This End of the Bridge, That End of the Bridge
McGonagall walked down the basement Corridor toward the stairwell, the hem of her robe sweeping across the floor as she turned the corner, her expression serious.
Regulus followed half a step behind, his steps light and easy.
The morning classes had ended, and the faint sounds of young Wizards talking could be heard from above the stairs. As lunchtime approached, the Great Hall was already bustling with activity.
His father arrived, and the men Crouch had summoned were also gathering there. He could either leave with his father or simply leave Crouch there to do whatever he wanted, but he didn't want to do that.
Regardless of who started it, Crouch is here, and he brought his men. After all this commotion, we can't just let it go like this.
The office is too small, making it difficult to work out or get things done properly. It's a good idea to move outside to continue the work.
A series of hurried footsteps sounded around the corner, and five or six Auror rushed towards them. One of them turned his head and instructed, "The Director has been Attacks and is incapacitated. Go and provide support first. Moody, have the people outside hold the line. We'll have to wait for orders before we can take action."
The wizard at the front stopped abruptly upon seeing Regulus, his fingers gripping the handle of his wand tightly.
The two people behind them stopped, their gazes shifting from McGonagall's face to the Corridor behind them.
Black, who had just raised the alarm for the entire Auror Squad, wasn't restrained. He walked out side by side with the vice principal, his clothes neat and his face showing no sign of anything amiss.
Regulus glanced at them, not intending to say or do anything, but McGonagall was afraid he would say something, and even more afraid he would do something.
She spoke first, her tone curt. "Crouch is inside."
The wizard stared at Regulus again, then moved to the wall to make way, his eyes practically overflowing with hostility.
Regulus didn't even bother to glance at it.
Who are you showing this to? Your boss isn't even here.
He walked straight past the group without giving them another glance. The Auror exchanged glances, then quickened their pace and went inside, their hushed conversation carried away by the echoes of the cellar.
The stone steps leading up were brighter than the Corridor, and pale sunlight streamed through the narrow windows. The warm aroma of food already wafted from the Great Hall.
Regulus and McGonagall reached the corner of the stairs near the Entrance Hall when a light, cheerful voice came from above, clearly showing interest.
"Who bullied little Regulus? I've brought you some help."
Aksha walked down the corner, her auburn long skirt sweeping across the steps, her beige short robe swaying gently with her steps, and the amber pendant by her ear dangling.
She looked first at Regulus, then at McGonagall, her eyes glancing towards the cellar.
Behind her followed the Slytherin and Gryffindor third-year students from the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. A large group of young wizards squeezed down the steps, and those at the back, unable to see ahead, stood on tiptoe to look down, their steps gradually coming to a stop.
Regulus stopped at the corner, looked up at Aksha, and felt a little helpless.
How did it become Regulus the Younger?
As for helpers
Avery stood next to Aksha, grinning broadly, which was quite an eyesore.
Regulus glanced over, and the guy immediately shut his mouth, frowned, looked concerned, and even straightened his posture.
He glanced again at Hermes, who was standing beside him with his eyelids pulled down, then turned his gaze to Alex, nodded to him, and finally looked back at Aksha.
You can call me whatever you want, but I won't call you Old Aksha.
He nodded, his tone relaxed. "The Ministry of Magic, Crouch brought people."
Aksha looked him over again, seeing no injuries from head to toe. She gave a soft snort, her voice surprisingly tinged with disappointment. "You don't look like you've been bullied at all."
Regulus shrugged slightly.
Aksha noticed his expression, her brown eyes crinkling, and was about to press for more information when McGonagall interrupted her, "His father is waiting outside."
"Oh?" Her gaze shifted towards the Entrance Hall, then returned to Regulus, showing no intention of staying.
Avery stood among the first few people behind her, his smile gone.
The dean borrowed someone to teach a class, Auror hurrying along the Corridor, Crouch himself came, and even Mr. Black came.
Alex's expression turned serious, Lina stopped whispering to the others, Samuel looked at Regulus, and Hermes finally opened his eyes.
Regulus called out to the crowd, "Avery."
Avery immediately stepped down the stairs, walked up to him, and stopped talking as soon as he opened his mouth, waiting quietly.
