A sudden explosion sounded, breaking the silence of the neighborhood.
A very strange and scary face suddenly appeared in front of Harry and Tonks. Every inch of the skin on the face seemed to be scarred, the mouth was like a big crooked gash, and the bulge where the nose should be was gone.
The most terrifying thing is the eyes on the face.
One eye was very small and black, while the other was large and a distinct bright blue, and moved constantly, without blinking, up and down, left and right, completely unrelated to the normal eye.
Harry was startled and jumped back, almost falling again.
Fortunately, Tonks reacted quickly and pulled him again, preventing his head from making close contact with the ground.
"Instructor Moody, didn't Director Scrimgeour tell you to go home and retire?" Tonks looked at the visitor and asked in surprise, "Why did you come here in person again this time?"
She always felt that it was just a portkey, and she could just arrange for a small clerk to deliver it. There was no need to ask the legendary Auror who was about to retire from the Ministry of Magic to make the trip in person.
"It's that coward Fudge who's afraid something might happen to Harry Potter under Black's control, which would affect his political career." Moody cursed, his wooden leg tapping on the ground.
"Besides, I never planned to retire. It's just that Scrimgeour and his idiots are so stupid that they think I can't tell the difference between a normal handshake and premeditated murder, so they insist on making me retire!"
Scrimgeour and the wizards in the Auror Office were actually not wrong. After experiencing a lot of dangers in his career, Moody had already become a little paranoid and even overly delusional.
He always prepared all his food and drinks himself, and drank only from the curved bottle he carried with him in case anyone tried to poison him.
On April Fool's Day one year, a witch booed behind Moody, and Moody, alerted by the sudden noise, overreacted and attacked her; another time, Moody thought that a birthday present he received contained a cleverly disguised basilisk egg, so he smashed it to pieces without thinking, and then found out that it was a travel alarm clock...
However, Moody himself was completely unaware of his own paranoia and thought that Scrimgeour and the others were too lax.
"I've taught them so many times, but they just don't understand what it means to 'stay alert at all times'!" he said loudly.
Moody handed an old teapot to Tonks in a menacing manner, then turned to look at Harry, "You are Harry Potter, right? Boy, go back and ask your professors to teach you how to Apparate. If you still don't know anything like today, you will lose many chances to escape."
"Remember, always stay alert!" His expression was quite stern, and coupled with his hideous face covered with scars, it scared Harry quite a bit.
After Tonks took the old teapot that was made into a portkey, she didn't dare to say anything, for fear of attracting the wrath of the legendary Auror.
Harry and Tonks didn't notice that the big dog on the street became nervous in a very anthropomorphic way after seeing Moody, and moved to the side very slowly without making a sound.
But Moody's magic eyes, which were constantly moving, discovered the trace of the big black dog from behind.
He suddenly pulled out his wand and released a dazzling red light in the blink of an eye.
The big black dog was frightened, barked, and rolled on the ground at the right time, luckily avoiding Moody's curse.
"Coach Moody, stop it, it's just a dog!" Tonks looked at Moody who was overreacting again, and hurried forward to grab one of his arms.
"What's wrong with a dog? A wizard who is proficient in Transfiguration can use human body transformation to temporarily turn himself into a dog!" Moody said to Tonks with his eyes wide open. "What if the dog is Sirius Black in disguise?"
Tonks had no way of convincing her instructor and could only hold onto his arms, feeling somewhat ashamed.
Director Scrimgeour was right. Instructor Moody must be mentally ill. He actually mistook a dog for Sirius! She secretly complained.
It was not until the big black dog finally fled the street that Tonks finally let go of Moody's arm, fearing that he would accidentally hurt an innocent animal.
Harry was sweating as he watched this scene. He felt a little guilty.
This vigorous and resolute old Auror seemed to have a completely different style from a young Auror like Tonks. If the Ministry of Magic really ordered her to be arrested for casting spells outside the school, then she would be arrested by this old Auror before she could even run out of the street, let alone sneak out to wander around...
"Since you're unwilling to clean up the area, then just go back to the Ministry." Moody was a little unhappy and turned to lecture Tonks, "Tonks, you've learned bad things from Scrimgeour and the others and have let down your guard!"
"Have you forgotten what I taught you? Anything suspicious around you must be destroyed immediately!" he said.
"Okay... I understand, Instructor Moody." Tonks responded weakly.
She held up the old teapot that Moody had brought over and placed Harry's hand on the lid of the teapot. Moody also reached out and grabbed the mouth of the old teapot.
After a dizzying moment, the three of them appeared together in a magnificent hall.
The hall's floor was a polished dark wood floor, and the peacock blue ceiling was inlaid with glittering golden symbols that kept moving and changing, like a huge bulletin board in the sky.
There are many gilded fireplaces on the walls on both sides of the main hall: the fireplace on the left is used for arriving at the Ministry of Magic, and the fireplace on the right is used for leaving the Ministry of Magic.
At this time, the fireplace on the left would occasionally light up with a bright green flame, and then members of the Ministry of Magic would walk out of the fireplace.
Every member of the Ministry of Magic who passed by looked at the famous Harry with curiosity, and wanted to come over to talk to him in surprise. But when they saw Moody beside Harry, their faces changed immediately, and they walked to the end of the hall to avoid him.
"Hey, can this portkey be used to teleport directly into the Ministry of Magic?" Tonks looked around the magnificent hall and asked in surprise, "Doesn't the Ministry of Magic not allow direct entry with a portkey?"
