Chapter 803： Interlude

Chapter 803 Interlude

 The exam atmosphere in Hogwarts Castle has become even stronger during the weekend holidays. In addition to fifth and seventh grade students, students in other grades are also beginning to face final exams.

Everyone is seizing the last two days to review the key points of the exam that were mentioned in class.

However, there are always exceptions.

After Fred, George and Lee Jordan took the first few exams, they all looked lazy and didn't even pay much attention to the Potions exam next Monday. What they said was: Review is impossible to review.

The three of them obviously didn't plan to go to Snape's Potions class anymore.

 In fact, it will be difficult for them to attend Snape's Potions class next semester.

 Only students who get "excellent" in the O.W.LS exam are eligible to study in Snape's potions improvement class. There are only a handful of students in the four colleges who can reach this level.

 Fred, George and Lee Jordan were very happy to not have to see Snape's stinky face in class. The three of them obviously knew that they would not be able to achieve excellent results in the O.W.LS exams.

Albert is not worried about this. He has just won the Potions Grand Prize. His attainments in potions are far superior to other students in the same class. The potions he prepared for the practical exam were selected from the potions book. Need to worry.

As for the content of the written test, he had read the test papers of previous years in advance and recited the so-called key points. He did not think that the written test on potions would cause him any trouble.

Well, actually the o.w.ls exam was too easy, which gave him great confidence.

"If I were one of you, I would definitely give Snape a big surprise." Albert sat by the window drinking butterbeer and chatting with the three people who were playing wizard cards.

“Forget it, it’s basically impossible to get excellent in the potions exam. If you really get excellent results, it will give us a shock first.”

“Kenneth left the black market to us.”

 George poured himself a glass of butterbeer, sat across from him, and casually mentioned what happened last night after Albert ran away for a date.

 Black market?

The black market in Hogwarts is not a black market in the sense of the word, but refers to a list of names of people in the four colleges who often engage in black market transactions, as well as several passage locations that are often used for private transactions.

 In fact, everyone knows some people, but they are not as detailed as the list given by Kenneth.

 “Kenneth didn’t ask you for money?” Albert suddenly asked.

"That guy asked for five galleons, but we only gave him one." Fred threw away the wizard card in his hand and lay down on the armchair. "To be honest, I kind of feel like he gave me one." Feeling cheated.”

 “It’s not like you don’t know what that guy is.”

Albert didn’t know much about the so-called black market. Normally, if you wanted to buy something on the black market, you had to go to a fixed person to ask for the price. In Gryffindor’s case, that was Kenneth.

"Actually, you can try to write the things you want to trade directly on the bulletin board. Next year, you can also try to sell joke props in school to accumulate fame for opening a shop after leaving school. After the O.W.LS exam is completed, you can post Advertisement." Albert gave the three people advice, "As for the black market, you can also find a secret passage that Filch doesn't know about, and set up a bulletin board there, so that everyone can leave messages on the bulletin board that they need. For things that are traded, we provide a place for everyone to trade.”

"That's a good idea, but it's not easy to find a hidden passage that Filch doesn't know about." Lee Jordan said and looked at Fred and George. If anyone knew the secret passages in the school better than Filch, That's probably the two of them.

George proposed to use the secret passage behind the large mirror on the fifth floor as a black market trading place. Anyway, the secret passage leading outside has collapsed.

 Then they started discussing the name of the store.

 Because of the relationship between the four people, the surname cannot be added to the store name.

Magic joke shop?

 This is the name currently being prepared.

Albert is too lazy to care about this matter. His skill in naming is actually very average. You can tell from the fact that the fat cat next to him is named Tom.

The warm summer breeze blew in through the window, making Albert feel a little sleepy. He couldn't help but stretched out his hand to cover his yawn. He looked sideways out of the window and inadvertently caught a glimpse of Hagrid at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, holding a hand in his hand. As if... carrying Buckbeak's suitcase.

"I'm going to find Hagrid, will you go with me?" Albert looked at the four people who were discussing the name of the store and asked.

 “Go on your own!” said George.

 Okay, unexpected answer.

 The relationship between the three of them and Hagrid can only be described as average.

Albert looked out the window again and found that Hagrid had disappeared.

 After leaving the common room, Albert took out the map from his pocket. As expected, Hagrid was not in his hunting cabin. He probably guessed what Hagrid wanted to do.

“Is this going to send Buckbeak back to the hippogriff colony?”

Albert could understand Hagrid's reluctance to lock up Buckbeak, but he still felt that it was too risky for Hagrid to do so, and he should at least discuss it with himself first.

“None of these guys are reliable!”

Albert walked into the boys' bathroom on the eighth floor grumbling.