Regulus looked at him and whispered, "Call all the Slytherin over."
Aksha raised her eyebrows, first looking at Avery, then at Regulus, her pleasure becoming increasingly evident.
McGonagall frowned, her gaze lingering on Regulus's face for a moment before turning to the steps leading to the Entrance Hall.
Avery's face was serious. He first glanced at McGonagall, and seeing that she let him stand there, he looked back at Regulus.
Regulus planned to summon everyone from the academy, for that was what was about to happen, and he intended for them to witness it firsthand.
He didn't know exactly what had happened, but judging from the scale of the operation, it was clearly significant. Regulus wanted to use them as mouthpieces to spread the news. There was no better place for word-of-mouth communication than Slytherin. In the entire Wizarding World, Pureblood Wizards might not be the largest in number, but their voices were definitely the loudest.
In every household, relatives were connected to relatives, and marriages were arranged one after another. A word of gossip could travel from the Hogwarts dining table to the fireplace in every home in less than half a day.
Avery nodded seriously. "Understood."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the Entrance Hall, first going to find those who were waiting for dinner after class. Alex followed, Lina also slipped through the young wizards to catch up with the two.
As Avery walked, he said, "Alex, go find the Prefect, Lina, call out in the Common Room too."
Samuel remained in Regulus's sight, watching Lina walk away before turning his gaze back, waiting for further instructions.
Hermes stood to the side, his face grim, his gaze sweeping over several shoulders until he spotted Auror looking in their direction from around another corner.
He reached into the inside pocket of his robe, stopped when he touched the wand, and stared intently at it.
The Auror glanced at the gathered students and two professors, then turned and continued into the cellar.
McGonagall continued up the steps, Aksha stepped aside slightly to make way for Regulus as he walked past her. She then turned and followed him toward the Entrance Hall.
The young Wizards blocking the way moved to the sides, shoulder to shoulder, some even lifting their backpacks to their chests and stepping aside to make way for them.
Once Regulus went up, those who had been going down the steps turned around and started walking back down the steps.
A Gryffindor was standing on tiptoe looking into the cellar when his companion grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.
The Entrance Hall was bustling with activity. The Great Hall doors were wide open, and inside, Tableware clattered, and many people sat around the long tables.
Outside, some people were waiting for their friends, others were talking while holding textbooks, and people were coming down the stairs one after another.
A few Hufflepuff were walking along, discussing having an extra meal in the Kitchen that night, when they saw a group of people surging up the cellar stairs.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know, I heard someone from the Ministry of Magic came."
Who are you looking for?
Someone gestured with their chin toward the front of the crowd opposite, and the small group of people gathered around the door looked over, saw Regulus Black, and fell silent.
McGonagall walked past them with a serious expression, her gaze sweeping over the faces craning their necks. The voices in the front row fell silent, and the others moved to the side.
But she only glanced at them and didn't send them back.
Regulus walked toward the main gate of the Castle, with McGonagall on his side, slightly ahead, Aksha on the other side.
Samuel and Hermes followed the crowd up, with more people constantly joining them from both sides of the Entrance Hall.
Some people started calling out to their friends and companions, gathering together with the intention of watching the excitement. Some people even stopped halfway down the stairs, holding onto the railing to watch for a while before quickening their pace to catch up.
They all saw Professor McGonagall Professor McGonagall. Since she didn't chase them away, she meant they weren't being stopped. If she wasn't being stopped, they had to hurry, or they wouldn't get a good spot.
As Aksha walked, she kept looking back, and seeing the growing number of young wizards, she could hardly hide the joy in her eyes.
She turned her head towards Regulus, her tone full of interest. "You're going to call everyone together? What do you want them to see? What are you going to do?"
Regulus glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips, but before he could speak, McGonagall turned back, her tone more serious than at the bottom of the stairs. "Aksha."
She looked at Aksha, and then glanced at the few little wizards behind her who had their ears perked up.
Aksha raised her hand to indicate that she had heard, kept her mouth closed for the moment, her eyes still on Regulus, moved aside slightly, and followed him out with light steps.
Regulus swallowed the words he was about to say and continued forward with McGonagall.
It's good to watch the excitement; with more people, there's more gossip, and news can spread everywhere.
