Harry Potter and the Old Ones

"Two or three people?" Ron said, raising his eyebrows half teasingly and half pleased.

The first to enter were Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Lavender, followed closely by Parvati and Padma Patil, as well as Cho and her chattering group of roommates. One, then Luna Lovegood, alone and dazed, as if she had walked in casually, followed by Katie Bell, Aaliyah Spinnett and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Denise Creevey The two brothers, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff girl whom Harry couldn't name, had a long braid trailing down their backs, and three pull-ups. The Winclaw boys, Harry was sure their names were Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Butt, and Ginny, followed by a tall, thin, yellow-haired boy with a turned-up nose. Harry vaguely remembered that he was a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Walking at the end were Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan. The three of them were holding large paper bags in their arms. bought something from Jokowi’s joke shop.

"Two, two or three people?" Harry said hoarsely to Hermione.

"Yes, that's good. It seems that this idea is very popular." Hermione said happily, "Ron, would you like to bring some more chairs over?"

The bar owner was wiping a glass with a dirty rag that looked like it had never been washed. He was stunned when he saw this scene. There had probably never been so many people in his bar.

"Hey." Fred said, rushing to the bar first and quickly counting his companions. "Excuse me, can you bring us... twenty-six bottles of butterbeer?"

The barkeeper stared at him for a moment, then dropped the rag in annoyance, as if he had been interrupted in the middle of something very important, and began to pull out bottles of dusty Butterbeer from under the bar.

"Thank you." Fred said, passing the beer to everyone. "Everyone please contribute some money. I don't have the money to buy so much beer."

Harry watched numbly as the chattering crowd took the beer from Fred's hand and rummaged around in his robes for coins.

Harry couldn't imagine what so many people were doing, and then he suddenly had a terrible idea——

They were presumably there to hear him speak, so he turned to Hermione angrily.

"What do you say to others?" he asked in a low voice. "What do they want?"

"I've already told you, they just want to hear what you say, whatever you say." Hermione comforted him, but Harry still looked at her angrily, and she quickly added, "Not yet. Whatever you do, I’ll say a few words to them first.”

"Hey, Harry." Na Cheng said, smiling broadly, and sat down opposite him.

Harry gave him a forced smile but said nothing.

After chattering for a while, the students who came to the Pig's Head Bar gathered around Harry and each found a place to sit down.

"Um... cough..." Hermione said, her voice slightly higher than usual because of nervousness, "Um... um... hello everyone."

The group turned their attention to her, but their eyes still flickered to Harry from time to time.

"Well... Well, you all know why you're here... If anyone wants to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts... I mean... learn the real thing, not what Umbridge taught us That pile of rubbish." Hermione's voice suddenly became firmer and more confident, "No one would call that thing Defense Against the Dark Arts—"

"Well said, well said!" Anthony Goldstein said, and clapped.

"Well, yes, I think we might as well, um, solve the problem ourselves." Hermione said. She paused, looked at Harry sideways, and continued: "What I mean is to learn how to protect yourself effectively, Not only to learn theory, but also to practice real magic spells——"

"But I assume you also need to pass the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.Ls exam, right?" Michael Corner asked.

"Of course." Hermione said immediately, "But more importantly than that, I need to get formal training in defense, because, because..."

She took a deep breath before finishing: "Because Voldemort is back."

The entire Pig Head Bar instantly fell silent.

Thanks to Tiera's operation, during the funeral last semester, Dumbledore showed the entire process of Voldemort's resurrection recorded by Tiera to the teachers and students of Hogwarts.

So even though the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet continued to slander Dumbledore and Harry during the summer vacation, not many people bought it.

"With the resurrection of Voldemort, our peaceful life will also be shattered." Hermione stood up and said, "The era of change has arrived. Under the seemingly calm appearance of the magical world, there is actually an undercurrent and a mass of filth."

"Some people may ask, what does Voldemort's resurrection have to do with us?" Hermione added, "Maybe some people think that Voldemort's resurrection, what does it have to do with me, and what does it have to do with me and us?"

After saying this, Hermione paused and carefully observed the expressions of the classmates sitting there——

Sure enough, as Hermione expected, most of the people sitting here looked as if the matter had nothing to do with them.

"Perhaps some of you have relatives in foreign countries, and you feel that even if Voldemort really regains power, you can go abroad." Hermione continued, "Maybe some of you are from pure-blood families, and feel that Voldemort will not punish you. On the head."

"No, you are wrong." Hermione said firmly, "I am very disappointed. You have already had four classes with Principal Dumbledore, but there is still no progress at all."

"There is a famous saying in the Muggle world -" Hermione cleared her throat and said:

“They came to arrest the Jews first, and I didn’t say anything because I was not a Jew.

They came to arrest trade unionists again, but I didn't say anything because I was not a trade union member.

They came to arrest Catholics again, but I didn't say anything because I was a Protestant.

When they finally came to arrest me, there was no one left to speak for me. "

"We are not independent, nor are we single." Hermione said, "We are not just an individual, just like Dumbledore said, we are a community of human destiny."

"What is Voldemort's goal?" Hermione asked, "To know all Muggles."

"There are 5.7 billion Muggles in the world today," Hermione said. "We all know that Voldemort's goal is to eliminate all Muggles in the world."

"But think about it, that's 5.7 billion people! Not 5.7 billion pigs!" Hermione suddenly increased her voice, "That's 5.7 billion with hands and feet, able to move, speak, and hold weapons. , Muggles who can fight and have an organized army."

"Even Voldemort, even if Dumbledore and Voldemort join forces, there is no chance to deal with such a Muggle world." Hermione said seriously, "Even if the two most powerful wizards in our magical world join forces, even Not as great a threat to Muggle society as an epidemic."

"This is why we need to gain power." Hermione said while standing on the chair. "Voldemort's plan, or behavior, will definitely trigger a conflict between the wizarding world and the Muggle world."

"What we are about to face is not just Voldemort," Hermione said, holding her glass high, "but a conflict between the wizarding world and the Muggles."

"That's what's really deadly."

"That's why we really need to have power!"