Chapter 603 Place of Settlement In

the office of the Potions Master, Harry woke up gasping for air, breathing greedily like a drowning man.

There were shadows all around, and Harry seemed to see a hooked nose, but when Hermione helped him put his glasses on, Snape stood not too far away. Before he could see the expression on the man's face, Ron and Hermione rushed over and hugged him tightly, pressing him so hard that he couldn't breathe.

"I'm fine - ahem - I'm fine." Harry struggled to prevent himself from being strangled by the two people, and said incoherently.

"Brother, you almost scared us to death." Ron patted his shoulder and said, Hermione covered her mouth and sobbed softly.

"I'm fine," Harry repeated, he looked at the two nervous people, and in a short time, all his emotions returned. . . He said emotionlessly: "The duel is over."

"What was the result, Dumbledore won, right? We won?" Ron asked loudly, and Hermione beside him also looked at him expectantly.

Harry didn't know how to answer. He had witnessed Dumbledore's comeback, but he couldn't really say the word 'we' now. "Yes, Dumbledore won, the war - the war is over."

"Great!" Ron shouted, shaking Harry excitedly. "Great!" The tears accumulated in Hermione's eyes flowed out painfully, and she burst into tears.

"Potter -" Snape asked hoarsely.

"Dumbledore is still alive, Professor Happ went there, and mentioned Kreacher - I don't know why, no one told me. And Voldemort, he was swallowed by a snake, maybe he's not dead yet." Harry said in one breath, looking away, "Sorry, my mind is a bit confused now, I need to go out, go out for some fresh air..."

He broke away from Ron's hand and rushed out of the office.

Harry walked quickly in the underground corridor and climbed the stairs with a dull expression. There were excited fifth-year students standing in the hallway in groups of three or four. Some members of the Magic Club and the Front Lookout greeted Harry. Harry nodded stiffly in response. Some unfamiliar students were pointing and talking in the dark, probably discussing his "nightmare" in the last exam.

"What on earth did he dream about? He actually hoped that Dumbledore would die..."

The discussion in the corner floated into his ears, but Harry had no intention of defending himself. He walked straight through the hallway, and he could still hear Neville's loud rebuttal in his ears. He took a few quick steps and passed through the oak door. The sun set on the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, and along the curved lines, it inlaid a golden-red edge on the Forbidden Forest.

He walked aimlessly on the stone steps. He didn't have any place he wanted to go, just to find something for himself to do, and the farther away from others, the better. He first went to the Black Lake, but it was occupied by fifth-year and seventh-year students who had finished their exams, so he changed direction and stopped in front of Hagrid's hut for a moment. He did not go forward to knock on the door, but turned and walked into the Forbidden Forest.

When his figure was covered by the dark and dense shadows of the forest, he felt a sense of relief.

There would be no one in here. He walked deeper and deeper. The tall and dense trees blocked the weak light at dusk. He lay on a dark and flat stone, looking at the spots of light through the dense leaves. Only then did Harry begin to think seriously. He temporarily put Snape aside in his heart. He finally understood his mission. The meaning of his existence was to take the initiative to die at the right time, so as to cut off Voldemort's last connection in the world.

There was a prophecy. Harry pondered that it might be a prophecy about him and Voldemort. He could probably guess the content. It should be about the two of them dying together, or to put it more nicely, dying together? He couldn't help but think of Snape again. It was he who told the secret and told Voldemort the content of the prophecy. At that time, he was still an evil Death Eater. He would probably kiss Voldemort's robe passionately every time they met...

He must have been very proud and complacent at that time. He could not imagine that this prophecy would kill the person he loved deeply.

The whole thing was much more complicated than Harry had initially thought. When he thought of death, his heart began to pound, and his stomach couldn't help but twitch, as if a piece of ice was stuffed into it. His mouth was dry and his throat was blocked. Harry knew that it was fear that enveloped him. What would it feel like to die? He had escaped death many times, and many times he almost thought he was dead, but death did not accept him.

He was agile and had amazing luck. It seemed that there was a hand in the dark that was fiddling with his fate (Harry thought of the scene of Dumbledore flipping the book), telling him that it was not the time yet...

but now was the time.

Harry suddenly had the urge to turn around and run away. He was now in the Forbidden Forest, where he could Apparate, then destroy his wand and hide in a place that no one knew. He took out his wand and looked down at it. Time passed little by little, and the Forbidden Forest became darker, as if it had entered the middle of the night. Harry became more and more anxious, and kept urging himself to make a decision. At least... at least he had to go to Godric's Hollow again and put a bouquet of flowers on his parents' tombstone.

