Chapter 737: Hagrid’s Warning, Sirius’s Miserable Ordeal

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After packing up their belongings, the students formed orderly lines and headed for Hogsmeade Station, trunks and bags in tow.

The entire way, three squads of Aurors brought by Kingsley stayed close around them. When they reached the station, another two squads of Hit Wizards were already waiting.

These weren’t part of the train escort. The Ministry of Magic had assigned them to oversee Hogsmeade Village itself.

As the only all-wizard settlement in Britain, Hogsmeade had grown large enough to be considered more of a magical town than a village. Despite that, it wasn’t protected by many Muggle-Repelling Charms, and there had been more than a few cases over the years of Muggles wandering in by accident.

Tom had once toyed with the idea of uprooting the entire town and relocating it to Dalaran. In the end, though, he’d abandoned the plan.

Dalaran was his city. Its future would unfold according to his own vision.

That was precisely why he wanted some unpredictability. He had clear goals, but if every single thing in the magical world happened under his direct control, there would be no surprises, no room for history to develop naturally.

Instead, he hoped that one day the wizarding world would revolve around Dalaran and Jeanne’s Dark City, with other magical towns and villages springing up around them.

That was how civilizations were meant to grow.

Otherwise, if everything remained under his thumb, it wouldn’t be long before it all became terribly dull.

"Thank goodness Tom is riding this train." As soon as they arrived at the station, Hagrid finished talking with Harry and Ron. Then he spotted Tom approaching with an entire crowd of girls behind him and let out a relieved sigh.

Harry looked puzzled. "Hagrid, the Ministry’s already assigned loads of Aurors to escort the train. Nothing’s going to happen, right?"

"The Aurors are good," Hagrid muttered, "If something really happens on the way, they might be able to save most of the passengers... but there’s no way they could guarantee everyone’s safety. Muggle firearms are really dangerous, Harry."

"But with Tom aboard..." Hagrid shook his head happily. "That’s different. I can promise you’ll all make it to London safely."

"..."

Tom had actually considered returning to his estate through the Floo Network. The problem was that not everyone was going with him.

Hermione, Penelope, Luna, Ginny, and plenty of others would be heading home first. ℴℴ𝘮

Especially Ginny. Her parents weren’t coming to pick up only one child. So, at Dumbledore’s request, Tom had simply agreed to ride the train back to London with everyone else.

"Has things really gotten that bad?" Harry asked quietly, looking up at Hagrid.

The half-giant crouched down and lowered his voice. "Listen, Harry. What’s happening now is a hundred times worse than You-Know-Who coming back. You’ve got no idea what’s going on."

"I’ve heard from some friends that a lot of countries have already started rounding up wizards. They want to find out exactly what makes us different from ordinary people. I don’t know if Britain will end up doing the same... but you’ve got to be careful. You too, Ron."

The moment Ron heard that Muggles were actually capturing wizards, his mind immediately jumped to the medieval witch hunts they’d studied in History of Magic. His face turned pale, and he nodded repeatedly.

"When you get home, don’t go anywhere," Hagrid said, patting Harry gently on the head. "You should get in touch with Sirius. If he’s with you, I’ll feel a lot better."

"...All right," Harry agreed. "I will."

The train whistle sounded.

Hagrid clapped his hands. "All right then, off you go! And remember to keep in touch."

Harry and Ron hauled their trunks and owl cages aboard the train. Making their way toward the last carriage, they finally found an empty compartment. Together with Neville and the Weasley twins, the five of them squeezed inside.

"So... where’s Sirius these days?" Ron asked after they’d stowed their luggage.

Harry shook his head. "He’s helping Professor Lupin with something. I don’t really know the details."

"I think Hagrid’s right," Ron said, settling into his seat beside Harry. "Your aunt and uncle already hate wizards. After everything that’s happened in New York, they’ll probably treat you like some kind of monster. But staying alone in Sirius’s house isn’t exactly safe either. It’d be better if he came back."

"Oh, Ronnie." Fred stared at him in exaggerated disbelief. "I never thought I’d live to hear you say something that actually makes sense."

Ron rolled his eyes.

What’s that supposed to mean? It wasn’t that he couldn’t think sensibly. He just usually couldn’t be bothered. When things got serious, though, he was perfectly reliable.

Harry, meanwhile, fell silent.

Honestly, he didn’t want to bother Sirius. He had no idea what important work Sirius was busy with.

But then he imagined spending another miserable summer at the Dursleys’. He shivered.

"...Okay. I’ll give him a try." Harry pulled out his iCodex, found Sirius’s icon, and tapped it lightly.

"If Sirius really can’t come back," he asked, "could I stay at the Burrow?"

George shrugged. "Sure. Assuming the Burrow’s still standing."

Fred grinned. "Think positive, George. If the Muggles discover the Burrow, won’t that just mean we get to move into Dalaran? I’ve got a feeling there are loads of business opportunities there. Enough for us to make one huge fortune instead of making lots of smaller ones forever."

Harry twitched at the corner of his mouth.

For some reason, the twins almost seemed to want the Burrow to be discovered so they’d have an excuse to move.

He couldn’t understand it. To Harry, the Burrow was the warmest, most welcoming home in the entire world. Living in a place like that was something he could only dream about.

Just then, the iCodex chimed. A face appeared on the screen.

"Harry?"

Harry’s eyes widened in shock. "Sirius... what happened to you?"

Sirius looked even worse than the first time Harry had seen him in court.

His hair was a complete mess, and his face was streaked with soot and dust.

"It’s nothing." Sirius wiped at his face, only to smear the grime even further. He gave a helpless smile. "I just finished moving a few tons of cement. Spilled some of it on myself."

"Weren’t you supposed to be helping Professor Lupin?" Ron asked, leaning into view. "Looking at you, I’d think you’d been kidnapped and sold off to work in a mine."

Neville and the Weasley twins crowded around the iCodex as well, all staring at Sirius curiously.

Sirius ground his teeth. "Is there really much difference?"

With that, he began telling them about everything he’d gone through over the past several days.

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