"Bang!"

The windows were tightly shut, and heavy curtains were drawn, making the room dark.

Neville stood in a rocking chair in the middle of the living room and watched as his grandmother closed the doors, windows, and even the air windows for air circulation, leaving not a single crack in them.

Honestly, he didn't think it would give them a little more security - would those monsters really leave because the doors and windows were closed?

"Grandma, grandma—"

"Silence!"

Grandma is still Grandma, Augusta Longbottom, the one who raised him in place of his parents.

She wore her most accustomed dark green robe, with a fox-skin scarf around her neck. The hat, adorned with a whole specimen of an eagle, was placed next to the rocking chair, and she would wear it whenever she went out.

Although Neville never thought it was very good-looking, and even a little funny at times.

But grandma is extremely stubborn, what she likes is the best, and everything else doesn't matter - for this, Neville, who doesn't dare to disobey, can only feel silently depressed in his heart.

"Let's go, go to the back door......"

The old lady grabbed her grandson's sleeve with one hand, and with the other hand buttoned the hat to his head, and then dragged him back without question.

Although she is getting older, her temper doesn't seem to be much different from the past, she is still so tough, self-contained, and even a little unreasonable.

Of course, Neville has always had a lot of respect for her...... Well, it's more "awe", because she has the "firmness" that Neville has always felt is lacking.

Honestly dragged by his grandmother to the back room, he saw that his grandmother continued to wave her wand, closing and locking all doors and windows, and doing something that Neville felt was "in vain".

After all, didn't the two of them just see a Mistress Auror from the Ministry of Magic on the street outside, who was seriously injured by a monster and almost died?

A monster like this is just shutting its doors...... Does it really work?

When the old lady had "cut off" the room from the outside world, she waved Neville into a chair in the back room, while she herself stood quietly behind the curtains.

It was clearly another gesture that Neville did not understand: she stood there and did not look out to observe the situation, but she did not sit down and rest...... What exactly is that doing?

However, there are many things that his grandmother has done since he was a child that he doesn't understand, and after all, he has long been used to it.

Neville, now tall, huddled in a cramped chair, holding his pet toad, Lev, in his hands. On his left, the middle of the chair and the wall is piled with all kinds of strange miscellaneous items, and on the right is a tall utility cabinet.

Sitting here, he didn't want to stretch his hands and feet, and even moving his elbows would hit something.

But he still shrank like this, and didn't say another word, because grandma had already asked him to "silence" just now.

Suddenly, Neville shifted his gaze to the curtains that had been on his grandmother, and the silence of the room made him think about it.

At first, he was a little worried about his parents, who had been living in St. Mungo's for a long time, but after thinking about the concealment and defensive magic of the wizarding hospital, he began to worry about his other classmates who lived in London.

There was no doubt that it was a terrible catastrophe, a catastrophe that straddled both Muggles and wizards.

In such a scourge, almost any individual, whether a Muggle or a wizard, is very small, and anyone can die on the streets under the pursuit of those monsters.

The thought of this made Neville feel distressed.

I still remember that after becoming one of them, he can be said to be the most diligent and hard-working of all the people.

Whether it is group training, group training, or individual training, he spends much more time and energy than others.

However, only he knows that his talent for "Charms", "Transfiguration", and "Defence Against the Dark Arts" can only be described as "terrible".

Even so, the frequent practice eventually brought him a lot more spell-casting skills than his peers.

Only today, when he saw the brutal battle between the Auror and the monster, all he could feel was loss again.

He couldn't help but ask himself - what is the point of practicing for such a long time? When disaster strikes, when crisis comes, isn't he just huddled at home, watching his grandmother close the window, lock the door, and draw the curtains?

In this way, Neville felt more and more depressed the more he thought about it, and finally couldn't help but stand up suddenly.

"Grandma'......"

"Shut up! Sit quietly! ”

Grandma was still his grandmother, and just a glance of turning around made Neville habitually shrink his neck. But this time, after being choked, he took another step forward.

