I was woken up by hunger. As I gradually came to my senses, I realized that I wasn't lying on the soft and comfortable bed in the Gryffindor Tower. Instead, I was lying face down on the hard desk in my father's office (my father has never been the kind of person who would bother to make his life more comfortable. There isn't even a sofa cushion to be found in his office). The soreness in my neck and shoulders finally overwhelmed the loud protest of my stomach for not having dinner. When I remembered what had happened before, I suddenly stood up and knocked my knee against the corner of the cabinet beside me. I hopped around several times in pain before I could recover. Just as I was wiping away the tears from the corners of my eyes and trying to rummage through my father's medicine cabinet to see if there was any non-toxic and harmless material that I could barely eat, I heard the click of the door lock behind me being opened.

I immediately took out my wand and pointed it at the quiet office door, but it didn't sound like there was anyone outside. I moved cautiously towards the door in small steps. Just as I reached out my hand to touch the doorknob, it fell to the floor with a sharp crack. Then, the door that had been cut to pieces by countless spells I cast collapsed with a loud crash, just like a building block structure with its core part removed. Finally, I could see the dimly lit corridor and the flickering light of the torches on the wall. I didn't feel the slightest bit of joy at regaining my freedom. On the contrary, the lingering chill of the underground office on my fingertips in that instant quickly spread from my limbs straight to my heart. I felt my whole body trembling — my father's magic had failed. There were two possibilities. The first was that he had lifted the magic himself, and the second...

Running at full speed along the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, it seemed as if the only sound left in the huge castle was the hasty footsteps of my panicked flight. The sky outside the window was gradually turning pale, and the faint light of the rising sun could be vaguely seen between the distant mountains. Many of the portraits that had been dozing off were awakened by the sound of my running, but I had no time to pay attention and couldn't hear their petty mutterings either — all I could hear in my ears now was the thunderous pounding of my heart. I was eager to meet a living person. Even Filch, who would announce that I had to be given detention and whipped for getting out of bed in the early morning, would do. I just wanted someone to tell me what on earth had happened —

"Ouch!" I crashed right into Nearly Headless Nick's pearly white body. I felt as if I had been drenched from head to toe with a basin of ice water. Before I could make a sound, he let out an exaggerated cry first, and the layer of neck skin that was still attached to his head swayed dangerously. After he saw clearly that it was me, he spoke in a somewhat reproachful tone, "Young lady, why are you wandering around the corridor in the early morning? It looks like there are no more rubies left in the Gryffindor hourglass to deduct."

"Did you hear any strange noises?" Although Nick wasn't a living person, I was still glad to have met someone I could talk to. "Have you seen my father? Did something happen at the school last night? Have you seen anyone else, I mean other Gryffindors? Harry, Hermione, Ron — "

"You haven't answered my question but instead asked me so many questions. Even a pretty and lovely young lady needs to pay attention to her manners. Although I've always been committed to being an approachable ghost, in a sense, I think I can also be regarded as a symbol of Gryffindor House." Nick seemed a bit annoyed, but he still said, "All right, I just came from the school hospital. I saw your father helping Madam Pomfrey take care of those injured students. To be honest, you kids really never give adults a moment's peace — hey, I'm not done yet!"

"I'll find the time to apologize to you properly!" I hastily left this sentence behind and turned around to run towards the school hospital (Mr. Nearly Headless Nick was still complaining that I had forgotten to apologize to him when I accompanied my husband, who was invited to attend the war memorial event, back to Hogwarts last year. Here, I offer my sincere apologies). As soon as I reached the entrance of the school hospital, I heard Harry's scream.

"Can't you even endure this level of pain?" I heard my father's contemptuous voice. "Although I'm not surprised."

My father then softly recited several spells, but I didn't hear Harry make a sound again. Madam Pomfrey, carrying cups filled with steam of various colors, shuttled between the beds with drawn curtains. It seemed that there were people sleeping in both rows of beds. She just glanced at me and then turned away. I saw Hermione lying on the bed closest to the door. Her hand hung limply over the edge of the bed, and only the slight rise and fall of her chest could prove that she was still alive. From behind the curtain of the bed on the other side came Ron's silly laughter. He seemed to be mumbling something in a delirious state. Madam Pomfrey poured a small bowl of liquid emitting a pale yellow mist into Luna's mouth. After her eyelashes fluttered a few times, she slowly opened her eyes. When she saw me, she gave me a dazed smile. Before I could walk further inside, my father came out. He disdainfully threw a piece of paper stained with blood aside and cast a Vanishing Spell on it. Madam Pomfrey quickly walked over, pointed at Hermione's bed, and said a few words to him. My father nodded, took a piece of parchment, and then looked at me.

