Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 360 Ludo Bagman, and the smug Karkaroff

December brought not only strong winds and sleet to Hogwarts, but also an unprecedented vitality.

Ever since Sherren placed the golden egg on the shelf in the common room, the Gryffindor students have completely changed. Everyone is like they've drunk an energy tonic, their spirits are at their peak.

What initially stirred everyone's emotions was the reward of one hundred gallons, which was an unimaginable sum for most students who only had less than ten gallons of pocket money per school year.

But gradually, they began to enjoy the feeling of being able to participate in the three-way battle more and more, as if they were no longer just spectators, but had become part of this grand competition.

Of course, rewards are still just as important.

"That's a hundred Galleons!"

Ron's eyes lit up during breakfast that day, and he was full of energy.

Harry was somewhat dazed. He vaguely saw the shadow of Colin Corvée in Ron, the third-year student who always carried a camera and was full of curiosity and energy.

“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?” Hermione frowned. “Even when you first heard about the Triwizard Tournament, you weren’t this excited.”

“This is different,” Ron said seriously.

The Triwizard Tournament offers a prize of 1,000 Galleons, but it is fraught with difficulties. The first challenge requires fighting a fire dragon, and the remaining two challenges will undoubtedly be even more difficult. One wrong move could cost you your life... just like Krum did.

However, deciphering the golden egg is much safer. There are no dangers or restrictions, and anyone can participate.

“This is the Triwizard Tournament that truly belongs to us,” Ron said sincerely, glancing nervously at Hermione. “You really don’t want to go see that golden egg?”

In his opinion, Hermione was the smartest little wizard, and if it were her, she might actually be able to unlock the secret of the golden egg.

“I’m not going,” Hermione said without hesitation, looking up at Siren across from her. “That’s cheating. According to the Triwizard Tournament rules, you should unlock the secret of the golden egg yourself.”

Siren pretended not to hear and served himself another bowl of mixed fish soup... It must be to take care of the students of the other two magic schools. Recently, the kitchen's recipes have added a lot of dishes from other countries, and mixed fish soup is one of them, and also the most popular one.

It tastes really good.

“Don’t be such a spoilsport, Hermione,” Ron said. “Even the headmaster didn’t say anything, did he?”

Dumbledore was naturally aware of the recent changes in Gryffindor, but he said nothing, as did Professor McGonagall, seemingly tacitly approving of Sherren's behavior.

“But do you really have a hundred Galleons?” Hermione asked again.

“It’s almost there,” Celen said. “But my mom said she’d help me out.”

"I really don't understand why you'd spend so much money on a single clue when we could all help you." Hermione glared at Siron, annoyed.

"Wait, Hermione, didn't you just say that according to the rules of the Triwizard Tournament..."

Before Ron could finish speaking, Hermione glared at him, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Xilun didn't say anything; in fact, he was starting to regret it.

The main reason was that the atmosphere that night was so great that he suddenly had a brilliant idea to involve everyone, which led to the idea of ​​solving the golden egg puzzle.

But he forgot that he had already spent 100 Galleons at the Quidditch World Cup, and then used the rest of the money to buy a panoramic telescope, so he didn't have much left.

As for those panoramic telescopes, he has already entrusted Fred and George to help sell them.

However, the first two attractions have grandstands, so the equipment isn't really needed. It's only when we get to the final maze attraction that we might make a fortune.

Before this, Xiren could only seek help from her family.

Fortunately, his mother, Lila, agreed to give him some pocket money, and the problem was solved.

“You’re all like this, acting impulsively without thinking about anything.” She stared at Siron, then glanced at Harry and Ron out of the corner of her eye.

"I, I'm not..." Harry muttered to himself. He wanted to say that he was actually quite composed, at least not like Siron, who would throw out a hundred Galleons at once.

However, faced with an angry Hermione, he wisely chose to remain silent.

