At the entrance to Gringotts.
Having just stepped out of the goblin-driven cart, the dazzling sunlight made Harry instinctively raise a hand to shield his eyes. He carried a heavy money bag, holding more money than he had ever seen in his life, even more than Dudley had ever owned.
"Ah!"
At that very moment, the scar on his forehead suddenly throbbed with intense pain.
Harry felt as if his head were about to split open. His vision blurred, and he could not stand steadily, swaying on the spot. The money bag slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, and Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts scattered with a clatter.
"Harry! What's wrong?" Hagrid's huge hand steadied the unsteady boy. His bearded face loomed close, his round eyes full of worry.
"I… I feel like I became someone else…" Harry gasped, his voice trembling. "I saw a corpse… that person spoke like a snake, very weak, but also extremely excited, kept talking about 'a genius's creation'…"
In just a few seconds, Harry's clothes were soaked with cold sweat. His face had gone pale as paper, and his body was still trembling slightly.
"Who was it?" Hagrid asked urgently.
"I don't know!"
At that moment, the crowd in Diagon Alley was startled by the hurried movements of the Aurors, and everyone turned to look in the direction of the disturbance.
"That's Knockturn Alley…"
"What happened?"
"It must have been a Dark Wizard!"
With the start of Hogwarts approaching, Diagon Alley was packed with students and parents doing their shopping.
Most of the younger children looked bewildered, with only a few showing fear. The parents wore all kinds of expressions. Some were terrified, some frowned deeply, and the Muggle parents were puzzled, finding it all merely novel.
"Scar pain, strange visions, Parseltongue, a Dark Wizard in Knockturn Alley…" As a former member of the Order of the Phoenix, a terrifying name immediately flashed through Hagrid's mind. He had to report to Dumbledore at once.
Hagrid picked up the weak Harry, struggled through the crowd, and hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron to borrow Old Tom's fireplace.
He carefully settled Harry onto a nearby chair, then fumbled in his enormous pocket for a pinch of Floo powder and tossed it into the flames. He stepped forward, the heat rushing toward him, and the moment he opened his mouth, he inhaled a mouthful of hot ash.
"Cough… cough, cough… Ho… Hogwarts… Headmaster's Office…" Hagrid choked as he called out.
The flames instantly turned a warm emerald green, and the heat subsided. Without hesitation, Hagrid stuck his head into the fire.
...
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts.
Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were in discussion. An unsealed letter lay open on the table. If Harry had been there, he would have recognized it as an admission letter identical to the one he received.
"Albus, I've checked. Ninety-nine Rose Road, London, is the old residence of the Foley family. But this branch of the Dark Wizard family has been dormant for a very long time. There have been no records of active members for nearly a hundred years, so they may have died out. Could the Book of Admittance be mistaken?" Professor McGonagall frowned.
"Minerva, the Book of Admittance never makes mistakes," Dumbledore said calmly, pulling a lemon drop from his robe pocket and placing it in his mouth. "Six days ago, it clearly recorded the name Roger Lewis."
He paused, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "Moreover, the Book of Admittance used an entire page to record this child's name. You know what that means."
Professor McGonagall, of course, knew exactly what that meant.
The Book of Admittance is a powerful alchemical artifact that can sense children with magical talent throughout Britain and automatically record their names at birth. Using an entire page to record a single name meant that the child's magical potential was astonishingly high, extremely rare even in Hogwarts' long history.
But what was strange was that this name had not been recorded at birth. Instead, it suddenly appeared in the Book of Admittance when he had just turned eleven. What was more, he appeared under the Foley family, a notorious Dark Wizard family.
"But after his name appeared, it disappeared from the Book of Admittance five times in a row before finally stabilizing. Could he be…?" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with doubt.
Dumbledore gently but firmly interrupted her. "Shielding the Book of Admittance's perception is not difficult. Many ancient reclusive families possess such methods. Since they have chosen to emerge from seclusion, we have a responsibility to open our doors. You must understand, one cannot choose their birth, but everyone can choose their own path…"
Just then, the fireplace in the corner of the Headmaster's Office suddenly flared to life, the flames turning emerald green as Hagrid's voice rang out. Dumbledore waved his wand, granting the fireplace permission, and Hagrid's anxious, large face appeared in the flames.
"Professor Dumbledore! Professor McGonagall!"
"Hagrid?" Professor McGonagall rose in surprise. "Didn't you go to bring Harry Potter for his enrollment?" Her heart sank. Hagrid's trip also carried the important task of transporting the Philosopher's Stone.
Had something gone wrong?
The usually boisterous Hagrid spoke rapidly, briefly recounting Harry's throbbing scar, the terrifying vision, and the Dark Wizard incident in Knockturn Alley.
When Hagrid's head disappeared from the flames, Dumbledore fell into thought, his expression calm and composed. He had always suspected that Lord Voldemort had not truly perished, and Harry's reaction only confirmed that suspicion.
A moment later, he stood up. "Minerva, I need to go to the Ministry of Magic. I'll leave Roger's matter to you."
Professor McGonagall's face filled with concern, but before she could say anything more, Dumbledore gently flicked his wand. Several golden sparks burst forth, and his figure vanished without a trace.
...
The Ministry of Magic, the Minister's Office.
The current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was in a terrible mood.
Something had happened.
Aurors reported a Dark Wizard attack in Knockturn Alley, near Diagon Alley, resulting in the death of one Dark Wizard. Fortunately, the battle had taken place deep in the secluded part of Knockturn Alley. There were no other casualties, only damage to an abandoned house and two tents.
Incidents like this were not uncommon. When had Knockturn Alley ever been free of Dark Wizard trouble? It would be more unusual if a day passed peacefully.
The real problem was the timing. Fudge had only just risen to power, filling the vacancy left by the struggle between Crouch and Dumbledore, and he was already facing widespread criticism. And now, at such a critical moment, this kind of shocking incident had occurred.
Fudge could almost imagine how The Daily Prophet and the other tabloids would portray him tomorrow.
"Dark Wizard Slaughter in Diagon Alley. Where Is Minister Fudge?"
"Under Fudge's Rule, Dark Wizards Run Rampant!"
"We Need a Strong Minister. Fudge Clearly Isn't One."
"Responding to Attacks? Please Wait for Minister Fudge to Consult Dumbledore First…"
"Professor Dumbledore!"
A flash of light, and Fudge looked up in astonishment to find Dumbledore already standing before him. He had not even had time to send for help.
To be honest, Fudge always felt uncomfortable facing Dumbledore, and his speech became stiff. He knew very well that if Dumbledore had not refused to serve as Minister, the position would never have fallen to him.
Far more people supported Dumbledore than him, and that was the root of the widespread criticism he faced.
"Good day, Minister Fudge," Dumbledore greeted him gently.
Fudge immediately guessed his purpose and hurried to say, "You're here about the Knockturn Alley attack, aren't you? Rest assured, no Hogwarts first-years were hurt, and the one who died was a Dark Wizard." He quickly handed Dumbledore the preliminary investigation report from the Auror Office.
"Based on the reconstruction of magical traces at the scene, someone used the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and…" Fudge paused, hoping for the other man's support. "That Dark Wizard died from the Killing Curse. Clearly, another Dark Wizard attacked him, which is very common in Knockturn Alley… isn't it?"
"Are there any other clues about the attacker at the scene?" Dumbledore asked. His expression was perfectly calm. He did not comment, merely reading the report carefully.
"Not for now. But the identity of the deceased has been confirmed. A Dark Wizard named Enrico Foley."
"The Foley family?" Dumbledore lifted his gaze from the report, a sharp glint flashing in his blue eyes.