Chương 656: Chapter 656: Karkaroff's Self-Salvation (Edited)
"Roses? It really doesn't seem like..."
Tom was completely baffled and was relieved that he and Hermione had meticulously cleaned up everything, leaving no trace behind.
While his roommates debated what kind of floral fragrance it was, Tom had already changed into new clothes. His gaze fell upon the pile of gifts next to the bed.
This year, he had received many more gifts than in previous years. His new social connections had provided him with many presents this year. For example, Minister Bones had sent him a very exquisite leather notebook with the Ministry of Magic emblem, which made Tom wonder if it came from some Ministry of Magic meeting room. Mr. Borgin, to whom he had provided protection, had gifted him a rosary that supposedly could repel various bugs in the room. Even Lockhart had sent him a signed picture.
All those gifts, except the picture, were quite practical. Beneath those formal gifts were more heartfelt presents from his friends. Beneath Bones' notebook, there was a large package from Fred and George, filled with small inventions they had created. Since Tom had a close relationship with Fred and George, Mrs. Weasley had also sent him a gray sweater with a silver three-headed dog knitted on it.
The Grangers sent him a portable dental floss set, which was in line with his identity. Of course, this made Tom suspect if Hermione had told them about some bad breath problem. He remembered that he had brushed his teeth before going to bed last night, but still, he exhaled a sigh and reassured himself that his breath was fine. After making sure there were no issues with his breath, Tom happily accepted the portable dental floss.
He intended to use it every day to remove food remnants between his teeth, which were the source of cavities, tartar, and bad breath. With this dental floss, kissing Hermione could significantly improve.
All the previous gifts had exquisite wrappings, except for Dumbledore's gift. Incredibly, that old man had sent his gift wrapped in a pair of woolen socks! The gift, which was inside a completely new pair of socks, almost went unnoticed by Tom. It was just resting quietly next to the box of treats that Hagrid had sent. Although the packaging was simple, this gift was very important to Tom.
Because it contained the potion that Professor Snape had specially prepared for Hermione. She had to take it once a day and always at the same time. Due to the slight toxicity of the potion, the body needed enough time to detoxify, but the ingredients that inhibited the curse only worked for twenty-four hours, so it had to be taken at the same time every day.
Looking at the timer and the "instructions" that came with the potion, Tom realized that he needed to quickly increase production in the magical pig slaughter and organize the Philosopher's Stone as soon as possible. After reading the "instructions," Tom was quite sure that what he had in his hands was not just a life-extending potion but also a long-term lethal poison. If Hermione took this for a long time, it was uncertain whether she would die from the curse or the poison.
With a heavy heart after leaving the potion, Tom opened the last gift, Hermione's formal Christmas gift: a small magical camera. It was somewhat similar to a non-magical camera, giving you the picture instantly after taking it. But these pictures were different from the portraits at Hogwarts; they were simple GIF images that couldn't respond to external stimuli in a complex way.
Looking at the camera that Hermione had sent him, Tom had a not-too-bold idea.
It seems like I'll become a professional photographer after this, he thought to himself.
Compared to Hermione's gift, the gift that Tom gave her was much simpler: he gifted her a women's wristwatch, hoping she would like it.
Of course, as a celebrity in the magical world, he also received many letters and other gifts from admirers, addressed to both him and Hermione. But Tom asked Dumbledore to take care of them, thus avoiding many unnecessary problems; you never knew what strange and unusual gifts wizards from the magical world might send.
After opening all the gifts, Tom waited in the common room until Hermione arrived, smelling delicious as she had gone back to take a shower after leaving the common room this morning. They met and enjoyed breakfast together.
Throughout the morning, they spent time together in the Ravenclaw Tower until it was lunchtime. This year, the number of students staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays was the highest ever; almost no one chose to go home. This made the Great Hall just as lively as usual. In previous years, sometimes they only needed to prepare a round table.
Because the daily food at Hogwarts was already abundant enough, the Christmas dinner only included some typical seasonal dishes like roast turkey, Christmas pudding, and magical butter cookies.
In the afternoon, Tom and Hermione headed together to the snow-covered area outside the castle. Harry, Ron, and the Weasley twins were having a snowball fight there.
Initially, it was just a game among them, but more people joined in, turning it into a massive snowball battle with dozens of participants. Students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff joined in the fun.
Using snowballs to settle old grudges seemed like a good option. Small disagreements, like fouling during a Quidditch match or leaving a dung bomb on someone's seat, quickly dissipated with snowballs flying in all directions.
Of course, some snowballs carried a bit more personal anger. Harry was about to throw a huge Bludger-like snowball when he noticed a girl with long black hair, cascading like a waterfall, holding a snowball near him.
Harry's heart skipped a beat as he saw the snowball in the girl's hand, and her name was Cho Chang. Harry heard her shout when she saw the snowball in her hand, "Don't hit me!"
Harry quickly thought and lowered his hand, smiling a bit embarrassed. He didn't know what to say, but simply being near her made him happy.
Ginny, who was further away, seemed to get more annoyed.
"Ginny, watch out for the ball!" Suddenly, a shout, and two snowballs flew towards Ginny. Without warning, Ginny was hit by the two snowballs.
Fred and George appeared out of nowhere, both with a bunch of snowballs in their arms. Seeing how accurate their shots had been and noticing that their sister's expression didn't seem happy, Fred and George looked at each other with embarrassment. Why hadn't their sister dodged? She wasn't living up to their level!
