It was an unspoken agreement that we naturally reached without any discussion, not to talk about the Malfoy family with Hermione. Almost immediately, we started talking about my father's small black leather-bound notebook again. Contrary to my thoughts, Hermione believed that the things recorded in it were very dangerous. She thought that it was okay to study the theories, but she firmly opposed any actual attempts.
"Extracting other people's thoughts - it's an invasion of privacy and extremely impolite." She kept repeating this sentence, and was quite worried about my eagerness to put it into practice. "Moreover, this is a kind of magic targeting the mind. It's very likely to mess up other people's minds, and even cause chaos for oneself, isn't it? It's too complicated! Yes, I admit it's very interesting, Iris, but only at the theoretical level. I've never come across the knowledge involved in this notebook, nor have I seen it in any books."
I was very glad that I hadn't shown Hermione the other things I'd stolen from the basement that belonged to my father. Otherwise, she might have immediately classified my father as a Dark Wizard. Compared with those spells that might leave irreparable scars (I don't want to tell you how I know this. During my peak period, I could ruin five tables in one summer vacation until my mother confiscated the "dangerous items", and then I would steal them out again the next summer vacation), the Legilimency spell seemed extremely mild to me. And on the back of the notebook, the way to resist it was recorded, although this method of resistance looked even more obscure and difficult to understand.
In some ways, I could clearly feel that my thoughts were different from Hermione's, or rather, different from the ideas of the mainstream wizarding world. I found it hard to understand why spells must be classified as "good" and "bad". In my opinion, spells should be divided into "extremely useful" and "not very useful". In a letter to Hermione, I wrote that I thought spells were a kind of tool, and tools were neutral. Then Hermione explained to me in detail about those terrifying weapons in the Muggle world that could kill thousands of people in one go. She used this as an analogy to try to convince me that it was necessary to regulate Dark Magic, because these magics could only save people in extreme situations, and most of the time, they could only cause harm.
I understood her point of view and also knew that my way of thinking had a rather dangerous tendency. However, I couldn't resist the attraction of those old notebooks. They seemed much more interesting than the textbooks. But I almost never used the spells recorded in those notebooks at school - except for the Sectumsempra I used on Parkinson last time. Although I was earnestly lectured by Professor McGonagall afterwards, when I recalled this incident, I still couldn't help but think from the bottom of my heart that she deserved it.
"Neville! Taurus! Harry - look who's here!"
When we were queuing up to get water, we met three boys who looked a bit dejected. All three of their faces were covered in dust. Hermione raised her hand to greet them, obviously having put aside what had just happened. I saw Black smile and whistle (quite a few little witches around secretly looked at him, and the bolder ones even directly nudged their female companions with their elbows), and then he gave Potter a push towards us.
"Hey, Hermione! And Iris - we were just talking about whether we'd get a chance to see you before the match. Mum won't let us run around, especially Neville." Harry held a huge water jug in one hand and kept wiping the dust off his face with the other. He greeted us.
"Are you okay? You look as if you've just been through an explosion." Hermione looked at them suspiciously.
"Someone volunteered to help his mother, but ended up blowing up half of the tent." Black shrugged his shoulders, not caring that there was still a lot of dust in his curly hair. "Then we were kicked out and forced to promise not to go anywhere near an open fire."
"It wasn't that exaggerated." Neville explained nervously on behalf of Potter. "Harry just got a few steps wrong."
"Yeah, just like he always mistakes the third step written on the blackboard by Snape for the second step."Black stretched lazily, his eyes half-closed as he continued to expose the truth. "Even though I'm your best friend, mate, I have to admit that you lack the necessary talent when it comes to following the rules."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you. I almost thought you were my mum wearing a curling iron all night and pretending to be you." Potter muttered.
"Er, was anyone hurt? Did the Muggles notice? If it alarms them, we need to inform the Ministry of Magic to deal with it." My work in the past few days made me ask these questions out of reflex.
"No, no. Dad waved his wand and everything was back to normal in an instant - he even thought it was quite fun." Potter replied to me.
"This isn't funny at all, Harry. This is very dangerous." Hermione corrected him with a hint of reproach in her tone.
"That's why Mrs Potter likes you so much, Hermione." Black said as he was getting water. "She always thinks she needs someone to be on her side."
"Oh, why did it take you so long to get water!" Just as I finished filling the teapot, I saw a beautiful witch not far away. She was wearing a Muggle dress and had a wizard's robe on as a coat. She walked towards us quickly, muttering, "I was really worried that you'd cause some trouble out here too."
"Harry and the others aren't children anymore." Mr. Potter, who came along, said with a smile. "Fiona, you should relax a bit."
"Your son just blew up half of the tent, James, and Neville was here too! If something had happened, how would we explain it to Dumbledore - "
"Miss Iris!" Mr. Potter gave me a warm smile. Obviously, half of his intention was to try to divert his wife's attention. "Nice to see you again."
"You had already been discharged from the hospital when I went to visit my mother last time. I didn't have the chance to congratulate you on your recovery." I greeted him politely.
