Volume 3: A Tombstone Stained with Sin and Blood Chapter 159 Moving Forward
Lily and the other two were still searching for Wormtail in the carriage.
However, they had not gained anything in the past few days, and the discovery in the astronomy classroom seemed to be the last trace left by Wormtail.
Including Sirius and Lupin, they all had a vague guess in their hearts that they didn't say out loud, or they subconsciously didn't want to believe it.
That means Wormtail has accomplished his goal and escaped from the carriage.
It's not that they didn't listen to what Dumbledore had said to them in the headmaster's office before.
It was indeed strange that Wormtail revealed his identity in the carriage, but the hatred in their hearts intensified their urgency for revenge.
They seemed to have been fooled by the former traitor and didn't even understand what his purpose was.
In the evening, the dim night sky gradually became completely dark.
Lily, Sirius and Lupin once again came to the place where they found the traces left by Wormtail in the astronomy classroom.
"We have searched the two carriages thoroughly once again, but still found nothing. This means there are only two possibilities."
Lupin said in a deep voice, looking at the magic left under the trapdoor, which had not been triggered yet.
"Either our previous guess was wrong, and this rat didn't rely on luck to hide on the roof of the carriage to avoid all the previous searches, but he used some special method. So he still used this method to hide on the carriage, and we didn't find him."
"Or..."
He took a deep breath and looked at Lily, who had an expressionless face, and Sirius, who had a gloomy face.
"He has already left this carriage."
Sirius clenched his fists the moment Lupin said this. Lily seemed to have not changed at all, but people who knew her could see the coldness and hatred hidden in her eyes.
The night gradually became completely dark.
The cold wind at the end of October slapped their faces, making Sirius feel as if Wormtail was slapping him in the face.
He seemed to see the short traitor laughing wildly, but he could only stand there helplessly.
Lily said nothing, she turned and walked towards the spiral staircase.
Sirius grabbed the railings around the roof of the carriage with white knuckles, looking at the scenery receding, wondering what he was thinking.
Lupin sighed, walked past Sirius, patted him on the shoulder, and without saying anything, prepared to get off the carriage.
However, just as Lupin and Lily were preparing to leave from the roof of the carriage, although they did not say anything, they silently accepted the fact that Wormtail had already left the carriage.
Sirius suddenly began to tremble and stared in one direction!
He shouted at Hagrid who was driving the carriage in front of him in a volume that was almost a roar.
"Stop the car! Hagrid!"
Hagrid reacted quickly. The next second after hearing Sirius' voice, he pulled the reins closer in his hands!
Almost at the same time, Sirius turned into a huge black dog and jumped down from the roof of the carriage!
Lupin and Lily, who had not yet walked down the stairs, were the first to notice Sirius's movements.
They looked at each other, and then returned to the roof of the car with incredible speed!
In the direction where Sirius rushed out, a big black dog was running wildly, and in front of him, with the help of the rising moonlight, he could vaguely see a gray mouse desperately running forward!
Lily immediately clenched the wand in her hand.
She didn't even think about it, she just chanted the spell instinctively!
"Here comes the broom!"
A flying broom flew out of the carriage at an extremely fast speed and was accurately caught in Lily's hand!
She got on her broom and soared into the sky in the direction Sirius was chasing!
…
Jon frowned, still feeling a little unbelievable about what Dumbledore said.
"Leave here? Leave England?"
"Yes, you must stay away from the battlefield. Even if the Dark Lord gains power in the French magic world through this method, his position and the implementation of his policies will certainly not be stable. So next time, whether it is us or the French magic world, he will not hold back at all. Everything will be based on eliminating all resistance forces and using the bloodiest suppression to maintain his rule."
Dumbledore said solemnly.
"This is dangerous but also an opportunity for us. His acquisition of power in a new territory also means that we will gain more allies. We will not sit idly by while he consolidates the French wizarding world. Even if we cannot defeat him, we must delay the time he takes to consolidate power and the situation."
"This is likely to be a protracted war. I cannot allow Hogwarts to be involved in this war. You represent the future. Only when your safety is guaranteed can I and others focus all our energy on dealing with the Dark Lord."
He explained it clearly and Jon could understand it.
Not only the students on the carriage, even if he stayed, he would not be able to provide any help in the upcoming war.
Apart from anything else, he hadn't even learned how to Apparate, and the magic power stored in the ring was not enough for him to cast a long-lasting levitation spell or a breaking spell. Once he was surrounded by Death Eaters, he would not be able to escape unless he waited for others to rescue him.
Jon and Dumbledore looked at each other.
"Professor, why are you talking to me so much alone?"
"I told you before that I would use an age restriction spell on this carriage. Just like the castle, anyone who does not meet the age requirements will not be able to enter the carriage."
Dumbledore said quietly.
"So from now on, there will be no professor to lead you. I think you can take on the responsibility of leading others forward."
Jon's eyes suddenly widened and he stood up from his chair.
"You mean we don't leave the coach? But you said the coach couldn't leave England. Where are we going?"
Just as Dumbledore was about to answer John's question, the whole carriage suddenly shook and then stopped!
Through the , Jon could vaguely see a black shadow suddenly jumping down from the roof of the carriage!
"I have made arrangements for your next journey a long time ago."
Dumbledore calmly drew out his wand and stood up from his chair. At the same time, Fawkes spread his wings and disappeared in the headmaster's office.
