Harry Potter and the Burnt Badger

After that, there was another long silence.

Until Professor Dumbledore spoke first again.

"The night is fine, Moon. Go back and rest early. You will definitely have classes tomorrow morning." The professor's voice returned to its usual calmness, and he whispered softly, "Everything about Lockhart is as usual, although I don't know yet." What did he provoke in the Forbidden Forest, but I don't think it was Voldemort who is still here. As for the diary..."

"Try what you want, but don't take risks. If you can't destroy it, leave it to me. Maybe I can find a way. After all, this is where the old man's experience should come into play, isn't it?"

After saying that, Professor Dumbledore winked at Moon and said, "Go back, good night."

"Well, good night, Professor."

Quietly, Moon lowered his figure once again.The old man still stood in front of the window. It was not until he saw Lockhart walking out of the Forbidden Forest and running towards the castle gate that he frowned in disgust and turned back to his office.

There was no words for a night, the clear moonlight gradually disappeared into time, and the everlasting red sun slowly revealed its brilliance.

Another day at breakfast, new and shocking news reached the ears of the people in Munn.

Last night, Harry, Ron and Hermione were also locked up by Lockhart. They cleaned the toilet that Moon and others missed yesterday, and it is said that Lockhart also prepared a new and more effective punishment for confinement. .

At this time, the little wizards of Gryffindor also started to get excited about the upcoming Quidditch match.

If Harry is also imprisoned for a month, then Gryffindor's next game...even if it is not said to be a loss or a win, at least it will definitely not be easy to win.

"Harry and the others are so miserable...Confinement is more terrifying than cleaning the bathroom." Demi said regretfully, "I can hardly think of anything more terrifying."

"Lockhart is simply a pervert now." Milton whispered. "Think about it, even Moon and Harry were imprisoned by him, who among us can escape? Let me tell you, he Now he must be thinking about how to find a reason to teach us all a lesson - he is clearly seeking revenge for his personal revenge!"

Milton's words were indeed a bit sensational, but the problem was that all the Hufflepuff wizards who heard his thoughts nodded quickly, obviously agreeing with it.

Everyone agreed that Lockhart was seeking revenge for his previous embarrassment.

And when it was dinner time, when the three Harrys walked into the auditorium with speechless faces, almost everyone guessed that they must have learned the specific contents of tonight's confinement.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the news to spread to all four long tables - Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sent to the Forbidden Forest by Lockhart tonight. The reason was very simple. Hagrid reported it a few days ago. After hearing the strange noise in the Forbidden Forest, inexplicable, brand-new footprints appeared in the Forbidden Forest.

Of course, Hagrid has not and will never apply for the young wizard to accompany him to patrol the Forbidden Forest, but Lockhart made it very clear that there is strength in numbers, and it is always a good thing to have someone to help - he even He even volunteered to join in.

"Oh my god! The Forbidden Forest!" Demi covered her face in surprise. "Aren't there monsters everywhere? Does Lockhart want to kill Harry and the others?"

"No way." Atman shook his head. "No matter how revengeful Lockhart is and wants to teach us a lesson, he will never dare to let his students die in the Forbidden Forest, otherwise he will bear a great responsibility."

"Perhaps he is so vindictive that he is going crazy and is reckless about the consequences!"

"Maybe he's gone crazy!"

"I think so. Let the little wizard go to the Forbidden Forest. Damn he can figure it out!"

Just as the little wizards of Hufflepuff were chatting about this shocking news, the three Harrys suddenly walked over and came directly to the four of them, Moon and Garr. .

"Professor Lockhart asked me to tell you -" Hermione said solemnly, with a dissatisfied and speechless expression on her face. It was obvious at a glance that she hated Lockhart "You must follow me tonight." Go to the Forbidden Forest and meet at the door of Hagrid's hut at seven o'clock."

After saying that, Hermione sighed, turned around and left with Harry and Ron, and left the Great Hall directly.

Moon and Cedric looked at each other, and then they patted Gal's shoulders together to prevent Gal from losing control of himself and laughing.

Arlin was smarter. He pretended to have a stomachache and was already lying on the long table, holding his stomach and twitching.

However, there is a limit to his cleverness - the twitching looks less like a stomachache and more like epilepsy.

Unlike the four of them, the other little wizards in Hufflepuff were all relaxed now. No one even thought that Harry and the three of them would have problems in the Forbidden Forest.

