Chapter 426: The Twins' Information
Chapter 426: The Twins' Information
The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall and saw Cedric and the others having breakfast. They exchanged glances and sat down opposite them.
"Uh... hi, everyone", Harry said. Cedric put down his fork and smiled at them.
Harry was momentarily at a loss for words, especially since the person in front of him had danced at least seven times with Cho at the Yule Ball, leaving him no chance at all.
He mumbled something, and Cedric, not hearing clearly, looked at Harry with a puzzled expression.
"I, ahem—what I mean is, Ron has something to say to Collins."
This time, it was Ron's turn to stammer. "Wha—me? Oh, it's me..." He glared at Harry, and then Collins put down his knife and fork, looking over at them with a stern gaze that moved between Harry and Ron.
Ron's face turned bright red as he looked at Collins. Collins' thick eyebrows and short brown hair made him look especially stern. Ron thought back to his awkward performance in front of Fleur and mumbled, "Thanks..."
"Did you not know how to say it?" Collins asked him.
"I mean—thank you for the tip, you know, at the ball... You were wearing a blue dress and leaned in to tell me about the golden egg's clue. I didn't hear much, but I think it's necessary, ahem, necessary to say thank you..." Ron panted, and Harry chimed in, "Yeah, that's right."
When Collins and the others left, Ron's ears were still red.
"Aren't you only allergic to Fleur?" Harry asked, trying to suppress Hermione's laughter and steer the conversation back to a serious discussion.
"I don't know... When her black eyes stared at me, my mind went blank", Ron said gloomily. "First Fleur, then Collins—am I going crazy or something?"
"Yeah, you're definitely sick, but only when you face pretty girls", Hermione pointed out sharply.
Harry felt that Ron was embarrassing himself on his behalf. He moved his plate closer to himself—Ron was almost spilling the filling of the beef and pumpkin pie onto Harry's plate—and whispered to them about what had happened in Professor Hup's Ancient Runes office the night before.
After waking up, his memory had returned, and Harry emphasized the peculiar magic book.
"Sounds like that book should stay in the Restricted Section", Ron commented, dropping the pie onto his plate.
"No, the professor said he got the inspiration from a Dementor. Honestly, I think the professor's research is quite strange", Harry shared his thoughts.
"Any field of study becomes strange when it reaches a high level of expertise", Hermione said matter-of-factly.
Harry thought about it seriously, but he didn't know much about the professors' lives outside their classes. In his imagination, Professor Flitwick might enjoy opera and afternoon tea, making the teacups and teapots dance with spells, and maybe even cracking a few jokes (like the enchanted servants in the movies he had seen). Professor Mcgonagall might spend all her free time on the heavy school administration. Snape might dissect horned toads in his spare time. Trelawney's first act in the morning might be to hold a crystal ball to decide which dress to wear...
Professor Hup might spend his time reading, studying Runic Script, and playing cards with Valen. As for Professor Moody, Harry might have once imagined him taking off his wooden leg to oil it, just as Harry maintained his Firebolt. But now, Harry only felt sympathy—perhaps over the past few months, every time Professor Moody returned to his office, he would hop to bed like a puppet, and Barty Crouch Jr. would sneak in to snoop through his memories.
Being able to deceive Dumbledore at least indicates that Barty Crouch Jr.'s disguise is extremely skillful and that he is likely proficient in Occlumency.
At that moment, the three Beauxbatons champions passed by, chattering away. Harry caught a familiar word and thought it was just his imagination until he and Ron saw Lee Jordan wave to the three Beauxbatons champions. The Weasley twins furtively handed a stack of parchment to the champion with the bizarre hairstyle—his sides were shaved clean, leaving a striking peak in the middle.
Harry was impressed by him because he could transform into an eagle and had a thrilling battle with the Acromantula during the first task.
"How did they get to know each other?" Ron said, amazed.
"It looks like Lee Jordan is the middleman", Harry observed, watching as Lee Jordan patted his chest and his distinctive voice carried over, "… Don’t worry, it’s absolutely reliable …"
"The Weasley twins aren’t thinking of involving Beauxbatons, are they? If they cause an international incident, they’ll be in big trouble…" Hermione said worriedly.
"The Weasley twins know what they’re doing. They’re probably just selling some of their new products… I hope", Ron said, his tone uncertain.
Soon, Fred and George Weasley left, and Lee Jordan continued to chat with the three Beauxbatons champions. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurriedly stood up and intercepted the twins in the entrance hall.
"Ah, hello, I didn’t see you there", Fred said, surprised.
"What were you just doing?" Ron asked directly.
"Nothing much, just meeting Lee’s new friends", George said, deftly avoiding the question and nodding toward the Great Hall.
"I saw that", Ron said. "You handed them something, not a prank product, but a stack of parchment. It could be important information…"
Fred and George Weasley exchanged glances.
"If you’ve revealed any secrets that cause Hogwarts to lose the competition…" Ron deliberately said, watching with satisfaction as his two older brothers grew serious.
"You sure are overstepping, aren’t you? Looks like being a champion has given you a big head", Fred said.
"Preparing for next year, are you, Ronnie? Want to be a prefect?" George teased.
Ron’s face turned red, and he said angrily, "I don’t want to be a prefect—"
"But our little brother might have a point this time", Fred said, stroking his chin.
"Maybe he just got lucky."
Ron’s face was almost as red as his hair. Harry interjected, "So, what’s the deal?"
Fred and George Weasley exchanged another glance. "Listen, it’s simple. Lee Jordan befriended some Beauxbatons students. You know, his looks are an advantage…" Harry couldn’t help but smile. Fred continued, "Beauxbatons is different from us in many ways. They excel in transfiguration, alchemy, astronomy, and wandless magic…"
"They also have all sorts of alchemical gadgets. The principles aren’t difficult, but the ideas are interesting, like different types of amulets… as Dumbledore said, it’s all about exchange", George shrugged.
"They approached us a couple of days ago, just before Christmas. They wanted to know about the Black Lake. It’s not exactly confidential information. I bet there are at least a hundred books in the Library that mention it, but it takes time to find them", Fred said.
George blinked and added, "Unless they’re too dim to ask Madam Pince. Her presence is quite strong, even more so than the rope in front of the Restricted Section that hits people."
(End of Chapter)
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