Chapter 343 341 Seeking Help Late at Night (Happy New Year 2023!)

Chapter 343 341. Late-night help (Happy New Year 2023!)

Jon is really efficient in getting the Golden Snitch.

In the whole afternoon, he had already taken nearly 70 Golden Snitches from the three fire dragons, and he still had five targets left.

According to the current situation, when he visits all the fire dragons that have been discovered, he can probably get 200 Snitches.

This is already a considerable number. After all, the referee team has only placed 500 Snitches in this forbidden forest. Even if the three people who are competing in the forbidden forest are completely divided equally, each person will only have more than 160.

Just when Jon was about to temporarily end today's task, find a place to rest and cook dinner, and plan to complete the remaining task goals tomorrow, an unexpected person came to him at night.

At this time, Jon had eaten and drunk enough, and Hoss had gone out on his own horse to stroll and forage for food. Just when Jon was about to get into the tent created by Transfiguration to rest, a burst of unobstructed footsteps startled him.

Jon held the wand, and his body, which had already entered half of the tent, shrank back again, and then looked at the figure walking out of the depths of the Forbidden Forest in the moonlight.

This was a man wearing a black robe and a wide hood on his head, so people could not identify his identity at the first time.

Jon narrowed his eyes and said in a vigilant voice.

"So, you are going to ignore even the most basic rules of the game and directly send someone into the Forbidden Forest to attack me?"

He subconsciously suspected that this was someone sent by Voldemort, or even Voldemort himself.

Even if there is a blood oath as a constraint, this unbreakable oath is not a magic that has no solution like the Unforgivable Curse. If Voldemort is really willing to be cruel and willing to bear part of the cost, the rules can be violated.

However, the black-robed man quickly responded to Jon's question. He simply took off the hat on his head, revealing a young, handsome and pale face.

This was a boy who was only a few years older than Jon. Jon looked at him and felt that he was familiar.

"I have no ill intentions."

The extremely nervous Cedric raised his hands that were not holding the wand. Tonight he ran out again at a great risk.

But he had no choice. He needed help, and now in this forbidden forest, only Jon could help him.

Jon was obviously a little surprised by Cedric's face, but he also felt that the boy had no hostility. The wand in his hand drooped slightly, but his eyes never shifted.

"Who are you?"

"Cedric, Cedric Diggory, a sixth-year student at the Half-Blood Academy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Cedric introduced himself with a little shortness of breath.

When Jon heard the name, his original guard was slightly lowered. Of course, he still remembered this name that had left a deep impression even in the original book.

However, Jon did not completely let down his guard.

"Mr. Diggory, if I remember correctly, according to the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, no unrelated personnel from any party are allowed to privately interfere in the competition during the start of the competition. So why did you come to me tonight? Do you want to help the young master of the Malfoy family in your school to avenge him?"

Hearing Jon's words, Cedric waved his hands and said hurriedly.

"No, I don't have this idea. I came to you to ask for your help. Only you can help me help the centaurs in this forbidden forest. They are almost unable to hold on."

Jon frowned.

"Help the centaurs?"

"Yes! The centaurs, they have been persecuted by the British Ministry of Magic. Even the only small tribe in the Forbidden Forest is being conquered and driven away by the Aurors. They have been forced to the point of desperation, and only a few people are still lingering. I got lost in the Forbidden Forest when I was taking the Care of Magical Creatures class three years ago. I got to know them after being rescued by a centaur. Since then, I have been helping them find a way to survive. They asked me to help contact Dumbledore, but I never had the chance. Even in the carriage where Dumbledore is now, I am always under strict surveillance. I can't avoid other people and sneak up on me."

"So I can only come to the Forbidden Forest to find you, Mr. Green. I have seen the report about you in the Starlight, and of course the Daily Prophet, but I know that the smear campaign against you by the British newspapers is not true. You are a man of great achievements, and you will definitely find a way to save those centaurs, right?"

Cedric told about his situation and the reason for finding Jon, and then looked at him with pleading eyes.

Jon was unmoved. He asked coldly

"How did you find me?"

"I am very familiar with the Forbidden Forest. I have come here countless nights in the past three years. There are many magical animals here who are my friends. They helped me find you."

"How did you get out of the castle?"

"The secret passage. I found a secret passage leading to Hogsmeade behind the mirror deep in the corridor on the fourth floor. I always crawled out of that secret passage and then entered the Forbidden Forest from the direction of Hogsmeade."

"I remember that in order to restrict irrelevant people from entering the Forbidden Forest, this entire area was protected by the referees. Ordinary people can't get in at all, right?"

"It was the centaurs who helped me. They gave me this."

Facing Jon's question, Cedric told everything without any hesitation, holding a stone arrow in his hand.

"With this thing, I can enter and exit the Forbidden Forest freely without alerting the referee of the game."

Jon tapped the wand lightly, and the arrow flew from Cedric's hand and then fell into his own hand. Jon did feel a magic power different from that of a wizard from this item.

After hearing Cedric's answers and explanations, Jon already believed his words a little, not only because his answers were reasonable, but also because the name Cedric was worthy of his trust.

Jon lowered the wand in his hand. He looked at the boy who ran out of the castle at risk, pondered for a few seconds, and then said.

"Tell me all about the centaurs."

Hearing his words, Cedric's face was obviously happy. He couldn't help but get closer to Jon, then sat cross-legged opposite Jon around the campfire, and told him everything he knew about the centaurs in a fast but clear voice.

