At that mont, Grindelwald's five old comrades approached. The old man in militaristic attire was holding a cracked horn in one hand, and in the other, dragging along a limp, soft-bodied short figure—it was the one-eyed elderly goblin.
"Mr. Grindelwald, we caught this wretch," the old man said as he casually flung the goblin onto the ground. "Unfortunately, by the ti we caught him, he was already on his last breath. He died on the way here."
Grindelwald took the horn and examined it, sneering. "This thing is a dark magic artifact that demands life as its price. When he blew it, it drove the goblins and Dentors into a frenzy—fearless and berserk. That power didn't co without a cost."
So that's it—more or less like the negative effects of a Sealed Artifact.
Dumbledore asked, "Edward, do you need to…"
"Yes, let try."
With that, Edward picked up the goblin's corpse and Disapparated.
"Alright, we'll be off then. I don't want to see that guy for even another second," the militaristic old man said with a glare at Dumbledore. Even if Grindelwald had long since let go of the past, they still held a grudge.
All Dumbledore could do in response was shrug helplessly.
———
On the other side, Edward appeared in the Room of Requirent and imdiately set up a ritual for necromantic summoning. Fortunately, the goblin's soul hadn't yet dissipated.
"Why did you attack Hogwarts?"
The one-eyed goblin's spirit stared blankly and answered on instinct, "To reclaim what belongs to us goblins—to let goblins rule the world."
"What thing?"
"A mirror."
So it really was the Mirror of Erised?
"What does that mirror do?"
"According to records passed down from our ancestors, it can take us back to our holand…and grant us mastery of ancient magic."
Ancient magic?
Edward vaguely rembered a ga from his past life called Hogwarts Legacy—it had ntioned sothing about that. When he first arrived in this world, he'd even thought about trying to learn it, but sadly, he'd never found any way to do so.
"Where is it?"
"…I don't know."
Edward paused, then asked, "Is it the dwelling place of the deity?"
"…Perhaps."
"You goblins ca out of the dwelling place of the deity? What is your connection to this god?"
"We are the god's chosen."
This god really had questionable taste—choosing to favour these creatures?
Edward then used dream divination again and saw the sa vision he had the previous two tis.
"So, the darkness the goblins were kneeling to…that's the exit of the god's dwelling place? Which ans it's the Mirror of Erised?"
Unfortunately, the one-eyed goblin had no knowledge of that either.
——
Twenty minutes later, Edward returned to the office and shared all the relevant information with Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
"Professor, you really had no idea that the magical formation of Hogwarts was sealing the Mirror of Erised?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, at least I've never co across any records of it. Not even about a seal—truthfully, I know very little about the Mirror of Erised itself. I only found it by chance in the Room of Requirent."
"So that ans continuing to investigate the Mirror of Erised is basically a dead end?"
"Not necessarily."
Dumbledore furrowed his brow in thought. "Give a few days—I'll go visit an old friend. He might know sothing."
"Alright~"
———
It was over an hour later when Edward finally saw Audrey.
After the Battle of Hogwarts, Audrey had joined the rescue efforts, mainly responsible for comforting those who had been drained of happiness by Dentors and had fallen into despair.
Lilith and Susie stood guard at her sides, as dutiful as ever.
The mont Lilith spotted Edward, her eyes lit up and she dashed over, leaping into his arms. "Edward! Miss Lilith has been doing a great job protecting Audrey~ I haven't left her side at all!"
"You're amazing, Lilith~ And Susie's great too!"
Edward handed Lilith a dried fish snack and gave Susie a piece of dried chicken—equal treatnt all around.
Susie took the chicken in her mouth and looked at Edward curiously.
"How did things go on your end? Did you catch Voldemort?"
Edward shook his head. "It's complicated. I'll explain everything in a bit."
"Alright."
Audrey had just finished consoling the last person—a wizard leaning against the wall whose colour was finally returning to his face. She let out a sigh of relief. "That was the last one. Let's go."
The two of them walked back toward the castle side by side, and along the way, Edward filled her in on what had just happened—omitting, of course, the part about him using the Ti-Turner.
