Whoosh!
Malfoy landed first.
But the three who came flying in after him gave him no time to look around. He had to dodge aside at once.
Once the three of them steadied themselves and looked up, they froze.
People.
People as countless as grains of sand.
They were standing on a small hill.
But as far as the eye could see, in every direction, there were living, breathing people, with almost no end in sight.
Every one of them wore the same bewildered expression, and the noise they made alone rumbled like thunder.
"Look up!"
At Ron's shout, the other three raised their heads.
A pale brown earthen wall stretched above them, and endless glowing lights clung to it, illuminating the vast ground below.
Wait.
They were underground?!
Horror flashed across all four of their faces.
To secretly carve out such an enormous space beneath the earth, without anyone knowing...
Whether in terms of magical power or concealment, it was almost beyond belief.
Ron swallowed. "I've got a very bad feeling about this."
"All I want right now is to leave," Malfoy said grimly. "But Apparition is blocked here."
The people below were all harmless muggles, yet they filled him with a suffocating unease.
The four of them tensed, quietly hiding their wands in their sleeves, ready to draw at any moment.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in midair.
The moment Harry saw him, every instinct in him snapped taut.
The man was tall and thin. A dark red robe concealed his face, but the aspen wand loosely held in his right hand gleamed under the glow.
With a casual wave, hundreds of identical figures spread out evenly above everyone's heads.
The miraculous sight silenced the people below for a brief instant. Then the crowd erupted again.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the man.
Then he lifted one hand and grasped the edge of his hood.
Harry and the others held their breath, their focus sharper than ever.
Until the hood slowly fell back.
Revealing a young, handsome face, one etched so deeply into their memories that they could never forget it.
Tver Fawley.
In that moment, their hearts seemed to come alive, and at the same time, die completely.
"Many of the younger people here probably don't know me."
Hundreds of Tvers spoke slowly, his eyes seeming to see through everything and meet each person's gaze at once.
"I am Tver Fawley. I was once the Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, and later served as President of the International Confederation of Wizards. I led the repeal of The Statute of Secrecy. In other words, I am the source of your suffering."
The crowd below exploded.
Even though they could not touch him, they vented their rage in every language, shouting their fury.
"So you're the bastard who killed my daughter!"
"Ever since magical mechanical arms appeared, I haven't found work in three whole years!"
"I studied so hard, but even the most ordinary wizard is born with a life far better than mine!"
As Harry, Ron, and Malfoy listened to the complaints, they unconsciously huddled closer together, trembling.
Hermione's face darkened.
But Tver remained unmoved. Or rather, this anger was exactly what he had wanted to see.
"I have seen everything you have suffered. This is a responsibility I cannot evade."
His voice rang out again. It was not drowned out by the curses. Instead, it reached every ear with perfect clarity, in a way each of them could understand.
"I can apologize to you here, but I must also make one thing clear. This was not the future I wanted to see."
"They stole the fruits of my work!"
Boom!
The entire underground space fell deathly silent.
That cry seemed to thunder through the air, stunning everyone into silence.
"My original intention was to create a world of love and peace, a world where all humanity could enjoy the fruits of magic and be freed from pain."
"But I never imagined that those people would use magic to wage war, build barriers, entrench class divisions, and become the source of your suffering!"
Tver's furious voice was deafening.
The faces of the people below flushed red.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Exactly! This is still the result of what you did!"
"You have to take responsibility!"
The corners of Tver's mouth slowly curved.
"So I thought of a way to atone, and to give you a chance for revenge."
His wand moved again.
The ground began to churn. Stone pillars rose before every person, then unfolded, lifting up cylindrical devices as thick as a forearm. One end bore a sharp needle.
But when they saw the liquid sloshing inside the devices, and the fiery-red grass floating within it,
Harry and the others felt ice flood their bodies, freezing their hearts until they no longer knew how to beat.
Magic Fluid and Firecage Grass!
Of course. They could have prepared the Magic Fluid in advance.
Once everything was ready, all they needed to do was steal the Firecage Grass.
So.
One hundred thousand Firecage Grass plants.
One hundred thousand people.
One hundred thousand... human bombs!
Even if there was not enough Magic Fluid, once these one hundred thousand people scattered across the world, they could create the most terrifying magical disaster in history and drag the entire world into an abyss it could never climb out of.
They might even...
Destroy every effort made over the past twenty years, and force the world back to the age when wizards and muggles were forever divided.
The four of them stared blankly, rooted to the spot.
"Magic brought you pain, but it can also become the fuel for your revenge."
There was a twisted beauty in Tver's voice, drawing everyone into his words.
"Go. Take it back with you. Drive it into your body. Find those who hurt you and take your revenge. Enjoy, to your heart's content, the joy of becoming a wizard."
The crowd was still uncertain and afraid, but the moment someone took hold of a device, they were instantly transported away.
One after another, people vanished where they stood.
The dense crowd gradually thinned.
Watching them leave, Harry wanted to shout and stop them, but all he felt was despair at his own helplessness.
One hundred thousand people.
Against that, the four of them could work themselves to death and still barely make a difference.
But before he could think of a solution, he suddenly sensed something and slowly raised his head.
The hundreds of Tvers in the sky had disappeared.
Only one remained, descending before them.
The four of them were startled and pressed close together, unable to hide the horror on their faces.
"Long time no see, Harry, Ron, Hermione. And of course, you too, Draco."
Tver's gentle gaze swept over the wary little movements they were making, a smile on his face.
"It seems you've all grown into very capable adults."
"P-Professor," Malfoy stammered, his teeth chattering. "W-why are you doing this?"
"I realized my mistake." A trace of sorrow appeared in Tver's eyes. "It was a terrible mistake, so I must correct it myself and return to this world the future that should have belonged to it."
"Draco, are you still willing to stand with me?"
Tver slowly reached out to Malfoy, and Malfoy found himself completely unable to resist.
Just as their hands were about to touch,
Hermione suddenly knocked Malfoy aside.
She faced Tver directly and raised her wand at him without hesitation. Her face was full of anger, but her eyes were red.
"To do something like this under the professor's name. Compared to him, you're nothing but a pathetic rat in the gutter!"