Chapter 355

When Harry left the exam hall, the bright sunlight fell on his face, giving him a sense of youthful beauty. But soon he saw Snape standing in the shadow, and the feeling vanished instantly.

"Now, Professor?" Harry asked reluctantly.

"Come to my office after dinner," Snape's lips twitched, then he turned and vanished around the corner.

"What does the old bat want with you?" Neville asked, stepping closer.

Harry was about to answer when Ron cut him off, rushing up and shouting excitedly, "I knew they'd test the International Confederation of Wizards and Liechtenstein! I knew it!"

"Yes, I remember you said that," Harry said, glancing at him, then at Neville, forcing a faint smile.

"I can't say what it's about yet—I'll tell you after I talk to him tonight," Harry said, patting Neville's arm.

"You have to know I didn't have time to memorize everything—I picked Wand Legislation and the Giant Wars, and I nailed both!" Ron continued excitedly. Neville gave a small smile, then stopped walking with them.

Ron spent the entire dinner trying to calm down, then started suggesting they go fly brooms tomorrow, to fully enjoy the freedom after revision.

When they returned to the dormitory and Harry noticed Neville was there too, he took a deep breath and gripped Ron's shoulder.

"Hey, mate, you've got to know my business isn't over," Harry said. "The Death Eaters are planning to elect a new Dark Lord by the end of June—we still need a strategy."

"My suggestion? You all storm the venue in the TARDIS, then swarm them and arrest everyone on the spot," Ron said, still buzzing with excitement, in a carefree, cheerful tone.

"The Death Eaters won't be defenseless—if they have any countermeasures against the TARDIS, we're done for," Harry spread his hands. "And if we kill their leader without preparation, the remaining Dark wizards will only cause greater chaos."

"Yeah, oh right…" Ron gradually calmed down. "So Snape called you to talk about this?"

"Mm." Harry nodded seriously.

"I have a… request," Neville suddenly said. "I want to fight."

"Why?" Harry paused. "No—I mean, we don't even have to go to war yet."

"Do you remember that painting? Hogwarts in ruins—you know it's the same image I saw in the Mirror of Erised," Neville looked uneasily at the bed curtains. "I'm certain now—the snake in the painting, in the mirror, the one fate foretold—it's Nagini."

"Now that you mention it…" Harry recalled the images, and his meeting with Nagini.

"More importantly—this pin." Neville pulled back his robe, revealing a beetle pin on his shirt. "When I passed that black door, there was only swirling mist. But when I stood before Nagini, I felt its wings trembling. Maybe this is Dumbledore's second reason for leaving it—he wanted me to destroy the Horcrux."

Harry took the pin. In this living Horcrux's hand, the small golden object lay utterly still. Perhaps this was another of Dumbledore's feints—hiding Harry and Voldemort's secrets even from his own allies.

"I've hesitated many times—I might only get one chance: either sneak into that room full of glass orbs to retrieve the weapon or something else, or take the sword and quietly assassinate Nagini," Neville looked directly into Harry's eyes, serious. "When you went to find it that day, I was already scouting."

"Horcruxes aren't that easy to destroy," Harry said softly. "A sword alone can't kill Nagini—Voldemort's magic protects it."

"I'll go see Snape first," Harry checked his watch. "I'll try to persuade him."

As Harry stepped out of the portrait, his mind was blank. Weeks of revision had filled it with nothing but exam-focused knowledge—

"Potter." Snape waved his wand to shut the door after seeing Harry. "Both sides have already laid their cards on the table."

"Uh, really?"

"Black went to see Fontroy. He and William belong to different factions, and Fontroy is happy to assist us," Snape said slowly. "He will take the cup."

"That's good." Harry remembered—their problem with the cup was that they dared not let the Soviets know they didn't want it, yet they also didn't want to actually retrieve it.

If they destroyed the cup, it might weaken Voldemort, increasing the chance Yanayev would come to test his luck. But if the Order kept the cup, Bellatrix would always try to steal it, causing endless trouble—better to leave it in Bellatrix's hands.

