Chapter 339: Easter Break Plans

After learning the entire plan, the time before Easter felt especially long to Ron. But for Harry, life went on as usual—he continued attending classes, doing homework, practicing Occlumency weekly, and occasionally attending meetings.

Notably, Harry's progress in Occlumency had become increasingly obvious; Snape had given him several favorable evaluations after catching him with false memories. Still, in his view, the progress was still too slow—though there was still plenty of time before the official election, Snape wanted the Death Eaters to become acquainted with Saruman ahead of schedule.

The Order of the Phoenix's progress in locating Horcruxes had ground to a complete halt, even regressed: Emmeline believed the Lestrange family might have moved the Horcruxes, so she proposed revisiting all the places they had already searched.

When would these people realize that perhaps the Lestranges had simply trusted someone else and stored the items in a vault? It would likely take a very long time—until Snape was willing to offer a hint.

Time flowed on; at the beginning of March, Arnold fulfilled his promise, inviting a guest lecturer for a public class on a Friday afternoon—Johnny English.

"Oh, I thought there might be something new," Harry said, feeling a sense of familiarity but also disappointment at the winking Auror.

"It's normal," said Zhang Qiu, sitting beside him. "The first person he picks will always be the safest, most flawless, conventional choice."

Johnny English told the students the story of how he had secretly protected Harry during his third year and ultimately captured "Sirius." Some students unfamiliar with the truth found it amusing, but for Harry, who knew the truth, the story felt unconvincing—certain details conflicted with Snape's fabricated tale about Saruman. Harry had already thought of a countermeasure: he could tell the Death Eaters that Johnny had lied to impress the students. This strategy would likely never be needed, since the Death Eaters qualified to know about Saruman were clearly not the same ones who would hear this story.

After finishing his story, Johnny stayed another day and participated in the next day's Dumbledore's Army training session.

"Your training strategy is missing a crucial element," Johnny said, arms behind his back, speaking with the tone of a superior giving orders. "We rarely fight alone—you need to identify your partners and practice dueling techniques as a team."

"You're absolutely right," Clement respectfully noted the suggestion, since Johnny was still technically his superior.

The students politely gave him some face, then Johnny pulled Harry aside, preparing to speak with him privately.

"Harry, do you know?" he said mysteriously, "The Ministry is planning something big at the end of June. I'm in charge of setting up the venue and security."

End of June? Harry's mind flashed with many thoughts, and finally he realized this "big event" was likely the Dark Lord's election.

"Yes, your expression tells me you're not completely unaware," Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Almost all high-ranking Death Eaters will attend. My suggestion is… uh, I don't have a suggestion—I'm just inviting you to observe my work."

"What do you mean?" Harry didn't quite understand.

"I'm responsible for the venue's defenses and security—meaning, whether the Death Eaters choose to protect themselves or rely on the Auror Office to maintain order, the placement of sentries and the distribution of security forces are all my decisions." Johnny blinked hard, trying to make his implication clear. "If you ever aspire to become an outstanding Auror, I think this is an excellent internship opportunity. Will you come observe?"

"Thank you, but I don't think it's necessary," Harry replied, utterly uninterested—or rather, even if he were interested, he had no intention of learning from Johnny English.

"Tsk!" Johnny frowned. "I'm saying—do you think knowing this information might lead you to 'accidentally' blab to the Order, so they can ambush the event?"

"Never," Harry shook his head like a bobblehead. He was mad if he'd ever order the Order to attack the venue—was he trying to get "Saruman" caught red-handed?

"Well, that's a shame," Johnny sighed heavily. "Any other plans?"

"Yes, I do have other plans," Harry replied politely, but he had no intention of revealing anything.

For the second guest lecture, Arnold invited Mr. Newt Scamander. He enthusiastically recounted his youthful adventures and shared knowledge about magical creatures. For Hogwarts students, having the living author of their textbooks appear for a public class was a delightful event. But for Harry, who saw Arnold as an old fox and believed every move he made had hidden intent, something felt off.