An hour ago, Albert walked out of the boys' bathroom and was about to go to Hagrid's hut when he suddenly thought of something and gradually slowed down.

"Is it because I changed Hagrid's mind that he was going to send Buckbeak back to the Hippogriff colony?" Albert stopped, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to wait. Follow secretly to see what Hagrid wants to do.

 “Then what should we do now?”

Albert suddenly felt a little depressed, and finally decided to go to the Room of Requirement to read, just like reviewing for the potions exam.

There he met Katrina, who was also studying for the potions exam, and the two casually chatted about the key points of the potions exam.

The time for chatting went by very quickly. Albert took out his pocket watch to see that the time was almost up. He used the Disguise Charm to hide himself and headed to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest to wait for Hagrid to appear.

 After a while, after seeing Hagrid entering the forest with his suitcase, Albert walked out from behind the tree trunk.

 “Why are you here?” Hagrid was very surprised.

"You should have discussed it with me first." Albert's tone was a little reproachful, "At least I can give you some advice."

"Sorry, I don't want to disturb you. I know the O.W.LS exam is very important to you." Hagrid looked at Albert and couldn't help but glance at the suitcase, "But it has been in there for too long. It looks like Very depressed.”

Hagrid obviously felt sorry for Buckbeak. Life in the box was not very good, so he planned to secretly send Buckbeak away without telling Albert.

 “Can you find a tribe of hippogriffs?” Albert asked.

"Of course." Hagrid took a photo of his chest and said, "I know every lair they have in the Forbidden Forest."

"Aren't you afraid of someone following you?" Albert said angrily. He took out a badge from his pocket and threw it to Hagrid.

The finishing work of this matter must be done neatly. He doesn't want to be tricked for no reason.

“What is this?” Hagrid glanced at the badge on his palm and asked doubtfully.

“Shielder. With this thing, others can’t lock you through spells. Of course, owls can’t find you either.”

"Thanks."

Hagrid smiled and put the badge into his pocket, and greeted Albert, "I think you must also plan to go together here."

 “Is it far from here?” Albert asked.

“About half an hour away.” Hagrid briefly estimated the time.

"It should not have passed through the hunting range of the group of Acromantulas." Albert asked again.

"Don't worry, I think those Acromantulas have forgotten about you a long time ago." Hagrid knew the reason why Albert was wary of Acromantulas.

"Who knows." Albert took out his broom from his pocket and sat on it, saying as he flew, "I won't joke with my own life."

 Speaking, Albert took out another thing from his pocket.

 “I can always see you pulling out some weird stuff.”

Hagrid looked at what looked like a pocket watch in Albert's hand and asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Wizard radar can detect whether there are other wizards within a radius of one kilometer." Albert said casually, "The principle is a bit like a looking glass, and it also uses the human trace spell. Well, you probably won't understand what I'm telling you. .”

Of course, this thing is still a semi-finished product, and the things Albert took out are more or less semi-finished products.

“So, you are going to use this thing to see if anyone is watching around us?” Hagrid guessed the use of this thing.

"Yes." Albert raised his wand and tapped it lightly on the suitcase, and directly used the Disguise Charm to hide it, so that Hagrid would not draw attention to himself while holding a suitcase, although there was a possibility of touching someone. It's small, but it's always just in case.

At this moment, the wizard's radar reacted, and Albert saw several red dots approaching quickly.

“Hagrid, someone is coming.” Albert wanted to take out an invisible cloth from the deformed lizard skin bag and cover the two of them, but the red dots on the radar moved too fast.

 “What’s going on?” Hagrid asked.

"I don't know." Albert frowned slightly. He felt that he should prevent Hagrid from taking risks.

 Over their heads, several wizards on broomsticks passed by.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" After Albert made sure that the group of people were gone, he looked at Hagrid, who was frowning beside him.

"It should be poachers." Hagrid said with a gloomy face. Very few poachers would rush into the Forbidden Forest. It was more dangerous than imagined.

“Today is not a good day to go out,” muttered Albert. “Are you going to put Buckbeak back into his colony?”

Hagrid hesitated for a moment and finally nodded. Even if he wanted to do something, he couldn't. They couldn't fly.

“Speaking of which, did you release the Hippogriff in the Forbidden Forest?” Albert deliberately changed the topic.

"No, hippogriffs are very common in Europe. I met them when I stayed at Hogwarts as a hunting ground warden." Hagrid was indeed diverted by Albert, "It is said that hippogriffs The emergence of winged beasts is related to wizards, and it was originally the product of a cross between a griffon and a horse."

In fact, all the strange creatures in the magical world are created by wizards. For example, the blast-tailed snail that will appear next semester is one of them, which is a hybrid between a manticore and a fire crab.

