Chapter XXIV: Bargaining or Coercion
On weekends, the night at Hogwarts is quiet, a full moon hangs in the sky and emits a soft glow, sprinkled on the campus, and occasionally a few owls fly by, and a few night owls chirp, a quiet and peaceful scene. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE。 info
But in a basement in the village of Hogsmeade not far away, an explosion was brewing.
"Damn it. Malfoy let out a low curse.
The soft golden liquid in the crucible just now began to tumble, and the bubbles churned, first turning into a strange pink, then bright red, and finally black, and the reaction became more and more violent, like a turbulent wave, tumbling endlessly, and more and more bubbles began to break away from the liquid, making a "pop, pop" sound.
"The work of two months was ruined. Malfoy couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the black liquid, it was clear that he had failed when he had fought a third of the way, and he was brewing the elixir.
"What went wrong. He began to sit on the floor in deep thought, frowning. I actually forgot about the pot of failed potions that were still boiling.
"Sting, stinging, stinging. The eerie sound pulled him back from his thoughts.
"Armor!" Malfoy subconsciously used the spell, his instinct telling him that if he didn't use it, he would probably be the first time-traveler to die in the experiment.
As soon as the words fell, there was a "boom", and a violent explosion occurred in the basement, and the huge impact and frantic air flow brought him to the corner of the wall, and the dust flew all over the sky.
"Ahem. Malfoy slowly got up from the ground, coughed twice, and smiled ugly as he looked at the messy basement and the potions flowing around.
"Chemicals should be recovered after the experiment. This sentence appeared in his head for some reason. "I'm really going back and go. Malfoy held his forehead in pain, not knowing if it was because of his own negligence or if he had just injured his head from the explosion.
"There's no choice but to pay attention to it. Then his eyes suddenly sharpened again, like an eagle that had found its prey and was about to pounce.
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The Easter holidays are much more boring than the Christmas holidays, with students having to do their homework and final exams approaching.
However, Gryffindor's Iron Triangle doesn't seem to be quietly studying in the library, not yet, to be exact, they are attracted to a dragon.
Not long ago, they were reading a book, and Hermione was making her revision plan, coloring all her notes, and writing a few words of encouragement on the title page, such as being sure to surpass someone. Harry was looking for "white freshness" in A Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms, and Ron tossed the quill. I stared out the window of the library. The sky outside the window was clear and clear, blue like forget-me-not flowers, and there was an air in the air that summer was coming.
Under normal circumstances, it should be serious and serious, lazy and lazy, and then spent a peaceful day like this, but today it is clearly not an abnormal situation.
"Hagrid. How did you get here!" Ron exclaimed in the library, only to see Hagrid come over with a kick, leaving the East XC behind him. Of course, such hiding was of little avail, and they soon learned that Hagrid was gathering some information about the dragon.
They then followed Hagrid to the door of the hunting lodge, and instead of showing curiosity, they asked a few more questions about the Philosopher's Stone.
As an IQ-crushing player, Hermione basically finished Hagrid's words after many exchanges. They learned that Snape was also one of the professors who protected the Philosopher's Stone, and that there was information about the three-headed dog. Of course, they were even more suspicious of him, and the three of them thought that it would be easier for Snape to guard and steal while the precautions were closed.
Their focus now is on dragons.
"Hagrid, can you open the window? I'm so hot. ”
"No, Harry, I'm sorry. Hagrid said. Harry noticed him glancing towards the fireplace. Harry turned his head to look at the fire.
"Hagrid—what's that?" Harry asked.
Actually, he already knew. In the middle of the fire, under the kettle, lay a large black egg.
"Oh," said Haimo, twisting his beard uneasily, "that's—oh"
"Where did you get that, Hagrid?" Ron said, crouching down to the fire and taking a closer look at the big egg. "It must have cost you a lot of money!"
"Won. "Last night, I was drinking in the village and playing cards with a stranger. Honestly, the man was probably desperate to get rid of it. ”
"But what are you going to do when it hatches?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, I've been reading. Hagrid said, pulling a tome from under his pillow, "Borrowed from the library—Raising Dragons for Fun and Profit—a little outdated, of course, but it's complete. Put the eggs in the fire because their mother exhales into them. You see, it's written here, and when it hatches, feed it a barrel of brandy and chicken blood every half hour. Look at it again -- how to tell the difference between eggs -- and what I get is a Norwegian Ridgeback. It's rare. ”
Intuition told Hermione that it was illegal, and he tried to persuade Hagrid, but seeing that Ron, Harry, and Hagrid were all excited, she didn't know how to speak, and the last time the Levitation Charm had taught her some lessons - learn to be tolerant of friends. When she thought of her friends, she thought of someone. "Am I a friend in his heart? She asked herself.
"Hermione?Hermione?" Ron spoke, "Don't be in a daze, come and see the dragon egg, I promise you've never seen an egg this big." ”
"Okay. Hermione forced herself to look at something she wasn't interested in, but strangely enough, she was less disgusted at the thought that a new life might emerge from it, and even had some anticipation.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the hut, and they realized that it was already late.
