Chapter 913 The Disappearance of Malfoy

Scrimgeour really went to find Malfoy and wanted to bring him back to the Ministry of Magic for trial, and Professor McGonagall agreed.

Hogwarts had no right to judge and convict. Even if the other party killed the school director, the person must be handed over to the Ministry of Magic.

But when they brought a large number of Aurors to the classroom where Malfoy was imprisoned, they were stunned.

The classroom was empty?

Professor Flitwick, who was in charge of guarding, lay unconscious on the ground, and Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on!" Scrimgeour asked angrily, "Where are the people?"

"That's what we want to know too." Professor McGonagall's face was equally ugly.

If the culprit who killed Dumbledore was allowed to run away like this, Hogwarts would be a disgrace.

Professor Sprout hurried to check on Professor Flitwick, but couldn't wake him up.

"Pomona, go find Madam Pomfrey now and ask her to come as soon as possible." Professor McGonagall said, then looked at the portrait on the wall.

"Tell me what happened here!"

"Someone broke in, Headmaster." A witch holding a jar said, "He took the student in the room away."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know." The witch shook her head, "He was wearing a hood and was hidden in a black cloak. I couldn't see his face."

Hood, black cloak...

Such a standard outfit, everyone present thought of Death Eaters at the first time, and they just happened to have a reason to do so?

"They must have sneaked in during the funeral just now!" Someone couldn't help but say.

Although others didn't speak, they all thought so in their hearts.

Only Death Eaters would risk their lives to save Malfoy.

But some people thought of another possibility.

"You didn't hide him, did you?" Scrimgeour said suspiciously, obviously not believing that Death Eaters would come to Hogwarts to save Malfoy regardless of the danger.

They were not so united.

"What do you mean!" Professor McGonagall looked at him, her lips tightly pursed.

People who are familiar with Professor McGonagall know that she was very angry at this time.

"Perhaps you want to avenge Dumbledore yourself," Scrimgeour said, also suppressing his inner anger.

"We were all outside at the funeral, and no one had time to come to the castle to transfer Draco Malfoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Scrimgeour, you should know this best."

"No, there is one exception." Scrimgeour looked at Professor Flitwick who had fainted on the ground.

As Professor McGonagall said, everyone was on the ground before, and he had plenty of time to transfer that Malfoy, and then come back here to find a way to knock himself out.

Professor McGonagall showed a trace of obvious anger on her face, she couldn't accept that the professor of Hogwarts was being accused of such an unwarranted thing.

"Enough, Rufus."

Fortunately, Amelia Bones appeared in time at this time to ease the awkward atmosphere on the scene.

"Minister." Scrimgeour frowned slightly, but did not continue to be aggressive.

"I believe Minerva and Filius, they will not do such a thing, it must be Death Eaters." Bones said. "And our main task now is to find them out as soon as possible.

"As far as I know, Hogwarts does not allow Apparition. We have been outside before. They can't run away. They must be in the school."

"I know!" Scrimgeour's eyes lit up, and then he said in a reserved tone, "Principal McGonagall, do you mind if we look around the school?"

"Of course, I don't mind." Professor McGonagall smiled expressionlessly.

"Sorry, Minerva." Bones spoke again: "We also want to help Hogwarts. You must not want the culprit who killed Dumbledore to be rescued like this."

Professor McGonagall's eyes flickered.

If it weren't for this reason, how could she agree to Scrimgeour's search of the school?

Soon, the Aurors scattered around to look for clues.

At this time, Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey also hurried over.

"Oh, what happened again! "

Looking at Professor Flitwick lying on the ground, Madam Pomfrey shuddered subconsciously.

First it was Dumbledore, now it's Flitwick's turn?

"He was attacked." Professor McGonagall said, "See if you can wake him up as soon as possible."

"Wake up... Oh!"

After a while, Madam Pomfrey realized that Flitwick had just fainted, which made her relieved and walked forward quickly.

"Well... a very sophisticated Stunning Spell, and it seems there is also a Petrification Spell..."

Madam Pomfrey checked it quickly.

"It's not difficult to wake him up... I just happen to have a suitable potion." She waved her wand, letting Professor Flitwick float in the air, ready to take him back to the headmaster's office.

"Oh, right."

At this time, Madam Pomfrey seemed to suddenly think of something, and glanced at the crowd, "Where is Professor Snape? Ask him to take those students who are occupying beds away quickly. That is the school hospital, not the guest room of the Leaky Cauldron. "

Professor McGonagall turned her head and noticed that Snape was not nearby.

And thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he disappeared after the funeral.

It's really unreliable... Those Slytherin students are like this, and so is the headmaster.

"I will tell him." No one could be found, so Professor McGonagall could only say this.

Madam Pomfrey was still a little unhappy.

According to her, it was best for Snape to pick up those students immediately. If that didn't work, he would transfer them to St. Mungo's, which would save her from wasting so many potions every day.

