Chapter 256

The Christmas holiday wasn't long, and they had originally agreed to go skiing together.

But because of Mr. Weasley's accident, neither John nor Hermione were in the mood to travel far.

They were afraid that as soon as they left, the Death Eaters would show up.

So they just returned to their respective homes, and during the holiday, they talked on the phone every day and occasionally went out together.

And they agreed to go live with the main group at the Order of the Phoenix two days before school started, leave for school together, and synchronize their intelligence along the way.

Tomorrow was the day to go to the Order of the Phoenix.

John had run over to Titus's house to hang out.

"How is it? Cool, right?"

John was wearing the cloak Hermione had given him, showing off in front of Titus.

"No way, where did you buy such a cool cloak?"

Titus looked at the black and blue cloak, especially the flowing light strip on the back, and asked with glowing eyes.

"Hermione made it specifically for me."

John stood with his hands on his hips, head held high, showing off proudly.

"... Ah..."

Hearing this, Titus's smile froze instantly.

This meant that even if he wanted to buy one, he couldn't.

Although he could find someone to custom-make the same style—that was easy in the wizarding world.

But this was made specifically for John by a senior, which held a different meaning.

If he were to be so tactless as to get a copy made, wouldn't he just be asking for trouble?

So he was destined to just watch with envy.

But seeing John's smug look, he got angry.

"Hmph, I'll write to Ryan and Ethan in a bit; the three of us will also make a different cloak, and then we'll wear them together and ruthlessly isolate you!"

Titus said fiercely to John.

John raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying nonchalantly.

"Then do you think, when the four of us stand together, and only my cloak is different from yours..."

"Who do you think everyone will consider the protagonist?"

Titus's mouth twitched upon hearing this; it seemed to make some sense.

But looking at the cloak, he felt envious again.

Who wouldn't want to walk into Hogwarts wearing something this cool?

Especially on a windy day, when the hem of the cloak fluttered, the feeling of black and blue interlacing.

Come on, it's super cool, alright?

"I don't care, you just can't stand to see us doing well."

"Nonsense, I don't care at all, alright? No matter how cool your cloaks are, they can't compare to the fact that my cloak was made by Hermione herself."

"Tsk, what's so great about that? Isn't it all just sewn from fabric?"

"It is great!"

The two held their own opinions, neither willing to yield, and they were almost at each other's throats.

If Mrs. Claude hadn't walked in with a plate of fruit, the two of them might have started fighting over the cloak.

Mrs. Claude set the plate on the table and said to the two of them.

"Come and eat some fruit; don't act like little boys."

"Oh..."

The two stopped bickering and obediently sat down at the table.

Mrs. Claude actually didn't leave immediately for once; instead, she sat down with them, watching the two children eat fruit, and smiled slightly.

But she immediately looked at John again, and after some hesitation, she spoke slowly.

"Little John, things outside have been getting unstable lately; you must make sure your family stays safe..."

"Hmm?"

Hearing these sudden words, John paused slightly.

Mrs. Claude spoke slowly with a hint of worry.

"You all know about Mr. Weasley's attack, but actually, he's not the only one who has encountered danger recently."

"Although it's not like the attack on Mr. Weasley, there have been successive 'accidental' resignations of staff at the Ministry of Magic, followed by the arrival of new faces with vague resumes."

"I had a colleague I was on good terms with who suddenly resigned a while ago after handling a magical accident; they disappeared without even leaving a letter."

"Afterward, a strange new colleague replaced them, silent and reticent every day, cold-faced toward everyone, only changing when they encountered staff with certain surnames..."

"Certain surnames?" John put down his apple and asked with a frown: "For example?"

Mrs. Claude lowered her eyes, her voice dropping lower: "They are all surnames of pure-blood families, like Malfoy, Rosier, Carrow..."

"To be honest, there have been significantly more people from pure-blood families in the Ministry of Magic lately; although they are all in entry-level positions, they are being promoted very quickly."

"Some people are even promoted in less than a month."

It was already very clear at this point.

It was that those pure-blood families were slowly infiltrating the Ministry of Magic.

But they weren't starting from the top; they were quietly replacing people in entry-level positions.

Mrs. Claude was just an ordinary staff member in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and even her ordinary colleagues could be replaced; one could imagine this was an all-encompassing infiltration.

Bribing the higher-ups, delegating to entry-level positions, allowing pure-blood family members to be inserted, and then using various excuses to accelerate their promotions, slowly devouring the entire middle-level structure of the Ministry of Magic.

In the end, it would only result in the higher-ups being corrupt, the middle-level being rotten, and the entry-level being silenced.

Clearly, most people in the Order of the Phoenix had their eyes on the middle and upper levels, and no one had noticed the subtle changes at the entry level like Mrs. Claude had.

"Those Death Eaters don't know what methods they used to cause those original staff members to resign accidentally."

"But I don't think it was any peaceful method."

"So John, if your parents are still living in the Muggle world, you need to be even more careful."

"The existence of Death Eaters is a natural disaster for ordinary people."

"If your parents encounter any danger, you can have them come over to our place for refuge at any time."

Mrs. Claude said with great worry and concern.

The reason she told John all this wasn't for anything else.

It was just out of worry that John's family would be targeted by Death Eaters.

Because Titus had mentioned Ryan to her, and as a mother herself, she naturally understood Ryan's mother's actions.

At the same time, she also realized that John was indeed a special existence.

He was very likely to become a thorn in the side of the Death Eaters, a target to make an example of.

But they didn't choose to have their son stay away from John like Ryan's mother did; instead, they chose to help John and protect his family.

"... Thank you, Aunt."

After hearing Mrs. Claude's words, John was slightly stunned, then said sincerely with gratitude.

"I have also prepared protective measures for my family, so you don't need to worry too much."

Hearing John's words, a look of relief appeared at the corners of Mrs. Claude's mouth, and she nodded.

She didn't say anything more.

But because of Mrs. Claude's words, John remembered something and couldn't help but ask again.

"But Aunt, regarding what you mentioned about pure-bloods just now, I've actually always had a question I wanted to ask..."

"The Claude family should also be considered a pure-blood line; Titus even bragged to me that the Claudes are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

"Although I checked and there's no such surname at all..."

"But that's not the point; the point is, as pure-bloods standing on the side of the Order of the Phoenix, haven't the Death Eaters caused you any trouble?"

Hearing this question, Titus also looked at his mother with some worry, although he had never heard his family mention these things, it didn't mean they didn't exist.

However, Mrs. Claude's smile didn't fade; she shook her head and said lightly.

"No."

Hearing this answer, not only was John surprised, but Titus was also very surprised.

Seeming to see the two's confusion, Mrs. Claude spoke again.

"I actually asked my husband this question, but he just smiled and said that the Claudes are a pure-blood family that was removed from the list long ago..."