Chapter 170
Everyone heard what Harry said clearly!
Sirius looked toward him, tension written all over his face. "Is what you're saying true, Harry?!"
Harry removed his glasses, looking uncertain himself. "Yeah… that's exactly what happened. I felt this strange cold shiver right after that weak hybrid the one Peter said was Voldemort cast that spell. It woke me up instantly!"
Everyone listening grew uneasy. The mere mention of Voldemort's name filled the air with dread.
Remus Lupin, who had come to celebrate his friend's freedom, tried to calm things down. "I'm betting this is just an echo of what happened to you when you were a baby. Don't take it too seriously, Harry it's just a dream!"
Lupin wanted to ease Harry's mind… but Albert didn't let the matter slide.
He said something that made the tension in the room spike even higher.
Albert spoke firmly: "Harry wasn't the only one who had that dream. I saw it too."
Arthur and Sirius, the two most concerned, turned toward Albert. Sirius asked, his face serious, "What exactly did you see, Albert?"
Albert explained in full detail what he had witnessed how Barty and Peter had worked together to help Voldemort possess the body of an infant.
However, Albert deliberately left out any mention of the Triwizard Tournament that Voldemort had learned about through Bertha's memories.
Arthur held his head, trying to process all these alarming events. Everyone else was deep in thought too, the weight of what they'd heard pressing down on them.
Arthur finally spoke, his voice calm but thoughtful: "Even if this is true… You-Know-Who hasn't fully returned yet. If we tell Professor Dumbledore, we might be able to stop him before it's too late."
Everyone agreed Molly, Sirius, and the others nodded in unison.
Sirius, especially, wanted to act. After hearing what Harry said that Voldemort was planning to kill Albert first he was eager to find Dumbledore and stop the Dark Lord before it was too late.
But Albert's next words froze them all in place. "Do any of you even know where Voldemort is right now? Do you have the faintest clue where he could be hiding? Do you know any of his followers? No so even if the sky swallowed the earth, we couldn't track him down!"
Remus interjected nervously, "Don't say his name! Say You-Know-Who."
Albert replied, unamused, "We don't have time for that, Professor."
Sirius fell silent, deep in thought, trying to think of any possible place Voldemort might be.
Even Albert didn't know Voldemort's exact location with Peter. All he remembered was that Voldemort and Wormtail had been in the Riddle graveyard before the end of the Triwizard Tournament.
In the original story Albert remembered from his past life, Voldemort mentioned being elsewhere before coming to the Riddle House near the family's graveyard meaning even Albert couldn't pinpoint his current hiding place.
Seeing everyone's spirits sinking lower, Albert stood up and pulled out a handful of cards gleaming green and red tickets marked VVIP in golden letters. He placed them on the table with a grin. "To lighten the mood I bought us tickets to the Quidditch World Cup Final! Let's change this gloomy atmosphere, shall we?"
The group erupted in excitement they were going to sit in the VIP section and watch the match up close for the first time!
George, Fred, and Ron burst out laughing and cheering together.
Everyone began preparing for the trip to London's wizarding city, where the final match would be held the first of its kind in the city's history.
Albert invited his father to join them and enjoy the event, but Sirius refused, saying he had important business to take care of.
When Albert asked, Sirius reassured him: "No, it's not about that man. I just need to visit the industrial company that manages our family's investments it's been a while since we've done any financial maintenance."
Albert was relieved he'd feared his father was going to hunt down leads on Voldemort.
Remus also declined the invitation, afraid he might transform into a werewolf unexpectedly at night especially since he hadn't brought his Wolfsbane potion with him.
The rest of them went downstairs, dressed and ready, only to find Mrs. Molly Weasley stirring something over the stove.
George, searching around, asked, "Where are Bill, Charlie, and Percy?"
Molly set the pot on the counter and began pouring its contents. "They'll be Apparating there directly they have some work to finish first, but they'll meet us later."
Harry, overhearing, knew that Apparition was a very difficult spell vanishing from one place and reappearing in another instantly.
Fred, pulling the dish closer, asked, "Why can't we Apparate too?"
Molly replied, "Because you're not of age yet." Then she looked around and asked, "Where's Albert?"
Arthur answered, "He's still upstairs talking with his father. Don't worry about him."
Molly smiled softly. "Let them talk the boy hasn't had much of a father's affection in his life."
They all headed for the door when Albert's voice called from upstairs, "Go ahead! I'll catch up quickly!"
Arthur gestured for everyone to continue outside.
As they walked, Harry asked curiously, "Mr. Weasley, do you have to take a test before you can Apparate?"
Arthur, tucking his golden ticket into his pocket, replied, "Yes. The Ministry's Department of Magical Transportation is dealing with two people right now who tried to Apparate without a license. It's not easy they actually split themselves in half!"
No one spoke for a moment only Harry's shocked voice broke the silence. "Split themselves in half?!"
Arthur nodded as they walked toward their Apparition point. "They left half of themselves behind literally stuck between the departure and arrival points. The Emergency Magic Reversal Squad had to be called in to fix it. And that's not counting the panic they caused among the Muggles imagine what it looked like to see half a body appear in the street!"
Harry winced at the thought. "Did they… get better?"
Arthur smiled. "Ah, yes, they did. But they were severely punished I doubt they'll try that again soon. You see, even
many adult wizards prefer broomsticks. They're slower… but far safer."
To be continued…