bacchusnovels Chapter 551 The Christmas Holiday Arrives
Chapter 551 The Christmas Holiday Arrives
Chapter 547 The Christmas Holiday Arrives
"Please come in."
Seeing Tonks walk in, Sean handed the letter in his hand to the owl.
Electronic devices are not allowed at Hogwarts.
If a message needs to be delivered, it must first be sent to the clone in London, and then the clone must break up and use walkie-talkies or other means to pass the message to Bella, who is undercover in Manchester.
The process was somewhat cumbersome, but it was a necessary measure.
The clone's memories are time-limited, and they are only unified in the early morning of each day.
Although they are both yourself, it would be better to say that one is yourself from a past day, and the other is yourself now.
With the intention of not disturbing its owner's good time, the owl quickly flew out the window with the letter.
"What's wrong, junior?"
"Senior, I've prepared a gift for you."
"What gift?"
"Myself."
Tonks spoke succinctly, his robe falling to the ground as he spoke.
Sean's eyes were glued to him for a moment.
The battle lasted a long time.
From the afternoon of the first day until noon of the second day, when they were hungry, they had their house-elves bring food to the door; when they were thirsty, they...
Fortunately, it was the weekend, and neither of them had any classes.
The battle didn't end until the afternoon, when Tonks still had two events: the Wizard Killers Club and the Umbridge Army.
Finally, the end of the month is over.
I hope the senior won't notice anything amiss.
-
But—she was completely wrong.
Meanwhile, Sean's clone had already arrived at the Bones family's gate.
Amelia was quite surprised to see Sean arrive uninvited.
"Phillips, what brings you here?"
"It's not you—"
Halfway through his sentence, recalling Susan's unusual behavior that day, Sean instantly understood what had happened.
But since we're already here, let's have a proper talk.
After all, the reason Sean came here and accepted Susan's invitation was because he had something to discuss with Amelia.
Before that, there is one more thing to do.
"Excuse me, could I use the restroom?"
"Um?"
Did Phillips come all this way just to use the restroom?
Although I don't understand it, it's not something I should refuse.
"please."
Sean went into the restroom and made some instructions to someone using the satellite phone.
Hogwarts, Shaun's office.
Tonks lay on the bed like an octopus, letting Sean feed him.
I'm so tired.
Even raising my arm makes my whole body ache.
Does someone like me really have the strength to guide them in a wizarding duel? Tonks began to doubt himself.
Just as she was about to say something, an owl flew in through the window.
The sensible child placed the letter on the edge of the window and flew away without looking back.
-
What? Sean put down his bowl, walked to the window, took the letter, and unfolded it.
"What's wrong, senior?"
"Was that Susan you?"
"W-What did you say?"
Tonks was slightly taken aback, and her pretty face flushed.
How did you know that, senior?
The source of the message was naturally Sean, who was sitting in the Burns family's room, and had just passed it on from the bathroom.
The main theme is revenge on the spot.
"I never imagined I'd be deceived by the junior I trusted most."
"I...I didn't."
Tonks offered a frantic explanation, but Sean seemed convinced he was swindling her.
"How are you going to make it up to me?"
"What kind of compensation do you want?"
"You're punished to imitate Susan's appearance and me—"
A new battle has begun swiftly.
I guess I'll have to skip both classes tonight.
The three kids spent the weekend at Black's old house.
Ever since Harry said he wanted to go back to Privet Drive, everyone thought he had gone mad and almost put him on the wanted list.
"I'm not sick," Harry said angrily.
“Sick people never admit they’re sick,” George said. Fred, standing beside him, nodded in agreement. “You want to go back to Privet Drive, what else could you be but sick?”
"Poor Harry—he had a dream that made him delirious, but you saved his father—"
"Our family will take care of you." Ron also joined the group.
Of course he could tell that Harry wasn't sick, and George and Fred could too; they were just saying that to ease the tension.
Harry stammered and couldn't say anything.
Even after returning to Blake's old house, he still hadn't figured out how to rationalize his earlier words.
"Severus, what are you doing here?"
As soon as they returned to Black's old house, they heard Sirius Black arguing with Snape.
While they tried to mediate the fight, they were also curious about why Snape had come.
Even on weekends, shouldn't they be at school?
"I've come to see Potter."
"What do you want with Harry?"
"I will only talk to Potter."
"I am his godfather."
The two of them almost started arguing again, each saying their own thing.
