Chapter 676: Chapter 676: Harry's Dreamland (Edited)
After the conclusion of the second event, there was once again a grand celebration.
Exquisite wine, delicious delicacies, all sorts of fun toys, and also couples...
The young wizards of Hogwarts were celebrating in the name of victory. Even though the gap between them and the two following competitors had narrowed, Hogwarts was still in first place, so why not celebrate?
Or perhaps they were just looking for an excuse to celebrate.
After the celebration, the exhausted young wizards lay down on their beds and sank into sleep, Harry being no exception.
Butterbeer and various snacks filled his stomach to the brim, making it difficult for him to even turn over. As he lay in bed, Harry's awareness gradually blurred, and accompanied by the snores of his roommates, he fell into slumber.
Harry had another dream.
In the dream, he found himself on a rural road, surrounded by dry and desolate bushes. The stars in the night sky shone intensely, giving him a sense of unease.
In the dream, his heart was restless and anxious, and uncontrollable anger welled up within him. He flew quickly along a bumpy road, with a whisper behind him, as if some creeping creature was following him.
The road turned left, revealing a valley in his field of vision, where a small village lay. On the hillside was a large mansion that, despite the darkness of the night, looked decadent.
"Harry," he looked at the mansion, and the anger in his heart flared up once more.
This anger arose out of nowhere, but dreams don't require logic, so Harry didn't perceive anything unusual. He watched everything coldly from his dreamlike perspective.
After staring at the mansion, "Harry" turned towards a barely visible path leading into a dark forest.
Within the forest hid an extremely dilapidated cabin, covered in moss and grass. It could barely be distinguished if not looked at carefully.
The cabin's roof no longer had tiles, and it seemed that with a slight push, the house would collapse.
Harry arrived in front of the cabin's door, and with a single gesture, the thing that could be called a door collapsed, raising almost half a century's worth of dust.
When the dust cleared, Harry entered the cabin and carelessly pointed at an oil lamp in the corner, which lit up, filling the cabin with a glow.
Judging by the objects in the cabin, no one had set foot here in decades. The roof was covered in cobwebs, and all the furniture was shrouded in dust and cobwebs, so much so that Harry raised large dust clouds as he walked.
The house had three small rooms, and Harry was currently in the central room. In the center of the room, there was a table filled with various objects, and a ring lay silently on the table.
A burnt hand reached out and rested on the ring. In the next moment, a stabbing pain shot from his fingertips, as if flames were scorching his fingers.
After a few seconds, the black diamond on the ring shattered into pieces, and the burning pain in his arm disappeared.
Although he had paid a high price, Harry couldn't help but laugh wildly. Amidst his arrogant laughter, he suddenly woke up, feeling the scar on his forehead burning once again.
"It was Voldemort..." In an instant, he understood the dream: Voldemort seemed to have successfully healed his hand injury!
At that moment, in the distant village of Little Hangleton, Voldemort suppressed his laughter, waving his wand and cutting the withered hand in a single stroke. A silvery mist erupted from the tip of his wand and fell onto his arm wound, forming a silvery hand.
After resolving his concerns, Voldemort narrowed his eyes. He had already noticed something strange.
"A free show, but not that interesting."
...
"Your face looks really bad, want some fries?" Ron was surprised to see Harry early in the morning; Harry looked like he had spent the whole night without sleep.
"No, thanks." Harry's voice sounded hoarse, anxious to share his dream from the previous night with Ron.
After hearing Harry's dream, Ron's expression also worsened.
"At least he paid a high price," he said dryly.
"Harry!" Just as Harry was sharing his dream with Ron, Luna appeared. She rushed over to remind him not to forget to organize the process of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament in manuscript form since the next edition of "The Quibbler" would surely talk about the event.
Shortly after Luna left, Harry received another notification from Snape. He informed him that the "Occlumency" special training session would be on Saturday.
"But that's Hogsmeade Opening Day." Harry was furious, but he had no options. He couldn't refuse Snape's request.