I wanted to ask about everyone's situation. Did they go to the Ministry of Magic? Did the members of the Order of the Phoenix also go to the Ministry of Magic? Would the adults be more seriously injured? But Madam Pomfrey pressed her lips tightly together. I had a hunch that if I dared to disturb her at this moment, I would be immediately driven out the next second. I tried to find some clues from my father's expression, but he just said to me, "You should go back to bed."

Even though he said that, he didn't drive me away and hurried off and disappeared at the entrance of the school hospital.

"Iris?" Harry was still using the damp towel Madam Pomfrey had given him to wipe the patches of blood on his face. Some of the blood had already stuck to his cheeks and coagulated into clots, and some was still trickling down his chin into his neck. Since there was no mirror, his cleaning attempt actually got more of the blood on his face, and even his broken glasses couldn't escape.

"Give it to me." I sat down by his bed and took the towel from him. It seemed that most of the blood clots on his face came from his still slightly swollen nose. The several abrasions on his forehead had stopped bleeding. Madam Pomfrey could heal such minor abrasions in the blink of an eye. I guessed she was just too busy. "What about Taurus and Neville? I asked Ginny to notify you all, but it seems—"

"They're all right. Hermione was the most seriously injured, but Madam Pomfrey said it wasn't serious enough to require a trip to St. Mungo's, because the Death Eater who attacked her was silenced by her. After Madam Pomfrey healed Taurus's leg, he went back to the Gryffindor Tower. There are so many people who need beds here. Neville should still be with Professor Dumbledore." Harry closed his eyes when I used a handkerchief to wipe the congealed blood clot on his eyelid, and his voice was much hoarser than usual, as if he had been shouting hysterically not long ago.

"Professor Dumbledore is back too?" I finally heard some news that made me feel a bit happier, but Harry's expression was so heavy. I noticed that the hand with which he was clenching his fist was trembling slightly.

"What's wrong, Harry?" The familiar feeling of palpitations made it difficult for me to breathe again. "Is it someone we know—"

"Mr. Longbottom is dead." Harry remained silent for a long time before uttering these words. He took off the glasses that I had just fixed for him, wiped his eyes, and didn't look up at me. Instead, he just stared at his palm and murmured, "He originally... wouldn't have been like this. If we hadn't fallen into the trap, if we had trusted the adults a little more... it wouldn't have ended up like this."

I unconsciously tightened my grip on the towel whose warmth was gradually dissipating, and I realized that anything I said would seem so feeble. Madam Pomfrey seemed to be saying something to Ron, but Ron was still laughing heedlessly. Without Harry's description, I could also imagine how terrifying the danger they had faced was. And while they were going through all of this, I was locked in my father's absolutely safe office and even had the time to rummage through my father's memories.

"What Neville saw... was just a trap." Although I didn't ask, Harry still started to talk on his own. "After we entered the Department of Mysteries, we found that room full of shelves and glass orbs in his dream. Inside, we discovered a prophecy orb with his name on it — that's what the Death Eaters call that orb. They suddenly appeared and surrounded us right after Neville took it down. It seemed that this was exactly what the Dark Lord had always been after."

"But if it was just a trap, the Dark Lord shouldn't have captured Mr. Longbottom, right?" I felt confused. After hearing my question, Harry buried his head in his hands in pain.

"The members of the Order of the Phoenix received the news. It should have been your father who informed them. So they were divided into two groups. One group went to St. Mungo's to check if Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were still there, and the other group went directly to the Department of Mysteries — when my father found out that Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were still at St. Mungo's, he immediately realized what was going on. Then he started using Patronuses or other means to contact the others who had gone to the Department of Mysteries and was going to the Ministry of Magic to help as well. During this period, Mr. Longbottom might have... heard that Neville was in danger, and when Tonks Apparated, he grabbed her all of a sudden."

"It was very chaotic at that time. We were surrounded and attacked by a group of Death Eaters. My father told me to quickly gather the others and leave the rest to them. At that time, only Neville and I hadn't been seriously injured. I saw that Neville was almost unable to hold on, so I told him to quickly throw the prophecy orb to me... But the stone step under my feet was suddenly blown up by Lucius Malfoy. I didn't catch the orb and rolled down the steps, and it shattered in front of me."

"Just... shattered?" I asked blankly. "It's gone?"

"It's gone. I only saw a white shadow rise up. I didn't hear anything. There were screams and the sounds of explosions everywhere," Harry replied dully. "Even when your mother pulled me up, I still didn't understand what it meant that the orb had shattered. All I heard was that she was shouting at me just like my father did, telling me to quickly take Hermione and the others and leave."

