章 686: Information on the Second Match
編集者: Atlas Studios
With this in mind, Ivan looked at Hermione strangely.
Hermione looked away, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer, and quickly got down to business. "Did you find a clue to the second match? Ivan? Harry? We'd better get to the bottom of this in the next couple of days. If it's as dangerous as a dragon, it might take you a few days to get ready…"
When Ivan did not reply, Harry pulled out his golden egg.
"Mr. Bagman said that the egg could be opened and that the clue was in there. I haven't tried it before…" Harry said as he dug his nails into the grooves in the egg.
Ivan did not expect Harry to be so reckless as to try to stop him.
The next moment, a horrible, high-pitched scream filled the common room.
Harry and Hermione, who were the closest, covered their ears in pain, and everyone in the lounge turned to look at them.
"Quietus ~ (silent)" Ivan immediately waved his wand, and the piercing screams died down.
Harry grabbed the egg and slammed it shut.
The wizards in the lounge sighed in relief, and Ron ruffled his ears and muttered, "What the hell is that? Banshee cries? What kind of clue is that? Are you telling me you're going to have to subdue a banshee in the second stage?"
Harry nodded, thinking that Ron's guess was quite likely, as they had dealt with a dragon before, and he would not be surprised if there was another banshee.
Hermione, however, had a different opinion and rejected the idea. "It can't be banshees. They never sound like that."
"Hermione, how can you be so sure? Have you ever heard a banshee scream?" Harry asked curiously.
"Don't you remember? We learned it in our second year!" Hermione said, looking askance at Harry.
Harry and Ron looked at each other. Had they been taught? Why couldn't they remember?
Yvonne, however, was quick to catch on, adding, "You're talking about Lockhart's copy of Break with a Banshee, aren't you? I've read it, too, and it's very detailed…the banshee's cries are shrill and desolate, and they usually make the listener feel very sad."
"Yes! It's different from what we just heard. It's obviously not a cry, and we don't feel any sadness," Hermione said confidently, then continued uncertainly. "It's like singing…"
Harry rolled his eyes, thinking Hermione's guess was far too good to be true.
Ron curled his lip. Lockhart was a liar, wasn't he? Who would go through his books for no reason, and who knew if Lockhart had written them?
After yesterday's incident, their relationship returned to normal, and neither of them brought up the previous conflict.
Determined to do so, Hermione dug out a copy of Illustration of Magical Creatures from the pile of books in front of her and began to search for clues to the voice.
Ivan pretended to flip through a book, but his mind was elsewhere.
He already knew the details of the second match and confirmed that the golden egg was placed in the water to rescue the hostages.
The only reason he didn't mention it now was because he hoped to use it as bait to lure Barty Crouch Junior out of hiding.
However, even if he knew the details of the competition in advance, Ivan could not relax these days because he had too many things to do!
In addition to regularly practising Legilimency with Hermione every afternoon, he had to find time to deal with the Merpeople in the Black Lake in preparation for the second match.
In his spare time, he needed to keep watch over the school with the Marauder's Map to see if Barty Crouch Junior would pop out of nowhere.
The other most important and most difficult task was to brew the Bloodline Fusion Potion!
After a few days of fermenting, he had finally completed the last mission he received, the [Fanatic Follower]. He expected that after the second mission, he would be able to obtain the two precious Legendary Points and begin the next round of bloodline fusion.
The corresponding potions naturally had to be made in advance.
Ivan's only relief was that Luna's reply to his letter yesterday indicated that she had accepted his advice and had been staying away from the Forbidden Forest as much as possible. The hunt for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack had also been pushed back until after the second match, presumably in consideration of the approaching match and not wanting to be disturbed.
This allowed Ivan to concentrate on more pressing matters…
After a morning of searching, Harry and Hermione were both annoyed with themselves for not being able to decipher the message contained within the cries, as Yvonne had expected. After a few words of comfort, they headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
Ivan practised Legilimency with Hermione in the afternoon.
Unlike Luna, Hermione resisted his attempts to access her memories, even though she no longer refused to do so.
She continued to use her beginner's Occlumency to ward off Ivan's intrusions, or perhaps to create a false memory that seemed more real than real in an attempt to confuse him.
It was as if they were playing a game of Breakthrough in a maze of thoughts, with Hermione desperately trying to hide her true thoughts and Ivan breaking through the layers of defence set up by the young witch with the speed of a demon, each attempt ending in Hermione's defeat and her face turning red with embarrassment.
Ivan was also pleased to see his near-paralyzed Legilimency level begin to soar again.
Ivan spent the next few days in a monotonous cycle of practicing magic during the day, brewing potions at night, and transforming into a Boggart, diving into the lake to chat with the merpeople and gather information.
Over the course of a few days, Ivan discovered that despite their hideous appearance, merpeople were intelligent creatures with their own language and habits, and tended to collect wizarding artefacts to decorate their nests.
However, they lived at the bottom of the lake all year round and did not have a deep understanding of how cunning wizards were, so Ivan was able to get a lot of information out of them.
Dumbledore spoke to them early in the school year and obtained their permission to use the lake bottom as a venue for the second match.
Before the start of the game, the people who mattered the most to the champions would be placed at the bottom of the lake to be rescued. The merpeople's mission was not to make the game more difficult, but to try to keep the hostages safe from unnecessary mishaps.
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