"It's a very serious charge, but I'm going to admit it," sighed Dumbledore. "If you don't, I'll have to go to Bill Weasley, who I remember was working at Gringotts Egypt. The spell-breaker."

Snape thought: "Why do you want to be far away? Besides, a small clerk employed by Gringotts may not have any ability to move."

"Then your advice is... oh, I see who you're talking about, thank you, Severus."

Chapter 41 Quarrel?

The good weather in the Scottish Highlands often only lasts until September, and by October, the weather here can start to change. It's sunny or cloudy, rainy or windy, all kinds of weather take turns, and the speed of God's face changing is like a girl's mood.

After being stimulated by Slytherin's Seven Nimbus 2001, Gryffindor's team stepped up their training. Although the weather outside was very bad, and it even rained continuously for a week, Harry still had to get up early and stay up late.

Hermione Granger finished her homework early, and then she started staring at the Gryffindor team in a daze outside the window, who were practicing at iPen 11 in the distance.

Of course she was worried, otherwise she wouldn't be so preoccupied.

And the source of her troubles is Lockhart.

I think she mustered up the courage and practiced in front of the mirror several times before she collected the dozen or so questions she had summed up during this period of time, ready to go to Lockhart's office to "seek answers"

It's just that she went at a different time - there was someone in Lockhart's office at the time, so Hermione could only lean against the wall outside the office door and wait for the visiting guests to arrive.

However, this castle was built around the 10th century AD. At that time, British construction technology was influenced by Byzantium, and stone buildings were just emerging, and the building materials were still at the level of a single material, and they were not very soundproof.

And when it was built, the architect did not think much about the sound insulation problem, considering that all the people living in it were magical, otherwise Lockhart would not be disturbed by the noise of the wind and rain at night.

A few words in the office floated out along the crack of the wooden door, and Hermione, who was guarding the door, listened.

"…no no no, this is ridiculous, Severus. I can't do something like this against my principles, it would hurt my credibility a lot," Lockhart's voice said.

And the other voice, Hermione, is also very familiar. Of course, if there is a professor who finds fault with Gryffindor House every day, and always comes up with "The answer is correct, so Gryffindor deducts ten points", then you will not forget him. the sound of.

"No way, in life, we sometimes do things we don't want to do, as long as it's really necessary," Snape said.

"But you are asking me to blackmail them."

"Threats? I didn't say that. If you can get things with more clever means, I believe you will get a higher evaluation from him."

"Damn it! But you didn't even tell me what it was, and you didn't give me any justifiable reason! Just because of a 'maybe' you're going to ruin my long-established reputation! ' Professor Lockhart's voice sounded annoyed.

"It's true, but this is obviously not something we can discuss." Snape's tone was also filled with deep resentment: "This is him, even if he doesn't tell us anything, we must follow what he said. I'm used to it..."

Afterwards, the office fell into a long silence, and Hermione outside the door didn't even dare to take a breath, so she could only continue to listen with her breath held intently.

After a long time, Lockhart's voice came from the office again.

"If I want to do this, I'm afraid I will pay a lot of money... Can't I get any compensation?"

Snape replied quickly: "You can make a list from now on, with all your requirements, and trust me, he's also very interested in what you're coming to Hogwarts for."

"Oh? I thought he already knew it, but I caught him from seven or eight different angles."

He thought he knew, but now he's not sure.

"Looks like my acting is really bad."

"He's almost twice our age combined."

After these few words were finished, there was a sound of chairs rubbing against the ground and people walking. It seemed that the conversation had finally come to an end.

Taking advantage of the noise in the room, Hermione hurriedly left the door and hid under a movable staircase. The movable stairs squeaked and twisted to another step after she had gone down this floor, just staggered from where she was.

Snape came out of Lockhart's office, looked around and walked down the stairs on the other side, finding no trace of Hermione.

It took a few minutes for her to go back upstairs and knock on Lockhart's office.

