A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 197 Hagrid's Dragon Egg

Intelligence is undoubtedly a very important thing.

Without intelligence, even the strongest person is just blind.

Often, when two equally matched sides suffer a sudden and devastating defeat, it's due to a lack of information.

Dumbledore had a group of excellent intelligence agents, and even the headmasters of Hogwarts were his little birds.

These headmasters held high positions and were framed on many important occasions. They were free to move around and gather a lot of important information, which they then secretly reported back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore then sifted through the useful intelligence, categorizing and integrating it.

Scrimgeour, the Auror's chief of staff, wanted to obtain information about Dumbledore and find out who was controlling Quirrell behind the scenes, but no one paid him any attention.

Does William need intelligence?

Of course we need it.

The simplest example is that Umbridge definitely harbors a grudge against him.

There are countless ways to deal with himself; William could easily come up with many.

For example, the fact that young wizards cannot use magic outside of school can be a big or small matter.

If she's clever enough, she could use this to her advantage, forcing William to use magic outside of school to plot his expulsion.

With Dumbledore around, he certainly wouldn't be fired, but he would definitely be disgusting enough.

If William had intelligence, he could anticipate Umbridge's every move and even seize leverage over her to turn the tables on her.

For example, the potential power-for-sex relationship between Fudge and Umbridge.

If there's evidence, bringing down Fudge, the Minister of Magic, would be a piece of cake.

Currently, William only has one eye with Bertha at the Ministry of Magic, which is undoubtedly insufficient.

William turned his attention to Tonks.

"What's wrong?"

Tonks looked puzzled as William stared at him.

William knew Dumbledore well; a newly graduated witch like Tonks couldn't possibly be his top-notch secret agent.

Tonks' claim that she works for Dumbledore is nothing but self-aggrandizement; she's at most a mouthpiece, and spends the rest of her time acting as a self-proclaimed PR agent.

But William knew that Tonks could be trusted, and that she would become an Auror.

William rubbed his hands together and said sweetly, "Sister Tonks, in the future, when you're working for Dumbledore, could you let me know in advance about any information you get?"

Tonks glanced sideways and said disdainfully, "What, you want me to be your spy?"

"Why are you saying such harsh things? I also want to become an Auror after graduation, so I want to understand the job market first, right, sis?"

Having exhausted his emotional appeal, William quickly resorted to his trump card.

"I'll give you one Gallon every month!"

"This isn't about money."

Tonks really wanted to say, "Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

"Five Galleons"

"I'm an Auror!" Tonks roared, furious. "William, don't insult my profession, or I'll send you to Azkaban!"

"Fifteen Galleons, plus free access to the latest products from Akali's Secret Shop."

William quickly added another sentence.

"If you don't want to do it, that's fine. There are plenty of other people who will. I remember Prefect Robert has also joined the Ministry of Magic. Given my relationship with him, the price should be very low."

"Damn it!" Tonks instantly changed his tune, put his arm around William's shoulder, and said with a smile, "What's the difference what we do? Anyway, I'm just an intern Auror, not a full-time employee yet."

Let's make this clear first: once I'm officially hired, the price will have to go up...

William sighed.

Dumbledore had it so easy; even without paying him, people would beg and plead to be his spies for free.

William has worked so hard for so long, and only managed to develop two hidden storylines.

When will I be able to inherit Dumbledore's power?

After snatching fifteen Galleons from William, Tonks said happily, "By the way, on your first day of work, I have some information for you."

"What intelligence?"

"That woman Rita Kist is eyeing you. She's applied several times to interview you as a reporter accompanying the team, but Scrinker has refused."

"Rita?" William frowned. "Isn't she having a heated argument with old man Newt in the newspapers?"

"Mr. Scamander is long past his prime!" Tonks laughed. "Nobody cares if he had an affair with the former, former, former US Congress President. Many people think he's just trying to ride on Rita's coattails."

"..."

Tonks gloated, "That woman realized she wasn't making money, so she started to get interested in you. She's even said she wants to have an in-depth conversation with you about life!"

