Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 399: Searching for Barrow
There are still more than four months until the last project begins, so Jon certainly doesn't have to stay in the carriage every day.
Even Dumbledore didn't know what the final competition was about and how it would be conducted.
The contents of the first two games were planned by him and Voldemort respectively, while the third game was planned jointly by Matthew and the other two.
The content of this project will not be announced to them until the day of the competition. Unless someone in the referee team is connected with one of the parties, no one will be able to prepare in advance.
The day after the second project ended, Jon returned to Lyon with the other students on the carriage.
Winter was not over yet. Lyon had just had a heavy snowfall on Christmas Day, and the snow had not melted yet. When Jon and his friends returned to Hogwarts' temporary residence in Lyon, it was still covered in snow.
"I have been watching it for the whole autumn. There were a few thunderstorms, but it didn't rain in the end. It was just cloudy or there was heavy rain but no thunder. Now it's winter, and the possibility of thunderstorms is very low."
Although he had already said this in the letter to John, Neville still had to tell him the specific situation again in detail.
Jon didn't have much regret about this, he just shook his head and said.
"This is normal. I never thought I would encounter it in the fall by such a coincidence. Besides, spring will come after the snow melts. When we wait for the spring thunder, the chances are pretty good."
After returning to Lyon, Jon didn't stay here for long.
Originally, they were not supposed to make this special trip back to France, but because Slytherin asked John to help with a special mission, Dumbledore simply brought all the students in the carriage back with him.
On the third day after returning, Jon set out with Nick and another ghost.
"If you have enough trust in me and Hermione, please relax. After the game is over, the crown will naturally be found. Even if you are anxious now, it is useless. Professor Dumbledore has explained the situation in the headmaster's office to you. The four relics have been integrated into the entire Hogwarts Castle in disguise. There is no way to take them out of the headmaster's office."
Before leaving, Jon was careful to explain the current situation to Ms. Grey, in case she still had some uncertain fantasies and was doing bad things behind her back.
In response to this, the witch who had been dead for thousands of years no longer had the pride she had when she first met Jon. Her temper seemed to have been almost tamed by Hermione. After listening to Jon's frank announcement, she spoke.
"Dumbledore has already told me everything you said. I understand it all, and I won't be so obsessed with getting the tiara back. The fact that I came back from that castle with you is proof enough."
This can indeed prove something in disguise, but Jon still thinks it is better to make things clear in advance no matter what.
"Well, since you've said that, and Professor Dumbledore has chosen to believe you and asked you to help lead the way, then of course I will trust you as well." After both parties spoke frankly, Jon certainly would not remain vigilant against Ms. Grey.
"So according to what the professor said, do you have any clues about the whereabouts of the Bloody Baron?"
"When we separated from Hogwarts, he told me that if I didn't know where to go one day in the future, I could go to the Headless Knight's base in Norway to find him."
Hearing what Ms. Grey said, Jon couldn't help but curl his lips inwardly.
Although few people knew the secrets between ghosts, Jon certainly knew about it. He knew that the Grey Lady and the Bloody Barrow were both wizards from the era of the Big Four. One was the biological daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, and the other had a deep relationship with Salazar Slytherin. There was certainly a love-hate relationship between the two, as well as a one-sided love-hate entanglement. Even though they had become ghosts now, their original intentions remained unchanged.
At this time, Nick couldn't help but interject.
"Why would he ask you to ask the Headless Knights to find him? His head wasn't chopped off. Would the Knights accept him? I wanted to apply to join but I wasn't qualified! They said my head wasn't completely chopped off."
Ms. Grey obviously had no interest in Nick's questions.
"How would I know what those crazy people are thinking? You can ask them yourself when you get there."
When Nick heard such an impolite answer, he looked at Jon and shrugged.
"Okay, let's talk about it after we get there."
They used Floo Powder and quickly arrived at the largest wizarding street in the Norwegian wizarding world, but the shops here were obviously much smaller than those in Britain or France. In fact, most of the wizarding population in the whole of Europe is concentrated in the three major countries of Britain, France and Germany.
Now, due to Voldemort's rule, Britain has suffered a severe population loss, but the largest number of people have gone to France and Germany. In the past year, due to the war in France, the wizarding population has begun to show a trend of outflow again, but the main inflow direction is also around France, because most people are still optimistic that Dumbledore can take France back from Voldemort.
Jon and his companions did not stay on this magical street in Norway for too long. After finding out the location of the ghost of the Headless Knight in a tavern, they left and came to Birkennes, a city in the southeast of Norway, which is not a well-known small town. In an abandoned manor in the easternmost part of this town is the headquarters of the Headless Knight that was moved from Ireland.
Although the policies implemented by Voldemort in Britain and Ireland will not affect ghosts, and ghosts will not be persecuted based on their bloodline, there are many ghosts who are not pure-blooded.
They couldn't stand it but couldn't stop it, so they simply gathered a group of ghosts who could leave Ireland and Britain and came to this small town in Norway together.
The Headless Knight is the largest ghost organization among them.
Jon and his friends were well received during their visit. The highest person in charge here was the leader of the Headless Knights, a ghost named Patrick.
As soon as he saw Nick he broke into a wild laugh.
"Nick!" he shouted. "How are you? Is your head still hanging there?"