Otherwise, when he returned - Harry thought pessimistically - Dumbledore might grab him and tell him with a sneer that he would take him somewhere to accompany Voldemort. He imagined the picture, the headmaster's two hands grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard (somehow, he thought of Ron shaking him), Professor Happ and Snape sandwiched him on the left and right (they acted as followers, a bit like Crabbe and Goyle)...

But Harry didn't do anything in the end. He was like a student who suddenly decided to indulge himself after the exam and sneaked into the forbidden forest to adventure. In essence, he was no different from those students who took a nap under the shade of the willow trees by the black lake. He slowly got down from the stone, his legs a little weak. He looked down at the phoenix feather holly wand still in his hand, and thought seriously about who to leave it to as a souvenir.

But who would use a second-hand wand? Not necessarily, Harry argued to himself, at least it would be fine as a spare wand.

This is an excellent wand.

Harry is confident that he can fight Voldemort head-on with it, and maybe it would be better to die in the resistance... But Voldemort has been caught, and Dumbledore and Professor Happ have done everything. There is really nothing he can do.

He thought of Ron and Hermione, wondering what they would think if they knew. They might try every means to stop him. Harry could guess their reactions - first they would be shocked, then Ron would mutter, "There must be other ways." Hermione would recite the titles of all the books she had read that were related to this matter. Well, if they had the chance to know.

Harry walked slowly towards the castle, making up his mind that - if he had time - he would ask every ghost in the castle how they felt when they died. He knew at least two of them, Myrtle who was killed by the basilisk and 'Nearly Headless' Nick who was chopped to death by a rusty axe. The pain before their death was completely incomparable, it was simply two extremes.

"Swoosh!"

Harry lowered his head suddenly, and the Shield Charm formed a barrier in front of him. He stared blankly at the bow and arrow that was still some distance away from him, stuck in the ground, and the tail of the arrow swayed. It seemed to be just a warning. Then the woods swayed, and Harry squinted his eyes. He heard the sound of horse hooves.

"Bain, that seems to be a student."

"Pony?" a rude voice called out.

A centaur came out from behind the bushes. He had white-blond hair and a silver-maned horse body. Harry knew this centaur. His name was Firenze. Firenze looked Harry over and said in surprise, "Harry Potter?"

Another centaur appeared. He had black hair and a black body. He looked stronger and rougher than Firenze. He held a bow in his hand. It was obvious that the arrow stuck in the ground was shot by him.

"Pony, get out of here." The black centaur said irritably, "Centaurs are not your human nannies, don't expect us to follow you like donkeys to provide protection."

Harry didn't say anything, he was still angry about the arrow, somehow, he suddenly wanted to teach this seemingly unruly centaur a lesson, maybe Hagrid's recent complaints had an effect, "That group of rigid-minded nags... I'm not saying all of them, there are a few who are still easy to talk to, but most of them..." He muttered disdainfully, and stuck a bone needle that could pretend to be a wand into the thick canvas. He was sewing Grawp's pants.

Or maybe the centaur simply disturbed his thinking.

Harry walked back in silence, and then there was the sound of horse hooves behind him, and one of them caught up. Harry didn't look back, he was not interested in the other party's purpose. But the fellow called 'Bane' shouted, "Remember, Firenze! I can stop you from making friends with that little girl, but don't say anything you shouldn't! We swore not to get involved in the messy troubles of wizards!"

"I hadn't thought about it," the voice seemed to come from above Harry's head, making his ears a little itchy, and Firenze roared, "but now I really want to say something!"

Bane shouted angrily - Harry felt a little relieved - but when they walked a distance, he was a little worried about Firenze's situation. Hagrid said that centaurs were quite stubborn and irritable.

"That - um - that little girl is Luna?" They walked silently through the woods, and Harry found a topic.

"Yes." Firenze said briefly, walking side by side with him.

"They stopped you from contacting Luna?" Harry asked. "You can't make friends with wizards?"

"That's not entirely true," Firenze explained. "Luna... she's young, which helps her. Centaurs don't hurt foals, and she..." Firenze thought for a moment. "She gets along well with all the centaurs except Bane, especially the girls. They like the airship earrings and cork necklaces."

Harry didn't expect Luna to be so 'social' and find a confidant in another group.

For some reason, he echoed, "She can also make wreaths."

"Yes, some of the tricks are learned from the centaurs." Firenze said. Harry stared, imagining the scene of Luna learning how to make flower baskets with the centaur girl, and he didn't find it out of place. "What about Hagrid--

"

"He's one of the few we can get along with. We like people who are simple-minded and love nature. But it's not so good now. You know, the elders of the tribe are very dissatisfied with his move to place his brother in the Forbidden Forest." Firenze said.

Harry remembered what Hagrid said, the Forbidden Forest was not for the centaurs, but an area designated by the Ministry of Magic for the centaurs to live in. But he did not say what was in his mind.