What's even more terrible is that, unlike donkeys, they can reproduce, so a brand new creature has appeared in the magical world.

“They usually start laying eggs in mid-July.”

 “Egg?”

"Yes, a large and fragile egg can usually hatch within twenty-four hours." Haigkop said, "During the egg-laying period, the Hippogriff's nest will become very dangerous. Attack any creature that approaches the lair."

Albert suddenly didn’t know what to say. That thing actually lays eggs?

“Hippogriffs usually start test flights in seven days, and can fly long distances in a few months. In winter, they usually fly south with their parents to look for food,” Hagrid said.

“Honestly, you should tell this to the students, they need to know this knowledge more.” Albert suggested.

“This is a good idea. I will give a similar class next semester.” Hagrid said seriously, “I already have a good idea. I will try it during the summer vacation.”

 Albert couldn't help but mourn for the others.

Just as he was following Hagrid forward, Ben Ben glanced at the wizard radar in his hand and couldn't help but squint his eyes.

when?

He handed the wizard radar to Hagrid and made a weak gesture. Hagrid was stunned after reading it. He wanted to turn around but was stopped by Albert.

"I'm going to explore the way ahead. You may be lost." After Albert finished speaking, he let the broom fly forward.

 After a while, he came back from a detour and quickly found the four wizards following them.

These four guys were actually floating in the air about a hundred feet away from them, silently following Hagrid without saying a word.

Albert pulled out his wand and used a large-scale coma spell in the general direction of the four people. When the red light exploded into mist in the void, the four poachers reacted and drove their brooms to fly out of the area of ​​the coma spell, but It was already too late. The consciousness of the four people affected by the coma spell began to become blurry. Before they had time to react, they were knocked down from the air by the coma spell.

Of course, due to the spell, none of the four were thrown to death, but they all fell asleep.

Hagrid stared at the four people thrown together in shock and asked, "How did you do that?"

"Of course it was a sneak attack, they were just caught off guard by me." Albert said matter-of-factly.

 “What are you going to do?” Hagrid asked.

"Let's see what their purpose is and then deal with it." After tying them with a rope, Albert woke up one of the wizards and used Legilimency directly on him.

The memory of the wizard flashed before Albert's eyes. He saw four young people meeting in the Pig's Head Bar. He heard that there was an Acromantula breeding base in the Forbidden Forest, so he wanted to come over and try his luck, but it didn't work. They found the Acromantula, but met them halfway, and recognized Hagrid, so they wanted to follow Hagrid secretly to try their luck, maybe they could find something valuable.

They are a group of poor people who try their luck in the Forbidden Forest and try to make a fortune.

"What are you going to do?" Hagrid asked Albert with a frown. Guys like this come to the Forbidden Forest to try their luck every year, but there are very few who can actually make a fortune.

“Confiscate their crime tools, erase their memories, and they will leave on their own when they wake up.”

 Actually, if they didn’t follow him and Hagrid, Albert would be too lazy to care about them.

 “Well, let’s do it.” Hagrid agreed.

After several people woke up, they found themselves lying on the ground inexplicably. The wands on their bodies were still missing, and they flew away in a hurry. This scene was watched by Albert and Hagrid.

“Do you think they will come again?” Hagrid lowered his head and asked Albert.

"I don't know." Albert handed the wand to Hagrid and said, "Do you want to give it a try?"

“When I was expelled, the Ministry of Magic stripped me of my wizard qualifications and prohibited me from carrying and using wands.” Hagrid said with a bitter smile.

"I can help you make a telescopic crutch or a telescopic umbrella, and you can carry it with you." Albert smiled and comforted, "You don't have to worry about these problems, as long as no one finds out, it's not illegal."

 “Can we still do this?” Hagrid asked in surprise.

"There will always be loopholes in the law." Albert said contemptuously, "Moreover, most laws are actually used to restrict ordinary people. You must have experienced that."

Hagrid was surprised by what Albert said, but he had to admit that it was right. When facing Lucius Malfoy, the laws of the Ministry of Magic were so ridiculous.

In the end, Hagrid still didn’t ask Albert to help make that kind of thing, and the two of them did not go to the Hippogriff’s lair, but released Buckbeak near the lair.

"Go back and live with your companions." Hagrid touched Buckbeak's head sadly, untied the chains on his body and said to Albert, "I shouldn't have let them appear in the classroom in the first place."

"It's not your fault." Albert comforted softly, "Let's go back."

 “Come on, I will come to visit you later.” Hagrid waved goodbye to Buckbeak who turned back as he walked, “I really don’t want him to leave.”

"It won't do you any good to stay, Buckbeak belongs to nature." Albert said, looking at Buckbeak spreading his wings and flying away, "At least, you can come back to visit him occasionally."

 (End of this chapter)