Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

"So, you all kept it from me?"

Just as Jerry and Hermione stepped out of the room, Harry's accusatory voice pierced the wall, traveling clearly down the hallway from Ron's room.

"No, Harry," Ron连忙辩解, "I wanted to write to you, but Dumbledore thought it was best not to rush things…"

"Forced you to keep secrets from me?" Harry interrupted angrily, "Did you at least ask Dumbledore for the reason behind it?"

"I swear, Harry, I really wanted to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for you!" Ron clarified urgently.

"But I'm sorry, Harry, we've only met him twice since we moved here, and he has too many things to be busy with."

"So, Ron, you joined them in hiding things from me?" Harry questioned angrily.

"The whole summer, I've been on tenterhooks every day."

"I could only sneak into the garden beneath the Dursleys' window every afternoon, secretly listening to the news on the living room TV, hoping to find out if anything major had happened in Britain recently!"

The Muggle news wouldn't report on events in the magical world, but deaths caused by Voldemort would definitely be reported, such as large-scale homicides or natural disasters causing many deaths.

"Do you also think I'm not trustworthy? I didn't even know I was being followed by Dumbledore's people twenty-four hours a day!"

Harry's voice gradually rose, his tone filled with barely suppressed agitation.

Accumulated emotions, like a giant wave whipped up by a storm, finally burst forth like a flood at this moment, unstoppable.

For the past month, Harry, having received no letters, had thought he had been abandoned by everyone. The grievances in his heart now surged like a river bursting its banks, uncontrollable.

Hermione and Jerry walked in from the hallway. When Harry saw them, his heart sank, as if he had suddenly missed a step on the stairs, and a sense of weightlessness instantly spread through him.

So, not only Ron, but Jerry, and even Hermione, all knew.

Why am I the only one kept in the dark?

Why am I the only one excluded?

"What are you two doing here?" Harry's tone was mixed with extreme dissatisfaction.

"Can't you tell? Same as you!" Jerry shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Harry pressed, his doubts and dissatisfaction growing stronger.

Faced with Harry's raging anger, his good friend Ron seemed a little at a loss, and Jerry hadn't anticipated that Harry's emotions would be so intense.

"Of course, it's the same as you!" Hermione's tone carried a hint of displeasure, her eyes sharply returning Harry's heated gaze, her words revealing a trace of sternness, "It's not just you who encountered Dementors. Jerry and I encountered them too, so now we're both 'stuck' in this dull old house."

You're still brooding and getting angry?

The opportunity I finally found has been ruined by you! Couldn't you have flown around the North Pole on your broken flying broomstick before coming over?

"Instead of complaining and getting angry at us here, you might as well think about how to pass the Ministry of Magic's hearing!"

Hermione rubbed her hair irritably, her tone revealing obvious displeasure.

You think I want to stay here? Wouldn't it be better for Jerry and me to live in Godric's Hollow, enjoying our time together?

Time is short. I only have about a month left until I turn sixteen!

"You also encountered Dementors?" Under Hermione's stern gaze, like Professor McGonagall, Harry's eyes flickered, "So it's not just me who has to accept the Ministry of Magic's hearing? You two have to join me too?"

"Only you and Jerry received the Ministry of Magic's letters of accusation!"

"Ah?"

"How dense!" Hermione took a deep breath, "Dementors appeared simultaneously in Godric's Hollow and Privet Drive, where you live. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Britain is so big, why did they choose these two places? This isn't targeting Jerry at all, and it's not targeting you personally. This is a carefully planned conspiracy against Dumbledore!"

As she spoke, Hermione flipped to the second page of The Daily Prophet and threw it to Harry. The newspaper prominently reported Dumbledore's current situation, with the Ministry of Magic even stripping him of his position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards.

"I've never looked at these newspapers carefully." Harry outwardly maintained an indifferent expression, but his eyes were secretly observing the reactions of the others in the room.

Harry actually subscribed to The Daily Prophet all along, but he always just glanced at the headlines on the front page and left it at that. In his opinion, if The Daily Prophet were to report important news about Voldemort, it would definitely be placed on the front page.

A suffocating silence spread through the air, until two abrupt popping sounds broke the quiet room. The Weasley twins, George and Fred, suddenly appeared by Apparition.

"Hi, Harry," George said, greeting Harry with a bright smile, "Have your debates ended? Who came out on top?"

"Professor Snape?" At the kitchen door, Harry asked immediately after seeing Snape's figure, "Why is he here too?"

"He's a member of the Order of the Phoenix," Ron explained, his tone also carrying a hint of confusion, "But thankfully, Snape never dines here with everyone."

"How is that possible?" Harry's heart was filled with doubt. He had just learned that the Order of the Phoenix was led and founded by Dumbledore, and its members were all wizards who had fought against Voldemort last time. But Snape, how could he have joined?

Snape stormed out of the kitchen, stopping when he saw the group coming down the stairs. Snape's icy gaze swept over everyone, and Jerry silently retreated behind Harry.

"Ah, look who it is—" Snape drawled deliberately, sneering, "Dumbledore's so-called savior, Mr. Harry Potter. Look at that walking cabbage head, I can smell the arrogant stench from twenty feet away. Does the savior have any plans to sign someone's autograph with the lightning scar on his forehead today?"

