94 hp Diagon Alley

Lee, it's not hard to imagine him as a teenager, wiry and angry, standing up to his brother. "I told him you'd better give up early. You can't move her, she's not in the right shape, you can't take her with you, go where you're going, give your smart speeches, build a following for yourself He doesn't like to hear it." Aberforth said, the firelight shone on his glasses, temporarily covering his eyes, and the lenses were white again, "Grindelwald was very upset, he was angry, Said I was a stupid little boy trying to get in the way of him and my wonderful brother... And don't I understand? Once they changed the world so that wizards stopped hiding and Muggles kept their heads, I The poor sister will never have to hide anymore."

"We got into an argument... I drew my wand, he drew his, I got the Cruciatus Curse, it was my brother's best friend - and Albus tried to stop him. So the three of us started a fight." The duel, the flashes of light and the bangs of bangs irritated my sister, she couldn't take it—"

Aberforth's face suddenly paled, as if mortally wounded

"—I guess she wanted to help, but she didn't know what she was doing, and I don't know who among us did it, and it could have been—she died."

When he said the last sentence, his voice choked up, and he plopped down on the nearest chair.Hermione was in tears, and Ron was almost as pale as Aberforth.Harry just felt sick for a moment: he wished he hadn't heard, wished he could get it out of his mind.

"I...I'm sorry," Hermione whispered.

"Not anymore," said Aberforth hoarsely, "forever."

He wiped his nose with his sleeve and cleared his throat.

"Of course, Grindelwald has escaped. He already has some criminal records in his own country, and he doesn't want Ariana to blame him. Albus is relieved, isn't he? Freed from the burden of his sister, he can To be the greatest wizard with nothing to worry about—"

"He was never free," said Harry.

"What did you say?" said Aberforth.

"Never," said Harry, "the night your brother died he drank a poison and became insane. He started shouting, pleading with someone who wasn't there: "Don't hurt them, please... Come on me. '"

Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry in surprise.He never told them the specific details of the small island in the middle of the lake.What happened after he and Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts made that scene seem unimportant.

"He thought he was back in time, with you and Grindelwald, and I knew it was," Harry said, remembering Dumbledore's sobbing plea, "He thought he was watching Grindelwald hurt you And Ariana...it was so painful for him, if you saw him at the time, you wouldn't say he was free."

Aberforth stared intently at his gnarled, veined hands.After a long time, he said: "Potter, how can you be sure that my brother is more interested in you than the greater good? How can you be sure that you are not dispensable like my little sister?" Woolen cloth?"

It seemed that a sharp shard of ice had pierced Harry's heart.

"I don't believe it. Dumbledore loved Harry," said Hermione.

"Then why didn't he tell Harry to hide?" Aberforth retorted, "Why didn't he tell Harry to take care of himself and save his life?"

"Because," Harry answered before Hermione, "sometimes you have to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes you have to think about the greater good! It's war!"

"You're only 17, kid!"

"I'm an adult, I'm going to keep fighting, even if you've given up!"

"Who said I gave up?"

"'The Order of the Phoenix is ​​over,'" Harry repeated, "'You-Know-Who has won, it's over, and those who pretend not to admit it are deluding themselves.'"

"I didn't say I wanted to, but it's true!"

"No, it's not," said Harry, "your brother knew how to kill You-Know-Who, and he told me about it. I'm going to keep going until I succeed—or die. Don't think I don't know how it might end. I knew that years ago."

Harry waited for a sneer or a rebuttal from Aberforth, but he didn't, he just scowled.

"Take a break, gentlemen." Gwen interrupted their argument with a few bottles of Butterbeer in hand.Another glass of strong drink was poured for Aberforth. "Sir, I think you've tested Harry enough that he knows what he's doing. No one here has been brainwashed by Dumbledore - we all want to beat You-Know-Who, including yourself."

Aberforth didn't say anything more, he drank the brandy in his glass in one gulp.

