Hagrid scumbered up in his hill-like easy chair, as if that would shrink his body so that no one would notice it again.

Neil took a small sip of his teacup with a trembling hand.

Judging from the meager salary of the hunting ground guard, this is already quite good tea, but the amount of tea, the temperature of the water, and the brewing time are seriously beyond the standard, so the result is a cup of boiled vegetable soup. He had always been tempted to advise Hagrid to try his hand at brewing tea, which was to crush the tea leaves into minced pieces and decoction them—not necessarily the best taste, but at least they could be done correctly, so as to blame the poor taste of the tea drinker.

However, at this time, he was not thirsty, but just wanted to find something to do for himself by drinking tea, so that the dangerous thought of strangling someone to death would keep echoing in his head.

"I trust you so much......"

Neil muttered to himself with a hollow look in his eyes, and Hagrid turned his face away from him.

"How happy I was when I asked you about the dog, and you firmly replied that it was a secret and could not be divulged! When the members of every link of the organization from the top down can do their duty, the good times will become as if they are just around the corner......"

Neil gestures with his index finger in the air, as if to paint a vision of the future that he can smell of dystopia.

"You know, until this morning, I felt like I was in control...... We're tightening the rope around the guy's neck little by little, keeping the force just right so that he's desperate without being too desperate, just enough not to cause the dog to jump off the wall. It won't be long before we can hold him completely in the palm of our hands, and then he will have no choice but to be obediently reduced to bait - lo and behold, the world is peaceful. ”

Hagrid was confused by this, but he didn't dare ask, for even a dull man could tell that a "but" would negate all of the above was about to come.

"But!" Sure enough, Neil raised his voice and said, "In just a few hours, everything was in chaos!" I just knew that Mr. Potter had snuck into the restricted area more than a month ago - well, I understand, Gryffindors are always unscrupulous, and that is still within the scope of adjustment...... But! ”

The second "appeared" and the discontent it contained sounded even stronger than the previous one.

"Why did Severus Snape's shameless, greasy, plagued thing go in with him!? And also gnawed by a dog? Is this some kind of joke? I saw that he had been lame for a few days, and kindly asked what was going on, but he actually lied and said that he was bitten by a man-eating lichen in the greenhouse, which made me feel guilty for several ...... Minute! Is this something that people can do?! ”

Hagrid looked genuinely frightened, and this was the first time he had seen Neil uncontrollably yelling at someone.

"Hey, don't be so arbitrary." "Maybe," he said cautiously, "maybe...... Maybe he just wanted to check if the mechanism was working properly? ”

"What? Ah, yes...... Yes, you're right, maybe that's it. Neil gasped, looking like he had found the steps and was ready to let the topic go. Before Hagrid could breathe a sigh of relief, however, he heard the other man continue, "Well, Professor Snape's question ends here—now let's go back to you." ”

The smile on Hagrid's face vanished.

"Lu Wei ...... The Guard's Treasure Trove...... Nicol Lemay...... Do you realize how much intelligence you've just leaked? Neil wrenched his fingers as he said, "Seriously, once or twice I can understand, but three times in two minutes?" Are you sure it wasn't intentional? Or did Mr. Potter secretly cast a confusion spell on you? ”

"Don't mention it, it's all my fault!" Hagrid patted his head in pain, but he didn't let him go.

"If this momentum continues, in less than two weeks, the whole school will know this so-called 'secret', and then there will be countless stunned young people who are not afraid of death lining up to go to the forbidden area to hunt for treasure."

Hagrid imagined the image in despair: hordes of students pouring into the restricted area, then collapsed in front of Lowe's fangs, and were carried out in blood; Madam Pomfrey stood in the middle of a field hospital overcrowded infirmary, jumping to her feet and vowing to make the idiot who caused it all – that is, he – pay......

"That's horrible! What now? ”

Neil let out a long sigh and reluctantly asked, "Tell me honestly, is it really what Mr. Potter said?" ”

"Uh......" Hagrid's expression struggled a little, as if he was hesitating whether to tell the truth or not. But when he thought of the series of stupid things he had just done, his mood relaxed, "Okay, you'll keep it a secret, right?" Harry was right, I took the things I kept there from Gringotts - as Dumbledore had ordered. ”

"Vault No. 713...... 713…… 713......" Neil muttered over and over again, frowning, "strange thing, I'm pretty sure I've heard that number somewhere. ”

"Oh, that's probably in the newspaper." "That vault was burglarized, it was reported in the Daily Prophet—not long after I visited," Hagrid reminded. Dumbledore must have expected this to happen, so he transferred the items to Hogwarts for safekeeping, and involved the professors in the design of the security measures. ”

Hearing this, Neil looked up suddenly: "Wait, I heard you right, right?" All professors know about it? ”

"It's not all." "But most people should be ......"

"What about Quirrell?"

"Professor Quirrell? Yes, I think he was involved, but I don't know exactly what mechanism he designed, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you...... You get the idea, right? ”

Neil didn't answer, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his fingers lightly on his temples: "Ah, that's right...... It's all connected. ”

"What's connected?" Hagrid asked blankly.

"Everything." Neil's voice was tired, "I've been wondering why such an important task has been entrusted to you to do – and in front of Mr. Potter. It's all designed, Mr. Professor, it's all designed. Again, you're right, Headmaster Dumbledore had expected it......"

Hagrid's expression was evident that he didn't understand what he was saying, but Neil was no longer in the mood to talk, and he stood up and walked to the door, tucking the roll of cauldron into the sleeve of his robe in a very natural motion.

"Well, anyway, take it easy, Mr. Professor, I'm sure you've done exactly what the Headmaster intended, and don't be afraid of it. As for Mr. Potter, they ...... Let me see what I can do - by the way, what exactly is kept in the exclusion zone? ”

"I can't say — yes, I know I messed up almost everything, but I still can't say, I'm sorry." Hagrid nodded solemnly, "There's only one thing I can tell you, it's a very, very, very great wizard invention, and its original owner is Nicol Lemay!" ”

"Ah, Nicol Lemay, I didn't dare to inquire about this just now......" Neil subconsciously glanced out the window, as if he was very worried that someone would overhear, "I'm sorry, the Nicol Lemay we're talking about now, is it the Nicol Lemay I think I'm talking about?" That French alchemist? If he were still alive, he would have to be at least six hundred years old, right? ”

With spells, potions, and other means, wizards can gain much longer lives than Muggles, but even then there is a limit.

Hagrid shook his head, unclear.

"I don't know, but I don't think the Headmaster would go to the trouble of helping another obscure 'Nicol Lemay'...... Speaking of trouble, hey, you're going to help me convince Harry that they're going to stop, right? ”

"I can't guarantee that. But if they're really determined to do something stupid, I'll try to let them pick a better time......" Neil scratched his head in annoyance, "Ah, damn it! That greasy bastard must have known about it a long time ago, and it's a shame that he has been lying to me for so long! ”