The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 588 An unexpected gain
The sky gradually darkened, the street lights came on one by one, and the village bars suddenly became lively.

Due to insufficient light, the inscriptions on the tombstone became a little blurry. The three did not want to stay in the cemetery to visit the tombstones, so they decided to leave.

After exiting the narrow gate of the cemetery, the three of them headed for the alley they had come from, where they were going to use the Apparition technique to return to London. As they walked, they talked in low voices, and the twins invited Ada to come back to the Burrow for the holidays.

As they chatted, they somehow ended up talking about relatives, including the twins' great aunt Muriel, who was over a hundred years old.

"That's right!" Fred's voice suddenly became louder. "Aunt Muriel said that Bathilda Bagshot lived in Godric's Hollow. Remember, George?"

"It seems to be the case." George recalled, "But we only know that she lives here, but we don't know which of these houses is hers."

Ada was not frightened by Fred's sudden action, but was rather surprised that the two of them actually remembered who Bathilda Bagshot was.

As the best students among poor students, History of Magic is recognized as the most boring course. I think the two brothers have only opened "History of Magic" a few times. I didn't expect that they could actually remember the name of Bathilda Bagshot.

Bathilda Bagshot is a famous magic historian in the magic world and the author of the book "History of Magic". As a historian, she should know the past of the magic world very well, and maybe she can bring some unexpected gains to Ada and the other two.

But the problem is, as George said, the three of them don't know where Bathilda's house is. There are so many houses in Godric's Hollow, they can't just knock on every door and ask!
Ada looked around the house with a headache, and the twins did the same. It was not easy for the two of them to remember Bathilda Bagshot, so don't expect too much from them.

"What should we do?" George asked, "Should we go back first, or try to ask someone?"

At this time, someone is needed to come up with an idea, and Ada is the backbone of the three.

Comrade Zhujian hesitated a little. He knew that he would definitely find Bathilda if he kept asking around. It was just a matter of time. Maybe the first family was the one, or maybe the last one.

If she went back to London first and came back another day, Ada didn't know when she would be free again. There were a lot of things to do in the department, and although Ada was a hands-off manager, she still needed to be aware of what was going on.

Without wasting too much time thinking, the sky was not waiting for anyone. After the light dimmed a little, Ada decided to solve the problem of Godric's Hollow in one go to avoid making another trip.

After the three had inquired with several households to no avail, they spotted a figure near the ruins of the Potter family's home.

The person was wrapped tightly and had a hunched back. She looked like a woman. She walked very slowly and unsteadily. She must be very old.

The ruins of the Potters' house were enchanted, and Muggles could not see them at all, let alone pay attention to them. This was enough to prove the identity of the old woman, she was a wizard.

The three exchanged glances, understood each other's thoughts, and walked over together. God would not let a sparrow starve to death. This person was exactly the Bathilda Bagshot they were looking for.

Led by the old man, they walked towards Bathilda's house at a snail's pace. The yard was deserted because no one cared about it, the light inside the house was even darker than outside, and the smell in the room was a bit bad.

Fred took the initiative to light the candles while George went to build a fire to warm everyone up. Soon the twins returned and George placed a kettle of water on the fire while Fred let the candles float in the air.

With the weak light of the candle in the room, Ada finally saw Bathilda Bagshot's face. She was too old, with wrinkles all over her face, deep eye sockets, sparse hair, and cloudy eyes without any spirit.

Bathilda groped her way to sit on a high-backed chair, curled up into a ball, looking even thinner and weaker, like a candle in the wind, which could go out at any time.

For no reason, Ada thought of Vida who was traveling far away. She didn't know where she was now, what she was going to do, and whether she was in good health. Although she received a letter every two weeks to report that she was safe, she couldn't stop worrying.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was a little strange. Ada didn't speak, and the old and frail Bathilda didn't speak either. After a while, the boiling water pushed open the lid of the kettle, and everyone got a cup of hot tea to warm their hands.

The twins, who were free, also found a place to sit down and started chatting, asking about Bathilda Bagshot's well-being, even though they had never met the magic historian before.

The two brothers' lively personalities were already likable, and now they were running a prosperous store. Their interpersonal skills were impeccable, and in just a short time, they became much closer to Bathilda. "Madam," George said kindly, "Do you know Cadmus? We are very curious about the story of the three brothers."

Bathilda looked at George with her cloudy eyes. She could only vaguely see George's outline.

She said slowly and laboriously: "Young man, you really are not here to pay respects. At this time, few people dare to come here."

Voldemort was in power and Death Eaters were committing crimes everywhere. To come to mourn the Potters at this time was tantamount to openly resisting Voldemort and his followers. For those who dared to resist him, Voldemort had only one word: "kill", which was simple and brutal.

Bathilda, who was suffering from cataracts, pondered for a while and continued, "I do know the story of the three brothers, but I can't give you the answer you want. I am not someone who makes groundless accusations."

These two sentences seemed to have consumed too much of Bathilda's energy. She was breathing heavily, but even so, she still felt suffocated.

Ada and the twins were not disappointed, nor did they really pin their hopes on this. It would be best if Bathilda could come up with something, but if she couldn't, it didn't matter, because the situation wouldn't get any worse anyway.

The three Peverell brothers were real, but their birth and death dates are unknown, so we can only roughly infer the era they lived in. It is not realistic to learn about their lives and the Deathly Hallows from a historical perspective.

"What about... the Sword of Gryffindor?" Fred continued. "What do you know about this goblin-forged sword?"

Bathilda Bagshot raised her head weakly, and her unclear eyes rested on the three people in turn, as if she wanted to see through them all.

"Gryffindor's sword was not stolen from goblins, but was tailor-made for him by goblins." Bathilda said slowly. Her voice was a little unclear and sounded a little labored, but clear. It was obvious that although Bathilda was old, she was not confused.

She continued, "After the sword was made, Ragnak coveted it and wanted to take it for himself, so there were rumors of Gryffindor theft. The sword can absorb things that can strengthen it, and it will become stronger and stronger over time."

"Only a true Gryffindor can find it and use it." Bathilda added, with a hint of admonition, as if she regarded the three people as thieves looking for treasure.

After saying such a long speech, Bathilda closed her eyes weakly, and her panting was so painful that even anyone who heard it would feel uncomfortable.

The twins looked at each other out of habit. Although Bathilda Bagshot was not ignorant of everything, the information she gave them was what they already knew, which was of no help in finding the Deathly Hallows and the Sword of Gryffindor.

The twins were a little discouraged, but Ada was not. She believed in Bathilda's words and her integrity as a magical historian.

It seems that the sword of Gryffindor should be safe and not destroyed by Voldemort.

Holding the hot water cup, Ada began to look around Bathilda's house. There were candles standing on small plates everywhere, piles of old books, and a few photos standing on the arched chest of drawers.

There was no dust on the gorgeous picture frame, and the dancing firelight on the glass was out of place in the dirty room.

Ada picked up one of the photos, which was a photo of two young men in high spirits. The blond boy had a lazy smile on his face, and his arm was tightly around the young Dumbledore, looking very close.

"Gellert Grindelwald." Ada whispered the blond boy's name.

"Who?" the twins asked in unison.

The young and strong twins did not hear clearly, but the old and groggy Bathilda Bagshot heard it clearly.

Bathilda Bagshot looked at Ada, and her cloudy eyes seemed to become clear at this moment.

(End of this chapter)