On their way back to King's Cross Station, the weather was completely different from when they came to Hogwarts last September. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info sky is cloudless. It took Harry, Ron, and Hermione a long time to find an empty cubicle and sit inside. The piglet was again covered by Ron's gown robe as it kept screaming; Hedwig's head fell asleep under her wings, and Crookhill curled up in an empty seat, like a large, fluffy turmeric cushion. The train carried them south, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke out of a week's silence and talked heartily. Harry felt that Dumbledore's speech at the school leaving banquet seemed to clear his mind of worries at once. Now talk about what happened, and he doesn't feel so painful. They were talking passionately about what Dumbledore would do now to stop Voldemort from making a comeback, until the cart with lunch arrived.

When Hermione returned from shopping for food at the cart and put the money back in her bag, she pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had been carrying in her bag. Harry looked around, unsure if he really wanted to know what the newspaper was saying. Hermione saw him looking at the newspaper and said calmly, "The newspaper didn't say anything. You can see for yourself that there really is nothing. I check it every day. Only a short message was sent the day after the third event saying that you won the Triwizard Cup. They didn't even mention Cedric. Not a word about it. If you ask me, I think it was Fudge who forced them to keep silent. ”

"He couldn't silence Rita," Harry said, "and Rita wouldn't let go of such a wonderful story." ”

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything since the third project." Hermione said that she seemed to be desperately trying to restrain something, and her voice was a little strange. "I'll tell you the truth," she added, her voice trembling, "Rita Skeeter won't write anything more for a while. Unless she wants me to divulge her secrets. ”

"What are you talking about?" Ron said.

"I've finally figured out how she overheard someone's secret conversation when she shouldn't have been on the grounds." Hermione said in one breath.

Harry had a feeling as if Hermione had been longing to tell them about it all these days, but seeing so much that had happened, she had to refrain from saying anything.

"How did she do it?" Harry hurriedly asked.

"How did you figure it out?" Ron asked, staring at her.

"Well, actually, you inspired me, Harry." Hermione said.

"Me?" Harry was confused, "How so?" ”

"Eavesdropping (1)." Hermione said cheerfully.

(1) At the same time, it means "to become a beetle".

"But you said the bugging device didn't work—"

"Oh, not an electronic bug," said Hermione, "is it...... Rita Skeeter"—Hermione's voice trembled slightly, holding back her smug emotion—"She's an unregistered Animagus. She could become—"

Hermione pulled out a small, sealed glass jar from her bag.

"-- turn into a beetle."

"You're kidding," Ron said, "you didn't ...... She won't ......."

"Oh, yes, exactly." Hermione said happily, waving the glass jar at them.

There were a few twigs and a few leaves in the glass jar, as well as a large fat beetle.

"That can't be—you're kidding—" Ron whispered, holding the bottle up in front of his eyes.

"No, I'm not kidding," Hermione said with a smile on her face, "I caught her on the windowsill of the ward. If you look closely, you'll notice that the markings around the beetle's tentacles are exactly the same as the ugly glasses she was wearing. ”

Harry took a closer look and saw that Hermione was completely right. He also remembered something.

"That night, when we heard Hagrid talking to Madame Maxim about his mother, a beetle was attached to the statue."

"Exactly," said Hermione, "after we had a conversation at the lake, Victor caught a beetle out of my hair. Unless I'm mistaken, but I dare say Rita must have been hiding on the windowsill of the divination classroom on the day of your scarring and eavesdropping. She flies around all year round, looking for material to make a big fuss about. ”

"We saw Malfoy under that tree that day......" Ron said slowly.

"He's talking to Rita, and Rita is in his hands," Hermione said, "and of course, Malfoy knows the secret." That's how Rita came up with those wonderful little interviews with the Slytherins. They don't care if what she's doing is legal, as long as they can spread rumors in front of her and slander us and Hagrid. ”

Hermione took the glass jar back from Ron's hand and grinned at the beetle, who buzzed angrily through the glass.

