People in Hogwarts, holding scripts and systems

The entire reception room was so silent that it seemed as if time had stopped.

The Death Eaters didn't even dare to breathe. They all turned their heads to look at Noah.

Snape closed his eyes helplessly, his forehead aching. He glanced at Noah, who was smiling brightly, and silently moved his feet to the side.

Voldemort was stunned at first, then he let out a chuckle.

"Oh, dear Devinshi, you are welcome to join us."

Noah smiled and took two steps forward, shouting excitedly, "I can't wait to do something for you!"

"No hurry, my friend." Voldemort looked out the window at the dim sunlight as he spoke, "Now the fun is about to begin."

"Alecto, I need you to find Fenrir."

All classes at Hogwarts were suspended and all exams postponed.

Some young wizards were hurriedly picked up by their parents. Although Professor McGonagall repeatedly emphasized that Hogwarts would not close, the young wizards still felt uneasy.

"Mom, I won't leave! I want to stay and say goodbye to Headmaster Dumbledore!" Seamus stood in front of the hall and argued with his mother at the top of his voice.

"Seamus, Hogwarts is not safe right now, you better obey me."

"No, Mum. I want to stay," Seamus said righteously.

Draco gently pulled Afro, who was standing aside watching the fun, and led her through the noisy crowd to the lawn outside the castle.

He chose a secluded corner and sat on a stone bench with Afro.

"Aphrodite, are you--okay?"

Afro looked at the sunny weather. It seemed that even the weather had gotten better after Dumbledore left, like a mockery.

"I'm fine, it's just Harry, he..."

Draco didn't wait for her to finish. When his light grey eyes looked at her, there was only her in his eyes. "The night the lightning struck the tower, I met three Death Eaters in the corridor -"

"What! Are you hurt?"

Two days passed, and this was the first time Afro heard Draco say this.

"No, Aphrodite, what I meant to say is that I encountered three Death Eaters who were already dead."

Draco smiled at her reassuringly, and their clasped hands became interlocked.

Avro was speechless for a moment. The people Draco met in the corridor were the same people who had attacked together that night, disguised as Death Eaters.

In fact, the black-cloaked Death Eater who appeared in the tower with Alecto was actually disguised as Aphrodite, Kingsley, and Percy.

This is to ensure that their plans will not go wrong because of these Death Eaters.

And they were also among the few people who knew that Dumbledore was not dead.

"Oh, that's so lucky." Afro pretended to be scared and breathed a sigh of relief.

Draco's eyes were fixed on Aphrodite's face, and the light in his eyes flickered with the girl's unconscious eye movements and subtle changes.

As if he had noticed something unusual here.

"Is Dumbledore really dead?"

Afro looked at him suddenly, her pupils dilated slightly.

She was sure that Draco couldn't and wouldn't overhear as she made her plans.

"Of course." Her tone was a little unnatural, "Everyone saw him fall from the tower."

Draco stared at her for a moment, then smiled, "Yes, everyone saw it."

Afro lowered his head in fear, racking his brains to find other topics, "Who do you think the new principal will be?"

Draco rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, leaving her shivering.

"It should be Professor Snape."

Avro had to admit that Draco was smart and extremely perceptive.

In the evening, Ron saw Avro and Luna studying the Daily Prophet and asked, "Has anyone we know died?"

"No." Afro folded up the newspaper and took out a new piece of parchment to plan something with Luna. "They are still looking for Snape."

"Where do you think we should look for Horcruxes next?" Hermione yawned. "I don't see any books about Horcruxes in the library."

"Books like this won't be displayed openly." Blaise sat up straight, playing with one of Avro's colored feather pens in his hand.

Harry slumped down in his chair, staring blankly at the same place.

"Even if Dumbledore is gone, we should at least keep moving forward, right?" Theodore glanced at the dejected Harry and said lazily.

Harry paused, his eyes looking out the window. He couldn't help but keep thinking about Dumbledore. What would it be like now if Dumbledore was still here?

He stood up and walked to the window. He had to set out as soon as possible to find the Horcrux and destroy Voldemort...

The next morning, Afro put her packed luggage in the lounge. After the funeral, the semester was over.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was very depressing, and Professor McGonagall left the middle seat at the faculty table empty.

The other professors' chairs were also empty.

Percy and Kingsley sat in the seats for the Ministry of Magic representatives, while Minister Scrimgeour sat in Snape's seat, scanning the hall.

There were many empty seats in Slytherin, and the remaining students gathered together and whispered.

"Please follow your Head of House to the grounds," Professor McGonagall said in a sad whisper, rising.

They walked out of the auditorium in a line. Hundreds of chairs were placed beside the Black Lake, all facing the marble table in the front.

It was clearly warm sunlight, but Harry felt that the sunlight falling on his face was as biting as ice and snow in winter.

These are the most pleasant days of summer.

Most of the chairs were occupied. The two chairs closest to the marble table were occupied by a middle-aged wizard wearing a purple embroidered robe and a wizard wearing a black jacket and white hair.

After all the members were seated, a heavenly music floated from afar. Hagrid held the body of "Dumbledore" and placed it carefully on the table.

A small man stood in front of the table and read the eulogy, and white flames suddenly shot out, covering the table.

After the flames died down, a white marble tomb enveloped them all.

The centaurs and mermen slowly disappeared.

Tears welled up in Harry's eyes. He held Afro's hand tightly, and big tears rolled down the back of her hand.

The voices around were getting louder and louder, and people stood up one after another.

"It's wonderful to attend your own funeral." The middle-aged wizard in purple robes said in a very light voice.

The man in the black jacket stretched lazily, then held his wrist. "Not used to it? We can hold it more often in the future."

"Forget it. I'm afraid those kids can't handle it."

Harry avoided the gazes of Afro and the others and looked at the lake. The sunlight was so bright that he couldn't open his eyes.

For a moment he felt as if Dumbledore was watching him from somewhere he didn't know.

It was as if he had never left.