"The rest of you leave, Blake—you can listen here if you want."
So, only the three of them remained in the reception room.
"Dumbledore sent me to inform you, Potter, that he wants you to begin studying Occlumency from now on."
"What kind of sealing technique?"
"Brain Occupation".
Seeing Harry's silly expression, Snape's tone became lighter.
"Brain Occupation is a kind of magic that prevents the mind from being invaded by external forces."
Why would I learn this?
Harry immediately thought of something he had been worried about.
"You know this yourself. This course is once a week, and during that time, you are not allowed to mention this to anyone."
Snape instructed.
"As for who's responsible for teaching this course—"
With Harry waiting expectantly, he slowly uttered his name.
"I am Snape Severus."
Suddenly, Harry's eyes went blank.
Seeing Harry like this, Snape felt even better, and a slight smile even appeared on his lips.
It's hard not to make the connection—
He came all the way from Hogwarts just to see Harry's expression.
Why not Dumbledore?
Harry's mouth took over Sirius's place.
"Because he probably felt that teaching Potter was a rather difficult job."
Snape remarked sarcastically.
"In any case, I will come over every day during the Christmas holidays to provide you with tutoring."
"Wait a moment--
—"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm warning you, don't you dare lay a finger on Harry during class."
"hehe."
Snape smiled dismissively and did not reply.
After Snape left, Sirius looked at Harry, who was utterly devastated, and said something earnestly.
"In a few days, I will have Professor Phillips come to rescue you."
Harry felt a pang of sadness, considering the controversy Professor Phillips had been embroiled in these past few days.
However, Sean was unaware that he would get caught up in a media storm.
At this moment, there are two versions of him: one is punishing the witch, and the other is talking to the witch.
"Mrs. Burns, I've come to discuss something with you."
"What?"
What are your thoughts on the current state of the Ministry of Magic?
Looking at Sean, who was sitting in front of her with a serious expression, Amelia expressed her thoughts.
"6
51
The next day, everyone returned to school.
Some people were puzzled by the departure of Harry, Weasley, and others over the past two days and wanted to ask questions. (The Daily Prophet did not report on what happened that day.)
Everyone kept their mouths shut and spoke vaguely.
The Umbridge Army's operations are still ongoing, but on a smaller scale and much more rigorous than before.
The Christmas holidays came very early.
Everyone has their own little thoughts and feelings.
For example, Ginny, and for example—Susan.
-
Susan didn't know why her aunt hadn't let her go home for the Christmas holidays, but instead made her stay with Professor Phillips.
Something feels off.
The group didn't leave Hogwarts until the last two days of Christmas.
"Where is this?"
"The old house of the Black family."
Tonks patiently explained to Susan.
"There are some strange people inside, but please don't take them to heart; they are all good people."
Some people were surprised that Susan was able to enter the Blake mansion.
Especially the members of the Order of the Phoenix—they clearly remembered that Susan's aunt was Amelia, who seemed to be vying for power with Sean. But since Sean chose to bring Susan here, it meant there was no problem.
The group began a thorough cleaning in the afternoon, until the entire castle was completely transformed.
"How are you feeling?"
"That's strange."
Susan shook her head, glancing at the people at the table—a group of Weasleys, Tonks and Sean, Hermione, and some members of the Order of the Phoenix.
That's really strange. Sirius Black is strange enough as it is here.
There was also an uncle named Mundungus here, eating like a starving ghost.
If Professor Phillips weren't here.
It wouldn't be out of place to call it a gathering place for unofficial members of the Death Eaters.
After dinner, Susan was assigned to a room with Ginny and Hermione.
During this time, Sean "received" Bertha, who had just arrived.
Having Penelope as my secretary makes all the difference.
Now you don't even need to buy Christmas gifts for your friends yourself; you just need to sign the card yourself.
The next day, which was the day before Christmas.
After breakfast, the group prepared to head to St. Mungo's Hospital.
It's not quite right to say "everyone," but it mainly refers to Molly and the Weasleys.
The others, including Harry, Hermione, Tonks, and Susan, stayed at Black's old house.
During this time, Tonks gave the group some extra help.
And Sean? He went to St. Mungo's Hospital with the former.
He hasn't visited Arthur since the accident.
Now that we're eating Molly's cooking, it would be really inappropriate not to stop by and visit him.
Although Bella did it to save Arthur, she still ended up hurting him.
