the lost castle

"Hermione, no, there is a question I really want to confirm with you." Ron shivered and held the collar of his thin coat with his fingers to resist the cold wind that kept pouring in at night: "You mean, how far away is Huo?" Fifteen years until Gvodz was founded?"

"No!" Hermione's sharp voice even overshadowed the wind whizzing through the woods, "It was 15 years before Hogwarts first recruited students. There is no specific record in school history, but it is mentioned that at that time Some of the Muggle things I've figured out are around 990, maybe a little earlier. But none of us know the exact date that the castle was built, but I don't think the gap is more than five years old, and given that There's no way a teenage wizard could do that, even in the Middle Ages, so—"

As she spoke, her eyes were shining, a look of excitement or panic, and she said word by word: "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and of course Slytherin, the school The four founders lived in this era, England under the same sky as us!"

"..."

There was silence for a while, only the sound of the cold wind making everyone shiver.

"But, Hermione, how do you explain this?"

Ron pointed to the castle in the night with difficulty. It was the same as what they had seen before, even the same as when they left, standing there quietly.That's right, after reaching the terrifying conclusion, after an urgent discussion with the Order of the Phoenix, which Ron couldn't understand at all, he immediately returned to the castle—before the Death Eaters took this step.

"Sooner or later, you have to come back." Professor McGonagall said at the time, "This is not the world we are familiar with, it is full of dangers, of course, for the Death Eaters, they can't find the way back, and the time is out of order It's the trickiest and most terrifying place in the wizarding world. We'll have nowhere else to go but Hogwarts."

"Harry, don't worry, we will be able to go back."

Molly's words must have given Harry and the others no confidence.

They were desperately thinking about what happened in the final battle, and how such absurd and weird things happened.You know, this is not an ordinary magical accident, at least in the accidental injury of space-time magic disorder recorded by St. Mungo, no one came back intact.

Now, almost all of the Weasleys were here, and Harry's most important friends and relatives were with him at this time, and those who were not were lost forever.But Hermione still has her parents in the Muggle world, and Luna, even McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, maybe they can no longer find relatives, but they never thought that one day they would leave Professor Hogwarts Position.

The castle in the night sleeps in silence.

"If Hogwarts is here, then—"

Everyone's face changed instantly.

Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the UK, and it's more than just a castle.

Britain can have no white wizard, no dark lord, or even a savior. It is still a magical world. Even if there is a war, countless people will die, but it cannot live without Hogwarts. Without schools, wizards have no hope.

Do you want your children to go to school in other countries?

"No, even if we can't go back, we can't let Hogwarts stay here."

Harry never thought that one day he would stand outside the castle and dare not go in. Since the age of 11, Hogwarts has been his home, which is more important than home, and the holidays every year are his most painful days.

"We must hurry before Voldemort realizes that time is out of order and thinks that returning is the only way..."

"I think it's quite easy." Hagrid looked at the castle gate that was opened exactly as they left, "We are far more familiar with the castle than they are, as long as we can go in first, we can't stop them. Those stairs and secret passages can also give them a good look!"

"Hogwarts, there are too many secrets."

Professor McGonagall looked at the silent castle from a distance, and remembered Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, talking with a smile and blinking while eating a pile of cockroaches.

"Many things have disappeared into the text, they are sleeping in this castle, maybe a brick, maybe a painting, if they don't say it, you will never know."

She has lived in this castle for more than half a century, and Professor Flitwick is even longer, and he is so familiar with it that he can tell which kind of ancient runes the magic formations of the seemingly gorgeous and complicated patterns on the castle gate are, but No one can change it or make full use of its power.

She is not the principal.

Dumbledore was dead, and Snape... was dead.

They lost the most important and most reliable strength.

"The thing I want to go the most is actually the kitchen. The old wizard is so stingy with the food. I really want to have a cup of hot pumpkin juice, or orange juice..."

Ron's words were obviously approved by everyone, and even George smiled.

"Ah, the kitchen, that's our place..."

He paused for a moment, then sighed softly, and said the words that no one would answer: "I am more familiar than all places!"

"Speaking of which, the castle is here, where are the house-elves?" Ron dared not forget that Hermione once tossed himself a whole semester for a so-called House-Elf Promotion Association.

Not only the house-elves, but even the ghosts and portraits, they were trapped in the castle for three days without seeing them.

"Looks like the Death Eaters really haven't come back."

After entering the gate, everything was still the same as when they left. The steps and stairs were full of broken sawdust, and there were occasional statues that fell on the ground. The four long college tables that were once familiar to everyone in the hall were long gone. Even the seat where the professor was sitting has disappeared, leaving only half a row of broken and incomplete chairs. The only complete one may be the headmaster's seat. On the dim patterns and delicate armrests, there are some remains of picture frames scattered on the wall. .

The long table of the college that was once full of tableware was gone, as if this was not the school they were familiar with.

"What's on the ground?"

Ginny's eyes were sharp, and she ran over as soon as a reflected light jumped into her eyeballs.

"It's Neville's memory crystal ball!"

"About that time, it accidentally rolled out of the clothes... By the way, Neville!"

Very good, Ron.Weasley, don't you just remember the unlucky Longbottom from before to now?

"If it was just taken away by an unknown wizard, we might find a way to find Neville, but now—" Middle Ages, Merlin, where are they going to find him?Without the Daily Prophet, without the Ministry of Magic, and even Floo powder hadn't been invented yet, finding a wizard who only knew his name and appearance was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

"We can't leave Neville alone, and we can't leave him alone in such a dangerous age."

"Hermione, you are right, but we may not be able to find a way to go back by ourselves."

"Because we shouldn't exist in this time at all, all of us are imprisoned... If it wasn't for that wizard, maybe we would starve to death here." Professor Flitwick waved his arms particularly excitedly, "The wizard called Neville by name before taking him away. The magic of names, when you are confirmed to exist at this time, time will let go of the confinement, and then we escaped the confinement in the same way, it's amazing , I have always wanted to study this proposition..."

"Neville called us by name?" Harry whispered.

"Otherwise, who do you think would have known who we were in the Middle Ages?"

"Then don't call them Voldemort!" Ron continued.

"I don't think he knows either, maybe it's just unintentional." Hermione was still looking around, as if trying to find something in the ruined hall.

"Wait, is it the same with house-elves?"

"Who knows the name of the house-elf, Harry, what's the name of the troublemaker?"

"More than?"

There was no movement, no sound, the hall was dead silent.

"What about the ghost?"

"Ghosts are impossible, they are already dead." Luna still said in a sleepwalking voice.

"There are still portraits!"

Professor McGonagall suddenly stared: "Everyone, hurry to the principal's office on the eighth floor!"

"Professor McGonagall?"

"All the headmasters have a contract with Hogwarts, they will never leave this castle! Harry, maybe we can meet Headmaster Dumbledore!"