Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 189 Injured Hagrid, Trapped Lockhart, Unknown Magic Ball

The reborn Harry became the secret weapon of the Gryffindor team as a matter of course. Wood repeatedly asked no one to disclose this matter. Finally, he took a chance and asked: "Professor Highmore may agree to let others Is there special training for students?"

Harry looked at Wood who was eager to try and hesitated, "It should be impossible."

Wood still did not give up and asked: "Then why did the professor treat the three of you differently? Are there any special requirements? Or is it a secret?"

How does this make Harry respond.

Can he still say that he first completely angered Professor Highmore, and then became a tool to cause trouble for Principal Dumbledore, so that Professor Highmore can be the next principal smoothly?
Leaving aside whether anyone would believe this statement, Harry himself did not believe it.

Hmm. In fact, I still have a little faith in it.

But Harry couldn't let such thoughts get in his head, and he didn't want to get into trouble again whoever was Headmaster.

"The secret is probably to study archeology carefully."

said Harry finally.

At the very least, this would make Wood better in the eyes of Professor Heimer.

Wood walked away swearing, determined to find out what the archaeological principles were.

The four people in the auditorium also ran over, Ron suppressed his excitement and cheered, Hermione closed his mouth happily, Ginny looked at him with bright eyes, Luna said suddenly: "You just flew really well!" Great, looks like it's fused with the Bludger."

"Uh, thanks." Harry said awkwardly, simply taking it as a compliment to himself.

Before this, he never thought that Professor Haimer's special training would have such a miraculous effect.

In this way, what about Ron and Hermione who also received special training?
It wasn't just Harry thinking about it, others were watching them too.

"Forget it." Ron said aggrievedly: "I learned duels, but Muggle-style duels, or the ones with swords. I'm so bored."

So everyone else turned their attention to Hermione, and even the Weasley brothers didn't bother to pick on Ron.

"A bunch of snobs!" Ron shouted angrily, but was still ignored.

"I've been learning about wands recently." Hermione said proudly, "Hundreds of woods and dozens of cores are extremely rare and full of creativity. I've basically memorized a quarter of them now." gone."

"So much?" Harry asked in surprise.

During the special training, he was all focused on avoiding Bludgers, and he didn't pay attention to the knowledge Hermione learned.And he remembered that Mr. Ollivander said that there were only three types of wand cores most commonly used-the heart nerve of the fire dragon, the tail hair of the unicorn, and the feather of the phoenix.

Unexpectedly, Professor Highmore's "magic wand science" is more profound than Mr. Ollivander's.

"Wands?" Angelina asked curiously, "It's not ancient magic? Why did the professor ask you to learn wands?"

"I am not sure as well."

Hermione wasn't telling the truth.

She can actually guess some reasons, for example, not all ancient magic is friendly, and it is not suitable for students to study too deeply.In addition, Professor Haimer's wand science is already very special. In fact, not only wood, but also some other wand materials, such as animal bones, are very strange and weird.

But Hermione felt that it was better to hide this secret, and Professor Highmore didn't need to bear more criticism, especially from the three of them.

At this time, Ron muttered for a while, "I also learned a lot", "Do you know thirteen ways to avoid armor attacks?"

After no one paid any attention to him, he suddenly said, "Okay, let's go, Harry."

"Oh?" Harry was dragged away by Ron in a daze, "Don't worry, I still have to put the broom in the shed."

Hermione broke Ron's mind and said sarcastically, "That's because he doesn't want Ginny with you. Seriously, what does that have to do with you, Ron?"

"No!" Ron said indignantly like a rooster whose tail had been plucked: "You can't say anything! This is really weird! It's time to end!"

"Oh, I don't think so." Fred walked over with a smile, and George also smiled and said, "Yeah, anyway, we don't object, two to one, you lose, Luo Luo."

On one side, they forced Ron to stand up, and led him towards the castle regardless of his yelling.

Wood patted Harry on the shoulder with relief and said: "Let's go and send the broom back first, you can take Ginny for a walk in other places or something, and it will be your turn to return the broom in a while, so that you can let the broom go." You have more time alone."

Harry retorted anxiously: "Things are not what you think."

"Style!" Angelina emphasized: "Have a good manner, Harry! Don't lose the momentum that Gryffindor should have!"

Hermione also asked Luna, "Do you want to go with us? By the way, why do you carry a notebook wherever you go?"

Luna let go of Ginny's arm, and she walked over to Hermione, staring straight at her, making Hermione uncomfortable.

"Is there a problem?" Hermione had to say, "I just don't want to disturb Harry and Ginny's chance to be alone."

"Don't do that," Harry begged softly.

