https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-422-The-Secret-of-the-Golden-Egg/13461142/
Chapter 421: The Golden Egg
Chapter 421: The Golden Egg
The next morning arrived, and although Harry and Ron both wanted to leave the Hospital Wing as soon as possible, they had been too exhausted the previous night, and their injuries were not minor. Madam Pomfrey told Ron that his leg was still swollen, and Harry had at least six broken ribs.
" Healing Charms can only treat minor injuries, like a twisted nose. They're only useful in emergencies", Madam Pomfrey had said, but the two of them suspected it was just an excuse for her to make them drink the potion.
After drinking the potion, their minds became hazy, like a wound-up mechanical alarm clock that slowed down more and more. Harry and Ron exchanged only a few words before they both drifted off to sleep. They slept deeply, only waking up when Hermione came to visit them.
Harry recounted the events of the previous night, deliberately emphasizing, "We didn't have time to call you, it was too urgent." Hermione shrugged, "Unless you were shouting outside the entire girls' dormitory, you wouldn't have gotten in, and I might not have heard you anyway..."
Ron coughed heavily, and it sounded like "dance." Hermione's ears turned red.
There had been some tension between them the previous night—
After the opening dance, while taking a break to drink, Ron accused her of being too friendly with her enemies. Hermione dryly explained that the purpose of the Triwizard Tournament was to "promote interaction." When Ron loudly declared that Krum wasn't interested in her but was only trying to probe for information about the Golden Egg, Hermione was infuriated.
"He never asked me a single word about the Golden Egg, never!"
Ron quickly changed tactics.
"So, he must hope you'll help him figure out the Golden Egg's secret!"
"I never helped him study the Golden Egg!" Hermione was fuming, "In fact, he asked me to the dance in the Library, but I was hesitant. You know what happened? Roger Davies immediately asked Collins, and my two foolish companions only complained that all the pretty girls were already taken!"
Harry looked innocent.
He hadn't thought about inviting Hermione, but that was because he had his own secret reasons. Maybe Cedric and Cho Chang would argue... well, he knew that was impossible, but the realization made him even more dejected, which dampened his interest in the ball.
In the end, Harry and the sulking Ron went to the courtyard to get some fresh air. They overheard Hagrid and Madame Maxime talking and learned that they were both Half-Giants. Hermione, according to her own account, stayed in the Great Hall, sulking alone.
Harry was skeptical about her sulking, because when they returned, they saw Hermione happily dancing with Professor Hup...
After the ball, Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron were no longer speaking to each other. They returned to their dormitory, each lost in thought, until Harry was woken by a nightmare and chased a spy in the castle with Ron... This morning, when they saw Hermione again, Ron and Hermione were polite to each other, as if the argument had never happened.
When Hermione heard about Hagrid's Half-Giant identity, she didn't find it particularly strange.
"Actually, I always thought he was a giant", she said, shrugging, "I knew he couldn't be a full giant because they're about twenty feet tall. There's no need to be so nervous... it's a prejudice, like people's attitudes toward werewolves... or House-Elves... although the prejudices are different!"
Ron clearly disagreed with this view, but he only repeated what he had told Harry the night before, pretending it was the first time he was introducing it:
"Hagrid shouldn't have been talking about it. Even though he might have been excited to meet someone like himself for the first time... I know he's not dangerous, everyone who knows him knows that, but if outsiders hear about it, it could be trouble. People are wary of it." He snorted, "Even if it's a prejudice, it's a collective one, and in a situation where you can't change it, the best thing is to keep it hidden."
Seeing Hermione open her mouth to argue, he quickly sped up his speech, addressing Harry, "In the public's mind, giants are brutal. Although I heard stories about giants and dwarfs falling in love when I was a kid, Fred and George Weasley told me... I stopped believing their nonsense when I was six."
Harry stifled a laugh, pretending it was the first time he was hearing it, and nodded seriously.
"My dad said they sided with the Dark Lord during the war, foolishly believing the Dark Lord would give them more living space... After the war, they were naturally punished, and a lot of giants were killed by Aurors. Maybe Professor Moody was involved, and his leg might have been injured then..." Ron speculated irresponsibly.
"Only a small group of giants who hadn't committed many atrocities were driven out of Britain. They're probably hiding in some mountains now."
Harry didn't think it was right to continue discussing whether giants were inherently brutal, especially since Hermione's eyebrows were raised in a peculiar way. He decided to take the initiative, "Well... Hermione, Ron and I noticed you were late. You disappeared hours before the ball. Even if you were getting ready, it shouldn't have taken that long, right?"
He realized he was saying something obvious because Hermione's hair was already back to its usual messy state. He thought, although he didn't really understand, that if it were possible to stay beautiful, no one would refuse it.
Sure enough, Hermione gave him a dirty look.