The fewer people who knew about his trip to the past, the better.
"So Voldemort might already have reached the place Salazar Slytherin referred to as the dwelling place of the god?"
Audrey froze for a mont. "Then…the next ti he appears, will he really have beco a god?"
"I don't know."
That was the sa question he had just discussed with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, but they hadn't been able to co up with any useful answers either. There was simply too little reliable information about gods in this world.
But at the very least, nothing had changed in himself since returning from that place. In fact, he couldn't even rember anything about what had happened inside.
"For now, the only thing we can do is to improve our Sequences as quickly as possible. That way, even if Voldemort does return one day…we won't be left helpless."
"Mhm."
By three in the afternoon, Hogwarts had returned to calm. Thanks to the nding spells, it was as though nothing had ever happened.
After being cooped up for two days, the children were finally free again. But instead of showing their usual cheer and energy, they remained subdued—after all, they had just gone through a terrifying ordeal at the hands of Death Eaters. Though most of them hadn't been physically hard, the psychological shadow remained.
To help them recover, Dumbledore announced during dinner that the Hogsade ban would be temporarily lifted. For the next week, anyone could go have fun at any ti.
At last, smiles began to return to the children's faces.
———
[Hogwarts Hospital Wing]
Harry was once again lying in his all-too-familiar bed, while Ron sat at his side, bubbling with excitent about their upcoming trip to Hogsade.
"Hehe, just wait until George and Fred get back. Let's see how they try to brag next ti."
Hermione, however, said faintly, "I heard all the fun things in Hogsade cost money, Ron. Are you sure you can afford it?"
Ron imdiately glared at her. "Hey, Hermione! Did you have to kill the mood like that?"
"I'm just worried that the higher your expectations, the greater your disappointnt."
"Thanks for the concern!" Ron grumbled. "Luckily, my mum and dad are here at Hogwarts…worst case scenario, I'll just ask them for a little cash."
"Heh."
Seeing the two about to start bickering again, Harry quickly spoke up to diffuse the tension.
"Co on, anything's better than being stuck in bed like , right? I already told Madam Pomfrey that I'm fine now—it was just an upset stomach! But she insists I stay here under observation."
"Well, of course, Harry," Hermione said, "you swallowed a Philosopher's Stone, after all! That's an extrely dangerous alchemical object!"
Ron jumped in right away, "Dangerous? I think not! Who knows, maybe now Harry will get a long life…maybe even be able to turn things into gold!"
Just then, Edward and Audrey walked in, followed by a large black dog padding silently behind them.
"Good evening, Harry, Hermione, Ron."
"Good evening!"
The trio quickly greeted them, though their curiosity was imdiately piqued by the black dog.
"Is that your new pet?" Ron asked.
Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Oh no, definitely not."
He didn't keep them guessing for long. Stepping aside, he gestured at the dog and said,
"Harry, this is actually your Christmas gift—Sirius."
Originally, Edward had intended to wait until Christmas to reveal Sirius and let them reunite, but with the current situation stabilised, Sirius had grown too restless to wait. Even if Edward hadn't brought him here, Sirius would've surely snuck over on his own.
"Huh?"
All three of them were stunned. Harry blinked, puzzled. "You're…giving a dog? But I already have Hedwig…"
Then the realisation struck him. He stared in disbelief.
"No—wait—you said last ti…that my godfather…So you an…my godfather is a dog?!"
Hermione was the first to figure it out.
"Animagus! He's an Animagus, isn't he?"
"Ani-what?" Ron and Harry both looked lost.
Hermione blurted out the explanation in a rush, "It's an advanced form of Transfiguration—allows a wizard to transform into an animal at will! Rember? Professor McGonagall can turn into a tabby cat. So this black dog…he must be a person too! Oh my goodness, Harry—you have a godfather?!"
"Ten points to Gryffindor," Edward said with a grin, giving her a thumbs-up.
Then he turned to the dog. "Sirius, don't you think it's ti to change back?"
The black dog's body quickly twisted and grew. In the blink of an eye, it morphed into a scruffy man with long, tangled hair and a beard. Compared to the last ti they t, Sirius had at least changed into a clean set of robes, but otherwise looked much the sa.
