Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

This summer is almost the hottest period in Britain in recent years.

Godric's Hollow, perhaps the most famous of the semi-wizard settlements, is a place where wizards and Muggles live together, in the same place, living two completely different lives.

The scorching sun relentlessly bakes the earth, enveloping the quaint and square houses along the road in a dull and quiet atmosphere. The cars that usually gleam and reflect the sunlight now appear黯然失色, parked quietly in the driveway, their bodies covered with a thin layer of dust, as if telling of the laziness and silence of summer.

The once lush and vibrant lawns in front of the houses have also turned yellow due to the continuous drought, losing their former vitality. To cope with the severe drought, watering hoses have been reluctantly put away, and the government has issued a notice prohibiting their use for watering lawns.

In the hall, various books and papers are scattered randomly on the coffee table. On one of the draft papers, the outline of an unfinished bird leaps onto the paper, its shape blurred and mysterious, making it difficult to distinguish.

In the living room, a girl is lying barefoot on the sofa, fast asleep, her breathing even and long.

A boy of similar age is leaning quietly against the sofa, sitting on the carpet in front of the coffee table. He has black hair and deep red pupils, and is intently flipping through the pages of the Daily Prophet. His movements are gentle and meticulous, for fear of making the slightest noise and disturbing the sleeping girl behind him.

"Hmm..."

Hermione slowly awakens from the gentleness of her midday dream, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the thin blanket covering her abdomen. The familiar touch instantly invigorates her. No matter when, only Jerry likes to cover his stomach when sleeping, even in summer.

"Jerry?" she calls softly, with a hint of laziness and anticipation from her awakening, quickly sitting up straight, gently rubbing her still slightly hazy eyes. As her vision gradually clears, she sees Jerry leaning against the sofa where she was sleeping, sitting quietly on the floor, reading the newspaper.

Hearing this, Jerry gently puts down the newspaper in his hand, slowly turns his head, and is about to speak, but is interrupted by Hermione's sudden embrace. Hermione comes to his side like a light butterfly, silently.

"Cough cough!" Jerry coughs lightly twice, gently patting Hermione on the back with his hand. Hermione's embrace forces him to lean to the side, and this stiff posture makes him very uncomfortable. After noticing this, Hermione slightly relaxes her arms, but doesn't seem to intend to let go of Jerry.

A subtle stalemate permeates the air. After a moment, Jerry finally gives in. A helpless smile appears on the corner of his mouth, and he reaches out and gently scoops Hermione up, placing her firmly on his lap amidst her exclamation and laughter.

Finally, Hermione takes a deep breath, slowly raises her eyes, gazes at Jerry's profile, and asks.

"Jerry, when did you come back? Why didn't you wake me up? Why did you go to France for so long this time?" Before Hermione's somewhat resentful voice can finish, she regrets it a little, feeling anxious and insecure. She is afraid that Jerry will tell her that he went to France to see Delacour.

Jerry looks at Hermione in his arms. Her little thoughts can't be hidden from Jerry, the old fox.

"I just got back too, and I didn't want to disturb you when I saw you were asleep. I only went to France to help grandfather deal with some family business matters." Jerry doesn't directly answer Hermione's question. His eyes are clear, and his tone is sincere, after all, he is a well-known "honest" person.

"Family business..." Hermione murmurs softly. Jerry's tone and eyes don't seem like he's lying to her, but the Dumbledore family doesn't seem to have any businesses, right? And most importantly, it's not in England, but in France. Hermione hates France very much now!

"Have you been coming here every day while I was gone?" Jerry puts down the newspaper in his hand and asks in a low voice. He notices that this old house has been cleaned regularly.

"Yes..." Hermione says softly, "I've been coming here almost every day when you're not here, after all, Floo Powder is very convenient!"

"I've subscribed to the Daily Prophet, and owls are always flying to the house. If the surrounding neighbors see it, it will inevitably cause unnecessary suspicion and discussion."

"But Jerry, Professor Dumbledore hasn't been having a good time lately. The Ministry of Magic has removed him from his positions as President of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. The Daily Prophet almost describes him as a senile madman..."

