Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 386 Armor
Although Jon didn't know what rude words Crouch and Snape were saying, he knew that since they had made so many preparations, they would not let anyone disturb him and Hermione at the ball tonight.
In other words, when encountering these things, the best solution is for the two of them to just leave, and the Aurors around will definitely not chase them.
This was indeed the case. After he pulled Li away from the auditorium quickly, Lucius received instructions from Barty Jr. and the Aurors around him did not catch up with them.
This made Selwyn, who was lying on the ground and not only received a slap in the face but also was kicked by Jon when he left, scream even more hoarsely.
"Why don't you catch him! My father is a Death Eater ! My mother is the Director of the French Ministry of Magic! The glory of pure blood has been tarnished, and no one in Hogwarts Castle cares about it!"
However, before she could get up from the ground, the Aurors, under the command of Barty Jr., overturned and lifted Selwyn up.
This could not help but make the proud pure-blood student look shocked and bewildered. She turned her head to look at little Barty Crouch who was already approaching. Because she was not British and had gone to school at Beauxbatons since she was a child, she did not have much fear of the notorious number one thug under Voldemort.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask a question, Crouch raised the wand in his hand and her mouth was sealed instantly.
"You are shouting and making such vulgar moves in such a formal occasion. The glory of the so-called pure blood is really brought shame upon by you."
His voice was cold, and his face no longer had the gentleness that was always there in the past. Then he waved his hand, signaling the two Aurors who were holding her to take her out of the auditorium.
"Send her to the detention room and let her stay there tonight to reflect on her actions."
The two Aurors faithfully carried out his orders, and everyone in the auditorium looked at this scene in disbelief.
If we didn't know what Crouch had done to serve Voldemort, people would probably believe him if someone said he was a pure-blood traitor.
But in the absence of Voldemort, and without Snape's objection, Crouch now has the final say in Hogwarts.
Among the people present, only Beauxbatons' Vice-Principal Bulstrode had a grim look on his face, because Selwyn who was taken away was his student, and now Crouch was almost ignoring him. As a professor of Hogwarts, he directly intervened in the punishment of Beauxbatons students, which made Bulstrode feel a little embarrassed.
Voldemort's power is huge, and a large power is bound to have many factions within it.
In addition to the new pure-bloods and old pure-bloods artificially divided by Voldemort, after France was occupied by him, his internal factions were further divided into two major frameworks, British pure-bloods and French pure-bloods.
Especially after the Wizarding Front counterattacked France, most of the French pure-bloods fled to Britain to avoid liquidation, and this internal division and distinction became more and more obvious.
However, the French pure-bloods are outsiders in the UK after all, and the British island of Great Britain is the base camp of the British pure-bloods. Therefore, with the active tolerance and restraint of the French wizards, the conflict between the two sides was not triggered.
Even now, Bulstrode felt Crouch's arrogance but chose to be tolerant and not vent his dissatisfaction and anger.
He knew very well that there was nothing he could do in this situation. An internal conflict would only make others laugh at him, and Voldemort would not speak for him afterwards.
As Selwyn was dealt with, the atmosphere in the auditorium gradually returned to its previous state.
A dance music that was more cheerful than the previous one started playing, and the students returned to the center of the dance floor and started tonight's party.
But there were still many students discussing what had just happened. Everyone believed that as long as their headmaster was not in the castle, no one could control John. Even Barty Crouch Jr., who was known for his unfaithful and filial piety, chose to fight back when he was so rampant. So no one else would be able to do that.
Of course, Jon didn't care what the students in the castle thought. He and Lee had already come to the garden outside the castle that had been temporarily built for the Christmas ball.
This place looks quiet, but actually there are countless students hiding in the surrounding flowers. When Jon and Li just walked in, they ran into a young couple who were in love with each other.
The dance is only halfway through, but for some people, their best chance is when everyone is immersed in the dance.
Jon looked at the fairy dancing on a bunch of roses and said speechlessly.
"To be honest, the original intention of building this garden should be to facilitate students' trysts, right?"
"Ahem, what else?"
Taking this opportunity, Li drank the voice-changing potion. This potion was a bit scratchy on the throat when he first drank it, so although his voice had changed to some extent, it still sounded a bit strange because of the hoarseness.
However, the transformation would be very quick, and since there were few people around after arriving at the garden, Li did not need to be extra careful.
"Aren't the professors in the castle afraid that someone might get killed if they do this?"
Jon still remembered the young couple he met when he first came in. They were about his age. If he couldn't control himself, how would he explain it to their parents?
Or is it that there is no need for any explanation at all, and these parents are happy with it?
Even though he has lived here for many years, Jon still doesn't know much about the situation in Britain, but he doesn't need to understand the current situation specifically.
Of course Li didn't understand what Jon meant, he said nonchalantly.
"How could someone get killed at a normal Christmas dance? We're not at war now. You're overthinking it, Jon. Instead of thinking about this, you should think about how we should deal with the rest of the time."
…
This plan actually didn't give Hermione that much potential pressure.
Dumbledore did not think that it would be possible to completely hide Voldemort and his men's actions in the castle. Even though he did not yet have complete control of the castle, he had been operating in it for more than ten years.
Hermione's mission this time would be considered successful as long as she could safely copy down the magic runes drawn under the four relics from the headmaster's office. As for whether it would alert Voldemort himself or be discovered by him, that was something Dumbledore needed to consider.
