days at Hogwarts

Chapter 483 Bagman behaves suspiciously
"Harry!" Bagman's baby face showed a bright smile, "I just hope to meet you! How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Very good, thank you." Harry's expression was stiff. He had never been used to Bagman's strange enthusiasm for him.

"I wonder if I can have a few words with you alone, Harry?" Bagman smiled and looked at the people around him, "Excuse me, can you make it easier for us?"

"Uh..." Ron didn't really want to agree.

"Okay!" Hermione responded crisply, picked up two glasses of butterbeer and put them into Loren's hands, walked around behind him, stretched out her two hands and put them on his shoulders, pushed him and went to find something else. Seats were taken.

Ron glanced at Bagman and followed him.

Loren was restrained by two full glasses of butterbeer, and there was a driver behind her, so she could only push her forward.

"Aren't you curious what they would say?"

"curious!"

"Then you are still leaving?"

"Lower his guard."

"How despicable, Pilot Granger."

"I know you think so too, Morgan Cart."

"..."

The two walked around several tables and chairs, and finally found a seat not far behind Bagman to sit down, with Ron following behind.

The three of them looked at each other and tacitly agreed to keep quiet, eavesdropping on the conversation not far away.

Bagman smiled helplessly at Harry: "Actually, what I mean is that we can leave alone for a while."

"The result is the same..." Harry looked over Bagman's shoulder and met the eyes of the three people behind him. His eyes moved slightly, and then he moved away calmly.

"Your friends are so considerate, especially the red-haired boy." Bagman winked at him, with a weird smile on his face, "I remember his name was Ron, right? He's a child of the Weasley family. There are so many that I can’t remember their names.”

"Yes, Ron Weasley..." Harry looked at his expression, not sure what he wanted to do.

"The friendship in school days is the most memorable, isn't it? You should understand, it's like a treasure..." Bagman blinked again, which made Harry feel uncomfortable in his heart.

"Mr. Bagman, what do you want from me?"

"Oh, Harry, I want to congratulate you again on your excellent performance in dealing with that tree peak." Bagman praised sincerely, "It's great! Clean and neat!"

"Thank you." Harry frowned slightly. If it was just a blessing, he wouldn't have to move Loren and the others away at all.

However, Bagman seemed to be in no hurry to uncover the answer to the mystery, or perhaps there were some clues that he had not noticed.

Harry paid attention to Bagman's gaze and saw him glancing at the goblins on the other side of the bar in the mirror. The goblins' clothing styles were very different and they did not seem to be local. They all had squinting black eyes and were looking here silently. .

"It's an absolute nightmare." Bagman saw Harry looking at the goblins and said in a low voice, "They speak terrible English. It's like going back to the Quidditch World Cup with those... The Bulgarians are entangled..."

"But at least the Bulgarians can make gestures so that people can understand. These guys keep mumbling and talking in their turkey language..." Bagman laughed low and short.

Harry noticed that the goblins looked at Bagman warily, as if they regarded him as a prisoner and were worried that he would escape.

He couldn't help but wonder: "What do they want?"

"Uh... they..." Bagman suddenly became nervous, "They are looking for Barty Crouch."

"Why come here to find him? Can't they contact the Ministry of Magic?"

"Oh, Barty has handed over all the affairs of the Ministry of Magic to interns." Bagman stuttered, "He is only thinking about the Four Wizards Tournament now. Harry, you will not believe it. He actually plans to I threw it in-"

Bagman suddenly paused. He lowered his voice and looked around cautiously: "I can't tell you these things directly, and you must never tell anyone about this. Do you understand, ha?" profit?"

"Understand what?" Harry looked confused, "I didn't understand anything!"

"Yes, that's it!" Bagman said with a delighted smile, "Baty has been too busy recently and hasn't had much rest. He's a bit crazy. He actually handed over all the affairs of the department to interns... This is nothing. Good news, you know Rita Skeeter is still asking around, this matter will definitely be regarded as a disaster if it appears in the newspapers..."

