Chapter 260 - 260

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The morning of the next day after the third task of the Tournament started easy and ordinary. As always, I woke up earlier than everyone else and went to exercise and other physical training. Of course, I met Hermione in a blue tracksuit in an empty common room, and together we went for a run. The castle was asleep. Each sound echoed with a booming echo between the stone walls, lost in the depths of the corridors of the ancient castle.

After the run, as it should be according to the schedule, work with the own weight of the transfigured shells in the Chamber of Secrets. Surprisingly, Lady Greengrass has not been here yet, and one can only speculate about the reasons for her absence.

Then came the return to the common room and shower. Only after these obligatory procedures, the implementation of which has long been as if on the subcortex, we met again in the common room. The Gryffindors were already awake, and I was not wearing an invisible cloak after all - sleepy, but already enthusiastic inquiries began on the topic: "What the hell was that?" After somehow dodging the answers and referring to Dumbledore's request not to comment, I went to the Great Hall with Hermione on my arm.

After a hearty and varied breakfast, where you could see dishes from various cuisines of Europe, Dumbledore got up from his not very modest chair at the high table and decided to make a speech.

"Dear students and guests of Hogwarts School," the headmaster's voice sounded loud and clear without unnecessary charms. True, everyone fell silent, but did it really matter? "The third and final task of the Tournament came to an end yesterday, but this ending was completely unexpected."

Dumbledore looked around at everyone present.

"No doubt you all have many questions regarding both the events in the labyrinth and the place the champions were transported to. However, I would ask you to restrain your curiosity a little - the champions need a break from the stress caused by these events. All results and conclusions will be announced at the farewell feast in two days."

Dumbledore nodded his thanks for the attention, and all the students and guests began to slowly go about their business. Needless to say, Lavender's word of mouth had been working in full since the morning, so now the students were discussing my version of events, which I told yesterday. This, to some extent, cooled their enthusiasm.

It is also worth noting that while they looked at me in a positive way, they looked at Harry with apprehension. I found out the reasons right away - all because of Skeeter's article. She mentioned the pains in Potter's scar while describing various mental abnormalities that could manifest themselves from traces of strong curses and spells. In general, in the eyes of the public, Potter is now not a "trustworthy member of society."

Hermione and I went to the Chamber of Secrets without saying anything, where we found Lady Greengrass sitting in a chair near the tent. She was staring thoughtfully at the statue of Salazar Slytherin, the outlines of which were clearly delineated in the semi-darkness of the hall.

"Good morning," we greeted as we approached.

"Good morning..."

We walked over and stood beside her, waiting for some kind of order. The usual practice, yes, except that we got them right away, and here we were waiting.

"Funny," Delphine was still looking at the Slytherin statue. "The wizards think you applied the Incedio modification."

"I've heard that."

"How illiterate you need to be in order not to recognize one of the most complicated protective dark magic complexes? Although, why am I surprised? It was Protego Diabolica, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Silence reigned once more.

"From reliable sources, I learned that there, I do not know where this happened, several wizards died. They unknowingly protected themselves from the fire with a spell and rushed to the aid of You-Know-Who. By the way," Delphine looked at us. "Stop calling him by name. With his resurrection, the Taboo charms were activated again. If someone pronounces his name, it immediately becomes known to the Death Eaters. Exceptions are Hogwarts and other protected areas. I will show you the spell for closing a small area and how to determine if there is this protection around."

"Breaking through Protego Diabolica without knowing the conditions is a sure and painful, albeit quick, death," Hermione summed it up, again delighting me with her lack of negative reaction.

"Yes. Walden Macnair died. Always was as dumb as a cork. Burned like a cork in the devil's fire. Thorfinn Rowle. He was always well versed in various charms and in wreaking havoc, but impulsive and sloppy. This impulsiveness failed him again. Henry Greengrass..."

"Oh..." Hermione covered her face with her palms.

"Don't worry," Delphine looked at her with a smile. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Everyone will keep quiet about the deaths of those three - it's not to anyone's advantage. However, it should be understood that if there were all those Death Eaters who remained at large, then many Slytherins will find out ... They will find out that because of your spell, Max, important for someone wizards died, and the parents of current students could also have died."

"Well, they think they're great dark wizards, but they didn't recognize Protego Diabolica."

"It doesn't matter. Okay, let's have a quick test of your spells and then a little impromptu exam for you to see how successful your training is."

Delphine got up from the chair, which immediately disappeared, and waved her hand invitingly so that we would go into the tent. There we were given a couple of parchments with notes on the taboo blocking charms and a spell to determine if there was such an activated defense around. For half an hour, we were forced to memorize this and then train to automatism.