"Mr. Longbottom... I think Tonks was too worried about the situation in the Department of Mysteries. We made a huge commotion. She thought Mr. Longbottom didn't have the ability to act, so she came directly to help. If she hadn't appeared in time and blown away Dolohov... Hermione might have died. But Mr. Longbottom actually managed to find where we were. Maybe he heard Neville's voice. After Bellatrix heard that the prophecy orb had shattered, she went crazy. She used the Cruciatus Curse on Neville and forced him to admit that he was lying... When Mr. Longbottom saw this scene, he went berserk. He directly pounced forward and roared, trying to protect Neville. Then he was hit by Bellatrix's spell. He didn't even have a wand... We watched as he fell into a veil."

"A veil?" I asked blankly.

"I was stopped by... Sirius at that time. Neville was held tightly by my father. He almost broke free from my father. Remus also went over and held him back to prevent him from breaking free. We were shouting and telling them to leave us alone and go save Mr. Longbottom, but they said... they all said... that Mr. Longbottom was dead."

I couldn't say anything. I could only feel the tears welling up in my eyes continuously. I remembered the candy wrappers that Neville showed us at Christmas. He said that the healers at St. Mungo's had all told him that Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom no longer recognized him, but he believed that his parents must know that their son had come to visit them. They just couldn't express it.

He was right. Mr. Longbottom remembered him. Even though his body had been tortured to pieces by the Cruciatus Curse, the love for his son was still firmly engraved in his heart. This love made him grab Tonks' wrist at the slightest mention of his son, made him grope his way through row after row of shelves filled with glass orbs following the sound of his son's voice, and made him leap forward bare-handed and let out a father's roar. His mind was already incomplete, but his love was not.

"Finally, Neville still broke free from my father because Bellatrix ran away. As soon as she saw Dumbledore, she immediately tried to escape. Neville chased after her. I was stopped by several people. They were right... we had caused too much trouble already. Your mother took me all the way to find the others. She originally wanted to take us to her office first, but there was an explosion in the main hall — the Dark Lord was here. She made me promise that I wouldn't run around anymore and then turned around to help."

"Amelia sent us to the entrance of Hogwarts. Professor Snape — Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey were waiting for us there. He told me that Neville was with Professor Dumbledore. I don't know how he is now... I guess whether he's injured or not, he's... in a really bad state."

Suddenly, there came the sound of an owl knocking on the window. Only then did I realize that it was already completely dawn. The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and there were already groups of students who had finished their breakfast walking outside to enjoy the rare leisure time after the exams. This kind of leisure time had also existed in our fantasies just over ten hours ago, but now, just over ten hours later, it suddenly seemed illusory and ridiculous. This golden sunlight made people feel unreal — why, after such a tragic thing had happened, could there still be such beautiful things in the world?

Madam Pomfrey opened the window to let the owl fly in. It perched on the head of Hermione's bed, tilted its head and looked for a while, and then stretched out its leg to signal me to take something from it. This was the Daily Prophet she had subscribed to. The front-page headline was that the lead singer of the goblin band announced his retirement, and the last album was snapped up by fans.

"With what happened at the Ministry of Magic, is Fudge still going to pretend that nothing happened?" I quickly skimmed through the heartbroken expressions of the fanatics in the interviews and actually felt a bit amused. "Or is he going to use the sudden explosion at the Ministry of Magic to get rid of all the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Fudge saw Voldemort," Neville suddenly spoke from outside the bed curtain, which gave me a start. There was still a lingering anger in his eyes that hadn't completely subsided. That kind of light overshadowed the weariness from the sudden changes he had experienced overnight. But overall, he was much calmer than I had imagined. He said to Harry, "Dumbledore said that he wants you to go to his office as well."

"Oh, okay." Harry took the towel from my hand and wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes carelessly. "Let's go."

"I hope you'll also go to the Great Hall and have some breakfast." After they left, I sat by Hermione's bedside and tried to tidy up her dusty hair. Madam Pomfrey said to me, "You don't look well either. I don't want to have one more patient who needs night care. Go now!"

"The one whose name must not be spoken has returned." It wasn't until Sunday that the Daily Prophet published a full-page special statement made by Fudge on Friday. Hermione, who had already woken up, sat on the bed and read it to us word by word. She still hadn't fully recovered from Dolohov's curse and had to stop every few sentences to touch her ribs. Ron took the newspaper from her hand and continued reading. The marks on his hands left by the "brain" were still quite shocking.

"In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that the one whose name must not be spoken has returned to the country and resumed his activities once again." Ron curled his lip as he read. "We report with almost equal regret that there has been a mass riot among the Dementors of Azkaban. Mr. James Potter, the current Director of the Auror Office who has resumed his post, stated that the Auror Office has already launched a manhunt for the escaped criminals. For important personnel changes in the Ministry of Magic, turn to page three — For the report on the Dark Lord and his followers breaking into the Ministry of Magic on Thursday night, turn to page four — Shocking! The list of Death Eaters recently arrested and imprisoned, people you would never have imagined, turn to page five... What's so unimaginable about Lucius Malfoy? This newspaper has not been able to contact Albus Dumbledore. He has resumed all his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief of the Wizengamot. In the past year, he has always insisted that the Dark Lord has returned, and his voice and that of the 'Boy Who Lived' — "

"Finally, he's the 'Boy Who Lived' again?" Taurus, sitting at the end of Ron's bed, said sarcastically. "They sure changed their tune quickly."