"The destination is very special, but it is also a suitable time. The Dark Lord's attention is all on the wizards in the British and French wizarding worlds. He would never have thought that there would be a group of children looking for the answer to why he obtained that power."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised the wand in his hand.
Then a shrill scream sounded throughout the carriage!
Students above the third grade were very familiar with such warning sounds. They quickly gathered in the cafeteria with the younger students who were experiencing such a scene for the first time.
All the other adult wizards who remained in the carriage, including McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid and Filch, all came to the door of the headmaster's office.
Dumbledore also came out with John at this time.
They were obviously prepared in advance.
McGonagall looked at Dumbledore with a frown on her face and she spoke.
"Dumbledore, it's really..."
"There is no need to repeat this question, Minerva." Dumbledore looked at her and shook his head. "Go to the cafeteria and gather all the seventh and sixth year students. They have already graduated early."
Mag swallowed back what she was about to say, nodded solemnly, and hurried towards the restaurant.
Dumbledore continued to focus his attention on Filch.
"Argus, go with Minerva. Once she gathers the sixth and seventh year students, you lead them out of the back of the car. Kingsley will come to meet you and take you to a safer place."
Filch's face looked very unhappy, but this ugly expression was not directed at Dumbledore's order. He nodded and hurriedly ran towards the restaurant.
Dumbledore then spoke to Flitwick and Hagrid.
"We are now joining up with Moody and the others."
Hagrid and Flitwick followed Dumbledore, holding their wands in their hands.
Finally, Dumbledore turned and looked at John, who had been following him.
"You should be familiar with the driving seat."
Jon was suppressed by the tense atmosphere and his breathing became noticeably faster.
"I usually go to see Hagrid, Professor, but I never fly one of those Thestrals, nor do I see them."
"You don't have to fly them, Jon."
Dumbledore actually had a smile on his face at this time. He patted Jon on the shoulder, but his tone was more serious than ever.
"No matter what you encounter, or what obstacles are ahead, remember what I am saying now, keep moving forward, keep moving forward!"
Jon looked at the old man in front of him and finally nodded very solemnly.
Dumbledore turned around and walked out of the carriage with Flitwick and Hagrid. Before Hagrid left, he handed the Niffler to Jon.
"I can't protect it anymore, so take care of it for me, Jon."
"I certainly will," Jon promised.
It seemed like Beech had been told long ago that he would be separated from Hagrid. Tears welled up in his little eyes. He looked at Hagrid's back and wanted to chase him, but in the end he did not run out of Jon's arms.
Jon followed the three of them out of the carriage and came to the driver's seat in front of the carriage.
Dumbledore and the others had already jumped off the carriage. There was a bright red-gold light flashing there, and Fawkes fell on Dumbledore's shoulder again.
Immediately afterwards, countless sounds of apparitions were heard, and wizards from the Order of the Phoenix appeared around the carriage one after another.
At the back of the carriage, McGonagall and Filch had already gotten off the carriage with the sixth and seventh year students, where Kingsley was waiting for them to take them to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Dumbledore looked at Jon, and the Order of the Phoenix wizards around him also looked at Jon.
They all seemed to know him, and each one was smiling and nodding at him.
Jon saw two red-haired young men among them. They were obviously Ron's brothers who had already graduated. There was also a couple next to them. They were their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
Among them was a middle-aged wizard who looked very similar to Neville, with a calm and determined look in his eyes.
Moody, who had a lame leg, was not tall but very conspicuous. His magic fake eye was spinning around, and his other good eye was looking at John.
There was also a witch with long bubble gum pink hair and a heart-shaped face. When she saw John's gaze, she waved at him excitedly.
Some of these wizards were recognizable to Jon, but many were not, but they all looked at Jon with kindness.
Dumbledore passed the reins into Jon's hands.
"Remember my words, Jon, no matter what."
Jon took the reins with a look more serious than ever before.
"Are we all going to go on alone now, Professor?"
Dumbledore smiled and shook his head.
"Don't forget that we still have Fox." Fox raised his head at the right time to show his presence , "I will let it find you later."
"But most of the time, you will have to face the choices that follow by yourself. I believe this will be the best adventure for you."
I don't know when the sky in the distance was covered by black clouds.
Dumbledore looked at the black cloud and spoke loudly.
“It’s time to go!”
Those Night Thestrals that Jon couldn't see seemed to have heard the command and they started running straight ahead!
All the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix who were originally guarding the carriage rode on their broomsticks and flew into the air.
The black cloud that began to spread from the horizon was getting closer and closer, and could only be seen clearly with the faint moonlight.
That was not a black cloud at all, but a large group of wizards wearing black robes and swooping down on flying brooms!
Their target was clear, and everyone's wand was pointed at the carriage that was gradually accelerating and speeding on the ground.
But when the tips of their wands lit up with lights of various spells, the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix who had taken off in advance had already recited those spells!
"Thunder explosion!"
"Protect everyone!"
"The flames are blazing!"
“There are so many obstacles!”
“…”
These attacks forced most of the black-robed wizards to change their targets and start defending against the spells of the Order of the Phoenix wizards.
But there were still a few wizards among them who were still trying to bypass the Order of the Phoenix wizards who were blocking their way and continue to chase the carriage that was getting farther and farther away.
At this time, Dumbledore had already stood in front of them.
He didn't chant any spells, just waved his wand, and a red flame burst out!
The fire lit up half of the sky, and at the same time completely isolated all the black-robed wizards outside the red line!