Lockhart received her very warmly, not only complimenting her on her knowledge as a fourth grader, but filling her pockets with candy before she left.

It's just that Hermione always felt that he didn't seem to be in shape, and was a little uneasy.

When copying homework time in the evening, Hermione told her two friends about what she had encountered in the afternoon.

"oo, look, he didn't even answer several of the questions I asked: obviously not in shape," Hermione said to Ron and Harry.

Ron and Harry nodded, agreeing with Hermione.

Neither of them thought a "master of the Dark Arts" would be unable to answer a sophomore's question, so Lockhart must have been out of shape at the time.

"What on earth did Snape ask him to do?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't know, but it sounds embarrassing." Hermione frowned. "He said 'it's going to cost a lot'"

"Oh!" Harry and Ron exclaimed together.

Although it is said that because of the first-year Philosopher's Stone incident, the current Harry does not think Snape is a bad person, but in the face of a person who deducts points from Gryffindor every day, it is difficult for them to hold him. What a good feeling.

"It seems that Lockhart and Snape have had many similar transactions." Ron said enthusiastically, with a look called "gossip", "Maybe he still has a reason for Snape. Nepna, what do you think, Harry?"

Harry took a peek at Hermione's suddenly sharp eyes, and he felt that even for the sake of Transfiguration's homework, he had to think carefully about his words.

Thinking for three more seconds now will save you three hours of homework in the future.

"It sounds like Snape is unilaterally threatening, and only Professor Lockhart can do that. And Professor Lockhart came to Huobi because he asked for the "that person" Snape said. Gwarts and Rens..." He tried to say something that didn't irritate Hermione.

But Ron was obviously not as discerning as Harry. "So, what's the matter? Is it asking for money?"

"Money? Don't be kidding."

"I'm not kidding, the last time my mother wrote Percy to ask about Lockhart specifically, Fred and I went to find out, and they told me that Lockhart had gotten a lot of money recently. It was when he went to Hogsmeade that he heard from Ambrosio Froome, the owner of the Honeydukes."

Hermione stood up suddenly, and her face was very determined.

"No, this matter can't be left like this! We have to find out what exactly Snape used to blackmail Professor Lockhart, and who is the person behind Snape?" It's almost the sum of our ages Twice', the mastermind must be over 100 years old, maybe even 00 years old. "

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked in surprise.

Professor Neppe and Harry's father are at the same level, which means that he must be in his 30s this year, and Professor Lockhart's birthday is January 26, 1964, so this year is 28... What do you think about me? ' Hermione wondered.

"You actually go to remember his birthday." Ron said in a tone of disbelief.

Chapter 42 The deal with Dumbledore

Gilderoy Lockhart didn't know anything about his students' little abacus, but the kids did guess one thing right-that is, he was really embarrassed right now.

The task Snape gave Lockhart was not complicated - Dumbledore wanted to enter the underground vault of Lestrange's house, and it had been verified whether what Voldemort gave Bella was the one he suspected.

Considering that Bellatrix Lestrange is still serving a sentence in Azkaban: no one can object; so it shouldn't be difficult from that perspective.

But the crux of the matter is with the goblins, who will never allow Dumbledore into their vaults.

In the capitalist country on the Muggle side, no bank would allow outsiders to look into their clients' lockers and deposits. Not even if that client has been proven criminal.

Even if the government, public security, and court want to check, they need to follow a very strict process to apply, and there is still a high probability that they may be rejected.

The reason is actually very simple. The main job of a bank is to manage the deposit and circulation of currency. In other words, this sentence is "capital is my father", so whoever has the capital is the master of the bank.

The reason why grandpa is willing to keep the money with his grandson is because these grandsons are still obedient. 7 No matter who comes to him for money, he can keep the secret and safety of his property.

In other words, as long as the bank is under pressure from the outside world—regardless of where the pressure comes from,” even if the public authority discloses the customer’s deposit information to others, the rest of the customers will immediately deposit their money in other banks, because your bank

It's not safe anymore!

