Chapter 1,201

...Being back under the starry sky again, Harry had never been happier.

The water in the Atlantic Ocean was terrifyingly cold, but Harry still insisted on holding Dumbledore firmly under his arm.

This was a failed trip, Harry thought as he swam towards the nearest rock.

Fortunately, the water here was calm enough, perhaps because it was visible to the naked eye in the center of the reef area, so Harry found his footing easily.

Harry helped Dumbledore to the nearest rock and walked up.

He supported Dumbledore's cold, wet and trembling body, trying to concentrate on their destination: Hogsmeade. Harry closed his eyes and grasped Dumbledore's arm tightly, and then he felt an uncomfortable squeeze.

Disapparating with Dumbledore was something Harry had never thought of before. This made Harry regretful that he had not asked Fawkes to follow him.

However, Dumbledore said that he had some minor problems, and although Fox has not left, he is not willing to get close to him.

This made Harry a little confused. Was he abandoned by Phoenix?

This may not be appropriate, but Harry really saw all Fox's breeding tools, and Fan Lin even got a piece of brown wood.

In oriental terms, this is the phoenix tree on which the Phoenix lives.

This made Neville and Seamus excited for a while.

But now it seems that Dumbledore has a really big problem.

Originally, they came to see Voldemort's masterpiece, the destroyed Azkaban.

In fact, Harry did see that the originally majestic Azkaban was almost razed to the ground.

This is important, at least until now, Dumbledore has officially corrected Harry's long-standing impression of Voldemort.

As the chosen one, more or less, Harry always had some small advantages in his constant confrontation with Voldemort.

Perhaps to others, Voldemort was invincible, but to Harry, he was just a barely equal opponent.

In spite of himself, Harry didn't care too much. To be precise, he had defeated Voldemort many times, hadn't he.

Destroying Voldemort's plan is undoubtedly a fact in another sense.

But so far, Harry seems to have only ruined some insignificant plans of Voldemort, just like his father James once did.

But this is of no use.

Even with the help of the twin wands, Harry was far from being able to compete head-on with Voldemort. Especially after the new power was added, the originally barely balanced balance would be broken in an instant, even if his father's soul ...

Harry thought, with the distortion of the surrounding space, Harry couldn't help but want to throw Dumbledore out, but Harry held on to Dumbledore's arm. For a moment, Harry felt his fingers Almost freezing, Dumbledore's body was extremely cold.

Before he opened his eyes, Harry knew the Apparition had taken effect: the smell of the salty sea breeze was gone.

He and Dumbledore appeared wet and dripping in the middle of the dark road in Hogsmeade.

It was a terrifying time, and as soon as he closed his eyes, Harry could almost see the pale green light destroying Azkaban, the roaring skull in the sky, and a giant snake.

Suddenly, Harry woke up. He blinked, but saw nothing; except for the shining street lights on both sides of the street and some bright windows.

"We're back, Professor!" Harry whispered with difficulty; he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart.

Dumbledore's body suddenly lost control and he almost died in the ocean...

Dumbledore stood unsteadily. For a while, Harry thought that his unskilled apparition had accidentally left Dumbledore behind; he looked at Dumbledore's face, which looked even paler under the streetlight.

"Professor, are you okay?"

"It's much better," Dumbledore said weakly, the corners of his mouth still twitching, "At least now, I still have some strength, the sea water is indeed not very tasty."

What frightened Harry the most was that after saying these words, Dumbledore fell to the ground. Visible to the naked eye, a blue light spread quickly across Dumbledore's skin like a snake. ..

"Professor...you..." Harry looked at Dumbledore in surprise.

"Oh, it doesn't matter..." Dumbledore frowned. In less than two seconds, Dumbledore's body returned to normal, but his face turned pale...

"Professor...It's okay, Professor, you'll be fine, don't worry..." Harry looked around desperately for help, but didn't see anyone.

All he could think of was that Dumbledore must be sent to the school hospital as soon as possible.

"We must get to the hospital as soon as possible, Professor... Madam Pomfrey..."

"No," said Dumbledore, "I need to see Professor Snape... but I think... I can't walk fast right now..."

"Okay...Professor, listen...I'm going to knock on the door and find a house where you can stay...and then I'm going to find Pomfrey..."

"Severus," Dumbledore said firmly, "I need Severus..."

"Okay, Snape..." Harry said reluctantly, "But I'm going to leave you for a while so that I can..."

But before Harry could walk away, he heard the sound of someone running: someone had seen them, someone knew they needed help.

