Chapter 481 Summer vacation is over

8 month 31 day.

Just yesterday, the Ministry of Magic issued Educational Decree No. 22, pushing the situation back to the plot in the original book and reminding Sherin that his summer vacation is about to end.

The content of "Educational Order No. 22" was published in today's Daily Prophet. The official words are - if the current Hogwarts headmaster cannot provide a candidate for a certain teaching position, the Ministry of Magic has the right to nominate a suitable candidate.

The time has come to today.

The morning sun shone through the French windows of the Flower Dew Cottage, shining on the exquisite meals neatly arranged on the dining table. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked buttered toast and bacon. Furong lightly brought a cup of freshly brewed coffee and sat opposite Xie Lin, watching him gently as he enjoyed the breakfast she prepared herself.

Just as Sherin was cutting a piece of soft fried egg with his knife and fork, an owl landed gently on the windowsill, bringing a letter with the Hogwarts emblem printed on it.

Furong stood up, took the envelope gracefully, and handed it to Xie Lin with a smile on her lips: "It seems to be your notice for the new school year."

Sherin took the envelope and tore it open skillfully. The contents of the letter were as expected. The list of books listed two new books - Miranda Goshawk's "Standard Spells, Grade Five" and Wilbert Slinka's "Magical Defense Theory". In addition, there was a formal prefect notification letter and a shiny gold and red prefect badge.

Furong leaned over and looked at the badge, with a hint of appreciation in her blue eyes. "Congratulations, Mr. Prefect." She smiled and gently tapped the lion and snake pattern on the badge with her finger. "But this shouldn't be a challenge for you, right?"

Xie Lin raised his lips slightly, turned the badge in his palm, and laughed softly: "Indeed, it's just an additional identity."

At the same time, he received a summary of the information from the Order of the Dragon. The other prefect of Slytherin House is Daphne Greengrass, the prefects of Ravenclaw House are Anthony Goldstein and Murray MacDougal, and the prefects of Hufflepuff House are Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones.

Although the candidates for Gryffindor prefects have not yet been announced, according to the original book, they will most likely be the same people - Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Xie Ling smiled - among the eight prefects, three female prefects were his people, which made up half of them if he was included. Coincidentally, the remaining half were people who joined Dumbledore's Army in the original book.

It seems that the next semester will be quite interesting - it may be the first confrontation between the Sleeping Dragon Society and Dumbledore's Army at the student level.

In addition, Sherin also heard that this year's male student union president would be Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff. This did not surprise Sherin at all. After all, Cedric was recognized as the best among the seventh graders this year.

Schelling pondered for a moment, folded the letter and placed it on the table, picked up a feather pen, spread out a new piece of parchment, and wrote a short and sincere congratulatory letter - Cedric had some friendship with him, and Schelling felt it necessary to send him his congratulations.

Furong held her chin up and watched Xie Ling writing. She couldn't help but smile. She picked up the coffee cup, took a sip, and said softly, "You are really a considerate person, Xie Ling."

After Xie Lin finished writing the letter, he looked up at her with a nonchalant smile on his face: "It's just a matter of reciprocity. It's always good to maintain more friendly relations."

Furong chuckled but didn't argue, her blue eyes looking brighter in the morning light.

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Same day, number 12, Grimmauld Place, morning.

Harry stood on a chair, stretched out his arms, and frowned as he cleaned Hedwig's excrement on top of the wardrobe. The white feathers mixed with the dried stains made him mutter, "I should let Hedwig clean it up herself..."

Just as he was trying to reach the corner, the door was pushed open and Ron walked in excitedly, holding two letters from Hogwarts in his hands.

"The mail has arrived!" Ron raised the envelope in his hand with an excited smile on his face.

Harry wiped his hands, jumped off the chair, took the letter that belonged to him, and tore open the envelope skillfully. He quickly scanned the list of books, which were all regular textbooks, nothing special. However, just as he was about to put the letter down, he saw Ron froze in his corner of his eye.

Ron stood there motionless, his mouth slightly open, his eyes fixed on the letter in his hand. Harry turned his head in confusion, and was about to ask, but saw the shiny red and gold badge slip out of the envelope and fall into Ron's palm.

Gryffindor Prefect.

For a moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Harry blinked, his heart suddenly shrank, as if hit hard by something. His eyes were unconsciously locked on the badge, and his heartbeat gradually accelerated.

Ron? Prefect?
He felt an indescribable resentment churning in his chest, even a bit suffocated. He had done so much, risked his life to fight Voldemort, participated in the Triwizard Tournament, and experienced countless life-and-death battles...but the position of prefect fell to Ron?

He originally thought that this status would be his. After all, his grades were not bad, and his combat experience was unmatched. He thought he was much better than Ron, but he lost to his friend?

Harry forced a smile, suppressed his inner disappointment, reached out and patted Ron on the shoulder: "Uh... congratulations." His voice was a little dry.

Ron still looked at the badge in disbelief, and murmured, "I... I'm actually a prefect?" His ears turned red, and a look of surprise and joy appeared on his face.

Harry didn't say anything else, just put his envelope on the table and walked to the window. He looked at the town in the distance under the night sky, and the depression in his heart could not be dispelled for a long time.

……

But Ron, who learned that he had become a class leader, was not as happy as Harry had imagined.