Hermione then pushed the empty plate forward, stood up, and walked out.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

“The library,” Hermione said without turning her head, “maybe we can find clues to unlock the golden egg in the books.”

Hermione left in a hurry, just brushing past Durmstrang students at the door.

“She’s actually quite helpful, isn’t she?” Fred, sitting to Xiren’s right, leaned over and said, “But I don’t think there will be any clues about the golden egg in the library.”

“After all, it was only made a few months ago,” George said.

"It could have been a few weeks ago."

As they were talking, Durmstrang students entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Slytherin table.

“This is quite a rare thing; Krum actually left their ship,” Lee Jordan said in surprise.

“It must be because their ship was too cold,” Fred said. “A ship anchored in the Black Lake in December… honestly, every time I pass by there, I’m grateful for the warm fireplaces and thick walls of the castle.”

Then everyone realized that Krum was also in the crowd. This was the first time he had made a public appearance outside of the project since Rita Skit wrote that article.

Krum seemed quite pleased; he had previously ignored everyone, but now he surprisingly responded to several Slytherins' attempts to strike up a conversation.

And Karkaroff, who was talking to Dumbledore, always seemed to be watching him, with a hint of smugness and provocation in his eyes.

Why would a Warriors team that ranks last in scoring be so smug?
Xiren thought again of Ludo Bagman, who had deliberately left Krum behind after the match, and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"Oh, we have to go to class."

Harry stood up and said, "The first period is Divination class. I'd better not be late. I don't want to hear Professor Trelawney spouting all that nonsense again."

Other professors usually punish late students by deducting points, but Professor Laurie, on the other hand, gives late students a free fortune telling.

But her prediction... well, those who know, know; it's better to just deduct points directly.

The group put down their cutlery and headed toward the tower where the divination classroom was located.

As the weather gets colder, the once stuffy divination classroom becomes more comfortable. The warm fire and lingering aroma always make people drowsy during divination classes.

The class on protecting magical creatures is equally boring.

When Hagrid was taking care of Beauxbatons' divine horses, he always fed them single malt whisky. When the wind blew, the aroma of whisky would waft from the feed trough in the corner of the stable.

This resulted in everyone going home drunk after each class on protecting magical creatures.

What's even more distressing is that they still have to take care of those increasingly large, burrowing snails in this condition.

These creatures have now grown to nearly six feet long, taller than most adult wizards when lifted. Their thick gray shells are covered in sharp spikes, and they have tails that constantly explode and breathe fire; a moment's carelessness could result in injury. Aside from Siren and Hagrid, no one likes the Blasttail, including Harry, though he pretends to like it to avoid upsetting Hagrid.

"I really don't understand what's so special about these things." After separating the two blast-tailed snails that were trying to eat each other for the third time, Ron couldn't help but voice his thoughts.

"Don't say that, these little guys are quite good." Xilun tapped the shell of a blasting snail, the sound was deep and solid.

"Not bad?" Ron couldn't help but raise his voice. "What's so good about this thing?"

“A strong desire to attack,” Siren said. “If it were made into a staff core, this characteristic would most likely be retained.”

Ron fell silent and instinctively took two steps back. He felt that at this moment, Xiren was more terrifying than the Bombtail.

“I heard Rita Skeeter came to Hogwarts yesterday and asked Hagrid a lot of questions.” He turned to Harry and said, “I have a feeling this isn’t a good thing.”

“Rita Skeeter, the witch who accused Krum of conspiring with goblins?” Harry immediately recalled the sensational reports that had caused such a stir at Hogwarts.

It is said that after that, Krum's team proved that they just happened to be in the same tavern as the fairies.

"That's the most famous tavern in Eastern Europe. It's perfectly normal to run into fairies there, and centaurs and vampires also go there!"

However, this clarification article was only published in the corner of the Daily Prophet, and hardly anyone paid any attention to it.

Thinking about what the other person had done, Harry suddenly became worried.

“Do you think she might be twisting Hagrid’s words?” Hermione whispered. “And those Blasttails, they don’t look like proper magical creatures.”