"Hagrid, we have to go. Harry said.
"We'll come back. Ron, who was in the doorway, waved at Hagrid.
"Me too. Hermione nodded slightly.
Then, at breakfast one day, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. There are only four words written on it: It's almost out of the shell.
Ron didn't want to take a herb class anymore and wanted to go straight to Hagrid's cabin. Hermione strongly disagreed.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives can we see the little dragon come out of the shell?"
"We're going to have class, or we're going to get in trouble, and if anyone finds out what Hagrid did, he'll be even worse off than we are—"
"Don't say it. Harry whispered warning.
In the herb class, Ron had been debating with Hermione. Eventually, Hermione agreed to go with the two of them to Hagrid's hut during the morning recess. At the end of the lesson, as soon as the bell rang in the castle, the three of them threw down their shovels and hurried across the field, towards the edge of the forbidden forest. They were greeted by Hagrid, his face glowing red and excited......
"It's coming out soon. He let them into the hut. The egg was lying on the table, and there was already a deep crack in it. Something was moving in there, and there was a playful clicking sound. They all moved their chairs closer to the table, holding their breath and watching closely.
Suddenly, with a harsh scraping sound, the egg cracked. The little dragon staggered and fluttered on the table. It wasn't pretty, and Harry thought it looked like a crumpled black umbrella. Its spiny wings were large compared to its thin, jet-black body. It also has a large, long nose with white nostrils, horn bumps on its head, and orange-red eyes protruding outward.
It sneezed and spewed a few sparks out of its nose. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid muttered. He reached out a hand and touched the dragon's head. The little dragon bit his finger, revealing his long fangs.
"Oh my God, look, it knows its mother!" Hagrid said. "Hagrid," Hermione said, "how quickly did the Norwegian Ridgeback grow to the bottom?" Hagrid was about to answer, when his face suddenly turned pale.
"There were people outside the window. He said, and then jumped up, and his huge body jumped up as if to block out the light, and it was pitch black underneath.
"It's you!" Ron and Harry's faces changed as they opened the door, and Hermione pursed her lips, not knowing what she was thinking.
"You're eavesdropping on us outside!" Ron raised his wand directly, normally he would not have had the courage to do this to Malfoy, the strongest in his grade, but now it was different, because the opponent did not have a wand.
A wizard without a wand may be worse than a Muggle, that's what many wizards think.
"Don't come here!" Ron yelled, but Malfoy walked into the room step by step.
A green light shot out from Ron's wand, and he shouted, "I won't let you get away with it!"
"No!" Hermione shouted eagerly. Neither Hagrid nor Harry noticed her shouting, though, as they were both stunned by the situation.
"I hate it when people are pointing their wands at me. Malfoy said lightly.
"Armor protection!"
The green light seemed to hit an invisible wall, paused sharply, giving the strange feeling of using the wrong force, and then the light bounced back faster than it had come.
"Ron, how are you. The green light struck Ron, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back and sit on the ground, Harry and Hermione quickly helped him up, and couldn't help but ask with concern.
Harry looked up and looked at Malfoy with a look of resentment.
"Don't look at me like that. Malfoy shrugged, "I'm just defending myself, if I don't resist, I'll be the one who is showing my ugly face now." ”
With that, Ron burped and several slugs fell from his mouth to his thighs.
He continued, "Only a dark wizard would point a wand at a person without a wand, just as a regular army would not point a butcher's knife at civilians, they would only fight real opponents. Malfoy paused, then said, "But it seems like I'm a bit better as a civilian." ”
Obviously, he just made it up right away, although it sounded like it made some sense.
"You were the one who overheard us first!" said Harry, but his confidence was a little lacking and a little wavering.
"A law-abiding citizen has an obligation to report violations, and let me think, well, what is written in the Fantastic Beasts Protection Act. He looked thoughtful, snapping his fingers suddenly. "Domesticating dragons without permission will be sentenced to five to ten years, not to mention that our custodian Mr. seems to have some criminal records, and it is estimated that the sentence will be increased. Malfoy said in an understated tone.
Hagrid's beard shook unusually a few times, a position he had maintained since the moment.
"As for accomplices. He touched his chin and said, "To jail?"
He saw that the faces of the three men turned white in an instant, and Ron even spat out a few more slugs.
"That's not allowed, but it's likely to be expelled, and I guess our house will be happy to see Gryffindor's scores drop. "He started making things up, but it was reasonable enough to fool a few people.
Just kidding, could Dumbledore agree to this happening?
But now it was clear that Harry was stunned, and in his eyes it was worse to be fired than to let him die, and that Gryffindor's glory had been tarnished because of him, and that might as well be in jail.
"So, are you going to report us?" Hermione tried to calm her tone, she was the only one present who was still calm, but it was only on the surface, her delicate fingers clenched tightly, and the whitish knuckles had betrayed her.
