The World Changes

Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, the Great Hall instantly erupted in noise.

The fact that Dumbledore mentioned multiple serious incidents of attacks on Muggle made even the most clueless first-year student instantly understand the gravity of the situation.

It seems the Wizarding World is really in big trouble.

Even though Dumbledore kept making shushing gestures, the students' hushed discussions had already turned into a noisy din.

Many young wizards from the Muggle Family were visibly panicked, with some even standing up to ask Dumbledore where the accident had occurred.

"Quiet, quiet—" Dumbledore cast Sonorus Charm on himself, and the old man's deep voice finally managed to subdue the Hogwarts students.

Dumbledore scanned the crowd with a serious expression before speaking, "Currently, London and Bristol in England, Marseille Paris France, Berlin in Germany..."

As Dumbledore uttered the names of cities one by one, Sean's fingers clenched tightly into a fist.

These are all some of the most densely populated cities in Europe, and Muggle attacks have occurred in the capitals of almost every country.

The students were completely thrown into disarray by the news. It was as if a bomb had been dropped into the Great Hall, and the explosion left everyone speechless, only in shock.

This time, even students from the Wizarding Family couldn't sit still...

"How is the situation?" Sean stood up at some point, his voice standing out prominently.

Dumbledore glanced at him and said to the crowd, "The situation is serious. Hundreds of innocent Muggle have lost their lives, and all staff members of the Ministry of Magic in various countries have been mobilized."

"Who were the attackers?" Sean continued to ask.

"Their identities are still unknown, Auror are hunting down the attackers with all their might." Dumbledore still didn't look at him.

Is there a risk of exposure within the Wizarding World?

"There is some danger, but the Ministry of Magic assesses that the risk of exposure is still within a controllable range, and all employees of the Memory Obliviation Department have been mobilized."

"What about the escaped wizards from the various prisons?"

"We're dealing with this all at once; the Ministry of Magic is doing everything it can."

The conversation in the Great Hall suddenly became strange; the other students and faculty remained silent. Only Sean stood up and kept asking questions, while Dumbledore, without even looking at him, answered Sean's questions to everyone else.

Through this strange exchange of questions and answers, a corner of the truth was temporarily revealed, and everyone frowned.

This morning, a large-scale prison break occurred simultaneously in various magical prisons around the world, including Azkaban, the Soul-Devouring Tower, and the Mountain Prison. Specific details are unknown, but in Azkaban alone, at least twenty ordinary prisoners and more than eight serious offenders escaped.

With such a serious prison break, the Auror Office of various countries were mobilized, inevitably leaving the security forces responsible for monitoring the safety of Muggle cities much weaker.

Under these circumstances, a group of unknown wizards launched terrorist attacks in major cities. They used spells to bomb several areas with high population density in the cities. After causing huge casualties, they fled immediately before the Auror arrived.

This sudden attack threw the entire Wizarding World and Muggle World into chaos.

Meanwhile, the fugitives continued to launch attacks on Muggle settlements they passed through, causing great trouble for the pursuing Auror.

The entire world changed in just a few hours.

Currently, the Minister for Magic in various countries are discussing measures with their respective governments, aiming to obscure the truth of the matter while erasing the memories of eyewitnesses at the disaster site.

"In short, the situation is very serious—" Dumbledore solemnly as he surveyed the crowd. "From this moment forward, Hogwarts will strictly enforce the Ministry of Magic's regulations. No student may leave Hogwarts. At the same time, due to the risk of exposure to the Wizarding World, all Owl Post are temporarily prohibited."

After saying this, Dumbledore left immediately.

Many students from the Muggle Family flocked to Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, my home is in London, and I need to confirm my parents' safety..."

"Professor, my home is in Bristol. Good heavens, my parents just wrote yesterday to tell me they're taking my brother shopping in the city center..."

"Professor, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall was immediately surrounded.

"Please don't worry, Hogwarts has already sent professors, and we are contacting alumni who will assist the professors in checking the family situations of all students from the Muggle Family. We will inform you of any news as soon as possible..."

However, this explanation didn't work well with the anxious children, and the Great Hall was already in chaos.

Sean pulled the pale-faced Hermione along and hurried out of the Great Hall. On the way, they overheard several Slytherin discussing how to contact their families to find out what was going on.

Daisy jogged after them, and the three of them quickly broke away from the crowd and arrived at the corridor on the Seventh Floor of the castle.

"Sean ..." Hermione finally came to her senses, biting her lip, her face filled with helplessness.

"My parents, and your parents, they, they are all in central London ..."

Sean nodded, his face ashen. "I know."

To ensure the secrecy of the Wizarding World, cutting off Hogwarts ' communications seemed necessary, but no one could remain calm in the face of the potential troubles their families might encounter.

Sean tried to calm himself down. His parents and sister should be under the protection of the people Dumbledore and Grindelwald had sent out, so this sudden attack shouldn't pose a threat to his family's lives.

However, without accurate information, Sean couldn't put his mind at ease, and Hermione was even more worried. The Mr. and Mrs. Granger were just ordinary people, without any wizard protection.

In a megacity with millions of inhabitants, the deaths of a hundred people and the injuries of hundreds more seem like an extremely small probability in the face of such massive numbers.

However, when it actually happens, no one can guarantee that they or their family members will not become one of those bright red individuals.

Sean had the urge more than once to go back and check the situation himself, but reason in his mind suppressed the irrational thoughts.

First, the probability of something going wrong is extremely small. Second, if an accident does happen, his return now would be of no use and could even cause more serious consequences.

Who knows if the real target of this accident might be the world's number one unstable bomb?

Under Hermione's helpless and Daisy's worried gaze, Sean took a few deep breaths.

"Wait, I'll be right back." The wooden door of the Room of Requirement appeared before the three of them.

