"... Maka and Dumbledore have told us with their actions that we don't have to be afraid of Professor Umbridge, but we can't choose to confront her head-on."
Hermione's words came to Maka from Luna's mouth.
To be honest, Maka recognized Hermione's sensitivity very much. If Hermione still chooses to enter the Ministry of Magic in the future to contribute to the reform of the magical world, at least she will not be held back by some situational judgments.
The current situation was just as Hermione judged.
The battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters is still going on, but due to Maka's repeated strategies, this struggle has long been moved to the dark side. The offensive and defensive situation that had been expanded by Voldemort to the entire British wizarding world was now finally limited to the "center area" of the Ministry of Magic.
The key is that Voldemort, who was forced again and again by Maka's campaign plan, not only lost people, but also lost "power". He wants to dominate the British wizarding world, and it will definitely not work without these two things.
That's why he gave up the previous "national panic operation" and instead targeted the Ministry of Magic, the center of power, trying to make a final decision from the perspective of power.
Let's not mention the disadvantages of doing this, at least the advantages are indispensable. After all, neither Maka nor Dumbledore can blatantly wipe everything out with a wand.
"Luna, you don't have to worry about these messy things. Just study with peace of mind and do the things you like to do. When all these troubles are over, I will go to Sweden with you to find the Crescent-Horned Snorlax!" "
Maka sat behind the desk and gave her a relaxed smile.
Hearing what Maka said, although Luna looked a little moved, she did not nod immediately.
"...Maka...they seem to have a really good relationship."
Looking at the girl in front of her who had been in a daze all day long, as if she didn't care about anything, Maka really didn't want her to be involved in such a dangerous dispute.
But what she said now made Maka startled.
Luna is a kind-hearted girl with a clear mind. Perhaps it is because of her pure mind that she often understands people's hearts inadvertently.
She must be aware of Maka's protection for her - this is not a very secret thing, and this protection is precisely out of Maka's care.
Luna could feel it, as if there was a kind of warmth surrounding her, making her feel very comfortable.
But it was precisely because of this protection that Maka almost ignored her true feelings: this girl, who has been incompatible with others since childhood and has always been on the edge of loneliness, actually longs for friendship the most.
She envied the innocent friendship between the little lions, but because of the warmth Maka brought to her, she subconsciously didn't want to go against Maka's wishes.
"...let me think about it!"
Maka's words sounded like they had no beginning or end, but the communication between him and Luna had always been like this, so there was nothing strange about it.
Luna blinked slightly, not sure whether she understood or not, but there seemed to be an innocent smile on her face.
…
On Maca's side, he was quite comfortable as a professor, but on the Black residence, he received a somewhat unusual report.
"... Do you think this case is related to Voldemort?"
In the reception room of Black's old house, Lupine frowned slightly as he looked at the report in his hand.
"No need to ask, he must have not run away!" Sirius said impatiently.
Because he had been trapped in the house, he felt that the dog hair on his body was about to become moldy, but he also knew that he really couldn't run out casually, so he could only sulk.
"Kingsley said that the key question is not whether it is related to Voldemort, but what kind of magic caused the symptoms displayed by the wizard in the case." Tonks, who had just returned from the Ministry of Magic, said.
"Yes!" Lupine thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "This is very different from the 'Black Death' that McClane said, but there is also a part in common - both are confused. mind."
"It is said to be related to the soul, but I can't figure out whether it is." Tonks said casually, and seeing everyone else looking in her direction, she immediately waved her hand, "Don't look at me , I just heard Maka mention it a few times."
Sirius clicked his tongue and sighed heavily.
"Since we can't judge, let's contact McClain as soon as possible!" Lupine pondered again for a while, and then made a decisive decision, "Molly, please go and give McClain a code!"
"OK, all right."
Mrs. Weasley responded, then turned around and walked quickly upstairs.
"Unconscious, in a daze for a long time, and then gradually fell into madness, and showed an extremely strong desire to attack... I hope this is just an individual case, otherwise... "
As Lu Ping's words came out, the members in the reception room couldn't help but show solemn expressions...
Not long after, Maka received a letter from an unknown destination. Looking at the symbol in the middle of the blank piece of paper, he knew he had to go back tonight.
