Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 189 Injured Hagrid, trapped Lockhart, unknown magic ball

The reborn Harry naturally became the secret weapon of the Gryffindor team. Wood repeatedly asked not to allow anyone to reveal this matter. Finally, he asked with luck: "Professor Heimer may agree to let other

Special training for students?”

Harry looked at Wood who looked eager to try and hesitated: "It's probably impossible."

Wood still refused to give up and asked: "Then why does the professor treat the three of you differently? Are there any special requirements? Or is it a secret?"

How should Harry answer this?

Could it be said that he first made Professor Highmore completely angry, and then became a tool specifically to cause trouble for Principal Dumbledore, so that Professor Highmore could successfully become the next principal?

Not to mention whether anyone would believe this statement, Harry himself didn't believe it.

Hmm. Actually, I still have some faith in it.

But Harry must not let such thoughts occupy his mind. No matter who becomes the headmaster, he does not want to cause any more trouble.

"The secret is probably to study the archeology class carefully."

Harry said finally.

At the very least, this will make Wood a better person in the eyes of Professor Heimer.

Wood walked away with a confident look on his face, determined to find out what the archaeological principles were.

The four people in the audience also ran over. Ron cheered with suppressed excitement, Hermione opened her mouth from ear to ear with joy, Ginny looked at him with bright eyes, and Luna suddenly said: "You just flew really well."

The rod looks like it's integrated into the Bludger."

"Uh, thank you." Harry said awkwardly, simply taking this as a compliment to himself.

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

In this case, what about Ron and Hermione who also received special training?

Not only Harry thought of this, but others were also looking at them.

"Don't mention it." Ron said aggrievedly: "I learned dueling, but it was the Muggle way of dueling with swords. It was boring to death."

So others focused on Hermione, and even the Weasley brothers didn't bother to talk to Ron.

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

"I'm learning wand science recently." Hermione said with a proud look on her face: "There are hundreds of types of wood and dozens of wand cores, all of which are extremely rare and full of creativity. I have basically memorized a quarter of it now.

Already."

"So many?" Harry asked in surprise.

During the special training, he was focused on avoiding Bludgers and did not pay serious attention to the knowledge Hermione was learning. Moreover, he remembered that Mr. Ollivander said that there are only three types of wand cores that are most commonly used——

The heart nerve of the fire dragon, the tail hair of the unicorn, and the feathers of the phoenix.

Unexpectedly, Professor Heimer's "Wandology" is even more profound than Mr. Ollivander's.

"Wandology?" Angelina asked curiously: "It's not ancient magic? Why does the professor want you to learn wandology?"

"I am not sure as well."

Hermione wasn't telling the truth.

She could actually guess some reasons. For example, ancient magic was not all friendly and was not suitable for students to study too deeply. In addition, Professor Haimer's wand science was already very special. In fact, it was not just wood, but also some other materials.

Wand materials, such as animal bones, are very strange and weird.

However, Hermione felt that it was better to hide this secret. Professor Hemmer did not need to bear more criticism, especially from the three of them.

At this time, Ron was muttering something in a low voice for a while, "I've learned a lot too" and "Do you know the thirteen ways to avoid armor attacks?"

After no one paid 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 poked fun at Ron's thoughts and said sarcastically: "That's because he doesn't want Ginny to be with you. Seriously, what does this have to do with you, Ron?"

"No!" Ron said indignantly like a rooster whose tail feathers were plucked: "Nothing will do! This is so 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, we don't object anyway, two to one, you lose, little Luo Luo."

One by one, they forcibly lifted Ron up and led him towards the castle despite his yelling.

Wood patted Harry on the shoulder with a look of relief and said: "Let's go and return the broom first. You can take Ginny for a walk somewhere else. After a while, it will be your turn to return the broom. This will still make people happy."

You have more time alone together."

Harry retorted anxiously: "It's not what you think."

"Be graceful!" Angelina emphasized: "Be graceful, Harry! Don't lose the momentum that Gryffindor should have!"

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

Luna let go of Ginny's arm, walked over to Hermione, and stared at her, making Hermione feel uncomfortable all over.

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

"Don't do this." Harry begged softly from the side.

Hermione ignored him. She heard Luna suddenly say to herself: "Is Professor Hemmer's wandology related to the automatic casting wand?"

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

Already."

"Want to try it?" Luna suggested, her gray eyes widening.

Hermione didn't expect Luna to be so difficult to deal with. She walked and said, "It shouldn't be possible. It sounds a bit dangerous. You should at least ask Professor Heimer in advance and get his permission."

Harry couldn't hear the rest of the conversation clearly.

He looked around and found that everyone else was gone, leaving only him carrying the broom and Ginny, who had her head lowered and was confused.