But the first thing to ensure is that these magic runes must be copied in full. Only in this way can Dumbledore and Slytherin accurately judge to what extent Voldemort's erosion of the castle has reached, so that they can determine the next specific actions.
So Hermione acted quickly. This time she was fully prepared and didn't have to do anything herself. The shorthand quill sent from France was already flying on the parchment.
Hermione did not stand there in a daze at this time. She raised her wand and knocked on the four relics on the table.
These relics do not look special from the outside, except that the desk that holds them is painted with densely packed, tiny, and barely noticeable magic runes. It looks like an ordinary desk with a few ordinary decorations on it.
When Hermione's wand fell on the Ravenclaw tiara, the tiara inlaid with blue gems glowed faintly, but did not move at all.
Her levitation spell didn't work as it should have.
This was not beyond Hermione's expectations. She had the same idea as John. Since Voldemort dared to place these four relics here so openly, he must have some support for them. Obviously, they could not be taken away so easily.
Originally, according to the plan given to her by Dumbledore, there was no mention of taking these four relics away now. These four things were basically connected to the entire Hogwarts Castle. From the moment Voldemort chose to use them as a medium to invade the castle, these four things could no longer leave the castle.
Hermione was just trying to fulfill Ms. Grey's promise. The crown was found, but there was no way to take it out. This was considered an explanation to her.
Just as the battle between Fawkes and Nagini had entered a white-hot stage, the shorthand quill on the desk was still writing rapidly, and Hermione was about to assist Fawkes in casting two spells, suddenly a heavy sound of footsteps came from the staircase separating the headmaster's office from the tower where the Book of Admission and the Pen of Acceptance were previously stored!
Hermione clenched the wand in her hand instantly, and Fawkes, who had successfully made a bloody hole in Nagini's head, also raised his head alertly!
It left the half-dead Nagini behind, turned around and glided onto Hermione's shoulder. Hermione quickly walked to the parchment on the desk with less than half of the magic runes copied on it. She did not leave immediately with the parchment. If she did not copy all the magic runs, the value of her trip would be greatly reduced. So her eyes were still fixed on the corner of the tower stairs, listening to the heavy footsteps getting closer and closer.
Then, a figure in metal armor reflecting the bright moonlight outside the window walked down the stairs!
The hand in armor holds a sharp knight's sword. Although it has gone through hundreds of years, the surface of the armor is still smooth and shiny. The movements of the limbs are not awkward at all, but full of coordinated beauty.
The moment it walked out of the stairs, it aimed at Hermione and raised the knight's sword in its hand with a cold and sharp light!
After seeing that the person who came was not a living person but a magical armor, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. However, she still did not let her guard down. While the armor had not yet made any further moves, she cast a spell first!
"Repel at full speed!"
There was no dazzling spell beam that appeared, but a surge of air that created ripples in the air. Then the armor was suddenly knocked away as if it had been hit by a sledgehammer, and then it hit the solid stone wall of the principal's office heavily.
It seemed that Hermione's spell had a great effect, but in fact it only partially restricted the movement of the armor and did not cause any substantial damage to it.
"Bind him quickly! Freeze him with ice!"
After Hermione cast two consecutive spells, the Binding Spell and the Freezing Spell, a rope appeared out of thin air and suddenly tied up the entire body of the armor that was about to stand up from the ground. At the same time, the cold frost on its body surface quickly and completely sealed all its movable joints.
After doing all this, Hermione did not stop her actions. She immediately turned around and swung the wand in her hand towards Nagini, who was still struggling in a pool of blood.
"The flames are blazing!"
The raging fire burned the snake blood and illuminated the entire principal's office. Just as the flames were engulfing Nagini, heavy footsteps were heard at the corner of the stairs.
Hermione was keenly sure that it was a burst of footsteps, not just one, because it was obvious that this burst of footsteps could not be produced by one suit of armor. At least two suits of armor came to life and came to the principal's office!
She glanced at the progress of the parchment on the table. The speed of copying with the shorthand quill was very fast, at least much faster than normal handwriting. But even so, only half of the work was completed. If she wanted to finish copying all the magic runes on the desk, Hermione would need to delay for a long time.
At this time, the armored soldiers who walked down from the tower also appeared in the principal's office. Just as Hermione guessed based on the footsteps, there were two sets of armored soldiers who appeared again. Compared with the previous armored soldiers, in addition to holding knight swords, one of them also held a shield. The armor also looked heavier, while the other armored soldier held a long axe in both hands.
After arriving at the principal's office, the man in armor holding a shield and sword rushed towards Hermione without hesitation. It was very fast and there was no sign of clumsiness, as if there was a real living person inside.
The more this happened, the calmer Hermione became, and she quickly waved her wand.
"Lots of obstacles!"
In an instant, the air about five meters in front of her began to become sticky, and the sword, shield and armor seemed to have fallen into the water, and the movement began to slow down significantly.
But this slowness only lasted for a second, and a light red light flashed on the shield it held. Then Hermione's barrier spell was broken by it, and the sprint speed returned to the initial state. It raised the knight's sword in its hand and slashed towards Hermione's position!
Even if it was only a delay of one second, it gave Hermione enough time to react. As the armor raised the sword in his hand, she quickly stepped back to create enough distance for herself.
The sword that was cut off by the armor finally hit the sword of Gryffindor placed on the desk. The moment the two swords met, there was a sound of metal clashing!
