Chapter 221 An Unexpected Package
"Oh, I almost forgot."
Dracula turned around and looked at Harry and Ron with a half-smile, "Now that Miss Granger has mentioned it, have you two figured out the joke?"
Ron hesitated for a moment and glanced at the professors, Sirius and Peter around him. Seeing that there were no adults from Slytherin College around, he gritted his teeth and told the joke he had made up to prank Malfoy.
"A Slytherin graduate joined the Death Eaters...
…
The Slytherin graduate was overjoyed and said excitedly: 'Yes, that's what I want to learn! ’”
…
After telling the joke, the staff room fell into an eerie silence.
Ron felt a little embarrassed and asked awkwardly: "Isn't it funny?"
"Pfft——"
Sirius was the first to laugh.
"Hahahaha... This is definitely the funniest joke I have heard recently!" He laughed excitedly, "I have long disliked that Lucius Malfoy. Of course, if the joke can be If the protagonist were replaced by Snape, the joke might be more interesting."
Sirius gave Ron an encouraging look, "Come on, come up with more jokes featuring Snape, I'm optimistic about you, boy!"
Even after being praised, Ron was not very happy and just smiled reluctantly.
He knew that Sirius Black had been in the unhappy place of Azkaban for more than ten years and had been hiding in Tibet after escaping from prison. He must have only heard this joke.
Then his joke must be the funniest joke Sirius has heard recently, because there is no second one!
Then, Ron reluctantly turned his attention to the others.
Lu Ping was very preoccupied at this time and had no intention of listening to others' jokes. He just smiled to save face.
Peter was worried about his future, his face was full of bitterness, let alone laughing at any joke.
Fortunately, Dumbledore's expression seemed a little cheerful.
"As expected, young people are still creative," Dumbledore said with a smile, "but I suggest you not tell your jokes to Mr. Malfoy, otherwise you will start fighting again. Minerva has been quite busy recently. It’s better not to cause more trouble for her.”
After listening to Dumbledore's suggestion, Ron felt a little guilty. Because this joke was heard by Draco Malfoy on the spot, and they almost fought...
Finally, Ron, Harry and Hermione all looked at Dracula.
Only if Professor Dracula approves of this joke can Harry's workload be reduced and Hagrid and Buckbeak receive help...
Under Ron's hopeful gaze, Dracula slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
"Although I don't think it's very funny, it's quite creative." Dracula chuckled, "You guys will pass this time!"
"Professor, what about Buckbeak..." Hermione asked.
"Don't worry, Buckbeak will be fine!"
Dracula waved his hand and walked out of the staff room.
…
For what Dracula promised, the action efficiency is still very high.
The next afternoon, when Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the shack on the edge of the Forbidden Forest to visit Hagrid, they saw an old man with messy gray curly hair and some freckles on his face in the shack. Li and Hagrid sat across from each other and chatted.
There was an old-fashioned brown leather suitcase on the table in front of the two of them. A blond boy was looking at the suitcase with great greed, and his mouth was almost drooling.
"Good afternoon, Hagrid... Hey, Rolf, why are you here?" Harry walked in and greeted Hagrid. Then he saw an old man and a young man sitting next to Hagrid and asked in surprise.
"Good afternoon, Harry." Rolf secretly wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, said hello to Harry, and explained, "I came here with my grandfather. He was invited by Professor Dracula. Come to Professor Hagrid to deal with Buckbeak."
Newt turned to look at the three little wizards, smiled and nodded to them.
"Ah, you three little guys are here!" Hagrid waved his palms as big as cattail leaf fans and called for the three of them to sit down crowdedly in front of the table. "Let me introduce to you, this is the most famous person in the world. And the most powerful magizoologist, Newt Scamander!”
"Are you Mr. Newt Scamander?" Before Harry and Ron could react, Hermione rushed forward two steps and screamed excitedly.
"It's me. Hello, little girl." Newt smiled gently at her.
"I've finished reading "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" written by you. You are so awesome!" Hermione's eyes seemed to have stars popping out, "Ahhh...why didn't I put my copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" Bring it here, I really want an autograph..."
Harry and Ron looked at each other and whispered to each other.
"Ron, do you know? What kind of book is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" Harry asked in a low voice.
"There seems to be some impression." Ron thought hard, "I think... I heard Fred and George mention it, but they don't read much, could it be their textbooks?"
"The name does sound like a Care of Magical Creatures textbook." Harry nodded in approval.
Hagrid heard the two of them whispering because his seat was relatively close to them, and he laughed a little awkwardly.
"Ah, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is indeed the textbook chosen by Professor Kettleburn for the Care of Magical Creatures course. Hogwarts has used it for many years." He said, "But I think "The Monster Book of Monsters" It’s more interesting…”
Suddenly, Hagrid's expression changed, "Ah, Mr. Scamander, I didn't mean to say that your book is uninteresting!"
"It's okay, I know what you mean, Hagrid." Newt smiled easily and handed Hermione a signature written on a piece of paper, which made the little witch so excited, "I also encourage the little wizards. Read more books about other magical animals, which bring together the best of hundreds of schools of thought!"
Hagrid relaxed and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
He needs the magizoologist to help solve Buckbeak's problem. It would be bad if he accidentally offends Newt.
"Mr. Scamander, how can you help Buckbeak?" Hagrid glanced at the impatient hippogriff in the corner and wiped the corners of his eyes emotionally.
"Oh, I heard Professor Dracula say that the Dangerous Creatures Committee wants you to tie up Buckbeak, right?" Newt asked.
