The Tiger Out of the Cage

Ivan had no intention of letting Grindelwald go. "Stay with me!" he shouted.

"You don't know that!" Grindelwald said, his lips curling into a sinister smile as he pointed his Elder Wand at Ivan.

Ivan instinctively waved his wand to create several magical barriers, but an ear-piercing explosion came from above him.

Shadows filled the square.

Ivan looked up in surprise, and then his pupils constricted as the already crumbling tower above him tilted and fell. Grindelwald's wild laughter was heard as countless heavy bricks and stones buried the two.

Winky, who was watching from a short distance away, seemed very anxious. When the tower collapsed, she rushed forward to try and dig Ivan out.

Before it could start, Ivan's voice came from behind him. "No need to dig, I'm here…"

Winky turned her head in surprise as a large white flame gathered and Ivan appeared out of it.

"Sir, what do we do now?" Winky asked in a high-pitched voice, as if she had just found her master.

Ivan did not reply. He looked at the ruins with a grave expression. Considering that Grindelwald might still be here, Ivan waved his wand and burned the rocks with a fierce fire.

The fire burned for an hour, and Ivan was unable to find Grindelwald anywhere in Newmengard.

"Could it be the Cloak of Invisibility?" Ivan asked, rubbing his chin as he recalled the message Harry had sent him earlier.

However, this discovery was undoubtedly bad news. Such a powerful wizard was wearing the Cloak of Invisibility, and his chances of finding him were almost nil.

"Come on, let's get back to Hogwarts!" Ivan said, looking around at the burned and empty grounds of Newmengard. He had no choice but to give up on his search for Grindelwald and return to the castle as soon as possible, in case his home was stolen, and he had too many questions that he desperately needed answers to.

… .

At the same time, most of the students were gathered in the Great Hall at Hogwarts for dinner.

Ron, who was sitting at the Gryffindor table, was feeling uneasy, as Harry had been missing for several hours, and he had sneaked into Snape's office to confirm this, but there was no one there.

Hermione could tell that Ron was hiding something from her, and the fact that neither Harry nor Ivan were in the Great Hall for dinner made her even more suspicious.

Under Hermione's repeated questioning, Ron gritted his teeth and, abandoning his promise to keep Harry's secret, told her exactly what had happened.

"How dare you?" Hermione demanded, glaring at Ron. "You let Harry… Harry do something so dangerous? What if Snape caught him?"

"I-I don't think so, do you?" Ron said sheepishly, but he was worried. He'd wanted to contact Ivan, but he wasn't even at Hogwarts, and there was no reply from him through the Mark.

Hermione slammed her right hand on the table and stood up.

"What are you going to do, Hermione?" Ron asked, startled by her outburst.

"I'm going to tell Professor McGonagall about this!" Hermione hissed.

"Wait… I'm coming with you!" Ron thought for a moment, then stood up as well, knowing that he would be scolded if he told the professor, but considering Harry's safety, he didn't care.

Just as they were about to move, Peeves flew in and shouted, "The Dark Lord… the Dark Lord is coming in. Professors, get ready. Everyone, run!"

Peeves's scream brought an eerie silence to the noisy Great Hall.

Then, as if the play button had been reactivated, the students screamed and tried to escape as fast as they could. Several students were knocked to the ground and had to crawl under the tables…

"Silence! Return to your seats!" Professor McGonagall came down from the teachers' table with a straight face and waved her wand to clear the food that had been knocked over. She then looked at the culprit and reprimanded them angrily.

"Peeves, what are you shouting about?"

Peeves's eyes rolled as he tried to make the situation sound tragic, but before he could speak, Harry stumbled into the hall, supporting Snape.

Professor McGonagall had a bad feeling when she saw the two of them covered in dirt. She hurried over and asked, "Oh my god, Severus, Potter, what happened to you?"

Flitwick and the others gathered around, demanding to know what was going on and whether, as Peeves claimed, the Dark Lord had broken in.

"Get out of the way… get out of the way, they need medical attention!" Madam Pomfrey forced her way in and gave Harry and Snape a preliminary examination.

Harry was in relatively good condition, and although he was suffering from a lot of abrasions, they were minor problems that could be dealt with with with a good night's sleep.

Snape, on the other hand, was in a worse state, his face ghastly pale and his entire right leg turning purple.

Madam Pomfrey immediately suggested that they move Snape to the hospital wing for further treatment.

"I've dealt with the snake venom, and it won't kill me any time soon. I have more important things to report!" Snape refused Madam Pomfrey's offer of help and looked around anxiously. "Where's Ivan Hals? Where's Hars? I need to see him!"

"Ivan doesn't seem to be at school, and we can't reach him for a while…" Hermione said helplessly as she and Ron pushed their way through the chaotic crowd.

Snape's expression turned sour.

"So what happened, Severus? Did you have to contact Halles?" Professor McGonagall asked, immediately realising the gravity of the situation.

"We have destroyed something very important to the Dark Lord, and he will most likely choose to attack Hogwarts…" Snape sighed, speaking very seriously.