"Didn't you see Severus?"

"No," said Harry. "How's it going? Is everyone okay?"

"Everything is fine!" Lupine said, "But we are all under surveillance. There are two Death Eaters in the square outside -"

"--we know--"

"-I have to apparate right to the top of the front door steps to make sure they don't see me.

There is no way they know you are here, otherwise they would definitely send more people.

They've got sentries posted everywhere that has contact with you, Harry.

Come downstairs, I have a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow."

They went down to the kitchen, Hermione pointed her wand at the grate, and the flames immediately burst into flames, creating an illusion of comfort on the cold stone walls and casting firelight on the long wooden table.

Lupine took out a few bottles of butterbeer from his traveling cloak, and the four of them sat down.

"I was going to come three days ago, but I had to get rid of the Death Eaters who were following me."

Lupine said: "So, you came here directly after the wedding?"

"No," Harry said, "I came here after meeting two Death Eaters at the café on Tottenham Palace Road."

Lupine spilled half the bottle of Butterbeer onto his chest.

"What?"

They told what happened, and after they finished speaking, Lu Ping looked horrified.

"But how did they discover you so quickly?

It's impossible to track an Apparator unless you catch him as he disappears!"

"It's unlikely that they happened to be walking in Tottenham Palace Road at that time, is it?"

"We've thought about it," Hermione said tentatively, "whether Harry still has the trace?"

"impossible!"

Lupine said, Ron looked proud, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief: "First of all, if he still has the trace, they will be sure that he is here, right?

But I can't figure out how they could follow them to Tottenham Palace Road, it's worrying, really worrying."

He looked worried, but it seemed to Harry that the problem could be left alone.

"Tell me about what happened after we left. Ever since Ron's father said that the whole family was safe, we haven't had any news."

"Oh, Kingsley saved us," Lupine said. "Thanks to his message, many of the guests disapparated before the gang arrived."

"Are those people Death Eaters or from the Ministry of Magic?"

"Both, they are actually the same thing now."

Lupine said: "There were about a dozen of them, but they didn't know you were there, Harry.

Arthur heard rumors that before they killed Scrimgeour, they tortured him to find out your whereabouts. If this was true, he did not betray you."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, their expressions reflecting the shock and gratitude he felt.

He had never liked Scrimgeour very much, but if what Lupine said was true, then Scrimgeour's last act was to try his best to protect Harry.

"The Death Eaters ransacked the Burrow," Lupin went on. "They found the ghouls, but wouldn't come near - and then interrogated those of us who stayed for several hours.

They want information about you, Harry, but no one except members of the Order knows you were ever there."

"While disrupting the wedding, more Death Eaters broke into every family connected to the Order of the Phoenix in the country, and no one died,"

He quickly said without waiting for them to ask: "But those people were very rough and burned down Dedalo Digo's house, but you know he was not there.

They also used the Cruciatus Curse on the Tonks family, also trying to find out what happened to you after you visited their house.

But they're OK - obviously a little weak, but otherwise fine."

"The Death Eaters broke through all those protective spells?"

Harry asked, remembering how effective they had been the night he crashed in Tonks' parents' garden.

"You must understand, Harry, that the Death Eaters now have the support of the entire Ministry of Magic," said Lupine. "They can use cruel magic without fear of discovery and arrest.

They broke through all the protective spells we cast, and after entering, they made no secret of their intentions."

"Did they have any excuse for torture to find out Harry's whereabouts?"

Hermione's voice was a little sharp.

"Well," Lupine hesitated and took out a folded copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Let's take a look," he said, pushing the newspaper from the table to Harry: "Anyway, you will find out sooner or later, and this is their excuse to search for you."

Harry unfolded the newspaper, and a large photo of him filled the front page.

Several large words stand out on the photo:

Wanted pursuit

Cause of death of Albus Dumbledore

Ron and Hermione screamed angrily, but Harry said nothing.

He pushed the newspaper aside and didn't want to read it anymore.

He knew what it would say. No one knew who killed Dumbledore except those who were at the top of the tower, and Rita Skeeter had told the wizarding world that Dumbledore died shortly after he fell.

Harry was seen fleeing the scene.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"So, the Death Eaters also control the Daily Prophet?"

Lupine nodded.

"But people must know what's going on, right?"

"The coup was smooth and almost silent," Lupine said. "The official version of Scrimgeour's death was that he resigned and was replaced by Piers Thicknesse, who was cast under the Ecstasy."

"Why doesn't Voldemort proclaim himself Minister for Magic?"

Lupine smiled.

"He doesn't need it, Ron.

He is actually the minister, why should he sit behind a desk in the ministry?

His puppet Thicknesse handled day-to-day affairs, allowing Voldemort to extend his power beyond the Ministry of Magic."

"Many people naturally speculated what happened: the Ministry of Magic's policy had changed so much in the past few days, and they privately said that Voldemort must be behind it.

But here's the problem, they just talk privately, don't dare to talk to each other, and don't know who can be trusted.

They dare not speak freely for fear that if their suspicions turn out to be true, their families will be persecuted.

Voldemort's move was very clever. Announcement of the usurpation may lead to open resistance, but hiding behind the scenes can cause confusion, suspicion and fear."

"Does this significant change in Ministry of Magic policy also include making the wizarding world wary of me rather than Voldemort?"

"That's really part of it, it's a masterstroke.

After Dumbledore's death, you - the Boy Who Lived - will inevitably become the symbol and rallying cry for resistance to Voldemort.

And by implying that you were involved in the death of the old hero, Voldemort could not only put a reward on your head, but also sow seeds of doubt and fear among many people who might have defended you."

"At the same time, the Ministry of Magic began to investigate the descendants of Muggles."

Lupine pointed to the Daily Prophet.

"Look at version 2."

Hermione opened the newspaper with the same disgusted expression on her face as when she read "Advanced Dark Arts Revealed".

"'Muggle-born registration,'" she read: "'The Ministry of Magic is conducting an investigation into so-called 'Muggle-borns' to understand how they possess magical secrets."

"'New research from the Department of Mysteries shows that magic can only be inherited through wizards' procreation.

It can be seen that if there is no confirmed wizarding ancestry, so-called Muggle-born people may acquire magical abilities through theft or violence.’”

"'The Ministry of Magic is determined to eradicate these misappropriators of magical abilities. To this end, it invites every so-called Muggle-born person to come to the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Committee for an interview.'"

"People will not allow this to happen."

"It has happened, Ron," said Lupine. "Muggle-borns have been arrested as we speak."

"But how could they 'steal' magic?" Ron asked: "It's really crazy. If they could steal magic, there would be no Squibs, right?"

"I understand," Lupine said, "but you must prove that you have at least one close relative of wizard blood, otherwise you will be considered to have illegally acquired magical abilities and will be punished."

Ron looked at Hermione and said, "What if pure-blood and half-blood wizards swear that a certain Muggle-born person is their relative?

I can tell everyone that Hermione is my cousin—"

Hermione took Ron's hand with both hands and held it tightly.

But in a more secret place, the girl was quietly sending a message to Jon.
To be continued...