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To be honest, a drink like Butterbeer can only get a graduated prefect drunk.
But looking at Hagrid, it seemed that he didn't care at all what Kyle said.
"Look at what you said. I won't go to the Three Broomsticks on an empty stomach..." He put a copper kettle on the fire. "It doesn't matter. It's not shameful to have a poor alcohol tolerance. I won't tell anyone."
Kyle opened his mouth, but finally gave up the idea of explaining... It didn't matter, Hagrid wouldn't listen anyway.
The topic then quickly shifted to the Triwizard Tournament.
"The competition will definitely be exciting. I never thought I would see the Triwizard Tournament resume in my lifetime."
Hagrid grinned and said, "You will see things you have never seen before. The first project is so exciting that it is...ah, I shouldn't say it, I shouldn't."
"Go on, Hagrid," Connor urged, "What's the first project?"
But Hagrid just shook his head.
"I don't want to ruin your fun," he said. "But this is not allowed. Before the Warriors start the project, all news must be kept completely confidential, and I think it's okay for Kyle not to know."
Kyle actually wanted to tell Hagrid that he cared a lot about the content of the competition, especially after Chris said that the first event was a level-breaking challenge.
Since it is a level-breaking task, there naturally cannot be only one dragon. The more you know, the better.
But Hagrid didn't give him the chance and changed the subject directly to talk about the rune horses in the paddock.
After listening for a while, Kanna felt a little bored and began to look at other things in the cabin.
By chance, she saw a large wooden box under Hagrid's bed, and there was a slight crackling sound coming from inside, as if there was something.
"Hagrid, what's in there..." Connor asked curiously, "Is it related to the Triwizard Tournament?"
"What?" Hagrid turned his head, then smiled and said, "Of course not, but I think they are as beautiful as the big one in the project."
"Big beautiful guy?" Kyle raised his eyebrows, feeling that he had discovered hidden information.
Probably the only things that Hagrid could describe as beautiful were those magical animals with fangs and sharp claws.
But Hagrid didn't realize that he had let the cat out of the bag. He had already stood up and taken the box out from under the bed.
"This little guy was born yesterday." Hagrid opened the box excitedly and placed it in front of Kyle and Connor.
Kanna's face began to turn pale rapidly, and her body subconsciously leaned back, trying to get away from the box in front of her.
There was a group of gray-white, slimy things in there, which looked like large lobsters without shells, or some kind of slugs with legs, and they looked terrible.
And their tails would occasionally emit sparks, and what Kanna heard just now was the sound of sparks hitting the box.
"What on earth is this?" Kanna's face turned pale.
She felt that compared to this thing, the Philobaby caterpillar could be considered handsome.
"I named them the Blast-Ended Skrewts," said Hagrid. "I'm going to make a big project out of it and let the students raise them."
Kanna's expression changed again.
She obviously didn't think this was a good idea, but she didn't know how to persuade Hagrid to give up the idea, so she could only look to Kyle for help.
"Okay..." Kyle nodded and said, "Hagrid, are you sure you want to do this?"
"What?" Hagrid turned his eyes away from the blasting-tailed skrewt. "Of course. Don't you think it's a very fulfilling thing... to be able to watch a little guy grow up slowly before your eyes?"
"I understand your idea," Kyle said, "but I just have one question... These are newly bred magical animals, right? After all, I have never seen them before."
"Yes," said Hagrid proudly, "This is the offspring of a manticore and a fire crab."
"Very good, a new species." Kyle said, "You won't forget that my father is one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament. He will come to Hogwarts often this year."
"Of course I know, but what does this have to do with the blast-tailed skrewt..." Hagrid was halfway through his words when he suddenly stopped.
Only then did he remember that Chris was the deputy... no, director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He was in charge of all matters related to magical creatures, and judging was just his side job.
And because of the incident with the snake-bodied swallowtail beast a few years ago, he had been called to the Ministry of Magic many times.
This time, the exploding-tailed skrewt is obviously illegal, just like the snake-bodied swallowtail beast.
"Well... um... actually..." Hagrid looked at Kyle and hesitantly said, "I, I just put them together... I didn't mean to... It's all a coincidence."
"I can keep it a secret for you," Kyle said, "but I don't know what will happen to the others. If someone accidentally lets it slip and my father hears them while we're discussing the Exploding Skrewt, there's nothing we can do..."
Hagrid had a conflicted look on his face.
This is the big project he has been looking forward to for a long time, is he going to give up again?
"Also," Kyle continued, "even if you want to introduce the blast-tailed skrewts to everyone, that's fine, but before that, I think it's better for you to understand their habits first.
Don't forget that they are related to the Manticore, so they are definitely not very gentle, and you don't want to see students get hurt in your class."
"Of course not!" blurted Hagrid.
Being discovered by Chris, and the possibility that some students might get hurt... Kyle's words helped him make up his mind.
