Chapter 332 330 Hagrid's Failure

Chapter 332 330. Hagrid’s Failure

The official start time of the Triwizard Tournament was announced just after dinner that day.

It was a sumptuous banquet, with all seven stipulated referees present, and reporters from almost every newspaper office of various magical societies in Europe.

At the same time, it was announced that in order to ensure the smooth progress of the competition, Lucius led the Aurors to settle in Hogwarts Castle and guard all the main passages in the castle as well as the entrances and exits of the secret passages that had been discovered.

Anyone who is not blind can tell who they are guarding against with this kind of strict defensive action.

And even at the dinner, Jon and the others did not see any of the hemp students in the castle.

Their life trajectories were completely classified underground, and Voldemort would not let them intersect on any level until Dumbledore and his party left.

At the dinner, Jon also saw the three wizards from the International Federation of Magic.

Regarding Matthew, George and Lee had already told him about this man in the afternoon, and the other two wizards, one with a white turban on his head, thick beard, and a lanky figure, were obviously a Middle Easterner, the last one is a dark-skinned witch.

She has a plump figure and has wavy black hair. She looks no longer young. She is wearing a purple robe full of weird patterns. After hearing the introduction, everyone present knew that she was from another magic school from Africa. Vice-Chancellor.

They all looked kind. At the beginning of the dinner, when Voldemort introduced them to everyone one by one, these three referees from the Federation all smiled at the students at Hogwarts Castle and Jon. .

At the end of the dinner, when the rules of the next game were officially announced, Matthew served as the general representative of the referees.

"The first competition event will start in a week. During this time, we also need to focus on arranging the environment of the venue. In addition, the warriors of the four schools will gather in the auditorium on time at 10 a.m. tomorrow. You will use the The wand needs to be tested uniformly.”

"Finally, I would like to emphasize the rules of the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. First: Except for wands, each warrior is not allowed to bring other magic props in all competition events. When the project officially starts, we will have dedicated personnel to conduct searches. , once violations are discovered, they will be directly sentenced to the bottom of the ongoing project.”

"Second: Players are allowed to attack each other in the event, but the use of the Unforgivable Curse and any spell that may cause death is prohibited. If such a phenomenon is found, the team to which the warrior belongs will be directly sentenced to defeat. Note that the penalty here is Not a single event, but the loser of the entire Triwizard Tournament.”

"Third: During the Warriors' participation period, their schools and camps are not allowed to provide additional help in any way. If this occurs, the punishment will be based on Article 2."

"fourth."

These rules are very complete, covering almost all possible ways of cheating, and were clearly approved by Voldemort and Dumbledore when they were established.

After explaining all the rules, Jon and the others' first day at Hogwarts Castle was finally over.

When everyone left, the eight Aurors who had been guarding the door of the auditorium were keeping an eye on Dumbledore and his group, monitoring them so that no one would sneak into other places in the castle after leaving the auditorium.

"These people are just like the hens my mother raised in the chicken coop." George made a face at one of the Aurors, and then whispered to Jon next to him, "Regard this castle as your own." They come to protect their nests, but sooner or later they will be slaughtered.”

"Don't say such things here. If they hear it and can't help but attack you, Professor Dumbledore won't be able to react immediately."

As Jon spoke, he also looked at the Aurors there.

One of the eight people was always looking at Dumbledore, two were staring at Rozier, three were always staring at him, and the other two were casually observing the others.

These well-trained Aurors know very well who among this group of people is likely to cause trouble.

Dumbledore is indeed the strongest, but it is basically impossible for him to go into battle himself. Once such a situation occurs, it will be a life-or-death showdown with Voldemort. Letting someone watch him is just a precaution. First, it is considered as respect given to the supreme leader.

And Rozier is a member of Grindelwald. Although the two parties belong to the same camp as the Witch Leveling Line, they belong to two different factions. If Grindelwald wants her to do something small in the castle, even Dumbledore may not know it. , so two people were specially sent to keep an eye on her.

Jon, who was stared at by three people at the same time, was naturally the focus of attention.

First of all, he was known as the Triwizard Tournament warrior. Under the premise that Voldemort wanted to continue the game in sequence, he could not attack Jon. That would be tantamount to deliberately sabotaging the progress of the game and unilaterally tearing it up. The blood oath made with Dumbledore.

And Jon is not lacking in the ability to cause trouble. Among the Death Eaters, he dares to say that he must be stronger than Bella and Rodolphus, and he can count them with a slap.

Therefore, he is the most troublesome and the one who needs Auror's attention the most.

But Jon was in no mood to do anything, at least not yet.

Although he was now in Hogwarts Castle, his heart was always concerned about the Animagus potion buried in Lyon. Before leaving, he specifically asked Neville to help pay attention to the weather in Lyon. If there were any signs of thunderstorms, he would immediately ask Lupin, who stayed at school, to come to Hogwarts Castle to pass on the news.

Lyon has the most rain in the past two or three months a year. If there is no good news during this period, there will be no hope this year.

After leaving Hogwarts Castle under surveillance, the other students returned to the carriage, and Jon came to the front of the carriage with a lunch box in his hand.

He did not see Hagrid during the meal. Hearing Dumbledore say that he was taking care of the Thestrals, Jon felt that if Hagrid missed the meal now, it would not be easy for him to enter the Great Hall again, so he specially packed some food for him to prevent him from only eating rock skin cakes that were suitable for grinding teeth.

However, when Jon came to the front of the car with his things, he did not see Hagrid.

