Dumbledore picked up a Lemon Sherbet from a pile, unwrapped the paper, and popped it into his mouth.
The sweetness of the candy dissolved on the tip of his tongue, but it failed to dispel even a fraction of the heaviness in his heart.
The speed at which the children were growing had exceeded his expectations.
Especially Hermione and Lia.
Harry's progress was also significant, but in terms of temperament, he was still at the same level as Draco.
Even Ron was a bit stronger than them.
They had not followed the track he had laid out, nor had they followed step-by-step behind Harry, waiting for the final battle to arrive.
This was no longer a student adventure; this was war.
It was a truly cold and efficient means of warfare.
His original plan was to use Severus Snape to pave the final path for Harry with his own death at the appropriate time.
But now, the foundation of the plan was shaken.
The two crushing defeats of the Death Eaters would inevitably provoke an even more frantic counterattack from Lord Voldemort.
The final battle at Hogwarts was going to happen early.
Dumbledore stood up, walked to the fireplace in the office, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and threw it into the flames.
The green Incendio flared up.
He poked his head into the flames, his voice ringing clearly in the dark room on the other end.
"Severus, come to my office for a moment."
A moment later, Severus Snape, dressed in black robes and carrying the chilly air of the Dungeon, stepped out of the fireplace.
He was expressionless, but the vigilance in his eyes was obvious.
"Principal."
"Sit down, Severus." Dumbledore returned to his desk. "I think our plan needs some minor adjustments."
Snape's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.
"The locket has been destroyed." Dumbledore stated the fact calmly. "Miss Granger and her... friend, did it."
A complex light flashed in Snape's dark eyes.
He naturally knew that after the bathroom incident, that girl named Lia had publicly exposed his identity as the "half-blood prince."
"Lord Voldemort will speed up." Snape's voice was hoarse and dry. "He will make Draco Malfoy repair the vanishing cabinet at any cost."
"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "The time for the final battle may be in the next few days. I need you to be prepared."
"I have always been prepared."
"No, Severus, I mean," Dumbledore's gaze became sharp, "if things get out of control, if Lord Voldemort comes in person... I need you to protect the students, at all costs."
Snape fell silent.
This was different from their original agreement. In the original agreement, his task was only one: to kill Dumbledore.
Now, Dumbledore had given him a second, and even more arduous, task.
"I understand." After a long time, Snape uttered those words, turned back to the fireplace, and disappeared into the green flames.
Silence returned to the office.
Dumbledore looked out the window; the sky had turned gloomy at some point, with heavy clouds pressing down on the spires of Hogwarts, as if a storm were imminent.
At the same time.
Gryffindor Common Room.
Hermione closed the ancient rune book in her hands, which recorded various long-lost trigger-based curse arrays.
She didn't need to wait for Dumbledore's instructions.
In fact, from the very beginning, she had no intention of pinning her hopes on anyone else.
The vanishing cabinet was Draco's task and the passage for the Death Eaters to invade Hogwarts.
In the eyes of Dumbledore and Snape, this was a conspiracy that needed to be stopped.
But in Hermione's eyes, this was an opportunity.
An excellent trap to catch all the enemies in one fell swoop.
Lia curled up on the rug by her legs, the tip of her tail swishing gently.
She looked up at Hermione.
"Hermione, you're thinking of something bad."
"No, Lia." Hermione leaned down and stroked her soft ears, a cold arc curling at the corner of her mouth. "I'm just thinking, since they want to visit Hogwarts so badly, as the hosts, we should prepare a sufficiently 'warm' welcome gift."
"Gift?" Lia's eyes lit up. "Are you going to whip them with a small whip too?"
"Better than that." Hermione stood up. "Come, let's go prepare the gift."
Room of Requirement.
Hermione and Lia came to this secret room once again.
This time, what Hermione had in mind was no longer a simple training ground.
She needed a... slaughterhouse.
The room changed according to her will.
In the center, the tall black vanishing cabinet stood quietly; at the other end was a closed space with walls made of an unknown metal.
This was the "party venue" Hermione had prepared for the Death Eaters.
Hermione didn't touch the vanishing cabinet. She knew Borgin was frantically repairing it under Draco's intimidation and her financial support.
What she needed to do was set up the exit on the other end.
From her beaded bracelet, she took out one Dark Arts item after another that she had "borrowed" from Malfoy Manor.
The silver hourglass that wailed when flipped.
The magic book bound in human skin that locked away mad knowledge.
And various trinkets containing vicious curses.
"Lia." Hermione's voice echoed in the empty room. "I need your help."
She spread out a large parchment, which was already covered with complex Ancient Runes magic arrays drawn in dragon blood ink.
"This array is a composite rune array for 'space blockade and energy amplification.'
I need you to inject your magic into these key nodes." Hermione pointed to several points on the diagram. "Your magic is very special and can serve as the 'lock core' of the array.
When the Death Eaters arrive here through the vanishing cabinet, the array will activate instantly, completely sealing off this space."
Lia nodded, half-understanding.
"And then?"
"Then," Hermione's eyes flashed with a hint of excitement, "these things will be the 'fireworks' for them."
She pointed to those Dark Arts items.
"I will use them as energy sources and connect them to the array. Once the array is activated, all the curses they contain will be instantly guided, amplified, and then... detonated."
It would be a death storm composed of pure Dark Arts with no blind spots.
Anyone entering this room would be torn to pieces in an instant.
This was a killing trap with absolutely no possibility of survival.
"Understood." Lia stood up and walked to the center of the array.
She extended her fingertips, and a ghostly green light lit up, injecting into every node Hermione had specified.
The two were busy in the Room of Requirement all afternoon.
When the last rune was activated, dense blood-red patterns lit up on the walls of the entire metal room, then slowly faded, returning to their original state.
The trap was ready.
At that moment, Draco Malfoy was also in another "version" of the Room of Requirement, performing final tests.
He was pale, his lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes were bloodshot; his whole being was like a string tightened to its limit.
He grabbed a bird from a cage and tremblingly put it into the vanishing cabinet.
He closed the door and chanted the spell.
A slight vibration came from the cabinet.
A few seconds later, he opened the cabinet door on the other end.
The bird stood inside, unharmed, tilting its head and chirping clearly.
Success.
Draco's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
He looked at the cabinet, his eyes filled with fear, but also a hint of relief.
He had finally... completed the task.
At the same instant.
In the metal room, Lia, who was napping against Hermione's legs, suddenly moved her ears.
She opened her eyes, and the outline of the vanishing cabinet was reflected in her sky-blue pupils.
"Hermione," her voice was very soft, "he succeeded."
Hermione nodded and stroked Lia's hair, her expression terrifyingly calm.
Outside the Castle, the sky grew even darker; the first bolt of lightning pierced the sky, followed by the rolling sound of dull thunder.
In the Headmasters Office, Dumbledore looked up at the dark mass of clouds outside the window.
He felt the ancient protective magic surrounding Hogwarts being gently and tentatively touched by an external force.
"Fawkes," he said softly to the Phoenix on his shoulder, "it seems the party is about to begin."
In the Room of Requirement, Hermione stood up and stood side-by-side with Lia in front of the vanishing cabinet.
The intricate patterns carved on the cabinet door seemed to squirm in the darkness.
Lia's tail straightened behind her, and deep within her pupils, a ring of ghostly green light rotated slowly.
"They are coming."
[My god, it's so cold...]
[I hope you all have cats to warm your hands!]
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