotionally, it is right for you to take it!"
As soon as Harry bowed down, Dumbledore pointed his wand from his sleeve, and Harry found himself unable to move, rising up and landing steadily back on the stool.
"Don't go too far, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said helplessly. "I'm just considering whether your decision is reasonable."
Harry's expression remained unchanged; he simply smiled and said, "Professor, please don't take it to heart. My actions just now were entirely my own."
As the two were talking, suddenly a few wisps of white smoke rose, and several house-elves appeared out of thin air, bowing urgently to Harry and Dumbledore and shouting, "Mr. Harry Potter! Professor Dumbledore! We've caught an intruder!"
Harry was surprised to hear this and asked in astonishment, "You forced him out all by yourself?"
"That's right, we've checked the entire area. He has no accomplices; he came alone."
Harry, seizing the opportunity, slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Since that's the case, bring them on board!"
When the Boxer heroes heard that they were about to bring their men to confront him, they all laughed and opened their eyes wide, wanting to see who this person was.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than several plumes of white smoke rose. Two house-elves appeared, escorting a tall man.
The man's hands were bound with ropes, his face swollen and turning purplish-red, yet he still struggled incessantly.
Harry looked closely, cried out "Oh dear!" and jumped forward to untie the ropes binding him.
"Brother! What brings you here!"
"If you had given me your name earlier, how would these house-elves have dared to restrain you?"
What are you bound to? It's none other than Rufus Skoglund, the Auror Director known as "Tough Guy" in the Ministry of Magic!
Si Gongzhengjie rubbed his wrist, pulled at his mouth, and said, "Before I could even speak, they sealed my mouth shut."
.
Harry dragged Scott to his seat and ordered someone to fill him with a good drink, clearly intending to have some fun.
Si Shangzhengjie quickly made a gesture, saying, "It's alright, there's no need to take pictures of these."
"Harry, you can probably guess what my purpose is today."
Harry, still reeling from the blow, retorted, "But did that birdman Wizengamot and Fudge force my brother to surrender to me?"
Si Shangzhengjie nodded. "That's right, what I'm being forced to do is indeed the will of the sages and the minister."
However, he shook his head again, "But it's not for me to force you to surrender."
1>