62 Chapter 61: To the Headquarters
The Dark Lord Voldemort has returned.
The majority of people do not believe in such a nightmare, or rather, they do not want to believe it.
This was no different for Cornelius Fudge, the top of the British magical world. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic treated all the words of Dumbledore and Harry Potter as nonsense.
The Daily Prophet, under pressure from the Ministry of Magic, is filled with critical articles against the two almost every day.
Still,
The darkness is gradually eroding everyday life.
If you paid close attention, you might have noticed.
Still, people did not see the darkness. They didn't want to see it.
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At the Taylor residence, everyday life was flowing regardless of the reaction of the world.
The father, Erskine, had been fired from the Ministry of Magic, but in reality, he had been assigned a job at the Ministry of Magic without going to work by Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office, who was not happy about it.
Scrimgeour was convinced that Voldemort's resurrection was a fact, so he was advancing the strengthening of forces and gathering information separately from the Order of the Phoenix. A plan to put together the Ministry of Magic, which will collapse sooner or later, is steadily progressing under the surface.
The mother, Ferris, spends her days peacefully, doing housework, having tea with her son and future daughter, and healing her husband's fatigue when he comes home. She knows about Voldemort's resurrection, but she is not worried. There is nothing to worry about as long as her husband and son are by her side.
The son, Leonard, is holed up in his study room.
He is technically a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but currently, he has no particular mission. He was told that there would be no contact as much as possible unless there was no choice but to borrow Leo's power. He doesn't even know who the members are.
He has no complaints about that, so he is immersed in research as usual.
And the future bride, Hermione Granger, is already living in the Taylor house.
She sleeps and wakes up in her own room, which has been prepared since a few years ago, and is training to be a bride under Ferris.
Hermione's parents are protected by Leo's special defensive magical tools, and the house they live in is also protected by the Loyalty Jutsu.
Even if the Dark Lord himself attacks, it would be difficult to harm him immediately. The power of the magical tool not only prevents danger but also has magic that can move to the Taylor house in an emergency.
Thanks to this, Hermione is able to spend her time at Leo's house with peace of mind.
One day, when about half of the summer vacation had passed.
Today, the whole family was enjoying afternoon tea time together.
A letter was dropped by an owl that came there.
It was addressed to Leo, and when he checked the inside, it was from Dumbledore.
"Is it a message from the Order? ...It seems they want to introduce me to the members of the Order. If you come to Grimmauld Place, you'll find the headquarters... It seems fine today, so I'll go for a bit. Hermione, are you coming too?"
"That's right. I'd like to go since I have the chance."
"Be careful. Run if anything happens."
"Tell Dumbledore. The Auror Office, or rather, Scrimgeour is currently gathering information. When the time comes, Fudge will be over."
"Understood."
Including Kuu, the three of them moved to Grimmauld Place with an invisibility cloak. Hermione also mastered it this summer thanks to Leo's teaching. They are also perfectly disguising the smell of minors.
The three of them appear in Grimmauld Place. Hermione and Kuu looked around, but they couldn't find anything that looked like it.
Only Leo had found the headquarters of the Order, which was protected by the Loyalty Jutsu.
"This way. You two follow me."
He took the hands of the two and proceeded to number twelve.
Once they stepped in, the effect would not work, so the two of them were able to recognize the building.
Dumbledore was waiting in the garden.
"Thank you for coming. I was thinking of introducing you to the Order right away. Granger-san and Ku-san, it would be best if you wait in another room."
"I refuse. I have no intention of leaving Leo's side. If you're worried about information leakage, there's no problem. I've mastered Occlumency, and I want to know anything that Leo hears."
"...Indeed, it's perfect Occlumency. Alright, come along."
Following Dumbledore into the mansion. The mansion was well cleaned, but the interior and furniture were prominently decorated with snakes. It's probably the mansion of a family from Slytherin. They walked down the corridor and entered a large room. There seemed to be a meeting or discussion going on inside, but when the four of them entered, it was interrupted and they turned their gaze towards them. In the room were teachers like McGonagall, Snape, Lupin, and the Weasley couple. There were several others, but not many faces he knew.
"Many of you may know him, but let me introduce you. This is Leonard Taylor. He has also become a member of the Order of the Phoenix. From now on, I think we should share information. And these are his girlfriend, Hermione Granger, and Ku-san, a magical creature created by Leonard. I believe they are also quite capable."
"Dumbledore, I object. No matter how excellent their abilities are, these children are underage, they're children!"
Molly Weasley objected. Following her, a bald man spoke up.
"I also object. I don't know about the abilities of these young ladies. I want to see something convincing."
"Um. It's a very reasonable opinion for those who don't know them. So... how about this? Leonard-kun and Ku-san are stronger than me. I think Granger-san is about the same level as Sirius, or she could give a good fight to Bellatrix Lestrange, who is said to be the right-hand woman of the Emperor, among the Death Eaters."
