Harry Potter and the Secret Treasure

Chapter 733 The Customs of Giants

"Thank you, just let me have some coffee to refresh myself!" Ivan said, and walked over, "Hagrid, what are you holding in your hand?"

"Oh, this is a helmet made by goblins. It's indestructible and beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid said, and handed the delicate helmet with dark green light in his hand to Ivan, "I think those giants will like it, I think Have a lot of confidence in it."

Aiwen looked down at the inscription on the helmet in his hand. It was an ancient rune: People can control their own destiny. If we are controlled by others, the fault is not fate, but ourselves!

This sentence sounds familiar, isn't this helmet...

"The Crown of Destiny!" Sirius said softly. "It is said that it once belonged to King Arthur, and Merlin guided him to obtain it. It is a legendary magic item with great historical value. Of course, ours is just an imitation, but it is still priceless , the real Crown of Destiny and the Sword of Kings have long been hidden by goblins, some say they are in the deepest part of Gringotts."

Goblins are very good at forging, almost all well-known weapons and equipment are produced by them.

But the greedy goblins have a very bad habit. They think that the ownership of these legendary magic items will always belong to the creators, that is, themselves, and humans just pay a very high price to rent these items from them.

After the user dies, they will recycle these weapons and equipment so that they will never appear again.

If Gryffindor hadn't played a trick and cast a spell on his sword, as long as the real Gryffindor could pull the sword out of the sorting hat, then Gryffindor's sword I'm afraid it's long gone.

Like those legendary magic items lost in history, become some goblin's collection.

"Dumbledore attaches great importance to the giants, and he took out valuable collections from himself and the Hogwarts underground vault." Hagrid said, rummaging through the pile of items, "the giants will Interested in them, as long as we use them properly."

Ivan and Sirius also started to help him sort out. Among the piles of presents, they also found a Gublai fairy fire.

The light blue flame was burning quietly, seemingly without temperature.

The Gublai Immortal Fire is an eternal fire that will never be extinguished, no matter what you do to it.

For alchemy and potion science, this Gublai fairy fire is simply the best configuration, and the price is also sky-high.

Ivan doubts what the giants will use it for, roast wild boar?Or use it as a candle?

It's a pity to give it to giants, but it does make them feel the presence of magic clearly.

Immediately afterwards, Aiwen found another dragon skin, which was completely peeled off from a giant dragon dozens of feet long.

The scale armor of the fire dragon has strong defensive power. To obtain a complete and undamaged fire dragon skin, dozens of wizards need to use the killing curse on the fire dragon at the same time or kill the fire dragon with a very rare poison.Then, it will take more than three months for the most skilled craftsmen to peel off the dragon skin completely.

The whole process is very troublesome, and the key point is still useless, no piece of equipment will use such a large dragon skin.

Nobody would do that except for a pureblood wizarding family who needed a full dragonskin to show their family glory and show off their wealth.

This dragon skin should be in the Hogwarts treasure house, and it is definitely not in Dumbledore's private collection.

In addition, there are many alchemy props and other magic items in this pile of gifts, all of which are rare treasures.

Although Dumbledore couldn't promise more to the giant, he hoped that the gift would make him feel his sincerity.

To be honest, if Aiwen was a giant, he would also be moved by this mountain of gifts.

Now let's see what Voldemort and the Death Eaters can come up with. This is a process of comparison and competition between the two sides.

"By the way, what do we do with these gifts, how do we communicate with the giant?" Aiwen asked.

"Dumbledore has ordered that we give the most precious gift to Gogo, the leader of the giants, as a token of our sincerity." Hagrid said, "After we find the giant, we must hold the gift high, eyes Keep an eye on Gugo, don’t pay attention to other people, they will understand our intentions and will not attack us actively. As for the rest, we will secretly stuff them to other giants, and don’t let Gugo find out.”

"Well, how can we know which one is Gugo?" Aiwen said, he remembered some customs about giants that Hermione helped him sort out, knowing that the leader has a high status in the giant tribe, and other giants must obey him Order.

"It's very easy, just look for the biggest, ugliest, and laziest giant, and he must be Gu Ge."

