Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

Amanta pushed open the side door of the castle, and the cold night wind poured in through the gap in the door.

Her fingertips were cold, and her heart was still pounding with shock and anger.

She walked into the common room and saw Harry curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace, holding a chocolate frog in one hand and flipping through a thick spell book with the other. The firelight reflected in his emerald eyes, revealing a rare concentration.

Hearing footsteps, Harry looked up, with half a piece of chocolate in his mouth, and said incoherently: "Amanta, where have you been? You came back so late--"

Amanta said nothing, but walked straight up to him, her face so serious that Harry swallowed the rest of his chocolate frog and frowned.

"What's wrong?" He had a feeling that something was wrong, so he put the book aside and looked at her seriously.

Amanta was silent for a moment, her eyes locked deeply with Harry's, and finally spoke:

"Harry, I just followed Draco, and I think I know who the person who has been threatening him is."

Harry sat up straight, his expression changed. "Who?"

Amanta took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Antonin Dolohov is near Hogwarts. He met with Draco tonight... He was threatening him and torturing him beyond recognition."

The air seemed to freeze in an instant, the flames in the fireplace jumped, and sparks crackled.

Harry's eyes suddenly widened and his face suddenly darkened. "What did you say? Antonin Dolohov? That lunatic?"

Amanta nodded, her eyes extremely cold: "It was him, I saw with my own eyes that he cast the Cruciatus Curse on Draco...Draco almost couldn't stand...Then, he tortured him with the Dark Mark..."

When she said this, she took a deep breath and seemed to be suffocating.

Harry stood up suddenly, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "That bastard! How dare he--!"

Amanta did not stop his anger, she knew Harry's protectiveness towards his friends.

She took a deep breath and continued, "He has been urging Draco to hand over the Gaunt Crest... No, he thinks it means 'find'."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Draco has found it. It's in his hands, but he doesn't want to hand it over." Amanta said slowly, her eyes solemn.

Harry's eyes widened and he took a step back in shock.

"He actually kept it a secret from us?!"

Amanta nodded, with a complicated look in her eyes: "He never told anyone."

Harry fell back heavily on the sofa, wiped his face with his palms, and said through gritted teeth: "What does he think? He doesn't want to hand it over? Does he want to fight the Death Eaters alone?!"

"This may be what has been bothering him all along." Amanta said in a low voice, "He didn't give it to Dolohov. There must be a more important reason."

Harry was silent for a moment and clenched his fists. "Could it be that if the emblem fell into Voldemort's hands... the consequences would be disastrous?"

Amanta nodded: "It's possible, so we have to find a way."

"But what can we do? Draco refuses to speak, and we can't force him." Harry scratched his hair irritably, looked up at Amanta, and suddenly said, "Sirius! We can ask Sirius!"

Amanta was slightly stunned, then thought for a moment and nodded.

"He may know something about Dolohov and can tell us what to do."

"What are we waiting for? I'll write him a letter right away!" Harry made a prompt decision and rummaged for his parchment and quill.

-----------------

Amanta was absent-minded all day the next day, she couldn't get over the scenes of last night.

She saw Draco kneeling on the ground, curled up in pain, and saw his stubbornness and collapse...

But even so, he still chose to remain silent and bear it all alone.

Her fingertips tightened unconsciously until her nails almost dug into her palms.

Why should he bear the responsibility alone?

She sat distractedly at the Slytherin table, stabbing her fork in her plate and having no appetite at all.

Harry sat opposite her and also did not touch his plate, but looked out the window from time to time, obviously waiting for news from Sirius.

finally--

A big, fat snowy owl flew in from the window and landed steadily on Harry's arm.

Harry quickly opened the letter and unfolded the parchment.

"Harry—

Antonin Dolohov was an extremely dangerous Death Eater who committed many horrific crimes during the First Wizarding War and even killed countless Aurors with his own hands.

If he shows up near Hogwarts, it means the Death Eaters' plans are accelerating."

Harry's face grew uglier as he continued to read.

"I will keep an eye on the situation around Hogwarts as soon as possible to see if there are any Death Eaters active. But you must remember not to act alone. Dolohov is not someone you can handle."

Harry pursed his lips, handed the letter to Amanta, and said in a heavy tone: "Sirius said that Dolohov is an extremely dangerous lunatic."

Amanta quickly scanned the letter, her brows furrowed.

"So, we must find a solution as soon as possible." She whispered.

Harry nodded: "But first, we have to find a way to get Draco to talk."

The two looked at each other and made a decision in their hearts.

How long can Draco keep it a secret? How will Dolohov apply pressure?

They didn't know, but they knew they couldn't wait any longer.

Night is falling, conspiracy is closing in, and they are running out of time.

Amanta leaned against the long table, her index finger slowly stroking the edge of the plate, her heart churning.

Her eyes fell on Julius Hoffmann, who was not far away.

The mysterious, elegant, yet dangerous transfer student from Durmstrang was stirring the fruit salad on the plate slowly with a fork, his expression so calm that it was disturbing.

"Amanta, I have another piece of news for you." Harry leaned closer, lowering his voice as he stuffed his cream puffs.

"What news?" She glanced sideways, expressionless.

Harry's expression was extremely serious. "The gossip circle in Hufflepuff has exploded. They say that Julius has appeared outside the castle late at night recently."

Amanta narrowed her eyes slightly and lowered her voice: "Who said that?"

"Ernie MacMillan." Harry swallowed the food in his mouth and looked serious. "He saw Julius wearing a black cloak and sneaking out of the side door of the school while he was out for a night stroll last night."

Amanta paused for a moment and whispered, "Side door? It leads to the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade Village... Where is he going?"

Harry shrugged. "No one dared to get too close, but Ernie said he vaguely saw him talking to someone in a black robe."

The air was still for a moment.

Amanta frowned slightly, and her expression became increasingly cold.

"A man in a black robe... a Death Eater? Or someone else?" she wondered in a low voice.

"Who knows? But he is definitely not an ordinary person who can talk to Julius in a mysterious way." Harry lowered his voice, "Do you think...he might be in contact with the Death Eaters?"

Amanta did not answer immediately, but slowly raised her eyes and her gaze fell on Julius again.

He still looked calm and composed, with a faint smile on his lips, as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with him.

But Amanta knew that things were not that simple.

She spoke slowly: "Not only that, I have reason to suspect that he has been secretly investigating the crown and the Gaunt coat of arms."

Harry was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "You mean... he knows about the existence of the crown and the emblem?"

Amanta nodded, her expression complicated. "Come to think of it, he was there when we found the Tiara in the Room of Requirement."

Harry suddenly remembered and his face changed: "You mean... he saw it?!"

"He may know the existence of the crown, and may have been monitoring us." Amanta narrowed her eyes and said softly.

Harry took a deep breath and frowned: "What on earth does this guy want to do?"

"More than that." Amanta paused, her eyes solemn. "The last time we tested Draco and asked him if Julius was a Death Eater, do you remember how he answered?"

Harry thought about it and his face changed slightly: "He said...Julius is very ambitious and doesn't take other people seriously."

"Yes, especially—" Amanta said slowly, "He said that Julius didn't even take the Dark Lord seriously."

The air suddenly solidified.

Harry held his breath, and after a long while he murmured, "So, you suspect... Julius has contacted the Death Eaters, and may even have other purposes?"

Amanta nodded slowly, her mind churning, "He has been planning this, and we may just be part of his plan."

Harry clenched his fist unconsciously, and said in a low voice: "If he is really a Death Eater, then Draco's situation will be even more dangerous."

Amanta said nothing, her eyes were deep.