Chapter 367: The Card
Chapter 367: The Card
The next morning.
Harry yawned as he woke up, reaching for the alarm clock to check the time—11:00 AM. He was startled and jumped out of bed, fumbling for his glasses, "Ron, wake up! We still need to go to Room 7 for the selection process. Today is the last day—"
Ron lay sprawled on the bed like a dead pig, one arm hanging out, snoring loudly.
Harry pulled back Ron's blanket and stared in shock. Ron was wearing a tattered, dusty robe, and his face was bruised and swollen, as if he had been whipped by the Whomping Willow for half an hour.
Even during their study group sessions when they practiced the Binding Spell, Ron never looked this bad.
Had there been a break-in in the dormitory?
Did someone break in and beat Ron up?
Harry shook Ron awake vigorously and asked seriously, "Did you see who did this to you?"
"What?" Ron opened his bleary eyes and mumbled.
"Who beat you up!" Harry shouted.
"Who else, Malfoy of course..." Ron said with his eyes closed. Harry was furious and was about to storm into the Slytherin Common Room to confront Malfoy, but Ron added, "He was even worse off. I locked his neck and made him kneel and beg for mercy..."
In his sleep, Ron grinned widely and mumbled something incoherent before falling back asleep.
Harry was stunned, unsure of what had happened. He left the dormitory, feeling utterly confused, and found Hermione in the common room, telling her about the incident.
"Maybe he was just dreaming about fighting Malfoy and ended up hurting himself", Hermione said coldly.
"Hermione, that's impossible", Harry said. "His robe was torn to shreds..."
"Then he must have gone out at night and fought someone. But I doubt he had the courage for that!" Hermione stood up, "I'll go ask the Fat Lady. She would know if anyone went out last night."
She ran off, leaving Harry sitting in a chair, feeling restless. Could Ron have gone out in the middle of the night? What for?
He looked at the table where a stack of parchment was placed at Hermione's spot. He was surprised because she had already finished her homework. When he picked it up, he saw that it was a collection of tips from those who had passed the selection process. It was more comprehensive than what he and Ron had gathered, clearly a lot of effort had gone into it.
A moment later, Hermione returned, looking astonished. "He really did go out last night. The Fat Lady remembered him clearly and even mentioned that she might include him in an opera."
"But where did Ron go?" Harry thought aloud. "He was with me all afternoon and went to bed early. He didn't have time to meet Malfoy alone, let alone challenge him to a fight..."
"Maybe they went to the same place", Hermione suggested.
Harry nodded. The same place... He suddenly looked up at Hermione, who was also looking at him in shock.
"Room 7!"
...
At noon, Harry returned to the dormitory as if nothing had happened. Ron was already up and had changed into a fresh set of clothes.
Seeing Harry, Ron said excitedly, "Harry, you won't believe it! I repelled nineteen waves of Giant Spiders. By the end, I wasn't afraid at all. Those fuzzy legs, the stinky, green liquid spraying everywhere... I did it, Harry! And the Card Magic you told me about is amazing!"
Harry looked at him curiously, "When did this happen? I remember that when we came back yesterday, you said there was no hope. And I didn’t mention what magic was on the card..."
"Uh", Ron was at a loss, blinking his eyes, "You didn’t?"
"I didn’t. Oh, right." Harry pulled out a stack of parchment, "Here’s some information I found. We can study it together."
"That’s great!" Ron took it happily, but his expression turned uneasy as he looked at the familiar handwriting, "Oh... yeah, that’s great..."
"Do you have something to say?" Harry asked.
Ron hesitated for a moment, staring at the stack of parchment. He slowly pulled out a golden card from his pocket.
On the other side—
The Fletchleys had prepared a fine meal. They had temporarily set aside their work and were staying at home.
During lunch, someone rang the doorbell. Mr. Fletchley went out and returned after a while. When it was time to say goodbye, Mrs. Fletchley brought out two large packages.
"Mom—" Justin rolled his eyes, saying helplessly, "There’s too much stuff. I can’t carry it all."
"I’ll help." Felix waved his hand at the packages and stored them in the ring on his left hand. The Fletchleys marveled at this.
"Is this magic? It’s incredible... I wonder if we can buy it?"
Felix shook his head, "Items like these are strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. For wizards, it’s manageable, but if they fall into the hands of Muggles—non-magical people—they can attract the attention of specialists."
"It’s not like that ancient vase crafted by goblins, which you can keep at home and admire privately with little risk of discovery. If you use it, there’s a chance of a leak."
Mrs. Fletchley said regretfully, "We have some magical items at home, trinkets we bought from Diagon Alley. We keep them in a room and never let outsiders in."
"Yes, Mom even collected a whole set of Lockhart’s books", Justin added.
Mrs. Fletchley gave him a stern look.
Before leaving, Mr. Fletchley handed Felix a business card. Felix took it and felt a faint magical trace on it. Curiously, he asked, "What is this?"
"A friend sent it to me. He’s a collector with connections to many well-informed people. This card is from a mysterious seller who has provided several antiques over the years." Mr. Fletchley said cautiously, "Including that vase..."
Felix understood. The card only had a phone number, no name, indeed quite mysterious.
"Do they communicate by phone?"
"It’s hard to say." Mr. Fletchley explained, "The mysterious seller asked my friend to call the number, but no one ever answers. However, if he waits a day or two, the seller will show up and visit."
Felix smiled, "Mr. Fletchley, thank you for your trust. I can assure you, this won’t cause you any trouble."
"That’s a relief." Mr. Fletchley sighed with relief.
He had thought a lot about it last night and decided that the Hogwarts professor should know about this. Otherwise, having a secretive wizard around felt unsettling.
Back at school, Felix played with the business card, "Interesting, who are you hiding behind this?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
