Chapter 320: “Change of Weather”
Chapter 320: “Change of Weather”
Chapter 320: “Change of Weather”
It was like a stone was thrown from the calm water, and the hall suddenly became noisy.
There were many incidents that attacked Muggles. When Dumbledore said such words, even the first-year students could instantly understand the seriousness.
Even though Dumbledore had been told to be quiet, the whispered discussions among the students had converged into noisy waves. Many young students from Muggle families were visibly worried, and some students even stood up and asked Dumbledore where the accident happened.
“Quiet.” Dumbledore gave himself an Amplifying Charm.
Dumbledore scanned the crowd with a serious expression and said, “It happened in London and Bristol in England, Paris and Marseille in France, Berlin in Germany…”
The names of cities were announced one by one from Dumbledore’s mouth, and Sean’s fingers were tightly clenched. Most of the densely populated cities in European countries have happened.
The students were completely thrown into disarray by the news. It was as if a bomb had been dropped into the hall. The explosion made everyone forget to speak, only shocked.
“How’s the situation?” Sean stood up at some point.
Dumbledore just glanced at him and said to everyone, “Quite serious. Hundreds of Muggles have lost their lives. All the Ministry of Magic employees of various countries have been dispatched.”
“Who was the culprit?” Sean continued to ask.
“The identity has not yet been known, and the Aurors are hunting down the attacker with all their power.” Dumbledore still didn’t look at him.
“Is the wizarding world in danger of being exposed?”
“That is one of the things we’re worried about, but the Ministry of Magic assesses that the risk of exposure is still within the controllable range, and all employees of the Amnestics Department have been dispatched.”
“How about the escaped wizards in the prisons?”
“The Ministry of Magic is doing everything they can.”
The conversation in the hall became weird. The students and faculty members did not speak. Only Sean stood up and kept asking the questions, while Dumbledore never looked at him but was answering questions from Sean to everyone.
Just this morning, Azkaban, Soul Eater Tower, Alpine Prison, and other places used to detain prisoners in various countries simultaneously experienced large-scale breakouts. The details are unknown, but Azkaban alone has at least twenty ordinary prisoners and more than eight heavily charged criminals escaped.
Under such a breakout, the Auror of various countries mobilized collectively. It was inevitable that the forces responsible for monitoring the security of Muggle cities were immediately emptied.
Under such circumstances, a group of unknown wizards launched attacks in major cities. They used magic spells to bomb several areas of the city. Under this sudden attack, the entire wizarding world and Muggle world were thrown into chaos.
At the same time, the criminals continued to attack the passing Muggle places, which caused great trouble to the Aurors.
The whole world, in just a few hours, changed.
Now, the ministers of the Ministry of Magic of various countries are already discussing the handling measures with the governments of various countries. While obscuring the truth of the incident, they are erasing the witnesses’ memories at the site.
Dumbledore glanced at everyone seriously, “From now on, Hogwarts will strictly implement the regulations of the Ministry of Magic. All students are not allowed to leave Hogwarts. At the same time, because the wizarding world is at risk, all owl communications will be temporarily banned.”
After saying this, Dumbledore left directly. Many students from Muggle families flocked to Professor McGonagall.
“Professor, my home is in London. I must confirm my parents’ safety.”
“Professor, my family is in Bristol. My parents just wrote me yesterday to tell me that they are taking my brother to go shopping in the city center…”
“Professor, professor!”
Professor McGonagall was immediately surrounded.
“Please don’t worry about it. Hogwarts has sent professors to take care of that matter. We are contacting graduated students who will assist the professors in checking the situation of all the students’ families from Muggle families. We will inform you if there is any news as soon as possible.”
However, this explanation did not work for them, and the hall was already in chaos.
Sean dragged Hermione towards the outside of the hall at a fast pace. On the way, he heard several Slytherins discussing how to contact their family members to inquire about the situation.
Daisy trotted behind, and the three of them quickly broke away from the crowd and came to the corridor on the eighth floor of the castle.
“Sean?” Hermione came back to her senses now.
“My parents and your parents. They are all in downtown London.”
Sean nodded with a livid face, “I know.”
To ensure the secrecy of the wizarding world, it seems necessary to cut off Hogwarts’ communication. But no one can calm down in the face of the difficulties that the family may encounter.
Sean tried his best to calm himself. His parents and his sister should be under the protection of the people sent by Dumbledore and Grindelwald. This kind of attack should not pose a threat to his family.
However, without accurate information, Sean couldn’t be relieved, let alone Hermione. The Grangers were ordinary people who didn’t have any protections like him.
In a city with a population of several million, hundreds of people were killed, and hundreds of people were injured. In the face of those numbers, this seems to be an extremely small number.
However, when things really happen, no one can guarantee whether they or their family members will become one of the victims.
Sean had the urge more than once to go back and check the situation himself, but the rationality in his mind suppressed the thoughts.
The probability of this happening is very small, and second, if something does happen, it won’t help if he goes back now, as it may cause more serious things to happen.
Who knows if the real target of this accident will be the world’s number one unstable bomb?
Sean took a few deep breaths under Hermione’s and Daisy’s worried eyes.