Harry turned around and saw Ms. Rosmerta running towards them in a hurry, wearing high-heeled plush slippers and a dragon-skin coat.

"I was drawing the curtains when I saw you Apparate here! Thank God, I don't know what to do...What happened to Albus?" She stopped, panting, and looked at Dumbledore with wide eyes. many.

"He's hurt," Harry said, strangely, but in fact, Harry had no idea how or why Dumbledore was hurt.

There were no wounds on Dumbledore's body from the attack, and his current state of embarrassment was just that he had been soaked in the cold Atlantic Ocean for a while.

"Ms. Rosmerta, I'm going to the school to find help. Can you send the principal to the Three Broomsticks?"

"You can't go there alone now! Don't you realize...don't you see...?"

"If you could help me look after him here," Harry continued, seemingly not listening to her, "I guess you could send him to..."

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"Rosmerta, what happened?"

"It's...the Dark Mark, Albus." Ms. Rosmerta pointed to the sky, which was the direction of Hogwarts.

The fear in her words suddenly frightened Harry... He turned his head and looked in the direction that Ms. Rosmerta was pointing... right there, floating above Hogwarts.

It turned out that what he saw before was not an illusion, it was real. There was really a Dark Mark in the sky above Hogwarts, but he was too serious and all his attention was on Dumbledore.

There is a venomous snake in the mouth of a skull that glows with dazzling green light. Death Eaters will mark the Dark Mark there before entering any building... Wherever they appear, people will be murdered...

"When did it appear?" Dumbledore asked, gripping Harry's shoulders so tightly that Harry's shoulders began to hurt as he struggled to stand.

"It must have been a few minutes ago, the cat wasn't there when I let it out, but when I went upstairs..."

"We must return to the castle at once," said Dumbledore. "Rosmerta," he ordered Ms. Rosmerta, even though he was still swaying a little, seemingly ignoring it, "we need broomsticks..."

"There's two behind the bar," she said, looking very frightened. "I'm going to run over and get them..."

"No, Harry can do that." Harry immediately raised his wand. "Rosmerta's broom is coming!"

A second later, there was a loud "Bang!" and the front door of the bar was opened. Two broomsticks had flown along the street and stopped on both sides of Harry, floating slightly at waist height. With.

"Rosmerta, please send a message to the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said as he mounted the broom closest to him. "No one must know that something happened at Hogwarts yet... Harry , put on your invisibility cloak."

Harry rode the broom obediently, took out the invisibility cloak from his pocket, put it on, and then disappeared into the air. Ms. Rosmerta stumbled back to her bar. At this time, Harry and Dumbledore flew from the ground into the air on their broomsticks.

They sped towards the castle, and Harry glanced at Dumbledore beside him, preparing to catch him immediately if he fell, but the Dark Mark stimulated Dumbledore like a stimulant.

Harry had never seen Dumbledore so serious before. Dumbledore was bent over his broom, his eyes fixed on the Dark Mark, his long silver-white hair floating behind him. , flying in the night sky.

Harry also looked at the skull mark in front of him. The feeling of fear was as if poisonous gas was spreading in his body, passing from his brain through his lungs and spreading to all parts of his body...

How long have they been gone? Are Fanlin, Hermione, Ron and Ginny all lucky enough to have escaped now? Do they have the mark on the gold coin to summon the rest of the school?

Or Neville, Luna, or any member of the D.A? If so... I have already told them to monitor the corridor, and told them not to stay in bed and evacuate to a safe place... If any of his friends dies, he should bear the responsibility, right? ?

They were flying in the darkness, and below were the winding alleys they had walked through before. Harry could only hear the swish of the night air blowing by his ears, and Dumbledore muttering something under his breath. The sound of strange spells.

He thought he suddenly understood why his broom twitched for a moment as they flew over the borders of the playground: Dumbledore was casting a spell to lift the castle's protective spell so that they could fly directly into it.

The Dark Mark is flashing over the Astrology Tower, the highest point in the castle. Does this mean death has occurred there? Dumbledore had already passed the tower and got off his broom; Harry landed next to him a few seconds later and looked around. There was no one near the tower.

The door to the spiral staircase leading to the castle was locked.

Surprisingly, there were no signs of struggle and no dead bodies.

So, what does this mean?

Harry looked at the green skull of a giant snake with an evil glowing tongue above their heads.

Maybe, there are no Death Eaters, this Dark Mark...

