The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 544 Tracking (Please subscribe, please bookmark, please vote)
"Why are you calling me out in such a hurry?" Hermione's face was full of curiosity. She had just gone to the library after class and before she could write a single word, she was pulled out by Ryan, who looked mysterious. Then they came to an empty corridor together.

"I found a suspicious point in the previous two attacks." Ryan said, and Hermione immediately became alert when she heard this. "You found a suspicious point? That's great, can you tell me what you found?"

"The Three Broomsticks." Ryan didn't keep it a secret. "Katie was attacked in the bathroom of the Three Broomsticks, and the bottle of mead also came from the Three Broomsticks."

"You mean someone is messing around in the Three Broomsticks? That would indeed greatly narrow down the scope of investigation." Hermione pondered for a moment and said, "Although the people in the Three Broomsticks are mixed, it would be easier to catch that person than searching aimlessly now."

"We can further narrow down the suspects," Ryan added. "If anyone who enters the bar could have attacked Katie in the bathroom, then poisoning the wine wouldn't be that easy. At least most people who enter the bar to drink can't touch the wine that is going to be sent to other places."

"This narrows the scope of suspicion to the bar staff, the people who delivered the wine into Hogwarts, and the regular customers of the Three Broomsticks who rarely have access to the wine cellar." Hermione reacted immediately, "Could it be that someone impersonated the bar staff again, just like us fourth graders?"

"Or maybe it was the Imperius Curse, or maybe they had to do it because their relatives were kidnapped." Ryan added. "I think even if we find the person behind the attack, we may not be able to catch the real culprit. There are so many ways wizards can control a person."

"Okay, don't worry about this." Seeing Hermione fall into deep thought after hearing what he said, Ryan interrupted, "The next thing is not ours to worry about. We just need to report this to the headmaster. Headmaster Dumbledore will naturally find a way to solve the current problem. Even if we can't catch the real culprit, I think we can stop the attack."

The fact was just as he said. After Ryan and his friends sent a thick letter of analysis to the headmaster by owl, the next day the news spread around the school that Madam Rosmerta had to go to St. Mungo's to recuperate due to a sudden illness.

"This means that the Three Broomsticks may need to close for a while, which sounds really bad." Seamus expressed his opinion at the table during lunch.

"But this has nothing to do with us." Dean said dejectedly. "Because I heard that our Hogsmeade Day has been cancelled indefinitely until the situation is stabilized."

"Ah..." There were sighs from the Gryffindor table, because bad news came one after another for them recently. Whether it was two people on the Gryffindor Quidditch team being attacked in succession or the indefinite suspension of Hogsmeade Day, all of this was very bad for everyone.

On the morning of the match against Hufflepuff, Ron was finally allowed to be discharged from the hospital. With the help of Lavender, he slowly walked out of the school hospital and happened to meet Ryan and Hermione in the corridor who came to greet him.

"Harry and Ginny were supposed to pick you up, but you know they were about to have a game. So we two had a hard time persuading them to go to the stadium. You won't blame us for this, right?" Ryan explained.

"Of course I understand. This game is very important. Especially now that McLaggen is always lecturing others and thinking that he is better than the rest of us in every position. I can't imagine how someone who can't cooperate with other teammates can play well in this game-"

Ron became more and more excited as he spoke, and soon a red cloud appeared on his cheeks. Lavender immediately squeezed his hand and interrupted his long speech. "Although Madam Pomfrey believes that you have recovered, she thinks you should not be too excited during this period. She even specifically told me that you must not watch this game."

"Ryan, is there any way for me to go watch this game?" Ron looked at Ryan pitifully, but Ryan was unmoved. "What you need now is rest. If you don't want to have any sequelae, I suggest you listen to Madam Pomfrey."

The four of them walked through the empty corridor. All the students in the school had gone out, either sitting in the stadium or heading there. So the corridor seemed empty, and suddenly there was a sound of footsteps around the corner ahead.

Ryan looked towards the corner where the voice came from with caution. It turned out that Malfoy was walking towards them, accompanied by two junior Slytherin girls, one of whom looked annoyed. After seeing Ryan and his group, Malfoy suddenly stopped, but he did not use bloodline or other reasons to provoke them as usual. He just laughed dryly and continued to walk forward.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked loudly.

"Ah, the child of a pure-blood traitor." Malfoy sneered, "I don't think there is anything I need to report to you. You look like you just got out of the school hospital, right? Don't send yourself to jail again for meddling in other people's business."

One girl gave a forced laugh, but everyone else's faces were tense. Ron looked so angry that he almost punched Malfoy, but Lavin held him back.

Ron stopped struggling, probably because of Lavender. Malfoy walked past them with his head held high like a victorious general, and the two girls trotted to keep up with him and disappeared around the corner.

After confirming that Malfoy and the others had disappeared, Ron suddenly turned his head and whispered to Ryan, "Didn't Harry tell us that Malfoy was doing something sneaky? Now it seems to be true. Otherwise, he wouldn't be wandering around the castle with two people when the whole school is out watching the game. So can you two follow them and see what Malfoy is doing?"

"Of course." Ryan nodded, "But you have to promise that you won't go to the court. I don't want to hear that you've been sent to the school hospital again."

"I promise in the name of my mother that I will go back to the common room to rest immediately and will not step out of the castle during this game." Ron raised one hand and swore solemnly, then he put his hand down and said, "Hurry up and follow him, otherwise he will be lost."

"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on Ronald." Lavender also promised, so Ryan and Hermione nodded to them, and then chased after Malfoy towards the corner where he disappeared.

Malfoy was indeed cautious. Even though there was no one in the castle at that time, he made several circles and finally disappeared completely in an empty corridor, which made Ryan and Hermione lose their target.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked Ryan after questioning several portraits on the wall.

"I guess they have some magical props that can make them invisible, and they came to this corridor just to completely get rid of the surveillance in the school. It seems that Malfoy is indeed planning something detrimental to Hogwarts." Ryan turned his head and said.

"So what should we do now?" Hermione asked. She had thought that the fact that there was no one in the castle was a good opportunity to stop Malfoy, but she hadn't expected that Malfoy could use other methods to escape.

"We can only wait for the next opportunity." Ryan shrugged. Anyway, when he went to the Room of Requirement to check the Vanishing Cabinet, he found that Malfoy was indeed repairing it, but it would take a long time before it was repaired, so they had enough time to investigate. Not to mention that the tricks and traps Ryan had put on the Vanishing Cabinet were not triggered, which meant that even if Malfoy had an idea and repaired the Vanishing Cabinet, it would not cause much harm to the school.

This is why Ryan did not report it directly. He hoped that the added vanishing cabinet would give the intruders a surprise.

(End of this chapter)