"Firenze, the only leader of the centaurs now, originally had a small tribe of dozens of people in the Forbidden Forest, but now many have been killed by the Aurors, leaving less than 20 people, more than half of whom are children and women."

"They don't want to escape from the Forbidden Forest. Over the years, they have been dealing with the Aurors who came in to completely wipe them out in the depths of the Forbidden Forest, and Firenze's approach is also correct. Even though the Forbidden Forest is next to Hogwarts Castle, it is also the most familiar place for them to live for many years. On the contrary, some of the centaurs who escaped from the Forbidden Forest were surrounded by Aurors, and finally all of them were killed. All of them were captured or killed. "

"At the end of last semester, I learned that the Triwizard Tournament would be held in Hogwarts Castle, and I also knew that Dumbledore and you were coming, so I told Firenze and the others about this. We planned to wait for Dumbledore to come to Hogwarts Castle, find an opportunity to contact him, and ask him to help rescue the centaurs from the Forbidden Forest. But before we started planning, the arrival of the group of dragons in the Forbidden Forest last week completely blocked Firenze and the others in their exiled camp."

Jon frowned, and he interrupted Cedric here.

"You said it was the dragons that blocked them in the camp?"

Cedric nodded and said.

"When those dragons were sent to the Forbidden Forest, a Norwegian Ridgeback and two Ukrainian Ironbelly were placed not far from them and assigned to their territory. These three dragons blocked all the entrances and exits of Firenze's camp. With those three dragons, they had no way to communicate with the outside world and obtain supplies."

Jon took out the simple Forbidden Forest map that he and Hoss had drawn this morning when they were looking for the dragons that were put into the Forbidden Forest.

"Ukrainian Ironbelly and Norwegian Ridgeback."

He looked for them on the map according to Cedric's description of the three dragons, and brought the map to Cedric.

"Is the centaur camp you mentioned in this area?"

After Jon taught him how to identify it, Cedric shook his head.

"It's not on this map. For safety reasons, Firenze and his men placed the camp at the outermost edge on the other side of Hogwarts Castle. That area is very remote."

After listening to him, Jon put the map away again.

He stared at the bonfire in front of him for a while, and finally put his eyes back on Cedric.

"Mr. Diggory"

"You can just call me Cedric."

"Okay, Cedric, I'm willing to believe you, but you know that the game I'm participating in now represents not only myself, but also an entire group that is being oppressed."

Jon and Cedric looked at each other.

"So for the sake of safety, you must prove it to me in a way."

Cedric answered without hesitation.

"I am willing to accept any way of proof!"

Jon stared at him closely, and a hidden magic seemed to build a bridge between the eyes.

"Then please relax first, relax your mind."

Cedric felt what Jon was going to do to him, but he had no intention of resisting at all, so he followed Jon's words and completely removed all his mental vigilance.

"Are you really Cedric Diggory?" Jon asked softly.

"Yes."

"Are all your comments about the centaurs true, too? "

"I promise!"

Jon's Legilimency was not very good, so he could only see what the other party was thinking when he let down his guard.

But even if that was the case, as long as Cedric was willing to cooperate, it would be enough. Unless this boy who was upright and kind in the normal world line had completely surrendered to Voldemort and learned the brain block technique, otherwise what he said just now would not be false.

After confirming Cedric's authenticity, Jon did not hesitate, and he blew a whistle immediately.

Soon, a gust of wind swept in from afar, and Hoss, who was holding a blade of grass in his mouth, appeared in front of Jon and Cedric in the blink of an eye.

Jon commanded Cedric to climb onto Hoss's horse.

"You sit in front and show it the way. We will go find those centaurs now."

Cedric got on Hoss's back, and then Jon also sat behind him, and finally Jon patted Hoss's belly.

"Run faster, Hoss, follow his command, we are going to save people!"

Hoss snored, and then disappeared into the night like the wind.

"You were the one who peeked at me in the grass last night?"

Cedric guided the way for Hoss and answered Jon's questions at the same time.

"It's me. I wasn't ready to find you yesterday. I wanted to try to lead those fire dragons away by myself, but I failed. Today, I was almost discovered by the professors of the school that I sneaked out at night."

While they were talking, Hoss suddenly stopped moving forward and stopped at the bottom of a small hill.

Looking up from their position, they could just see the huge creature sleeping on the other side of the hill - Ukrainian Iron Belly!

This is the largest known fire dragon in the world. Jon had never thought that the referee team would choose such a dragon species to be released into the Forbidden Forest, because their huge size has a great impact on the ecology of the Forbidden Forest. Even if other fire dragons are not at peace, as long as they are confined to a certain area, the safety of other magical animals can be guaranteed.

But the terrain where the Ukrainian Iron Belly lives will definitely be changed. As long as this kind of dragon species lies on the ground, it can leave a basin-like pit on the ground. After the game, even if they are sent away, the changed ecology cannot be restored.

However, as for how difficult it is to deal with, due to its heavy weight, the Iron Belly is not very agile. If you just want to catch the Snitch around them, it is much easier than other dragons.

But Jon and Cedric did not come here to catch the Snitch, but to cross the area where the fire dragon is and open the way to the centaur camp.

After getting off Hoss's horse, Jon did not watch the Iron Belly to figure out how to attack, but began to observe the surrounding terrain first.