"Is this the real Dark Mark? Has someone done it? Professor?" Under the dim green light emitted by the mark, Harry saw Dumbledore grabbing the clothes on his chest with slightly trembling hands.

"Go wake Severus," Dumbledore said weakly but clearly. "Tell him what happened and bring him to me. Do nothing else along the way, don't talk to anyone, and don't take off your invisibility robe. I'm here for you."

"But..." Harry said worriedly. Dumbledore's state made him very uneasy. Harry doubted whether Dumbledore even had the wand...

Such a weak Dumbledore looked like a real old man at this moment.

"You swore to obey me, Harry...go!"

Without any explanation, Harry hurried to the door leading to the spiral staircase, but when his hand just touched the iron door knocker, he heard running footsteps coming from the opposite side. He looked back at Dumbledore, who motioned for him to get out of there.

Harry stepped back and drew his wand.

Suddenly, the door was knocked open, and a man rushed over and shouted: Expelliarmus!

Suddenly, Harry's body became stiff and unable to move. He felt himself falling backwards and leaning against the wall of the tower, like an unstable statue, unable to move or speak.

Harry didn't understand why... Expelliarmus was not a spell that could freeze people... And at this moment, under the light of the Dark Mark, he saw Dumbledore's wand in the air. Drawing an arc and flying to the bottom of the barrier, he understood... Dumbledore used a silent spell to immobilize Harry, which cost him the chance to protect himself.

Dumbledore stood leaning against the wall, his face pale, but showing no trace of panic or nervousness.

Dumbledore simply looked at the man who had disarmed him and said, "Good evening, Draco."

Malfoy stepped forward, glancing around to see if he and Dumbledore were alone.

His eyes caught sight of the second broom.

"Who else is here?"

Suddenly, Fan Lin, who was following behind, felt nervous.

No need to think about it, it must be Harry. It seems that Dumbledore has already hidden Harry with the invisibility cloak in advance.

Speaking of which, it's quite strange now.

Dumbledore looked like he was about to die at any moment, while Fanlin and Harry were hiding on one side, using invisibility cloaks to hide their figures, while on the other side, they were threatening Dumbledore,

"That's the question I should ask you. Were you acting alone?" Dumbledore looked like he was in a teaching classroom.

This made Malfoy a little reserved.

After all, Dumbledore could also use this tone to teach Voldemort a lesson.

"No," Malfoy said nervously, "I have backup. There are a lot of Death Eaters at your school tonight."

"Oh, oh," Dumbledore said, as if Malfoy had just shown off an ambitious homework plan to him.

"Good. You found a way to get them in, didn't you?"

"Well," Malfoy gasped, "right under your nose and you don't even realize it!"

"Clever," Dumbledore said, "Let me imagine, the Room of Requirement? You are really lucky not to be discovered by Fanlin. However, at first I thought it would be in the secret room... But it doesn't matter now. No... Forgive me... Where are they now? You don't seem to have support.

"They met your guards. They are fighting below now. They won't fight for long...I came up first...I have a mission to complete." Malfoy said nervously.

"Oh, then you must hurry and finish it, my dear boy," said Dumbledore gently.

Silence patronized them. Harry stood frozen in his invisible, paralyzed body, staring at the two of them.

He stretched his ears and heard the sound of Death Eaters fighting in the distance. In front of him, Draco Malfoy was just staring closely at Albus Dumbledore, who, in disbelief, was smiling.

Fan Lin has been thinking about whether to kill Malfoy here or get him out. No matter what, maybe he can reach some agreement with Lucius.

This is important, isn't it?

For a long time, Fan Lin had no chance to come into contact with Lucius, but he was a smart man.

"Draco, Draco, you are not a murderer."

"How do you know?" Malfoy said immediately. He seemed to notice how childish that answer sounded. Harry saw Malfoy blush under the green light of the Dark Mark.

"You have no idea what I can do," Malfoy said more forcefully, "you have no idea what I have done!"

"Oh, actually, I know." Dumbledore said softly, "You almost killed Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley. For a year, you have been trying to kill me, but you are getting more and more Desperate. Forgive me, Draco, but I have to say those were flimsy attempts...so flimsy, to be honest, that I doubt you really put your mind into them. ..

"I'm working hard!" Malfoy roared, "I've been working hard for a year, and tonight...

Suddenly, everyone heard a low shout coming from somewhere at the bottom of the castle. Malfoy looked behind him stiffly.

