The group of teenage students, hidden behind the invisible barrier, regained their composure after the arrival of the Order of Phoenix. Just moments ago, they were at each other's throats, but now that the situation had become safe, they wanted to restore their dignity and felt awkward facing each other again, even their former friends.
Fortunately, they could pretend to be spectators and find an excuse not to confront their classmates, or even their friends, with whom they had just engaged in a fierce brawl.
However, this was destined to be a peculiar day, where events always unfolded in unexpected ways. The legendary Hermione Granger from the stories appeared before them, but it was as if she couldn't see them. Everyone heard Hermione ask, "Is there anyone inside?"
Jess hastily replied, "Yes!"
But Hermione seemed to pay no attention at all. Then she took a few steps forward and came beside them.
Jess was excited and on the verge of tears. "Hi, Hermione!" His eyes were shining, but he also felt nervous and unsure. It was a dream come true to meet his idol in person.
Hermione blinked. "Do you know me? Who are you...?"
"Ah, ah, I... I've been to Hogwarts before, studied there for half a year, but I didn't dare to continue in the magical world. Now I'm attending a Muggle school... Oh, right, I'm Jess Scott... I've always admired you!" Jess blurted out incoherently. "You're also a wizard from a Muggle background, but you're so brave!"
"Uh..." Hermione was taken aback by this sudden encounter with a devoted fan. Her cheeks grew warm. "Don't say that..."
"We all admire you!" Jess exclaimed excitedly. The other students beside him nodded in agreement.
"We all?" Hermione questioned.
"I told my classmates stories about the wizarding world... well, I presented them as stories, and they didn't know you actually existed..." Jess felt a bit guilty. "But today, we coincidentally ran into you..."
"Well... the 'International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy'..." Hermione looked curiously and cautiously at the group. Her face grew even redder. However, she remembered she had something important to ask. "By the way, did you create this barrier?" Hermione asked Jess.
Jess clearly didn't understand what she was referring to. "What barrier...?"
"You don't know? There's a barrier here that blocks all incoming spells. It's a very advanced barrier magic." Hermione turned around and pointed in the direction of the barrier. From inside the barrier, they could see the movements of everyone outside. It was as if there was no barrier at all, explaining why they hadn't noticed it.
"Actually... it wasn't me," Jess said hesitantly. He felt a bit embarrassed to admit that he had only attended Hogwarts for half a year and was mostly proficient in casting sparks with his wand.
"Not you, and not us. Then who could it be?" Hermione contemplated.
Who could be the one delivering the message? The chaos outside between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix was still unfolding. Vibrant circles of magical spells continued to fill the air. What was happening? Who had erected the barrier here and why? Why were this group of Muggles hidden away? What set them apart?
"Jess, do you know any other wizards?" Hermione asked.
"Well... not really. I come from a Muggle background, and I haven't been in contact with the wizarding world for these past few years..." Jess replied. "I only subscribe to a few newspapers, if that counts."
"So... is everyone here?" Hermione hesitated, her gaze sweeping over the group. Most of them looked disheveled and worn, as if they had just been in a fight. But there were indeed no wizards present, and no other leads to pursue.
"Not everyone. There was a student who couldn't make it due to unforeseen circumstances, luckily escaping the ordeal," the adult who appeared to be a teacher spoke up.
At that moment, disgruntled whispers emerged from the students. "Why does he get such good luck? He doesn't have to endure all of this."
"Yeah, Harry is just too lucky."
"Harry?" Hermione keenly caught onto the name. "His name is Harry?"
"How did you know?" Jess wondered.
"Well... this... it's just too incredible," Hermione shook her head and let out a breath, starting to question if she was dreaming.
All the questions suddenly fell into place, and it truly was the answer she had suspected but thought impossible. Hermione composed herself a little, appearing more relaxed. "I know him. Don't worry, sir, he will be fine," she reassured Mr. Cotton with a slight smile.
"But how did he end up here?" More questions exploded in Hermione's mind.
"How do you know him?" Both Jess and the other students had just as many questions as Hermione, and they all spoke up almost simultaneously.
"Because he's a wizard," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "He should have set up this barrier. No, the real question is, how do you all know him?"
Hermione initially thought that Harry, as the Dark Prince, had joined the Death Eaters but couldn't bring himself to harm the Muggles, so he sent a message to the Order of the Phoenix. But... but... how was Harry actually with the Muggles? Hermione looked at Jess, then at the teacher, and continued her probing. This information was crucial.
"He's our classmate... you say he's a wizard?" Jess looked confused. "Are you sure you're not mistaken...?"
Mr. Cotton also chimed in to explain, "Harry transferred to our high school about six months ago and has been in class with everyone ever since. I'm his physics teacher, and they're his classmates. We were on a field trip to the museum nearby and just finished when all this happened..."
"Six months ago..." Hermione could hardly believe it. "Do you have a picture of him?"
"I do!" Oscar pulled out his phone and showed Hermione a pretty side profile photo of Harry that had been saved in his album. Everyone trusted Hermione, the stranger, as they had heard Jess's story, so they were more than happy to share information with her.
"That's him, yes... Oh my god," Hermione sighed, feeling like she had just uncovered a major secret. The Order of the Phoenix had no idea that the Dark Prince had been living in the Muggle world for six months and even attending a Muggle high school! What was going on? She had to tell Professor Dumbledore and Professor Evans.