"I told her that as soon as we got back to London, I would let her out." Hermione said, "I chanted a strong spell on the jar so she couldn't shapeshift. I told her not to write for a year. See if she can get rid of her bad habit of slandering and insulting others. ”

Hermione smiled calmly and put the beetle back in her bag.

The door to the cubicle was opened.

"Well done, Granger." Draco Malfoy said.

Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him. Harry had never seen the three of them so proud, so arrogant, so aggressive.

"So," Malfoy said slowly, stepping into the cubicle and slowly surveying them, the corners of his mouth trembling with a sneer, "You've caught some poor journalist, and Potter has become Dumbledore's favorite boy again." It's amazing. ”

The sinister smile on his face was even more pronounced. Crabbe and Goyle let out a strange laugh.

"We try not to think about it, do we?" Malfoy looked at the three of them and said softly, "Try to pretend nothing happened?" ”

"Get out." Harry said.

Harry hadn't been so close to Malfoy since Dumbledore was mourning Cedric and Harry had seen Malfoy whispering to Crabbe and Goyle. He felt a buzzing in his ears. His hand involuntarily grasped the wand under his robes.

"You're losing from the start, Potter! I warned you! I told you to be more cautious when choosing a partner, remember? Was that the first day to Hogwarts, when we met on the train? I told you not to hang out with these people! He shook his head at Ron and Hermione, "It's too late, Potter!" The Dark Lord is back, and they're the first to finish! First of all, mudbloods and Muggle-loving guys! And then -- the second step -- Diggory is—"

It's like someone lighting a box of fireworks in a cubicle. The spells emitted a dazzling light from different directions, piercing Harry's eyes, and a series of crackling noises almost deafened his ears. He blinked, looking down at the floor.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all unconscious in the doorway of the cubicle. He, Ron, and Hermione were all standing, the three of them using different poison charms at the same time, and the three of them were not the only ones doing so.

"We want to see what the hell the three of them want to do." Fred said solemnly, stepping into Goyle's body and entering the cubicle. He had a wand in his hand, and so did George. George deliberately stepped on Malfoy as he followed Fred into the compartment.

"What an interesting effect," said George, looking down at Crabbe, "who used the hairy charm?" ”

"Me." Harry said.

"What a coincidence," said George, happily, "I used the Soft Leg Charm. It seems that the two spells cannot be mixed. He seemed to have small tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they're not pretty decorations. ”

Ron, Harry, and George kicked, pushed, and rolled, bringing unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle (each of them looking even more ugly due to a mix of spells) into the hallway outside, then back to the cubicle and the door back shut.

"Who's playing Crackle Explosion?" Fred said, pulling out a deck of cards.

They had just reached the fifth game when Harry made up his mind and decided to ask them for clarification.

"So, can you tell us?" He said to George, "Who are you blackmailing? ”

"Oh," said George sullenly, "that's it." ”

"Nothing," Fred said, shaking his head impatiently, "no big deal. At least it doesn't matter anymore. ”

"We've given up." George shrugged his shoulders and said.

But Harry, Ron, and Hermione pressed back, and finally, Fred said, "Okay, well, since you really want to know...... It's Ludo Bagman. ”

"Bagman?" Harry said sharply, "You're saying he's also involved—"

"No," said George, grimacingly, "not like that. He's a fool, and he doesn't have such a brain. ”

"Oh, what's going on?" Ron said.

Fred hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you remember the bet we made with him at the Quidditch World Cup?" Is it that we bet on Ireland to win, but will Krum catch the Golden Snitch? ”

"I remember." Harry and Ron spoke slowly.

"Ahem, the fool paid us the leprechaun's gold coins, which he picked up from the Irish mascot."

"So what?"

"Needless to say," said Fred impatiently, "the gold is gone, isn't it?" By the next morning, there was no shadow! ”

"But—that must have been a mistake, wasn't it?" Hermione said.

George laughed scathingly.