During Hogsmeade Opening Day, Tom would naturally go on a trip with Hermione to Hogsmeade. For him, strolling through the streets with his girlfriend was a wonderful memory.
"A walk to the Three Broomsticks?" After taking a stroll through the streets, Tom suggested going to the Three Broomsticks for a while.
The temptation of having a couple of cups of warm butterbeer in the cold weather was quite appealing.
Hermione agreed without hesitation.
The Three Broomsticks was bustling with activity. Fortunately, Tom got lucky and managed to secure the last empty table, saving them from having to stand at the bar.
After Tom took his seat, Hermione arrived with two cups of butterbeer.
"Thanks-"
"Hey, Yodel, can we share a table with you?"
Just as Tom was about to take a sip of Hermione's drink, a voice reached them. Tom turned around and saw Ludo Bagman, who was accompanied by an Asian wizard.
"Don't you ever have to go to your office?" Tom muttered.
"Of course I do, but today, I have a special task. Let me introduce you to our distinguished visitor from the Far East, Mr. Tsuchimikado Genghu, Ambassador from the Department of Magic in Japan. We've had quite a few interactions recently between our department and Japan's..." Bagman quickly ordered some appetizers and a jug of eggnog, then sat across from Tom.
The wizard named Tsuchimikado Genghu wasn't as outgoing; he respectfully bowed to Tom and Hermione before sitting beside Bagman.
"So, why did you cross the entire Eurasian continent to come here?" Tom looked curiously at Tsuchimikado Genghu.
Chapter 677: Chapter 677: Hagrid's New Mission (Edited)
"The Shogun wishes to establish deeper ties with the esteemed magical community of your country. We have heard of the legendary Triwizard Tournament currently taking place at your school, and the Shogun is greatly interested in this extraordinary event that occurs once every hundred years. He is looking forward to visiting your school to witness the Tournament..."
"It's an honor for us." Ludo Bagman had a wide smile on his face. The Japanese envoys were extremely generous and lavish; their spending capacity was astounding.
During the past few days he had spent with the ambassador, Bagman had gained many advantages. And that was just dealing with a few envoys; if a whole group were to come...
Bagman saw a prosperous future.
After expressing his respect to Ambassador Tsuchimikado Genghu, Bagman went on to introduce Tom.
"A bearer of the Order of Merlin, First Class! I've heard of you, but I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to meet you in person. Your Patronus is amazing, and your bravery is truly admirable."
It was evident that Tsuchimikado Genghu wanted to establish a closer relationship with Tom, but Tom didn't seem interested, so his words became a bit more subtle: "I didn't know you were so interested in us here. I thought you'd put more effort into improving relations with neighboring countries. Previously, due to the former Shogun, diplomatic relations with several nearby countries had become quite strained. Now that the former Shogun has passed away, and a new Shogun has taken office, isn't it an opportunity to mend those broken relations?"
The former Shogun of Japan had been a prominent figure in the magical world since the Taisho Era, which means he had experienced the turbulent decades of the 20th century. With a figure like that, it was natural for relations between the magical world of Japan and that of other East Asian countries to be quite tense.
That was also the situation Tom had discovered in the Japanese magical world.
The topic Tom brought up was a bit uncomfortable, and Tsuchimikado Genho really didn't want to continue discussing it. He could only give an ambiguous response, saying that all of that was in the past and had no relevance to the current generation.
Anyway, I'm sorry!
Tom laughed sarcastically, not giving any credit to that response.
The current Shogun of Japan had close connections with Voldemort, and just for that reason, Tom wouldn't allow them to come and witness the Triwizard Tournament.
It was a matter of principle, and there was no way he would accept it. Has the Ministry of Magic already consulted with Hogwarts about this matter?
Bagman noticed that the atmosphere suddenly became tense, so he tried to change the tone of the conversation. After chatting with Bagman for a while, Tom realized that the man in front of him was a very powerful individual.