The classmates also looked at each other, not understanding Hermione's shock. Jennifer asked, "So where is he now? He disappeared a while ago."
"I guess... he doesn't want to see us," Hermione sighed.
Hermione turned around and saw that the chaos outside was gradually subsiding, the colorful curses dimming until they were no longer visible. The Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix were unable to harm each other, and they didn't figure out what had happened (but Hermione now knew it was all Harry's doing). Alice had quietly cast the Anti-Disapparition Jinx around the square, allowing people to enter but not leave. The Order's plan was to wait for Dumbledore to arrive and capture the Death Eaters. Moody and Lucius were arguing, and Lily was anxiously looking for Hermione.
"Oops!" There was too much big news just now, and Hermione forgot for a moment that the barrier was hidden. If the adults from the Order couldn't find her, they would surely worry. She told Jess and the others, "Wait for me, I'll be right back."
"Professor Evans! Something happened here. You'll never guess who I ran into," Hermione approached Lily, looked around and spoke in a voice that no one else could hear. She was a bit unsure how to broach the subject, knowing that Harry's relationship with his parents was always complicated. She gritted her teeth and blurted out, "Harry's here."
Lily's face changed instantly, and she was a little nervous as she asked in a lowered voice, "He... he came with them?"
Hermione knew that Lily was referring to the Death Eaters. She shook her head, "No. Surprisingly, Harry came with the Muggles. It seems that he's been in a Muggle high school for the past six months..." Hermione's voice became uncertain as she finished, struggling to express her thoughts.
"?" Lily was also surprised.
Hermione told Professor Evans what she knew and took her through the barrier.
"Professor Evans!" Jess happily greeted her. After all, he had attended Hogwarts for half a semester, and he knew the Transfiguration professor. The other students also recognized the red-haired witch before them as the one fighting on the front lines against the Death Eaters in the story they had heard.
"Are you Harry's teacher and classmates?" Lily introduced herself kindly, "I'm Lily Evans-Potter, Harry's mom."
"Huh?" The students were stunned, "Harry's... mom?"
However, everyone also noticed Lily's beautiful emerald green eyes, exactly like Harry's, and the blood relationship seemed very clear.
"Potter... so he's from the Potter family?" Jess was dumbfounded.
"He said he was an orphan..." Mr. Cotton remembered the first time he saw Harry, who was working in the restaurant.
Then several things happened at the same time:
Snap, the sound of apparition attracted everyone's attention. They all looked in the direction of the sound and saw Dumbledore coming.
The Death Eaters panicked and tried to run, but they found that the anti-apparition field was present, and they could not apparate away.
The one or two dim magic circles left in the air suddenly returned to normal, and the dim magic struck the area where no one was. At the same time, Dumbledore felt the fluctuation of space magic and sensed that someone had left the scene, using a very rare space transportation magic.
"..." Dumbledore pondered for a second.
Then he used spells to bind all the Death Eaters, and they were completely helpless.
"It's Dumbledore!" Jess finally found his voice, "Didn't he escape?"
"Isn't he a bad person? Why did he attack the Death Eaters instead?" Other students were also confused.
"Dumbledore is certainly not a bad person! He has always been the most important leader in the fight against the Death Eaters, the person Voldemort fears the most," Hermione couldn't listen any longer and said loudly, "The Daily Prophet is just spouting nonsense! Many of the rumors you've heard were deliberately spread by the Death Eaters, it's also part of their plan."
"Ah... Harry said the same thing," Jennifer suddenly remembered, "He has been defending Dumbledore before."
Lily and Hermione exchanged a look. Hermione said meaningfully, "Of course, Harry knows the truth."
Meanwhile, Dumbledore arrived, and Harry left the scene and returned to his own dormitory. He rented the cheapest dorm room, sharing a bedroom with another person. The roommate was not there, but his belongings almost filled the entire room, leaving only a corner for Harry to put his desk and bed. Harry's corner was simple, with few things but clean and tidy.
He sat on the bed, recalling what had happened today. Before he came to the Muggle world, he promised his father to remain neutral and stay away from the war. So today, Harry was indeed in a difficult situation. He wanted to protect his classmates and didn't want to see Muggles get hurt, so he cast a protection spell on the Muggles present, which was fine. He was also worried about the safety of Hermione and Lily, but he forcibly resisted the impulse to directly attack the Death Eaters because of his promise to his father.
So he came up with a solution- in physics class, Mr. Cotton talked about how charged particles move in a uniform magnetic field in a circular motion. Harry had always felt that many of the properties of magic were similar to electromagnetic fields when he was studying physics. So...he controlled the generation of a uniform magic magnetic field on the spot. As a result, all the curses started to move in a circular motion. Science is really as interesting as magic.
No one could hit anyone, so peace was restored.
Dumbledore is here, so everyone at the scene should be safe now.
Harry didn't want to confront Dumbledore directly. His magic core was still not fully recovered from the previous injury, and he couldn't guarantee that he would come out unscathed if he faced him. So he ran away the moment Dumbledore arrived.
But perhaps the Order of the Phoenix would soon be able to track his whereabouts. Harry wondered if he should move to a new place now.
Later, Harry's phone rang urgently. It was Professor Cotton calling.
Harry knew they must have a lot of questions to ask him, but he didn't want to answer, so he didn't pick up.
Then his WhatsApp, Telegram, and messages started popping up frantically - messages from his classmates:
"Help!"
A/N: What do you think?