"Don't worry about Dumbledore!" Upon hearing this, Jerry's face doesn't show the slightest worry, but instead is indifferent, and even a smile appears on the corner of his mouth. "If you follow the Daily Prophet's reports, count how many times Dumbledore has to 'go mad' every year!"

"As for those positions and honors, Dumbledore doesn't care about them at all, as long as they don't remove his picture from the Chocolate Frog cards!"

"Has Dumbledore been here?" Jerry continues to ask.

"No." Hermione shakes her head. "But Harry writes often..."

"Harry is also in a bad situation now. I think you've seen the content in the Daily Prophet. He's now a 'little liar who tells lies to get more attention' in the eyes of uninformed people!"

"This is normal. Harry said Voldemort has resurrected, but the Ministry of Magic and the people at the Daily Prophet don't believe him. But don't worry, Dumbledore must have arranged someone to protect Harry 24 hours a day!"

...

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkles on the tranquil cemetery behind the small church in Godric's Hollow. Jerry stands silently in front of his parents' tombstone. After Hermione gently places the bouquet in her hand, she gently takes Jerry's arm, her eyes carefully searching for the waves in his heart, and asks softly, "Jerry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Jerry shakes his head gently, as if dispelling the haze in his heart, and answers in as steady a tone as possible, "It's getting late, we should leave!" After speaking, he takes Hermione and walks out of the cemetery.

"In my memory, the fragments about my parents are like blank canvases. My impression of them is limited to those yellowed photos and the words of others."

"What they left me seems to be more of those untouchable, unanswerable mysteries, like the most distant stars in the night sky."

After coming out of the small church, Jerry and Hermione, like an ordinary couple, embrace each other and walk through the dimly lit streets, arriving at a small park that is not very lively. Unknowingly, night falls, and the surrounding air is filled with the warm scent of dry grass.

A familiar but slightly abrupt melody rings from Hermione's pocket, interrupting the couple's date.

"What's that sound?" Jerry asks curiously. He sees Hermione actually taking out a black Nokia phone from her pocket.

"It's a gift from my dad, for easy contact. After all, this isn't Hogwarts, with all its restrictions!" Hermione explained with a slight smile after hanging up the phone. Her eyes sparkled with a little pride in modern technology. "Jerry, you should know what a cell phone is. To be honest, communication in the wizarding world is really behind!"

Jerry took the phone Hermione handed him. The dim yellow light of the street lamp illuminated his focused face. He carefully examined the phone, and a long-lost sense of novelty welled up in his heart. More than ten years had passed, and he had almost forgotten about this convenient communication tool. Although this phone had simple functions, phones weren't cheap in this era.

"Was that Mr. Granger calling?" Jerry asked after returning the phone to Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "Dad asked why I haven't come home so late!"

"It is indeed late." Jerry looked up at the starry night sky. The starlight and streetlights reflected each other. He didn't know when, but everyone in the park had already left. Now, it was just the two of them.

"Alright then!" Hermione said reluctantly. She looked at the phone in her hand and sighed slightly. Sometimes, too much communication isn't necessarily a good thing!

Hermione had just stood up when she suddenly shuddered all over, as if she had been doused with invisible icy water from head to toe, and couldn't help but gasp.

The deep blue sky, which had been filled with starlight just a moment ago, was instantly swallowed by heavy darkness. Everything was silent. Even the faintest starlight, the bright moonlight, and even the warm yellow glow of the streetlights in the park seemed to be erased by an invisible force.

The surrounding world instantly lost all color and sound. The roar of vehicles in the distance and the whisper of leaves nearby were all replaced by this sudden silence. The temperature at night also plummeted to an unbearable, bone-chilling cold.

The two of them seemed to be imprisoned in a bottomless, silent darkness. The surroundings were tightly wrapped by a layer of cold, heavy curtain, isolating all light and sound.

This familiar feeling…

"Jerry!" Hermione's heart tightened. She tightly grasped Jerry's hand. "What's going on? Could it be…"

"Sigh! Besides Dementors, what else could it be?" Jerry's eyes flickered in the darkness. Here they come again? Is this never going to end? Ministry of Magic, can you guys do your job? Can't you come up with something new?