"If a girl wants to get dressed up, no amount of time is ever enough... But I wasn’t delayed because of that. It was Varen; she gave me a Christmas gift. I, uh..." She bit her lip, unsure of how to continue.
"We know", Ron said. "I mean... we heard a bit. What did she give you that made you forget all about time? It couldn’t be a large sum of Galleons, right? One of my grandmothers used to say that only shiny little treasures can beat time."
Harry and Hermione looked at him simultaneously. Ron shrugged. "She’s long gone, leaving a will that all her wealth should be converted into Galleons to be buried with her, but I’m not sure if her descendants followed through..."
"Of course not. It’s a broken Time-Turner", Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"Varen gave you a Time-Turner?" Ron’s eyes widened, and he yelped.
"It’s nothing to get worked up about. It’s just broken", Hermione said, using the same term 'worked up' to mock him, but Ron didn’t catch it.
"Show us! Hermione, I’ve never seen a Time-Turner before!" Ron said.
Harry also looked at her expectantly. "Did you bring it?"
Hermione’s eyes curved into a smile. "Of course." She pulled out a golden chain from under her shirt, revealing a small, circular timer encased in a golden frame. The innermost part was a tiny hourglass, intricately designed.
"This is the Time-Turner? It looks so beautiful... Are you sure it’s broken?"
Hermione didn’t say anything, just showed it to them for a moment before tucking it back into her clothes.
"There’s nothing much to see. We should focus on cracking the Golden Egg’s secret", she said enthusiastically. "I’ve finally come up with a plan that won’t damage its structure..."
Harry and Ron stared at the Golden Egg she had brought, which was now sitting on a nearby cabinet. They looked hesitant. Harry glanced at his pajamas. If the egg started screeching uncontrollably during their analysis, they would struggle to run out without embarrassing themselves in the castle corridors.
He didn’t want to be seen in his pajamas during the day.
But Hermione was determined.
She stood up, cradling the Golden Egg and grabbing Harry’s pillow to cushion it. Harry and Ron watched nervously, offering suggestions:
"We could try a Revealing Potion—"
"I’ve tried that", Hermione said.
"Revealing Charm, Eraser, Analysis Charm—"
"None of them worked", Hermione said, fiddling with the Golden Egg and drawing her wand.
"What about Adrian’s Deconstruction Method? He talks about it a lot in his books—"
"Hmm", Hermione put down her wand and turned to the two boys. "To be honest, I did use some of the techniques he mentioned. I found that he enjoys finding shortcuts... which is one of the reasons why he isn’t highly regarded by later generations."
Ron gave Harry a look, as if to say, "I told you so."
Taking advantage of the moment, Hermione placed her wand on the Golden Egg, tapping and listening occasionally, or muttering Latin incantations. Harry and Ron understood some of her methods, as they had read the same books—just at different paces and levels of comprehension.
"She’s using the Layer Stripping Method", Harry whispered to Ron.
This method is common in Alchemy, where the principle is to remove all redundant parts, such as protective charms, decorations, and minor functions, to reveal the core secret. It’s particularly suitable for beginners in Alchemy.
Hermione occasionally pulled out bottles and jars from her beaded purse, using a small brush to apply potions to the Golden Egg. To their shock, she removed a piece of the eggshell.
"H-H-Hermione, you—you’re taking it apart?!"
"Because it’s not important", Hermione said sternly, removing another piece as she spoke.
Harry felt helpless, as if he were back in the Dursleys’ house, living in the cupboard under the stairs. Every evening, he would wait in fear for Dudley to stomp up the stairs, shaking the dust loose.
Now, he felt the same way, unsure of when the Golden Egg would suddenly screech, startling everyone.
As the Golden Egg was reduced to half its size, Harry’s urge to warn Hermione grew stronger. He hesitated about reminding her that Professor Moody, who was ill, lived nearby. If he heard the screeching, he might storm in and cast a nasty curse, like sticking their ears to the Golden Egg...
"We did it!" Hermione said happily.
Harry and Ron leaned in to look. In her hand, she held a palm-sized piece of the Golden Egg, now quiet and unremarkable.
"Are you sure it worked, Hermione? We won’t laugh if it didn’t", Ron said generously.
He remembered Collins Folley mentioning something at the Christmas dinner, though he didn’t understand why and didn’t catch a word. But he felt that since she had mentioned it once, she wouldn’t mind telling him again.
Hermione huffed, her eyes narrowing into a crescent moon. She tapped the fragment with her wand.
"Click."
A faint cracking sound, and the last piece split in two, emitting a low, piercing screech.
"Besides the volume, what’s different?" Harry asked, relieved that he didn’t need to cast a Silencing Charm.
"Oh, it’s missing a necessary environment", Hermione smiled broadly. "I preserved its core function, which is to store and convert sound. All I need to do is place it in—"
"Water!" Ron suddenly slapped his head.
Hermione glared at him.
(End of Chapter)
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