As soon as he knew he had become a prefect, Ron ran downstairs excitedly, holding the prefect badge he had just received in his hand, his face full of uncontrollable excitement.

He had always lived under the aura of his brothers, and now he finally had his own glory. He couldn't wait to get a gift worthy of the status of a senior - a broomstick of his own.

"Mom!" He rushed into the kitchen, his tone unable to hide his excitement, "Can I have a new broom? Even if it's not a Nimbus, it's at least better than those crappy brooms at school, right?"

Mrs. Weasley, who was busy cooking, paused, a hint of hesitation flashed across her face, then she sighed softly and whispered, "Ron...we really have no other choice now."

Ron's smile froze, "But--" "Your father has just been fired by the Ministry of Magic," Mrs. Weasley raised her head, her tone filled with fatigue and helplessness, "They also made him pay a huge fine, and all our savings have been used to pay off the debts. Even the valuable things in the house... have been almost sold out."

Ron was stunned.

"Your father has found a low-level clerical job in Diagon Alley. The salary is pitifully low, and he is looked down upon every day. He can barely make ends meet." Her voice trembled a little, and her eyes flickered, as if she didn't want the child to see her vulnerability. "We have also borrowed money from many relatives... Ron, do you understand? Now is not the time to buy a broom."

Ron's face flushed red, and a trace of unwillingness flashed in his eyes. His eyes fell on the prefect badge on the table, and he clenched his fists and whispered through gritted teeth: "Then why should I be a prefect? ​​If I can't even afford a broom, what's the point of this?"

"Ronald Wesley!" Mrs. Wesley glared at her son. "Do you know how much your father has sacrificed for this family? How dare you complain here?"

Ron was so angry that his face turned pale, his fists clenched, he stomped his feet hard, and turned to go upstairs.

"Ron, don't be like this..." Hermione's voice suddenly interrupted. She had been standing at the door, still holding her prefect badge in her hand, her face full of confusion and anxiety.

Ron stopped and turned sharply to look at her.

Hermione pursed her lips and spoke carefully: "I...I'm also a prefect."

Ron was stunned, and then his expression became even uglier. He looked down at the badge in his hand, and suddenly felt that this thing was not worth being happy about at all.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to step forward, her voice gentle but firm: "Ron, I know you've always wanted a broom of your own... If you really need it, I can -"

"Shut up!" Ron's roar interrupted her, and Hermione took a step back in fright.

"What do you mean? You want to give me alms?!" Ron's face flushed red, his eyes full of anger and humiliation, "Do you think you are so great? Do you feel sorry for me, so you are merciful and pity me?!"

"No! I just--" Hermione tried to explain anxiously, but Ron didn't listen at all.

"I don't need your money! Who do you think you are?!" Ron roared, grabbed the badge on the table, stuffed it into his pocket, turned around and rushed upstairs, slamming the door.

Hermione stood there, her face pale, her lips trembling slightly.

Mrs. Wesley looked at her distressedly, sighed, reached out and patted her shoulder, and whispered: "Don't worry, child. He is just too proud."

Hermione bit her lip and lowered her head, feeling wronged and sad. She just wanted to help, why did it turn out like this...

In the room upstairs, Ron curled up in bed, buried his face in the pillow, his heart filled with shame, anger and self-blame. He knew that Hermione meant well, but the feeling of being pitied was worse than anything else. He didn't want to be pitied, he just wanted to stand on the same starting line as others.

But reality tells him harshly that he will never be the same as others.

……

That night, Ron didn't even have dinner in the room, and fell asleep with resentment. Harry, who was in the other bed, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He stared at the ceiling, replaying everything that had happened during this period in his mind. The humiliating appearance in the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort's resurrection, the life-and-death crisis he experienced on the field, the Wizengamot trial, the glaring fine ticket...

Most importantly, the only two relics left to him by his father are now lost - the invisibility cloak was lost by him, and the Marauder's Map was handed over, and Professor Moody seemed to have no intention of returning it.

He seemed to be stripped of everything, and the things that once made him feel a sense of belonging in the magical world were leaving him little by little.

He finally understood that in the magical world, strength is respected after all.

No matter how much he had done, no matter how much he had suffered, in the end, he hadn't even been a prefect. His hands clenched the sheets, his knuckles turning white.

He needed power. Real power.

At this moment, there was a sudden intense burning pain from the scar on his forehead, as if a red-hot blade had pierced his skin and reached deep into his mind.

Harry opened his eyes suddenly, covered his forehead, and cold sweat immediately broke out. In the darkness, his breathing was rapid and heavy.

He vaguely felt a voice in his head telling him that he had to become stronger.

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That same evening, the scene returns to Schelling.

Xie Lin looked at the urgent information sent by Qian Mei in his hand, and his brows were deeply furrowed——

Just an hour ago, Sturgis Podmore attempted to break into the Department of Mysteries, but was eventually discovered and arrested by Ministry guards.

There is something very wrong about this.

In this world, Voldemort no longer needs the prophetic crystal ball of the Department of Mysteries. What's more, Lucius Malfoy, who was responsible for casting the Imperius Curse on Podmore in the original book, is simply impossible to do such a thing now.

So, who was behind this and cast the Imperius Curse on Podmore? More importantly, what was the real goal of the mastermind behind this? What was there in the Department of Mysteries that was worth the risk? (End of this chapter)