After hesitating for a moment, Hagrid stuffed the boxes back under the bed in disappointment and gave up the idea of moving them to the classroom.
Seeing this, Kanna also breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they finally had a normal Care of Magical Creatures class afterwards.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 505 Conflict
Kyle and Connor stayed in the cabin all morning.
When it was noon, Hagrid invited them to have lunch together.
“Steak stew,” he said. “You have no idea how delicious it is.”
Connor was a little curious at first, thinking it was some new dish and wanted to try it... until she saw Hagrid throw an unknown big claw into the pot.
Then she made a quick decision...to go back to the castle.
The same went for Kyle, because in Hagrid's so-called steak stew, there was only a small piece of steak the size of a palm, and the rest was a mess.
There's nothing wrong with a hodgepodge, but the steak is purely about participation.
After making the decision, the two quickly got up and left the cabin despite Hagrid's attempts to keep them.
And they are extremely glad that they made this decision.
Probably to celebrate the birth of the warrior, today's lunch includes brand new dishes that have never appeared before, including French classic beef stew in red wine, puff pastry onion soup, and a kind of crispy roll that I can't name... I think it should be a specialty food from Durmstrang, and it tastes pretty good.
"Luckily we're back." Kanna poured herself a bowl of onion soup. "I can't believe what the steak and those big claws will taste like when stewed together."
“It’s really hard to imagine,” Kyle said with a smile.
In addition to aesthetics, they and Hagrid also have huge differences in the definition of deliciousness.
However, there is a downside to returning to the castle. Kyle has to face those enthusiastic classmates, but to be honest, they are a little too enthusiastic.
In just the time it took to finish a meal, a thick pile of books appeared next to Kyle.
These were all borrowed from the library, saying they might be helpful for the Triwizard Tournament, but Kyle flipped through them and found that he had read more than half of them.
And over the next few days, this situation continued to occur every day, and Kyle had to devote part of his time to rejecting these kind offers... oh, and signing autographs.
Kyle never thought that people in Hogwarts would start asking him for autographs, just like they did with Krum.
This was also the first time Kyle knew how famous the Triwizard Tournament warriors were. You know, when he became the youngest member of Merlin's Knights, no one came to him for an autograph.
In addition, students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will also attend classes with everyone during normal times.
But they were almost all sixth and seventh graders, with not a single fifth grader.
The most popular among them is probably Krum. No matter he is in class or appears in the castle for other reasons, there is always a large group of people around him.
Among these people, Malfoy appeared the most frequently. After being quiet for two months, he finally returned to his previous arrogant self last week.
And he was starting to make trouble for Harry and Ron again...especially Ron.
Whether they were in class or met occasionally in the castle, Malfoy would make sarcastic remarks to Ron. This was the first time he enjoyed the same treatment as Harry had once received.
Ron was so angry that he wanted to fight with Malfoy several times, but he held back after being persuaded by others.
This situation continued for a week, until Wednesday noon, when Ron went to the Great Hall for lunch and happened to hear Malfoy slandering him in front of Krum.
"That red-haired guy has a problem with his head." Malfoy said loudly on purpose: "He likes to curry favor with all the famous people, first Potter... that fool with a scar on his head.
He probably thought that by being with Potter he would be able to move out of that... let's call it a house. The funny thing is that he hasn't been able to do so until now.
Victor, you must be careful, don't get entangled with him, that follower..."
"Malfoy!"
Ron angrily pushed through the crowd and walked over, "Don't you dare say that again."
"Oh, who am I thinking it is?" Malfoy raised his head and said sarcastically, "Why don't you try to curry favor with Scarhead Potter? Maybe he can give you a decent set of clothes."
"Get away, Malfoy," said Harry, and he and Hermione pulled Ron's robes tightly to stop him from lunging at Malfoy.
"Don't be mad, Ron."
"He just wants you to make the first move, so that Professor Snape will have a reason to punish you." Hermione tried to persuade her.
"I don't care..." Ron twisted his body angrily, "I'm going to tear his mouth apart today!"
"How terrible." Malfoy continued sarcastically, "And your father, that old Weasley, he looks so shabby that it's really embarrassing for the Ministry of Magic..."
Ron struggled harder.
"Ha, yes, your family is well dressed."
At this time, Fred and George squeezed into the crowd from the other side. Instead of being as excited as Ron, they looked very happy.
"George, remember the photo in the Daily Prophet that day?"
"Of course, Fred, the well-dressed Mr. Malfoy is very impressive." George said with a smile.
Then he cleared his throat, gesticulated, and said, imitating what was written in the newspaper:
"I don't know... Mr. Minister, they threatened me to do this, I am innocent..."
This was Malfoy's defense during his trial, and it was published in the newspaper along with the photo.
As for Fred, he was wiping his tears in an exaggerated manner... He was imitating Narcissa Malfoy in the photo.
The two of them sang in unison as if they were performing a stage play, perfectly replicating the content of the photo and making many people laugh.