If inviting Johnny was meant to show Harry an opportunity to trap all the Death Eaters at once (though that would also mean a bloody battle and many casualties), then why invite Newt? It was probably just a superfluous move.

On the last Friday before the Easter break, when the guest lecturer stepped onto the podium, all the students erupted in cheers—it was Hagrid.

"Thank you, children, thank you—it feels wonderful to be back…" Hagrid wore a glossy, well-oiled fur coat, looked as if he'd been thoroughly bathed, and beamed with joy.

"For some time now, I've been in Beauxbatons, seeking ways for the giant communities of continental Europe to integrate into the wizarding world…" Harry noticed Hagrid had grown more confident—he no longer stammered, but spoke clearly, fluently, with the calm authority of an experienced professor, making his words deeply soothing.

"Of course, it's a difficult, thankless task—after all, not only do wizards dislike giants, but giants themselves are reluctant to embrace civilization. But I believe it's meaningful. Many don't realize the giant species is on the brink of extinction. We must find a way to protect them—not necessarily by forcing them to integrate as equals into wizarding society, but at least by giving them a place under guard, so they don't kill each other off." Hagrid explained; as a half-giant himself, the children easily understood his emotion. "Speaking of which, I must sincerely thank Madame Maxime—she is an educator as great as Dumbledore…"

Perhaps Hagrid's progress was also Madame Maxime's doing, Harry thought cheerfully.

Hagrid mentioned that Madame Maxime had hired him as a guest lecturer at Beauxbatons, so he would only stay until the end of Easter and wouldn't return officially until next year.

"So does that mean Beauxbatons has already started their break?" Harry muttered uncertainly.

"Hogwarts loses!" Ron agreed.

After the guest lecture ended, Harry naturally stood up and looked to his companions on either side.

"Hey, let's go have tea with Hagrid," Harry suggested. "It's been a long time."

"I'm totally in," Ron agreed quickly.

"I'm fine with it," Zhang Qiu nodded.

But when they reached Hagrid's hut, they saw smoke rising, light glowing in the window, and faint voices drifting out—they realized someone had beaten them there.

They crept closer and heard Hermione's voice, instantly relaxing. Ron prepared to knock, but Zhang Qiu stopped him and signaled Harry to bring out the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry, slightly guilty, unfurled the cloak. The three of them crouched awkwardly by the window—after all, they were growing up, and the cloak no longer perfectly concealed their feet.

"... want to bring him back. Madame Maxime is getting tired of him. She hasn't said it, but I know it's unfair to burden her like this," Hagrid's voice came through. "Bring him back, teach him some manners… he's caused quite a stir at Beauxbatons."

"But why bring him out at all? Can't he stay with his own kind?" Hermione asked.

"They bully him because he's too small," Hagrid sighed heavily. "I can't just abandon him."

"That's true, but honestly, he only brings trouble wherever he goes," Hermione sighed too. "You're still going to teach at Beauxbatons, right? Then who'll look after him?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking you for, Hermione," Hagrid sounded conflicted. "Harry's too busy—he has too much on his plate. I can't ask him for personal favors—"

"But frankly, I don't have that much energy either. I still have exams to deal with…" Hermione sounded deeply troubled. "Isn't there any other option? Charities or something?"

"No, Hermione, no—there never was, and there probably never will be, unless I start my own," Hagrid's tone was grim. "Worst case, I'll just tie him up, chain him somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. He can find his own food—birds, deer, whatever. You just need to visit him sometimes, try to teach him to talk."

"But you really must bring him back, right?" A new voice spoke. Harry immediately realized it must be Elina.

"Yes," Hagrid said firmly. "He has nowhere else to go."

"Then we'll go with you. You're planning to leave during the break, right?" Elina said. "We can bond with him first—or, more pessimistically, if he turns out too violent and we realize we're unfit for this task, we'll still have time to think of another solution."

"We're really going to—" Hermione's voice rose in surprise.

"Of course, Grawp is Hagrid's own brother," Elina said with apparent sympathy.

"Aww," Zhang Qiu giggled softly. "Looks like the wheels of fate have started turning."