They followed the ear-studded path deeper into the swamp.

The old witches didn't seem to notice them.

The road is not long.

Soon the sound of children playing reached Harry's ears, and gradually, the sound of their nursery rhymes also reached Hermione and the others' ears.

"My mother killed me."

"My daddy ate me."

"Brothers and sisters, please sit down in the audience."

"Pick up the leftover bones."

"Buried under cold marble."

The children’s voices are clear and innocent, but what they sing…

Turn a corner.

From behind the ear tree, three dilapidated thatched wooden houses came into their view, with several children gathered around a pile of firewood.

Deep in the swamp, shrouded in fog.

"This feeling is a bit uncomfortable." Hermione pulled out her wand and waved it gently.

On the Misty Island, she was frightened by creatures like the Little Mist Demon. When she saw the mist, she worried that there would be such creatures in it.

The cold wind blew away the light mist, and the sunset suddenly became clear.

"Someone is coming." A child said.

They stopped singing.

Big and small, they stared at this group of people in confusion.

Seeing them approaching, he took a few steps back timidly.

"We don't know you, go away." A little girl plucked up her courage, raised her hand, grinned, and pointed towards the distance.

The baron looked at them and asked, "Why are there still a group of children in the swamp?"

"They are all Anna's children," Harry answered him.

The baron was incredulous, his eyes widened as he stared at the children: "Oh, no, Anna has only been gone for a short time, how come they are so big?"

He stammered and gestured in a random and disorderly manner.

These children are seven or eight years old, and Anna can't give birth to them...

"We are not Anna's children!" A little girl gritted her teeth and tried to muster up her courage, but she didn't dare to look up at Harry.

"Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?" Hermione asked gently.

One child shook his head: "We are orphans."

"Both?" This answer was beyond Hermione's expectations.

They nodded.

This answer made Hermione feel complicated, but it was accepted calmly by everyone present, including the children, except her.

"Where there is war, there are orphans." The boy answered loudly.

The Baron then reacted: "So they are orphans taken in by Anna?"

"To be exact, he was taken in by an old witch." Harry shook his head.

The little girl shouted: "Grandma is not an old witch. Although she is a little strict, she is a good grandma!"

"Grandma wouldn't let us go into the swamp."

"The swamp is scary. When my brother Mick disappeared, my grandmother said he ran into the swamp. She cried for a long time because of that."

Children are very naive.

But adults, and those approaching adulthood, are not that naive.

Especially since these children just sang such nursery rhymes.

A terrible thought came to Hermione's mind.

"Harry?" Hermione looked up.

Harry nodded, "I'm afraid your brother Mick has been eaten by the old witch."

The little boy looked at Harry with his mouth open in surprise.

The other children didn't know what to say.

There were hurried footsteps, and an elderly woman walked by, cursing, "What are you guys chattering about?"

“No communication with outsiders.”

"And you, with your swords..."

She couldn't finish her words, and her footsteps stopped five feet away.

The Baron turned his head even faster than Harry.

He was very familiar with this voice.

"Anna." The Baron called his wife's name affectionately.

She looked a little flustered: "How did you find this place?"

Anna was not a very beautiful woman. She was very old and looked much older than the Baron. The flesh on her face had completely sagged, making her look fierce and vicious. Her hair was gray, lifeless, and as gray as dead grass.

"It seems my guess was wrong." Harry whispered.

Hermione said angrily, punching him lightly on the back.

The baron took a deep breath and tried to make his voice as calm as possible: "I met an excellent demon hunter. He knew you were here and brought me to find you."

He turned around and pointed at Harry: "Yes, that's him."

"Anna, come back with me."

"We can open an orphanage in Crow's Nest and spend whatever money we want."

"I also assure you that I have already stopped drinking. The witcher can vouch for me..."

Anna shook her head decisively: “No, I won’t, get out of here, and never show up in front of me again!”

"You're a dirty ..."

The Baron looked at her pitifully.

But his sincerity and assurances did not win any softening of the other party's heart. Anna cursed the Baron with words that left the children dumbfounded when they heard them.

"It's not that she doesn't want to leave, it's that she can't leave." Harry spoke just when the Baron was about to melt into the mud.

Just one sentence made Anna stuck.

She looked at Harry in disbelief.

"She has a contract with the old witch," Harry continued. "If she leaves the swamp, she will be cursed by the old witch and die."

Anna looked flustered, looking around, opening her mouth, wanting to speak, but she was worried about something and didn't dare to open her mouth.

"How do you know?" After a while, Anna asked in a low voice.

The little boy looked pitifully at Anna, looking up at her: "Grandma, was my brother Mick really eaten by the old witch?"

Anna looked gloomy and said nothing.

"I'm a witcher." Harry said calmly, "I can get you out of the quagmire."

Anna shook her head, "No, it's no use. The witches took a lock of my hair."

"Hair?" The Baron thought of something and took off his hat. "Anna, look, the witcher has a very useful hair growth formula."

"It's only been two days, and I've only used one bottle, but now my hair is so thick."

"Don't worry……"

Ciri interrupted him: "No, Philip, Anna didn't mean that."

"That is a kind of black magic. The old witch casts a spell on the doll and then ties human hair to the doll. This way, she can control the soul of the owner of the hair."

Anna's voice suddenly became soothing: "Young girl, you know a lot."

"But more than that, I have become their puppet forever..."

Harry shook his head and said, "There is no magic in the world that can achieve 'permanence'."

He drew his wand and pointed it at Anna.

"Will the demon hunter hurt Anna?" The Baron was worried, with his hair standing up in disarray.

Harry nodded. "Of course."

Hermione drew her wand as well.

They both chanted the spell together.

Anna was motionless, as if time had stopped for her.

Shrinking rapidly.

Harry finally chanted a spell and pulled open the Sorting Hat. Hermione flicked her wand and a thumb-sized person immediately fell into the hat.

at the same time.

There was a sudden tremor in a house.