Chapter 139: The Hunger Games
Chapter 139: The Hunger Games
With the map spread out before him, Ved scoured it carefully.
At this time, most of the students were having their meal in the Great Hall, leaving only a handful of people in the dormitories.
Ved located the Gryffindor common room and carefully scrutinized the few black dots that were present.
Alicia Spinnet... Geoffrey Hooper... Cormac McLaggen... Dean Thomas... Peter Pettigrew...
There he was.
Ved focused on the tiny black dot that represented Peter Pettigrew. It remained still, perhaps indicating that Peter was asleep. Next to him, Dean Thomas's dot was moving about before eventually leaving the dormitory.
Peter's dot started moving with purpose, rushing to a particular spot and then becoming still again.
Ved speculated that perhaps he was sneaking some snacks from the students' stash, as Ron probably wouldn't provide a rat with too much food. Or maybe he was perusing the newspaper, keeping an eye out for any signs of Death Eaters resurfacing.
Ved left the map on the table and turned to examine the shelves on the wall.
The once empty wooden shelves were now filled with potion bottles of various sizes, neatly arranged with rectangular labels affixed to them.
Within the glass bottles were potions of all colors, some emitting faint mists and others glowing with an ominous black light.
Ved's eyes scanned the labels one by one.
Compound Infusion, Shrinking Solution, Scabies Salve, Swelling Solution, Elixir of Life and Death, White Freshener, Blood Replenisher, Confusion Concoction, Aging Potion...
In addition, there were toxic ingredients such as poison ivy, aconite, wolfsbane, unicorn horn powder, poison feathers, lead powder, and arsenic ore.
Most of the toxic substances were in their raw form. After all, their textbooks wouldn't teach students how to brew deadly poisons. Even if ingredients like aconite or mandrake were used, it would be for their medicinal value.
However, most poisons didn't require much processing; a small amount of powder could be fatal.
Ved inspected the collection, pondering momentarily.
There was no Veritaserum.
It wasn't that he didn't want it, but as a prohibited substance, it was unavailable through regular channels, and Ved certainly couldn't ask Ferdinand to procure it from Knockturn Alley on his behalf.
Perhaps the only place to find the recipe for Veritaserum would be in the Restricted Section of the library.
...
"Advanced Potion-Making?" Mrs. Pince examined the note, taking in the flamboyant signature of Gilderoy Lockhart. "This is a highly dangerous book, Mr. Grey."
"I know," Ved replied. "I'll be cautious and only study the beneficial portions."
"Hmm," Mrs. Pince grumbled. "Professor Lockhart is far too liberal with his approvals..."
She strode into the Restricted Section and soon returned with a thick book that looked like it had seen better days. She handed it to Ved.
Holding the book, Ved didn't leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "Has Professor Lockhart approved any other restricted books for students?"
"A first-year Slytherin student checked out the Most Potente Potions!" Mrs. Pince exclaimed disapprovingly. "He has absolutely no sense of boundaries!"
"That student... wouldn't happen to be Draco Malfoy, would it?" Ved asked, his tone suggestive.
The fleeting expression on Mrs. Pince's face confirmed his guess.
However, the librarian maintained a serious demeanor as she replied, "Don't pry, Mr. Grey. I don't divulge student secrets."
...
"Stay clear of Slytherin, especially Draco Malfoy, for the time being."
Ved issued this warning to the group during the Umbrella Club meeting, shooting a meaningful glance at Michael.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"He borrowed a book on deadly poisons from the library," Ved replied. "I suspect he might be trying to learn some dangerous Dark magic to use on someone."
"Speaking of which..." Hermione glanced at Harry and Neville, "Malfoy hasn't been bothering you guys lately, has he?"
"Nope." Harry frowned, "He joined the Slytherin team, and I thought he'd be showing off for sure!"
"Malfoy hasn't been doing so well lately. I saw him by the basement classrooms once, arguing with a few Slytherins, and he almost got pushed over by Crabbe," Ryan said.
With the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms located close by, they often ran into Slytherin students.
"That's odd," Harry said, puzzled. "Crabbe has always been Malfoy's lackey, hasn't he?"
Padma hinted, "Maybe he doesn't want to be a lackey anymore?"
Michael proudly raised his eyebrows, about to say something, but Ved shook his head at him.
"Forget about Slytherin," Ved said, tapping his wand on his palm. "Have you all mastered the Stunning Spell?"
"Of course." Everyone nodded.
Hermione excitedly asked, "Are we going to learn a new spell?"
Ved shook his head. "In actual combat, you don't need a lot of magic, but you must be extremely familiar with the ones you know. Ideally, you should be able to cast spells successfully without thinking, without incantations, and even without a wand!"
"Nonverbal and wandless magic?" Theo muttered, "That's really difficult..."
"So that's our goal going forward," Ved said.
"For now, what we need to do is simple—draw your wand in the shortest time possible, successfully cast spells while dodging, and make sure you hit your target."
"How do we train?" Michael eagerly asked, "Are we doing a live-action practice again?"
Ved shook his head. "What we did before wasn't really live-action practice; it was more like standing still and throwing spells."
"To truly learn how to use spells, let's play a game."
He smiled as if he had something mischievous in mind.
"What game?" Neville swallowed and asked anxiously.
Ved smiled brightly.
"The Hunger Games!"
...
"Hey, Ved, you're here!"
The Weasley twins patted the fence next to them and waved hello.
Hagrid was pruning the hedges, which were taller than a person, and he happily waved at them when he saw them.
Next to Hagrid was the pumpkin patch, and many of the pumpkins had grown to be taller than a person.
"My goodness, they're huge!" Neville exclaimed.
Harry hadn't visited Hagrid in a few days, and he was surprised to see how much his garden had changed. He asked, "Hagrid, how did you make them grow so tall?"
"Is it the Engorgement Charm?" Hermione turned to Ved and asked, "Are we training here?"
"Yeah, this environment is great. Hiding behind the pumpkins to launch a surprise attack would be hard to guard against, right?"
Fred lay on a smaller pumpkin and laughed.
"Actually, the ideal environment would be the Forbidden Forest, but Hagrid doesn't let us go in, not even at the edges!" George said regretfully.
For Ved, the ideal place would be the Room of Requirement, as it could simulate various environments.
However, with Peter Pettigrew still in the school, he didn't want to reveal this secret to Harry and the others.
(End of Chapter)
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