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Chapter 688: Identity Exchange
🕑 Added 2020-02-09 19:21:24 +0000 UTCAfter leaving Fleur, Evan didn't return to the castle, but went to the nearby cabin of Hagrid.
Harry and Sirius were there, and Sirius had turned into a big black dog again.
During the period before the start of the task, he would lodge with Hagrid in his Animagus form.
It didn't matter if he was seen by students accidentally. They could cover it up saying that Hagrid had found a new pet again.
After knowing that he was a half-giant, everybody was used to Hagrid!
He had a special liking for fierce-looking, dangerous animals with fangs and sharp teeth, and he could always find some rare special species to bring back for breeding.
It would actually be abnormal if Hagrid didn’t find new, dangerous animals from time to time!
Compared with the three-headed dog, the Acromantulas, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts, a big black dog was not worth fussing about.
No one would know that he was an Animagus, and that he was actually Sirius Black.
Evan had no problem with that, as long as Sirius didn't cause any trouble.
Time passed quickly, and as February entered, the atmosphere in the castle became tense and exciting again.
Everyone was looking forward to the second task, which would start on the last Saturday, and discussing its content.
Evan was ready, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had made great strides compared to before.
Recently, the four of them had been looking around for any empty classroom, and practiced a lot of spells.
Professor McGonagall always bumped into them practicing all over the school, so she allowed them to use the Transfiguration classroom at lunchtime.
Evan was practicing the magic he had mastered, and had selected several practical Dark magic to learn.
As for the knowledge of alchemy, ancient runes, and evil gods, he decided to put all of that aside for the time being, and wait until this event was over.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were learning the common Defence Against the Dark Arts. Among the three, Hermione was the fastest learner.
Whether it was Reducto, Protego, Impedimenta, or other magic spells, Hermione was always the first to master them after practicing a few times, but her disadvantage was that she could not flexibly use various types of spells to fight.
That was Harry’s strength. Although his learning was a bit slower, Harry was flexible and he was the best to use all kinds of magic spells comprehensively.
Not to mention, he was very talented in combat and could use the most appropriate magic to solve problems at the most suitable time.
Of the three, Ron was the slowest learner and had no perseverance, and wanted to give up again and again.
If it hadn't been for Hermione's strict supervision, he might have stopped practicing!
Fortunately, he was able to keep up with the progress in the end and wasn’t left behind too far.
Now, they spent some time at Hagrid's cabin every night and received special tutoring from Sirius, which was much faster than practicing by themselves from books, and Sirius knew more about many magic use and combat skills than Evan.
Around eight o'clock in the evening, Sirius would send everyone back to the castle. Then, it was time for him to move freely.
Although Sirius had repeatedly promised that he would not cause trouble, Evan could be sure that he had sneaked into Durmstrang ship more than once in the middle of the night and entered Karkaroff’s office.
Fortunately, he also knew the limits and didn't get too close to Barty Crouch Jr.
The day before the start of the task, Evan decided to exchange identities with Gabrielle.
Fudge and Bagman would arrive at Hogwarts later, and preparations for the second task might start at any time.
The most important persons of the champions would be gathered one day in advance.
The champions were unaware of the entire process. According to regulations, they should not know the specific content of the task in advance.
After breakfast, Evan left the castle with Hermione and went to Gabrielle.
After learning of the whole plan, Hermione was very worried, but finally bravely supported Evan.
She helped Evan re-examine the plan and fix some details.
In fact, Evan didn't intend to tell Hermione too many things because he was afraid of her wild thoughts. But Hermione was too clever. Combining the relevant information obtained before and the disappearance of Mr. Crouch a short time ago, she deduced a lot by herself. This kind of thing could not be hidden from her at all.
Even if she didn't know for the time being, she would be able to guess after the news of Voldemort's return spread.
It was simply better to be generous and tell her everything, and in the end, Hermione was much stronger than Evan thought.
"Evan, promise me you'll come back alive!" Hermione said suddenly as she was walking across the lawn.
"Don’t worry, Have I ever let you down?" said Evan, hugging Hermione hard.
Meanwhile, in Beauxbatons carriage, Gabrielle was sitting anxiously in her bed waiting, her heart drumming and she was so nervous!
She originally rejected Evan's suggestion to exchange identities, but she couldn't stand the joint persuasion of Evan and Fleur and she finally had to agree.
She didn't want Evan to risk his life, but the latter seemed to have other concerns.
Moreover, it was really scary just to go into the depths of the lake, but Evan was here to take her place...
Hearing the footsteps outside the room, she stood up in a hurry.
"Good morning, Gabrielle!"
Led by Fleur, Evan and Hermione entered Gabrielle's room in turn, and Hermione finally closed the door.
In this small room, the four people just looked at one another for a while, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Gabrielle's room was next to her sister’s Fleur. The room was slightly smaller and the decor was similar. But it was cuter; there were many girls' supplies and dolls.
"Good morning!" said Gabrielle quietly, her face turning red unwillingly. Her eyes met Evan's and she looked away quickly.
"Well, what shall we do now?" said Fleur directly. "You two would better hurry up!"
"Well, this is the Polyjuice Potion. It’s ready. Just put the hair in it and you’ll assume the appearance of the person after taking it. It can last for about an hour each time," said Evan, taking out two bottles. He handed one of them to Hermione. "I’ve already configured this one and there’s my hair in it. Gabrielle, give me some of your hair."
Hearing what he said, Gabrielle quickly reached into a pinch of hair and pulled out a few.
"Well, just put it inside!" Evan walked over and pulled the cork.
Gabrielle threw the hair into a mud-like liquid. As soon as the hair touched the liquid surface, the potion began to bubble and smoke, and it turned into a clear light blue in the blink of an eye, the color of a clear sky!