Do you like that owl?" Mr. Potter asked me eagerly. "I originally thought the other one was better. It was very imposing - "
"Of course girls need cute pets. Vivian is the most gentle and affectionate." Mrs. Potter reached out her hand to shake mine. Although her eyes were gentle, she clearly sized me up from head to toe. "You are Miss Iris Snape. I finally get to meet you today. I could only hear Harry talk about you at home before - "
"Mom!" Potter coughed loudly a few times. "We've already got the water! Let's go back. We're all hungry."
I carried the heavy water jug and said goodbye to Potter and the others. Mrs. Potter had one arm around her son and the other around Neville, while Mr. Potter had his arm around Black's shoulder.
"Isn't it normal for Mom to be curious? The girl who made you write a guarantee that we wouldn't receive any complaint letters from Hogwarts for a whole semester - that hairpin really suits her eyes. Your taste is just like your father's, isn't it, James?"
"Honey, that was so long ago..."
I saw Hermione covering her mouth and laughing. I could only lower my head and keep fidgeting with my teapot. As a result, I almost spilled the water and wet my skirt.
"Mrs. Potter is not a bad person." Hermione said to me on the way back. "She's very gentle, but sometimes she can be, um... a bit anxious, especially when it comes to Harry."
"How did Mrs. Potter know about the hairpin? Er, I don't think I've told you about the hairpin yet. It's just - "
"I know. I even gave him the idea of sending it to your mother." Hermione covered her mouth again and giggled. "Of course Mrs. Potter knows about the hairpin. She bought it at an auction and wanted to keep it as a private collection. Harry begged her for a long time and even promised that he wouldn't violate any school rules for a whole semester before she agreed."
"I think the possibility of Merlin coming back to life is much higher than the possibility of Potter not breaking any school rules for a semester." I felt my face burning a little when I heard her say that, and I made a joke rather awkwardly.
"You should have stopped him." I muttered. "It wasn't appropriate. I gave it back to him in the end."
"Although I'm Harry's friend, this is his personal matter." Hermione said meaningfully. "There are some things that I may not really agree with or even understand deep down - but I will try my best to convince myself to respect them."
These words have contributed a great deal to the fact that Hermione and I have maintained our friendship for so many years. Later, I told this sentence to my three children word for word, although they didn't seem old enough to understand its exact meaning. Even when my husband and I quarreled because we couldn't reach an agreement on certain things (my husband strongly requested that I note here that such things are very rare), I thought of this sentence and softened my heart, not making him sleep in the living room or in the office of the Ministry of Magic. It's very difficult for people to always reach a complete agreement in their opinions - rather, always having the same opinions is quite scary. Disagreements don't mean hysterical confrontations and conflicts. We need more listening and understanding.
The final of the Quidditch World Cup began as scheduled. I have to say that in the extremely enthusiastic atmosphere of the stadium, even those who are not interested in Quidditch at all will feel their blood boiling. Throughout the game, all I could do was listen to Ludo Bagman repeating the names of the players at the rhythm of goblin underground rap. They were flying so fast that it's no wonder the peddlers selling telescopes on small carts at the stadium entrance were so certain that the viewing experience would be greatly diminished without their telescopes. After all, without them, one could only see blurry figures flying around.
In the second half of the game, chaos ensued. My mother left the spectator seats and followed the people from the Department of Magical Games and Sports to try to maintain order. The fight between the Veela and the Leprechauns was quite a handful (when the Veela made their appearance, the entire stadium was in an uproar. Some wizards even tried to jump from their seats onto the field, only to be pulled back by their wives with scowling faces). However, it seemed that the adults were not surprised. Violence and chaos were part of the Quidditch World Cup.
The high emotions did not stop even after the World Cup ended. Many wizards were dead drunk. They slurred as they sang their national anthems, and some waved their wands randomly, conjuring up shiny flames and patterns. Of course, the most talked-about person was Viktor Krum: the young and legendary Bulgarian Seeker who, despite being severely injured and losing a lot of blood, still managed to catch the Golden Snitch.
"I don't feel very good." After sending me back to the tent, my mother frowned slightly and listened intently to the commotion outside, which showed no signs of subsiding but was instead getting louder and more intense. "Liz, stay here and rest. Don't run around. Mom needs to go and find Mr. Bagman or Mr. Crouch. They seem to be a bit too excited..."
I can't remember exactly how I fell asleep while waiting for my mother to come back, only that I heard a huge noise. Startled awake, I heard screams coming from outside. I initially thought it was another round of celebrations, but there was no joy in those voices at all, only fear and pleading.
When I lifted the tent flap, I saw the most terrifying scene I had ever witnessed at that time. Many people were shouting and pushing each other. There was a glowing object moving slowly in the air, and faint, rough laughter came from that direction. I opened my mouth wide. That "thing" was neither fireworks nor a pattern. It was four people hanging upside down in the air. I couldn't see clearly who they were, but they showed no sign of resistance, not even struggling.
The situation deteriorated rapidly. In the darkness, everyone was thrown into chaos. I heard young children crying loudly. There were continuous popping sounds of Apparition coming from all around, making it difficult to tell whether they were explosions or people teleporting. There were also cries of pain, shrill accusations, and people calling out their companions' names in a panic.
