An Attack That Was Unexpected, Yet Foreseen / The Dragnet Battle Begins ...

Aside from these, and disregarding Divination and Arithmancy —two subjects he simply couldn't muster any interest in—he would take all the other O.W.L. Examinations with Hermione...

At that time, all the students in the school will see the performance of this top-performing academic couple!

Chapter 825 An Unexpected Yet Predictable Attack

From early June until late June, Hogwarts students were deeply surrounded by the fear of final exams.

Some students, such as those in fifth and seventh grade, may have an even greater fear: the OWLs and NEWTs exams.

However, while all the students in the school are tormented by exams, there are always some hated guys who not only don't feel any tension, but actually enjoy it.

"Exams? I think you guys are basically just buying certificates wholesale from the Ministry of Magic!"

In late June, after the two-week certification exams had concluded, Luna Lovegood offered the following summary of the two Granger's inhuman performance.

The advantages of a high-achieving couple working together, besides being able to study together and show affection, include being able to compare answers while still showing affection after exams, quickly determining their scores while doing so...

Luna Lovegood: Please, you two, can't you just be human?

Judging from the current situation, Hermione will almost certainly get ten 'O's. Apart from misspelling one word in Study of Ancient Runes, her answers are practically textbook perfect.

Especially with spells and Defense Against the Dark Arts, she can even add 20 points to her 'O'!

After all, the professors in charge of the exams at the Ministry of Magic also knew about Miss Granger's feat of defeating the Hornet Dragon head-on.

As for Harry, he can certainly earn his various certificates as he wishes. Although there's nothing to brag about, at least he can officially be called a professor in the Care of Magical Creatures and in the History of Magic.

And he's passed Snape's test too... After all, he even got his Potions certificate from NEWT, so he probably won't have to take Potions Class next year...

"So, shouldn't you be offering General Social Cognition next school year?" Hermione asked during their casual conversation after checking grades. "I've specifically made time to attend your class next school year."

"Same here, I'm also very curious about what you're going to talk about," Luna Lovegood nodded in agreement. "Will and the others have been waiting for the same thing."

"Let's open it then, but it probably won't be at Hogwarts," Harry said after thinking for a moment. "I think it would be better to just set up a multi-purpose classroom in the nursing home; that would be more convenient for conducting experiments."

General Social Cognition... To be honest, Harry has always wanted to thoroughly upgrade and transform Muggle Studies, but unfortunately, he's been scheming against Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic this semester, so the course has inevitably been delayed.

Moreover, the Triwizard Tournament really delayed a lot of other things. For example, Will was unable to join the Eagle House's Quidditch team as he wished. There were no Quidditch games all year, and the four houses' teams did not conduct any new player selections.

Thankfully, this grueling fourth year is finally almost over. Judging from the current situation, things should get much easier for Harry after the start of next school year...

"Hmm?" While chatting with two women in the director's office at the nursing home, Harry suddenly felt his magic stir.

To be precise, it was the sensation of his defensive bracers being touched!

Someone's had an accident?!

Harry's expression immediately turned serious, and he began to use his magic to investigate the location of the incident.

Moreover, he already had a vague suspicion that the person involved in the accident was probably that guy...

"We need to get to the newspaper office right away; there might be a problem there!"

Sure enough, when Harry, Harry, and his Apparition to the Daily Prophet's headquarters in Diagon Alley, the scene was already a mess.

The person involved was undoubtedly Ludo Bagman. He was now slumped in the corner of his office, his face filled with terror, his whole body trembling wildly, but thankfully he was unharmed.

But his colleague, the editor, was in a much worse situation. He was lying disheveled amidst shards of glass, his body directly opposite a window with a large hole in it. Clearly, he had been casually taken down by the attacker who broke in through the window.

Harry went over to check on him and found that he had only been knocked unconscious and was not seriously injured. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved for the guy.

"What's wrong, Ludo? I heard some noise in your office... uh, Mr. Granger, and the two ladies?"

Just as Harry and the others began to examine the scene, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, Cuffe, rushed over with several staff members and happened to run into Harry and the others in the office.

"We just arrived too, and we were just about to ask Ludo what happened." Harry nodded slightly in greeting, then turned to Ludo, "What just happened? Who attacked you?"

"Yes..." Ludo breathed cautiously, glancing down at Harry with obvious fear.

"Ludo, are you trying to say... I was the one who attacked you?" Harry immediately noticed the evasive look on Ludo's face and asked directly.

"Ah? No! I..." Ludo nearly jumped up from the ground in shock. "Mr. Granger, I didn't mean that! It's just... it's just that the person who suddenly appeared just now, he looks so much like you, and he was even wearing Hogwarts robes... He attacked me as soon as he appeared, I was completely terrified, and my first instinct was that he was going to kill me..."

No wonder Ludo looked so scared and hesitant when he saw Harry, because it really was 'Harry' himself who attacked him!