The statement that the greatest wizard in history is stronger than himself. To those who didn't know Leo, it sounded like a lie. They couldn't believe that a mere student like Hermione could be on par with Bellatrix Lestrange. As for Ku... they didn't know much about her.
"Dumbledore. Words can be anything. There are things you can't understand unless you see the power. Showing power is the fastest."
The man with the magical eye, known as Mad-Eye Moody, spoke clearly. Following him, a woman with pink hair also expressed her doubts.
"Taylor, you're the son of the deputy director of the demon, right? I've heard that you're amazing at magic research, but I don't know about your fighting skill. Ah, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Nymphadora Tonks! Just call me Tonks!"
The flow of the place was becoming like Leo and the others showing their power. Dumbledore asked the three of them.
"What do you want to do? The Order's missions are dangerous. I want you to understand that they are saying that because they are worried about you."
"As Moody-san said, why not show our power? If there are people who are dissatisfied, we can have a duel with them, and that should settle it. Besides, it would be a problem if we didn't know each other's power when the time comes. Hermione and Ku, is that okay?"
"I'm fine. It's my first time dueling with someone other than a Hogwarts student, but it's also a good opportunity to measure my own strength."
"I would never oppose Leonard-sama."
They moved to the garden and decided to duel with the opposing members. The Hogwarts teachers like McGonagall tried to stop it, but they stopped thinking that they had to see their power once.
Leo's opponent was Mad-Eye Moody.
Hermione was Tonks.
Ku was a bald man, apparently named Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The first battle was Hermione vs. Tonks.
They both cast spells, dodged them, and defended with the Protego spell. It was a textbook-like way of fighting, but once Hermione, who was initially observing, started to outmaneuver using her physical enhancement and flight magic, it became one-sided and within 5 minutes, Tonks' wand was flying in the air.
"Ah, I've been done in! What's with flying in the sky without a broom!? The movement is fast, too! Is this what kids these days are like!?"
"No, it's magic that Leo taught me. Tonks, you were much stronger than any student."
"Che. I don't want to hear that from someone who was holding back at first. Ah, I was supposed to be a promising Auror. I'm losing confidence."
The next match was Kuu versus Kingsley.
Kuu transformed into her armored combat form but did not move a step from her spot.
Kingsley was initially confused but quickly switched and began his attack.
However, none of them had any effect on Kuu.
When the number exceeded about ten, Kuu began to move. But no one was able to perceive that movement. Kingsley thought Kuu had disappeared, but he found himself in a situation where a blade was pointed at his throat.
He raises both hands to show his intention to surrender. Kuu also bows and returns to her maid form and stands next to Leo.
"What on earth is that child? I can't hear the spell, and I don't even know what happened at the end."
"She's a magical creature combined with a dragon, a basilisk, a human, a single-celled organism, and the Philosopher's Stone."
Leo explained simply, but it only caused more confusion.
The final match: Leo versus Mad-Eye Moody.
"Let's go, kid!"
Moody fires the Stupefy spell. Its strength was incomparable to that of an ordinary wizard.
However, it was repelled by Leo's "Reflection".
Normally, that would be the end of the match. But the opponent is a veteran Auror.
Knowing that Leo had set up several layers of barriers around him with his magical eye, Moody sidestepped to dodge.
"I knew you were defending something, but I didn't expect you to bounce back... Then!"
Moody suddenly unleashed Fiendfyre. Everyone around him thought it was too much, but Moody didn't think so after seeing the defensive mechanism deployed after the battle started.
In just a short time since the battle began, the veteran warrior realized that the child in front of him was a terrifying monster.
(He's stronger than I thought, far exceeding my expectations. Dumbledore was right. I have to gauge his power here!)
A full-powered Fiendfyre attacks Leo. It's difficult to defend against this with a normal spell. However, the cursed flame was blown away by an aurora. It's a simplified version of the extermination magic Interitum that Leo used in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. The range and size are small, but it's enough to blow away the Fiendfyre. As a result of suppressing the power, there are also merits such as increased rapid-fire capability and speed. Of course, the problem of runaway has been improved.
"Your defense is not the only thing that's off the charts... Hmph. I surrender! If we continue like this, I'll end up dead. It seems that you're indeed an existence that we can't handle, just as Dumbledore said."
The Order, having confirmed the power of the three, was deeply relieved that this power had not fallen into the hands of the dark side.
---
This was the chapter where they showed their power to the Order members.
In the world, there is a feeling of distrust towards Dumbledore, and there is a suspicion that the bow may have been revived.
It's a dark feeling, but around Leo, it's as usual.
In this novel, Scrimgeour is competent. It's a big deal that he can concentrate on other work because he can leave the battle to his subordinate, Erskine.
Hermione's strength is about enough to beat Tonks, but not Moody.
Moody opposed the participation, but he wanted to know the strength, so he dueled.