He was the direct descendant of the famous Onmyoji Abe no Seimei.
"Oh," Tom exclaimed in surprise, then had an awkward question, "Why does the descendant of Abe no Seimei carry the surname Tsuchimikado?"
That was a question Tom had always found puzzling. Descendants of Slytherin carried the Gaunt surname, so why did Abe no Seimei's descendants carry the Tsuchimikado surname?
It was evident that Tsuchimikado Genghu had been asked that question on multiple occasions. He began explaining the surname system in Japan to Tom.
Perhaps due to cultural differences, he didn't seem uncomfortable, but Tom had the feeling he was receiving a "History of Mr. Yo" lesson.
As he spoke, there was a sudden rumbling in Tom's pocket, and he knew immediately that it was time for Hermione to take her medicine.
He quickly retrieved the vial of medicine and handed it to Hermione, watching her with a concerned look as she drank the extremely bitter potion that Snape had prepared. After shuddering, Hermione had to take several sips of butterbeer to recover.
"Are you okay? If you need anything..."
"No, thank you." Tom declined Tsuchimikado Genghu's kindness. In his view, even if Japanese wizards had a way to heal Hermione's injuries, it wouldn't compare to the Philosopher's Stone's effect.
"If you're feeling unwell, would you prefer to go back first?"
Tom didn't want to keep chatting with Tsuchimikado and Bagman, and just then Hermione wasn't feeling well, so he helped her return to the castle.
"Wait a little longer; the Philosopher's Stone is almost ready." Seeing Hermione's pale face, Tom felt distressed.
Snape's potion had some significant side effects, and after drinking it, Hermione felt unwell for a while.
On the way back, Tom and Hermione ran into Dumbledore.
That was unusual, as Dumbledore rarely seemed to leave his office, and meeting him outside the castle was an unlikely event.
"It seems Miss Granger is not doing very well. Would you like to accompany me to Hagrid's cabin for a cup of hot tea?"
Tom thought about declining, but Hermione's eyes lit up at the mention of Hagrid's cabin and immediately agreed.
So the three of them appeared in front of Hagrid's cabin.
The curtains of the cabin were still drawn, but as they approached, they could hear Fang barking.
"Hagrid, it's me." After getting no response from knocking on the door, Dumbledore had to say his name.
This time it worked, Hagrid opened the door and invited them inside.
Hagrid was in a sorry state, with tears on his face, swollen eyes, and unkempt beard and hair.
Obviously, he hadn't been doing well lately.
"I think you should finish your vacation," Dumbledore said as he toyed with his wand, conjuring a cake and a tea tray. He placed them on the table and indicated for Tom and Hermione to sit first.
"Hagrid, why don't you return to teaching?" Hermione whispered softly, "Everything has been left behind."
The storm over Hagrid's parentage seemed to have passed without major repercussions.
"In fact, Professor Grubbly-Plank has been covering classes for too long, if she keeps it up, we might have to give her a raise," Dumbledore joked.
Hagrid fell silent for a moment, but finally requested to wait until the next school year to resume his teaching duties.
"Very well," Dumbledore responded with a shrug, respecting Hagrid's choice. For him, the fact that Hagrid was no longer locking himself in that cabin was already a success.
After the Hagrid topic was behind them, Tom also decided to tell Dumbledore in detail about the encounters and events at the "Three Broomsticks" that day.
"Professor, I don't think it's a wise decision to allow so many people into Hogwarts," Tom looked into Dumbledore's eyes seriously.
Dumbledore pondered for a moment before responding quietly, "It seems he is also looking for allies..."
His voice grew lower. After a brief moment, he looked at Hagrid and spoke calmly, "I need your help, would you be willing to complete a task for me?"
"Of course, please tell me," Hagrid was surprised for a moment, then lifted his head and looked at Dumbledore with seriousness.
"I need you to travel to France, to seek out the giants that still exist there."
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