"woke up?"
“It feels like a nightmare.”
Cedric opened his eyes and looked at Fred who was peeling an apple for himself. He suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Do you want to eat?"
"Where is this place? You saved me?"
"Hogwarts."
George took the knife from Fred and began to peel an apple for himself.
“After we got the news, we contacted Albert and fished you out in time.”
"Tell me what's going on?" Albert asked, putting down the latest issue of the newspaper.
"It was Varad. He betrayed me and told the Death Eaters about it." Cedric closed his eyes and said with a complicated expression.
"Valard is most likely under the Imperius Curse. Your luck is really bad." Fred gloated: "I don't know what to say to you that you have encountered such a bad thing."
"This is for you... It can reduce the effects of the Cruciatus Curse." Albert placed a bottle of potion in front of Cedric and asked, "Do you need our help?"
"Still, let's get Qiu to feed you."
"Those guys are so abominable. I have been cooperating very well, but they still used the Cruciatus Curse on me." Cedric cursed in a low voice. It was not a pleasant feeling. "If I catch them, I will make them taste the Cruciatus Curse too."
"Using the Cruciatus Curse is illegal," Lee Jordan kindly reminded.
"And, we avenged you," Fred continued.
"The guys who captured you will most likely all be dead in a few days." George consoled her with a smile, "Anyway, you don't need to think about revenge."
"How many secrets did you reveal?" Albert asked directly.
"They told me the location of the base, and that you had returned to England, and... about joining the Defense Association." Cedric looked at Albert and continued, "The main reason they kept me here was because they wanted me to help find the headquarters of the Defense Association.
"By the way, there is something I need to tell you. Bellatrix was not killed by the Ministry of Magic, so you may not be able to return to work in the Ministry of Magic." Albert said suddenly.
"What does this have to do with Bellatrix?"
Cedric really couldn't understand what Bellatrix had to do with his inability to return to work at the Ministry of Magic.
"That crazy woman is going crazy trying to kill me. Maybe other Death Eaters will be afraid of a trap and won't bother you, but that crazy woman will definitely bother you and try to force you to tell her where I am."
"If you don't want to cause trouble for your family, the best way is to hide and disappear, just like Fred and George, leaving no loopholes for the Death Eaters." Albert said softly, "Of course, if you regret joining us, I can arrange for you to hide abroad for a while until the war is over and then return to Britain."
"Do you know anyone abroad?"
"You mean it's not safe even if you hide abroad." Fred waved his wand and the apple core disappeared.
"In America, English is spoken everywhere. Of course, you may not like that country. In fact, I don't like it either." Albert shrugged and said, "In fact, I don't think they will do too much, but they are minions of the Death Eaters. It's hard to say what those evil thugs will do."
"If you choose to go back to work at the Ministry, and you get caught again, don't expect me to rescue you."
"Are you giving me a shot of prevention?" Cedric had a strange expression.
"The mysterious man seems to want to kill me, so he might weave a new trap and use my friends, lover and relatives to find me and kill me." Albert said softly, "Of course, I never gave them such an opportunity."
Cedric opened his mouth, and he understood what Albert meant.
"The mysterious man seemed to have appeared tonight as well, but we retreated quickly so we didn't encounter him. Bellatrix was rescued as a result and was not killed by the Auror team of the Ministry of Magic." Lee Jordan reminded softly.
"It seems that a lot of things have happened in the meantime." Cedric sighed softly. Although the nerve pain was alleviated after drinking the potion, he still felt very uncomfortable.
"Well, maybe we should discuss Cedric's problem first." Albert asked seriously, "Are you going to the United States?"
"I'm not going to hide." Cedric shook his head.
"Don't hold out any hope." Fred couldn't help but frown, "Then there will really be no one to save you next time."
"Don't try to get yourself killed," Lee Jordan echoed.
"If you get caught again next time, it must be a trap." George explained seriously, "No one would be stupid enough to step into it knowing it's a trap."
"We will not interfere with your choice. At most, we will give you some suggestions." Albert raised his hand to signal the three of them to be quiet, and said to Cedric calmly, "You should stay in Hogwarts to recuperate recently. St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is not safe."
"Do you think the mysterious man will use me against you?" Cedric suddenly asked.
"Because you were rescued very quickly, as long as the mysterious man is not a fool, he can guess that it was me who saved you, so your current situation is actually similar to that of the three of them." Albert explained.
"I'd like to hear your advice," Cedric said.
"Hide with them and work hard to defeat You-Know-Who." Albert comforted him, "If you want to return to work at the Ministry of Magic in the future, you can wait until You-Know-Who is defeated. The British Ministry of Magic will definitely welcome you, and your promotion will be smooth."
"It sounds like a good idea."
"You can also use this time to keep in touch with Qiu Zhang." Albert kindly reminded, "Remember to dictate a letter to your family, don't let them worry."
"Can I ask a question?"
"Ask."
"Why does the mysterious man hate you so much?" Cedric asked the question in his heart.
“We want to know that, too.”