"Somebody's got a good shot," Dumbledore gushed, "but you just said... yes, you managed to bring the Death Eaters into the school, which, I have to admit, I didn't think was the case. Possible...how did you do it?"

But Malfoy said nothing: he kept listening to what was going on down there, looking almost as paralyzed as Harry.

This is simply...

Malfoy was resisting in his heart, and Malfoy had been reluctant to admit it, but his body kept telling him what to do.

Turn around and get out of here?

Fan Lin thought, slowly moving towards Dumbledore.

"No, don't come here..." Suddenly Dumbledore scanned Fan Lin's position, which surprised Fan Lin. However, Fan Lin still obeyed Dumbledore's arrangements honestly, but when Fan Lin wanted to ask At that moment, Dumbledore took the lead in cutting off the connection between the two people.

"Perhaps you will have to continue this mission yourself," Dumbledore suggested. "What if your backup is killed by my guards? Perhaps you have realized that there are many people from the Order of the Phoenix here tonight. Ah, you don't really need help...I don't have a wand right now...I can't defend myself."

Malfoy just stared at him.

"I understand," Dumbledore said kindly, and Malfoy neither moved nor spoke.

"You were too scared to act before they came."

"I'm not afraid!" Malfoy growled, but he still made no move to hurt Dumbledore. "It's you who should be afraid!"

"But... why? I didn't think you were going to kill me, Draco. Killing isn't as simple as pure imagination... So tell me, while we waited for your friends... how did you Did they get it in? It looks like you took a long time to figure it out."

Malfoy looked like he was suppressing his desire to shout or roar. He swallowed, took a few deep breaths, glared at Dumbledore, and pointed his wand straight at his heart. Then, as if he couldn't help himself, he said: "I repaired a broken disappearing cabinet that hadn't been used for a long time. It was the one that Montague disappeared into last year."

"Ah, ah, ah. Dumbledore's sigh was like a moan again, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Very clever... That's a couple, I guess?

"The other one is in Borgin Burke's Wizarding Shop," Malfoy said matter-of-factly. "They made a passage between the pair. Montague told me that when he was stuffed into this one here at Hogwarts , he was trapped there, but he could sometimes hear what was happening at school and sometimes what was happening in the store, as if the cabinet was traveling between the two places, but he could not let others hear him. ...eventually he managed to apparate out of there, even though he failed the test and almost died because of it. Everyone thought it was a good story, but I was the only one who knew what was going on... I'm the only one who understands that if I fix the broken cabinet, I can find a way into Hogwarts."

"Good," muttered Dumbledore, "so the Death Eaters can get to the school via the Vanishing Cabinet and help you... quite a clever plan... well, as you said, right under my nose." .."

"Yes," said Malfoy, as if he strangely took courage and comfort from Dumbledore's praise.

"Yes, that's right! But there are times," continued Dumbledore, aren't they, when you're not sure you can fix the cupboard, and you resort to crude and unplanned methods, like trying to send me A cursed necklace passed into someone else's hands...poisoned in the wine, even though there was only a small chance that I would drink it..."

"Yes, you still don't realize who is behind this, do you?" Malfoy sneered. Dumbledore's body slid down a little along the wall. His legs obviously couldn't support his entire body. Harry struggled hopelessly without making any sound, trying to break away from the spell that trapped him.

"After I saw the facts, I understood," said Dumbledore, "I was convinced that it was you."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Malfoy asked.

"I tried, Draco. I ordered Professor Snape to spy on you."

"He didn't listen to your orders. He promised my mother..."

"Of course, he told you that, Draco, but..."

"He's a two-faced guy, you stupid old man, he's not doing anything for you and you think he is!"

"We must admit that we have differences on this matter, Draco. I trust Professor Snape..."

"Very well, you have no control over the situation now!" Malfoy sneered. "He helped me a lot...wanted to do something for himself...wanted to take part in some action...

"What are you doing? Are you working on the necklace? That's stupid, it blows everything away...

"But I didn't tell him what I was doing in the Room of Requirement. He wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning, and then it would all be over. He would no longer be the most important person to the Dark Lord. He wouldn't have anything. Nothing can compare to me!"

"Very satisfying," Dumbledore said gently. "Of course, we all like to appreciate what we have accomplished through our own efforts... But no matter what, you must have an accomplice... someone in Hogsmeade, the person who could hurt Katie is... that ..." Dumbledore closed his eyes and nodded as if he was asleep, "...Of course... How long has she been under the Demention Curse?"

