"Did anyone we know die?" Ron asked, pretending to be casual.
Every time Hermione opened the newspaper, he would ask this question.
Since the summer break, tragic things had happened every day, making people nervous. Everyone was concerned about the current situation in the magic world, but Ron did not subscribe to the newspaper, and neither did Lavender. Therefore, his source of information was Hermione, who would then repeat it to Lavender.
Every morning, Hermione would read the day's important news to them.
Sometimes, Neville, Ginny, Corin and the others would come over to listen to her read and give a few opinions.
"No deaths, but there are reports of Dementors attacking again," Hermione said. "Also, someone was arrested."
"That's great, who?" Harry asked immediately. This was probably the best news he had heard recently.
Although the incident at the Ministry of Magic last semester had captured many important Death Eaters to Azkaban, weakening Lord Voldemort's power, there were still many who slipped through the net. Elwyn and Harry had seen more than these during Lord Voldemort's resurrection ceremony.
Not to mention, Lord Voldemort's power had been growing recently.
"Stan Sampark," Hermione said.
"What?"
"How could it be him?"
"That knight bus conductor, what did he do?" Elwyn asked. He remembered the young man with the pimples on his face. As far as he knew, this guy had a sense of humor and liked to brag, brag and show off.
Sampark had indeed caused a lot of trouble, but Elwyn did not believe that he was a Death Eater.
Lord Voldemort did not recruit just any wizard. As his most elite troops, Death Eaters had an extremely high selection threshold.
If even a guy like Sampark was allowed to join, then it would be underestimating Lord Voldemort.
"Stan Sampack!" Hermione read, "The famous Knight Bus conductor, arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activities. Mr Sampark is twenty-one years old. The Aurors arrested him last night after raiding his residence in the Krapen district … "
"He can't be a Death Eater!" Before Hermione finished reading, Harry had already made his judgment.
"If he is, then he's probably the dumbest Death Eater I've ever seen!" Elaine said.
"It's probably the Soul Snatching Curse," Ron analyzed reasonably. "That's hard to say!"
"He's just a conductor for the Knight's bus. There's no point in controlling him." Elwyn shook his head.
"That's right. It says here that he was arrested after someone overheard him talking about the Death Eaters' secret plan in a tavern." Hermione raised her head with a distressed expression. "That's too stupid. Talking about the Death Eaters' secret plan in front of so many people. If he's under the Soul Snatching Curse, then he wouldn't go around talking about their plan, would he?"
"So, he's still bluffing," Elwyn said.
The first time he met Sampark was when he had just turned into a cat to follow Harry and could not change back.
Sampark gave Elwyn the impression that she was unreliable. She did not even know what was important or what was not.
"I really don't understand what they're doing. They actually took Stan's words seriously," Harry said unhappily.
"They probably want everyone to see what they're doing. Everyone is panicking now." Hermione frowned and put down the newspaper in her hand. "Let's not worry about what the Ministry of Magic is doing for now. Let's talk about what's going on in the school. I was just talking to Elwyn about it last night. It's about Hannah Abbot being called out during Herbalism class … "
Hermione did talk to Elwyn about it last night when they were alone.
After that, they did not see Hannah again.
Elwyn contacted Ernie with the D.A. badge and confirmed that Hannah did not return to the Hufflepuff common room. There was also a sad piece of news.
"What happened to Hannah? Where is she now? "
"She left the Hogwarts. Hufflepuff is all over the place. Apparently, her mother was killed …" Hermione said softly.
Elwyn glanced at the long table at Hufflepuff. The atmosphere there seemed to be as gloomy as the weather outside.
A lot of people were whispering with their heads down. They must be talking about Hannah.
A murder that happened right beside them. A student's parents were killed. It was far more shocking than what was seen in the newspaper. The news had not spread in the school yet, so it did not cause panic. However, it was only a matter of time. This kind of thing could not be hidden in the Hogwarts.
"This is just the beginning. I heard last night that Parvati said that her parents are going to take her and her sister, Padma, back to India. Hufflepuff's Eloise Midgen, she has already completed her withdrawal procedures and will probably leave today, and … "
"Wait, Hermione, why didn't we know about this!" Ron said, staring at Hermione with wide eyes.
"Because you and Harry are all focused on Quidditch. Naturally, you won't notice these changes." Hermione said, "Anyway, many students in the school are considering dropping out. I dare say that this is just the beginning."
"Why are they doing this? No matter how you think about it, the Hogwarts are safer than their homes. There's no doubt about that! We have the Auror and so many new protection spells. There's also Dumbledore! "
"No, I don't think he has always been with us," Hermione said in a low voice and glanced at the teacher's seat. "Haven't you noticed? Since school started, his seat has been empty, just like Hagrid. "
"Yes, he's not here. Dumbledore has a lot of things to deal with. He also needs to organize the Order of the Phoenix's affairs." Elwyn said, "However, he should be back tonight because he wants me and Harry to go to his office."
"Dumbledore will find time to come back. The key is the significance of this matter." Hermione continued, "Elwyn, I thought about the recent events before I went to bed last night. I think your point of view is still correct. Dumbledore is often not in school. From another point of view, the current situation is very serious. It may be related to that matter …"
In addition to the changes in the school, Elwyn and Hermione talked about the magic and information left by Slytherin last night.
At that time, the two of them were in the cave under the Vampire Fortress. Hermione had recorded a portion of the ancient magic runes on the walls, and after deciphering them for a period of time, this information seemed to be related to the Evil God's brain that Slythrin had taken away.
Dumbledore should have known about these things, but he did not tell Elwyn anything.
If he planned to solve the problem himself, could this be the reason why his right arm was covered with spells?!
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