Sean gave the order and then disappeared into the Vanishing Cabinet.

After closing the cabinet door and silently counting to 1, Sean opened it.

Things have changed... This is the first time Sean has returned to Newmontgard through the Vanishing Cabinet since Grindelwald and Dumbledore's apparent falling out in Paris.

The room in Newmontgard where the Vanishing Cabinet was placed has been completely changed. It is no longer the cozy and classic attic it once was. Things are scattered all over the place, and there are many signs of vandalism.

Only he and Grindelwald know this place... Sean thought to himself.

But he didn't have time to worry about that now. He quickly ran to the fireplace in the room and Sean out Floo Powder.

Hogwarts ' Floo Network is entirely monitored by the Ministry of Magic, making it unusable for him. However, Newmontgard is different; Grindelwald granted him access to the castle.

Moreover, when building Newmontgard, Grindelwald specifically laid out a Floo Network that was not monitored by any official agency and could be crossed across borders.

Green flames rose up, and Sean stepped directly in.

One square mile east of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

This small area is home to a large number of financial institutions such as banks, stock exchanges, and gold markets; it is the famous City of London.

On the high-rise, financial elites were busy working. However, many of them had their minds elsewhere today. These well-informed people had learned about the tragedy that had occurred in London this morning.

The government has issued a statement saying that this was a very serious natural gas leak and explosion, but their inside information suggests that there seems to be something even stranger behind this incident.

In contrast, my new colleagues on the top floor of this building didn't seem so strange at all—have you ever seen a financial company with fireplaces in its offices?

In fact, it was Sean's idea that Mr. Wallop funded the rental of this floor, and the Wizarding Rights Protection Agency, headed by Lupin, began its work in this mixed environment of wizards and Muggle.

Of course, wizards are very few in number, and Lupin is usually in charge of handing over work to Muggle.

After Mr. Wallop's special training, the Werewolf who found a job performed exceptionally well.

In a specially constructed small room, a green flame flickered from the fireplace, and Sean emerged from it.

He dusted himself off and walked out of the room.

In the modern corridor, a man in a suit carrying a stack of documents saw the boy emerging from the small room. He frowned and walked up to him. "Kid, how did you get in?"

Sean didn't say anything, but instead cast a Confundus Charm: "Where's your boss?"

The man in the suit replied dazedly, "A few clients dressed strangely came in earlier, and the boss is meeting with them in the private meeting room..."

Sean went to the living room with ease, and just as he was about to knock, the door opened by itself.

Lupin was standing at the door.

"Sean? How did you get here? Come in quickly."

Sean didn't have time to praise the other party's triggered warning magic. He strode into the living room and, as soon as the door closed, quickly asked, "Sir, I need your help to protect my parents."

Lupin locked the door, turned around and glanced at him. "So it was about this after all. Good heavens, how did you get out of Hogwarts... But don't worry, I went to find your parents when I heard the news. The accident happened in central London, far away from your parents, so they are safe."

Sean finally breathed a sigh of relief, plopped down on the sofa, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Lupin poured him a glass of water. "You should know where this happened, right? It's about 500 meters east of the Leaky Cauldron."

Sean frowned, took the water glass, and took a sip. "There? The attackers came from Diagon Alley?"

"Most likely." Lupin nodded. "I started looking into it as soon as it happened. You know, we opened a charity shop in Diagon Alley a while ago, and the manager gave me some information. The bar owner saw a group of strange wizards in red and black robes come out of the fireplace. They were all wearing hoods, and after having a few drinks at the Leaky Cauldron, they just left."

Lupin quickly relayed the information he had gathered. "According to Tom, there were five people in total. The leader had a strange accent, not like a England. Not long after they left, a huge explosion was heard from the east. You should know what happened next."

Not a local, launching an attack from near the Leaky Cauldron, and then brazenly appearing inside the bar... Sean noted down a few key points, then looked up at the other person again.

Before he could speak, Lupin smiled and said, "I know your concerns. Actually, just before you arrived, three people left. They were all recruited from the list you gave me. In fact, I've been observing them for a long time, and they are all trustworthy people. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be near your house by now. If you need, they can take your family with them whenever they want. We've already rented a house in Godric's Hollow, and Lily will welcome your family."

Sean felt a surge of relief at the astonishing efficiency and meticulous planning; hiring Lupin had been one of the best decisions he had ever made.

"Oh, right, and the Mr. and Mrs. Granger... Wait a minute, I'll call my parents." There was no electromagnetic interference from Hogwarts here, so Sean picked up the landline and dialed home.

Lupin sat on the sofa, watching the young man gently yet seriously remind his parents to be careful, and a smile appeared on his face.

After instructing his parents and having someone bring the Mr. and Mrs. Granger to stay at his home for a while, Sean finally felt completely at ease.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lupin," Sean said sincerely.

Lupin smiled and said, "Your list was a great help. The people on it are all trustworthy, so I don't need to spend a lot of effort looking for them anymore."

Sean shook his head. "It mainly depends on you."

The list came from Savannah Minsk, a member of the Golden Dawn. This brokerage family obtained a list full of graduates of Newmontgard, who were fervent admirers of Grindelwald. As long as you approached them using the name of Sean, Grindelwald's direct disciple, they would be much more trustworthy than ordinary wizards.

Lupin replied with a smile, "It's my duty, and as Werewolf, such a good employer certainly deserves my utmost sincerity."

"Mr. Lupin, please don't say that. I don't think you're different from us. You just have a chronic illness, like my father. He has high blood pressure and has to take his medication regularly." Sean shrugged, looking relaxed.

Lupin's eyes flickered twice. He lowered his head and chuckled softly before resuming his usual serious demeanor.

"So, what should we do next?"