"But... I've figured it out now, it definitely wasn't Mr. Granger." Ludo glanced at Harry fearfully and whispered, "If you wanted to kill me... no! I mean, you gave me a job and this bracer, why would you want... Anyway, I'm really grateful for this bracer that deflected the spell, otherwise I probably would have ended up like Rufus Fudge."

Ludo Bagman was now absolutely terrified. He never imagined that Harry's fears would come true, that someone would actually try to assassinate someone as insignificant as him!

Of course, his current fear also stems largely from Harry himself; although he knows it's unlikely, the attacker is simply...

"Ludo, tell me all the details!" Harry asked Ludo seriously, "How did he appear, and how did he attack you?!"

"I...I'm not entirely sure either," Ludo stammered. "I don't know how he got here. It was like he appeared out of thin air outside the window and then smashed it open and rushed in. After stunning my colleague, he immediately tried to attack me, but the spell he cast was blocked by the shield that his bracers had turned into, and then he flew away through the hole in the window."

"You mean he flew away?" Harry frowned involuntarily; it seemed his previous guess could now be considered a done deal.

The killer in the previous series of murders was indeed Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch.!

His purpose in doing so was undoubtedly to frame Harry!

Chapter 826 The Final Battle: The Curtain Rises

Based solely on Ludo Bagman's clue that "the attacker could fly," Harry was already able to narrow down the culprit to Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch.

The ability to fly without a wick can only be achieved through magic whose properties have been altered by the Universal Solvent, and only Harry and Voldemort possess this magic, and only they can bestow their magic upon others.

"Hmm... a crack has appeared?" While questioning Ludo, Harry was surprised to find that the wristband he had given him had been struck and developed a noticeable crack!

"Harry, there's blood on the ground over here." Luna Lovegood had also made a discovery. On the floor not far from Ludo, she saw a very peculiar drop of blood.

"It must be Unicorn Blood ..." Harry carefully took a blood sample, examined it closely, and quickly figured out why Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. was able to mimic his methods to commit the crime.

Unicorn Blood contains a powerful curse, but it is also a potent Potions that can enhance a user's magic in a very short time. Barty Crouch Barty Crouch Jr.. was once severely injured by Harry's lightning strike and was able to recover quickly thanks to Unicorn Blood.

Now, he has clearly been treating this forbidden substance as an oral liquid, which is why it possesses such terrifying magic!

His previous killings of Fudge's family and Akinbad weren't actually some kind of clandestine kidnapping; he simply broke in, killed them, disposed of the bodies, and then used Mending Charm to restore everything to its original state.

With his normal magical abilities, it would be very difficult to do this, but after drinking the Unicorn Blood, it would be entirely possible.

Harry was even certain that the other person might not have used Polyjuice Potion when impersonating him; they might have simply used Human Transfiguration!

This time, however, Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. did not expect Harry to have left protective measures for Ludo, which is why he was unable to restore the crime scene in his hasty escape.

Unfortunately, Harry arrived too late...

Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. was such a troublesome fellow; he retreated immediately after missing his first attack, and since there were no Anti-Apparition Jinx restrictions in Diagon Alley, Harry didn't even know where he had gone.

However, it's a good thing that Ludo Bagman escaped unscathed; at least he did his best as a sports editor and Will's Quidditch coach during this period.

Moreover, Harry might even be able to use this to his advantage...

Time quickly drew to a close on the eve of the final match. However, while the Britain Wizarding World eagerly awaited the end of the competition, some other rumors were also quietly spreading.

The attack on Ludo Bagman at the newspaper office was carried out by Harry Granger himself!

Rumors circulated that Harry actually harbored resentment towards Ludo, which was why he wanted to kill him as well, but unfortunately, he failed this time.

There is also another rumor that Harry and Ludo actually staged a scene, that he attacked Ludo and then immediately returned to the scene, pretending that he had just arrived, so that he could clear himself of suspicion for killing the others.

But regardless of the version of events, the core argument of these reports is actually only one thing... the attacker looked exactly like Harry, and he flew directly out of the window!

Many in the Britain Wizarding World know that when Harry started his fourth year of school, he summoned lightning in full view of everyone, clearly demonstrating his ability to fly!

Therefore, the one who attacked Ludo Bagman must have been Harry Granger, and he was the one who killed all those people before him!

"I really didn't expect that this guy would fabricate such a vicious news story to frame himself... and that so many people actually believed it?!"

On the morning of June 24th, the day of the final match, Hermione and Luna Lovegood were having lunch together in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, but the pointing and whispering around them left her speechless.

Considering some recent rumors, Hermione couldn't help but sigh... when someone is truly ruthless, they can even scheme against themselves.

"Didn't you say it yourself before? Even many of the greatest wizards don't have the slightest ability to reason logically." Luna Lovegood calmly took a sip of Pumpkin Juice and gently shook her head. "Whether adults or students, wizards only believe what they see or hear... Expecting them to use their brains to analyze and think is really asking the impossible."

"Hey, weren't those words said by someone else?"

"Yes, but different times and spaces, the same group of wizards~"

In fact, those unfounded rumors all originated from Harry himself.

