Chapter 42: The Witch Shadow Empire
When he woke up again, Xie An found that he was not in a wizarding school at all, but still in an unknown cave under the ice and snow of the Himalayas. There was no bonfire in this cave, so he did not understand the mysteries of the cave people like Plato, the ancestor of ancient Greece, and there was no trace of the ancient Buddha facing the wall of Buddhism, which did not have any other effect except for Xie An to be completely detached from reality and return to the endless turbulence of time and space.
Before continuing this terrible adventure, we must gaze at the world again to make sure we are not yet lost in the endless chaos.
Before this, almost everyone knew that the World Tree was the center of all worlds (the universe), the end of all matter, the collection of all time and space, and all the roads leading to the World Tree.
The cosmic torrent of the six kingdoms nourished it from different dimensions, and her roots and branches also extended to every corner of the six kingdoms. If the connection between these kingdoms and the World Tree were all destroyed, the World Tree would fall, and all the worlds it held together would be destroyed.
There are twelve entrances to the poles of each world, the twelve ends of the world, and near the entrances are twelve guardians, some are wizards, some are robots, and some are destroyers.
Of course, there is more than one world, whether it is the legendary "Star Maker" or the so-called legendary Titan gods, or other civilizations in the last few tribulations, the world is diverse and vast. The most important of these are the world of Harry Potter and Shayne, which is our future world.
These worlds include the Multiverse, as well as different timelines, and are very extensive. But with the same origin - the original "world of the demon gods". This has already been explained in the previous discussion on the origin of magical civilization.
And with the continuous decay of free magic in the universe, those civilizations that are far away from the branches and roots of the magic river, that is, the "World Tree", began to completely lose the nourishment of magic, which directly led to the cruel war between the demon gods, and then the apocalypse.
It can be said that all worlds are "parallel worlds" and "tributary worlds" that are actually extensions of the demon god world. There may be only slight differences between worlds, or they may be very different.
It's a pity that understanding this vast and useless knowledge is hardly helpful to Xie An, not to mention that he doesn't know how Doctor Strange came into contact with those cultivators in the snowy mountains now. He was still in a cave beneath the icy snowfields somewhere in the Himalayas.
Fortunately, whether it was magic or his previous preparations, it was to ensure that he would not die like this, and after using his wand to help him warm up, the first person he remembered was actually thousands of miles away, Qiu, who returned to the Far East to visit relatives - it is said that she still has an aunt who is far away.
The magic helped Xie An break through the limits of distance once again, and after a year of continuous efforts, Xie An's apparition moved to help him reach a tourist souvenir wholesale store outside the Nepalese Royal Palace.
After emerging from behind a wooden mask that resembles the South Asian continent, Shea is ready to return to the wizarding world once again.
In the story that follows, we may occasionally insert a piece of Shayne's adventures of this year - perhaps not as purposeful as the Dark Lord, but in terms of richness, Shayne's travels this year can be described as wonderful.
Returning to the castle at Hogwarts and meeting the Aurors Protecting the School, Xie An felt a little uneasy, not because of those serious-looking Aurors with their hands in their clothes, ready to pull out their wands and attack any Aurors, but because Hermione Granger happened to be not far away, her brow furrowed, holding a piece of parchment in her hand, and a small flame of orchid flowers burning at the tip of her wand.
"There are still three left, I really don't understand, they don't know how dangerous it is out there now, why they haven't come back now, the Weasley brothers are hopeless, but Colin is obviously a good boy....." Hermione already looked like the Minister of Magic, although her front teeth and a small pimple on her face slightly undermined this infinite majesty.
"Prefect Granger, I don't think we're complaining about them not coming back on time, but we should think about what the hell are we supposed to do?"
"Oh, Prefect Malfoy, forgive me for my ignorance, if you have any good ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear them now. Deputy Minister Hermione smirked back with the same kind smirk.
"Of course, I think we should report this to the professors right away, with fifty house points each of them, and a week of confinement, a profound punishment that will make the Weasley brothers remember the cost of breaking the school rules..."
"Oh, come on, Malfoy, what kind of advice are you, don't talk about it there, it's an afterthought, you might as well find a way to find them when you have the time. With that, Hermione Granger was ready to take immediate action, she looked away from the parchment, and then through the somewhat hazy morning mist, she focused again on the distance away.
Andrew Lee was not far away: there was nothing wrong with the castle, there was nothing wrong with the lawn, there was no change in the dew that fell on the buds, the only difference was that there was a young wizard in front of him, dressed in gray wizard's robes, with hair like weeds, and a face carved out of marble without any expression.
Everything around seemed to be full of surprises in an instant.
Andrew Lee, aka Shea, wore an expressionless mask as always, and despite a slight fluctuation in his heart - probably because Hermione had been a fool for a long time in that icy snow cave in the Himalayas - but he still didn't change on the surface.
The Auror who was with him greeted another wary Auror, "Another student, and now those parents are beginning to understand that Hogwarts is the safest place to be guarded by the Aurors, rather than staying at home and waiting for the Death Eaters to visit....."
"Fidel, don't say that, those parents are also worried about their children, and besides, they can't go too far..."
"It's not too much, look at how they attack the Auror office, as if we were a bunch of complete shit, how they don't want to think that if it weren't for the Aurors, the Death Eaters would have completely destroyed the country by now..."
"Alright, there are still children here, Andrew, you can go and reunite with your classmates now, over there, those prefects are prefects, they will arrange for you. ”
Xie An nodded, and walked in front of Hermione, Draco, Cedric, and the other prefects in a few steps.
