great-warnovel Chapter 268 Bodyguard Selection
Chapter 268 Bodyguard Selection
Chapter 268 Bodyguard Selection
Lily shook her head: "There is too much unusual magic in the Forbidden Forest. I think the human brain is not capable of controlling the changes in this cauldron. It's too complicated. Unlike the Black Lake, water is a more stable medium, and there is relatively less magic in it."
Ferenze suddenly spoke up: "And my brethren—they are very perceptive. I've seen their arrows; they possess a malice that's almost a curse upon the world. They've distorted our race's original healing magic, even if they can conceal their rituals in the Forbidden Forest from them..."
Their curses could also lead to terrible consequences, and everyone felt a little heavy-hearted.
"What preparations are needed for this ceremony? It's such a large-scale event, can you handle it all by yourself?" McGonagall asked.
Lily pulled out a form: "I don't need too many materials, I can find them myself, but I need to do a walk along the lake, which will take about two weeks. This is partly to check the ecology of the lake, and partly as part of the ritual. I need someone to take my potions class during this time."
Everyone's gaze immediately turned to Flitwick.
"Don't look at me! I'm not very good at potions!" the substitute teacher, Flitwick, jumped up and shouted.
"How about Professor Crouch?" Dumbledore said with a smile.
"He's the only one around here who can talk to Lily about potions."
Little Barty was a little nervous, but eager to try it out, he nodded.
"In addition, safety is also an issue. It's really worrying to have you walking alone by the dangerous Black Lake for two weeks. You need a bodyguard who can also be responsible for transporting supplies and anti-radiation medicine to and from the castle."
"Let James go," McGonagall said. The two of them, husband and wife, were the perfect match.
"I think I'm more suitable." Little Barty suddenly raised his hand, and everyone looked at him.
He said in a deep voice, "Don't forget that Pied Piper. He's most likely wandering around here now. If Lily runs into him—"
Everyone was shocked. That person was leading hundreds of biphasic monsters. James could protect himself, but he certainly couldn't protect Lily.
"He'll at least give me some face, considering we're both pure-blooded nobles," Little Barty shrugged.
"Besides, I'm better at potions, so I might be able to help more."
This made a lot of sense to everyone. Helping was secondary; the main thing was his identity. Even if the plan failed and he really encountered the Pied Piper, it wouldn't be a big problem for him to bring Lily back alive.
But Hermione, Dumbledore, and McGonagall, who knew he was the traitor, were very suspicious. Why was this guy suddenly so enthusiastic?
Could he be planning to tamper with the purification ritual?
But then he thought again, this wouldn't benefit his undercover work at all. Whether it was murdering Lily or sabotaging the plan to purify the Black Lake, it would only expose his identity and force him to leave the school permanently.
While the loss of either would be equally devastating for Hogwarts, from the Green Flame Party's perspective, as long as they don't obtain the secret of Dumbledore's near-death experience or the death magic Voldemort craves, simply killing a Potions Master or hindering Hogwarts' return is of little practical significance.
Voldemort might be happy to take revenge on Hogwarts, but if it would cause his plans to fail, he would prefer to wait and see.
Moreover, given Barty's potion-making skills, it would be quite an achievement if he could even understand Lily's ritual. To think he could add something undetectable would be a gross underestimation of a potion master.
"I'm just curious about the variations of this ritual and want to see them for myself," the man said, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
However, out of her conservative instincts, McGonagall decided to politely decline Barty Jr.'s offer.
But Hermione suddenly spoke up: "Professor Crouch, haven't you always been curious about death magic? If you can protect Professor Potter and bring him back safely this time, I can teach you some of it."
A deliberate refusal would arouse suspicion in this cautious Death Eater. Rather than that, it would be better to keep him hooked by offering incentives and get him to work for her. Besides, it's entirely up to Hermione to decide which part of the death magic she teaches.
"Really?" Little Barty was overjoyed. He hadn't expected the little girl to offer this as a reward for Lily. He didn't doubt it too much, as the two had a very good relationship, which both the professor and the student knew.
"Child, you don't need to," Lily said, somewhat touched. She thought Hermione had proposed the deal to give Barty more initiative.
Hermione smiled and shook her head: "I believe Professor Crouch will go out fully armed."
This deal seemed reasonable to others as well. Purebloods believed in the exchange of benefits. If it were just out of curiosity, Little Barty might abandon Lily and run away in a moment of crisis, but if there were sufficient benefits, these nobles would unleash a surprisingly powerful fighting force.
"Then it's settled." Dumbledore clapped his hands happily.
"Two weeks is enough time for Hogwarts to reach its destination. At that time, we will also be responsible for helping her to hold off the dark creatures in the Forbidden Forest, which will be a fierce battle."
"But Professor Crouch will have a tough time lately, as he has to juggle Defense and Potions classes while also making trips to the Black Lake."
Little Barty chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Defense class is much easier now, Miss Granger has helped me a lot."
This made Hermione rub her nose. After deducting practical combat and radiant stone magic, there were only about a third of the class time left for the Death Eaters' theoretical lessons.
After the professors' meeting ended, Lily first went to talk to her son and husband, giving them some instructions.
James was very unhappy with the choice of Barty Jr. as his bodyguard and even planned to go to Dumbledore to complain.
However, it would be better for the Pied Piper's hidden worries to be addressed by the Crouch family head. Moreover, Hermione offered her unique magic as a reward to motivate him, which prompted James to come and thank her.
When Harry heard that his mother was leaving for two weeks, he couldn't hide his excitement, finally able to escape his mother's clutches; on the other hand, he was also worried. After thinking for a moment, he took out the Invisibility Cloak and gave it to his mother. With this family heirloom, her safety would be greatly improved.
Actually, Harry and his friends have very little need for the invisibility cloak now. They know the castle inside and out, and they've almost memorized the Marauder's Map. Occasionally, outside of special training, they wander around the castle at night and can even perfectly remember all the professors' patrol times and routes.
"That's all from practicing in your graveyards and caves!" Ron said angrily.
Their recent journey to the borderlands had been very unsuccessful. After finally breaking through the soldiers' blockade and reaching the entrance of the magic academy, they were blocked by a bright blue barrier. With a note left by Hermione reminding them, they turned back to search for the Brilliant Stone Key in the Lake District.
Hermione made the key extra big and shiny so they wouldn't have trouble finding it.
The sharp-eyed Harry finally spotted the glow of the key from behind Smarag's dragon rear end, but how to defeat this splendid dragon was another big problem. Compared to it, Draco's dragon claws and bites were really like a harmless young dragon. The four of them clashed head-on many times and were knocked out of the Pensieve.
Hermione had originally intended to tell them that they could steal the key and run away while the dragon was asleep, but they were clearly already locked in a battle with the dragon, trying every possible way to maneuver and resist. Even though Neville had managed to steal the key in the chaos, he was unwilling to leave, determined to kill it before going to the school.