novelcrest Chapter 441 Mrs. Weasley's Gratitude and Repayment
Chapter 441 Mrs. Weasley's Gratitude and Repayment
Chapter 441 Mrs. Weasley's Gratitude and Repayment
Sean was somewhat disappointed.
Because he knew what was happening outside—a good show had come to an end, and another good show was about to begin.
As the noise outside grew louder, Hermione hurriedly moved away from Sean and bent down to tidy up her scattered clothes.
Her cheeks were still flushed from the heat, and she looked like a captured little animal, nervously dealing with everything.
"Professor!" she pleaded urgently in a low voice, "Don't let anyone see this."
After everything was arranged, Sean led Hermione out of the tent.
Several fires were burning outside, and people were running into the woods as if fleeing something moving toward them from the camp.
The thing was flashing strangely and making a sound like a gunshot.
Loud jeers, maniacal laughter, and drunken shouts all moved toward them.
Then, a bright green light flashed, illuminating everything around them.
A group of wizards huddled together, each pointing their wands upwards, and moved forward together, slowly traversing the field.
"Phillips! You're here!" Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sean and Hermione emerge from the tent and quickly approached. "The situation is a bit urgent; we need help!"
Sean glanced at the commotion around him and frowned. "I see those wizards. They don't seem to be just creating chaos."
Hermione bit her lip nervously, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Her gaze swept around and she saw a group of wizards setting fire to tents by the roadside, the flames turning the surrounding air a fiery red.
"What are they doing?"
Just as she asked the question, a loud bang rang out, almost shaking the entire ground, and the flames from the exploding tents illuminated half the sky.
Arthur glanced at Hermione, then at the children standing behind him, and turned to Sean, saying, "We have to stop them! Phillips, could you and Mr. Lovegood take them to a safe place first? I have to go to the Ministry of Magic to assist my colleagues."
Sean nodded. "I will protect them, Arthur. Don't worry."
After saying that, he gestured to Xenophilius to have him take Luna and follow behind him, and then led the group of people into the woods next to them.
Ron, Harry, Ginny, and the twins followed closely behind Sean, their expressions more serious than usual.
Everyone held each other tightly, without exchanging a single unnecessary word.
At this moment, there is only one goal: to get away from this insane disaster as quickly as possible.
The darkness in the woods seemed to be swallowing everything, and the air was filled with the smell of damp earth and the pungent smell of burning.
Some of those who ran from the camp into the woods were filled with fear, while others hurried along; none of them dared to stop.
With Sean leading the way, the group entered the woods smoothly and took cover.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the side, startling the group.
Everyone stopped in their tracks nervously and looked around warily.
A tiny figure struggled in the bushes; it was none other than the house-elf Sparky.
Her movements appeared very strange and strained, as if an unseen force was pulling her back.
"Wicked wizards are everywhere!" Sparkle screamed frantically as she leaned forward, trying to run. "They're high, high up up there! Sparkle has to run away!"
She gasped and screamed, struggling against the force binding her, before finally disappearing into the bushes on the other side of the path and vanishing into the shadows.
"What's wrong with her?" Ron stared at Shan Shan's retreating figure with curiosity, his face full of doubt. "Why can't she run properly?"
"I guess she hid without her owner's permission," Harry said, his voice heavy.
He thought of Dobby.
Whenever Dobby tried to do something the Malfoys disapproved of, the house-elf would punish himself by self-harm. Hermione gritted her teeth, her tone suddenly turning indignant, "Do you know how unfairly house-elves are treated! They're practically slaves! Mr. Crouch forced her to climb to the top of the gymnasium, and she was terrified. Then Mr. Crouch cast a spell so she couldn't escape when people started trampling on the tents! Why didn't anyone stand up to stop it?"
Ron frowned, not quite understanding Hermione's sudden anger. "I said, house-elves are happy, aren't they? Did you hear what Sparkle said during the match—'House-elves shouldn't have fun'—she likes it that way."
Being bossed around
Hermione's expression instantly turned serious. She glared at Ron, her voice sharp: "It's people like you, Ron," she said, "who uphold this rotten and unreasonable system! You're so lazy, so selfish, that you don't even consider the true feelings of the house-elves. Do you know? Dobby almost gave his life to protect Harry, and you think they're 'happy inside'!"
Ron was stunned by Hermione's words and stood there speechless for a moment.
Sean watched the scene with interest, frowning slightly, but did not interrupt their argument.
In such a tense atmosphere, it is impossible for people to remain in a highly tense state indefinitely. Appropriate arguments and emotional outbursts are actually a form of release.
Especially since Hermione had just been interrupted from such a strong emotional state and then immediately entered this situation, she needed to find a way to release her emotions.
However, Sean's thoughts quickly returned from their argument to something more important—how was Riddle doing? Just as he was gazing into the dark woods, suddenly—"The skeletons have reappeared!"
"The remains have reappeared!"
"The remains have reappeared!"
The people arguing suddenly looked up, their eyes fixed on what was in front of them.
Suddenly, one after another, huge green orbs of light appeared in the darkness.
The point of light leaped up to the treetops, soaring into the air and illuminating the surrounding night sky, instantly distorting the shadows of the trees.
"What is this—" Ron said nervously, jumping up and staring at the thing that had just appeared.
Harry initially thought it was another image made up of goblins, but then he realized it was a dozen enormous skulls made up of countless emerald green star-like things, with a large python emerging from the skulls' mouths like a tongue.
As they watched, the skulls rose higher and higher, emitting a dazzling light in a cloud of green smoke, turning the entire area green.