"He's not that kind of person, he's not that kind of person. Hermione said this to herself repeatedly, and waited for his answer.
"Heh.." Ron wanted to speak, but spat out a few more slugs on the ground, "Hermione, don't ask him, he's a student of Snape, there's definitely a conspiracy here." Ron struggled to say this.
"Deadtongue choke!" said Malfoy, casting another spell.
Now Ron's mouth began to bulge, and he wanted to spit out the slug, but his mouth was sealed again, and his cheeks were bulging bigger and bigger, and soon his throat was bulging too. His breathing began to struggle.
"You're going to kill him. Hermione, visibly frightened by the sight, exclaimed. "Untie it, please. She said with tears in her voice.
"Stop. Malfoy whispered.
Ron spat out all the slugs, he lay on the ground gasping for air, he looked at Malfoy hatefully, but after one glance he quickly lowered his head, he was afraid.
"Death is the ultimate fear for most people in this world, and the Dark Lord is no different. I believe that you can learn a lesson in the future, and don't interject casually when others are talking. Malfoy was still indifferent.
"What do you want. Harry plucked up the courage to ask, apparently the scene that Ron had just shown was etched into his mind, and he just wanted to know what Malfoy wanted.
"A deal, a fair deal, but now it's clear that you can only understand it as coercion. Malfoy shrugged helplessly, clearly helpless at the current situation.
"What's the deal?" Hermione asked hurriedly.
Malfoy didn't answer her directly, he said slowly, "The Norwegian Spinal Dragon, a fire dragon, grows quickly, and can grow twice as large as it used to be in a week. ”
"Sooner or later, this big man's house will not be able to hold this fire dragon, and perhaps even because of its unusually aggressive nature, it will sooner or later cause a catastrophe if it is not properly domesticated. ”
"Have you forgotten that troll? If you divide the strength of the magical creatures, this dragon will grow up to be much stronger than the last troll. ”
"If something goes wrong, you're going to a normal prison, maybe Azkaban, big Mr. Hagrid, the Dementors don't taste good. ”
Hagrid stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. Apparently Azkaban is too deterrent.
"It's more likely to happen because the catastrophe it causes is too great to be humanely destroyed. ”
"No!" Hagrid cried out suddenly. "Noble, it's just a kid. He crouched down with his head in his hands, as if he had thought of the scene at that time.
"I can help you, you only have to pay a small price. Malfoy continued.
"At what cost, how to help. Harry hurriedly asked, he didn't care who Malfoy was or if there was any conspiracy anymore.
"Be sincere, I'll tell you the way first, that's me," Malfoy gestured to himself. He continued: "My father has a lot of investments all over the UK, and he has dabbled all over the world, and there is a dragon farm in Rome where my father has a lot of shares, and sending dragons there would be the best option. ”
"How can I trust you. Ron asked with extreme skepticism.
"I am truly saddened by the intelligence of the Weasleys' descendants. Malfoy couldn't help but raise his forehead, "If I lie to you, can't you report me? ”
Hagrid said in surprise, "Charlie, that little guy is also studying fire dragons there. He told me that he was in Romania too. Then his voice was low: "But I can't bear Nober." He began to sob, and Malfoy felt disagreeable as a big man crying in front of him.
"So what do you want. Harry whispered.
Malfoy stared at Hermione for a moment, making her feel uncomfortable.
"What he wants to do. Hermione's heart quickened as he stared at her, and her cheeks flushed at the thought of a possibility. "Impossible, impossible. She said to herself, trying to calm her mind.
"All I need is a bottle of dragon blood. Malfoy suddenly straightened his posture.
Hermione, who was at war between heaven and man, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this request, but she was a little stunned, pursing her lips and not knowing what she was thinking.
"No, you can't do that to it, he's just a kid. Hagrid suddenly went insane again. He hugged Noble tightly, repeating the phrase over and over again.
"Then I can only act as a Young Pioneer once to expose the evil forces. Malfoy turned away, telling a joke that he thought was funny.
"By the way, there don't seem to be Young Pioneers in Britain. He seemed to have something in mind.
"I promised you for Hagrid. Harry said.
"Harry, how can you—" Ron seemed to be in a better state now, and quickly dissuaded.
"We don't have a choice. Harry muttered, I have to say that it is not the right thing to think of Gryffindor as brave or reckless, there is Peter Pettigrew, and there is Regulus Black in Slytherin. Harry showed the wisdom and determination he should have in the moment.
"I wish us a happy cooperation. Malfoy turned and held out his hand, smiling.
"It was a pleasure to work with. Harry held out his hand and forced himself to smile what he thought was kind.
"My father should send someone over next week or so, and the dragon should have grown up a lot by then, so be ready, don't have any problems. Malfoy said.
"We're not like you. Ron said fiercely.
"Hehe, that's for the best. With that, Malfoy slowly stepped out of the doorway. At best, he added: "One last piece of advice, remember that it's a dragon!"