Chapter 503: Then let's go!
Upon hearing Harry read out the Daily Prophet's headline, Ron, who had already managed to destroy Seamus's pieces on the chessboard, couldn't help but look up in surprise.
"They haven't given up yet? Everyone is convinced that the Dark Lord is already dead, he hasn't been seen again for a whole sixteen years after that night."
Harry put the newspaper away as he continued to stroke his shining wand in his hand with a satisfied and appreciative gaze while he replied.
"But doesn't something like this happen a few times a year? Every now and then, those devotees of the former Dark Lord would claim that their lord had returned, only for us to realise each time that it was nothing more than a farce."
Ron recalled carefully.
"Let me think about it. Professor Quirrell, who came back from travelling in the first year, was discovered by the Ministry of Magic to have once sneaked into the Ministry of Magic and used an Imperius Curse on an employee of a certain mysterious department. After we helped Auror to arrest him, he actually said that he was under the instructions of the Dark Lord. But in reality, it was detected by the Ministry of Magic that he was just lying and that he got greedy and wanted to make a fortune on his own."
"In the second year, we caught the Malfoys with a forbidden Dark magic item, and that diary turned out to be something he compelled me to take before we were even planning on handing it back in, and luckily you ended up defeating the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets so that we managed to destroy it. Well, that diary also claimed to be the Dark Lord himself, or him when he was younger."
"Then in the third year, it was Sirius, we were shocked at the time, but eventually we learnt the truth, unfortunately, it allowed Wormtail to escape, and when he fled he was claiming that the Dark Lord wasn't dead at all and that he would surely be back again."
"And finally there was last year, during the fourth year, Barty Jr. pretended to be the new Defence class professor, he tried to capture you using the Triwizard Tournament and came here to learn the truth about the Dark Lord's disappearance, only to end up being defeated by you and Cedric teaming up. He was screaming until he was captured by the Ministry of Magic that he knew his lord wasn't dead at all and would be back again sooner or later."
At this point in the story, Ron spread his hand.
"Every time it's someone saying that the Dark Lord isn't dead yet and that he'll be back sooner or later, but if the Dark Lord really isn't dead yet why hasn't he shown up until now, so, that's really all just alarmist talk, all of these people are still so wrapped up in the past that even they're being lied to by themselves."
Harry mused.
"But it seems like a lot of other people are believing what they're saying, that the Dark Lord really isn't dead."
"Those people just want to deny your credits!" Ron said with conviction, "Think about that idiot Malfoy, that's what he tries to do, and I'm guessing that all that talk in the magical world about how the Dark Lord isn't dead is spread by their family. But there's nothing they can do to change the truth no matter what they say, you're the hero, Harry, it was you who saved the wizarding world back then, you still have your medal!"
Harry brushed his hair on his forehead in displeasure, he knew what Ron meant by medal when he spoke on his breath.
"Don't put such a tall hat on my head, I know I was never the hero."
With that, he got up and walked off in the direction of his dormitory. While watching his back as he left, both Ron and Seamus looked at each other and shrugged together wondering exactly why Harry was angry about it; if they had been called as a hero by someone they would have jumped up and down with joy a few hundred times already.
The peaceful Hogwarts Castle went into curfew with the rough driving sounds of caretaker Filch.
The quiet night sky made this castle full of laughter during the day gradually quieted down, and at this time in a certain room on the seventh floor of the castle, an old man with crescent-shaped glasses and a head full of white hair and a white beard looked out the window in serenity.
In the blue eyes that contained wisdom and the passage of time, it was unknown what kind of things were being reflected upon again.
When the night wind blew at its strongest, it made the grass of the ranch in Scotland all fall to the ground.
It was still cold at midnight in the height of summer, and not a single half-bulge of shadow could be seen across the vast expanse of the pasture until an ethereal blue halo of light flashed across the sky above the meadow.
Jon and Lily stepped firmly onto the soft ground together.
The first thing they did when they landed was to make sure their surroundings were safe first, it was almost a habit and caution that was deep in their bones.
Only after discovering that the surrounding area was so empty that there couldn't possibly be any ambushes, did they begin to check the things they were carrying, to see if there was anything that had been left out during the space shuttle.
Ensuring that nothing was out of place, Lily took a deep breath of the grassy odour of the air, and her eyes, which had always been as calm as stagnant water, couldn't help but finally burst into a state of overwhelming excitement at this time.
No one could make any guarantees, but Lily still had great hope that the Harry of this world was not actually dead.
Of course at this point in time, Jon would still maintain his composure at all times, which was why Grindelwald and everyone else had to emphasise again and again that the command was in his hands.
"We need to try and see if Apparition still works properly in this world first."
Jon decided on the first thing they needed to do.
Lily pressed back her inner excitement as she nodded while grabbing Jon's arm and waving her wand to try to Apparate to a familiar place in her memory.
But after the spell was invoked, the two of them just flickered in place for a bit.
Jon didn't show too much surprise at this, he just tried again on his own, Apparated to a place ten metres away from his eyes, and this time it worked very smoothly.
"Sure enough, because of the change in space, and even the probability of the time being different, it caused all the spatial drop points we remembered to not work, and we could only Apparate to places we've seen in this world."
"But that's a minor problem, Diagon Alley is in London, we can get there first via Muggle transport and then use Floo Powder to get to Hogsmeade via the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron Bar. And right now, all we need to do is get some Muggle money first, and preferably also determine when and where we are now."
Jon looked up and gave Lily a questioning look.
Lily addressed him seriously.
"As I said before I came here, it's all up to you as soon as we get here, you make the arrangements, and I'll just do what I'm told straight away. Trust me, Jon, I'm not the type to be swayed by my own inner emotions."
Jon naturally didn't question Lily's words.
He looked towards the distance, towards the dark silhouette that vaguely resembled a barn.
"Then let's get going!"
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