Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 583 Attack
“But…” Harry wanted to say something more.

But then the owls arrived, swooping down through the rain-stained window and leaving behind many tiny water droplets.

Most people received far more emails than usual. Some anxious parents were eager to hear from their children and wanted to reassure them that everything was alright at home.

Harry also received two packages—

One package contained a brand-new, intact copy of "Advanced Potions," while the other came from Sirius Black, containing a letter from him and a small suitcase full of candy.

Sirius Black apparently heard from Mrs. and Mr. Weasley that Harry was teleported directly to Hogwarts by Tyrell's magic, so he specially sent Harry a package of all sorts of magical sweets, hoping to make up for Harry's regret of not taking the train.

The letter also inquired about Harry's course selections and life in the new semester.

This left Harry feeling both bewildered and warm inside. He held Sirius Black's letter and the box of candy in his hands, staring blankly for a long time.

Harry didn't come to his senses until Ron reached into his bag, took a lemon-Salt rubber bug, and asked Harry if he could have one.

“Oh, that’s great. Now that you’ve received your new book…” Hermione said, looking very happy for Harry, then reached for Harry’s other package and placed it in front of him. “Now you can return the old one, right?”

“Are you crazy?” Harry said. “Of course I’m going to keep it. Look, I’ve planned everything—”

He pulled the old book "Advanced Potions Making" from his bag, tapped the cover lightly with his wand, and whispered, "Exchange Faces!"

The cover of the tattered book, "Advanced Potion Making," fell off.

Then Harry did the same to the new book, then he swapped the covers, tapped the two books together, and said, "Restored to its original state!"

Suddenly, the prince's book looked brand new, while the new book from Flourish and Blotts looked very much like an old book.

“I’m going to return this new one to Slug. He won’t mind; it’s worth nine Galleons,” Harry said excitedly.

Hermione pouted slightly, looking a little annoyed, and seemed to disapprove of his actions, but her anger was interrupted by a copy of the Daily Prophet that fell in front of her.

She hurriedly opened the newspaper and carefully checked the front page.

"Has someone we know died again?" Ron asked casually.

He asked the same question every time Hermione opened the newspaper, mostly as an excuse to brush off Hermione's old-woman-like behavior.

“No, but the Dementor attacks have increased…” Hermione said, tilting her head strangely and tapping her chin repeatedly with her finger. This was a habit she had when thinking; she always liked to tap her chin like a drum.

“What’s wrong, Hermione?” Ron asked.

"Do you remember when Tierra made adjustments to the habitats of some magical creatures in order to build a harmonious British magical society?" Hermione didn't provide an answer, but instead asked in return.

“He’s done a lot of things,” Ron shrugged. “How would I know which one?” “Tierra believed that the instincts and nature of Dementors contradicted the survival strategies of most wizards and magical creatures. Therefore, to prevent Dementors from harming other wizards and magical creatures, Tierra emptied Azkaban, transferred all the prisoners to another location, and used a massive ritual spell there to banish all the Dementors to a specific spiritual world, completely sealing the breach…” Hermione frowned. “In other words, theoretically… at least within the sphere of influence of the British Magical Union, Dementors should no longer exist…”

“Maybe we didn’t get rid of Tiera properly back then,” Ron said nonchalantly while chewing his food. “You know, like Harry last summer, a Dementor deserted its post to go out and find food, and just happened to miss Tiera’s sealing magic.”

“That’s almost impossible,” Hermione said, frowning. “Tiera isn’t that careless…he couldn’t have let Dementors out…and didn’t you hear me? The Dementor attacks are ‘more’ now.”

"So, Dementors are continuously arriving within the sphere of influence of the British Magical Union?" Harry asked. "Who could it be? Voldemort? Or some other foreign force?"

“I’m afraid it’s Voldemort now,” Hermione said worriedly. “It would be better if it were a foreign force, but I’m afraid Voldemort has reopened the seal and released and enslaved a group of Dementors to carry out terrorist attacks everywhere.”

"Should we tell Tierra about our theory?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence.

“Oh, come on,” Ron rolled his eyes. “Is there anything you’ve thought of that Tyella hasn’t thought of? He might already be investigating by now. Why are we causing him trouble?”

"Hmph..." Hermione huffed at Ron in dissatisfaction, "Fine..."

Then he continued to look down at the newspaper.

"Hmm... Hermione, isn't there any good news in the newspapers?" Harry asked.

“Yes, they captured a Death Eater,” Hermione said without looking up.

“Great, who is it?” Harry asked.

“Stanson Park,” Hermione replied.

"What?" Harry was so shocked that he asked again, "Who?"

"Stansang Parker, the ticket seller of Knight Bus, the most famous mode of transportation in the wizarding world, has been arrested for allegedly being involved in Death Eater activities." Hermione picked up the newspaper and read aloud.

"Mr. Sampke, 21, was robbed at his home in Clapham late last night and is now under protection..."

“Stansand Parker? A Death Eater?” Harry exclaimed in surprise, recalling the acne-covered boy he first met during the summer before the start of his third year. “Impossible!”

“He might be under the Imperius Curse,” Ron interjected at the opportune moment. “You’ll never know who is truly loyal to Voldemort and who chose their allegiance because of the Imperius Curse.”

“Maybe,” Hermione said uninterestedly, still reading the Daily Prophet. “It says he was arrested after overhearing the Death Eaters’ secret plans in a pub.”

"The investigation into the Death Eaters' secret plans is still ongoing," Hermione read aloud the last sentence of the newspaper article about the Stansang tank.

(End of this chapter)