Chapter 343 341. Asking for help late at night (Happy New Year 2023!)
Jon's efficiency in obtaining the Golden Snitch is indeed very high.
In the whole afternoon, he had already obtained nearly seventy golden snitches from the three fire dragons, leaving him with five more targets to go.
Based on the current situation, when he visits all the fire dragons he has discovered so far, he can harvest about two hundred snitches.
This is already a considerable amount. After all, the total number of snitches placed by the referee team in this forbidden forest is only 500. Even if the three players who are currently competing in the forbidden forest are divided equally, each person will only have 100. There are more than sixty.
And just when Jon was about to temporarily end today's mission, find a place to rest and cook dinner, and plan to wait until tomorrow to complete the remaining mission goals, an unexpected person found him at night.
At this time, Jon had already eaten and drank enough, and Hoss also went out for a walk on his own horse. Just when Jon was about to get into the tent created by the transformation technique and start resting, there was a burst of unmasked footsteps. over him.
Jon held the wand, and retracted his body, which had already been halfway into the tent, and then looked at the figure who came out from the depths of the Forbidden Forest through the moonlight.
This is a person dressed in a black robe, with a wide hood on his head, so that people can't tell his identity at the first time.
Jon narrowed his eyes and said in a vigilant voice.
"So, are you planning to not even abide by the most basic rules of the game, and let people enter the Forbidden Forest to attack me?"
He subconsciously suspected that this was someone sent by Voldemort, maybe even Voldemort himself.
Even if there is a blood oath as a constraint, this unbreakable oath is not a magic that cannot be undone like the Unforgivable Curse. If Voldemort is really willing to be cruel and willing to bear part of the price, the rules are not unbreakable.
However, the man in black robe quickly responded to Jon's question. He simply took off the hat he was wearing on his head, revealing a young, handsome and pale face.
This is a boy who is not a few years older than Jon, and Jon can obviously feel a little familiar when he looks at him.
"I have no ill intentions."
Cedric, who was extremely nervous, raised his hands that were not holding the wand. Tonight he ran out again at a huge risk.
But he has no choice, he needs help, and now the only one who can help him in this forbidden forest is Jon.
Jon was obviously surprised by Cedric's face, but he also felt that the boy was not hostile. The tip of 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 College of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Cedric introduced himself with a little shortness of breath.
When Jon heard this name, he let go of the original guard in his heart. Of course, he still remembered this name that left a strong mark even in the original book.
But Jon didn't completely let go of his guard.
"Mr. Diggory, if I remember correctly, according to the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, during the start of the match, no one from either side is allowed to intervene in private. Then why did you come to me tonight? Want to avenge that young master of the Malfoy family in our school?"
Hearing what Jon said, Cedric waved his hands quickly and said in a hurried voice.
"No, I don't have this idea. I came to you to ask for your help. Only you can help me. Help the horse people in this forbidden forest. They are almost unable to hold on."
Jon frowned.
"Help the horseman?"
"Yes! It's the centaurs. They have been persecuted by the British Ministry of Magic. Even this small tribe in the Forbidden Forest is being conquered and driven away by the Aurors. They have been cornered. I got lost in the Forbidden Forest three years ago when I was in the Protection of Fantastic Beasts class. I got to know them only after being rescued by a centaur. I have been helping them find them since then. The way to survive. They asked me to help contact Dumbledore, but I never had a chance. Even in the carriage where Dumbledore is now, I am always under strict surveillance. I have no way to avoid other people secretly near."
"So I can only come to the Forbidden Forest to find you, Mr. Green, I have seen reports on you in the Starlight Newspaper, and of course the Daily Prophet, but I know that the British newspapers' smearing of you is not true, you He is a person with great achievements, and he must have a way to save those horsemen, right?"
Cedric told about his situation and the reason why he found Jon, and then looked at him with pleading eyes.
Jon was unmoved, he asked in a cold voice
"how did you find me?"
"I am very familiar with the Forbidden Forest. I have been here countless nights in the past three years. There are also many magical animals here that are my friends. They helped me find you."
"How did you get out of that castle?"
"Secret passage, I found a secret passage leading to Hogsmeade behind the mirror deep in the corridor on the fourth floor. Every time I climb out of that secret passage, and then enter from the direction of Hogsmeade Forbidden Forest."
"I remember that in order to restrict irrelevant people from entering the Forbidden Forest, the entire area was protected by those referees. Ordinary people can't enter at all?"
"The horses helped me, they gave me this."
Facing Jon's question, Cedric confessed without any hesitation, holding a stone arrow in his hand.
"With this thing, I can freely enter and exit the Forbidden Forest without disturbing the referee of the game."
Jon tapped his wand lightly, and the arrow flew up from Cedric's hand, and then fell into his own hand. From this item, Jon did feel a magical power that was different from that of a wizard.
