Chapter 263: Dancing Demons

On the day of Harry's birthday, as expected, Sirius arrived at Dunton early and brought him a birthday gift that was just right: an extra-large ice cream tower from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

"Thank you, Sirius, I have a very serious matter I want to talk to you about," Harry glanced at his watch; there was still some time before lunch, and he expected that making a decision wouldn't take too long.

"About the Order of the Phoenix?" Sirius looked around vigilantly. "But can it be said here?"

"Should be fine, let's go to the reception room," Harry took his godfather to that enclosed room, then closed the door.

Sirius waved his wand, then nodded at him.

"I'm looking for you because I think we need a, uh, leader," Harry said, weighing his words. "A leader who can lead both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters at the same time."

"What does this have to do with the future of the wizarding world?" Sirius looked a bit confused. "But talking about the plan to wipe out the Death Eaters, it could be played like this. Regulus fighting for power and profit, I think it's very feasible."

"For you, eliminating dissidents among the Death Eaters is a thing," Harry nodded, "at least it can be said to be a very feasible thing. However, we also need to pacify the people of the Order of the Phoenix, and then, perhaps one day, after we solve Lucius and Bellatrix, we can openly tell everyone that you are Regulus."

"But clearly, the people of the Order of the Phoenix are looking forward to you becoming that leader," Sirius relaxed a little. "Not only because of the wisdom and courage you have shown, but also because Deng Buliduo valued you highly before he died. Of course, it might also have a lot to do with the Ministry of Magic's unremitting propaganda."

"Propaganda?" Harry remembered those articles in the Daily Prophet.

"Right, now everyone knows you are a genius wizard who is in the limelight, and everyone is discussing that Harry Potter is the next Deng Buliduo," Sirius shrugged helplessly. "Perhaps, if you want to gain the right to speak in the Order of the Phoenix, it's a very easy thing."

"But it's hard for me to convince anyone among the Death Eaters, and I can't do it with Hofa's identity either," Harry said helplessly.

"Then let's do it this way. I'll handle the Death Eaters, and you handle the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius crossed his legs. "And do we need to distinguish who is who between us? That solves the problem."

"Sounds reasonable, but why do you look so relaxed?" Harry said amusingly.

"Of course, after all, my eldest brother is the number one Death Eater, and most of the lower-level Death Eaters are on my side," Sirius said with a smile. "Even if we were to vote for a new Dark Lord, I have an eighty percent chance of winning."

"Sounds optimistic, if it can be done," Harry said. "We can integrate the power of the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix, while supervising whether the Ministry of Magic is running fairly and honestly, while exploring and developing magical technology."

"Then it's settled," Sirius slapped his thigh and stood up. "Today is your happy day, don't take these things too much to heart."

Harry shrugged with a smile, then opened the door and walked out.

When he arrived at the front hall, he found that some guests were arriving one after another. The Weasley family was happily talking to Donald, and Luo En looked very interested as he listened.

"Hi, Harry," a voice greeted him. Harry turned his head to look; it was Cui Ge.

"Cui Ge, how have you been lately?" Harry talked to him with a smile, but Cui Ge's complexion suddenly became a bit strained.

"To be honest, I'm fine, but Luna looks a bit unwell," he said. "Still about the Guardian thing, I think she's under too much pressure."

"Should be a bit better now," Harry said. "After all, the threat of the Death Eaters no longer exists. Even if the Guardian system still needs to be retained, who does she need to guard?"

"Of course, guarding Hogwarts," Cui Ge said without thinking, but then he was stunned for a moment. "Right, Hogwarts is no longer under threat either, she doesn't need to be so anxious."

"Thank you, Harry, I'll go and enlighten her," he finished this sentence and ran upstairs with a thud.

Just after saying these two sentences, a girl with short blonde hair wearing a small suit suddenly broke in from the main entrance.

"Hi, Harry, this is Kate Stewart," Donna followed behind. "She is my dance partner."

"Hello, Harry," Kate performed like a capable Auror. "I heard that the Torchwood you lead is launching a movement to defend human rights and oppose discrimination. I think this is very meaningful, and I have decided to support you."

"So she will dance the male steps as my dance partner," Donna said. "Not bad, right?"

"Not... bad," Harry squeezed out these few words. He suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

"Hello," Krum, who entered from the hall, nodded at them. He was holding the hand of a boy, and that boy was wearing very exaggerated eyeshadow.

"To express my support for you," Krum said. "Vasil and I are attending this dance party."