However, after Harry secretly posted a few messages smearing himself, all sorts of rumors began to spread, successfully attracting a large number of people to spontaneously take sides and begin to believe that Harry was really a murderer.

Even at Hogwarts, many students share this view... Their reaction isn't surprising at all, considering that in the original books, they also believed Harry Potter was the Heir of Slytherin opened the Chamber of Secrets.

Wizards have a simple and illogical way of thinking and are prone to believing one-sided things, which makes them a breeding ground for rumors. This is exactly the kind of situation Harry wants!

Because this 'rumor' is considered by many to be based on solid evidence, ordinary wizards would not know about the Universal Solvent, let alone that wankless flight was first developed by Voldemort. Therefore, they would naturally regard this ability as one of Harry's trademarks.

Given the current unfavorable situation for Harry, how could the Order of the Order of the Phoenix miss this golden opportunity to kick him while he's down?

But the more excited they are, the harder they'll be slapped in the face when things turn out the other way around!

Reputation, well, you can't eat it. Trading a little damage to your reputation for the chance to completely destroy someone's reputation is an incredibly worthwhile deal.

By now, Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. has killed everyone he needed to kill, and the rumors circulating in the Britain Wizarding World have reached a fever pitch. Harry, the Death Eater, and the Order of the Phoenix... the final battle in this grand drama of the fourth year is about to begin!

"I should go too. Professor Flitwick wants me to meet in the meeting room next to the Great Hall. He said the families of the Champion are invited to attend the third match," Hermione said to Luna Lovegood, shrugging. "Now, I'm going there to see my family."

"I think you're deliberately showing off to me, and I don't need proof..." Luna Lovegood rolled her eyes at Hermione expressionless face.

That said, the Mr. and Mrs. Granger are doing just fine in China, and there's no way Hogwarts will invite them back.

So, besides Harry, who else could Hermione be considered a relative?

Uh... okay, there really is one~

As Hermione entered the meeting room, she spotted Harry smiling among the crowd...

And Perenelle Nicolas Flamel beside him!

Chapter 827 The Last Moments Before the Match

"Harry, and... Mrs.? What are you doing here?"

Hermione was utterly astonished to see the kind old man sitting in a wheelchair, smiling at her.

She never expected that such a highly respected 'relative' would come to her side!

"Of course, your wife is here to support you!" Harry grinned and led Hermione to Perenelle. "Today is the Champion' last and most important pre-match appearance. Everyone else has an elder accompanying them, so we can't be an exception."

Upon hearing this, Hermione quickly glanced around and found that the other three families indeed seemed to be enjoying a blissful time together.

Cedric Diggory and his parents stood by the door, while Viktor Krum was talking to his parents in a corner of the room. Phoebe's mother and sister were also present.

The Delacour family, in particular, kept glancing at Hermione as they talked, their eyes filled with respect for Perenelle.

Seeing all this, and then looking at the old man and the young girl who always wore smiles, Hermione's eyes couldn't help but redden.

Of course, this isn't sadness, but rather a heartfelt feeling of being moved... for everything Harry has done.

Although her parents couldn't be there in person at such a time, Harry was absolutely determined not to let her suffer any injustice, and he truly did the best he could.

"Nicolas Flamel wanted to come too, but he hasn't been feeling well lately and is resting in bed, so I had to come by myself." Perenelle smiled and took Hermione's hand. "Good luck in tonight's match! I'll be watching from the stands to see our Hermione show off her skills."

"Thank you, Madam! And thank you, Teacher..." Hermione said gratefully, sniffling.

"Hermione, let's take your teacher's wife out for a walk," Harry suggested.

Upon hearing this, Hermione immediately suppressed the slight sadness in her heart. She then personally pushed Perenelle along, and called Luna Lovegood, who was alright, and the four of them strolled around the Hogwarts campus together.

They strolled together across the sun-drenched playground, observed the clingy Occamy, and Unicorn in the Forbidden Forest, and even saw Merpeople in the Black Lake that was beginning to grow beautiful.

As they passed Beauxbatons' carriage, Perenelle chuckled and remarked that the carriage's design was actually by Nicolas Flamel, though Beauxbatons had later built it themselves—a fact confirmed by Olympe Maxime, who had come to greet them.

During this time, they also talked about Nicolas Flamel's health, which the three children were very worried about.

"Hey, it's just the same old ailment. He's just not very mobile, so he needs to stay in bed and rest often," Perenelle said with a reassuring smile. "Nicolas Flamel and I have lived for far too long. Even with an elixir of immortality, our bodies will eventually decay and turn to ash."

Her face was covered in wrinkles, which seemed to give her a sense of open-mindedness, but the three little ones all seemed a bit downcast.

They were still young, and it was impossible for them to be completely indifferent to the life and death of those around them. Even though Harry and Luna Lovegood had both experienced the pain of losing loved ones, it was not something they could simply let go of.

Moreover, Harry had a vague feeling that there was more to the story than met the eye regarding the teacher's 'illness'.