In the end, Harry still couldn't find where Malfoy was hiding.
He couldn't linger there for long, as the limping Feeris returned after lunch.
"Oh, my dear baby, how could you sleep here, it will catch a cold!"
Seeing Mrs. Loris lying on the corridor and sunbathing, Feerys quickened his pace.
He carefully placed Mrs. Loris in his arms and, in front of Harry, used his reddish-purple bulbous nose to nuzzle Mrs. Loris's long beard, before humming a lively tune and walking into the office.
The students in the auditorium began to disperse, and Harry had to remove his invisibility disguise before the number of people going upstairs became dense.
All afternoon, including Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, Harry was daydreaming about where Malfoy might have been sneaking around and what he was planning to do.
"I think that's enough, Harry --"
After dinner, Hermione was a bit tired of Harry's endless speculations during the run,
"I think you should focus more on your studies, Harry — I hope you haven't forgotten that this is OWLS year!"
"But if a Death Eater infiltrates Hogwarts, "
Harry was quite shocked that Hermione was indifferent to this matter.
"That's just your speculation, Harry."
Hermione gasped,
"I don't think Malfoy can do anything bad to the school under the nose of Professor Brain. "
Harry looked at Ron, hoping for some support, but it seemed that Ron wasn't listening to him at all. He was just running and watching the few students practicing flying on brooms over the lawn.
Bit his lip, Harry suppressed the frustration in his eyes and remained silent.
In the next two days of the first week, Harry took every chance to watch Malfoy and observe his every move for any suspicious signs.
As if possessed.
He couldn't pinpoint why he was so concerned about the matter either. Perhaps, it was just a matter of pride.
When he followed Malfoy in Diagon Alley, he was discovered. He wanted to prove that he had the ability to uncover whatever scheme Malfoy was up to.
Unfortunately, for these two days, Malfoy's every move appeared completely normal. At least, in the places where Harry could see him.
On Friday morning, Harry and Ron were startled by the changes in the Great Hall as soon as they entered.
Suddenly, the four long tables in the Great Hall that had been 'unchanged for years' suddenly had an additional one, which was inserted between the tables of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, causing the gaps between the tables to become much narrower.
Harry stood frozen for a few seconds before realizing that the so-called exchange students would arrive at Hogwarts this afternoon.
If Harry remembered correctly, Professor Brain had said that the exchange group was full of all sorts of wise magical creatures.
Even Dobby and the old, toothless Crup and Wormtail who served the Black family would be participating.
Just the thought of such a mixed group of exchangees sitting in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, having meals with them, was already a fascinating experience.
But Hermione would definitely be busy about it, because there would certainly be trouble.
Harry and Ron paused for a few seconds before walking towards the table again.
"How are you doing, Hermione?"
Harry pulled out the chair next to Hermione and, after some picking, inserted a roasted sausage with a silver fork into his mouth.
"Very bad!"
Hermione's face was hidden behind the Daily Prophet, and Harry and Ron couldn't see her expression, but when she said that, Harry was stunned.
"I thought you'd be looking forward to it, Hermione?"
"Would I be looking forward to it?"
Hermione's face emerged from behind the newspaper, glaring at Harry with anger.
Harry realized immediately that he and Hermione were talking about two different things, and turned his gaze to the newspaper in Hermione's hand.
"Oh, no, not. I thought, what's wrong, something bad happened?"
"See for yourself!"
Hermione didn't say anything more; she simply handed the newspaper to Harry, then looked on with concern at the faculty table, where several professors were solemnly reading newspapers.
Harry took the newspaper, and with one glance, his mood immediately became melancholic.
The front page featured a photograph of a bridge in London.
The magical photograph of the wizards showed a large bridge in London, with the cables linking the two banks breaking one by one. The steel bridge body collapsed into the Thames River below, and cars on the bridge were falling into the water like dumplings, one after another!
The text below the photograph informed Harry of the number of casualties in this accident!
Two hundred and seventy-six Muggles died in the disaster, including forty Muggle students in a school bus.
The river surface, which had been roiled by the disaster, still showed the faint shapes of people struggling in the water, and through the photograph, Harry could almost feel their despair!
"It was done by Death Eaters."
Ron was also scared by the terrible scene in the photograph, and he whispered with pale face.
"Who else could it be!"
Harry bit his teeth and said angrily.
In the Great Hall, there were quite a few students reading the newspaper. They were all sad about this terrible event. As more and more students entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the news spread, and a gloomy atmosphere of sorrow enveloped the Great Hall.
During the summer, the grand battle that took place in Diagon Alley ultimately ended with the victory of the Ministry of Magic.
The power of the enigmatic figure suffered a great defeat.
Some Death Eaters were killed on the spot, while others were imprisoned.
And those followers who had been gathered from all over the world by Voldemort and his henchmen deserted him in droves after suffering heavy losses, greatly improving the law and order in the British magical community.
At the Ministry of Magic press conference, all the reports in the Prophet newspaper now refer to Voldemort by his name rather than the previous euphemism "the Enigmatic One."
Furthermore, the victory in the war was led by Mr. Brain, who then strongly signed a "Square Agreement" with many pure-blood families aimed at restoring the prosperity of British magical industry and business.
All these good news led many people to believe that the war was far away, and Voldemort's power had been disintegrated.
The terrible incident that happened in London, the muggle world, was like a heavy slap, shattering all the unrealistic fantasies of those who held them!
Voldemort did not give up causing fear and massacres. The defeat in Diagon Alley's battle only stimulated his savagery, making him even more cruel!
"Is there nothing that can be done to stop Death Eaters from continuing to harm Muggles?"
Suppressing his anger, Harry finished reading the report.
Hermione remained silent.
Even the Muggles who didn't even know about the existence of magic were too fragile to withstand sudden attacks from wizards!
"Is there any way to prevent it, Armostat, Abeth?"
At the same moment Harry asked his question, Professor McGonagall, with a worried expression, turned her face towards him and asked sadly.
The two nominees, like Hermione, remained silent.
To prevent Death Eaters from attacking Muggles?
It's incredibly difficult to do something about this!
Muggles are scattered across a vast land, and Death Eaters in the shadows can easily create terrifying incidents.
The Ministry doesn't have enough manpower to ensure total defense in the country.
Certainly, the Ministry can monitor whether magic has occurred in a certain area and set up targeted controls accordingly.
However, the Ministry cannot accurately distinguish whether the magic is targeting Muggles or if it is just daily magic performed by wizards.
We can't run to check whenever we see a wizard casting a spell in Muggle territory. If we did that, even if we expanded the Ministry's manpower by ten times, it wouldn't be enough.
As for using spies to obtain Voldemort's terrifying plans in advance?
This is indeed feasible, but it involves the risk of spy exposure, and Voldemort always assigns tasks to different Death Eaters to carry out, and does not allow them to communicate with each other.
"It's impossible to completely prevent Death Eaters from committing evil acts--"
After a long while, Ammosta sighed softly.
"If we are willing to spend huge costs, it is possible to prevent and provide timely assistance to injured Muggles to some extent."