“I’ll be back soon.” The wooden door of the Room of Requirements appeared in front of them.
Sean gave an order and went straight into the Vanishing Cabinet.
The cabinet door was closed, and after waiting for a moment, Sean opened the cabinet door.
Sean returned to Nurmengard through the Vanishing Cabinet for the first time since Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s breakup in Paris.
The Nurmengard’s room, where the Vanishing Cabinet is located, has completely changed. It is no longer the warm and classical attic. The things here are scattered all over the place, and there are many traces of leftovers.
But he didn’t have time to worry about it now and quickly ran to the fireplace in the room. Sean took out the Floo powder. Hogwarts’ Floo network was all monitored by the Ministry of Magic, and he could not use it, but Nurmengard was different. Grindelwald opened the castle’s authority to himself.
Moreover, when Nurmengard was being built, Grindelwald also deliberately laid a Floo network that was not monitored by any official agency, the kind that could cross borders.
Green flames rose up, and Sean stepped directly into it.
—-
London, east of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Many financial institutions such as banks, stock exchanges, and gold markets are gathered on a small land, the famous City of London.
Above the building, the financial elites are busy working. However, they are not thinking about work today. This group of people learned about the tragedy that happened in London this morning.
The government has issued an announcement stating that this was a very serious natural gas leak explosion accident. Still, a gossip revealed that there seemed to be something weirder hidden behind this incident.
Mr. Wallup rented this floor at his expense, and the organization headed by Lupin started working in this mixed situation of wizards and Muggles. Of course, the number of wizards is very small, and Lupin is usually responsible for handing over work to Muggles.
After Mr. Wallup’s special training, Lupin was doing very well at his job.
A burst of green flames emanated from the fireplace in the specially built small room, and Sean walked out of it. He brushed the dust off his shoulders and walked out of the room.
A man in a suit holding a stack of documents in the corridor saw the young man coming out of the room. He frowned and walked up, “Kid, how did you get in?”
Sean didn’t speak and threw a Confundus Charm, “Where’s your boss?”
The man in the suit replied dazedly, “A few customers who were dressed in strange clothes came, and the boss is meeting them in the private room.”
Sean went to the room easily, and just as he was about to knock on the door, the door opened by itself. Lupine was standing at the door.
“Sean? How did you get here?”
Sean didn’t have time to say anything. He walked into the room quickly, and when the door closed, he quickly asked, “I need you to help me protect my parents.”
Lupin locked the door and looked back at him, “I can do that. But how did you get out of Hogwarts? Don’t worry, I went to your parents when I heard the news, the accident happened in central London, far away from your parents. They are safe for now.”
Sean breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down on the sofa and wiped off the sweat from his forehead.
Lupin poured him a glass of water, “You should know the place where the incident happened. It’s just five hundred meters east of the Leaky Cauldron.”
Sean frowned and took a sip from the water glass, “Where? Did the attacker come from Diagon Alley?”
“Probably.” Lupin nodded, “I went to ask about the news as soon as it happened. We opened a charity store in Diagon Alley a while ago, and the store manager gave me the news. The owner saw that a strange group of wizards came from the fireplace. They were wearing red and black robes, all hooded.”
Lupin quickly explained, “According to Tom, there are five people. The leader’s accent is a bit strange, unlike the British accent. A huge sound came from the east shortly after they went out. You should know what happened next.”
Sean silently noted down a few key points and looked up at him.
Before he could speak, Lupin smiled, “I know your worries. Just before you came, someone just left. There are three people in total, all of whom were recruited from the list you gave me. I have also investigated them for a long time, and they are all trustworthy people. If there is no accident, they should have arrived near your home by now. If you need, they can take your family away at any time. A house on Godric’s Hollow has been rented, and Lily will welcome your family as well.”
With this amazing efficiency and meticulous planning, Sean felt very fortunate that hiring Lupin was one of his most correct choices.
“By the way, there are also the Grangers. Wait a minute, I’ll call my parents.” There was no electromagnetic interference from Hogwarts here, so Sean picked up a phone.
Sitting on the sofa, Lupin watched him gently and seriously remind his parents to pay attention to safety with a smile on his face.
Sean finally felt relieved after telling his parents and asking someone to bring the Grangers to his house for a while.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Lupin.” Sean thanked him sincerely.
Lupin smiled and said, “Your list has helped a lot. The people on it are very trustworthy, and I don’t need to spend a lot of effort to find them.
Sean shook his head, “It’s all because of you.”
That list came from Minsk, a member of the Golden Dawn. They were all Nurmengard graduates and passionate admirers of Grindelwald. She finds out the names of Grindelwald’s personal disciples, they are much more trustworthy than ordinary wizards.
Lupin smiled and replied, “I’m just doing my job, and, as a werewolf, such a good employer certainly deserves my utmost sincerity.”
“Mr. Lupin, please don’t say that. I don’t think you are a different group of people from us. You just have something that’s like a disease, just like my father. He has high blood pressure and has to take medicine on time.” Sean spread his hands.
Lupin’s eyes flickered twice. He lowered his head and chuckled twice and then resumed his usual demeanor.
“So, what should we do next?”