"We need to get into Hogwarts," Harry said again, seeing that the atmosphere had eased a little. "If you can't help, we'll wait until dawn and figure out our own way without bothering you. If you can help—that's the right time It can be said."

The room was still very quiet.

"Sir, think what we were up to last summer." Gwen turned to Aberforth. "Maybe that's the way for them. You know your brother."

Aberforth remained motionless in his chair, staring blankly at Harry with eyes so much like his brother's.Finally, he cleared his throat, stood up, walked around the small table, and walked to Ariana's portrait.

"You know what to do," he said.

The girl smiled slightly, turned around and walked away. She didn't disappear beside the picture frame like the people in the usual portraits, but seemed to be walking along a long tunnel painted behind her.They watched her slender figure go further and further away, before being swallowed up by darkness.

"Er - how is this -?" Ron wanted to ask.

"There's only one way to get in now," said Aberforth. "You must know that the whole school has never been so guarded. From what I've been told, they've blocked all the old secret passages at both ends. The walls are surrounded by Death Eaters, and there are constant patrols in the school. Snape is in charge, and the Carlo brothers and sisters are his right-hand men. Even if you enter the school, what can you do... well, that's your own business Yes, didn't you? You said you were ready to die."

"But..." Hermione said, frowning at Arianna's portrait.

"Don't worry." Gwen patted her on the shoulder, and only then did she feel the real feeling of reunion, and she was a little excited for a while. "Aberforth and I, as well as Dobby, dug the secret passage for half a month."

A small white dot appeared at the end of the tunnel in the painting, and Ariana walked back towards them, getting closer and bigger.But there was another person beside her, taller, limping, and full of excitement.His hair was longer than anything Harry had ever seen before, his face appeared to be cut and his clothes were ripped out of shape.The two figures grew larger and larger until their heads and shoulders filled the portrait.Then the portrait on the wall opened like a small door, revealing the entrance of a real tunnel.The real Neville Longbottom crawled out of the tunnel, with unnaturally long hair, a bruised face, and torn robes.With a roar of ecstasy, he sprang from the mantelpiece, crying, "I knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry!"

"Neville - really - how could -?"

Seeing Ron and Hermione again, Neville screamed ecstatically and hugged each of them as well.The more Harry looked at Neville, the more miserable he looked: one eye was swollen and blue and purple, his face had many deep arcing gashes, and his hair was unkempt, showing that he had had a bad day.Still, there was joy on his scarred face.He let Hermione go, and said, "I knew you'd come! Keep telling Seamus it's a matter of time!"

"Neville, what's the matter with you?"

"What? This?" Neville shook his head, not taking his injury seriously. "It's nothing, Seamus is worse than me. You'll see. Let's go now? Oh," he turned to Ah Bufus said, "No, there may be two more people coming over."

"Two more?" said Aberforth fiercely. "What are you talking about, Longbottom, two more? There's a curfew outside, and the whole village has a Screaming Charm!"

"I know, so they'll Apparate directly into the bar," Neville said. "Let them go through the passage when they're here, okay? Thanks a lot."

"Actually, I also called George and Fred," Gwen said to Aberforth. "They may have... notified the rest of the Order."

Aberforth almost jumped up with rage. "This is my bar, not—"

"Okay, you stubborn and awkward old man." Gwen dared to contradict him, thinking that she might be going back to Ollivander's wand shop soon. "Just let me go this time, okay?"

Neville held out his hand to Hermione, and helped her up onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel.Ron followed, followed by Neville.

Harry said to Aberforth, "I can't thank you enough, you saved our lives."

"Twice," said Ron, swallowing the last piece of bread, "both the canned soup and the chocolate frog from the Hog's Head."

"Take care of them," said Aberforth gruffly. "I'm afraid I won't be able to save you three times."

Harry climbed onto the mantelpiece, past the one behind Ariana's portrait