Everyone present, including Xenophilius, who realized the meaning of the mark, turned deathly pale.
The significance of this green light is self-evident.
Hermione's heart sank, and her face turned deathly pale.
She had heard of this symbol before; it was Voldemort's symbol—the "Death Mark," which meant that countless people were about to die whenever it appeared.
Just as everyone was still in shock and fear, several dark figures descended from the sky, breaking the silence.
Tall wizards draped in black cloaks slid down from the sky like ghosts.
The figure at the head of the group appeared, and everyone recognized him at a glance—Cornelly Fudge, who had just been sitting in the same private room as them.
"Minister Fudge?" Harry was taken aback. "What's he doing here?"
"Phillips." Fudge hadn't even landed properly before walking straight towards Sean's direction. "Come to the Ministry of Magic after this is over."
Sean narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.
"Of course, Minister Fouché."
Fudge looked overjoyed to receive Sean's affirmative answer. Then, he whispered something in Sean's ear before leaving with his men.
Due to the repeated appearance of the Black Mark, the turmoil outside subsided much sooner than expected.
When the group of black-robed wizards who were causing trouble saw the green skull shining in the sky, they were stunned for a moment, and then they quickly left the scene by teleporting.
Even so, it was several hours later when Sean returned to the Weasleys' tent with his group.
Upon entering the tent, everyone saw Arthur, Percy, Charlie, and the others, who were standing to one side, discussing something nervously.
Arthur visibly relaxed upon seeing Sean's appearance.
"Are you all alright?"
"We're fine, but outside...it doesn't look good."
"Yes, the situation outside is more complicated. The Dark Mark has reappeared, and those black-robed wizards don't seem to intend to stop there. We've also just received word that the Ministry of Magic is stepping up its efforts, but for some reason, their response seems particularly slow."
"Slow?" Hermione, standing to the side, interrupted their conversation. "Mr. Weasley, are you saying the Ministry of Magic hasn't gone all out?"
"Yes," Arthur said softly. "I just contacted a few friends in the ministry using a communication spell, and the news I received was unsettling—their command doesn't seem to be unified, many wizards' actions are completely uncoordinated, and some have even been withdrawn from their posts..."
Then, as if he had just thought of something, he suddenly changed the subject and turned to give instructions to everyone.
"Listen, it's getting late. If your mothers heard about this, they'd be terribly worried. Let's get a few hours of sleep, then get the house key as soon as possible and leave."
Arthur's words made the atmosphere in the tent particularly heavy. Everyone nodded. Although everyone was filled with unease and doubt, they seemed to have no choice but to rest and wait for orders.
After drinking a few cups of hot water to calm their tense emotions, everyone returned to their own rooms.
The lights inside the tent gradually dimmed, but the noise outside had not completely dissipated, with gusts of wind and distant clamor occasionally reaching the ears.
As Xenophilius led Luna toward their tent, Luna suddenly turned and winked at Sean, a brief but meaningful glance.
Sean nodded and pointed to the pocket watch in his hand.
Isn't it normal for a little witch to need comfort after being frightened?
it is more than words.
Just a few hours later, Arthur woke everyone up.
After using magic to pack up the tents and put them into their backpacks, the group headed out of the camp.
The sky was not yet fully bright, and the humidity in the surrounding air seemed to linger.
As they approached the place where the door key was kept, they heard a rapid, urgent argument.
A few steps further, they found a large group of wizards surrounding Basil, the gatekeeper, arguing about leaving the camp as soon as possible.
Sean and Basil exchanged a few words, quickly discussed their options, and then joined the crowd.
Finally, before sunrise, they obtained an old tire, which they could use to return to Weasel Mountain.
The first rays of dawn shone on the earth, and a new day began.
They passed through the village of Autry-St. Catchbolt, where Sean briefly said goodbye to Xenophilius and Luna before joining the Weasleys and Hermione along the wet path toward the Burrow.
Along the way, everyone remained silent, their weary footsteps echoing in the quiet morning.
Everyone was exhausted and all they wanted was to have a hot breakfast as soon as possible.
They turned a corner, and the humble dwelling finally came into view.
Just then, a familiar shout came from the path:
"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!"
Molly had been waiting for them in the front yard. When she saw them, she ran towards them with a sigh of relief, wearing the slippers she wore in her bedroom.
Her face was pale, her expression tense, and she clutched a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet tightly in her hand.
"Arthur—I'm so worried—so worried—"
She grabbed Arthur by the neck, and the Daily Prophet slipped from her limp hands, crashing heavily to the ground.
Harry looked down and the newspaper headline caught his eye: "Terrifying Scene at the Quidditch World Cup," accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark hanging in the sky, its glaring green light sending chills down his spine.
"You're all alright," Molly murmured, still shaken. Releasing Arthur, her swollen, red eyes anxiously scanned each of them. "You're all alive—oh, son—"
Suddenly, she grabbed Fred and George, the twins, and pulled them into a tight embrace, their heads colliding with a loud thud.
"Ouch! Mom—you're going to strangle us—" Fred and George complained in unison, rubbing their foreheads.
"I told you this before you left!" Molly said, choking back tears. "I was worried that if the mysterious man took you away, the last thing I would say to you would be, 'Your 0.WLs exam results were not good'?"
Oh, Fred George—
She paused again, her gaze sweeping across the crowd until it settled on Sean.
"Professor Phillips, thank goodness you were here this time. I really can't imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been taking care of the children."
Molly choked back tears, then gripped Sean's hand tightly.
"I really—I really can't describe how grateful I am to you, how can I ever repay you—"