Just kidding, if you just follow Lockhart, that loser who can't even deal with a Cornish elf, into the Forbidden Forest, everyone will be sweating coldly.

But following Munn into the Forbidden Forest?

Even if you can't roam around in the Forbidden Forest, as long as you don't cause trouble and patrol the forest obediently, it's probably hard to think of anything going wrong.

Something went wrong?It's impossible...

Maybe the promised confinement will turn into a reasonable night out.

Well, it should be like this.

Everyone was optimistic, except for Moon, who began to feel a little worried.

Chapter 77 Encirclement

When it comes to confidence in his own strength, Moon certainly has it.

What's more, the one who really protected them this time was not only Moon, but also Professor Dumbledore, who had been watching them.Not to mention the little Lockhart, even if you resurrect Voldemort with full health, you may not be able to get any benefits.

The worry in Moon's heart actually came from the uncertainty of the matter - no one knew what Lockhart had done.

From the bottom of his heart, Moon hated this uncertainty.

But no matter what, what is coming will always come, and even if you want to hide, you may not be able to.

At seven o'clock in the evening, Moon carried a lantern borrowed from elsewhere, took his three roommates and Harry, tightened their clothes, and walked out of the castle gate.

Logically speaking, Mr. Filch should have sent them there this time, but for some reason, they waited here for a long time and Mr. Filch didn't show up.

Seeing that the time that had been set was gradually approaching, Moon and others had no choice but to give up waiting, set off first, and walked to Hagrid's hut alone.

The temperature tonight is not too low, but the wind is a bit strong, which makes the clothes on several people's clothes rustle. Even the not-so-light wind lantern in Moon's hand was blown from side to side, making it old and swaying. From time to time, the rusty handle joint made a tooth-piercing noise, which was disturbing.

After walking a short distance, he saw Hagrid's room getting closer and closer. The next moment, Harry suddenly exclaimed, raised his hand and pointed forward, "Look, it's Hagrid!"

Several people heard the sound and turned forward, and sure enough they saw Hagrid holding another wind lantern a few sizes larger in his hand, waving to them with his arms raised, saying hello.

This action was like a lighthouse that was encountered after being lost at sea for several days. It immediately inspired several young wizards to become motivated and ran towards Hagrid as fast as possible, leaving only Munn watching them behind. The figure from behind shook his head helplessly.

They were overjoyed too early and just stared at Hagrid, unaware that Lockhart was standing not far behind Hagrid.

Then, before three seconds had passed, the six people who had been running wildly suddenly stopped.At the same time, Moon behind him suddenly heard Ron muttering loudly and asking: "That's Lockhart, right? Did I read that right? I thought he wouldn't really come here. !”

It turns out that no matter how exciting it is to meet Hagrid, it can't offset the unappetizing feeling caused by Lockhart.

"Okay, don't discuss it here. Come over quickly. You guys are just running around and will confuse Hagrid in a moment." Within a moment, Moon had caught up with them and chuckled. He said, "He is our biggest protector during the confinement tonight. If we really make him dizzy, we will all be in trouble."

Listening to Moon's teasing, the group of people looked at each other, then laughed together.

If Hagrid had been knocked unconscious so easily, he would have been lost in the Forbidden Forest and unable to get out.

Moon shook his head helplessly, took two steps forward, and returned to the front of the queue. Braving the wind, he gradually led everyone to the door of Hagrid's hut.

"Ha, I thought you would arrive a few minutes late - where is Filch? He should have brought you here with him." Hagrid twisted the knob of the wind lamp and increased the flame in the lampshade. He should be happy to do things like confinement for the little wizard."

Moon shrugged, "We don't know either. We have been waiting for him at the castle gate for a while, but he never showed up."

As he spoke, he looked at Lockhart.

Killing intent, very strong killing intent. From the moment they approached, Lockhart made it clear that he wanted to kill them quickly - especially him.Moon was almost convinced that if Lockhart had the power to rival Professor Dumbledore, he would kill himself right now with a killing curse without any further delay.

But to be honest, this didn't surprise Moon. Lockhart's desire to kill him couldn't be more reasonable.

After all, to Lockhart, Moon was almost the same person who could cut off his financial resources.

Cutting off someone's wealth is like killing one's parents.