Hermione ignored him, and she heard Luna suddenly say to herself: "Is Professor Highmore's wand science related to automatic casting wands?"

Hermione didn't think about it that way: "It's a good idea, but I haven't tried it yet. But if it's feasible, Cedric should learn the wand instead. The second magic circle will drive him crazy gone."

"Would you like to try it?" Luna suggested, her gray eyes widening.

Hermione didn't expect Luna to be so difficult to deal with, she said as she walked, "It should not be possible, it sounds a bit dangerous, at least you should consult Professor Haimer in advance, and get his permission."

Harry lost track of the rest of the conversation.

He looked around and found that everyone else had left, only himself carrying the broom, and Ginny with her head down and at a loss.

The atmosphere was really awkward.

Harry said dryly, "Going to sit with Hagrid for a while?"

Ginny shook her head twice, and Harry assumed she agreed, so he took Ginny out of the Quidditch pitch and walked towards Hagrid's cabin.

It wasn't really a good experience, Harry just felt uncomfortable and didn't know what to say.

shrewd
Harry thought silently.

If it was Professor Haimer, what would he say at this time?
But somehow, Harry couldn't help but think back to the picture Angela had shown him.

Harry didn't dare to think about it anymore, he didn't think kicking Ginny suddenly was a friendly way of communication.

Harry heard Ginny whisper something then, like a mosquito talking.

"What?" he asked.

Ginny's cheeks became redder, and she lowered her head and asked, "Everyone says you defeated the mysterious man, is that true?"

Is it for this reason?

Ginny adored herself because of those stories?
Harry said truthfully: "There may be some discrepancies between the facts and the rumors. At that time, I was too young to remember anything. But I really don't think I can defeat the You-Know-Who on my own, at least I have to be like Professor Highmore." The strength of it. Did you hear Ron talk about what happened last semester to protect the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ginny whispered, "It's not all, most of it is the story of Ron winning a game of chess."

So Harry told the story in more detail, including the mirror of Erised later, and the battle in the troll house.

"The scene at that time was very chaotic." Harry said with lingering fear: "If Professor Highmore was not there, maybe something would have happened. Anyway, I think if I were replaced, I would definitely not be able to deal with the mysterious man at that time. "

Ginny panicked, "So the mysterious man is still alive?"

"It doesn't look like it." Harry shook his head and said, "Otherwise, Headmaster Dumbledore would have announced the news. I mean, he would definitely not allow the threat of the mysterious man to continue."

After chatting for a while, the atmosphere became much better.

Harry began to describe the experience of confinement last semester, the main purpose is to let Ginny not take it lightly, so as not to be punished by Professor Highmore.

When he mentioned the time in the Forbidden Forest, Ginny suddenly responded, "I've been to the Forbidden Forest too, and I went with Luna."

"Huh?!" Harry was startled: "Just the two of you?"

Ginny also began to regret her impulsiveness: "Can you keep it a secret for me? Don't tell Ron, Percy, George, Fred, or my parents."

"I—" Harry looked into Ginny's eyes.

"Okay." He said helplessly, "but how can you go to the Forbidden Forest casually? It would be bad if the professor finds out."

"To see the Thestrals," Ginny whispered.

Harry had never seen a Thestral, nor did he know what a Thestral was.

They walked to the fence near the cabin, and just as Harry was about to press on, he suddenly noticed two light bulbs hanging near the chicken coop.After staring at it for a while, he realized that it was a pair of eyes, and they were extremely familiar.

"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Dobby finally gave up his dirty old pillowcase and put on a tea towel with the Hogwarts crest on it, which he wrapped around himself like a robe.

After spotting Harry, Dobby ran over in a strange posture, with his two arms stretched out straight to the side, and Harry didn't see clearly that there was a stick hanging behind him until he got close.

"Harry Potter!"

Dobby said excitedly, bumping into Harry hard, but couldn't hold him tightly because the wrists of both his arms were tied to the stick.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked anxiously, "Is the Malfoy family abusing you again?"

"No, it's not." Dobby grinned, showing a big smile: "Dobby is working, pretending to be a scarecrow, and helping Mr. Hagrid take care of the cocks so that they won't be stolen again. For this reason, Mr. Hagrid is willing to help Dobby pays a Galleon a week."

"Work?" Harry was even more confused.

"Yes, sir," Dobby said sharply. "Dobby has finally left the Malfoys. After all, it's Professor Highmore's credit."

After listening carefully for a while, Harry finally understood that it all started with the Lucius case.

In order to get rid of the charges, Lucius spent a lot of gold, even the family's house elves.As for the Quibbler's reports, it played a key role, and it was because of those reports that Lucius was under so much pressure.