So for banks, "credibility is life" is not just talk, it is really more important than life.

In the same way, although there is only one bank in the wizarding world, Gringotts, the goblins of Gringotts may lack theoretical literacy compared to Muggle professional financiers, but their professionalism is superior. Nothing less than.

Lockhart knew with his toes that no matter how good his relationship with Ragnor was, they wouldn't allow him into the vault.

In the original book, Harry and the others cast the Imperius Curse, one of the three unforgivable curses, before finally entering the underground vault. And because of "the heart is not cruel enough", they only used a half-hearted Imperius Curse, and finally had to promise Griphook to use Gryffindor's sword in exchange for this right.

Not to mention that Dumbledore didn't want to start a panic.

In Lockhart's view, Voldemort's Horcrux was destroyed, and most of it was his own fault.

As Dumbledore said, if Voldemort had told Lucius and Bella from the beginning that he had given them a piece of his own soul, they would not have dared to treat the two Horcruxes so slowly that one was used Come to blame a political enemy, and the other is thrown into the underground vault for ashes.

He wanted to pretend to show his trust in his subordinates, but at the same time he didn't trust anyone, so he gave Dumbledore a chance to break it, and Dumbledore probably knew more about Voldemort than himself.

In the same way, Voldemort was so good at making people desire that even Dumbledore couldn't stand the temptation of the Resurrection Stone and let himself get that death curse.

He was impure after all - whenever he remembered that he might have killed his sister Ariana, Dumbledore knew he was no longer qualified to kill Voldemort.

It is precisely because of this self-knowledge that Dumbledore turned his hopes on cultivating a savior who is upright, kind, pure-hearted, full of love and indomitable, and let this "pure" person defeat him.

Dumbledore would not risk letting the Death Eaters know of his purpose until the savior was finished. On the contrary, as long as it is conducive to cultivating a savior, he is willing to do it, even risking his own life and some "relatively less important" people.

To say that Voldemort is the Dark Lord and Dumbledore is the White Devil.

If Lockhart is now bringing someone to question Bella's whereabouts, it's simply emphasizing the importance of that thing to Bella. Not to mention whether Bella would bite her tongue and kill herself on the spot to avoid getting veritaserum, the rest of the Death Eaters would also find out the fact that Dumbledore was looking for something, and it was the same thing as the Dark Lord. related.

Gotta figure out a way.

Although Lockhart has taken this matter into his heart, he is still unhurried and has no intention of doing it right away. Not to mention that he needs a certain amount of preparation time, even in terms of face, he doesn't want to appear too urgent.

Well, as soon as Dumbledore told you to search people's vaults, you immediately went there, what is this? Premeditated? Still can't wait? Even if things are really done, his character will probably add a big question mark to Dumbledore's mind.

So this Monday morning, he still went to class with the students as usual.

"morning everyone!"

"Good morning, Professor Lockhart!" the sixth graders responded in unison.

"I believe that everyone has enjoyed a pleasant weekend, and I would like to ask everyone to take care of themselves and re-enter the learning environment.

What I'm going to talk about today is very important. It involves the issue of "positioning" in group combat. I hope everyone can take notes... Mr. Percy Weasley, you will stay after class today, I have something to tell you ."

Percy obviously didn't expect to be called, but he nodded to show he heard.

Lockhart ignored the curious classmates and began to lecture.

"The biggest difference between a teamfight and a 1v1 duel is that a wizard is likely to be exposed to the sight of multiple wizards at the same time, thereby being focused on fire. I think you should all know that if you are hit by a stun spell If he can still recover with the sobering spell, then if he is hit by two or more stun spells at the same time, the person concerned can only be sent to St. Mungo's for first aid.

Many heads-up players enter the team battle, and their performance will drop a level. This is because they think that the team battle is the same as the heads-up battle, and all problems need to be solved by themselves. This kind of thinking is a big mistake.

