great-warnovel Chapter 152 Under the Watchful Eyes
Chapter 152 Under the Watchful Eyes
Chapter 152 Under the Watchful Eyes
Tofleur's inquiry to Beauxbatons yielded results. Mrs. Maxim was quite decisive, immediately instructing the returning consignor to bring Thunderbird tail feathers.
Of course, the price wasn't low either. Even in North America, there aren't many places where you can find healthy adult Thunderbirds. Most of the payment for the second batch of perfume sprays was used up, and Hermione didn't keep the rest; it was her share for Hogwarts.
The reason it was so expensive was because she ordered four at once, including Harry's and the others' share in advance. This meant that each of them would owe her more than a hundred Galleons on average, making them both her teacher and her creditor.
However, she hasn't felt a second heartbeat yet, so she's not in a hurry to hand the tail feather to Neville. Yes, she didn't choose Harry or Ron because she didn't think they were reliable and that they might ignite the feather while she was eating.
The boys' recent journey to the Borderlands hasn't been going too smoothly either. After learning magic and skills from Hermione, they did defeat the Omen Demon in no time.
But when they were eager to try out Stoneville City, they found themselves too unfamiliar with what they had just learned, and the city, full of traps and malice, didn't give them much time to react.
As a result, the performance of the subsequent explorations was even worse than that at Nymgefur.
A cunning soldier hiding behind a door, capable of kicking someone off a cliff; a fierce and swift Stormhawk whose claws have been replaced by blades; a heavily armored knight hiding in a dark room, trapping and beating his prey; and a pumpkin-headed soldier about the same size as Hagrid.
During their repeated explorations, they discovered hidden paths, and Ron officially encountered his lifelong nemesis—the Forge Knight.
At Hermione's prompting, he specifically asked Harry and Neville to watch as he practiced shield parrying with the knight, but the result almost made the two of them burst out laughing.
However, as of now, the three have not discovered the danger hidden underground. Hopefully, they won't be frightened when they see that terrifying human face and the rotting tree spirit.
Overall, their exploration progress is still limited to the outer area; they haven't yet found the deep pit filled with corpses or the fog door of "limb extension" Grik.
The coldest season has passed, and the weather is showing signs of warming up. The castle once again crossed the Pyrenees Mountains and re-entered French territory.
Hermione was still wondering how long the Caro siblings could remain hidden when she was suddenly alerted by the Heavenly Eye.
She had just finished her evening Animagus incantation and was sitting by the window when she fell into a hallucination.
Still like an overturned palette, the blurry oil paint forms the general scene, but perhaps because the eye of the eye is actively activated, this time the "oil painting" is clearer.
The two dark green shapes formed a human form, but this time Hermione could basically make out the outlines of a man and a woman.
They huddled together, the man pacing restlessly, and Hermione could see the orange-yellow shimmering haphazardly beneath his green hue.
"It's almost March! There's still no progress on the master's mission!" he said.
"Can you feel it? The mark is getting hotter!" He rolled up his sleeve, and where it should have been on his arm, a glaring black Death Mark suddenly appeared in Hermione's sight.
Even in the illusion where everything else is blurry, this mark remains as clear as if viewed with a magnifying glass, without a single speck of noise.
"Our master didn't send anyone to tell us anything, nor did he give us any instructions or question us, but this might be more terrifying than anything else, do you understand, sister!" Amicus said anxiously.
"For the past six months, we've only been following the castle's movements, relying on the connection from the cursed object. Lockhart did encounter some minor dangers, but that's not enough to cover our tracks!"
He scratched his head in frustration: "As the master's patience gradually wears off, maybe next month, or maybe tomorrow, our lives will be completely drained by this mark! There will be no room for argument or explanation!"
It seems that Voldemort also had a very strong control over his subordinates. The Death Mark engraved on his arm represented authority and judgment, and the life and death of everyone was in his hands.
But why would these wizards, who were once nobles, willingly submit to his evil ways?
The thought flashed through Hermione's mind, only to hear Alextot say unhurriedly, "Don't worry, my brother, everything is going according to plan."
"These two months of hibernation weren't entirely meaningless," she chuckled.
"At least we've confirmed that Hogwarts wasn't vigilant enough."
"Draco wasn't arrested; he was just scared out of his wits. These hothouse flowers are far too naive."
"Perhaps it's time for us to reappear, give him some encouragement, some guidance, and an Easter egg!"
As she spoke, she took out two indistinct objects and placed them on the table.
"Look at these two door keys, I've already made plans."
Hermione tried to focus on the appearance of the Portkeys, but perhaps they weren't as powerful as the Death Mark.
She was never able to see its exact appearance.
Amicus became interested and leaned closer: "So, are we finally going to start taking action? When?"
"We'll contact Draco after their next field practice session. Judging from the frequency of previous sessions, it shouldn't be too far off, but we might have to wait a little longer before we actually start."
"By the way, you didn't kill that little elf, did you?" she asked her brother.
"Not yet, but he's only on his last breath," Amicus said nonchalantly. Torturing the little sprites was the only fun he had during the long, boring days.
"Take care of its wounds before seeing Draco. If it dies, that kid might throw a tantrum."
"Two door keys, one for Lockhart and one for Granger. Let Malfoy lure them over there."
"When the time comes, you take the basilisk to deal with Lockhart, and I'll take care of the little girl," Alecto grinned maliciously.
"Be careful, I heard that little girl injured the basilisk last year!" the older brother warned.
"Of course I've gathered information about her. That kind of radiance magic is powerful, but it seems to require a long time to build up, and it probably can't be released at will," Alecto said confidently.
"Otherwise, Lily Potter wouldn't have protected her and the other children in the tavern." She had read the memories of a previous witness to a Muggle, and in her opinion, Hermione Granger, although a genius, had not yet matured. As long as she was not given time to react or the opportunity to prepare powerful magic, killing her was no different from killing any other young wizard.
"So they've started plotting how to kill me. No wonder my third eye activated on its own." Hermione felt no fear.
It was actually kind of funny.
"Where do these two door keys lead? Are they secure? What about our escape route?" Amicus asked.
Although I don't like to use my brain much, I still care about things that concern my life.
"Verdon Grand Canyon!" Alecto exclaimed with a smug smile.
"I specifically chose this spot; any further and the stability might suffer. Yours leads to the valley floor, the narrow terrain and the smoke from the burning trees there will ensure the Hippogriff can't fly out. We'll also set up anti-Apparition measures beforehand, so the Basilisk can easily toy with Lockhart in the canyon, while mine is on the cliff edge, where Hermione Granger can hear her beloved professor screaming as he's slowly crushed and devoured!"
"Hogwarts is heading north now, and the Grand Canyon is in southeastern France. We can finish our work quickly before the other professors and Dumbledore arrive, and then head east into Italy. They won't be able to catch up with us."
"Very good, we'll do it your way!"
The scene gradually froze, the oil paint mixed together again, and the illusion before my eyes vanished without a trace.