William raised an eyebrow, but what he was thinking was something else entirely: if only he could develop Rita into his top-notch secret agent.

However, this kind of thing is quite difficult!

……

……

With the Ministry of Magic's investigation concluded, the Daily Prophet quickly revealed the entire incident.

This incident caused a great sensation.

This is when influence comes into play.

All the major newspapers reported it as: "Dumbledore Captures the Dark Wizard Who Attacked Gringotts"

If the title were changed to "Shocking! Another Hogwarts professor caught in the act," it would be a completely different story.

They are both describing the same thing, but the public opinion effects are completely different.

The former would praise Dumbledore; the latter would ponder... is Hogwarts really safe?

However, such a small matter was merely icing on the cake for Dumbledore's reputation.

William's reputation, on the other hand, soared.

William was an eyewitness to the Gringotts case and the one who identified Quirrell.

According to the Auror Office, the child fends off the dark wizard, saving Gringotts from being looted.

Overnight, Quirrell went from a model worker who died suddenly to a robber.

The wind direction changes so quickly.

But Quirrell is a ghost, drifting around all day without speaking, so no one can touch him; they just spit on him when they see him.

Over time, nobody paid any attention to him anymore.

The most unfortunate ones are the young wizards at Hogwarts, who will be without a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for another semester.

It is said that Snape suggested that he teach for a semester to have some fun, but Dumbledore refused outright.

As time passed, the impact of the Quirrell incident gradually subsided, but Hagrid's possession of the dragon eggs was eventually exposed.

The phrase "his scheme was exposed" might not be accurate; he took the initiative to approach William and the others, crying and telling them that he had been deceived!

Inside Hagrid's cabin, the fireplace burned brightly.

"I was chatting with Sheeyi about unicorns... and she was very interested."

I told her I wanted to give her a bra made of unicorn fur... She was so happy, and even said she could show it to me...

"Wait, Hagrid," William interrupted, "Who is Shae?"

"The girl you've met is the one who often drinks sherry at the Leaky Cauldron."

William recalled for a moment that, in his memory, the people who often drank at the Leaky Cauldron were a few old women...

Hagrid calls them girls?

"I was about to leave with Shee... it was Christmas, and we were planning to have some fun."

But then we ran into Shee's friend... a hooded guy who wanted to buy us drinks and play cards.

You know... I've never won at cards, but that day I was incredibly lucky and won ten hands in a row.

"Shee's friend ran out of money in the end, so she gave me the dragon egg as collateral."

Hagrid pointed to a dragon egg on the bed.

"But how do you know that this dragon egg was given to you by Quirrell?" Qiu asked, sitting by the fire.

Hagrid asked uneasily, "Who would carry a dragon egg around with them?"

This is illegal!

I found it very strange at the time, and I tried to convince myself that he just wanted to get rid of the dragon egg...

Hagrid lowered his head.

"But he might not be Quirrell."

"I remember when I was drunk, he asked me about Cerberus, and I told him that only when I sang would Louie fall asleep... In the end, he even invited me to sing..."

Hagrid's face showed a look of horror.

"Ever since Quirrell died, the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel! I've revealed a secret that Dumbledore entrusted to me..."

William wanted to say that Dumbledore never expected Hagrid to keep a secret in the first place.

He comforted him, "Hagrid, it's alright. Quirrell was a dark wizard, he's dead."

"What about this dragon egg?" Hagrid asked worriedly. "If it's discovered, I might be mistaken for Quirrell's accomplice and taken to Azkaban."

If Hagrid has anything to fear, it's probably Azkaban.

"We can send the dragon egg away," Qiu suggested.

“That’s right, for Charlie.” Cedric nodded. “Isn’t he raising dragons in Romania?”

"Give it to Newt," William said. "Judging from the egg markings, it's a Norwegian Ridgeback. It must be sent to Norway."

Charlie is in Romania, a place unsuitable for this fire-breathing dragon.

Hagrid was somewhat reluctant, but finally nodded.

Fortunately, he hadn't used fire to hatch the dragon yet, otherwise things would have been much more complicated.

……

……

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(End of this chapter)