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Chapter 634: Krum Swimming
🕑 Added 2019-10-31 19:38:02 +0000 UTCEvan didn't tell Ron about the secret of the Golden Egg, which could easily arouse others' suspicion. That would be too obvious to do that, and it was pointless.
The key to the second task was not the information inside the Golden Egg, but how to get Ron to dive under the water.
There was no need to count on the Bubble-Head Charm. Given Ron's current situation, it was not practical or reassuring for him to fully master the use of this difficult charm. It was better to use the Gillyweed, which was more suitable for him.
The Gillyweed was a rare magical plant native to the Mediterranean Sea.
In Hogwarts, it could be found only in Snape's private potion stores.
As for how to get the Gillyweed, that was going to be Caresius’s business and headache. Evan was not ready to intervene.
On the last day of the Christmas holidays, he looked for another chance to talk to the vampire.
Evan’s worries seemed to be superfluous. Voldemort’s work outside the school had not progressed much. At the very least, Caresius’s clan had not given him any information. Besides fully helping Ron, Caresius had not received any new orders.
As for why Barty Crouch was sick, and where Voldemort was, he had no idea.
Caresius was not really a qualified spy. He was not trusted by Voldemort at all. Just as if he was treating an enemy, the dark lord was now hiding everything from him, or directly giving him the wrong information.
But on second thought, Voldemort had always been like this, he had never trusted anyone except himself.
Snape also spent decades, contributing countless secret information about the Order of the Phoenix, to be able to lurk beside Voldemort.
A vampire such as Caresius, who had never joined the Death Eaters and turned to Voldemort wholeheartedly, but also had his own plans and sullied the noble blood of Slytherin, would be mercilessly discarded after Voldemort regained his strength.
Caresius was also clearly aware of this and therefore formed an alliance with Evan. Although he didn't know any key information, Evan managed to learn something from him.
It was the new measures Percy talked about at the ball. After so many accidents in the first task, Barty Crouch suggested that the facilities of the next two tasks should be set up by the Ministry of Magic for safety reasons.
The Ministry would send someone to check the safety of the facilities, and Hogwarts was not allowed to interfere.
The purpose of doing this was obvious, and it was second to prevent danger. It was easier to do what he wanted. Even without the help of Caresius, Barty Crouch could do it himself.
Caresius had reservations about whether Barty Crouch Jr. was faking his father.
He just told Evan not to forget the Imperius Curse. As long as there was an opportunity, Barty Crouch Jr. could use this curse to control a lot of people for him to drive.
With the ability of a young wizard, students in Hogwarts shouldn't be able to resist and break free from the control of the curse.
That was also the main reason why, during Voldemort’s reign, all wizards were in a state of panic.
If Barty Crouch Jr. really used the Imperius Curse in Hogwarts, it would be a nightmare.
In this case, it would be rather foolish and even useless to look for Barty Crouch Jr. and find him.
Getting stronger was the only good way. Evan was advancing steadily according to his plan.
Time passed, and halfway through January, the students went to Hogsmeade.
Evan had an appointment with Sirius. Today, he was going to practice Apparition with him. Everyone was going to visit Sirius.
Hermione disapproved of Ron going to Hogsmeade. "Ron, I just thought you’d want to take advantage of the Common Room being quiet, and really get to work on that egg."
"But I have an appointment with Lavender… we’ll go together..." Ron noticed Hermione's face and stopped wisely. "Oh … about that golden egg … I reckon I’ve got a pretty good idea what it’s about now!" Ron rubbed his head nervously. He lied.
In fact, he had had enough of that noisy golden egg and wanted to give up.
During that period, as soon as he returned to the dormitory, he took the golden egg out of his trunk, opened it to listen intently, hoping to find out the mystery. He strained to think what the sound reminded him of, apart from thirty musical saws.
But Ron couldn't think of anything. He had never heard anything else like it.
He closed the golden egg, shook it vigorously, and then opened it again to see if the sound had changed, but it hadn’t.
He also tried asking the egg questions, shouting over all the wailing, but nothing happened.
He even used fire to burn the egg and threw it across the room, though he hadn’t really expected that to help.
All in all, Ron had been doing useless work recently and was on the verge of collapse.
He needed to relax. Although it made him feel a little guilty, he couldn’t miss his date with Lavender.
Ron’s only thought now was that it was really good to have a girlfriend.
As for proving that he was a true champion of Hogwarts and winning the game, it had become a secondary goal.
He’d been able to overcome the dragon, and he was very satisfied in his heart. He wanted to prove himself not as weak as before.
Ron felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of Hermione's stunning appearance at the ball. His strange mood made him not want to listen to Hermione's advice.
Besides, he still had five weeks to work out that egg clue, and that was ages...
Evan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Colin and Gabrielle left the castle together on Saturday and set off through the cold, wet grounds toward the gates.
As they passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, they saw Viktor Krum emerge onto the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks. He was very skinny indeed, but apparently a lot tougher than he looked, because he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms, and dived, right into the lake.
"God, what’s he doing?!" Colin couldn't help but say, "This is suicide!"
"He's mad!" said Harry, staring at Krum’s dark head as it bobbed out into the middle of the lake. “It must be freezing, it’s January!”
"It’s a lot colder where he comes from," said Hermione. "I suppose it feels quite warm to him."
"Krum's strong, stronger than most people!" Ron argued for him. "Temperature is not a problem for him. He may have the habit of winter swimming. These difficulties mean nothing to him!"
He now had a very good relationship with Krum, but he rarely mentioned him since they met.