"You must remember to tell him." Madam Pomfrey warned again, and then continued to walk to the campus hospital with Professor Flitwick.

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and did not choose to follow.

Since Madam Pomfrey said there was no problem, there was nothing to worry about. In comparison, it was more important to find Malfoy as soon as possible.

Moreover, such a high-profile search by the Aurors is likely to arouse hostility among students. In order to avoid a larger conflict, it is better to have a familiar professor follow him.

Everyone took action, and the whole castle suddenly became agitated.

Not even Kyle's cabin was spared.

And because it is on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it has become a place that needs to be focused on random inspections.

Although Scrimgeour did not come in person, three Aurors came.

After receiving the news, Kyle opened the door early, covering up the alchemical fog, expressing his full cooperation.

"You are really making a fuss out of a molehill." Kyle looked at the Auror who wanted to check the cracks in the wall and stood beside him with his arms folded.

The one who came with the Auror was Professor Sprout. As soon as she walked in, her eyes subconsciously fell on the opposite wall, but then she was stunned.

Where is the door?

All I saw was that the walls were clean, not to mention the door, not even a window.

Professor Sprout quickly realized that Kyle should have done something in advance, but she would not remind the Auror.

Scrimgeour's attitude just now was not exactly friendly.

"It's such a big place, isn't it clear at a glance?" Kyle continued to say next to him:

"And I also got a lot of funds for you, remember? The 30,000 Galleons the goblin gave me... With this kind of relationship, how can I still go against the Ministry of Magic? We are our own people."

The Auror didn't speak, with a cold face and an inhumane expression, but he gradually stopped.

Kyle was right about one thing. This wooden house was indeed obvious at a glance, so there was no need to continue looking.

Then, the Aurors went to Hagrid's cabin.

In addition to looking for Draco Malfoy this time, there was another thing that concerned them, that is, the giant they saw at the funeral seemed to be related to the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

Professor Sprout followed again, muttering something in a low voice, but because the distance was a bit far away, Kyle couldn't hear it clearly.

Kyle looked at the Auror walking away, turned slightly sideways, and said softly: "Professor, did you do it?"

There was no answer, it seemed that Dumbledore was not in the garden.

In fact, Kyle didn't know where he went. After Malfoy was rescued, Dumbledore also disappeared. It was most likely that he took Malfoy away.

As for where they went... it might have been in the Room of Requirement, or it might have been in the Hog's Head Bar, but it certainly wasn't here.

…

The Aurors searched Hogwarts for a day and a night, but found nothing. It was as if Malfoy simply disappeared.

Fortunately, Professor Flitwick woke up quickly and provided two key pieces of information to the Ministry of Magic.

"Two people came." Professor Flitwick said, with a bandage wrapped around his arm. "One attracted my attention, and the other attacked me from behind."

"Didn't you resist?" Scrimgeour asked: "As far as I know, you are a duel champion."

"That man was ambushing outside. I shouldn't have chased him out." Professor Flitwick's face turned red. "By the time I reacted, I had already fainted from the attack."

"So you didn't see anything?"

"No, actually there are." Professor Flitwick shook his head, "Before I passed out, I heard them mention the secret passage."

"Secret passage?"

"They are secret passages scattered throughout the castle." Professor McGonagall explained: "But those secret passages were filled in a few years ago."

"Maybe they reopened it, or maybe they discovered a new one." Professor Flitwick thought for a while, "I'm sure I did hear them talk about the secret passage, and they should be planning to use this method to open it. Malfoy sent out of Hogwarts."

"Oh, damn, no wonder we can't find it!" Scrimgeour punched the wall hard, and Madam Pomfrey's stern eyes suddenly came over.

"Where is the secret passage!" Scrimgeour asked.

"I can ask Filch to show you." Professor McGonagall said, "He is familiar with every secret passage in Hogwarts."

Soon, Filch was brought over.

After nearly a day of investigation, nothing was found. The secret passages had all been filled in and could no longer be used, and there were no signs of damage.

Scrimgeour insisted that there were other secret passages, but Filch had already shown him all the places he knew about.

As for the new secret passage Scrimgeour mentioned, he really didn't know.

This made Scrimgeour so angry that he almost tore down the statue of the hunchbacked witch.

Although they were very reluctant, due to the slightly rough behavior of the Aurors in the past two days, the students' resistance became more and more intense, and the Aurors had no choice but to leave the school.

However, Scrimgeour left a team of Aurors on the grounds of protecting the safety of the school.

There are only seven of them, and they are responsible for guarding the gates of the school and the castle. They also patrol the castle at night, thus stealing Filch's job.

In addition, another purpose is to investigate the so-called secret passage.

Professor McGonagall knew about this, but she acquiesced. After all, Hogwarts would indeed become very dangerous in the future. Having a team of Aurors to help protect the students was also a good choice.

…

"School will resume tomorrow."

After the people from the Ministry of Magic left, Minerva McGonagall issued an announcement in the name of the principal, which roughly stated that everything in the school had returned to normal and that all activities, including the Quidditch match, were cancelled.