"But fortunately, Rita Skeeter hasn't appeared for a long time..." Seeing Harry's increasingly confused eyes, he became nervous again and lowered his voice and said, "Well, after saying so much, I actually want to ask you, how are you doing with that golden egg?"

Golden Egg...Ron...Treasure

Harry vaguely caught something. He looked at Bagman's face and said absently: "Well... not bad."

Bagman suddenly became a little anxious: "Is it okay? Haven't you—"

"Nothing?" Harry asked knowingly.

"Oh, Harry, the other warriors have already started to prepare... I can give you a hint."

"We should solve the mystery alone, shouldn't we?" Harry tried to sound casual and not sound like he was accusing the Director of the Department of Magical Sports and Sports for violating the rules.

"Oh, yes..." Bagman paused and said cautiously: "Listen, Harry, I feel very sad about all this. You were forced into this competition. No one is willing to do it." Look after you, you did not participate voluntarily..."

Bagman's voice was so low that Harry had to get closer to hear him clearly: "If I can help, give you a little help...it's not a bad thing. I'm optimistic about you and hope you can go well." ...It doesn’t matter, as long as you say a word.”

"Thank you, but I'm pretty much done with the Golden Egg."

"Really?" Bagman was simply annoyed.

"Yes, the secret is in the water, isn't it?" Harry knew clearly that Bagman was a member of the referee team, and he had no need to hide it.

This sentence was like a happy spell, making Bagman suddenly smile: "Oh, yes, I knew you could solve it, you are very smart, I saw it from the time you dealt with the fire dragon! "

"Okay, I still have a lot of things to deal with, so I have to leave quickly." Bagman's smooth little face turned red, "Nice to see you... and your friends. Good luck to you, Harry. "

He hurried out of the tavern, and the goblins stood up from their chairs and followed him out.

The driver Granger pushed the Morgan trolley back to the bar again. As soon as he sat down, he asked aloud: "What does he want?"

There was a part that was said very quietly just now, and she didn't hear it clearly.

"He wanted to give me some hints about the second project..." Harry took a sip of butterbeer. "In fact, he already gave me hints."

"He shouldn't do this!" Hermione said with a stern expression, "He is one of the referees!"

No one paid attention to her justice, even Loren was lazy.

Ron asked excitedly: "What is what?"

"It's you." Hermione slammed the table and said crisply. She heard the previous words clearly.

Harry's expression was so suppressed that he finally had a chance to show off his cleverness, but was snatched away by Hermione. "Me? What does it have to do with me?"

Harry looked happy, but heard Loren say quickly: "They are going to throw you into the lake, let Harry find you within an hour."

"!!"

Harry's eyebrows were knitted together, looking very uncomfortable. He looked at Ron eagerly——

Quickly ask about the reasoning process, quick about the process!

"Oh!" Ron clapped his hands and suddenly realized, "It turns out that you mentioned me and messy friendships earlier on purpose. It turned out to be a hint of this!"

Harry's eyebrows drooped and he looked at the three people expressionlessly, his eyes blank.

I'm tired and want to sink you all into the lake without pulling you up.

"What do you think, Ron?" Hermione sipped her butterbeer.

"There's nothing simpler than this!" Ron said proudly, "Don't forget there is coral stone, then I can also be in the limelight!"

"This is good for us, but be careful of unexpected situations..." Hermione glanced at Loren unconsciously, and there was a circle of hop foam on the edge of his lips. She paused before continuing, "You have bought gilly grass. ?"

"I bought it, it's quite expensive."

Harry came back to his senses and said: "The storage method is very special. Ron and I both thought he was cheating, so we used the bargaining method taught by Loren to negotiate with him and almost got kicked out."

Loren put his chin on the table and his head was empty: "I didn't grasp the essence."

"..."

The conversation became lighter during the rest of the time. They lay lazily on the tavern table, and things like the Goblet of Fire and mermaids were put aside for the time being...

In the evening, the streets of Hogsmeade were already lit with sporadic lights. The four of them left the tavern together and walked through the cold and damp paths back to school.