The atmosphere was really awkward.

Harry said dryly: "Would you like to sit with Hagrid for a while?"

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

This was really not a wonderful experience. Harry just felt uncomfortable and didn't know what to say.

shrewd

Harry thought silently.

If it were Professor Heimer, what would he say at this time?

But somehow, Harry couldn't help but think back to the photo Angela showed.

Harry didn't dare to think about it anymore. He didn't think that suddenly kicking Ginny down was a friendly way of communicating.

At this time, Harry heard Ginny whisper something, like a mosquito talking.

"What?" he asked.

Ginny's cheeks became even redder. She lowered her head and asked, "Everyone says you defeated You-Know-Who. Is this true?"

Is it because of this?

Because of those stories that made Ginny admire her?

Harry said truthfully: "There may be some discrepancies between the facts and the rumors. I was too young at that time and can't remember anything. But I really don't think I can defeat the mysterious man on my own. At least I have to be as good as Professor Hemmer."

I guess. Have you heard from Ron about what happened last semester to protect the Sorcerer's Stone?"

Ginny whispered: "Not quite, most of them are stories about Ron winning a game of chess."

So Harry told the story in more detail, including the subsequent Mirror of Erised and the battle that took place in the Troll House.

"The scene at that time was very chaotic." Harry said with lingering fear: "If Professor Hemmer hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened. Anyway, I feel that if it were me, I would definitely not be able to deal with the mysterious man at that time.

"

Ginny said in panic: "So the mysterious man is still alive?"

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

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

Harry began to describe the experience of solitary confinement last semester. The main purpose was to prevent Ginny from taking it lightly and avoid being punished by Professor Hemmer.

When he mentioned the time in the Forbidden Forest, Ginny suddenly responded: "I have also been to the Forbidden Forest, and I went with Luna."

"Ah?!" 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, and my parents."

"I -" Harry looked into Ginny's eyes.

"Okay." He said helplessly: "But how can you just go to the Forbidden Forest casually? It would be terrible if the professor finds out."

"It's to see the Thestrals," Ginny whispered.

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

They walked to the fence near the cabin, and just when Harry wanted to continue questioning, he suddenly found two light bulbs hanging near the chicken coop. After staring at them for a while, he realized that they were a pair of eyes, and they were extremely familiar.

"Dobby!" Harry shouted in surprise: "Why are you here?"

Dobby finally stopped wearing the dirty old pillowcase. He put on a tea towel with the Hogwarts crest printed on it and wrapped it around him as a robe.

After discovering Harry, Dobby ran over in a strange posture, with his arms stretched straight to the side. It was not until he got closer that Harry saw clearly a stick hanging behind him.

"Harry Potter!"

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

"What happened to you?" Harry asked anxiously, "Did the Malfoy family abuse you again?"

"No, it's not." Dobby grinned with a big smile: "Dobby is at work, pretending to be a scarecrow, helping Mr. Hagrid look after the roosters to prevent them from being stolen again. For this reason, Mr. Hagrid is willing to help

Dobby pays a galleone a week."

"Work?" Harry was even more confused.

"Yes, sir." Dobby said sharply: "Dobby finally left the Malfoy family. After all, this is all thanks to Professor Hemmer."

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

In order to get rid of the accusation, Lucius spent a lot of gold and even gave up the family's house elf. As for the reports of "The Quibbler", it played a key role. It was precisely because of those reports that Lucius was given the power to

So much pressure.

Dumbledore explained to Dobby how he had escaped from his bonds, without emphasizing his own role in the whole thing.

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

However, when his eyes glanced at Dobby's strange costume, Harry could not help but become a little embarrassed. He remembered that the stolen cock was actually made by Professor Hemmer, but he did not expect that this would give 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 pretend 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 heard by someone: "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 opportunity.

There are job opportunities.”

"Oh?" Harry was a little confused.

The basilisk has been dealt with, so Professor Hemmer obviously doesn't need to steal any more cocks?

At this time, Harry noticed that Ginny was acting strangely.

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

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

She somehow felt that stealing a cock was 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 the reason - when they parted last time, the conversation between the two was based on Harry guessing how many

It ended with Dobby's master. In other words, Dobby probably didn't know that the secret room matter had been solved, and now he would go to one of the forks on the weekends to receive special training.

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

Dobby obviously understood what Harry meant, and he breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great, sir."

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

Dobby shook his head and said: "Mr. Hagrid is not in the house. He often goes to the Forbidden Forest recently and has no time to look after the chicken pen, so he asked me for help."

What was Hagrid doing in the Forbidden Forest?

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look, and then looked towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest together.

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

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

"Hagrid." Harry asked in surprise, "What's wrong with your face? And why are you carrying a giant crossbow?"

