Top-level prison

Snape went to Dumbledore to review the events, and the Gryffindor trio were also busy.

"So, Professor Snape saw Queenie?"

Harry tugged at his hair and responded irritably.

“Despicable! Snape cheated!” Ron stood firmly on his best friend’s side, patting Harry on the shoulder. “But you did a great job. If it were me, I would have lost all my secrets in the chaos.”

Ron's words of comfort had no effect. Harry truthfully replied, "I was pretty much the same... those images flashed by too quickly. I can't remember how many he saw, but at least our secret study of advanced magic was exposed."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat again as she quickly reviewed her study progress before letting out a sigh of relief. "Luckily, I'm doing pretty well."

"...Is that all you can think of?"

Hermione ignored Ron and instead comforted Harry, "I think you don't need to worry too much. Although Professor Snape knows, he's a member of Headquarters, so he should be trustworthy."

But that doesn't mean Harry wants him to know. Besides, if Snape finds out today, Voldemort might find out tomorrow. After all, Snape just said tonight that Voldemort's thoughts are somehow connected to his.

His overly impatient expression made Hermione frown. "Harry, is there something you haven't told us?"

Harry stammered, unable to speak. If Hermione and Ron found out, would they... be afraid of him?

Hermione asked tentatively, "Is it... related to your dream about Mr. Weasley before Christmas?"

Harry didn't say anything, but his evasive eyes betrayed him.

Hermione began another round of inhaling and exhaling, a habitual action she took to try to calm herself down.

Ron looked around. "What are you talking about? Aren't we talking about Snape? What does that have to do with my dad?"

“I only had some guesses at first, but now I’m afraid they’ve been confirmed.” Hermione patted her cheeks hard, her face, which was slightly hot in the firelight, and her hands, which were cold from sweating, overlapped in temperature. “It’s okay, we can handle it… of course we can handle it.”

"So what do we need to solve? Snape? I don't think it's that serious. Like Hermione said, at least Dumbledore trusts him." Ron also wanted to pull his hair out.

Even though there were only the three of them in the common room at that moment, Hermione cast the silencing spell again. "Are you going to say it or am I going to say it?"

This question was clearly directed at Harry, who finally let go of his hair, which he had meticulously trimmed with Queenie before the end of the holiday. The broken strands of hair were tightly wrapped around his little finger, and the pain from the hair roots being pulled from his scalp was negligible. He stared at the firelight in the fireplace. "I—well, I seem to have developed some connection with Voldemort."

"You two were already connected, and you're the only one who beat him—ow!"

Hermione smacked his arm hard. "Shut up, Ron! If you had any English skills, you should know the difference between connection and relationship!"

Harry continued, “It may have been a coincidence that I saw Mr. Weasley in danger at the Department of Mysteries, but it certainly proved that I have the ability to read Voldemort’s mind—” At this point, Harry gave a look of extreme disgust, “—I really don’t want to say this, but I can actually read Voldemort’s mind.”

Ron said earnestly, "But Harry, it was because of your—uh, ability—that my dad was able to be rescued in time. I don't think there's anything wrong with that; at least it saved my dad's life!"

Harry pursed his lips tightly, the strands of hair at his fingertips twisted into a bent wire. He threw it into the fireplace, where it quickly burned and curled even more, then disappeared.

“Think it over, Ron. This is dangerous. This connection is unprecedented, and it could very well be two-way!”

Ron looked at Harry in surprise.

From the moment Harry spoke, his eyes never left the fireplace. Harry didn't refute Hermione's words; instead, he added, "Snape said mind reading is only the most basic level. Once Voldemort realizes this connection, he can even control it and disrupt it." He had been too naive. He thought that as long as he learned Occlumency, he could hide Queenie's existence, but before he could truly master it, he had already exposed her to the greatest danger.

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense. Hermione bit her lip, trying to think of a way to make her words sound less weak and ineffective. Harry's Occlumency was still in its early stages. He couldn't even completely resist Snape, so how could he resist the Dark Lord? Of course, he had to continue practicing to strengthen himself, but he was afraid there wouldn't be enough time.

Ron's trembling hand broke the silence. "You said to disrupt... how can thoughts be disrupted?"

Hermione, "..."

Harry thought about it for a moment, then said, "It's like your brain is simultaneously experiencing the Knight Bus and Apparition?"

Ron felt nauseous just thinking about it, and he shrank back. "From what you're saying, Voldemort might not be aware of this connection yet, but we already know." He became more and more excited as he spoke. "Just imagine, if Harry controlled him before he could—well, let's not control him, just mess with his brain and turn him into an idiot, wouldn't we be guaranteed to win?"

Harry, "..."

Hermione, "..."

That's a bit of a fallacy.

Hermione chuckled. "Alright, Harry, it's late, I'm going back to sleep. Remember to clear your mind before you go to bed. And you, Ron, well—I don't think anyone's interested in your brain. Well then, see you tomorrow." She stood up, stomped her numb feet, and walked briskly towards the girls' dormitory.

“Am I wrong?” Ron went over his logic again, but still felt there was nothing seriously wrong.

Harry finally broke into a smile, his gaze leaving the fireplace. "That's right, brother." He really wanted to see Queenie, but having his friends around was just as nice. Hermione was right; he had to keep trying.

The next day, the trio learned from Hagrid, who had returned from an outing, about the recent activities of the Order of the Phoenix. They were trying to win over the giants, and the Death Eaters had clearly thought of this as well. Hagrid and Lady Maxim of Beauxbatons happened to run into the Death Eaters, and only thanks to Lady Maxim's superb magic were they able to escape unharmed.

When they arrived at Hagrid's hut, he was applying a large piece of dragon meat to his wounds to relieve the pain.

"Is this the wound you sustained in the giants' territory? Why isn't it healed yet? Maybe we can get you some white cinnabar essence." To be honest, Harry thought Hagrid's wound looked too fresh, and he guessed that wounds inflicted by giants were difficult to heal.

"Uh, yes, not entirely... Anyway, thank you Harry, but it's not necessary. I'm tough, and besides, there are plenty of herbs in the Forbidden Forest."

The three men exchanged a glance; they all realized that Hagrid wasn't telling the truth.

"Ahem, more importantly than that, you three need to be extra careful lately, especially Harry."

"how?"

"Didn't you see it? This morning's Daily Prophet."

“We came to you without even having breakfast.” Hermione frowned as she took the newspaper Hagrid handed her. “Merlin’s beard! Death Eaters have escaped! Ten!” Her fingers traced across the paper. “…We have confirmed that ten serious offenders escaped earlier last night, and we strongly suspect that the mastermind behind the escape is someone who has escaped from Azkaban himself, the infamous Sirius Black… His cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, is among the escapees… Ha, the Ministry of Magic is even framing Sirius! Sounds plausible, doesn’t it? But we all know how much he hates the Black family! Fudge just won’t admit that Voldemort is back!” Ever since fourth year, she had been thoroughly fed up with the Daily Prophet.

Harry saw another message: "...We have informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the danger posed by the fugitive...Queenie!" With that, he rushed out; he had to get back to his dormitory immediately to contact Queenie.

Hagrid was so startled that he dropped the dragon meat he was holding. Toothpick immediately pounced on it and started tearing at it. "Who is Harry talking about?"

Hermione put down her newspaper and quickly followed, "Um, Harry was talking about Queen Hagrid, the Muggle Queen, goodbye Hagrid!"

Ron played along, spouting nonsense, "Yes, Harry's a fan of hers, he's worried about her... We're off now, see you later!"