"Giants are aggressive by nature, and only the strongest ones are qualified to be leaders." Sirius followed up. "They don't know how to use magic, and their heads are not very smart, so generally the biggest ones are the strongest."

An absurd picture appeared in Ivan's head. A few of them crawled in front of a giant as ugly as a mountain, offering gifts to him, and the giant roared rudely at them...

"Dumbledore told us not to rush, but to take our time and bring something good every day to impress them." Hagrid said, "I'm in charge of holding the gift for Gugo, okay? Let them all see. Aiwen, put the gifts for other giants in your bag, and take them out secretly when the time comes."

"Why don't we send all the presents at once?"

"That can't be done. It would be terrible to do that. You can't talk too much to creatures like giants at once, otherwise they will kill you directly. It's easy, you have to take it slowly, Talk to them slowly."

"Let them understand that you have more things for them, and let them have a sense of expectation, so that they will cooperate with us." Sirius said, "These are the experiences Dumbledore has accumulated from dealing with giants before. , the content that will never be recorded in the book.”

Indeed, the information Ivan found did not mention these specific methods of dealing with giants.

"It was a good experience. Not every wizard has the opportunity to come into contact with giants, let alone walk into a giant tribe. It's a pity that Harry and the others couldn't follow them. This is something that can't be learned in school." Hai Grid said, putting the last box away, "Okay, Alvin, do you have any questions?"

"Only one, which of you understands the language of giants?"

"Neither of us, but it doesn't matter. When the giants were raging in England in the past, many giants learned English. They even married human wizards and had children. For example..." Hagrid hesitated before continuing, "Like my mother Friedwafa, she should still be alive."

Chapter 734 Owl Fortress

After Hagrid talked about his mother, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and Ivan and Sirius exchanged glances uneasily.

"Hagrid, are you going to find her?" Ivan hesitated, and continued to ask, "This is a good opportunity to meet your mother. You haven't seen her for a long time, right?"

"I don't want to see her. It has nothing to do with our mission this time." Hagrid muttered, shrugging his broad shoulders. "I don't remember her very much. She was not a good mother. When I was young, she Just abandon me and my father and leave alone."

"But you and her are related by blood after all..."

"So what, she's a giant, and I've sworn I'll never see her again!" said Hagrid, raising his voice.

"You're lying, Ruburt!" Madame Maxime came in with a tea tray, just hearing this, she looked at Hagrid seriously, "You really want to see your mother, we can see that, You care about her."

"But she doesn't care about me, and she doesn't care about my father, she probably has forgotten us a long time ago!" Hagrid said sadly, "Orim, they are different from your parents, they didn't love each other freely, my father In the beginning, being with her was not voluntary, but forced by her, there is only hatred between them..."

Hagrid's voice became lower and lower, and a mist formed in his black eyes.

"Yeah, he probably liked her afterward and wanted to go out and find her, but he didn't know where all the giants went. My daddy kept saying her name till he died," said Hagrid, tears welling up , "He will never forget her until he dies."

"Since this is the case, you should go to her all the more!" Madame Maxime came over, handed the tea tray full of drinks to Sirius, and said in a low voice, "Give him to me, remember to call when the carriage arrives in Dijon." We, we're staying there tonight."

After she finished speaking, she helped Hagrid back into the room, ready to comfort him...

Ivan and Sirius continued to discuss the giant for a while, and the topic shifted to Ravenclaw's crown and the maelstrom.

Time passed, the sky gradually dimmed, and the carriage had arrived over Dijon.

Dijon is a small city in eastern France that has been the capital of the Burgundy region since the Middle Ages.

From the perspective of Muggles, this historic town has many well-preserved ancient buildings with high artistic value.

In addition, it also produces some of the best wines in the world.

In the wizarding world, this small town is also extremely famous.

It is also known as the City of Owls, and it has a special magical building—the Owl Fortress, which is a huge military fortress located near the river valley outside the city.

The fortress historically belonged to the Duke of Burgundy and is said to be one of his main palaces.

It is famous because of the countless ghost owls that inhabit it.

No one knows what the dark wizard who once lived there did, or why there are so many ghosts of owls.