"I didn't!" Harry said loudly.

Seeing Harry's flushed face and exasperated look, Snape's mood, which had been terrible due to the argument with Sirius, suddenly improved.

Wonderful!

"Take care, Mr. Savior!" Snape sneered and strode away.

"Snape is as annoying as ever!" Harry gritted his teeth.

"Dude, be glad! At least school hasn't started yet, so Professor Snape can't deduct points from our house."

A few seconds later, Mrs. Weasley appeared at the kitchen door, her face beaming with a warm smile.

"Alright, children, come in!" Mrs. Weasley greeted them warmly.

Hermione pulled Jerry and quickly entered the kitchen, finding a comfortable seat at the long table. Harry and Ron followed silently behind them, while the twins and Ginny came in, laughing and joking.

"Was the journey smooth, Harry?" Ron's older brother, Bill, asked with concern. "I thought Mad-Eye might take you on a big detour, flying over Greenland!"

"He did have that intention," Tonks said, standing up from her seat to help Mrs. Weasley take bowls and plates from the cupboard, but accidentally knocking over a chair beside the long table. "But in fact, the journey was quite smooth, apart from the bad weather!"

"Harry, sit down first," Sirius said, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy. "This is Mundungus; I think you've already met him."

Hearing his name, Mundungus let out a long snore and suddenly woke up from his sleep.

"Who called me just now?" Mundungus mumbled groggily, his eyes not yet fully open.

"I second Sirius's proposal!" Mundungus raised a grimy hand, his drooping, bloodshot eyes looking around blankly. He thought the meeting wasn't over and raised his hands to vote.

"The meeting is over!" Sirius frowned, while Mundungus rummaged in his pockets, finally pulling out a filthy black pipe and putting it in his mouth, taking a deep puff after lighting it.

In just a few seconds, a large cloud of green smoke quickly enveloped him, and a pungent smell like burnt socks filled the air.

"I'm warning you one last time, Mundungus," Mrs. Weasley said, her voice clearly displeased, "don't smoke that stuff in the kitchen!"

"Ah, yes," Mundungus said vaguely. "Sorry, Molly."

Mundungus put the pipe back in his pocket, the green smoke quickly dissipated, but the unpleasant smell lingered.

"Harry, I think Ron and Jerry have already told you some things upstairs!" A faint smile appeared on Sirius's face.

Jerry gently picked up Crookshanks, who had been rubbing against his leg, gently placed him on his lap, and gently scratched his head.

Harry nodded, then complained, "This summer has been terrible for me!"

"You're much better off than me!" Sirius shrugged.

"I even wish a Dementor would come and bother me. That would be more interesting and break this boring monotony. You think your days are tough, but you have freedom, you can wander around, you can even get into a fight. I've been stuck in this house for a whole month!"

"Every day, I'm like a useless person, just cleaning and wandering around this house, and I have to listen to Snape's long and boring reports, and endure his cold and sarcastic taunts."

Now Sirius is still a wanted criminal by the Ministry of Magic, and Wormtail must have told Voldemort that Black is an Animagus, so now both the good and bad sides want him dead, and Sirius can only hide here.

During the meal, the atmosphere gradually became relaxed and pleasant.

Tonks is a rare Metamorphmagus in the magical world, with the magical ability to change her appearance at will. She changed her nose into various shapes, making Hermione and Ginny laugh heartily.

"What are they discussing? Is it about the Death Eaters?" Harry noticed Mr. Weasley and Lupin talking in deliberately lowered voices, and unable to contain his curiosity, he tugged on Ron's sleeve beside him.

"Obviously, the adults don't want us involved in their secret affairs. But, but Jerry should know some information..." Ron said in a low voice.

"Jerry, you must know what they're discussing." Harry turned his head and asked Jerry in a low voice. Ron was right; Mr. Weasley and the others might be able to hide it from others, but they probably couldn't keep secrets from Jerry.

"They want to win over the goblins and giants, or at least prevent them from joining Voldemort and the Death Eaters."

"But those goblins clearly don't believe that Voldemort has returned to life!" Jerry explained in a low voice. "I think Mr. Weasley and Professor Lupin might be very disappointed. The goblins are all very shrewd, as for the giants... they're all a bunch of brainless idiots, disgusting beasts!"

Harry secretly glanced at Jerry, and seeing that his face was calm and he was still eating dinner with his head down, without feeling that his words were problematic, he quietly lowered his head again.

How could Jerry say that? Wouldn't his words just now include Hagrid and Madame Maxime...?

"Jerry, do you know anything about Mundungus?" Harry turned his gaze to Mundungus again, who was sharing his business experience with the twins with great enthusiasm: find a mindless guy, steal his treasure, and then ruthlessly rip him off, selling the treasure back to him at a high price.

Pah, disgusting, a business to deceive fools!

Mundungus: Deceiving a fool is just a convenient thing!

"Although I don't particularly like people like Mundungus, he is indeed a member of the Order of the Phoenix! His advantage is that he is very loyal to Dumbledore, and some things need to be done by people like him!"