Chapter 424

The next morning, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the great hall they saw Cedric’s group also dining, then they looked at each other and sat opposite to them tacitly.

“Uh … hi guys.” Harry said, to which Cedric put down his fork and smiled at them.

Harry momentarily lost of words, not knowing what he should say, especially since the man in front of him had danced at least seven times with Cho Chang at the Yule Ball, preventing him from taking any chances.

He mumbled something so vaguely that Cedric didn’t hear it properly, so he looked at Harry questioningly.

“I, ahem – I mean, Ron has something he wanted to say to Collins.”

This time, it is Ron’s turn to stammer. “What–me? Oh, it’s me …” He glared at Harry, when Collins placed down her fork & knife and looked towards them, her very imposing gaze shifting between Harry and Ron.

Ron looked at Collins, and his face turned red, Collins’ two thick eyebrows and short brown hair matched together exceptionally well, then he remembered his poor performance in front of Fleur again, and muttered in a low voice, “Thanks …”

“Are you having trouble figuring out what to say?” Collins asked him.

“I mean – thanks for the tip, you know, at the ball … you came up to me in your blue dress and told me the clue, although I didn’t really hear it, but I felt the need to, ahem, the need to say thank you …” Ron said under his breath, to which Harry chimed in, “Yeah, that’s right.”

When Collins and the group left, Ron’s ears still remained red.

“Aren’t you only supposed to be allergic to Fleur?” Harry asked, trying to muffle Hermione’s laughter and bring the conversation in a serious direction.

“I don’t know … when her black eyes stared at me, my mind went blank.” Ron said pessimistically, “First Fleur, now Collins, something isn’t wrong with me, is it?”

“Yeah, and you’re ill beyond comprehension, although it only kicks in when you’re in front of those pretty girls.” Hermione pointed out sharply.

Feeling that Ron was about to make a fool of himself, Harry moved his plate towards him – Ron was about to nearly spill the beef and pumpkin pie filling on the table – as he whispered to them about what had happened in the Ancient Rune Office last night.

After waking up from his sleep, his memories all became vivid, and Harry highlighted the enchanted book that had served a bizarre purpose.

“Sounds like a book that should stay honestly in the restricted area …,” Ron commented, dropping the pie on his plate.

“No, the professor said he got the inspiration from the Dementors for it, and frankly, I think the professor’s field of study is bizarre.” Harry spoke his mind.

“Any field of study that has been studied to a high degree will look strange to the layman.” Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Harry thought hard about it, but he didn’t know much about the other professors’ lives outside the classroom. In his imagination, Professor Flitwick probably had a hobby that involved opera and afternoon tea, when he would use charms to make those little teacups and teapots to move, and might even make them say a cheeky comment or two (like those enchanted servants he saw in the film); Professor McGonagall probably would spend all her free time handling the heavy workload of the school; Snape probably would spend his free time gutting Horned Toad; Trelawney would hold a crystal ball first thing in the morning to decide which dress to wear …

Professor Hap may be, in addition to reading and studying runes, will Play cards with Valen? As for Professor Moody, Harry used to imagine him removing his wooden leg and rubbing oil on it, just like how Harry cares for his Firebolt in his free time, but now Harry is left with nothing but sympathy – maybe for the past few months, Professor Moody would hop on to his bed like a puppet every time he came back to his office, and then Barty Crouch Jr. would sneak in and go through his memories while he was sleeping.

The fact that he could fool Dumbledore at least means that Barty Crouch Jr. is very skilled in disguise and possibly in the art of Occlumency as well.

Harry heard a familiar voice, which he thought might be a hallucination until he and Ron looked over and saw Lee Jordan waving at the three Uagadou’s champions, and the Weasley twins sneakily handing a stack of parchments to the one with the last name “Blanzigor” –His hair is shaved on both sides, leaving a ghastly spiky haircut in the middle.

Harry remembered him well because he could turn into a hawk, and in the first task his tangle with that Antipodean Opaleye was very exciting.

“How did they get along this well?” Ron asked incredulously.

“It looks like Lee Jordan acted as a middleman,” Harry looked over thoughtfully, where Lee Jordan is patting his chest, his distinctive voice drifting far over, “… Don’t worry, it’s absolutely reliable… …”

“Fred and George won’t play their game with the Uagadou’s champions, right? It might land them into a mess if they caused international strife …,” Hermione said worriedly.

“Fred and George know what is limit in their heart, and at best they will sell their new products or something … they know, right?” Ron’s tone became uncertain as well.

Soon, Fred and George took their leave, as Lee Jordan continued to joke with the Uagadou’s team. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurriedly got up and intercepted the twins in the entrance hall.

“Oh, hello guys, we didn’t expect you.” Fred was taken aback.

“What were you guys doing?” Ron asked directly.

“Nothing, meeting Lee’s new friends.” George replied evasively, inclining his head back in the direction of the great hall.

“I saw that.” Ron said, “You handed them something, not a prank product, but a stack of parchment, probably some kind of information …”

Fred and George looked at each other.

“If you guys revealed any secret that would cause Hogwarts to lose the game …,” Ron said with deliberate seriousness, watching with satisfaction as his two brothers’ expressions grew solemn.

“You are very concerned, it seems that the whole thing of becoming a champion has given you a lot of confidence.” Fred said.

“Are you preparing for next year, little Ronnie, you want to become a prefect?” George teased.

Ron’s face reddened, and he said irritably, “I don’t want to be a prefect-”

“But our little brother has some point this time.” Fred said.

“Probably just a blind shot in the dark.”

Ron’s face is turning about as red as his hair when Harry interrupted, “So what did you guys have in mind back then?”

Fred and George looked at each other, “Look, it’s simple, Lee Jordan made friends with a student of Uagadou, you know, he’s got the looks …” Harry couldn’t help but laugh a little as Fred added: ” Uagadou School of Magic is different from us in many ways, they specialize in Self-Transfiguration, Alchemy, Astronomy, and gesture casting …”

“Yes, they have all kinds of alchemical gadgets that are not hard to get hold of, like amulets of various types. … As Dumbledore said, it’s all about exchange.” George shrugged and said.

“They approached us two days ago, just before Christmas, saying they wanted to learn about the Black Lake … It’s not exactly information that needs to be kept secret, I bet there are at least a hundred books in the library that mention it, but of course, it will require some time to find.” Fred said.

George added with a wink, “Unless they’re too foolish not to think about asking Mrs. Pince, whose presence is actually quite strong, stronger than the rope that will pull people’s attention in front of the restricted book section.”

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