Chapter 259

Bonus chapter!

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Having said goodbye to my relatives, I applied the whole spectrum of masking charms on myself and went invisible to the common room.

As soon as the portrait of the Fat Lady opened up, a hubbub of voices fell upon me, actively discussing what had happened. Walking down the narrow corridor from the portrait to the common room, I found senior students at almost every corner. Contrary to expectations, there was no fun, but they were clearly preparing. Therefore, butterbeer with various snacks was everywhere. Hermione was sitting on the already familiar couch. Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati were at the table nearby. Quietly making my way to the couch, I planned to whisper quietly that I was here so I could sit down next to Hermione without panic or noise. But she seemed to have cast a signal spell around herself, for she immediately looked at where I was. The girl silently patted the couch beside me. Following her invitation, I sat down, removing my charms. Our company saw me but acted as if nothing had happened.

"Hermione said that you will probably show up as quietly as possible," Seamus shrugged at the unspoken question, and Hermione just leaned against my side, resting her head comfortably on my shoulder. Having embraced the girl, I seem to have felt the peace of the familiar and pleasant atmosphere.

"I had time to be horrified, calm down, be horrified again, calm down and be horrified again. And then calm down again," Hermione said quietly. "Everything happened so fast, I still can't figure out what state of mind I'm in. I've been convinced that you're fine, and I'll obviously be superfluous there. In the hospital wing. Will you tell me what happened?"

"Or at least give us an explanation for this movie," Dean added to the question, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him drop a card from his hand onto the table. I wonder what they are playing?

"It was a set-up. Someone enchanted the goblet as a portkey. And they enchanted it terribly. Surely, so that the winner arrived in a disgusting state and could not resist."

"But you could? Was that Avada?" Lavender asked anxiously.

"I barely made it. It's just that I train and do all kinds of physical training from an early age, and magic - from the first year, except that I interrupt for sleep and food ..."

For about ten minutes, I talked about what I thought happened in the cemetery. Of course, I stuck to the legend of unconsciousness, so I did not tell most of Voldemort's monologue. But I supported the very idea that Voldemort was reborn, even if this was not proven.

"How can anyone be reborn at all?" quietly resented Seamus. "He's dead. That's it. The end."

"I know at least one way to stay in this world after death," I answered just as quietly. "And where there is one, there are two. And more. I also know at least two ways to create a body if there is a soul available. Three. Four already, just need to calculate. Add imagination, Seamus - magic can do anything if you have enough strength and skill to calculate."

"Ohh," Lavender covered her face. "What will happen now? What will the Ministry say? Won't they do anything about it?"

"Absolutely nothing," I answered. "Fudge in front of me refused to even consider the fact that the Dark Lord has been resurrected. And I can understand him - this is the collapse of his career. He's not brave, he's not particularly smart, he's not talented. All he has is the illusion of power and bribes. He will cling to them as best he can. So the Ministry will pretend that everything is fine. Whoever needs it will believe in Voldemort's resurrection anyway, and they'll get ready."

"To what?" the question was clearly general.

"To the dark times..."

Hermione poked me lightly in the side with her fist.

"Too much pathos."

"I thought you'd be at least a little outraged."

"I am outraged, but what's the use of shaking the air? It's not your fault, and it's not even the ministry's fault. And blaming Voldemort for wanting to be reborn and go back to his usual, albeit terrible, deeds... Well, that's silly."

"Have you been drinking potions?"

"Yes."

Surprisingly, my appearance went unnoticed. Whether it was the magic of this quiet corner of the common room or just some kind of inattention, it didn't matter. The main thing was peace.

At about one o'clock in the morning, we went quietly to our rooms, and I fell asleep without any questions.