Although he didn't know what happened, since he was contacted, it meant that the Order of the Phoenix must have encountered a problem. But it seems that this problem is not very urgent, otherwise the coded letter should have been sent in a red envelope.
That night, Maka hurried back to Blake's old house.
"McLean, what do you think?"
Amid everyone's questioning gazes, Maka just shook her head slightly.
"Apparently, it should be some kind of influence on the soul. In this period, Voldemort is obviously not immune to suspicion," he thought for a moment, then continued, "However, you can't tell this kind of thing just by looking at the report. Let’s look at the specific situation… Where is the victim? Where is he?”
"Uh... victims?" Tonks said hesitantly, "Are you talking about the crazy wizard, or the other two wizards who were killed by the crazy wizard?"
"Of course it's the crazy one..." Maka shrugged.
"It should still be locked up in the dungeons of the Ministry of Magic!" Tonks said truthfully.
"Well..." Maka couldn't help frowning when she heard this, "Since we are in the dungeon, that means you can't visit at will?"
"Yes! This case is currently being watched by Scrimgeour's people. Only Kingsley on our side has had contact with the case report for the time being." Tonks nodded helplessly.
"So that's why he's working overtime right now?"
"Kingsley? It's true that he is working overtime, but he is working overtime for the Order of the Phoenix, not the Ministry of Magic-" Tonks spread her hands and said, "He can only have indirect contact with that case. Now he I went to the crime scene to investigate, hoping to find some reliable clues.”
"Yeah?"
Maka said, looking down at the report document in her hand, and then handed it to Lupin.
"I'll go to Kingsley's place to have a look first. If that doesn't work, I'll have to rely on you to find a way to get close to that crazy wizard." He said, "There was too much commotion in the Department of Mysteries, and I'm not too sure about it right now." It’s time to go there again.”
"If I don't gain anything, I won't come back. I can't leave Hogwarts for the time being. I need you to pay more attention to whether there are any similar cases happening."
At this point, he paused and added: "If we find out before the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, we will find a way to bring the victim back - of course, the premise is to pay attention to safety!"
"Okay, I know what to do." Lu Ping nodded immediately.
As a result, Maka did not return to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters that night. Obviously, they found nothing special at the crime scene.
However, from Kingsley's mouth, he obtained some newly collected information.
Regarding the inexplicably crazy wizard, his symptoms are still continuing. Although there are occasional slightly calmer periods, most of the time he is still in an extremely unstable mental state.
The Ministry of Magic has temporarily controlled it with magic, but the danger still exists.
It is worth mentioning that the "slightly calm" daze time is continuing to shorten, and the time period of falling into madness is getting longer and longer.
If this continues, sooner or later the wizard will go completely crazy and die of exhaustion from a long period of sleeplessness.
…
Early the next morning, in Gryffindor Tower, in the girls' dormitory.
The weather has been cooling down recently, and everyone is wearing thin sweaters, and Hermione is no exception.
However, she had already climbed out of bed early this morning. Probably because the temperature was particularly low before dawn, she also wrapped a blanket around her body.
While her roommate was still sleeping deeply, Hermione was lying alone in front of the desk in the dormitory, tinkering with something.
As if for fear of disturbing his roommate's sleep, the oil lamp on the desk only emitted a faint circle of light, slightly pushing away the darkness before the sun rose.
As time passed bit by bit, a ray of sunshine finally showed through the cracks in the curtains.
A flat beam of light quietly landed on the blanket on Hermione's shoulder and also landed next to the desk, but Hermione, who was focused on the work at hand, did not notice it quickly.
When the darkness in the room was gradually dispelled by the rising sunlight, she finally turned around and looked at the window with squinted eyes.
Under the sunlight, the curtains were outlined with a golden edge.
Hermione couldn't help but stretched and yawned deeply, then re-covered the square box on the desk, then stood up and gently opened a corner of the curtain.
"Today is a nice day," a smile as vibrant as the morning sun appeared on her face, "otherwise, let's discuss it with Maka today - it's almost done anyway!"
As she spoke, she looked back at the box on the table, with a slightly proud smile on her face.