"Huh, that old..." Hearing Moon's answer, Hagrid almost blurted out a curse word. Fortunately, he was probably worried that Lockhart was behind him, so he immediately controlled his mouth and turned around to look. Turning to Lockhart, who was still dressed as if he was going to a party even though he was about to enter the Forbidden Forest, "Forget it, Professor Lockhart, shall we set off now?"

Although the words he spoke sounded like a request, judging from his actual actions, Hagrid had actually waved Fang to his side, and even deliberately took a step towards the Forbidden Forest.

For a mixed-race giant, this way of expressing dissatisfaction can be said to be very tactful.If Lockhart hadn't been carrying the reputation of being a professor, Hagrid probably wouldn't even pay attention to him.

Lockhart didn't speak. He just glanced at Hagrid, then at the other little wizards, and then nodded, indicating that they were ready to go.

Killing intent...and fear.

Moon's brows furrowed slightly. He wasn't sure why Lockhart was afraid.

What is he afraid of?afraid of failure?Or was he afraid of the power he wanted to use to kill several little wizards?

Seeing that Lockhart didn't speak, Hagrid naturally didn't bother to say anything. He smiled at the young wizards, patted the crossbow on his back and the edge of the red umbrella exposed at the skirt of his clothes, and then spoke. He strode towards the forbidden forest with long strides.

It's like saying "Don't be afraid, I can protect you."

Hagrid's actions undoubtedly gave the little wizards who were not very afraid of tonight's trip to the Forbidden Forest another reassurance. So, under the cold moonlight tonight, a very interesting scene appeared - obviously We were about to enter the dangerous Forbidden Forest, but except for Hagrid, who was walking at the front and was fully vigilant, six of the seven little wizards who were imprisoned looked like they were here to enjoy the mountains and rivers. The remaining Munn looked absent-minded, as if he was thinking about something.

Of course, what was even more interesting was Lockhart. That guy walked at the end, with no fear or vigilance in his eyes. He only showed a hint of madness when he looked at Moon or Hermione.

The wind was still blowing, and the leaves in the forest immediately made bursts of rustling sounds. Occasionally, one or two rabbits, mice and other things could be seen slipping away from the ground nearby. They would stop after running far away. He took a step back and turned his head to look at them.

The chirping of birds and the cry of animals, these sounds that were not noticed before entering the Forbidden Forest, all flooded into everyone's ears as soon as they entered the forest area, as if they suddenly came out of nowhere. The same.

In such a quiet and weird atmosphere, the group gradually advanced towards the forbidden forest for 5 minutes.

Then, Lockhart finally spoke the first words of the night: "Let's split up."

"Excuse me?" Hagrid seemed to have heard wrongly. He turned around and looked at Lockhart as if he had seen a ghost. "Professor, I didn't hear you clearly?"

"I said, let's split up." Lockhart repeated his words again. "You tell me the route and end point of the forest patrol, and I will take a few students to take a look. This way we can move faster, right? ?”

"This is in the Forbidden Forest, Professor." Hagrid stopped, holding the crossbow in one hand and holding the lantern in front of Lockhart with the other hand. "This place is full of dangers, unlike those safe places in the castle." .If you act separately, you are likely to encounter unnecessary dangers. By then, you have to know that I can't apparate and appear next to you with a 'pop'."

Lockhart paused for a moment, and then his face became more serious. "Of course I know it's dangerous here, but you don't think that a working Defense Against the Dark Arts professor can't protect his students, Hagrid?" gentlemen."

Hagrid almost laughed in anger. You, a master who can be hung up by a Cornish elf, are here to tell me about protecting students?What protection do you rely on?Hang yourself up?Or show the monsters in the Forbidden Forest how you expelled them in the book?

But obviously, as Lockhart said, facing a working professor, Hagrid couldn't question it so straightforwardly - or in other words, he shouldn't even question it in the first place.

"How do you want to split up? 'Professor' Lockhart."

"I'm going with Mr. Fox, Mr. Fuller, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, and the remaining three will follow you." Lockhart had obviously already thought about these things in his mind, so Hagrid just asked When he came out, he quickly replied, "That's it."

Hagrid was stunned. He originally thought that Lockhart would never choose to team up with Moon, whom he had a grudge against, so he raised his objections so decisively.

But what he didn't expect was that Lockhart actually chose Moon first - if this was the case, Hagrid felt that he could try to split up.After all, their forest patrol location does not require going to the depths of the Forbidden Forest, they only need to wander around the outer areas.