The Imperius Curse, in particular, has significant aftereffects, and even with treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital, it's difficult to avoid lingering problems.
At this point, it became a natural thing to step in and help with the treatment.
The group quickly arrived at St. Mungo, where there were hardly any vehicles on the road.
Occasionally, a few wizards heading to the hospital would walk silently through the empty streets.
The waiting room was filled with a festive atmosphere:
Bright crystal bubbles floated in the air, gradually turning red and gold. Holly bushes adorned every doorway, while Christmas trees in every corner were covered with magically enhanced snow and icicles, sparkling brilliantly.
There are significantly fewer people here than last time.
They found Arthur, who was leaning against the headboard with a very gentle expression on his face.
"How is it, Arthur?" Molly asked.
"Very good, very good." Arthur's tone was a little too enthusiastic. "You—oh—didn't see the healer Smysik, did you?"
"No," Molly said suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
"It's alright, it's alright," Arthur replied easily.
Molly didn't seem entirely satisfied with his answer. But Sean had already started talking to Arthur.
"Arthur, how are you feeling?"
"Phillips, you've come. It's good—I heard about that day—"
"It's all minor stuff. Could you tell me what happened at the Ministry of Magic that day? While we're at it, let me give you a check-up and see if there are any other problems."
While Molly, Arthur, and Sean were talking about what happened that day, several Weasleys gave the three of them some space to talk and went into the hallway.
"Nawei!"
The Weasley twins spotted their prefect, Neville Longbottom.
"Hello, George, Fred, Ginny."
"Are you your friends, Neville, my little darling?" Neville's grandmother said affectionately as she walked toward them.
Neville's round face turned purplish-red.
"You are from the Weasley family."
Mrs. Longbottom had already recognized several people by their hair.
"Yes, I know your parents—not very well, of course—they're good people, really good people—"
"What are you doing here, Neville?" Ron asked curiously.
"What?" Old Mrs. Longbottom demanded sharply. "Haven't you told your friends about your parents, Neville?"
Neville took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling, and shook his head.
"Hmph, there's nothing shameful about it!" said Mrs. Longbottom angrily. "You should be proud, Neville, proud! They sacrificed their health and sanity, not to make their only son feel ashamed!"
"I don't feel ashamed," Neville said in a low voice.
Ron tiptoed to look at the two beds.
"You're behaving very strangely!" Old Mrs. Longbottom continued. "My son and daughter-in-law have been driven mad by the mysterious man's men." She turned to the Weasleys, her expression haughty.
Ginny covered her mouth, Ron looked a little embarrassed and stopped craning his neck to look at Neville's parents, and the Weasley twins put away their playful smiles, their faces showing a rare serious expression.
"They are Aurors, highly respected in the wizarding world," Madam Longbottom continued. "Both of them are very talented. Oh, Alice, what's wrong?"
Neville's mother walked slowly in, wearing her pajamas.
Her face was no longer as round and cheerful as it had been in that early group photo of the Order of the Phoenix; instead, it appeared thin and haggard, with unusually large eyes and white, disheveled, and dry hair.
She seemed unwilling to speak, or perhaps even unable to speak, but she lowered her head and timidly made a gesture toward Neville, holding something in her hand.
"Another one?" Mrs. Longbottom said wearily. "Well, Alice, well—Neville, take it, whatever it is—"
Neville had already reached out and taken it; his mother handed him a wrapper for Bubble Gum.
"Very good, dear." Neville's grandmother patted her on the shoulder, feigning delight.
But Neville said softly, "Thank you, Mom."
His mother walked back unsteadily, humming a song.
Neville lowered his head shyly.
"Professor Phillips?"
Mrs. Longbottom recognized Sean as he came out of Arthur's ward and said happily.
"You're here too? Neville has mentioned many times how much you helped him at school—"
"Was that Mrs. Longbottom just now?"
Sean watched Neville's mother's departing figure thoughtfully.
Today seems like a perfect day to pay off Bella's debts.
Having just treated Arthur, who was injured by Bella, it seems time to treat the Longbottoms as well.
"May I go in and see Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom?"
"What?" Old Mrs. Longbottom asked, puzzled.
"What I mean is, I might have a way to cure them both."
Suddenly, the entire room fell silent.
Neville stared wide-eyed at Sean in disbelief, while Madam Longbottom stood there, mouth agape, unable to utter a word, a far cry from her earlier capable demeanor.