"It was approved by Fudge," Moody explained gruffly. "The coward was afraid Potter might get into trouble on the way, so he had it made by the Portkey Office."
Tonks nodded in understanding.
Just then, a fat wizard with a friendly smile came towards them from the end of the hall.
He was wearing a pin-striped suit, a bright red tie, and a long black cape, and he laughed very enthusiastically from a distance.
"Fudge is here. You two can just argue with him here. I'm leaving now." Moody looked a little unhappy when he saw the newcomer. "I get upset every time I see his fat face."
He stamped his wooden feet, turned around and entered a fireplace on the right.
"You're here, Harry." Fudge ignored Moody's actions and looked directly at Harry. "How do you feel about your first visit to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Uh... it feels pretty good, but the portkey makes me a little dizzy." Harry said truthfully.
He looked up at the current Minister of Magic, still feeling a little unreal and a little flattered.
"Haha, a means of transportation like a Portkey always requires some getting used to." Fudge laughed twice, reached out and patted Harry's shoulder affectionately, "But for long-distance transmission, a Portkey is always more comfortable than Apparition."
When he got closer, Harry realized that although the Minister of Magic was smiling, there was some fatigue and anxiety in his eyes that was difficult to conceal.
It seems that Sirius's escape from prison has indeed caused him a lot of trouble.
"Tonks, thank you for bringing Harry here." Fudge only then realized that there was an Auror beside him, and then he remembered to encourage her, "You can go and do your own thing first. I have something to say to Harry alone."
Tonks nodded noncommittally, said hello to Harry, and walked briskly towards the row of magical stairs at the end of the hall.
"Well, Harry," Fudge said to Harry when Tonks had gone, "you've got us in a panic, I'm afraid you know. Running away from your aunt and uncle's like that! I thought... But you're not in any danger, and it looks like Blake can't act so quickly."
He pressed Harry's shoulder, pulled him into a special magic elevator, and pressed a button, "Now... you will be happy to hear how we deal with Miss Maggie's unfortunate blow-up-"
"A few hours ago, two members of the Incident Reversal Department were ordered to Privet Drive. Miss Maggie has recovered and her memory has been adjusted. She will not remember anything about today's events. That's what happened. No harm was done." Fudge smiled kindly.
Even though he already knew that he would not be expelled from Hogwarts again, Harry still couldn't believe his ears when he heard the Minister of Magic tell him this in person.
He opened his mouth to say something thank you, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he closed it.
"Ah, you are worried about your aunt and uncle's reaction?" said Fudge. "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to let you go back next summer, provided you stay at Hogwarts over Christmas and Easter."
The lump in Harry's throat finally cleared up.
"I'll always spend Christmas and Easter at Hogwarts," he said. "I don't want to go back to Privet Drive."
"Well, well, once you've calmed down, I'm sure you won't think that," Fudge said, with a worried tone in his voice. "They are your family after all, and I'm sure you... well, deep down you like each other."
Harry did not try to correct Fudge, but obediently followed him out of the elevator door and into an exquisitely decorated office.
"Then what remains now is," Fudge pushed open the office door and motioned Harry to sit on a sofa against the wall, "where to spend the remaining two weeks of your vacation. I suggest you stay at the Ministry of Magic. This is the safest place at the moment."
"No matter how lawless Sirius Black is, he cannot sneak into the Ministry of Magic, which is guarded by the most strict security."
"Isn't it possible to go anywhere for two weeks at the Ministry?" asked Harry.
"Of course, my child." Fudge took off his pinstripe suit jacket and black cloak, threw them aside, and sat down across from Harry. "You must understand the current situation. You are in danger. I must make sure you stay in a safe enough place."
"But isn't Hogwarts the safest place in the world?" Harry hesitated. He always felt that it was a bit scary to stay in such a strange place without any acquaintances for two weeks.
So he asked, "I think I can go back to Hogwarts early."
"Oh, Harry, Hogwarts is known as the safest place only because of Dumbledore." Harry's trust in Hogwarts made Fudge a little impatient. He couldn't help but frowned. "Now that Dumbledore is not in Hogwarts, I naturally can't let you return to this castle."
"Or I can ask Mr. Weisley to take me in." Harry quickly changed his mind.
"Don't be naive, Harry." Fudge shook his head. "Sirius Black is an extremely dangerous Death Eater. You don't want to put the Weasley family in danger, do you?"
Of course, Harry didn't know that the fundamental reason why Fudge refused was because he didn't want to give too much credit to Dumbledore's confidant, Arthur Weiss, to prevent him from continuing to be promoted in the Ministry of Magic.
Harry fell silent and said no more.
"Well, it seems that you don't want to stay in the Ministry of Magic." Fudge saw that Harry was in a low mood, and forced a kind smile again. "In that case, I can find you a room in the Leaky Cauldron, as long as you don't leave Diagon Alley for the next two weeks..."
"All entrances to Diagon Alley are strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. With the addition of some elite Aurors guarding the area, I believe you will be safe enough in the Leaky Cauldron!"
…
So, for the remaining two weeks of the summer vacation, Harry had unprecedented freedom in the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.
He had never been able to sleep when he wanted or eat when he wanted before, but now he could even go anywhere he wanted, as long as it was in Diagon Alley, the long cobblestone street lined with the most fascinating magic shops in the world.
This freedom even made him feel a little unsatisfied when he boarded the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and 3/4.
Finally, the train whistled.
The third school year is about to begin!
…
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