“It’s alright. Hagrid has caused a lot of trouble in the past, but Dumbledore never fired him,” Ron reassured them. “The worst that could happen is that Hagrid has to throw away these Blasttails. Excuse me, did I say the worst? Actually, I meant the best.”

Harry and Hermione both laughed; they also disliked the Bombtails, but Hagrid was fascinated by them.

Oh, and Xilun too.

They now had a lot in common. The school bell had already rung, but Siren showed no intention of returning to the castle. Instead, he followed Hagrid into his cabin.

"So, did you get it?" Xilun asked impatiently from inside the house.

“I got it, but not much.” Hagrid took a black bag out of the cabinet.

When opened, there were several long white threads inside.

“Those divine horses don’t shed at all,” Hagrid said. “These are the hairs that broke off when I was grooming them; they’re all tail hairs. You probably don’t need the rest of the hairs.”

"However, I really didn't find any feathers on the wings."

“Well… okay,” Xilun said, a little disappointed.

If it's just the tail hair, no magical creature can be better than a unicorn, so what he really wants are the feathers on the wings of the Divine Horse.

Unfortunately, Hagrid didn't get his hands on it.

Fortunately, he only wanted to try out the features of the Divine Talisman Horse Staff Core, so using tail hair would also work.

After saying goodbye to Hagrid, Siren returned to the castle.

"Hey, Celen, we've been looking for you."

"Ron said you're in Hagrid."

As soon as they entered the castle gates, Fred and George appeared on either side of them like two ghosts.

“We’ve solved it!” Fred said. “The secret of the golden egg.”

"Oh?" Xiren looked at the two of them and asked, "What is it?"

“First of all,” George held up a finger, “that piercing sound was actually a kind of singing.”

Siren hadn't taken their words seriously at first, thinking they were just like the other Gryffindors, guessing randomly.

But to his surprise, the two of them actually managed to untie it.

That piercing sound was indeed singing, coming from the fish at the bottom of the Black Lake...

“It’s the Cursed Siren!” Fred said confidently. “The Cursed Siren’s song can create illusions, causing people to fall into their traps.”

“We just started hallucinating,” George said. “So the second project must be related to water.”

"The location is probably at Black Lake."

"I'll let you obtain the treasure guarded by the cursed siren!"

……

Watching the two of them singing in unison, Xilun had a complicated expression and didn't know what to say for a moment.

They not only guessed the song, but also correctly guessed the location of the second project: Black Lake.

But what exactly is the cursed siren? If Siren remembers correctly, it should be a magical creature that only exists in the Atlantic Ocean, and it doesn't exist in Britain at all.

Xilun found it hard to understand. They were all thinking of the Black Lake, so why couldn't they think of something closer to home, like a giant squid?

After all, there is indeed a giant squid in the Black Lake, which is said to have been Godric Gryffindor's pet a thousand years ago.

Wait, could it be that they associated the cursed siren with that giant squid...? Xilun suddenly realized.

Because only in the Black Lake do students call it a giant squid; in fact, it has a more formal name, which is the Kraken, the giant sea monster in Muggle parlance.

Come to think of it, this magical creature shouldn't even be in the Black Lake at Hogwarts.

“Okay, I’ll write it down,” Celen said. “But we’ll only know if you’re right when the second project officially starts.”

"of course."

"this is necessary."

Fred and George spoke at the same time: "We have great confidence in ourselves."

"I hope so," Xiren said with a smile. "By the way, I'd like a gadget that can eavesdrop on other people's conversations. Do you have any recommendations? Preferably something discreet."

"Oh?" Fred looked at Xilen with a mocking expression. "Who are you trying to eavesdrop on... never mind, it's not important."

“Speaking of which, I remember that Devis-Bans happens to have something that can meet your needs,” George said. “Give it to us, and we’ll deliver it to you tonight.”

……

(End of this chapter)