Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 251 Strangers

"What are you planning to do?" Hermione asked. "Go drink another bottle of Polyjuice Potion?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Harry was reminded of the time when he had become a girl.

"No, I'd rather not," Harry said, he was starting to develop PTSD from Compound Herbal Elixir.

What scares him most isn't the shame of becoming a girl, but rather that after these past two weeks, he's actually less resistant to living as a girl.

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

He was afraid that if he had to go through it again, he might never be able to go back.

"And even if he became a professor, Quirrell might not dare to say anything; he seems to be very afraid of Snape."

"That……"

"We have to resort to a last resort," Harry said, looking at Tom. "We have to get the Philosopher's Stone before he does."

However, even though they said that, they didn't dare to break through the trapdoor right now.

They couldn't even get past the first hurdle.

Those three-headed dogs don't care whether people are good or Death Eaters when they bite.

We still need to get some information from Hagrid first.

It just so happens that Hagrid seems to have acquired a baby dragon, and they can visit him frequently under the pretext of taking care of the baby dragon without arousing suspicion.

……

While Harry and the others were trying to improve Hagrid's favorability, Murphy wasn't idle either, constantly feeding Tom and Hermione high school math problems.

The traps set by the other professors don't matter; they were able to get through them in the original story, so they certainly will this time as well. But his traps haven't been tested.

Although he considered the possibility of actively loosening restrictions when setting it up, it's still better not to make it too obvious.

Meanwhile, Murphy was also gathering so-called evidence in preparation to expel Dumbledore from the school.

This shouldn't be difficult, but he can't do it yet. Once Dumbledore leaves, he'll most likely take the Philosopher's Stone with him. Murphy has been working hard for a year, and he doesn't want to let the duck that's already in his mouth fly away.

Meanwhile, there has been considerable progress in the Soviet Union as well.

Valery and Chinyely gradually opened up the situation through various means, including power exchanges, bloody repressions, and bribery with anti-aging drugs, and won over a group of key officials who were willing to obey their commands, thus stabilizing the situation in the Soviet Union.

Following Murphy's instructions, they then opened investment channels to Umbrella, making it the first international company to enter the Soviet Union in the fields of healthcare and technology.

Thus, Valery and his companions gained another weapon to win over their fellow travelers: money.

Of course, Murphy knew that the power gathered through these means was unreliable, but that was the current situation in the Soviet Union. However, Murphy had already marked the price for his gifts.

Want money, power, and eternal youth?

No problem, just hand over your soul.

Murphy felt that this request was not unreasonable.

Even if the devil came, he would say it was an equal exchange.

According to the intelligence from Little Barty, more than 800 doses of the drug have been injected into various key personnel. Through them, Valery and Qin Yeli's various orders can finally be effectively executed, and this huge national machine is running again.

If necessary, Murphy can directly take over the viruses in these guys' bodies through the Seed of the Mind. At that time, it might be difficult to control them directly, but causing viral encephalitis to make them step down would be no problem at all.

Valery and his forces gradually gained the upper hand. The most radical separatists were killed or arrested as needed, and most of them were dealt with. Just as Murphy was preparing to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the situation in the Soviet Union gradually improving.

Little Barty's urgent call came suddenly.

"Master, we're being watched!" Little Barty said urgently. "Wizards have been appearing around us a lot lately. Yesterday, a werewolf mercenary went missing, as did a former Watcher... Muggles couldn't have killed them silently; it could only have been done by wizards. The wizards of Sukuriland have discovered us."

Has it finally arrived?

Murphy had actually anticipated this situation, and in fact, the current situation is much better than he expected.

At the time, the train attack was impossible to cover up. All he could do was change the original plan to replace Qin Yeli to brainwashing him, so as to avoid being directly exposed when the Soviet wizards investigated. However, at least three Soviet wizards died before and after the attack, and three others went missing, one of whom was a high-ranking shaman. To say that the Soviet wizards had no reaction would be wishful thinking.

The attack occurred last November, and six months have passed since then. The other side's response has been much slower than expected.

There must be some reason for this, perhaps something he can exploit.

Now that the victim has finally come knocking, Murphy is still unaware of the other party's intentions. If they were there to demand an explanation, why would they have secretly kidnapped his people? Or perhaps, the other party hasn't figured out his intentions either? Is this just a test?

"Temporarily halt operations and concentrate our forces as much as possible," Murphy said. "Find out their objectives, and ideally, make contact with them."

On their own territory, directly confronting a magical government is somewhat unrealistic—especially since the other side is an imperial system with well-trained battle mages, whose overall combat strength might even surpass that of the British wizarding world.

Let's try to have a dialogue first, and then see if there's any room for negotiation.

"Yes, Master."

However, as soon as he ended the call, Little Barty walked out of his room and saw seven or eight people lying haphazardly on the floor.

A man wearing deer antlers appeared in the courtyard at some point.

This is Little Barty's hideout. He has one identity as a high-ranking KGB agent, and he also plays the role of a businessman in the pharmaceutical industry. The people outside are his hired bodyguards.

"So, you're their leader?" the man said in very broken English. "I advise you not to resist, or I can't guarantee you'll survive."

Barty paused, his hand holding the wand still. "Who are you? Whatever you want, we can talk."

"Talk?" A wisp of pale blue mist emanated from the man's eyes, making him appear like a deity. "You are intruders, you have no right to talk. Come with me obediently, and perhaps the Grand Guild will spare your life."

"Grand Duke?" Little Barty keenly noticed something amiss. "Weren't you here on the Emperor's orders?"

Previously, Murphy had gained some basic understanding of the Soviet magical world through interrogating those Soviet wizards, and naturally shared this information with Barty and his team to facilitate their work.

The man frowned, as if realizing he had said too much. "Stranger, this is your last warning. Put down your wand and come with me, or else..."

"Otherwise, you intend to execute foreign envoys without authorization?" Suddenly, an old voice came from outside the courtyard gate again.

The man suddenly turned around, and in an instant, a round shield made of water formed behind him. With a "bang," a black object that appeared out of nowhere struck the round shield, but it failed to break through the water's defense.

However, just when the man thought he was safe, a breeze blew by, something seemed to flicker in the air, and then the man's head rolled off his neck.

Amidst the gushing blood, an old woman dressed as a maid slowly strolled over. "Boy, tell your master that if he still wants to continue his plans, he should go to Priozolsk."

"Remember, only he can go."

(End of this chapter)