"No, grandma!" He also imitated the old lady's appearance, and stubbornly said with his neck stalked, "Don't you often say that I am cowardly, useless, and unassertive?" Now I want to go out and fight, I'm going to help others! When we cowered at home, there must have been many people being killed...... Among them are my younger siblings! ”

When the old lady heard this, she did not show the relief that Neville had imagined, but came over with her lips pursed and grabbed his ear.

"I said, sit quietly!"

She pinched her grandson's ear and pushed him back into the chair before letting go. By this time, Neville's ears had turned red, and they must have looked painful.

Although Neville was forced to sit back, he didn't cover his ears with his hands, but still looked at his grandmother with his head up.

This may not be the first time he has shown courage, but it seems to be the first time in front of his grandmother.

It's a pity that his grandmother doesn't seem to buy it.

"Out to fight? To help others? The old lady lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think this will make you look less 'cowardly'?" Your performance only tells me that you are scared - cowardly softass! ”

Yes, Neville was afraid, he was afraid of his own incompetence.

That's why he was forced to stand up by his own fear, and wanted to go out and fight those monsters to the death...... And then the end is, he is quickly killed by the monster.

Worthless courage isn't courage, it's just the self-solace of the softies.

Neville was a little braver than he used to be—at least now he dared to joke with his life, but he still couldn't get his grandma's praise.

"But...... Aren't we cowardly to hide here? Neville retorted, "We didn't do anything!" ”

"Because we can't do anything!" The old lady whispered an admonishment with an expressionless face, "Remember, we can't do anything now—be quiet for me!" ”

Grandma's dressing style is still so exaggerated and funny, but perhaps it is this contrast that makes the deterrence she shows more distinct.

Neville, who had been forced back into his chair, didn't know what to answer, and after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally fell silent again.

Grandma's words seem to be unreasonable, but somehow, there is a strong persuasive power in them.

But in the next moment, the old lady who had never changed her face suddenly frowned, and her skin, which had lost its elasticity due to age, slowly twisted together.

Suddenly, she raised her wand and took a step in front of Neville. Immediately after, the back door was reopened with a strong force, and countless pieces of wood swept inside like a storm.

However, the fragments were fixed in the air by an invisible barrier as they stabbed in front of the old lady, and then tossed aside as she flung them.

Before Neville could be surprised, he saw a hooded head sticking out of the doorway from his grandmother's side.

"Bang!"

Almost at the same time that the head reached into the doorway, a silvery-white mist of light slammed into its face, pushing it back.

"Let's go, go through the front door!"

The old lady didn't look back, and she didn't know where she got the strength from, but grabbed Neville by the collar and dragged him back to the front room.

Neville stumbled all the way, bending over and running a few steps after his grandmother. As he ran, he wondered if it was because he had just spoken too loudly that he had lured the monster over.

You know, even when grandma was reprimanding him, she kept her voice down.

"Click."

Even though the monster behind her was ready to catch up, the old lady's action of opening the front door remained as quiet as possible, as if her every movement was deliberate.

"Run on your own, remember, be quiet!"

After reaching the tree in the doorway, she tapped her wand on top of her and Neville's heads, and a chill poured down her head and flowed all over her body in an instant.

This is a Transfiguration Charm, a spell that even Hogwarts doesn't require to be able to learn, and with its difficulty, it's not something that ordinary wizards can use at will.

But the old lady's movements were as smooth as flowing water, without the slightest delay.

And at the moment when the two of them completed their invisibility, a monster suddenly sprang out from the roof behind them, and its blood-red eyes swept straight to the street below.

Unlike Neville, who was so shocked that he covered his mouth instantly, the old lady still did not stop, but continued to cast a silence spell after casting the illusion spell.

Watching the monster float through the air, scanning everything on the street left and right, Neville felt like a slippery cold sweat had oozed from his back.

What else did you just say? Want to come out and fight?

It was only at such a close distance that he could feel the strange aura emanating from the monster - far more terrifying than a Dementor who could suck the pleasure of others!

I...... Will it be discovered?