Although there are occasional complaints, there are not many such voices. After all, students also know that Hogwarts is no longer the safe castle it was before.

In the next period of time, the Death Eaters all started to move.

The first was the slander against Kyle. They even bribed the Daily Prophet and published several articles in it.

But this had little impact on Kyle. He had been in Hogwarts all his life. Whether a student or a professor, he knew that Malfoy was rescued by Death Eaters and didn't care about the contents of the newspaper at all.

Some smarter students even drew a conclusion from it... The Daily Prophet seemed to be controlled by Death Eaters.

"That's weird..." Ron held the newspaper and turned over it, looking for something.

"I didn't see Rita Skeeter's name. Normally, wouldn't she like to publish articles that smear others?"

"It seems that's true." Harry was stunned for a moment.

No wonder he always felt like something was missing when he read the newspaper. It turned out to be Rita Skeeter.

A few days ago, she published a lot of articles about Dumbledore. Basically, she didn't say a good word, and directly described Dumbledore as an old liar in disguise.

But this time when it came to Kyle, she seemed to have disappeared without saying a word.

"Maybe she doesn't understand Kyle." Hermione thought for a while and said, without paying much attention, she just threw the newspaper in her hand on the table.

"Now the credibility of the Daily Prophet is getting less and less. It's a pity that we have no other channels to learn the news."

"Actually, there are still some."

At this time, Neville came over with a magazine, "I just discovered it yesterday. The content here is completely different from what is in the newspaper."

"The Quibbler?" Ron's face showed obvious disgust. "Only a lunatic would read this kind of magazine."

"No, it's different." Neville said hesitantly, "There are no Snorlax and other magical animals here. They are all truths that have been deliberately hidden."

"Oh, it's really..."

While they were talking, Hermione had already opened the magazine.

"Look here, someone saw a large number of Death Eaters gathering together, seemingly wanting to attack the Ministry of Magic. They seemed to become active all of a sudden."

"Yeah, Dumbledore is dead and no one can stop them." Harry blurted out.

Silence fell in the common room.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Harry sighed and changed the subject: "Actually, I have thought about leaving school."

"Leave school?" Hermione was startled and looked at Harry in disbelief, "You're crazy!"

"On the contrary, I'm awake," said Harry. "I know Voldemort wants to kill me. Maybe it will be a good thing for Hogwarts after I leave."

"Oh, please, don't say that name." Ron couldn't help but shudder.

"No... you can't do this." Hermione's face turned pale slightly.

"Actually, I have another reason."

Harry ignored Ron's exaggerated reaction and continued: "Do you remember Horcruxes?"

"Mysterious man's secret weapon that can bring him back to life?" Hermione thought for a moment.

"Yes." Harry said, "Coincidentally, Dumbledore just told me a few days ago that they had found and destroyed five Horcruxes."

"Isn't that great?"

"But we previously guessed that Voldemort should have divided his soul into seven parts." Harry whispered,

"This also means that there is still a key Horcrux missing, and I want to find it."

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked. "Do you know where it is?"

It was like a bucket of cold water poured on Harry's head, instantly extinguishing his fighting spirit.

"I have no idea……"

"Don't think about it, Harry, even if you know there's nothing you can do." Ron, who came back to his senses, shook his head, "Principal McGonagall just said yesterday that students can leave school at any time, but they must have the consent of their parents. OK.

"Will your aunt and uncle come to pick you up?"

Ron's question made Harry completely stunned.

He thought of his aunt and uncle, both of whom were Muggles and hated magic so much that they would scream for half an hour when they saw a wand, asking them to come to Hogwarts? it's out of the question.

Sirius could, as his godfather, he could take him away.

But Harry didn't need to think that Sirius would never agree to his leaving school.

"I can use the invisibility cloak..."

"Do you think the invisibility cloak can help you avoid the Aurors at the door?" Hermione came to her senses and said, "They are not Filch."

"I..."

Harry stopped talking.

Can he really fool the Aurors?

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and picked up a thick book next to her.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"To the Ancient Runes classroom."

"Ah?" Ron glanced at the schedule in confusion, "But there are still two hours before the seventh-year Ancient Runes class."

"But the fifth-year class is about to start." Hermione looked a little annoyed, "I just reached the O standard for the O.W.Ls exam in Ancient Runes, and there are still many things I don't understand, so I plan to audit it."

"What, you mean, you want to take extra classes?" Ron was shocked and found it difficult to understand how Hermione made this decision.

"It is still useful to learn more knowledge." Hermione said without looking back, "Especially at this time, the Death Eaters will not let you go just because you are a student."

Hermione went through the passage and disappeared into the common room.

"Actually, what she said makes sense." Harry also took out a spell book.

Ron thought about it and joined in.

They also represented the majority of students. After Professor Dumbledore's funeral, the learning atmosphere at Hogwarts seemed to have improved all of a sudden. I don't know if this is a good thing.

…