"yes, that's what we thought at first. We thought that as soon as we wrote a letter to him and told him that he had made a mistake, he would return the money to us. But that's not the case. He ignored our letters. We tried to talk to him at Hogwarts many times, but he always found all sorts of excuses to get rid of us. ”

"At the end of the day, he got really bad," Fred said, "and he told us that we were too young to gamble and that he wouldn't give us a penny." ”

"Then, we want our money back." George said angrily.

"He also refused?" Hermione asked, holding her breath.

"Let you speak." Fred said.

"But that's all your savings!" Ron said.

"It's up to you to say that." "Of course, we finally figured out what was going on. Lee Jordan's dad also hit the nail when he asked Bagman for a debt. Later, I found out that Bagman had caused big trouble with the goblins. He borrowed a great deal of gold from them. After the World Cup, they blocked him in the woods and robbed him of all the gold coins, which was still not enough to pay off his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts, keeping a close watch on him. He gambled and lost everything. I didn't even have two gold coins on my body. Do you know how that fool is going to pay off the leprechaun? ”

"How?" Harry said.

"He's bet on you, man," Fred said, "and he's betting a lot of money on you're going to win the tournament." It's a bet with the goblins. ”

"Oh, no wonder he always wants to help me win!" Harry said, "All right—I did win, didn't I?" He can give you back your gold, right? ”

"Not really!" George shook his head and said, "The leprechauns are just as bad as he is. They say you're tied for first place with Diggory, and Bagman is betting on you to win big. So Bagman had to flee in a hurry. As soon as the third project was over, he ran away. ”

George sighed heavily and began to deal the cards again.

The rest of the trip was very pleasant; In fact, Harry wished the train had been going on for a whole summer and he would never reach King's Cross...... But this year he learned a harsh law: when something that doesn't steal is waiting for you, time doesn't slow down. In the blink of an eye, the Hogwarts Express stopped at platform 93/4. The students began to get out of the car, and the aisle was chaotic and noisy again. Ron and Hermione walked out of the compartment with the box in their hands, struggling to step over the bodies of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. But Harry didn't move.

"Fred George - wait a minute."

The twins turned around. Harry opened the box and took out the prize money he had won in the tournament.

"Take it." He said, shoving the bag into George's hand.

"What?" Fred said, stunned.

"Are you nervous?" George said, desperately pushing the bag back to Harry.

"No, I don't," said Harry, "take it, and keep inventing." It's an investment in the joke store. ”

"He's really nervous." Fred said in an almost frightened voice.

"Listen," said Harry firmly, "if you don't take it, I'll throw it in the gutter." I don't want it, and I don't need it. But I need some laughter. We might all need some laughter. I have a feeling that we're going to need more laughs than usual soon. ”

"Harry," George said softly, weighing the bag of gold coins in his hand, "there are a thousand gold galleons in it." ”

"yes," Harry said with a smile, "think about how many canary biscuits it's worth." ”

The twins stared blankly at him.

"Don't tell your mom where the money comes from...... Even though she's not so keen to get you into the Ministry of Magic now, think about it......"

"Harry......" Fred said something more, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Take it," he said with a straight face, "or I'll cast a poison spell on you." I know of some of the most powerful poison curses right now. Can you do me a favor, okay? Buy Ron another dress and robe, and say you gave it to him. ”

Without waiting for the twins to say another word, he left the compartment and turned and walked past Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Malfoy and the others were still lying on the floor, bearing the marks of the poison curse.

Uncle Vernon was waiting for him outside the fence. Mrs. Weasley stood near him. As soon as she saw Harry, she came over to restrain him and whispered to his ear, "I think Dumbledore will let you come to our house in the summer." Get in touch, Harry. ”

"Goodbye, Harry." Ron said, patting him on the back.

"Goodbye, Harry!" Hermione said, and then she did something she had never done before: she kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Harry—thank you." George muttered, and Fred nodded desperately beside him.

Harry winked at them, then turned to Uncle Vernon and silently followed him out of the station. There's nothing to worry about yet, he thought as he slipped into the Dursleys' car.

As Hagrid said, what is due will always come...... Once it comes, he has to accept it. (To be continued.) )