The road was muddy with water from melted ice and snow, and every step he took would leave mud spots on his trouser legs and clothes.

It has not snowed heavily for several days. Occasionally we will see sleet, and more often it will be fine rain. The rain is not heavy, falling one by one, but it falls frequently, always in the middle of the night and early in the morning.

The weather is getting warmer, and the Black Lake is slowly beginning to thaw. Durmstrang's big ship is still parked on the lake. The mast is straight, but it looks like the remains of a sunken ship that has been salvaged. The gunwale is shining with a dim, foggy light. ,
"Look, it's Krum!"

Following Ron's line of sight, he saw Krum walking from the cabin to the deck. Wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, he nimbly climbed to the side of the ship, stretched out his arms, and dived into the water with a splash.

The black head was floating in the middle of the lake, swimming very fast.

Ron shuddered in sympathy: "Hey, it's January now, it must be terribly cold!"

"He must be practicing for the second project." Harry said solemnly, "I wonder how he will solve the problem of breathing underwater..."

"Think about yourself." Loren made a fist with his right hand and covered his mouth with a yawn. "Although you can breathe underwater, your swimming skills are definitely not as good as his."

"That's right, you have to practice as well!" Hermione nodded.

"Well, I'll try my best."

……

Sunday, prefects' washroom.

Colorful mist floated in the room, and a dense and thick layer of foam was spread on the hot water of the pool. Harry suddenly emerged from the water, wiped the foam from his face, and exhaled comfortably and melancholy.

"This swimming speed is definitely not as fast as Krum, and there is no mermaid to lead the way for me during the competition..." Harry leaned against the edge of the pool and lamented, "What should I do..."

"Maybe I can help you." Myrtle crossed her legs and sat on a dragon head, blinking at him from behind her thick lenses.

"Are you familiar with the underwater terrain?"

"Oh, I sometimes go to the lake." Myrtle spread her hands. "Sometimes I have no choice. Someone flushes my toilet when I am not prepared..."

"..."

Harry restrained himself from thinking about that scene and silently mourned for the ghost girl for a few seconds, "Thank you very much."

"This is what a friend should do. You're welcome. Just come to my bathroom and visit me from time to time."

"Well, I'll try my best, but please close your eyes now..." Harry climbed up to dry himself and put on his clothes again, "Now, I have to go to Professor Snape to learn Occlumency... Goodbye , Myrtle.”

"Farewell," said Myrtle sadly.

……

Walking through the dark underground corridor, Harry came to the door of Dean Slytherin's office with light steps, but before he could knock on the door, he heard a familiar voice coming from inside.

"We need to talk."

It was Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang, his voice restless.

"I'll talk to you tonight, Igor," Snape said calmly.

"I want to talk now, while you can't slip away. Severus, you've been avoiding me lately..."

"...Don't understand what all the fuss is about, Igor."

"Severus, you can't pretend this didn't happen!" Karkaroff's voice sounded hoarse and frightened, as if he was afraid of being heard. "It's become more and more obvious over the past few months... …I’m very worried right now, I can’t deny it…”

"Then run away." Snape's voice was very impatient. "Run away. I will excuse you, but I want to stay in Hogwarts."

"Severus—"

Just when Karkaroff was still struggling, Snape suddenly raised his voice: "Come in, Potter."

Harry's heart skipped a few beats, he quickly stopped his random thoughts and opened the wooden door with a normal expression.

"Good afternoon, Professor."

When he saw Karkaroff standing aside, he showed just the right amount of surprise, "Principal Karkaroff? Oh, nice to see you."

Karkaroff looked at him deeply, then looked at Snape, his goatee with curls at the end trembled a few times, snorted at them and strode out of the office.

Harry stepped sideways to make way for the passage, a series of questions popping up in his mind.

When did he and Snape start calling each other by their Christian names?
What did he want to talk about, what did the two of them have to talk about?

Why is Karkaroff so worried?
(End of this chapter)