A tent not far away caught fire. I forced myself to calm down and think about what I should do. Staying in the tent didn't seem safe, but my mother had told me not to run around. Someone was crying, and the sobs were very faint. What if it was someone who was injured?
"Lumos." After hesitating for a while, I lit the tip of my wand and carefully groped towards the source of the crying. "Hello, is anyone there? Do you need help?"
I moved slowly because I was also trying to remember the direction I was going by the trees along the way. But it was too difficult. When I dodged a group of pushing and cursing people for the third time, I realized that I had completely lost my sense of direction. The laughter became even more maniacal, and the people hanging in the air began to rise and fall sharply, as if they were being tossed around by a pair of hands.
"Hello?" I felt my hand holding the wand trembling. My mind involuntarily started to recall all the spells that could be used to protect myself as quickly as possible. "I heard someone crying. Do you need help? Do you have a wand? Can you mark your location?"
Finally, a faint light floated up not far away, trembling continuously in the darkness.
"I see it. I mean no harm." I extinguished my wand as I spoke to avoid making my location too obvious. Uncomfortably, I began to consider the possibility that "this is a trap" in my mind. "Please don't attack me, okay? I'm here to help. If you try anything, I'll disarm your wand immediately."
"No, I won't." A weak female voice came from the direction of the light. "I sprained my ankle. Please help me. If you're worried... I can give you my wand."
It was indeed easy to get injured here. The thick roots were exposed directly on the ground, and one could easily trip over them. I carefully approached the voice. Only when I saw a thin figure crawling on the ground did I light the tip of my wand again.
"Greengrass?" I could clearly see the girl's face, which was covered in tears and so pale that she looked like she might faint at any moment. "Astoria Greengrass? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your parents or Draco?"
"I... I can't find them." She handed me her wand, but I shook my head to signal her to keep it. "Suddenly, they were all gone. Dad... so many people... I was so scared. And some people were attacking each other. I wanted to find a place to hide, but... I was walking this way because I heard Mrs. Malfoy calling Draco's name, but then I fell and it hurts so much."
"Don't cry." I clumsily wiped her face with my sleeve. "I'm also a student at Hogwarts. Although I'm in Gryffindor, but..."
"I know who you are. You're Professor Snape's daughter and Draco's good friend." She said softly.
"Yes, I'm not very good at treating sprains... I'll take you to look for them. I also want to find my mother. She's one of the heads of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Don't be afraid." I helped her stand up by holding onto my arm. "I think some people have drunk too much..."
"It's terrifying. Are those Muggles..." The figures of those people still hanging in the air like marionettes were reflected in Greengrass's tear-filled eyes. "I don't understand. Although the adults always say..."
"This isn't the time to express your opinions!" She was thin, but she wasn't exactly light for me to support. I also needed to use my free hand to ensure that I could cast a spell at any moment to protect both of us. I had no choice but to speak to her in a firm tone. "Pick up your wand. I need a bit of light, not too strong... Yes, just enough for us to see the path under our feet."
I should have been gentler with her. Greengrass had always been in poor health. In the Malfoy Manor, she used to be dressed like a delicate doll and sit among the adults.
"Do you still have any idea which direction you came from?" I looked at the almost identical forest around us with a sense of despair.
"Sorry, I don't remember very well." She apologized to me uneasily.
"We need to find some kind of mark, or we might not even know where we are by dawn." I asked her to hold onto a stump carefully to avoid falling. "I'll leave a mark here."
Suddenly, Greengrass let out a terrified scream. I was so startled by her voice that I jumped up, almost casting a dark curse into the darkness.
"What's wrong?" I looked at her with wide eyes, as if she was about to faint. "What is it -?"
I didn't need her to answer. A huge skull, composed of countless emerald-green star-like things, floated in the dark night. A python slowly emerged from its mouth, like the tongue of the skull, and more like a nightmare that lingered in everyone's heart and they didn't want to recall. The huge pattern slowly rose, like a flag, and also like a cruel proclamation.
"That is, that's his mark." Greengrass seemed to be rooted to the spot by fear. She murmured, "He, he..."
"Calm down!" I tried to hold her arm and make her walk with me, but my arm was aching from the effort. I really hated that I only had the strength of a girl.
"Listen to me, Astoria." I resisted the urge to cast a Levitation Charm on her directly. I squatted down and held her face in my hands. "Look into my eyes, Astoria. That's just a mark. It doesn't mean anything. Let's find someone we know first. It's too dangerous for just the two of us, underage witches, to be here. Pull yourself together! Do you really want to die here?"
"Okay." She nodded wildly, and tears streamed down her face. She wiped her face. "Let's go and find, find Draco and the others."
Actually, I was also very scared. I looked up at the skull that was still floating in the air. I had a feeling as if that python was churning in my stomach. I still didn't know where my mother was. She would definitely go to the most dangerous place to protect the innocent. What if the Dark Lord was really there? Even if he wasn't, what would she do if she came back and couldn't find me? I didn't even leave her a note.
"Come on, hold on to me." I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and was glad that Greengrass couldn't see my face in the dark. "I'll protect you. When you were little, you even called me sister. Do you remember?"