Secret Death?

Dark wizards turning over a new leaf and trying to be good?

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in disbelief.

Ivan had no intention of explaining further. He couldn't very well say that the wicked Dark Wizards of Knockturn Alley had locked themselves up, and the remaining residents of Knockturn Alley had no choice but to be good people under the Regulation, could they?

It would be too frightening…and cause unnecessary misunderstanding.

However, Ivan had not expected that the Quibbler would choose to report on a riot in Knockturn Alley.

Although the news was mixed with a lot of groundless rumours, most people who read it took it as a joke.

However, Voldemort did not care. If he found out that the editor-in-chief was making up stories about him, he would be so angry that he would order the Death Eaters to capture the man or kill him.

Xenophilius was Luna's father, and Ivan could not leave him in danger.

Also, Ivan was only slightly selfish in suggesting that Luna's father hide in Knockturn Alley.

He couldn't just let Gleason start from scratch with the Ministry of Propaganda.

Xenophilius and his articles were unreliable, but he was a popular wizarding newspaper in Britain, so he might be useful.

Luna considered Ivan's suggestion for a while, then agreed to write a letter to Ivan.

Ginny wanted to say something, but decided against it. She had always felt that Ivan's claims were unreliable, but she didn't try to convince him otherwise.

"By the way, Harry, have you had any trouble lately? Or did Sirius and the others get wind that someone was planning to attack you?" Ivan asked, turning to Harry.

He had noticed something amiss at the Wizarding Station, as the other members of the Order of the Phoenix were there to protect Harry.

As Ivan searches his memory, he suddenly remembers that Harry was attacked by Dementors during the summer holidays and had to use the Puffs Guard.

Harry, however, shook his head and said, "No, I've had a good summer. Nobody's come after me. Sirius and the others insisted."

At this point, Harry looked awkward, as he did not like the feeling of being protected from everyone else, which made him think he was still in his first or second year.

In particular, when he suggested joining the Order of the Phoenix to fight the Death Eaters this summer, Mrs Weasley and the members of the Order of the Phoenix firmly refused him, citing his young age.

"So You-Know-Who didn't send anyone to attack you?" Ivan muttered, more or less surprised.

This was very different from the plot in his memory, and the more the plot changed, the more distorted the information he now had, possibly misleading him.

For example, he followed the plot last term and used it as a clue to investigate, only to find out that both Moody and Crouch Junior were just cover for Lord Voldemort to get his attention.

These precedents immediately put Ivan on his guard and he asked sternly, "If you're not in trouble, why are Sirius and the others guarding you so closely?"

"It was Professor Dumbledore's idea, and his last order was for Dad and the others to protect Harry," Ginny said before Harry could reply.

"Dumbledore's… last order?" asked Ivan, acutely aware that something was amiss.

Ginny nodded and quickly explained to Ivan that the family had moved to a safe house for the summer, and that members of the Order of the Phoenix often came to the meetings.

The exception was Professor Dumbledore, who was nowhere to be seen for two months, as all of his instructions were delivered via Snape.

If not for the occasional letter from Fawkes the phoenix, they would have suspected that Snape was behind Dumbledore's downfall.

Sirius almost got into a fight with Snape over this speculation.

Ivan frowned at this, his suspicion growing.

Lord Voldemort had only been revived two months ago, so it was reasonable to assume that Dumbledore would take some time out this summer to discuss strategies with the Order's core members.

Could it be… a secret?

The thought crossed Ivan's mind that perhaps Dumbledore was long dead, but in order to confuse Lord Voldemort and boost everyone's confidence, Snape was the only one who knew.

But if that were the case, Dumbledore would not have had the leisure to arrange such a trivial matter as a prefect.

Ivan was certain that Professor McGonagall would have given him the post of Prefect of Gryffindor if she had not been instructed by Dumbledore.

Or perhaps Dumbledore is still alive, but is too badly injured to be seen…

A thousand thoughts flashed through Ivan's mind, but his expression did not change.

Unfortunately, Harry and Ginny were both members of the outer circle and did not know enough to help him.

The four of them chatted for about an hour before Hermione and Ron arrived, having completed their patrol, and the cramped compartment became quite lively.

Hermione went on and on about this year's House prefects, with Malfoy becoming a Slytherin prefect, much to the displeasure of Harry Potter and the others.

Although this was not unexpected…

"Don't worry, now that Hermione and I are prefects, it won't be easy for Malfoy to come after us… I might be able to get something on Crabbe and Goyle, or find a reason to put them in detention," Ron said confidently.

"You shouldn't abuse your position, Ron!" Hermione said, glaring at him; she had never considered him a good choice for prefect.

The train chugged north, and by the time it was dark, Hogwarts Castle came into view.

Ivan changed into his uniform, grabbed his suitcase, and left the train, followed by Harry, Hermione, and Luna. They all boarded a carriage pulled by Thestrals and made their way along the path to the castle.