Chapter 545: Countermeasures
Chapter 545: Countermeasures
After realizing he couldn't keep up with Malfoy, Liam decisively chose to return. He stopped Hermione from her plan to search floor by floor, which might alert Malfoy, and instead, they returned to the Gryffindor Common Room together.
"We can ask the portraits, but so can Malfoy. If he finds out someone is following him, it could cause us a lot of trouble", Liam explained on their way back to the Common Room. He was a bit worried that if they spooked Malfoy, he might change his plans, rendering all their previous preparations useless.
"Malfoy is a master conspirator, that's for sure", Ron said, slapping his thigh in excitement after hearing Liam's brief account. Lavender, who had been sitting on a distant sofa to give them space, looked up at Ron's sudden movement. Ron quickly waved to reassure her that everything was fine and then lowered his voice to say, "His actions today only confirm that he's up to something. We need to figure out what he's planning."
However, after discussing for about ten minutes, they realized that unless they could keep a constant watch on Malfoy, it would be impossible to catch him in the act. Continuous surveillance of Malfoy was extremely difficult, especially for Gryffindor students.
Just as they were racking their brains for a more feasible plan, the Common Room door opened, and the Gryffindor students filed in, looking dejected.
Of course, "dejected" was not just a figure of speech. Neville told Liam that Gryffindor had lost the tournament badly. "You guys were at the hospital with Ron, right? You didn't go to the Quidditch pitch to watch the game? Well, you were right to stay away. Our team was a complete mess, and the tournament was a disaster."
"How many points did we lose by?" Liam asked.
"The final score was 320 to 60. The main reason was that Mclaggen hit a Bludger at Harry with his bat. Harry didn't notice and was hit in the head", Neville explained the reason for their crushing defeat.
"Although I'm not very interested in Quidditch matches, if I remember correctly, Mclaggen is the Keeper. How did he have a bat and manage to injure Harry?" Hermione's tone was filled with disbelief.
"You hit the nail on the head; that's the root cause of our failure today", Neville, usually good-tempered, suddenly sounded very frustrated. "During practice, Mclaggen was always criticizing the other players and giving detailed training instructions, acting like he was the Captain. We never expected him to behave the same way during the match. He criticized Ginny for losing the Quaffle, then got into an argument with Harry, and finally, he took the bat from Perkins to demonstrate how to hit a Bludger at the incoming Cadvadam. But his skills weren't as good as he thought, and he ended up hitting Harry, causing him to fall off his broom. After that, everything fell apart."
"I would have given him a few jinxes to taste", Ron said loudly.
"Don't worry, someone has already taken care of him", Neville shrugged. "When I came back, Ginny told me that the Quidditch team's players left Mclaggen in the changing room, saying they needed to have a serious talk with him."
"How is Harry?" Liam asked, "Being hit by a Bludger on the head must have been painful."
"His skull was fractured", Neville said, and Hermione gasped in shock.
"Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey was there, and she fixed Harry's skull instantly", Neville quickly reassured her, reminding Hermione that they were in a wizard's world where a fractured skull wasn't as dangerous.
Later that afternoon, Liam and Ron visited Harry, who was awake but still in bed. His head was wrapped in a thick, hard bandage, resembling a turban. There were two empty teacups on the bedside table.
"Ginny brought me lunch and stayed until about seven or eight minutes before you guys came in", Harry explained, noticing Liam's gaze on the teacups.
Perhaps because Ginny had already told him about the disastrous tournament, Harry seemed quite composed. However, his demeanor changed when Ron mentioned seeing Malfoy sneaking around the castle while everyone was away.
"I told you he was up to something." Harry glanced at Madam Pomfrey's office and whispered, "When I was monitoring him with the Marauder's Map, I noticed he disappeared from the map. And think about what he said at the start of the term. He's definitely hiding somewhere, doing something he doesn't want us to see."
"The problem is we can't keep an eye on him", Liam shrugged. "This morning, Hermione and I lost him, so I guess they must have an Invisibility Cloak, and maybe more than one."
"That's a real problem", Harry muttered to himself. "We all have full schedules, so it's impossible to monitor Malfoy around the clock. Not to mention, as a Slytherin, all he has to do is head to the Slytherin dorms in the basement, and we can't follow him there."
"I wish I were the Minister of Magic", Harry continued, "then I could have a bunch of Aurors watching Malfoy 24/7. Or even the Headmaster of Hogwarts—then I could have the Armor, Portraits, and House-Elves keep an eye on him nonstop."
"Wait, say that last part again", Harry said, as if he had just gotten an idea from Ron.
"I said, if I were Headmaster, I could have the Armor, Portraits, and House-Elves keep an eye on him nonstop", Ron repeated, looking at Harry, unsure what he was thinking.
"Exactly", Harry nodded. "I'm not the Headmaster, but I have a House-Elf friend who can help."
"You mean Dobby?" Ron caught on quickly.
"Yes, I think Dobby is the only one among my friends who has the time to watch Malfoy around the clock and can freely enter the Slytherin House." Harry called out softly, "Dobby?"
With a loud crack, a House-Elf wearing a shrunken brown sweater, a knitted hat, and mismatched socks appeared in front of them. "Oh, Harry Potter, Dobby heard your call and came right away."
"Um, Dobby, are you busy these days?" Harry asked, a bit embarrassed, having just remembered how busy Pixie usually is, and worried that Dobby might be too busy to help him.
"Compared to my former master's house, Hogwarts is very easy", Dobby said happily, shaking his head so hard that his big ears slapped against his face. "So if the great Harry Potter needs Dobby's help, Dobby is happy to serve. It is an honor to assist Harry Potter."
"Alright, if that's the case, then... I need you to follow Draco Malfoy", Harry said after a moment's thought. He ignored the surprised looks from Liam and Ron, "I want to know where he goes, who he meets, and what he does. I need you to watch him all the time."
"Yes, Harry Potter!" Dobby exclaimed, his large round eyes sparkling with excitement. "If Dobby makes a mistake, Dobby will jump from the highest tower, Harry Potter!"
"That won't be necessary", Harry quickly said. "By the way, I want you to report to me every three days, but only when no one else is around. Liam, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione are fine. Don't tell anyone else what you're doing. Stick to Malfoy like a band-aid."
"Hold on a moment", Liam called out as Dobby was about to leave. He pulled a small wallet from his Spatial Bag and took out a black hexagonal metal coin with a golden eye embedded in it. "This wallet contains thirty of these metal coins. Just input a bit of magic power, and it will work for a whole day. When you use it, point the eye at the place you want to capture and press the coin. This way, you won't have to wait around when Malfoy stops somewhere."
"Thank you very much", Dobby bowed, taking the small wallet. "Dobby will be able to complete the great Harry Potter's task much better now."
(End of Chapter)
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