"Did you find out last?" Malfoy laughed at him. Another yell came from downstairs, louder than the last. Malfoy glanced back uneasily, then looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore continued, "So pity Rosmerta for being forced to lie in wait in her own washroom and hand the necklace to any Hogwarts student who comes in alone? As for the poisoned mead... Rose Of course Murtaugh was able to poison it before handing it over to Slughorn, believe it was my Christmas present... Yes, very clever... Very clever... Of course, poor Filch wouldn't Want to check out a bottle from Rosmerta's store... Tell me, how do you communicate with Rosmerta? I think we monitor all methods of communication inside and outside the school."

"Magic coins," Malfoy said, as if he was being forced to speak, even though his wand hand was shaking violently. "I have one and she has the other, and I can send her a message..."

"Is this the secret communication method used by the organization calling itself Dumbledore's Army last year?" Dumbledore asked. His voice sounded soft and he seemed talkative, but Harry saw him slide down two feet as he spoke these words.

It must be admitted that the principal is very insidious. If he hadn't been prepared in advance, Fanlin would have thought that something was really wrong with Dumbledore.

However, he did not look very good, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

"Yes, I take inspiration from them," Malfoy said, smiling crookedly. "I got the idea to poison the mead from Mudblood Granger because I overheard her discussing Filch's inability to recognize potions in the library..."

"Don't use that offensive word in my presence," Dumbledore said.

Suddenly Malfoy burst into laughter. "You mind if I say 'mudblood' when I'm going to kill you;?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said, and Harry saw Dumbledore's feet slip forward a little more, but he still struggled to stand up straight. "But if you want to kill me, Draco, you've been friendly for a few minutes now. We're alone here. I'm more helpless than you are, and you could easily kill me, but you still haven't done anything... "

Malfoy's mouth twisted unconsciously, as if he had tasted something bitter.

"Now, about tonight," Dumbledore continued, "I'm a little confused as to how these things happened... you know I left school? But, of course," he answered his own question, "Rosmer Tower saw me leaving and I'm sure she informed you with the magic coin..."

"Yes," Malfoy said. "But it's more Snape, he gave you the potion, that's..."

"I did drink some potions...and I came back...after some changes." Dumbledore murmured. "So you decided to set up a trap for me?"

"We have decided to place the Dark Mark above the Astrology Tower so that you can get here as quickly as possible to see who has been killed," Malfoy said. "And it worked."

"...Yes, er, no..." Dumbledore said. "But am I going to be killed, then, hasn't anyone been murdered yet?"

"Someone's death," Malfoy said, his voice seeming to rise an octave. "One of your people... I don't know who it was, it was very dark there... I collapsed from the body... I wanted to wait there for you to come back, but only your Order of the Phoenix people broke in. .."

"Yes, they did," said Dumbledore. There was a loud bang and some screams from below, louder than the previous two. It sounded like people fighting on the spiral staircase that led to Dumbledore, Malfoy, Harry, and Mortal. Where Lin was standing.

Harry's heart was beating violently in his invisible chest, but he didn't make any sound...

Someone died... Malfoy walked over his body... but who was he?

"There is no time, one way or the other," said Dumbledore. "So let's discuss your options, Draco."

"My choice!" Malfoy shouted. "I'm standing here with a wand in my hand...and I'm going to kill you!"

As if trying to find some courage, Malfoy shouted loudly.

"My dear child, let us have no more pretense. If you are going to kill me, you will kill me as soon as you have disarmed me, and you will not stop to have this conversation with me about method and Means pleasant conversation."

"No, this is just proving your stupidity, Dumbledore!" Malfoy roared uncontrollably, "Just like what you are doing now, Snape betrayed you, you stupid old man, he turned the Death Eaters Call me over, and he will take over the entire plan, including your injury and the magic runaway..."

"I trust him, Draco!" Dumbledore looked at Malfoy calmly. His body was no longer falling, and Dumbledore had no intention of picking up the wand.

"So, after saying so much, I think you are a little impatient. In fact, I do feel a little tired today, so come on, Draco!" Dumbledore said calmly, without any of resistance.

Malfoy's hands were shaking a little, and it was visible to the naked eye that there was a lot of sweat on Malfoy's forehead despite the cold weather.

There was a stalemate like this for about two minutes, but Malfoy still had no intention of condensing magic power.

"I don't have any choice!" said Malfoy, suddenly as pale as Dumbledore. "I have to do this! He will kill me! He will kill our whole family!" (To be continued)