The surroundings were completely swallowed by the deep darkness. Even though Hermione tried to open her eyes wide, she couldn't penetrate the thin veil of night that seemed to be attached to her eyes. The darkness was like an airtight curtain, isolating her from the outside world.

"Are they really Dementors?" Hermione's voice trembled in the cold wind, but it was mixed with a hint of undisguised indignation. "Have the people at the Ministry of Magic gone mad? They actually sent Dementors to Godric's Hollow? There are many ordinary people living here who have no power to resist!"

"Jerry, leave this to me this time. Let my Patronus try!" She clenched her hands into fists, then quickly released them, pulled out her wand from her pocket, and was eager to try, without any sense of fear. After all, Jerry was standing right next to her, and she felt extremely safe!

"Wait!" Jerry suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from using the Patronus Charm. "Have you forgotten that according to the Ministry of Magic's regulations, we can't use magic after leaving Hogwarts?"

Jerry knew very well why the Dementors had come here, so he stopped Hermione.

"Jerry, are you kidding me?"

"Of course I'm not kidding. If you believe me, put down your wand and leave the rest to me!" As Jerry's words fell, the darkness around them seemed to respond to his will, gradually receding, as if ink was being diluted by clear water, making the environment gradually clear.

Hermione could barely make out her surroundings in the dim light. She saw three Dementors hovering eerily around them, emitting that chilling, shrill sound that was like a wail from the abyss.

"Quiet!" Jerry roared in a low voice. The voice contained an undeniable power. The three Dementors stopped their terrifying noise in an instant, and the entire space returned to silence again.

Seeing this, Hermione, although full of doubts and unease, chose to trust Jerry and slowly put down the wand she was holding tightly.

"Don't worry, you don't necessarily have to use the Patronus Charm to deal with Dementors. Sometimes it's actually very simple!" Jerry gently held Hermione's tense and uneasy hand, his tone comforting. "Of course, you must never learn from me!"

Before his words could finish, Jerry slowly raised his palm. The three Dementors, which had been circling in the air, seemed to have received some kind of mysterious command. They stopped their irregular movements and slowly landed on the ground. Under their wide robes, neither feet nor faces could be seen. When they moved, it was as if they were slowly devouring the surrounding darkness.

"Jerry!" Hermione looked at the three hooded figures approaching silently. Although she felt fear in her heart, she still chose to close her eyes and leaned tightly against Jerry.

"Hermione, don't be afraid, it's really okay. Try opening your eyes and looking." Jerry's voice was gentle and firm, like a warm current pouring into Hermione's heart.

Hermione struggled inwardly for a moment. The stench and deathly cold aura from the Dementors still made her feel uneasy, but in the end, she was overcome by curiosity and trust in Jerry.

She took a deep breath and slowly, little by little, opened her eyes. The scene before her made her unbelievable - the three Dementors were surprisingly quiet. They lowered their heads, like loyal soldiers or guards, standing respectfully in front of her and Jerry.

"This… how is this possible?" Hermione murmured to herself, almost wondering if she was in a dream. The scene before her was too absurd, yet so real, making her feel a burst of恍惚.

"Alright, you three, go back! I know who sent you here, and I can guess her purpose!" Jerry's voice carried an unquestionable authority. He gently waved his hand, as if giving an invisible command. The Dementors, which made countless wizards tremble with fear, retreated silently under this simple action, gradually disappearing into the night.

The moon was back in the night sky, the stars twinkled, and the streetlights in the park gradually returned to their brightness. A gentle, warm breeze blew by, taking away the previous chill and tension.

"Jerry, this… they… you… how did you do it?" Hermione stared wide-eyed, looking at Jerry with disbelief.

"This might be a talent! After all, you also know that among wizards, there are always some people who are different and have unique talents, such as Professor Trelawney's great-grandmother Cassandra Trelawney's divination talent, the Slytherin family's Parseltongue talent, and so on."

"But…" Hermione hesitated, but you seem to have a few too many talents, and how does this talent of yours look so evil! But thinking on the bright side, if Jerry is ever caught and sent to Azkaban in the future, at least he doesn't have to worry about the Dementors.

"Alright, let's go back to the old house first. This matter is far from over!"