Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 334 Ruins

As the three of them slowly walked up to the second-floor terrace, they unsurprisingly ran into Theodore and a few others.

"Would you like to take a break? The oath-taking ceremony may not be over anytime soon."

Theodore shrugged helplessly, his relaxed expression and anxious eyes easily seen through by Thea.

"Okay."

Thea sighed inwardly, thinking about the scene that might unfold here later, and for a moment she didn't dare to meet Theodore's eyes.

He'll hate me, won't he?

It definitely will!

Thea's hand trembled slightly, but the next second Theodore shoved something warm into her hand.

"This is for warming your hands. Thank you for your help in this weather."

Thea looked down and saw a simple hot water bottle, which was easy to carry.

"Thank you."

Thea nodded, a gesture that delighted Theodore. "No need for thanks, it's nothing."

After exchanging a few words, the two fell silent.

To hide her embarrassment, Thea looked up at the spacious courtyard below.

It really was a military parade.

The rows of neatly dressed Death Eaters in black robes gave Thea a headache, while right in front of them, Voldemort was delivering his grand declaration of his determination to "change the entire wizarding world."

Thea was getting a little annoyed, so she simply lowered her head to admire the bracelet that Gella had picked out for her.

"Hello everyone!"

A loud, almost exaggerated opening remark made Thea instinctively look toward the source of the sound.

"Welcome to Miss Black and Mr. Nott's engagement party!"

Amidst the applause and cheers of hundreds of people, Thea turned her head to look at Theodore:

"The emcee you hired?"

Theodore: "..."

Theodore felt that this emcee was absolutely the Waterloo of his perfect life.

"no!"

While inwardly expressing his disdain, Theodore quickly defended himself, "It must have been arranged at the last minute; the emcee I've seen before wasn't this one!"

"Oh?"

Thea grew suspicious and gradually became wary of the emcee.

A heavily guarded manor, Death Eaters ready to pounce, the Order of the Phoenix lurking in the shadows, and now, a grotesque master of ceremonies—

This engagement party was really interesting.

During their conversation, Gella and the others got a good look at the emcee—a tailcoat that was short in the front and long in the back, with white front panels piled up at the collar in a pleated design, and finally, with the young man's androgynous face, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a handsome young man.

But the prerequisite is—he doesn't speak.

It's not that his voice is unpleasant; the real flaw is his overly exaggerated expressions.

It's like a smile that's been practiced countless times in front of a mirror, tugged by fingers.

The indescribable stiffness and numbness were depressing to look at.

As she watched, Thea suddenly felt tired. She was about to turn to Gella and ask if she had any candy or something, but the master of ceremonies in the courtyard was faster than her.

In a flash, he suddenly turned to face the audience, staring straight at the second-floor terrace with lightning-fast eyes.

"Oh!"

"Stop him!"

A deafening explosion, loud enough to engulf the entire courtyard, erupted!

At the same time, Thea's almost desperate attempts to stop them rang out.

"He's going to commit suicide!!!"

All of this happened so fast that even Theodore, who was closest to Thea, didn't have time to react before Thea pulled him down to the ground.

Ignoring the layer of ash covering her face and the throbbing pain in her lungs from the blast, Thea gritted her teeth:

"Take Draco and the others down there!"

"An attack occurred at the engagement party. As the hosts, we need to show our attitude!!!"

"Get down here quickly!"

That huge explosion seemed to be the beginning. Just as Thea was grabbing Theodore and giving him a stern warning, a series of explosions rang out below.

"Oh shit!"

"Those damned bastards!"

"Damn it, I can't move my legs!"

"Pharmacist! Where's the pharmacist?!"

"Get the hell over here!"

After the explosion, cries of pain, complaints through gritted teeth, and loud curses followed – such were the myriad expressions of human nature.

"Quiet!"

As Voldemort screamed and ravaged the body, the room gradually quieted down.

"Little Barty!"

No one saw when Barty Jr. stood next to Voldemort until he bowed his head and answered respectfully.

"Catch those rats!"

"Yes! Master!"

Little Barty's deep gaze swept over the crowd, who were covered in dust from the explosion, and then he took a special look at the origin of the explosion—the stage that had been reduced to dust.

Then he strode away, issuing commands.

"Is anyone still able to move? Stand up!"

Barty is acting aggressively here.

Voldemort also began to make further arrangements.

"Carlo, take some men and shoot those little devils down from the sky."

Everyone looked up at the sound, and sure enough, they saw the flying brooms hovering above the manor.

"Thunderous explosion!"

"Crushed to pieces!"

"Rocket crossbow, here we come!"

Seeing that the Death Eaters had reacted, Harry didn't delay. He threw an explosive spell into the courtyard while calling for everyone to retreat.

He wasn't stupid. The best time to launch a sneak attack had passed, but fortunately, he had gained a lot. To avoid greater losses, it was best to retreat in time!

After figuring it out, Harry turned and left without hesitation, but Voldemort wouldn't give him that chance and easily followed after him.

Seeing this, Harry remained calm, gave Ron a signal, and flew away into the distance.

Ron understood and turned to swoop down towards the courtyard.

With the group leaderless, the opportunity to launch a surprise attack has arrived!

Taking advantage of the high ground, Ron even destroyed several small buildings in the manor while casting the Explosive Curse.

However, for some reason, the small building where Thea was located remained unharmed, and Thea's eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed Ron subtly avoiding her.

"...Being soft-hearted is not a good thing."

The thought had barely left his lips when a spell flew past, almost grazing Ron's thigh.

Ron was so busy dodging that he almost fell off the broom.

Judging from his physical limits, Ron slowly began to gather everyone to leave.

Before leaving, he inexplicably flew down and happened to meet Thea's gaze, who was constantly looking up to observe the situation.

"Aren't you going to get lost?"

Even though the curve of her lips was exactly the same as when she was in school, Ron still managed to read those three words from Thea's face, thanks to his goalkeeper's excellent eyesight.

"hey-hey!"

When Ron realized he was the culprit who ruined the engagement party, he scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, but his men didn't hesitate to deliver another heavy blow to the center of the courtyard below.

"I wasn't the one who came up with this despicable idea, go ask Harry if you're so capable! Why are you glaring at me?!"

Before he knew it, Ron's skin had thickened rapidly.

As the explosions subsided, Thea finally looked away from her sore eyes.

Even if I make up some random reason, Theodore... would probably believe it, right...?

Looking at the boy, his face covered in dust and looking haggard, staring straight at her amidst the ruins, Thea felt an unusual urge to run away.