Dumbledore explained to Dobby how he had been freed from bondage, without emphasizing his own role in the whole thing.

"This is really great." Harry was also happy for Dobby, because he learned how Dobby was tortured by the Malfoy family when he was in the hospital, and now Dobby was finally free from them.

However, Harry still inevitably became a little embarrassed when his eyes glanced at Dobby's strange outfit.He remembers that the stolen cock was actually made by Professor Highmore, which instead gave Dobby an extra job.

"Has anyone ever stolen a cock?"

Harry asked shrewdly, he wanted to remind Dobby through this question, so that he would not have to play so hard in the future.

But Dobby's answer surprised Harry.

"Yes." He lowered his voice and said, as if he was afraid of being overheard: "Mr. Hagrid has lost his temper recently, but he just can't find out who the thief is. Otherwise, Dobby wouldn't have this rare encounter." job opportunity."

"Oh?" Harry was a little confused.

The basilisk has been dealt with, so Professor Highmore doesn't need to steal the cock any more?

At this moment, Harry noticed that Ginny was behaving strangely.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked concerned.

"It's nothing." Ginny said in a daze, "I'm just nothing."

She inexplicably felt that stealing a cock was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember when it happened.

"Sir." Dobby suddenly whispered, with a worried look on his face: "Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine." Harry said inexplicably, looking at the expression on Dobby's face, he immediately remembered what the reason was - the conversation between the two was based on what Harry guessed when they parted last time. than the owner of the end.In other words, Dobby probably didn't know that the matter of the secret room had been solved, and now he would go to one of the side roads to receive special training on weekends.

"Don't worry, the problem has been solved smoothly." Harry reminded, so as not to make Dobby continue to worry.

Dobby obviously understood what Harry meant, and he breathed a sigh of relief: "That would be very nice, sir."

"By the way." Harry asked, "Is Hagrid there?"

Dobby shook his head and said, "Mr. Hagrid is not in the house. He has been going to the Forbidden Forest a lot recently and has no time to take care of the chicken coop, so he asked me for help."

What was Hagrid doing in the Forbidden Forest?
Harry and Ginny exchanged a look, then looked together towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It just so happened that Hagrid was walking out of the Forbidden Forest at this moment. He held a giant crossbow in his hand, raised it up, and greeted the two of them from a distance.

"Why are you together?" After walking in, Hagrid asked curiously, "Do you want to stay for dinner together?"

"Hagrid." Harry asked in surprise, "What happened to your face? And why are you carrying a crossbow?"

Hagrid's left cheek was bruised, and his trousers were torn.

"It's nothing." Hagrid said, avoiding Harry's gaze. "It's because—the centaur, yes, the centaur. They don't welcome me anymore. It's just an insurance policy, for safety."

Harry knew Hagrid wasn't telling the truth.

He didn't stay for dinner, and returned to the castle with Ginny after saying goodbye to Dobby.

In the common room, they met Ron with a deep face, and Hermione was also there, she was silently consolidating the wand knowledge learned from Professor Highmore.

Ginny went back to the dormitory without saying hello.

As Harry approached, Ron narrowed his eyes and stared at him, somewhat like a serious Professor Highmore.

"So, how is it?" He asked pretending to be deep.

"How about what?" Harry was still thinking about Hagrid.

"Of course it's Ginny." Ron's tone became deeper: "I know I shouldn't stop you from being with Ginny, we're good buddies after all, but if you really decide to—"

"Stop, stop!" Harry interrupted with a headache, "You're overthinking, there's no such thing at all."

Then he told about meeting Dobby and Hagrid.

"Injured?" Hermione looked up from her notebook and asked, "Are you sure he's lying to you?"

"Hagrid was too obvious," said Harry. "He never learned to lie."

"Nevermind him." Ron said cheerfully. After solving the troubles between Harry and Ginny, he finally stopped being so depressed.

"The big deal is that he secretly raised another fire dragon. Is there any worse result than this?"

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other.

After personally facing the basilisk, it seems that it is nothing if it is really a fire dragon.

That said, it really couldn't be worse.

On the other side, in the depths of the tunnel in the special classroom, a few roosters paced slowly beside the molted skin of the basilisk.A table is bypassed, on which an oil lamp is lit.

The black mist under Toby's hood stared at them for a while, and then looked at Lockhart who smiled awkwardly. There was an open "Ancient Magic and Magic Circle" in his hand, as well as a bunch of unknown books. draft of something.

"Did you steal these cocks?" Toby said calmly, "I don't think it's necessary. Can you use the basilisk's molted skin to conjure a living basilisk?"