"Hello, I am Vasil Boyanov," the boy said in a gentle tone. "You can call me by my stage name, Azis."

"Are you two a couple too?" Harry swallowed.

"Yes," Krum said proudly.

"But I never knew you liked boys," Harry blinked, then pointed at the two of them. "Is it for real, or on purpose?"

"It's on purpose," Azis admitted. "We feel that only in this way will people know what a great cause we are engaged in."

"We are organizing a student movement at Durmstrang to oppose Dark Magic, and perhaps if there is a chance, we will drive Rodolphus out of office," Krum said seriously. "Hogwarts has set a very good example, and we will start by teaching everyone to respect minority groups."

"Thank you, I wish you success. You can tell me if there is anything," Harry shook hands with Krum, then looked at them walking into the inner room with complicated feelings.

When he cast his eyes to the front door, he saw Alina as expected, and judging from the white suit she was wearing, he should call her Kevin at this moment.

"Oh, you brought a..." Harry looked at the person she was holding who was wearing a skirt and long stockings, and suddenly became alert, not saying the words "female partner". "Who are you?"

"Hello, I am Astolfo," the person said in a soft, neutral tone. "I am Kevin's dance partner."

"Great, you guys go and rest first," Harry took a deep breath. This Astolfo had a high probability of being a boy in women's clothing. He decided it was better not to ask.

"Have all the guests arrived?" Ivy walked down wearing a retro male-style robe. "How does it feel?"

"Look, I almost can't say," Harry complained in a low voice. "We shouldn't have set this precedent. Now the streets are full of demons and monsters."

"Just look at that pair of man and woman at the door. You look at them and it seems like a pair of man and woman, but you must not assume their gender, especially when you have to calculate their psychological gender," he said. "It's hard to describe this feeling, but there are at least sixteen or seventeen permutations and combinations—I can only say, one wearing pants and one wearing a skirt have come."

Before the two walked over, Harry stopped this slightly offensive speculation in time.

"Ah, so," Harry greeted the two. "Welcome, hello."

"Hello, I am the male student council president of the Mahoutokoro School, Shirogane Miyuki," the boy bowed to Harry.

"I am the female student council president, Kaguya Shinomiya," by comparison, the girl's accent was much more standard.

"So, are you that kind of normal couple, man is man, woman is woman?" Harry said pleasantly surprised. "Right, Mahoutokoro hasn't started that set yet."

"We are not a couple," the two said in unison, denying it in a very stiff tone.

"But what set are you talking about?" Shirogane Miyuki said. "We are very happy to learn some advanced experience."

"I think you'd better not learn it; these are just expedient measures," Harry wiped his sweat. "Please follow the waiter upstairs. If you need two different guest rooms, you can tell the butler."

"I'll take you up," Ivy said. "I hope we can strengthen contact and cooperate more in the future."

When Harry turned his head, he saw a boy wearing a formal robe, and subconsciously said: "Hello, may I ask... oh, Luo En."

"You're busy enough," Luo En said. Harry heard his tone didn't seem very happy.

"What's wrong, Luo En? You look a bit listless."

"Deathly Hallows, right?" he said. "I've been thinking these days why Deng Buliduo left The Tales of Beedle the Bard to me, until I remembered you have an Invisibility Cloak, and its quality is a bit too good."

"You mean?" Harry looked at him cautiously, seeing if Luo En would say the next sentence.

"I think you knew it long ago. When I went to return the book, Professor Binns told me you were very interested in Babbitty Rabbitty—but actually he told you everything," Luo En asked discontentedly. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought I could help you."

"Uh..." Harry hesitated. He chose not to talk about the Deathly Hallows because the holder of the Invisibility Cloak should do so. To be honest, Luo En's question couldn't stand up in theory, but Harry understood that he was a bit unhappy emotionally.

"In fact, it was Deng Buliduo who didn't let me tell you, because the actual effect of the Elder Wand is much worse than we thought," Harry started spinning a half-true, half-false lie again. "And he left The Tales of Beedle the Bard to you, perhaps that's what he meant. He thought the time was about right, and I should tell you these things. In fact, Grindelwald was the previous holder of the Elder Wand, but he was defeated by Deng Buliduo."

"So that's how it is?" Luo En's tone became much lighter. "Alright, I almost thought you were planning to drop out of school to search for the Deathly Hallows."

"How could that be possible," Harry also laughed. "I'm still waiting to see you become the greatest Keeper." ===== CHAPTER 264 =====