The Thestrals were still strolling leisurely on the grass, and there was a plate of biscuits on the table in front of the driver's seat, but Hagrid was gone.

Jon walked up and touched the black fur of the Thestrals. These animals had been with him for a long time at sea, so they were not averse to him.

"Can you tell me where Hagrid went?"

The Thestral raised its head and snorted in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

It was pitch black there, and except for the occasional roar of an unknown animal, nothing else could be seen.

Jon frowned slightly.

When Snape brought them here, he clearly said that the Forbidden Forest was off-limits, and magic was set up around the periphery of the forest. Since he dared to say that and did not send someone to guard it, it meant that he was very confident in the spell to protect the Forbidden Forest.

Jon could see that Hagrid had been distracted by the Forbidden Forest since he came to Hogwarts Castle, but if he rashly tried to force his way in, there would definitely be problems.

He stared at the direction of the Forbidden Forest for a few seconds, then put the dinner he brought on the table. Just as he was about to go back to the carriage to find Dumbledore and ask him to help look for Hagrid outside, a staggering sound of footsteps suddenly came into his ears from far away.

Hagrid looked very embarrassed. His already unkempt hair and beard were now covered with grass debris. There was also an obvious red mark on his face, as if he had been hit by something heavy. There were also several more tattered holes on his robe than before.

"Are you okay, Hagrid?"

Hearing Jon's voice, Hagrid raised his originally dejected head at this time. He and Jon's calm eyes met, and he couldn't help but panic.

"Ah, of course I'm fine. I just went out for a walk. Uh. But you know, when people get older, they tend to have trouble seeing things in the dark. I accidentally tripped over a tree root. I was so careless."

Jon didn't say anything, but just nodded when he explained, as if he believed everything he said unconditionally.

But it was his attitude that made Hagrid completely unable to make up stories.

He sat down on the grass with a gray face, and the moonlight sprinkled on him, making him look like a stupid bear who didn't steal honey but was stung all over.

"I lied, Jon, I just wanted to enter this forest, but failed."

Jon didn't blame, and he didn't have the right to blame. He could see that Hagrid was in a very bad mood. Since they met, Jon had never seen such a sad expression on his face.

He walked to Hagrid and sat down. He didn't ask the reason, but considered his words.

"You can actually trust me and wait a little longer, Hagrid. No matter what you want to do in the Forbidden Forest, you have been able to wait for so many years in exile, so why can't you wait for less than a school year?"

"I trust you, Jon, just like I trust Dumbledore." Hagrid's voice was filled with tears.

"But after coming here, I really can't wait any longer, and I dare not wait any longer. When Hogwarts Castle was captured by the Dark Lord that year, I had to help Dumbledore, so I could only take the youngest Beech and Fang with me. There were so many of my friends who stayed behind, but I abandoned them. After so many years, they could only hide in the Forbidden Forest. I must make sure they are still alive. Aragog, Hoss, Maurice, Parsons."

He covered his face with his big hands, and finally couldn't help crying when he said these names.

"If Fang had followed me, he would have died. He was the most timid. But when we were being chased, he rushed over to help me block a killing curse. He saved my life. I dare not think that they would have died if they stayed in the Forbidden Forest. If I had let them all out at the beginning."

Jon sighed, and stood up and barely patted Hagrid's shoulder.

"They are all magical animals, not pets that have lost their ability to survive. Hiding in the Forbidden Forest means they have returned to the safest environment. You don't have to blame yourself like this."

Hagrid hugged Jon and cried like a child who had lost his friends and family.

For Hagrid, these animals are indeed his closest family. After being expelled from Hogwarts, he also lost his father. If Dumbledore had not taken him in and placed him in the Forbidden Forest as a gamekeeper, he would really be homeless.

And during the decades as a gamekeeper, those animals have the deepest feelings for him, not to mention that he also experienced the death of Fang to save him.

This undoubtedly increased his sense of guilt, making him unable to resist trying to break into the Forbidden Forest to care about the safety of those animal friends when everyone else gathered in the hall tonight.

Such things, no matter how much Jon comforted him, could not heal the scars in Hagrid's heart. He patted Hagrid's back and thought about it, and then said.

"In fact, if you really can't wait to know how they live in the Forbidden Forest, I can help you."

Hagrid wiped the snot and tears from his face, but he shook his head firmly when he heard Jon's words.

"This is my personal matter, Jon. I can't involve you. You still have to participate in the competition, and you are pinning everyone's hopes on it. You shouldn't take risks for me."

"Don't worry, I will definitely not break into the Forbidden Forest as you think." Jon comforted, "According to my and Professor Dumbledore's speculation, the first competition project starting a week later will most likely be held in the Forbidden Forest. If there is a chance, I can go to see your animal friends on your behalf."

Hagrid was obviously moved, but soon he shook his head and said.

"No! Even if you can enter the Forbidden Forest through the competition, it will interfere with you. You can't affect the competition just because you help me."

"You just said that you believe in me just like you believe in Professor Dumbledore." Jon shrugged, "I have more sense than anyone else, and I didn't give you an absolute promise, just said that if there is a chance, so you shouldn't have such a big hope directly."

Hagrid's eyes were red, and he looked at Jon eagerly. After a long silence, he finally stopped refusing, but held Jon's hand tightly and said in a trembling voice.

"Thank you so much, Jon."

"Why are we talking about thank you? Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that I'm here to deliver dinner. If nothing else, the house elves in the castle are really good at grilling sausages. I brought you two extra ones."