Chapter 317: An Unexpected Turn
Chapter 317: An Unexpected Turn
After completing the transaction, Harry mentioned that he didn't have enough cash on him at the moment. Liam, being generous, handed the test tubes directly to Harry and showed him how to seal the tube into his robe collar for emergencies. He explained that in a life-threatening situation, there might not be time to fish it out of his pocket, so just biting it would do the trick.
Liam then told Harry he could pay for the test tubes after Little Wolf appraised them during the holidays. Of course, if he used any of the elixirs during the Tournament, he would know if they were genuine.
A little while later, Ginny approached and greeted everyone, then pulled Harry aside to give him a gift. Seeing this, Liam and the others tactfully excused themselves.
As they stepped out of the Three Broomsticks, Ron waved goodbye to Liam and headed straight for Zonko's Joke Shop. Liam and Hermione, meanwhile, began to stroll down the street.
"Do you need to send your gift to your family?" Hermione asked, pointing to the box in Liam's hand.
"Oh, no, I mean, not yet", Liam quickly changed the subject. "By the way, when Ginny came over just now, I thought I caught a whiff of her perfume, and it smelled a lot like the one you bought me. Are you sure you gave me the men's version?"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't make that mistake. Wait, you said Ginny? But Ginny never wears perfume. She told me she wouldn't buy any luxuries until she started earning her own money. Are you sure that scent wasn't on Harry?"
Hermione's rebuttal made Liam feel uneasy. He confirmed, "Ginny really doesn't use perfume?"
"Yeah, why are you so concerned about whether Ginny uses perfume?" Hermione frowned, her expression turning sour.
"I'm worried something might have happened to Ginny." With that, Liam pulled Hermione back toward the Three Broomsticks. On the way, he explained, "Ever since Harry was inexplicably named a Champion, I've felt someone is trying to harm him. Today's incident with Ginny makes me think the person behind it isn't just targeting Harry directly but also those around him."
Sure enough, when they rushed into the Three Broomsticks, they saw a crowd gathered at the bathroom door. Liam and Hermione exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of anxiety in each other's eyes.
"What happened here?" Liam asked a student standing in the crowd.
"They say a Gryffindor girl fainted in the bathroom", the boy replied. The crowd began to part, and a floating stretcher emerged, carrying none other than Ginny Weasley. She was lying there with her eyes closed, clearly unconscious. The onlookers gasped in shock.
"There's no need to panic. The girl just fainted. She'll be fine in a bit", a Ministry of Magic staff member, who was levitating the stretcher with his wand, reassured the crowd. Due to the Triwizard Tournament, there were many Ministry of Magic personnel in Hogsmeade, and they had responded to the incident immediately. They began tending to the injured and investigating the scene while calming the anxious onlookers.
"If Ginny is unconscious, who was the Ginny who went out with Harry just now?" Liam and Hermione both thought, realizing the situation had spiraled out of control.
"I think we should inform the professors", Hermione said, regaining her composure and suggesting the most reasonable course of action.
Just as they were about to leave the bar, someone blocked their path. Liam didn't recognize the witch, but her age and the Hufflepuff robes she wore suggested she was an upper-year student at Hogwarts. "Harry asked me to give this to you", she said, pulling an iron box from her pocket.
Hermione reached out to take it, but Liam noticed something odd about the girl's expression. He immediately recalled Mad-Eye Moody's lesson on the Unforgivable Curses in Defense Against the Dark Arts. The girl's expression was typical of someone under the Imperius Curse.
"Don't touch that box." Liam stepped forward to pull Hermione's outstretched arm, but the girl simply used the momentum to push the box against the spot where Liam was holding Hermione's hand.
The moment Liam's hand touched the iron box, he vanished from the street, and Hermione, whose hand had also been touched by the box, disappeared with him.
"Someone's unconscious!" The crowd, still in shock, hadn't fully grasped what had happened when the older student who had been holding the iron box suddenly rolled her eyes and fainted. Fortunately, news of Ginny's unconsciousness had already reached the castle, and Mad-Eye Moody and Madam Pomfrey arrived just in time to witness Liam and Hermione's disappearance and the girl's fainting spell.
"Stand back." Mad-Eye Moody used his staff to clear the crowd and bent down to examine the girl. After waving his wand and casting a few spells, a golden light swept over her, and a dark green smoke began to rise from her body.
"Damn, a Dark Wizard's curse." Mad-Eye Moody immediately identified the cause of the girl's unconsciousness and began casting counter-curses. "Madam Pomfrey, my spells can only temporarily stabilize her condition. We need to get her to St. Mungo's right away. The Hospital Wing at Hogwarts might not be equipped to handle this."
"What about you, Alastor?" Madam Pomfrey took over, continuing to cast counter-curses as she asked Mad-Eye Moody, who was preparing to leave.
"I need to find out what happened. This could be part of a larger plot." Mad-Eye Moody replied in a serious tone. "Ever since Harry was mysteriously chosen as a Champion, something hasn't felt right. Now I need to see what those behind the scenes are up to."
With that, Mad-Eye Moody began questioning the surrounding witnesses. Many of the Ministry of Magic staff had grown up listening to Mad-Eye Moody's stories, and some of the older wizards had even worked with him. Once they understood his intentions, several Ministry staff members joined in, questioning the witnesses.
Unfortunately, the witnesses hadn't noticed much about Liam and Hermione. Only two girls who were nearby mentioned hearing Liam shout, "Don't touch that box", before they both vanished.
"This was likely a kidnapping using a Portkey." After summarizing the testimonies, Mad-Eye Moody concluded. "Unfortunately, we know nothing else. We don't know the attacker's purpose or who they are. We'll have to wait for the unconscious person to wake up to get more information."
Mad-Eye Moody immediately returned to Hogwarts. Since Ginny had only been hit by a Stunning Spell, she was already regaining consciousness by the time Mad-Eye Moody arrived at the Hospital Wing. However, she was still confused, as she had been attacked while washing her face and hadn't seen the attacker.
The investigation hit a roadblock, but the silence was broken by a commotion at the Hospital Wing's entrance. Following the two disappearances, the school had ordered all students in Hogsmeade to return to the castle immediately. The Weasley brothers, hearing that one of the unconscious people was their sister, rushed to see her and ended up arguing with the Ministry of Magic staff guarding the entrance.
"Let them in", Mad-Eye Moody ordered. "Their sister is fine, and I've already gathered most of the information I needed."
(End of Chapter)
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