"Yeah, it seems they're trying to make up for all the praise they missed out on in the past year in one go. They even mentioned Harry — and he's finally not the 'adolescent boy desperate for public attention' anymore," Ron said in disgust, slapping the newspaper in his hand. "I really don't want to read this. It's so sickening. What 'lonely and uncomprehended perseverance' and 'forced to endure insults and slander'... Weren't they the ones who slandered the most?"

"It seems they don't have to worry about what to write for at least half a month. They even reprinted the exclusive interview with Neville and Harry in The Quibbler." I looked at the remaining pages of the newspaper. "It seems that for now, they've decided to point the finger at Fudge. They've already started speculating about the possible candidates for Minister of Magic after he steps down... Your father, Harry, is the top choice in the public opinion poll."

"My father sold that interview to them for a large sum of money. Now we can go on an adventure in Sweden during the summer vacation." Luna said vaguely. She was reading the latest issue of The Quibbler. Neville was sitting on the stool by her bedside. Although he seemed to be listening to us, we all knew that he was actually thinking about his own things.

I pulled out the stool to take the tray of potions that Madam Pomfrey handed over — Hermione has to take at least a dozen different kinds of medicines every day now, which makes her miserable. The sound of pulling out the stool disturbed Umbridge, who was sleeping on the opposite side. She suddenly stuck out her bald head and looked around in a panic. Later, I heard from Harry that she was attacked by the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest because of her arrogance. The centaurs not only broke her wand in two but also dragged her deep into the Forbidden Forest. It was not until Dumbledore went alone to rescue her.

"I hope that the first thing your father does after he takes office — or whoever takes office — is to fire her." Ron looked at Umbridge, who was in a trance, with a look of disgust, folded the newspaper, and said to Harry.

"Fudge isn't necessarily going to step down." Harry said calmly. "Even if he does, there are still many candidates. Even if it really falls on my father... he may not be willing, and my mother will definitely be the first to object. At this time — speaking of centaurs, will Firenze still stay and teach Divination?"

His topic changed abruptly, but everyone could see that he didn't want to continue the topic of the candidate for Minister of Magic. Taurus then smiled along with him, "It's as if you still plan to take Divination as an elective in your sixth year. Isn't that subject just rubbish?"

"How can you say that?" Hermione asked. "Didn't we just discover that there are real prophecies?"

There was a moment of silence. I'm sure Harry and Neville exchanged a glance. Since they went to Dumbledore's office that day, both of them have been more silent than usual — Neville was never very talkative in the first place, and Harry's change was particularly obvious.

"But it shattered." Ron said carelessly. "No one knows what it was about, and anyway, the Dark Lord won't know either."

"Yeah." Harry echoed absently. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he quickly averted his gaze.

"I want to go for a walk." After a moment of silence, Luna said happily. "It just so happens that I can't find a coat of mine. Now that they've removed those Educational Decrees, there's finally room on the notice board to post a lost-and-found notice!"

"I'll go with you." Neville stood up. "Uh, I also have something... I want to look for."

In fact, he didn't need to make up these excuses, nor did he need to pretend that nothing had happened. As Neville said later, at that time, he both longed for someone to be with him and felt that it might be more suitable for him to sort out his emotions alone. The overly tacit agreement among us not to mention it actively or express our grief specifically actually made him feel a bit uncomfortable. On the contrary, Luna, who said whatever came to her mind, made him feel relaxed. Her magical, illogical, and dazed words gave him a great deal of comfort. She made him believe that his father was just living in the world in a different way, because he could hear the voices of his father and grandmother whispering on the other side of the veil.

"I also want to go to Hagrid's place. He's been worried about you. Madam Pomfrey thought it would be too crowded if he came here... I'll go and tell him that you're all recovering well." Harry also stood up.

"I'll go too." Taurus stood up cheerfully.

"Give our regards to the little ones at his place!" Hermione waved at them with one hand on her ribs. "Tell Hagrid that we'll visit him when we're all better!"

Harry didn't look back. He waved his hand to show that he heard. I tried to use a comb to tidy up Hermione's messy curly hair since she couldn't raise her hand. She took the few Chocolate Frogs that Ron threw to us. The Weasley twins have been sending him snacks by owl these days, and now his bedside is piled high with all kinds of colorful packaging bags.

"Everything is going to change again, isn't it?" Hermione shook her head as she looked at Harry and Neville's backs. "The two of them are hiding something from us."

"What is there that remains the same forever?" I said softly. "I'm almost used to it."