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

"It's nothing." Hagrid avoided Harry's gaze and said, "It's because - centaurs, yes, centaurs. They don't welcome me anymore. This is just an insurance, for safety's sake."

Harry knew Hagrid wasn't telling the truth.

He did not stay for dinner, but returned to the castle with Ginny after saying goodbye to Dobby.

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

Ginny went back to the dormitory without saying hello.

After Harry approached, Ron narrowed his eyes and stared at him, somewhat as if he was imitating Professor Highmore in his serious state.

"So, how's it going?" He asked pretending to be serious.

"What?" Harry was still thinking about Hagrid.

"Of course it's Ginny." Ron's tone became deeper: "I know I shouldn't stop you and Ginny from being together. After all, we are good buddies, but if you really decide-"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Harry interrupted with a headache: "You're overthinking, it's not such a thing at all."

Then he told the story of meeting Dobby and Hagrid.

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

"Hagrid makes it too obvious," said Harry, "He never learns to lie."

"Whatever." Ron said cheerfully. After solving the troubles between Harry and Ginny, he was finally no longer so depressed.

"The worst thing is that he secretly raised a fire dragon again. Is there anything worse than this?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

After facing the basilisk in person, it seems that it doesn't matter if it is really a fire dragon.

That is to say, it really can't be worse.

On the other side, deep in the tunnel of the special classroom, several roosters were slowly pacing next to the basilisk's shed skin. They walked around a table with an oil lamp lit on it.

The black mist under Toby's hood stared at them for a while, and then looked at Lockhart with an awkward smile. In his hand was an open book of "Ancient Magic and Magic Circles" and a bunch of unknown words.

A draft of something.

"Did you steal these roosters?" Toby said calmly: "I don't think it's necessary. Can you still use the basilisk's shed skin to create 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's report.

Take a look?"

Toby took the parchment and read it carefully.

This story takes place in a remote city. The protagonist in the story sets a magic circle trap in a phone booth in advance to trap the werewolf and subdue it, 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 breathe 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 preferably a wand of disdain."

You can use it as a magic circle item or in combination with a magic wand. You must emphasize the power of the magic circle."

"How about it? Can it be done?"

Lockhart hesitated for a moment, and he caught a glimpse of Al on the table waving a small shovel with an evil look on his face, making a crackling sound on his paws.

"Yes!" Lockhart said hurriedly: "I can write the story in the next issue!"

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

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

In a trance, Lockhart saw horns growing on the shadow's head, which were no different from the rumored devil.

So, why did I come to Hogwarts?——

Days passed, and while Lockhart was suffering, the Mason door in the ancient magic office began to mature again.

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 theory that needs to be tested," he said, holding Tom Riddle's notebook but not the Ravenclaw diadem.

Although he was confused, Toby still told the principal what he should pay attention to.

"And the magic ball." Dumbledore stretched out his hand and said.

The situation is becoming increasingly confusing.

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

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

Toby had no choice but to hand over the magic ball and watched Dumbledore enter the Mason Gate with these two things.

Today is the weekend, and Al is not in the office. He is staying deep in the tunnel supervising Lockhart's contribution to "The Quibbler."

As for the trio, there are armors and skeletons guarding them, so Toby doesn't need to worry about it.

So he took on the responsibility of protecting the Mason Door so that he would not be disturbed during Dumbledore's entry.

This didn't take too long.

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

Toby knew that the Headmaster had been studying the notebooks and diadems that Voldemort valued after the Pharaoh's coffin and mummy disappeared.

"What's going on, principal?" Toby asked as he stood up.

Dumbledore did not answer in a hurry. He stood there and stared at the magic ball in his hand for a while. Then he suddenly asked Toby: "I remember you said that after the magic ball was possessed by Voldemort, there would be no more magic balls."

The wizard used the magic circle of the seven-pointed star."

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

"No," Dumbledore interrupted, "not destruction."

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

He looked at the shocked Toby and said.

absorb?

This is 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 briefly possessed the diary. It was also here.

Over a period of time, he made some changes to the diary. This makes it much more reasonable. Otherwise, how could this notebook alone erase the memories of you and Angela? This is all because of Voldemort, who gave the diary the

More capabilities.”

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

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

There was a flash of light, and the handwriting struck by the spell shone brightly. There were complex and complicated lines inside, making the name 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 dark fog, believing that the principal had the same thought as him.

How did Voldemort absorb the magic ball last semester?

And by what method?

"animal carcasses"

Toby murmured.

He thought of the animal carcasses that died in the Forbidden Forest last semester. All of them had been possessed by Voldemort.

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

Dumbledore then reminded: "Voldemort once possessed a magic ball, which makes it look very similar to those animals."

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