Lockhart looked cautious, he quickly took a roll of parchment and said: "This is just to be prepared, after all, the magic circle is still an unknown magic to me-by the way, I have finished writing this issue of the report. Do you want to see it?"

Toby took the parchment and looked at it carefully.

This story takes place in a remote city. The protagonist in the story sets a magic circle trap in advance in the phone booth, traps the werewolves in, and subdue them, bringing peace to the residents of the city.

"Not bad." Toby commented lightly: "I will publish this report in the latest issue of "The Quibbler."

Before Lockhart could heave a sigh of relief, Toby suddenly changed his tone and said, "However, the role of the magic circle in this story is still too passive. What I want is not just a trap, but also a wand of disdain." The function of the magic circle, you can use it from the magic circle item, or combine it with the magic wand, you must emphasize the power of the magic circle."

"How about it, can it be done?"

Lockhart hesitated for a while, and he caught a glimpse of Al on the table swinging the small shovel with a vicious look on his face, and slapped his paws.

"Yes!" Lockhart said hastily, "I can write the story in the next issue!"

"Very good." A satisfied laugh came from under the hood.

Under the light of the oil lamp, a long shadow was cast on the wall.

In a trance, Lockhart saw horns growing out of Shadow's head, no different from the rumored devil.

So, what on earth did I come to Hogwarts for? ——
Days passed, and while Lockhart was suffering, the Mason Gate in the ancient magic office ushered in a mature day.

Due to the influence of the Pharaoh's mask, Toby decided to give up the opportunity to enter the Mason Gate after careful consideration.

But unexpectedly, Principal Dumbledore came to the door.

"I have a guess to test," he said, holding Tom Riddle's notebook but not the Ravenclaw diadem.

Despite his doubts, Toby told the principal what he should pay attention to.

"And the magic ball." Dumbledore said, stretching out his hand.

The situation is getting more and more confusing.

Toby asked suspiciously: "What does this have to do with the magic ball?"

"It's just a guess." Dumbledore said in a heavy tone, shaking his palm up and down twice.

Toby had to hand over the magic ball and watched Dumbledore enter Mason's Gate with these two things.

It was the weekend, and Al wasn't in the office. He was deep in the tunnel supervising Lockhart's contribution to The Quibbler.

As for the armor and skeleton guards in the trio, Toby doesn't need to bother about it.

So he took it upon himself to protect the Mason Gate so that Dumbledore would not be disturbed while he entered.

This didn't take too long.

About half an hour later, the headmaster came out of the Mason door, his expression was more solemn than before, and the situation seemed to be more serious than he imagined.

Toby knew that the headmaster had been studying Voldemort's notebook and diadem after the pharaoh's coffin and mummy had disappeared.

"What's the matter, Headmaster?" Toby asked, standing up.

Dumbledore didn't answer in a hurry. He stood there, stared at the magic ball in his hand for a while, and then suddenly asked Toby: "I remember you said that after the magic ball was possessed by Voldemort, there will be no more magic balls." I can’t use the seven-pointed star’s magic circle anymore.”

Toby nodded and said, "That's right, that's because the magic ball was destroyed by a mysterious person—"

"No," interrupted Dumbledore, "not sabotage."

"Perhaps, this is because Voldemort absorbed part of the magic ball."

He looked at the stunned Toby and said.

absorb?

That's a really weird description.

Dumbledore continued: "Compared to the crown, the diary has more special features. We all know that the crown is the last thing Voldemort is looking for. Before that, he had a diary for a short time. It is also here He made some changes to the diary over a period of time. This makes a lot more sense, otherwise how does this notebook alone erase your memory with Angela? It's all because of Voldemort, who gave the diary more capacity."

He unfolded the notebook in his hand and turned to the first page, where a name was written in blurred ink: tm Riddle.

Dumbledore took out his wand, pointed the tip of the wand at the string of names, and said an obscure spell.

The light flashed, and the handwriting hit by the spell glistened, and the inside was full of complicated and cumbersome lines, allowing the name to reveal its true face—a magic circle.

"And the source of these abilities comes from the magic ball."

Toby was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He looked at Dumbledore through the black mist, and believed that the headmaster had thought of something with himself.

How did Voldemort manage to absorb the magic ball last term?
And by what means?
"Animal Carcasses"

Toby murmured.

He thought of the animal carcasses that had died in the Forbidden Forest last term, all of them possessed by Voldemort.

Dumbledore also used this as a clue to find the hollow tree in Albania, and finally got Ravenclaw's crown before Voldemort.

Dumbledore then reminded: "Voldemort has also been possessed on the magic ball, which makes it look very similar to those animals."

"So, do you think the magic ball is alive?"

(End of this chapter)