Both knew their sister had great athletic talent; even if they didn't shout, she should have been able to dodge those two snowballs. Why hadn't she dodged today?
Following their sister's gaze, Fred and George understood what was going on.
"Snowballs incoming!" after a familiar shout, Harry felt something was off and suddenly dropped the snowball he had in his hand, then opened his cloak and stood in front of Cho Chang.
Then, dozens of snowballs fell like rain, one of them hitting Harry on the head with a crunch.
Harry fell into the snow with Cho Chang in his arms.
Ginny's face grew even darker. Fred and George, seeing the situation, escaped directly. They didn't want to be near where Ginny was angry.
"These two..." Harry touched his head as he got up from the ground. After standing up, he tried to help Cho Chang, but he realized she was already bent over, brushing off the snow.
"Shall we retaliate? We can't let them get away with this!" Cho Chang extended an invitation to Harry.
"Alright!" Harry suddenly felt a special feeling in his heart and also crouched down to pick up the big snowball he had dropped earlier.
After they were ready, they looked at each other and smiled, then chased after Fred and George together.
All of this was seen by Ginny, who watched with a bitter expression. She stomped her foot on the ground and then went straight back to the castle.
On the side, Hermione ate popcorn while watching all the drama, showing an extremely satisfied expression. As for Tom, at this moment, he had a snowball in each hand and physically joined the fight along with his classmates.
On the other hand, Harry and Cho Chang chased after Fred and George, crossing almost the entire grounds until they were near the large Durmstrang ship.
"Stop, stop!" Fred was overwhelmed by the Seekers' snowballs. He waved his hands, pleading for surrender.
"You really should consider becoming Quidditch Chasers; your aim is truly impressive..." George also put his hands on his knees, breathing the cold air while a small puff of steam emerged beside him.
George felt like he had been hit at least five or six times as he ran. He was a moving target! This accuracy was certainly enough to consider becoming Chasers.
Harry and Cho Chang were also catching their breath and didn't have time to respond to the twins.
"Who's that?" Fred pointed toward the Black Lake, looking surprised.
"This trick won't fool me." Harry didn't even consider Fred's idea, but at that moment, Cho Chang tugged at his sleeve and pointed to the side of the Black Lake, where the large Durmstrang ship was docked. "It seems someone is really approaching us!"
Harry finally believed and turned his head to discover a burly figure staggering toward them. When that person got closer, they realized it was none other than the Durmstrang Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.
Karkaroff looked exhausted, his animal fur coat seemed like it hadn't been washed in several days, emitting a strange smell. His hair was greasy and tied back in a ponytail, and he even had a bit of Hagrid's style.
This was very different from his impeccable and elegant image just a few months ago. Most importantly, his eyes had completely lost their shine, with no trace of the coldness he used to have; only confusion remained.
"Professor Karkaroff?" Cho Chang tentatively called his name.
Karkaroff seemed bewildered and simply kept walking, as if he were a zombie.
"His state isn't normal." Fred frowned.
At that moment, Karkaroff's eyes lit up with a hint of clarity when he saw the people in front of him, especially Harry. He quickly lunged toward Harry, grabbing his shoulder tightly, as if he had caught him in a mouse trap.
"Take me to see Professor Dumbledore, take me..." His face twisted, and then he became confused again.
"What are you doing?" George and Fred shoved Karkaroff back roughly, keeping him at a safe distance from Harry. But to their surprise, Karkaroff, who had just been so animated, suddenly fell to the snowy ground, unable to get up.
Fred: ???
"I didn't hit him that hard." He felt a bit nervous; if something happened to the Durmstrang Headmaster, they would probably be expelled.
While the four of them were confused, a person approached in front of them, and Harry recognized her: it was the Triwizard Tournament judge, Issa May, a distinguished Durmstrang graduate.
Fred became nervous instinctively, holding his wand in his jeans pocket, wary of Issa May.
"Do you have something to tell us?" George asked.
Issa May didn't respond; she simply approached Karkaroff and carefully examined his condition. Then, an expression of "just as I suspected" passed between her brows.
"I need to take him to see Professor Dumbledore." She helped Karkaroff, who was lying in the snow, and turned to Harry. "Can you take me to see Dumbledore?"
The four immediately relaxed; they were sure she wasn't a bad person. What evil person would voluntarily ask to see Dumbledore?
So, they helped Issa May support Karkaroff and led him to the headmaster's office.
On the way, Fred indirectly asked about Karkaroff's situation, but Issa May didn't say anything about it. Issa May had already suspected that Karkaroff was under the Imperius Curse's control, but she only recently confirmed it.
This was a great shame! A school headmaster, under the control of the Imperius Curse. Did Durmstrang deserve to be considered one of the top three schools alongside Hogwarts and Beauxbatons? It was a great humiliation, and Issa May didn't want to give it publicity, which is why she didn't mention anything about it.
At best, only Dumbledore should know, and now...
Issa May glanced at the four students behind her and sighed, feeling like she really wanted to throw Karkaroff in the snow; with this weather, he'd probably be frozen to death by the time the Christmas Ball started.
But unfortunately, she couldn't do that. She was sure these four students wouldn't agree. As for stunning them and erasing their memories... she glanced at their age and the students playing nearby. Issa May quickly dismissed that idea.
And so, Issa May brought Karkaroff, who was confused, to Professor Dumbledore's office along with Harry and the others.
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