He looked at Harry a bit nervously.
"Evening, Harry…I'm Sirius. Edward's probably ntioned to you before."
"I was one of your dad's closest friends—and your godfather."
"Wow…you really do look just like Jas."
Harry was at a loss for words, unsure how to process this sudden reunion with the godfather he never knew he had.
Audrey stepped in gently. "Alright, Hermione, Ron—I think we should give them so space. These two haven't seen each other in years."
Hermione and Ron quickly caught on. "We'll head out, then. Good night, Harry."
The four of them stepped out into the corridor. Just as Ron and Hermione were about to part ways, Edward called out, "Ron."
"What is it, Edward…Professor?"
Compared to Hermione and Harry, Ron's relationship with Edward and Audrey was noticeably less close.
Edward held out a brand new wand toward him.
"Ron Weasley, this is in recognition of your bravery and quick thinking today. Consider it a reward—and a Christmas present."
Ron's eyes lit up. "A new wand?!" Then he hesitated. "But I—I can't possibly accept…"
"Don't worry. This is Hogwarts' way of honouring you. Take it." Edward smiled. "Oh, and you and Hermione just earned Gryffindor another fifty points!"
The light in Ron's eyes all but blazed.
———
anwhile, the next day, when Dumbledore arrived at the Ministry with solid proof of Fudge's collusion with the goblins, he made an official declaration:
Fudge was out.
In fact, Dumbledore had anticipated this scene the day before.
Since he had failed to appear at the scheduled ti for the election, the rules dictated that his candidacy be considered forfeit. If no one else ran, the position would automatically return to Fudge.
But when it ca ti to vote, over 70% of the mbers agreed to postpone the election and wait for Dumbledore's arrival.
Fudge had flown into a rage on the spot, but it was useless. Even Umbridge—normally his most loyal supporter—had gone completely silent.
It was then Fudge finally understood the bitter truth: Dumbledore had always been the uncrowned king. Becoming Minister was rely a formality for him, a vote that barely mattered.
Dumbledore valued due process because he respected the rules.
Fudge clung to the process because he had deluded himself into thinking the pure-bloods' support made him untouchable.
"Cornelius Fudge," Scrimgeour announced with a stony face, "I regret to inform you that, as of now, you are no longer the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom. Furthermore, you are to be formally charged with conspiring with goblins and Death Eaters to incite an unlawful war. Your trial will be held during the first week after Christmas."
"Wait—!"
Fudge turned deathly pale and stamred, "I—I didn't collude with the Death Eaters! I didn't start any war! I—I just helped the goblins a little. All I did was gain their support, that's all!"
"Regardless," Scrimgeour replied coldly, "at 10 a.m. yesterday, goblins and Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts."
Fudge collapsed into his seat, panic-stricken and limp, unable to respond as two Aurors stepped forward and removed the plaque from his office door:
"Minister for Magic: Cornelius Fudge"
He knew then and there—his future would likely be spent rotting in Azkaban.
"No! Scrimgeour—Dumbledore—you can't do this to !"
"I didn't know what the goblins were planning!"
"I swear! I swear—!"
"Take him away," Scrimgeour ordered with a wave of his hand.
The Aurors swiftly dragged Fudge out, while Scrimgeour strode into the Minister's office and began rummaging through the drawers.
———
At 7 p.m., Edward arrived alone at the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore was seated behind a large desk, buried in a thick stack of files. By the fireplace, Grindelwald sat in a rocking chair, lazily swaying back and forth while inspecting the cracked war horn—the sa one the one-eyed goblin had blown.
Tsk. They weren't even trying to be discreet anymore, were they? The portraits of past headmasters on the walls looked positively scandalised.
"Professor, you wanted to see ?"
Dumbledore looked up, his expression solemn.
"I believe we—no, you—have a problem."
"What is it?"
"You told the Ti-Turner was sothing I recovered from Fudge's office and gave to you," Dumbledore said gravely.
"But…Scrimgeour just finished turning that office inside out. There's no trace of the Ti-Turner anywhere."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps motivated.
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