The International Federation of Wizards has inspected this huge black fortress more than once, but found nothing.

The wizards walked into the castle, only to see countless owl ghosts watching you in the castle, the feeling can definitely drive people crazy.

Ivan had read a description of the Owl Fortress in the book before. It was described as an evil and colorless place. This huge castle was built of black granite with all kinds of weird carvings on it. Owl statue.

The structure of the whole castle is very weird, there are no windows, and the only way to get in is through the strong door below.

And the weirdest thing is the ubiquitous owl ghosts in the castle, they stand quietly everywhere in the castle.

It is well known that only wizards can become ghosts after death, retaining the memories and habits of their predecessors.

Rarely do animals become ghosts, especially if there are so many in one place at once, it's not normal to think about it.

According to the final findings of the International Federation of Wizards, the souls of these owls are not ghosts in the pure sense. They are imprisoned here by a special black magic and cannot leave the castle. Most wizards believe that this weird black magic comes from Africa. Area of ​​witchcraft or a curse.

And this evil black magic may not be completed, it has a problem in the process of casting, resulting in the souls of thousands of owls left as sacrifices in the castle forever...

In any case, the great fortress was abandoned outside the city, and no one approached or entered it.

Like the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade, the local wizards are terrified of Owl Keep.

It's had a Muggle Repelling Charm cast on the outside, and no Muggles come near that area.

If there is no task for a simple trip, Aiwen would like to take a look inside the fortress to study why there are so many ghosts of owls suddenly appearing, but he can't do it now, he'd better not take the initiative to cause trouble.

The carriage descended slowly, Hagrid and Madam Maxime came out of the room, he looked much better now.

Hagrid was still holding a photo in his hand, the one he had shown Ivan and the others before.

It showed a short wizard with the same black eyes as Hagrid's, squinted into a slit, and he sat on Hagrid's shoulder and laughed happily.Hagrid was seven or eight feet tall by reference to an apple tree next to him, but his face was young, full, smooth, beardless, and looked to be eleven years old at most.

The short wizard in the photo was Hagrid's father, and it was the only photo of him left.

Hagrid's father was a breeder during his lifetime, working for the Department of Protection of Magical Creatures of the Ministry of Magic, mainly responsible for taking care of dangerous magical creatures.

The main reason Hagrid likes those monsters is probably inherited from his father.

"How are you, Hagrid?" Ivan asked.

"I'm fine!" Hagrid waved his hand, a little embarrassed, "I just think of my mother, I'm a little too excited. Speaking of which, Orim is really amazing, I never thought that she would be so considerate Renyi, she convinced me, I have never seen such a beautiful woman..."

The carriage fell to the ground, and under the effect of magic, the huge rune horse had been turned into an ordinary horse.

The small city of Dijon still maintains the customs of the past, and the Muggles were not too surprised by the sudden appearance of the carriage.

After more than ten minutes, under the control of Mrs. Maxim, they stopped in front of a tavern called "Burgundy Style".

It was a wizard tavern like the Leaky Cauldron, and she had obviously been here before.

Chapter 735 The Owlman and the Bizarre Murder

"Mrs. Maxim, you are a rare visitor. Welcome, welcome, come in!" Just as the carriage stopped, bar owner Barr, an old man in his 60s with a wrinkled face, came out to welcome him. He said with a smile, "Why are you free to come to Dijon?"

"We're just passing by, and we'll be leaving tomorrow morning!" Madame Maxime said, stepping down from the carriage, "Please prepare dinner for us and open four rooms."

"There are so many rooms. Under the circumstances, not many people dare to come to Dijon." Old Barr said, sighing.

"Did something happen?" Madame Maxime asked, and stopped at the entrance of the bar. "Why do you look sad? I remember that when I came last time, the business of your tavern was very prosperous."

"Don't mention it, the recent situation is terrible. It's all caused by the terrible owl man. People are in a panic. Not to mention foreign tourists, even local wizards don't go out very often!" Barr said, waving his hand helplessly. .

"Owl man, what is that?!" Ivan asked, looking at the bar owner in surprise.

