[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-240":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358213,4612,"Chapter 240: The Painting","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-240",240,"\u003Cp>Harry woke up abruptly, straightened his thoughts briefly, then hurried to the front of the carriage to knock on Dumbledore’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Harry, did you see it?” Dumbledore’s tone held a hint of anticipation. “Did Snape tell Voldemort about the Elder Wand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.” Harry nodded, realizing Dumbledore had deliberately let Voldemort learn this information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did he go searching for a more powerful wand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, he still trusts his old companion,” Harry gasped. “He plans to first duel you with that rowan wand, then strike unexpectedly with the laser wand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Typical of him—arrogant, proud, masking deep insecurity,” Dumbledore sighed. “Then it falls to me to face him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, he’s cunning,” Harry said. “He won’t act in Tranzerro until Snape confirms all Order members and the Doctors are present on Hogwarts’ battlefield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It doesn’t matter—I’ll handle him,” Dumbledore said. “He’s powerful; more wizards would only increase casualties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could the Doctors lie in wait nearby while Snape pretends they’ve already arrived?” Harry asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That won’t work,” Dumbledore said. “Voldemort is extremely cautious in such matters—he may not even trust Snape. He likely has other ways to verify.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think we need to consult the Doctors on how to appear both on the battlefield and in Tranzerro,” Harry said seriously. “Voldemort uses this trick for only one reason: he’s afraid. He fears all twelve Doctors ambushing him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since he’s afraid, we must make it happen,” Dumbledore nodded. “Come, let’s go see Barty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Barty saw Dumbledore and Harry together, he raised his eyebrows high, then locked the office door without a word and whispered a spell upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Dumbledore, since you’re here, this matter must be grave,” he said. “Tell me—what’s happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You need to reinforce Hogwarts,” Dumbledore said. “Voldemort won’t launch his attack until he confirms this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barty shrugged indifferently. “No problem—we can just take the TARDIS there after we finish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I helped build the TARDIS,” Dumbledore said sternly. “I must remind you: its spatial transit relies on Apparition. Anti-Apparition wards will repel the TARDIS too. You can move freely in Hogwarts because I registered it as a female student.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so?” Barty looked startled, then immediately frowned. “Let me think…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry himself could think of many solutions: find people of similar build to wear the Doctors’ clothes, have someone drink Polyjuice Potion, or simply pretend random wizards are Doctors—since Death Eaters likely don’t know the Doctors’ appearances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But all these methods had flaws. As Dumbledore said, Voldemort is exceptionally cautious in risky matters—he likely has many ways to verify the Doctors’ identities. Harry dared not gamble that Death Eaters wouldn’t recognize one of them, for failure would not only waste years of planning but also expose Snape, Voldemort’s trusted spy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve got it—Instant Soup,” Barty suddenly clapped his hands. “Give me that painting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What painting?” Harry blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Stasis Charm—you told me about it,” Barty said. “After the battle at Hogwarts ends, we use the TARDIS to return to just before the competition began, then hide inside the painting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s eyes slowly brightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You bring the painting in at the start of the competition, strictly controlling the timing,” Barty explained. “Then we emerge at the critical moment to join the battle. For example, if the competition starts at nine a.m., and you reach the final challenge around nine forty, we set our emergence for nine forty. Even if you can enter the last room earlier, you must wait until nine forty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Voldemort won’t know when you finish your task—he’ll surely lie in wait ahead of time,” Harry said. “Even if you appear suddenly, he can just flee.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So we need to lie in wait before Voldemort arrives,” Barty mused. “But when will Voldemort come?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He won’t come until he confirms you’re on the battlefield,” Harry analyzed. “But the Hogwarts battle can’t start until after the competition begins.” Dumbledore gave an encouraging nod. “If they attack Hogwarts before the competition, the event can be postponed and everyone can rush to aid Hogwarts. So their timing must be after the competition starts—or shortly after—when everyone’s attention is fixed on the event and Dumbledore can’t return in time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Voldemort receives word from the Hogwarts battlefield after nine a.m.,” Harry concluded. “You must emerge from the painting before nine and find your ambush positions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If Voldemort plans to lie in wait for you,” Dumbledore smiled, “he’ll walk right into our trap. We might even subdue him before you arrive, leave calmly, and you could still complete your project.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But we’ll need to arrange plenty of hiding spots in the final room of the third task—and place the painting there in advance,” Barty scratched his head. “Still, it’s solvable. After all, the Head Judge is one of us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prince Montbatten?” Dumbledore nodded. “He was once a member of the Department of Mysteries. It seems the Doctor Project reignited his fighting spirit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll give him the painting before the competition,” Barty said. “Now we need to run calculations and experiments—we must adapt to the feeling inside the painting and precisely time our emergence. It’s essential.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good, Harry, good,” Barty sighed in relief. “You don’t need to risk using the Time-Snap Array—but keep it as backup. If, and I mean if, Voldemort defeats all thirteen of us, you can still fulfill our last wish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thirteen? But there are only twelve Doctors,” Harry asked instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because I’ll be there too,” Dumbledore said calmly. “You can keep the Time-Snap Array as a memento—because with me, there won’t be any ‘if.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, one more thing—should we warn the students about when Hogwarts will be attacked?” Harry asked. “They could evacuate early—or we could just cancel classes ahead of time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dumbledore fell into deep thought, silent for a long while, then raised his head slowly. “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We can’t do that,” he said. “We mustn’t reveal what information we’ve uncovered—it might alert him and trigger the worst-case scenario.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even with the most basic, obvious reasoning,” Dumbledore said, “Voldemort knows we’re luring him to kill Harry, and that I’ll ambush him. But we shouldn’t know he’s preparing to attack Hogwarts. Even if we did—and misjudged his intent, thinking he only wanted to distract me—how would Voldemort interpret me then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?” Harry was confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In Voldemort’s mind, if Dumbledore evacuated the students, that Dumbledore must be inviting him to a final battle at Hogwarts—that’s the Dumbledore he believes would protect Harry,” Dumbledore said. “Because if we’re prepared, Harry has many ways to escape; what’s trapped is Hogwarts itself. That shifts both sides’ thinking to another direction—one that inevitably causes massive civilian casualties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if he arrives at an evacuated Hogwarts and doesn’t see me,” Dumbledore countered, “then he’ll realize I know more than he thinks I should—and we’re back to the worst-case scenario.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief thought, Harry agreed with Dumbledore’s analysis, but asked: “But won’t fighting at Hogwarts still cause civilian casualties?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the main battlefield isn’t Hogwarts, the Death Eaters won’t fight with full force,” Barty interjected. “The professors and the school’s own defensive magic should hold them off for at least four hours—we’ll have dealt with Voldemort by then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps we have another option,” Dumbledore said. “We could count which students want to watch the third task live… No, that won’t work. Students must come of their own accord—but that leads to truancy, and those afraid of battle are usually timid, rule-following—they won’t skip class.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps this is the first time you regret how late Hogwarts’ summer break is,” Harry offered, perhaps the only advice he’d ever give on vacation policy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then we must trust the professors,” Dumbledore sighed, clearly unwilling to change the current vacation length.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter,” Barty said. “We’ll appear on the front lines the moment the battle starts. The sooner we finish here, the safer Hogwarts becomes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then it seems we have no other choice,” Dumbledore admitted—he had no better plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once decided, Harry’s task was simple: he returned and immediately wrote to Sirius, who soon sent the painting along with all his experimental data on it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1333,"2026-06-21T04:54:29.094Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","54687582bab39e5fd36003e6de8064e58f1a7ecaa031eff6437c823dcf698415","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-241","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-239",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]