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Chapter 173: Conspiracy and Encounter
Chapter 173: Conspiracy and Encounter
After their conversation, the Shopkeeper and Liam returned to the store. The recent events had made Liam feel extremely uneasy, so he and Hermione quickly finished their purchase and left the shop. As they stepped out of the store, two more people emerged from the back yard. One was Headmaster Fernando, and the other was a rather unremarkable man named Hans. If Liam had been there, he would have recognized Hans as the person who had directed them to this shop earlier.
"Frank, is that young man reliable?" Hans asked the Shopkeeper.
"He's even better than we thought. I had only heard that one of the British students could enter the Emerald Dream, and I thought his skills might be worth a try. But the conflict that arose from the misunderstanding revealed that his strength far exceeds my expectations", the Shopkeeper, Frank, replied.
"But I still have some doubts. According to the information I have, that boy is from a pure Muggle family. However, the powerful spells he cast without a wand and the magic weapon he wielded were far from what a Muggle-born wizard should possess. If he's a spy for the Chimera Society, what then?" the middle-aged wizard, who seemed to be an Auror, said with some suspicion.
"Oh, Hans, you've been an Auror squad leader for too long; you're becoming overly paranoid. Someone who can enter the Emerald Dream wouldn't align with the Chimera Society, a group that uses dark magic to manipulate nature. Based on my years of experience, that young man is not a bad person", Headmaster Fernando countered.
"I agree, Hans", Frank the Shopkeeper chimed in. "When he mistakenly thought I was trying to kill him, he didn't run away but followed me. This shows he has confidence in his abilities. Moreover, he has friends here whom he wants to protect. So, from that perspective, he's a good person. We don't need to doubt him."
"Alright, you might be right. I guess I was being too suspicious", the middle-aged Auror conceded. "I really hope we can catch all the Chimera Society members this time. The item that the Saints brought over during their defection has been in their hands for too long. Even though Grindelwald placed many seals on it, I'm worried they might have found a way to break them. If that's the case, the young man's strength could be a good thing. I hope he can hold them off long enough for us to catch the Chimera Society."
"Yes, I think so too", Headmaster Fernando agreed. "That item is too dangerous to be in the hands of a group of lunatics and terrorists. If not for the fact that we know most of the Chimera Society, I wouldn't have resorted to using an unfamiliar British student as an informant. It goes against my principles as a headmaster to involve someone who has nothing to do with this."
"Yes, I hope everything goes smoothly. But you don't need to feel guilty about using the young man. I'll make sure to give him ample compensation. Besides, we're doing a good deed, not an evil one. In this case, a little white lie is acceptable", Frank the Shopkeeper concluded.
Of course, Liam had no idea about the conversation taking place inside the shop. Otherwise, he would never have accepted the task, knowing it involved the important legacy of the Saints and Grindelwald. It didn't seem like something he could complete easily.
Unaware of the trouble that was about to befall him, Liam and Hermione returned to the street. After purchasing a large bag of potion ingredients and mailing them to the Weasley Twins via the Owl Post Office, the three of them found a local Great Hall to have lunch.
Indeed, it was three people. Liam and the others met Zhang Qiu at the Owl Post Office, where she was writing a letter to Cedric. With Halloween approaching, everyone was busy preparing for the holiday. After chatting for a while in the hall, they decided to go to lunch together.
Since they were in the Great Hall, they naturally enjoyed local cuisine with a native flavor. Liam ordered a roasted Golden Dragonfish for his lunch.
"Why are you eating this spiky freshwater fish?" Hermione asked curiously, as she ate her plate of roasted meat rice.
"You see, this fish is kept as an ornamental fish in the Orient. A particularly fine specimen can cost thousands of pounds. I chose this fish to experience the luxury of it", Liam explained, using his knife and fork to break down a piece of the fish.
During lunch, they gradually got to know Zhang Qiu better. As a top student in Ravenclaw, she had a lot in common with Hermione. Through their conversation, Liam learned many things he hadn't known before.
For instance, Zhang Qiu was the most beautiful girl Liam knew, not the plain-looking character from the movie, which was more in line with J.K. Rowling’s original description. Another interesting fact was that Zhang Qiu was a half-blood witch. Her mother worked at the Ministry of Magic, while her father, a Muggle, ran a restaurant in London's Chinatown. She had started to show magical abilities as a child and gradually became part of the Wizarding World.
For example, she told Liam and Hermione that she had been a fan of the Tutshill Tornados since she was six, which influenced her decision to become a player.
Liam was a bit surprised to learn that Zhang Qiu was a half-blood, as her early exposure to the Wizarding World had led him to assume she was a pureblood. But thinking about it, the British Wizarding World was quite small, and the chances of finding a suitable pureblood Chinese wizard and witch were slim. Therefore, it made sense for Zhang Qiu’s mother to marry a Muggle of the same ethnicity.
What was a bit disappointing for Liam was that, because her parents were early immigrants, Zhang Qiu spoke only Cantonese and not Mandarin. This meant that Liam and Zhang Qiu had to communicate in English.
Hermione was surprised by this situation where people who spoke the same native language couldn’t communicate, but considering China’s population exceeded that of all of Europe, it wasn’t entirely surprising.
The most surprising thing was that Zhang Qiu actually knew Liam’s grandfather. This wasn’t too surprising, given that Liam’s grandfather had once run a restaurant in London's Chinatown. The area was small, and it was common for restaurant owners on the same street to know each other.
However, in Zhang Qiu’s story, Liam discovered something interesting. When Zhang Qiu was around five or six, Liam’s grandfather had visited her home and seen her levitate a cup during dinner. At the time, Liam’s grandfather had remained calm and continued to drink tea with Zhang Qiu’s grandfather. So, to this day, Zhang Qiu wasn’t sure whether Liam’s grandfather had actually noticed the levitating cup.
It seemed that his grandfather, who had retired to China, had some interesting stories to tell. Liam thought to himself.
After lunch, Zhang Qiu bid them farewell and went off to explore other parts of the castle, while Liam and Hermione decided to visit the crowded bookstores during the midday heat when no one else was around.
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(End of Chapter)
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