Nick didn't seem very happy about his enthusiastic greeting, and he muttered.
"Well, well, don't bother yourself, it's still hanging around my neck."
"Hey! I told you long ago that this won't do."
Patrick grabbed his thick beard and pulled his entire head off his neck. The smooth movement made Jon take a step back.
He shook his head as if he was carrying a cabbage in a bag.
"See? This is the attitude a real man should have! I've advised you a long time ago that if you want to join us, you should find a way to find someone to chop off the little skin you're still attached to with an axe!"
Nick pretended to be indifferent on the surface, but the envious glances he occasionally stole towards Patrick betrayed him.
John was quite speechless about the ghost's show-off behavior. If Gabrielle saw this scene, she would probably start thinking about how to find a skilled executioner to chop off her head completely after she becomes a living person and join in the fun.
Fortunately, this trip was made without telling Gabrielle.
In comparison, Ms. Grey seems much more normal.
She said with impatience on her face.
"I have no interest in watching your boring show. We are here to find Barrow."
It can be seen that besides Nick, Patrick's main object of showing off is to get praise from Ms. Grey. After all, no matter what, Ms. Grey is a beautiful female ghost.
As a result, Patrick was hurt by her words.
"Barrow? That Barrow?"
He seemed to have lost interest. He put the head, which was waving casually like a cabbage, back on his neck and straightened it. He muttered and asked absentmindedly.
For the first time, Jon inserted himself into the unnatural exchange between their ghosts.
"That was the Bloody Baron, the former resident ghost of Slytherin House at Hogwarts."
"...Um, Barrow, Bloody Barrow...Wait! Are you here to see Bloody Barrow?"
Patrick seemed to have just reacted. His eyes widened, and because he used too much force, his head, which had just been straightened, tilted back a little.
But it is obvious that he would not pay attention to these "appearances", he said with emotion after being shocked.
"Barrow once stayed with me for a while. He wanted to recruit us and take us back to England to make the dark lord who betrayed the glory of Slytherin regret it. We thought he was crazy and no one paid any attention to him. Later, when he found that he could not persuade us, he left. Now he seems to have made a big name for himself in Germany and has become the leader of the ghosts!"
Jon's face looked a little strange. He had heard from Nick some news about several former Hogwarts ghosts who had dispersed, and Barrow had once expressed his desire to rely on his own strength to take the castle back from Voldemort. He didn't think much about it at the time, but now it has been confirmed that he really had such a plan!
However, Ms. Grey just sneered at this.
"He's always like this. No matter where he is, he wants to be everyone's leader and influence everyone's opinions. But when has he ever gotten anything done?"
Of course, Jon knew better than to interrupt. There were some things that Ms. Grey was certainly qualified to say.
Nick also showed considerable surprise and asked.
"And do you know where he is in Germany?"
"Of course!" Patrick became very proud when he said this. "We are the best ghost team in Europe, Nick. After becoming the leader of the German ghosts, Mr. Barrow invited us to perform at his banquets several times. We have a lot of fans there, and everyone tried their best to join us , but it is very likely..."
When talking about the glorious past of the Headless Knight, he began to talk nonstop, but fortunately Jon stopped him in time.
"We want to know where Barrow is now. Can you tell us, Mr. Patrick?"
"Oh, well, he is now in a castle outside Hamburg, Germany. It used to be the residence of a group of vampires. It seems that Barrow arranged for the ghost to expose them, and then the German Ministry of Magic cleaned up those vampires and occupied this place. Later, he used his connections to register with the ghost office, making it a place that legally belongs to them."
Jon and Nick looked at each other, obviously shocked by Barrow's actions.
Apart from anything else, it seems that he really has some "heroic" methods.
After learning Barrow's exact location from the Headless Knights, Jon and his companions did not stay here any longer.
Patrick graciously entertained them and let them attend the internal gathering of the Headless Knight tonight before leaving, but it was obvious that he was still unwilling to give up because he failed to convince Ms. Grey, and wanted to fully demonstrate his charm as a headless ghost.
Naturally, Jon and his companions declined his kindness and quickly left Norway. They then arrived in Hamburg, Germany through Grindelwald's channels in Northern Europe.
As the second largest city in Germany, Hamburg has many wizards who have settled here. In addition, both Britain and France have not been peaceful in the past two years, and more wizards have flocked here recently. In addition to Berlin, Hamburg also has a wizard commercial street that is in no way inferior to the former Diagon Alley in the UK.
After arriving here, they easily found out the news about Barrow.
"You mean that group of crazy ghosts? They are in a castle deep in the mountains and old forests in the suburbs of Glyndwr. That place is not easy to find. They paid a professional wizard team to cast secret magic on the castle. The Ministry of Magic also recognizes that it is their territory. If you want to visit, these two ghosts may be more suitable."
After getting the news from a tavern owner, Jon continued on his journey with Nick and Ms. Grey.
They soon found the woods east of Hamburg, but were troubled as to how to find the castle.
It seems that Barrow's protection of his base is indeed extremely perfect. Without an invitation, not only ordinary people, but even ordinary wizards cannot find it.
Just when Jon and the others were at a loss, a complaining voice with a tearful tone caught their attention.
"They just despise me for being useless... But what can I do? I didn't have a great reputation like them when I was alive. I was just an innocent student who was killed..."