But if the cup fell into Fontroy's hands, it would appear on the surface that he was meddling in Britain's affairs—yet the Soviets could find no fault. Fontroy wouldn't easily destroy the cup, and Bellatrix wouldn't harass the Order.

"But now there's another problem to solve: Rodolphus has taken all the Death Eaters who follow him to the Channel."

Harry snapped to attention—he'd forgotten the Lestrange family still commanded a band of lunatics.

"Officially, they claim they're holding a beach party, but in truth, he's backing Bellatrix," Snape tapped the table. "I think he's overly sensitive."

"The Lestranges are all mad." Harry shook his head. "We can't act rashly."

"More than that, I believe we need to issue a public safety statement," Snape said slowly. "The election date is tentatively set for June thirtieth. During this period, the Order and the Aurors should be occupied with something else—anything—to reassure them."

"It can't be that bad…" Harry instinctively felt stifled, but he quickly realized—he never expected the Order or the Aurors to do anything real. They were meant to be decoys.

"So now the question is, who will kill Nagini?" Snape said in a tone that wasn't a question. Harry suspected he already had an idea.

"We can pick a day—some day before the election—and launch simultaneously," Snape said slowly. "I'll find an excuse to stay at the Ministry. Then we need to strike Malfoy Manor, the Lestranges' home, Gringotts, and the Department of Mysteries all at once. And this should coincide with the time the Aurors and the Order are away—this will also make the attack on the Department of Mysteries easier."

"That's not realistic." Harry counted on his fingers. "Leaving aside the Order, we're left with—wait, no, the werewolves won't be available either, since Lupin must join the Order's activities."

"Fontroy will handle Gringotts, and I'll wait at the Ministry to control Nagini. As for the rest of these problems," Snape smiled faintly, "I'd like to see how you plan to solve them. I expect a viable plan from you by tomorrow."

Harry felt like he was taking an exam—this subject might as well be called Magical Military Theory. After leaving the office, he didn't return to his dorm. Instead, he leaned against the railing on the eighth floor, silently calculating his available forces and weighing the challenges ahead.

First, he needed to gather the Order and the Aurors to perform some seemingly unrelated task, to distract Rodolphus, who had troops stationed at the border. This task had to be something that could be halted at any moment, because the Order and the Aurors needed the ability to return instantly—to prevent the worst-case scenario, they had to be ready to intervene.

Second, Nagini and the cup had to be dealt with. Since Fontroy promised to handle the cup, Harry had to handle Nagini—and he shouldn't trust Fontroy too much. Harry suddenly noticed: Snape would be at the Ministry. That meant, on this most critical matter, they had already played their strongest card—Snape had solved the most crucial problem for him.

Realizing this, Harry immediately decided to send Neville to lead the infiltration of the Ministry. With Snape there, it was the least dangerous option—and it also aligned with Neville's own wishes. Moreover, it felt like fate's design; it would likely go smoothly.

Few people were needed to infiltrate the Ministry. Neville could bring at most five others; the rest of Dumbledore's Army could still be used. Harry considered—but they were still students. They couldn't attack Malfoy Manor or the Lestranges' home.

Then Harry had an idea: he didn't need to actually attack Malfoy Manor—he only needed to distract Lucius's attention. The Slytherins, previously useless, now had a role: he could suggest Draco host a ball at home. That would draw Lucius's attention—and make him complacent.

But the Lestranges' home was trickier. Harry couldn't figure it out—what was the point of attacking the Lestranges? It seemed to serve no purpose other than provoking Rodolphus.

If he wanted to distract Rodolphus, there was a better target: Durmstrang. He could write a letter asking Krum to organize a student protest—any protest, even over hair in the cafeteria food—enough to keep him busy for weeks.

Or perhaps the key to this problem lay precisely in the Lestranges' home. If Harry understood why Snape wanted to attack them, he'd already earned over half the points.