Crouch come quietly, do the work quietly, and leave quietly; let him figure that out himself.
The Castle's main gate was wide open, and the damp, cool September wind blew in, dampening the warmth of the Entrance Hall.
Aksha's skirt fluttered slightly in the wind; she casually gathered her outer robe and looked outside with great interest.
A group of people, nearly a hundred or so, walked out of the Castle. The Front Courtyard was paved with damp stone bricks, and their footsteps left the doorway and dissipated into the open wind.
The young wizards at the back were still talking when the group in front stepped down the steps, saw the outer end of the stone bridge, stopped halfway through their conversation, and turned back to nudge their companion's arm.
The thick fog of the morning had thinned, and the gray-white sunlight spread across the bridge surface. The stone railings on both sides looked damp, and the color between the stones was even darker.
The valley beneath the bridge was still shrouded in mist, and the distant slopes appeared and disappeared intermittently, the exposed grass a damp, dark color. The wind blew up from the valley and swept across the Front Courtyard.
Orion and Walburga arrived, standing at the outer end of the bridge, behind them more than thirty figures hooded and draped in black robes.
The front row's shoulders obscured the chests of those behind, their faces hidden in shadow beneath hoods, facing the Castle.
The wind swept through the procession, causing the hems of their robes to flutter one after another, spreading out from one end to the other before settling back down.
His mother had arrived too. Regulus raised an eyebrow slightly and walked along the Front Courtyard toward the stone bridge.
A dozen or so Auror stood on either side of the middle section of the bridge, a few steps apart. Department of Magical Law Enforcement uniforms and the black robes at the outer end of the bridge were separated by a distance. They all held wands and looked back and forth.
Avery rushed up from the side and rear, jogging to Regulus's side, his breathing slightly quickened, his expression serious. "They're almost here."
Regulus paused briefly, nodded to him, and continued onward.
Slytherin gradually gathered to one side of the crowd, with Prefect Chaos Selwyn standing in the front row, his silver-green badge stamped on his robes.
Prefect Cecilia Avery stood a few steps away from him, her long, dark chestnut hair falling over her shoulders, quietly gazing outwards at the bridge.
The other Slytherin who followed stopped behind them, asked in hushed tones, and then looked in the direction their gaze was directed.
The silver and green ties were gathered together, with the older students spreading out in front, while the younger students stopped and moved closer to each other.
No one went anywhere else, and no one whispered or laughed. They all stood in neat rows, facing the same direction.
Avery returned to Alex and Lina, who had also rushed back, and the group looked out at the bridge together.
The crowd was still growing. The young Wizards near the Castle gate parted to the sides of the Front Courtyard, and those in the back stood on tiptoe to see. Those in front had stopped talking.
McGonagall stopped at the bridgehead closest to the school, and the young wizards behind her also stopped.
Aksha first looked at the Auror, then at the line at the outer end of the bridge, and then glanced at the growing number of young wizards behind her. Seeing Regulus walk forward, she followed him onto the bridge.
Regulus glanced at the reddish-brown skirt beside him, his expression slightly strange.
He went to see his parents, what was she doing there?
McGonagall called again, with a hint of helplessness. "Aksha."
Aksha stopped, turned around and met her old friend's gaze, then gently smacked her lips.
She pulled her robe tighter, turned back to McGonagall's side, stood with a relaxed posture, her large brown eyes still fixed on Regulus's back.
All the professors and young wizards behind him stopped at the bridgehead, but Regulus walked onto the empty space in the middle of the bridge alone.
Mist floated along the stone arch beneath the bridge, and looking down through the railings, the valley below appeared a grayish-white expanse.
The Auror on either side stood in the wind, the hems of their uniforms patting their calves, their gazes following Regulus.
One of them pressed his thumb against the wand handle, gently turning his body towards him without moving forward. The others stood quietly, no one reaching out or speaking.
Regulus didn't even bother to look to either side, and walked straight past them, continuing on his way.
At the end of the stone railing, the figures of her parents drew closer, their black robes billowing in the wind behind them.
At the other end of the bridge, McGonagall and Aksha stood side by side, while the young Wizards spread out from the bridgehead to the Front Courtyard, all the way to the foot of the Castle steps.