"Hermione, are you a prefect now?" Xie An didn't seem to realize that the few people in front of him were invincible prefects with high and powerful positions at Hogwarts, and he asked in a tone that hadn't changed much from before.
"I... Be.... Originally, it wasn't, but after the tournament, a lot of things happened, and Headmaster Dumbledore decided to arrange more prefects, so the conditions were relaxed. Hermione quickly organized her vocabulary and tried to make her little face, red with excitement, serious again, as Draco Draco, Cedric, who was now a Tournament Warrior, and Andrew Lee's comrade-in-arms, Penelo Crivat, stared at Shea as if they had seen some deadly spell.
"Where have you been all this time, we all thought you were ....." Hermione helped everyone with their common doubts.
"Travel, travel all over the world. I heard the Aurors say that I need your help to arrange it back to Hogwarts, what do I need to do?" Xie An replied with a bad answer.
"Oh yes, it's actually the same as before, well, it's not different at all, it's just that you need to register and do a simple wand check to prevent you from being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Penelo Kriwatt hurriedly explained.
Now back at Hogwarts, the timing is very sensitive. For Hermione and these students, Andrew Lee's long disappearance only made them worry and confused, and Hermione had also tried to inquire about the news from the professor, except for some less detailed information from Cho Chang, Hermione's worries and speculations did not decrease much.
For Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, it meant something else entirely. The Ministry of Magic is currently in a precarious state, wizards have sensed the presence of the Death Eaters, wizarding armies, and the alien Tang Order, and the Ministry of Magic's control over wizarding Britain continues to decline.
Today, Diagon Alley's adjacent Tumbledown Alley has become a dangerous dark realm, where wizards often disappear for no apparent reason. Diagon Alley is now a lot more deserted. After Andrew Lee returned to London, he once visited Gringotts in Diagon Alley, which is now full of intricate magic patterns, and if a suspicious wizard approaches, a secret alchemy golem will immediately appear, blasting the intruder to smithereens.
Minister Fudge struggled for a while after surviving the last terrorist attack, but things are now completely beyond the minister's capabilities. The tired minister even had plans to go into seclusion, much to Dolores Umbridge's surprise.
The minister's renunciation became an opportunity for the major powers. At present, there are different parties within the Ministry of Magic: the so-called pure-blood magical families led by Lucius Malfoy, the hardliners led by Rufus Scrimgeour and Barty Crouch Sr., the academic faction led by Albus Dumbledore, and the new forces led by Longbottom and the Lee family.
Among them, Malfoy, Scrimge, and Crouch are all potential candidates for the Minister of Magic, and will not be discussed too much here, and regarding the Headmaster, it must be noted that Albus has never publicly admitted that he has the idea of becoming the Minister of Magic, and even Minister Fudge has revealed that he will support Albus's idea.
Shortly after Andrew Lee left Hogwarts, the Daily Prophet ran a front-page headline: "Auror's Miracle Recovery: A Miracle or a Conspiracy?"
Our lovely beetle reporter, Miss Rita, has once again concocted a bizarre and sensational adventure story to explain how the Longbottoms survived the unforgivable spell of the Death Eaters and finally regained control of their bodies with the help of the monks of the Far East.
Perhaps you have noticed that Andrew Lee, also known as Xie An, plays an important role in this. Although the Li family did not directly become a prominent magic family because of this, in the eyes of wizards who know the inside story, the Li family has now become a force to be reckoned with.
In the eyes of wizards who know more about the inside story--- such as Albus Dumbledore--- they are more aware of the value that Andrew Lee, a wizard whose talent, personality, and abilities are similar to or even surpassed by Voldemort.
The tension inside the castle was completely different from the outside, and there were still fifth-grade couples in the hallway who openly abused the dog, standing not far away and watching the two seniors kiss and hold the toad pet with a stunned look The first-year freshman reminded Andrew of poor Longbottom for no reason.
More Zoke Joke Store magic items appear in the hands of the young wizard, causing Andrew to wonder if Feige has regained his magic, so much so that he gives up Squib's talent for hating all wizards.
After passing through the corridor, Xie An thought about it, he should go to the secluded part of the castle first to see if he could find Elder Dora, after leaving Hogwarts, Xie An had not been in contact with the Elder for a long time.
As he walked through the auditorium, Shay met Harry and Ron, and Ron was surprised, as if he had seen a sequel to the magic movie he hated the most, while Harry was much friendlier, and he smiled at Andrew from the bottom of his heart, in exchange for Andrew's friendly response.
"Why don't you go and eat some burritos together, as the other school students left, the food in the cafeteria was a lot less varied, but it still tasted excellent. Harry warmly invited.
Andrew hesitated, and finally entered the auditorium with Harry and Ron.
Breakfast had just begun, and the aroma of bread, pumpkin porridge, and sweetness mixed with salad dressing made every student whet their appetite. Harry quickly found Ginny's location.
"You're really late to wake up, you're not coming to eat until now, and you might be late for class in a while. Ginny grumbled as she dealt with her butter sandwich.
"If it weren't for helping Hermione with her night patrol yesterday, we wouldn't have woken up so late. Ron sat down across from Ginny and replied in a low voice.
"But Hermione had already checked the list, she got up much earlier than I did, and look at you—" Ginny said dissatisfied.
"Okay, old girl, no matter how much you complain, you can't change anything, you haven't seen anyone with us yet. Ron waved his hand impatiently, as if trying to get something out of his sight.
But the thing he wanted to get rid of was clearly not gone, and he sat on the left side of Ginny's left, Harry's left side. Ginny looked up, the annoyance on her face turned to total surprise.