They walked to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and they could see Hagrid's hut in front of them, with smoke coming out of the chimney.

"Thank you, Firenze," Harry said.

"You're welcome. I've seen many little wizards who strayed into the Forbidden Forest, although some of them were not 'strayed'." Firenze said, and Harry nodded and took a few steps. "Oh, Potter." Firenze called him, and Harry turned his head to look at the centaurs.

"Bane doesn't want us to have any contact with wizards. He is a radical faction, but I think it is necessary to keep in touch with wizards appropriately. In the turbulent era, the power of the centaurs alone is weak and cannot survive on their own. I believe you are an important link." Firenze said.

Harry's mood suddenly became gloomy.

"Important link?" He said in a low and hoarse voice, "I may not be able to help... You can find Professor Happ."

"We don't trust him." Firenze said softly.

Harry looked up in surprise. Firenze said, "To be precise, we don't trust any adult wizards." Harry felt strange. He thought Professor Hepp had had a conflict with the centaurs.

But thinking about the centaurs' standards for making friends - simple-minded and close to nature, Professor Hepp didn't seem to meet any of these criteria.

Harry returned to the castle with a heavy heart. He didn't know why Firenze seemed to have unrealistic expectations of him. It was almost dark, and he guessed that the students should be enjoying the food in the hall at this time. So he walked into the hall. The laughter and joy around him had nothing to do with him. He sat down at the edge of the Gryffindor table away from his acquaintances.

Next to him was a junior student he didn't know, but the student obviously knew him. The little wizard shouted from his throat, and then secretly poked his companion's ribs with his fingers.

Harry hastily picked up a piece of pie and stuffed it into his mouth.

There were several empty seats in the professors' chairs. Dumbledore, Professor Hap, Sirius, and Snape were not there. The students did not notice anything unusual - the professors did not come to eat on time every day - they were discussing the wizard level exams and final exams that had ended. Some even mentioned the summer vacation.

But today was different.

As Harry used a fork to split the pie in half, he thought that Voldemort had fallen quietly. If people could see the future, they would be surprised that they had spent the day so peacefully.

He thought of Firenze's words again. The magnificent era... would he be lucky enough to witness it? Or, was the "important link" mentioned by Firenze actually the beginning of his own death?

That is indeed very important. The wizarding world will be free from Voldemort's shadow and can live in peace...

Harry took another quick glance. None of the four absent people came. Then he lowered his head and tiptoed out of the hall. Ron and Hermione were very restless during dinner and kept looking around. He had to hide a little. He had not figured out how to face them.

Where did those who didn't come go? Harry thought on his way back to the common room.

Maybe there was an extremely serious conversation going on in a place he didn't know - maybe the headmaster's office, or a desolate mountain top. Dumbledore told Sirius solemnly that Harry was a Horcrux...

If someone had to inform him, he hoped that person would be Sirius.

Deep in classroom 7.

Felix handed the Hufflepuff's golden cup to Dumbledore, and then looked at the Ouroboros circling in the air with him.

"...You glued more than a dozen Patronuses together?" Dumbledore asked in surprise, "How did you do it?"

"It is indeed difficult, and it will take a lot of time to actually achieve it, but I took a shortcut," Felix said, "I found a commander for them, a spiritual leader."

"You mean Harry..."

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, "What about Kreacher?"

"I sent him to Sirius. He was bound by the magic of his own kind and just lost a master. He is now in a very low mood. Sirius is comforting him."

Behind them stood the memories of several professors, the young Felix, the young Dumbledore, the young McGonagall, as well as Flitwick and Newt Scamander, who looked at the dark green Patronus in the air with serious expressions.

"There's a mysterious person... hidden in its belly? Oh my God, this is too dangerous, you shouldn't bring it to school." The young Ms. McGonagall said, holding her chest, and her whole body shook distressingly.

"For some purpose, we need him to be alive for the time being," Felix said, "To be honest, Minerva, you will never find a more suitable place than here: there is the huge magic flowing in the Hogwarts defense system, there are the vast amount of emotions collected in classroom seven, and of course the most important thing... is you." "

But this is not a prison, Albus, and we are not jailers. I hope you can consider it carefully!" Ms. McGonagall said fiercely, "Students come in and out every day. If something unexpected happens--"

"Then close this place temporarily and don't open it to the outside world." Dumbledore said in a deep voice.

"It's better not, sir." Felix interrupted, "I need to use it to collect enough emotions. This is an important step to suppress Voldemort's will and make him passively enter dormancy. I can open a temporary passage in the next room to separate the two."

"School will be on vacation in a few days. If we think optimistically, we may be able to solve the problem during the vacation."