Malfoy gloating

Dumbledore's off-centre reply left Harry stunned, unable to understand why the subject had suddenly changed from the return of the Dark Lord to this evening's dinner.

"But…Professor…"

Harry tried to question her further, but was stopped after a few words.

Ivan shook his head at Harry to keep him quiet, then turned to Dumbledore and said, "Professor, if there's nothing else, we'll be heading back!"

"Go!" Dumbledore waved his hand wearily, and before they left, he added, "If you hear anything more of the sort, you'd better let me know!"

… .

"So, we're just going to go back?"

As they left the Headmaster's office, Harry turned to look at them and announced reluctantly that he still had many questions.

"What else? What do you think we're going to do?" Ivan asked, glancing at Harry.

Dumbledore's meaning could not have been clearer. Even if Voldemort had been planning something in secret, they, as fourth-year wizards, would not have been able to do anything to help him.

In the original timeline, Sirius would not have been killed if Harry had not snuck into the Department of Mysteries with his friends.

In fact, it was all thanks to Harry's main character aura that the young wizards and witches ended up being wiped out in the battle against the Death Eaters before the Order of the Phoenix could help them.

"Ivan's right, Harry! We've done everything we can. Professor Dumbledore will take care of the rest!" Hermione chimed in.

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it and realised there was nothing he could do.

While Ron comforted Harry, Ivan tried to think of a way to tell Dumbledore about the Hufflepuff Cup in Gringotts as naturally as possible.

It was the easiest Horcrux to deal with at the moment, but breaking into Gringotts on his own would be difficult, and using Bogock's Transfiguration would not be safe.

The four of them soon arrived at the Great Hall.

They had stayed in the Headmaster's office for a while, so they were obviously a little late. The long tables of the four academies were already packed with people eating. Ivan and the others did not dare to delay and hurriedly found an empty seat.

Ron was famished after a long day of lessons, and as soon as he sat down, he eagerly cut a large slice of cake and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it heartily. He then took a large gulp of lemon juice and burped in pleasure.

Ivan aimed his fork at the cream pastry on the table and began to enjoy his dinner.

As she ate, Ivan glanced in Hermione's direction, and saw her calmly picking up a slice of bread and spreading jam on it.

Ron noticed this and exclaimed, "Jesus, Hermione, you're eating! Didn't you say you'd rather starve than eat slave food?"

"Because I've figured out there are better ways to take a stand on elf rights." Hermione turned to give Ron a nasty look.

Ron pursed his lips, but was not foolish enough to continue provoking Hermione, and instead turned to look at Harry, who was clearly distracted.

"You're still thinking about You-Know-Who? Forget about them, Harry! Just think of it as a dream! No, it's a dream!" Ron cooed.

Harry didn't say anything, just nodded perfunctorily.

He wanted to put it out of his mind for a while, as Ron had suggested, but it turned out to be very difficult to do so, as his mind was filled with scenes from his dream that he could not forget.

There was a loud flapping noise outside the Great Hall, and Ivan turned to see a flock of owls flying in to deliver letters and items to the long tables of the four houses.

One of the owls was hovering over the Great Hall and flew towards them.

Harry's face lit up, thinking it must be a letter from Sirius!

During his visit to the Dursleys' home, he told Sirius about his sore scar, and was anxious to hear back from him.

Unfortunately, the owl landed on Ivan's shoulder when he looked at it expectantly.

"Who sent you the letter?" Harry couldn't resist asking.

"Well, it should be from my mother… Well, and the Daily Prophet that I ordered has arrived!" Ivan swallowed the steak in his mouth, grabbed the owl on his shoulder, and took the envelope and newspaper off its feet.

Ivan had no intention of opening the letter on the spot, as it might contain information that would be inconvenient for Harry and the others to find out, so he kept it for later that evening.

Ivan had no such qualms about the newspaper and flipped it open in front of them.

"This is?" Yvonne frowned at the Daily Prophet's cover.

It was a chaotic campsite, lit on all sides by fire, and a large number of people, wizards and Muggles alike, were fleeing in panic, rendering the whole scene terrifying.

"Isn't this the chaos that took place on the day of the World Cup? It's being filmed!" Hermione exclaimed, looking over.

Harry and Ron heard this and looked over curiously.

They both looked as if they had just eaten a fly, as the Daily Prophet, in addition to reporting on the chaotic scene at the time, specifically mentioned the Ministry's mistake and Sirius's near capture.

"Your father's in the papers, Weasley!" Malfoy, having had his fill of food and drink, arrived with his two henchmen, holding an identical Daily Prophet in his hand and wearing a gloating expression.

After taunting Ron, Malfoy turned his attention to Harry's body. "Oh, and you, Harry, your godfather nearly came into Azkaban again."

"How about I read it to you?" Malfoy, ignoring the looks Harry and Ron were giving him, cleared his throat and read it aloud.

"After the Quidditch World Cup, there was a mass riot in which rioters burned down tents and tortured Muggles for sport.

Sirius Black, a former Azkaban fugitive, was allegedly caught by the Ministry of Magic, according to unknown sources!"

"Yes, I think their suspicions are well-founded, and it's quite a coincidence that such chaos broke out so soon after Black's escape from prison!" Malfoy looked at Harry with amusement and scoffed.

(PS: Today is still one chapter…)