Hagrid felt that Munn could still deal with the things that might appear outside the Forbidden Forest.

But after thinking about it, he turned to look at Munn and asked for his opinion, "Moon, what do you think?"

"I have no problem, everything will follow your arrangements." Moon Enyan said concisely and concisely.

"Then it's settled." Before Hagrid could say anything else, Lockhart had already decided the matter. "Let's go, four, let's patrol and search elsewhere. Don't stop here." It’s a waste of time here.”

Garr looked at Lockhart with confusion on his face, who had already taken the initiative to walk in the other direction just after he finished speaking. It was not until Moon patted his shoulder from behind that he followed him as if he had just woken up from a dream.

For some reason, Gal always felt that everything tonight seemed to have an extremely weird feeling.

Watching these people gradually disappear into the woods, Hagrid turned back to look at Cedric and Ron curiously, and asked with confusion: "Why do I always think they are weird - Loha Tur and Moon, and even Harry and Hermione."

Obviously, he probably had the same idea as Gal.

"Your feeling is not wrong, Hagrid." Cedric scratched his hair. "The atmosphere between them is weird. However, I think at least for now, we should continue patrolling the forest normally. This can at least avoid them. If we encounter any danger later, we won't be able to rush there immediately. What's more... well, with Munn over there, there won't be any big trouble."

Hagrid nodded, agreeing with Cedric's idea.But before leaving, he couldn't help but take one last look in the direction where Lockhart led the people away.

…………

After bidding farewell to Hagrid and others, Lockhart still kept his straight face and remained silent.

For Gal, this couldn't be better.The howling night wind and the difficult woodland were already making him feel uncomfortable. If Lockhart kept chattering next to him - Merlin, what kind of hell it would be.

But Hermione's expression was obviously not that happy. She kept looking at Harry, Moon, and Lockhart, and seemed to be getting more and more anxious.

Moreover, this anxiety seemed to have started when they separated.

At the end of the team, Munn took out his pocket watch and took a look at the time while following the steps of the people in front.

Nearly six or seven minutes had passed since they entered the Forbidden Forest.According to the time that Moon got when checking Lockhart's whereabouts two days ago, it is estimated that it will only take them about ten to two ten minutes at most to reach the place where Lockhart wants to take them.

After all, the half hour Lockhart spent previously included both the journey in and the journey out.And if what he prepared in the Forbidden Forest was a living creature, he would still have to have a conversation.Lin Linzong calculated it all, and Lockhart only used up those three ten minutes.

Hermione, who had always been a little uneasy since the beginning of the separate operations, suddenly spoke softly, "It always seems very quiet in the Forbidden Forest. It's not as scary as everyone usually says, right?"

No one knew who she was asking. In short, Lockhart, who had always taken the lead, did not look back. Harry was also confused about this question.And Moon - just as he was about to answer, Garr, who had also asked Hagrid many similar questions, had already given the answer first, "Because this place is not close to the depths of the Forbidden Forest. In a place like this, Hagrid will ask for it from time to time." During an inspection, if there are any ferocious beasts, that would be a real abnormality.”

Hermione blinked, took two steps back while Garr was speaking, lowered her voice and said to Moon: "Moon, should we talk to Lockhart more? But there are only a few people here, it's not enough ?"

However, Moon did not respond to her immediately. Instead, he suddenly frowned, looked around the surrounding scene inexplicably, and then raised his hand and patted his chest gently.

Hermione was about to ask when she suddenly realized that Garr had finished his answer, and there were no more concealing voices around him, so she could only stare at Munn curiously, wanting to see what Munn was going to do.

Then she saw that Moon took out a pocket watch, opened the cover and took a look at the time.

22 minutes have passed since they entered the Forbidden Forest.

Gal's words fully proved that he was just talking. In fact, he had never entered the Forbidden Forest, and he had no way to identify the current location and judge whether he was still outside the Forbidden Forest.

In fact, they have now crossed the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The Life Awareness Technique was constantly feeding back surrounding information to Munn, which made Munn clearly aware that they were unknowingly surrounded by some kind of malicious creature.

Although the Life Awareness Technique cannot allow Munn to see what the things surrounding them look like, it can allow Munn to detect some characteristics - such as the strange size and the ability to easily walk on tree trunks without the help of external objects. Coming and going...