Chapter 356 Different preparations before the game
Frost condensed on the pointed roofs of Hogsmeade village, and the cold air, wrapped in white mist, rolled behind Julius.
He was wearing a dark cloak with the hood drawn low, and he walked silently into the abandoned watch shop - once the door closed, the interior was isolated from the outside world.
In the darkness, a circle of figures in black robes were already waiting there.
The firelight was dim, illuminating their pale or grinning faces, and the snake head masks reflected a cold light in the flames.
"Hoffman." Someone spoke in a low voice, with an undisguised enthusiasm, "You... are here."
Julius raised his eyes and glanced at the group of people calmly.
He stood in the shadows, his expression polite and restrained, as calm and gentle as ever.
"Of course I am here," he said, his voice deep and clear, "I have brought you a key development in our plan."
He raised his finger slightly, and a piece of parchment slowly unfolded in the air, revealing the names of the four students in the Hogwarts Great Hall who were chosen by the Goblet of Fire.
Amanta Merlyn. Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy. Julius Hoffmann.
"All you promised was to let Potter participate in the competition." Someone in the shadows whispered dissatisfiedly.
"What I promised was to give the master the blood he wanted." Julius interrupted lightly, with a calm smile on his lips, "And now, I have given you more."
"The disloyal descendant of Merlin, the enemy Potter's blood, the traitor of the Malfoy family... the three most dangerous brats in Hogwarts have all entered the arena."
"They are in my team - they trust me. And I will lead them into the final mission, leading them into the resurrection ceremony, without their knowledge."
His tone was steady, without a trace of emotion.
There were a few sneers and exclamations from the Death Eaters. Someone whispered, "As expected, he is from Durmstrang. He is ruthless enough."
"The Dark Lord will be pleased," said another voice sinisterly.
At this moment, a pale and high-pitched voice sounded from the darkness, and everyone immediately lowered their heads.
“Julius.” Voldemort’s voice was as sharp as a snake’s tongue, with a cold echo. “You said you could bring Potter to me.”
"Yes, my master."
"Do you really think he won't get suspicious?"
Julius bowed his head and spoke humbly, "Potter is stupid, weak, and sentimental. He will die in that cemetery because of so-called 'friendship'. Along with that little Merlin girl. So will Malfoy, sooner or later - as long as you allow it."
"Very good...very good..." Voldemort laughed hoarsely, his voice like the friction of snake scales, "You live for me, Hoffman. I look forward to you fulfilling your promise."
Julius bowed, a strand of hair falling down in front of his forehead, hiding the gloom in his eyes.
"Yes, I was born for you."
He slowly raised his eyes, and in the interweaving of darkness and firelight, he calmly curled up a very faint smile.
*
After lunch that day, Amanta finished looking up information in the library and just returned to the common room when an owl flew in after her and dropped a rolled-up parchment on her desk.
Harry shouted at her, "Your letter! Not the Butterbeer I ordered!"
Amanta opened the letter and raised her eyebrows at first glance.
"It's Hagrid." She raised the letter, "Tell me, you and Draco to meet at the edge of the castle at five in the evening, dressed in stealth and wearing invisibility cloaks. He wants to show us 'something really good'."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Could it be one of Hagrid's new blasting-tailed skrewts?"
"It better not be." Draco sat down next to her, flipping through the Potions review book, and said coldly, "I just recovered from the shock of the Goblet of Fire, and I don't want to be roasted immediately."
"Are you scared?" Harry immediately raised his eyebrows, "How are you going to survive the competition? I haven't even finished competing with you for the third time last time."
"Shut up, Harry," Draco said in a high voice. "Last time you flew with the sense of direction of a drunk house-elf."
Harry was about to retort, but Amanta blocked him with her hand: "If you two continue to argue, trust me, I will throw you two into the Black Lake to practice cooperation before the first game."
The two of them kept silent, behaving as obediently as two scolded kittens.
At exactly five o'clock in the evening, the three of them hid in the corner, put on invisibility cloaks, quietly slipped out of the hall, bypassed the marble staircase, passed through the corridor on the third floor, and followed the route marked on Hagrid's letter to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
In the distance, a dim light was burning on the horizon, and the air was filled with a smell of damp earth and a faint burnt smell.
Amanta was the first to see the familiar huge figure - Hagrid was standing behind a bush, waving a huge hand like a shovel at them.
"Coming! Quick, quick, don't make any noise, don't let anyone see us." Hagrid lowered his voice, but it still sounded like thunder.
As soon as the three of them showed their heads, Hagrid put his arm around them and pulled them behind a high ground: "Don't make any noise for a while, follow me, there are good things ahead."
Passing through several huge bushes, they quietly came to the edge of a sunken valley.
Amenta was the first to hear a low roar, and then her nostrils were filled with a hot, burnt smell. Several huge creatures were moving slowly in the enclosure below - dragons.
To be precise, there were four adult female dragons of different species, being controlled by dragon trainers behind a spell.
The scene was so shocking that it took one's breath away.
"Merlin's socks—" Harry squatted down, "This, this is too scary."
"That's a Hungarian Treecrest." Hagrid grinned, his face looking like it was basking in the sun. "Look at that tail. It can break a man into four pieces."
"Can I...quit now?" Draco's voice tightened. "I am not worthy of representing Hogwarts."
Amanta glanced at him and said, "No. Do you want to embarrass yourself in front of Astoria?"
Draco's expression changed slightly: "...You are threatening me with her?"
"Whatever you want to understand."
"Would you guys stop flirting?" Harry muttered. "I'm freaking out."
Hagrid laughed so hard that he lowered his voice and said, "You can't tell anyone. I didn't say anything either. You haven't seen me, have you?"
"Of course." Amanta nodded, but her eyes did not move away from the four dragons.
She tried to search the illustrated guide in her mind - the Norwegian Ridgeback, the Welsh Green Dragon, the Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, and... the Hungarian Dendrocchus, the most dangerous one.
"They're... the first test?" Harry's voice trembled. "We're going to fight this?"
"You can be responsible for attracting attention, and I will be responsible for sneak attacks." Amanta said lightly.
"What about me?" Draco asked quietly.
"You are responsible for praying."
"..."
It was already completely dark when they quietly returned to the common room.
The three of them sat in silence before the fireplace for a while.
"Seriously..." Harry finally said, "Can we win?"
Amanta was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I don't know."
"But we can try."