Chapter 1333 A Terrifying Speculation
In the shadows of the secret passage, Hermione didn't dare to release the Disillusionment Charm until Draco donned the Invisibility Cloak and dragged away with incredibly heavy steps. She loosened her small hand that was tightly covering her mouth and let out a long breath.
She leaned against the cold, damp wall of the secret passage, her mind racing in the darkness, a series of keywords colliding in her head.
Punishment, sacrifice, an impossible mission, two goals, unable to stay at Hogwarts, Snape and Mr. Borgin will offer help...
Lucius's initial desire for Draco to escape demonstrates the extreme danger of the mission, while Draco's assertion that it was a punishment—torturing the father by torturing the son—perfectly reflects Voldemort's cruel nature.
What task would make a student unable to remain at Hogwarts? Serious misconduct? Causing massive damage? Or... targeting a specific person at the school?
A terrible thought occurred to Hermione, who was so frightened that she quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from making any sound.
Kill two people, kill two key people... Harry... Dumbledore...
Hermione gasped for breath, quickly dismissing the terrible idea.
Voldemort's obsession with Harry stemmed from that prophecy, from his unwavering belief in "destiny."
Given his superstition and obsession with prophecy, would he easily hand over the opportunity to personally end his nemesis to someone else? He certainly hopes to accomplish it himself, break the prophecy, and completely take control of his own destiny.
Similarly, Voldemort longed to defeat Dumbledore in order to prove himself, so Draco's attempt to assassinate Dumbledore was not only unlikely to succeed, but also a blasphemy, inconsistent with Voldemort's twisted pride.
Hermione gasped sharply.
Prophecy, yes, it's prophecy.
Voldemort was willing to cause a massive catastrophe in the Muggle world and even infiltrate the Department of Mysteries himself in order to obtain that prophecy, that complete prophecy about his and Harry's fate!
Two targets: the prophet Trelawney and Dumbledore, who knows the complete prophecy.
But for such an important task, there was clearly a more suitable candidate—Snape, who knew the first part of the prophecy.
Unless Snape has a more important mission, or Voldemort doesn't fully trust Snape, or Voldemort doesn't care who performs the mission and enjoys the process itself.
Watching a proud pure-blood family heir forced to become a spy, watching him fall into the abyss, watching him defile himself step by step, watching him gradually twist and deform under fear and pressure.
No wonder Lucius wanted Draco to leave Britain as a last resort. Whether the mission succeeded or failed, Draco would never be the same Draco he once was.
Hermione let out another long breath.
She had always hated Draco, and more than once wished he would disappear forever, but certainly not in such a cruel way. Voldemort had truly lost even the most basic humanity and morality.
Hermione slowly straightened up and returned to the castle along the dark secret passage.
Instead of going to the kitchen, she turned into an abandoned broomstick storage room.
The projection screen illuminated the dark room, and after nearly two minutes of waiting, Vincent appeared.
He wasn't in a hotel, but in a spacious underground space with various surveillance screens hanging on the concrete walls, and the faint sound of rhythmic shouts could be heard in the distance.
"Hermione?" Vincent's weariness was replaced by urgency. "Contacting me at this hour? Something happened at school?"
“I…” Hermione quickly composed herself, “I may have discovered something very important.”
She recounted the events of the night—what she had heard and seen in the Screaming Shack, and her own reasoning—in the simplest of words.
Vincent's expression was solemn. When he heard the prophecy linked to Draco, he raised his hand and gestured to the person next to him to pause. The background noise quickly disappeared.
"Lucius Malfoy left him an escape route with Mr. Bogin in Knockturn Alley. I think he might start with Professor Trelawney first."
Vincent remained silent, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on a metal casing that resembled a control panel, producing a soft clicking sound.
Hermione could see some figures in Muggle special forces uniforms training in the distance behind him. She could also vaguely see several humanoid creatures with metal collars, hunched over but with abundant hair being driven into an open area.
Her heart was pounding. Was it a werewolf?
“Your reasoning is likely correct,” Vincent finally spoke. “Using pain and fear to solidify authority is indeed Voldemort’s style.”
He paused, then looked behind him. "For the first final assessment of the Maxma unit, I found some special sparring partners. They're wearing collars I customized, and they're exceptionally docile."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
She had witnessed the destructive power of werewolves firsthand and knew how terrifying they were.
“Listen,” Vincent leaned forward slightly, his serious face reflected on the entire projection screen, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
"Then Professor Dumbledore..."
“I will tell him myself.” Vincent’s gaze was more serious than ever before. “Promise me you won’t try to spy on Malfoy, and you won’t show any abnormality. You didn’t hear anything tonight, and you know nothing.”
Hermione frowned immediately. "That's impossible! I'm at Hogwarts. I know Malfoy is being forced to do a task that could ruin him or even endanger the school. How can I just stand by and watch it happen? I'll be very careful."
“No.” Vincent’s tone was unusually firm. “This isn’t a class assignment, nor is it some kind of trick to deal with Umbridge. I don’t want you to take any risks.”
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“But you’ve been taking all those risks!” Hermione’s voice rose involuntarily. “You’ve carried all the blame, faced the entire wizarding world’s pursuit, and even dealt with… werewolves!”
Her voice was full of grievance, "Why can you do all this, but expect me to pretend I know nothing and stay safely in the castle? Vincent, I am Gryffindor! I want to help, and I want to protect the people I care about!"
Vincent looked into her stubborn eyes. "Because I'm going through all of this, I know how dangerous and dark it is. I hope you don't have to face these things and can choose the path you want to take in the future, instead of ending up like me."
Hermione looked at Vincent on the projection screen, and her nose felt a little sore.
She understood; she understood everything.
That's Vincent for you, always standing at the forefront, it's heartbreaking.
“I understand.” Hermione’s voice softened, but her gaze remained firm. “I understand you don’t want us to take risks, and you want me not to get involved. I promise you, I will try my best to pretend I don’t know anything, but you can’t stop me from thinking and worrying.”
I will fundamentally change all of this, change this world that allows Voldemort to coerce students at will, that allows the Ministry of Magic to distort the truth, and that forces you to bear stigma and put you in danger.
Her gaze became incredibly clear and sharp, the gaze of Hermione Granger, a gaze that never looked back once a target was set. "One day, I will stand openly beside you, and on that day, it will be my turn to protect you!"
Vincent paused, a slight smile playing on his lips, a mixture of helplessness and indulgence in his expression. "You always leave me speechless, Miss Granger."
He deliberately put on a stern face, "But aren't you being a bit too domineering? You haven't even become a minister yet, and you're already assigning me protection tasks?"
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