Fred, George and Lee Jordan all looked at Albert with smiles.
"Because I can predict the future and I am very strong, the You-Know-Who is afraid of me. He is afraid that I will discover his weakness and kill him." Albert curled his lips and said, "Although I think his worry is a bit unnecessary. After all, Harry Potter is the savior. He should be afraid of Harry, not me."
"Weakness?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow, "You know the You-Know-Who's weakness."
"The so-called weakness actually refers to the secret of the mysterious man's immortality." Albert explained, "Only when the mysterious man becomes a mortal again can we have a chance to kill him. Before that, any attempt to kill him is foolish."
"You know?" Cedric asked with his eyes wide open, "Do you know the secret of the You-Know-Who's immortality?"
"You have to ask Dumbledore about this. I think he is the only one who knows best." Albert did not answer the question directly: "We just need to wait patiently for the result, and then..."
Albert took out a large bottle of potion from somewhere and poured it directly on Cedric's face.
Fred, George and Lee Jordan were all stunned, obviously not understanding what Albert was doing, but they quickly drew their wands and reached out to help Albert hold down the struggling Cedric. After all, Albert must have a reason for doing that.
"What's going on?" Fred asked puzzled.
"It should be the Imperius Curse." Albert looked at Cedric and said.
"Are you sure?"
The three of them were very surprised, and George even took Cedric's wand from the table.
"Even if it's a misjudgment, it will only waste a bottle of potion." Albert looked at Cedric's reaction and became more and more certain that this guy was under the Imperius Curse.
"How cunning! I almost got fooled."
"Who do you think used the Imperius Curse on him?"
"I don't know, but we've definitely got a cunning fellow."
"Is your potion reliable? Do you want another bottle, in case he fails to break free from the control of the Imperius Curse?" George looked at Cedric's miserable appearance and turned to ask Albert. It was too scary for a spy controlled by the Imperius Curse to infiltrate them.
"Wait a little longer. I believe Cedric can definitely break free from the Imperius Curse." Albert glanced at Cedric and suddenly said, as if he remembered something, "It seems that I still need to find time to train in the future to enhance my resistance to the Imperius Curse."
“Does it work?”
"It will definitely work. At least it can easily resist the crappy Imperius Curse."
"Damn it, what's going on, and can you please let me go?"
"It seems that you have woken up." The four looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
"But maybe, we'd better test it again."
"No, I'm awake thank you, and what's on my face?" Cedric asked gruffly as he wiped his cheek with a handkerchief.
"It seems to be a potion that can wash away curses." George explained, "Albert used it to wash away the Imperius Curse on you."
"Who controls you?" Albert asked his doubts.
"A Death Eater, and he's wearing a mask."
"When you get better, come train with us." Fred patted Cedric on the shoulder and said, "If it's the three of us, we won't be ambushed so easily."
"There were a lot of them," Cedric said unhappily, "and I knocked down quite a few of them."
"You can retreat strategically." George reminded, "Ensuring your own safety is the most important thing."
"What about recruitment?"
"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll talk about it later. Anyway, it's not something to rush." Albert said without hesitation, "Of course, you can cooperate with Harry Potter and help train the students of Hogwarts. After the seventh grade graduates, I believe there will be a group of people willing to join us to fight against the You-Know-Who."
"What about you?"
"Of course I have my own things to do!" Albert said lightly, "Besides, the mysterious man is likely to locate me through divination, so I have to hide for a while."
"Oh, by the way, there is one thing I must emphasize again. Before we find the mysterious man's weakness, it is not a good choice to fight him. So what we need to do now is to slowly accumulate strength and wait for the time to counterattack. That day is not far away, so we must be patient now."
"Okay, in that case..." Cedric agreed reluctantly.
"I'm actually curious about how you realized that Cedric was under the Imperius Curse." George asked the question in his mind. This was also the question that Fred and Lee Jordan had. The Imperius Curse was generally difficult to detect, at least it was difficult for people to notice anything was wrong in a short period of time.
"Intuition doesn't require evidence for everything."
"Cedric, are you okay?"
At this moment, a figure rushed in from outside and came to Cedric's bedside like a whirlwind.
Qiu Zhang looked at her boyfriend worriedly.
"It's okay, I just ran into some trouble." Cedric coughed lightly.
"You guys chat slowly, we'll be leaving first!"
The four of them cast ambiguous glances at Cedric and stood up to leave.
"By the way, remember to send a letter to your family so that they don't worry." Albert stopped and turned to remind them.
As soon as the four of them walked out of the ward, they saw the house-elf Dobby standing outside waiting for them. After seeing Albert, he immediately bowed slightly to him and said, "Mr. Anderson, Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to tell you that he hopes to invite you for afternoon tea. He is waiting for you in the headmaster's office now."
"I understand, Dobby, please send the three of them back first!" Albert was a little surprised by Dumbledore's request, and said to the house-elf with a smile.
"Yes, sir." Dobby held out his hand to Fred. "Three gentlemen, let's go."
"Remember to keep in touch," George said.
The three of them disappeared immediately.