Hogwarts Bloodline Chapter 38: Infiltrating Hogsmeade Village - Novel Cool

Chapter 38: Infiltrating Hogsmeade Village

Chapter 38: Infiltrating Hogsmeade Village

After bidding farewell to the Weasley Brothers, Ivan returned to the Gryffindor common room alone.

On the way, Ivan noticed that a new entry about the Marauder's Map had appeared in his system's magical items list.

[Magical Item: Marauder's Map

Magic: Strong

Description: This is a map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that shows the location of every living person within the school. Unless special means are used, no one can escape its detection.]

The strong level of magic surprised Ivan, but after considering that the Marauder's Map could even track Dumbledore's movements, he found it reasonable.

He wondered what methods James Potter, Sirius Black, and Lupin used over a decade ago to create such a powerful magical item.

Peter Pettigrew, who was nearby, might know something as well.

With the Marauder's Map, Ivan had the means to expose Peter Pettigrew, but he wasn't prepared to do so.

Firstly, Sirius had seen Scabbers in the newspaper, and secondly, his suspicions hadn't been cleared yet. Ivan didn't want to face Dumbledore again so soon.

With the Marauder's Map in hand, Ivan felt more confident about his plan to sneak out and purchase the necessary potions. He just needed a good opportunity.

In the Gryffindor common room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were gathered around the roaring fireplace. However, their expressions were not as relaxed and happy as Ivan had imagined.

"Hey, Ivan, where were you just now?" Ron immediately pulled Ivan over when he saw him come in.

"That's something you should ask your two brothers", Ivan replied simply, then changed the subject. "Are you guys celebrating Harry catching the Golden Snitch?"

"Forget it, we were just discussing why my Broom went out of control during the match", Harry shook his head.

"It must have been Snape!" Ron said angrily.

"That's right, I saw Professor Snape casting a spell myself, right when Harry's Broom started acting up. When Harry's Broom returned to normal, Snape stopped", Hermione, who had not taken Snape's side this time, added. After all, she had seen it with her own eyes, and Harry was one of her best friends.

Thanks to Ivan's timely "intervention", Harry had been safe before Hermione could take action, so the stands hadn't caught fire.

Ivan listened to the three of them discussing the possibility of Snape trying to harm Harry. After some thought, he spoke up.

"Harry, the one who made your Broom act up was Professor Quirrell. I was sitting next to him and interrupted his spell."

Ivan briefly explained how he had discovered Quirrell pretending to sleep while secretly casting a spell. Harry found it hard to believe.

"Professor Quirrell? How could that be?"

"Why did Hermione see Snape casting a spell then?" Ron asked, unconvinced.

"It's obvious that one of them was casting a counter-curse to save you. If it was Quirrell, he wouldn't have needed to hide!" Ivan explained.

"Maybe Professor Quirrell was afraid of Snape's retaliation", Harry stammered.

In fact, when Ivan spoke to this point, Harry was already somewhat convinced, but in his heart, he still couldn't accept the possibility that Snape had saved him.

Ron and Hermione were also half-believing, half-doubting. After all, every time in class, Snape's eyes and actions clearly showed that he wished Harry would just die!

Ivan sighed and didn't make too many defenses for Snape. The enmity and entanglements were too complicated, and it was better for the parties involved to tell the story themselves.

It could only be said that Snape had accumulated too much hatred in Gryffindor.

"Just stay away from them this semester", Ivan could only remind them in the end.

"But I've already stayed as far away from them as I can! Yet someone among them still wants to kill me!" Harry said angrily. Ever since entering Hogwarts, he had been targeted by Snape, and now Quirrell might also be plotting against him. Harry couldn't understand why so many people wanted to harm him.

After a while of comforting, Harry gradually calmed down. Then, the group told Ivan about the information they had obtained from Hagrid after the match. Finally, Hermione summarized.

"So, either Snape or Quirrell definitely wants to sneak through the trapdoor guarded by Fluffy and find the thing Dumbledore has hidden inside."

"By the way, Ivan, do you know about Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione suddenly thought of the problem they had been puzzling over all afternoon.

Ivan hesitated, unsure whether to reveal the secret of the Philosopher's Stone at this moment. In the end, he shook his head.

For one, he needed everything to be as stable as possible while he was brewing his potion. For another, rashly disrupting Dumbledore's plan to groom a savior could lead to serious consequences. Ivan didn't want to be summoned for a second time.

Despite his Occlumency having improved to the Second Level, he was still far from being able to withstand Dumbledore's Legilimency.

As for whether Quirrell would take advantage of this time to get the Philosopher's Stone, Ivan wasn't worried.

After all, the old fox Dumbledore hadn't even placed the Mirror of Erised in there yet. He would only do so once he was sure that Harry could pass the test of the Mirror of Erised.

It would be truly strange if Quirrell could find the Philosopher's Stone now.

Seeing that Ivan didn't know who Nicolas Flamel was, Hermione, Harry, and the others were slightly disappointed, but they quickly started brainstorming and making wild guesses.

Ivan, on the other hand, had no interest in the Philosopher's Stone since he couldn't obtain it. He was only concerned about whether Hagrid's dragon egg had hatched yet, not cooked.

However, from the timing, it seemed that it might not have happened yet. Ivan decided to use this time to prepare the potion ingredients.

Two days later, Ivan quickly found an opportunity. After a boring Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he had the entire afternoon to relax.

This time was enough for him to make a trip to Hogsmeade Village.

After repeatedly confirming on the Marauder's Map that no one was near the secret passage leading to Hogsmeade Village, Ivan tapped the One-Eyed Witch Statue with his wand and whispered, "Dissendium."

A faint sound came, and the statue's hump separated from the main body, revealing an irregular tunnel entrance. Ivan cast a Lumos spell with his wand and slipped into the narrow and low secret passage.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end

Report