"No...that's right, and they will still put Buckbeak on trial after the Christmas holiday, saying...maybe they will sentence Buckbeak to death," Hagrid said while sobbing. "Those scum have always regarded these little guys as wild beasts!"
"I understand, those guys are still the same as before." Newt thought thoughtfully, "Well, Buckbeak can't be tied up, so why not let him stay in my box for two months before the trial? .”
"Really? That's great!" As a fan of magical animals, Hagrid certainly knew what Newt's suitcase meant.
If he hadn't been afraid of hitting the roof, he might have jumped up with joy.
Harry and Ron didn't understand why Hagrid was so excited, and they didn't know how Buckbeak, who was as big as a horse, could be packed into such a small box. Both of them had a look of relief on their faces.
"Rolf..." Harry quietly approached Rolf and asked, "Your grandfather's suitcase looks like a pretty ordinary suitcase. Why does Hagrid look so happy?"
"An ordinary suitcase?!" Rolf's eyes widened with a look of disbelief, as if he didn't expect that anyone would not know about Newt's famous suitcase. "That is the suitcase that all magizoologists dream of. , I’ve wanted it for a long time!”
As he spoke, he glanced at the suitcase again.
"Of course I can't give you the box, Rolf." Newt saw Rolf's expression and said with a smile, "Last time I only brought a crocodile, but you caused such a big fuss in Hogwarts." Woe betide you. Let alone a magical beasts suitcase."
Luofu's face became visibly sad, and he wrinkled his face unhappily.
"Don't be unhappy, it would be nice if we could allow you to continue to stay at Hogwarts." Newt chuckled, "The professors in Yinfalmon are going to be very angry with your choice, so they are going to We are going to send several professors to Hogwarts for inspection next academic year..."
"They want to know what kind of magic this school has that abducted their students."
"Ah?" Roof suddenly panicked, "Why do professors come to Hogwarts to inspect? Don't they have classes every day?"
"As far as I know, there are also a group of exchange students coming here, and those professors will come to visit as teachers leading the team." Newt said with a smile, "Maybe there are also students who will be exchanged at Hogwarts. Here are some of your former friends!”
Ignoring Rolf's confused expression, Newt focused on Buckbeak.
He first picked up a piece of meat and threw it aside to attract the hippogriff's attention. Then when it stood up to eat, he quickly grabbed the suitcase on the table and pressed it on Buck. Piccolo's back.
Under the stunned gazes of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Buckbeak's body turned into a shadow and was swallowed by the open suitcase...
The opening of this box is much narrower than that of Buckbeak in any direction!
"It's just a little magic spell." Newt saw the expressions of the three and said to them with a smile, "There are many animals in this box. Buckbeak will find some good friends here!"
…
Time passed quickly, and snowflakes gradually began to fall in the sky in the Scottish Highlands.
In the two months before the Christmas holidays, Harry felt as if his bad luck had been used up by the previous time, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Professor Dracula hired a professional magizoologist to help Hagrid, and he put Buckbeak, who needed to be tethered, into a small machine that looked small, but was actually as big as several Quidditch pitches. in the suitcase.
Mr. Newt Scamander also promised that after the Christmas vacation, he would personally go to the Commission on Magical Creatures to help Buckbeak win the lawsuit.
In addition, Harry easily defeated the Slytherin team in the subsequent Quidditch match, giving Gryffindor a chance to compete for the championship again.
Due to the influence of the Dementors, Harry's Nimbus 2000 had been smashed to pieces in the previous Quidditch match. He rode the same Sweep series broomstick as other teammates.
Even though there is a huge gap between the hardware equipment and the Slytherin team of Nimbus 2001, Harry still relied on his flexible positioning and better flying skills to win under the nose of Draco Malfoy. The Golden Snitch was caught, and the whole game took no more than ten minutes!
The dementors haven't left the castle yet.
In correspondence with Sirius, Harry learned that officials from the Ministry of Magic did not fully accept the evidence submitted by Dumbledore that Peter Pedro was the culprit. They decided to hold a trial after the Wizengamot Magic Conference. , and then officially announce whether Sirius's charges have been cleared.
Therefore, Dumbledore also concealed the news of finding Sirius' whereabouts to prevent him from further trouble.
Although the sight of Dementors flying around not far from the castle is still very depressing, Harry's progress in learning the Patronus Charm in Defense Against the Dark Arts seems to have accelerated a lot...
Harry believed that this was because he learned who the real murderer of his parents was and gained some courage to face his childhood memories, so the dementors did not have as great an influence on him as before.
After the dementors captured by Dracula released their breath, he would no longer faint immediately. Instead, he could stay conscious during the difficult response, and successfully raised his wand and recited the Patronus Charm. Spell -
The silvery white mist will dispel the darkness in front of him and bring him courage and spiritual comfort.
Before we knew it, it was the Christmas holiday weekend.
It’s time again for Hogwarts to organize the little wizards to go to Hogsmeade.
Harry looked at the other students chatting in the common room, discussing which shop in Hogsmeade he should go to, and his mood was unusually gloomy.
"We can buy all the Christmas gifts we want there!" Hermione said cheerfully, "Although my mother and father are Muggles, they also like the Fluffy Tooth mints they bought from Honeydukes!"
At this time, she saw Harry's expression and her voice lowered involuntarily.
"Harry, if you need anything, we can bring some back for you." She said softly.
"No, there's nothing I want." Harry's tone was a little stiff.
"Harry..."
While Hermione was still worried about Harry, an owl suddenly flew in from the window above the Gryffindor common room.
A long package fell from the sky and landed heavily on the sofa in front of Harry.
…
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