"To be honest, I don't know what kind of monster it is. I have never seen it. But according to eyewitnesses, it is a thing about the size of a human woman. Its half body is covered with feathers, with pointed ears and long hands. With black pincer-like claws. The color of the feathers is silver-gray, and the eyes are bloodshot, it looks like a scary owl turned into a human..."

Listening to the other party's description, a monster appeared in Ivan's mind.

"This guy is said to have escaped from the Owl Fortress. That castle is very famous and attracts many wizards to visit Dijon every year. At first, everyone thought it was a joke or a gimmick for publicity, but they didn't take it seriously. Come on." Barr continued, "It wasn't until that incident happened that no one realized how serious it was."

"There's a witch dead, poor Mary, the last of the oldest pure-blood family of Dijon, that family is thought to be the only surviving descendant of the Dukes of Burgundy, and even the Owl Fort is their family property. She was found dead in her family's mansion, and was not discovered until a few weeks later." Barr sighed heavily again, and continued, "The Aurors who went to the scene to investigate saw a scene like hell. The skin was ripped off abruptly, leaving only the bloody corpse, which seemed to be a pile of rotten meat. The window of her room was open, and there were owl feathers everywhere on the ground, as witnesses swear by Said that the owl man killed her..."

There was a moment of silence, Ivan and the others did not expect to hear such a bizarre and sensational murder just as they got off the carriage.

"To be honest, Old Mary's popularity is not very good. If she dies in a more normal way, this matter may be a good after-dinner conversation. By the way, let's discuss the huge family wealth she left behind. Allocation." Barr said, "Hey, but in this situation, especially the owl man that more and more people see later, Dijon is completely finished, useless Ministry of Magic and those useless Aurors There is no hope at all, they are hiding far away in Paris, regardless of our life or death."

"I will write to the Ministry to report this situation!" Madam Maxim said, "I'm sorry, Barr, but I can't help you."

"Seeing what you said, I'm already very happy that you and your friends can come!" Barr bowed, raised his head and looked curiously at Ivan, Sirius and Hagrid behind Mrs. Maxim, " What would you and your companions like to drink, beer or brandy, until dinner is ready in twenty minutes?"

"Three glasses of brandy, and a glass of juice, that child can't drink!" Madame Maxime said, pausing, "If it's convenient, I'll bring some single malt whiskey to my horses, and put them in their fodder. it is good."

"Leave it to me, Orim, I'll take care of them." Hagrid said, leading the rune horse towards the backyard of the bar.

Ivan, Sirius and Mrs. Maxim followed the boss into the tavern and passed through the narrow and dark passage. The picture presented in front of them was similar to that of the Leaky Cauldron, and even the decoration style was similar to that of the Leaky Cauldron. resemblance.

The living room was gloomy and the space was very small, as if centuries of dust had accumulated on the ground.

Aiwen didn't understand why the taverns and hotels run by wizards seemed to stay in the ancient Middle Ages. If he could choose, he would prefer to stay in a hotel or hotel run by Muggles, but the other three would definitely not go.

As the bar owner said, there was no one in there except them.

The thought of the terrible murder inevitably made the atmosphere a little dull, and everyone actively avoided talking about it.

On the recommendation of Mrs. Maxime, Ivan tried three French specialties from the Dijon region for dinner, boiled eggs in red wine, miscellaneous fish soup and beef stew. They tasted very good.

After he finished eating, he left the dining table and went back to the room. Sirius, Hagrid and Madam Maxime seemed to be still wanting to have a few drinks.

Ivan is going to hurry up and take a look at the information about giants and the maelstrom of Charybdis that Hermione helped him collect.

He didn't know much about this aspect before, so he had to hurry up and master it.

The tavern room was located on the third floor. It was not very big. It contained a comfortable-looking bed, some pieces of bright oak furniture, a small desk, and a crackling fire in the fireplace.

Ai Wen nodded. Compared with the following, this place has obviously been carefully cleaned up, and it looks much cleaner!

He walked to the window and looked outside. The backyard of the bar was outside, and their huge carriage was parked in the middle of the yard.

Ivan drew the curtains, took out his wand and cast a few protection spells, and then lay down to look at what Hermione had collected for him.