That's why we need to move and cooperate. Remember, the position you walk out of should never be exposed to the attack range of the other two wizards at the same time. At the same time, you must always pay attention to your teammates, so that you can stand in a place where you can flank with your teammates. It's also the reason why many wizards who don't look great in 1v1 can shine in team battles.

To give another negative example - I know of a famous Auror named Alastor Moody. Before his injury, he was known as the strongest Auror. He hunted down the Dark Wizard and fought him head-to-head. , he has never missed, and is known as "the man who fills half of Azkaban".

But it is a pity that his awareness of teamfighting is somewhat poor, he often makes the mistake of caring for one and the other, and it is easy to be distracted by accidents on his own side. He was injured several times because of similar situations. is a pity.

So today our class is going to the pier by the lake, and we're going to play a game of hide and seek - first we're going to be grouped by colleges, and then I'll play a game of hide and seek.

Cloud and mist spell, give everyone time to find a place to hide. After hiding, you must find the position of the students of the other college without moving, and record it, and finally hand it over to me to judge.

If a person can find the position of 5 opponents and he is only found by 3 people, then he has won 5-3 and 2 points, otherwise it is a negative point, and finally the total score is the sum of the overall points of all the academy.

The winner will each get a pocket panorama, which you can use to watch Quidditch matches. The losing side was to collect a pound of juniper parasites each and bring it back to Madam Pomfrey. The weather has been bad recently, and everyone is suffering from minor illnesses. I think she will be able to use it. "

Chapter 43 Best Assistant - Percy Weasley

This unique walking training only lasted less than 20 minutes, and it came to an end in the great defeat of Gryffindor's sixth-year side.

Because all of them were found without missing a beat, and Eagle House was found only 6 times, so the result is obvious.

But the little lions were not convinced.

"They cheated!" cried Oliver Wood indignantly. "They used a telephonic spell! As long as anyone finds one of us, it means all of them."

Lockhart made a helpless gesture: "Sorry, Mr. Wood, this doesn't violate the rules I set at the beginning. And if you are fighting with the dark wizard, using the sound transmission spell to inform each other and each other's location is a kind of Very smart move, and I encourage you to do it."

The students of Eagle Academy came to Lockhart to receive their prizes with smiles, and at the same time comforted the little lions with high emotional intelligence.

"Sorry, Wood, but we all want this binoculars... We'll be there to cheer you on when you play Slytherin," Penello Criwatt comforted him.

Seeing that Percy's girlfriend said the same, Wood could only recognize it.

Percy Weiss stayed after class and asked Lockhart what he was doing with him.

"I went to a few deans over the weekend and asked if they wanted to work at the Ministry of Magic after graduation, and Professor McGonagall recommended you."

Percy is a little sensitive: "It's not a definite fact yet. Although I have contacted several seniors who have graduated, the final decision on what department I can be divided into is probably still based on my grade seven test scores."

"Don't be so serious." Lockhart said to him with a smile, "I'm talking to you just to get acquainted with future colleagues, and I've been in touch with my colleagues at the Ministry of Magic this summer, until I leave Hogwarts. After he leaves, he will go."

"You're going too?" Percy was a little surprised, "I thought you were preparing to show your talents at Hogwarts."

"That's true, but I can't fight the curse of the You-Know-Who," Lockhart admitted frankly to him.

"So

"So I want to find a way out early, accumulate my network and reputation as much as possible, and then get a good starting point at the Ministry of Magic, otherwise I will start to follow the rules after I enter the Ministry of Magic, and then I want to do something to gain reputation. Things need to be done by the rules...you know, we're all one kind of people." Lockhart winked at him.

Percy Weasley felt a sense of confidant—that's how adults think!

Compared with Professor Lockhart, his brothers and even his father are really outrageous - everything comes from his own temperament, he neither obeys authority nor thinks much about the future of himself and his family. They do.

"Very practical goals," agreed Percy. "But what can I do for you?"