Hearing Cedric's answers and explanations, Jon has already believed his words, not only because his answers are reasonable, but also because the name Cedric is worthy of his trust.
Jon lowered the wand in his hand. He looked at the boy who ventured out of the castle, pondered for a few seconds, and then spoke.
"Tell me about the centaurs."
Hearing his words, Cedric's face was obviously happy, and he couldn't help getting closer to Jon, and then sat cross-legged around the campfire opposite Jon, speaking quickly but clearly telling him what he knew Everything about the horse people.
"Ferenze, the only leader of the horse people now, they originally had a small tribe of dozens of people in the Forbidden Forest, but now they have been killed by the Aurors, leaving less than 20 people, of which More than half are children and women."
"At the end of last semester, I learned that the Triwizard Tournament was going to be held at Hogwarts Castle, and I also knew that Dumbledore and you were coming, so I told Firenze and the others the news. We plan to Waiting for the time when Dumbledore came to Hogwarts Castle, looking for a chance to contact him and ask him to help rescue the centaurs from the Forbidden Forest. But before we start planning, in the Forbidden Forest last week The arrival of this group of fire dragons here completely blocked Firenze and the others in their exile camp."
Jon frowned, and he interrupted Cedric only here.
"You said those fire dragons blocked them in the camp?"
Cedric nodded and said.
"When those fire dragons were sent to the Forbidden Forest, a Norwegian Ridgeback and two Ukrainian Iron Belly were placed not far from them and belonged to their territory. All the entrances and exits of the camp were blocked, and with those three fire dragons around, they would have no way to communicate with the outside world and obtain supplies."
Jon took out the rough map of the Forbidden Forest that he and Hoss had drawn this morning when they were looking for these dragons that had been put into the Forbidden Forest.
"Ukrainian Ironbelly and Norwegian Ridgeback."
While searching on the map according to Cedric's description of the three dragon species, he also brought the map in front of Cedric.
"Is the centaur camp you mentioned in this area?"
After Jon taught him how to identify, Cedric shook his head.
"It's not on this map. For safety reasons, Firenze and the others placed their camp on the outermost edge of the opposite side of Hogwarts Castle. That place is very remote."
After listening to his words, Jon put away the map again.
He stared at the bonfire in front of him for a while, and finally put his gaze back on Cedric.
"Mr Diggory"
"You can just call me Cedric."
"Well, Cedric, I'd love to take your word for it, but you know that I'm in a race right now to represent not just myself, but a whole community that's being oppressed."
Jon and Cedric looked at each other.
"So for the insurance period, you must use a way to prove it to me."
Cedric replied without hesitation.
"I am willing to accept any way of proof!"
Jon stared closely at his eyes, a hidden magic seemed to build a bridge between the eyes.
"Then please relax first and relax your spirit."
Cedric felt what Jon was going to do to him, but he didn't have the slightest intention of resisting, so he followed Jon's words and completely took off all his mental guard.
"Are you the real Cedric Diggory?" Jon asked softly.
"right."
"The statements you just made about the horsemen are all true, and there is no falsehood?"
"I promise!"
Jon is not proficient in mastering the mind-taking, he can only see what he is thinking at the moment when the other party puts down his guard.
But even if that's the case, as long as Cedric is willing to cooperate, it will be enough, unless this honest and kind-hearted boy in the normal world line has now completely surrendered to Voldemort and learned Occlumency, otherwise what he just said There will be no false words.
After confirming Cedric's authenticity, Jon didn't hesitate, he immediately blew his whistle.
Soon, a gust of wind swept from a distance, 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 Commander Cedric climbed on Hoth's horse.
"You sit in front and show it the way, we will go find those centaurs now."
Cedric stepped on Hoth's back, then Jon sat behind him, and finally Jon patted Hoth's belly.
"Hurry up, Hoss, follow his command, we are going to save people!"
Hoss snored, and then disappeared into the night like the wind.
"You were also the one who peeked at me in the grass last night?"
Cedric guided Hoss the way while answering Jon's questions.
"It's me, I wasn't ready to find you yesterday, I wanted to try to see if I could lure those fire dragons away by myself, but I failed, and today during the day I was almost discovered by the school's professor about sneaking out at night. "
While they were talking, Hoss suddenly stopped his progress and stopped at the bottom of a small hill.
Looking up from their position, they could just see the giant sleeping on the other side of the hill—the Ukrainian Iron Belly!
This is the largest fire dragon known in the world. Jon never thought that the judges would choose such a type of dragon to put into the Forbidden Forest, because their huge size would have too much impact on the ecology of the Forbidden Forest. Even if other fire dragons are not safe, as long as they are confined to a certain area, the safety of other magical animals can be guaranteed.
But the place where Ukrainian iron belly lives, the terrain will definitely be changed in the future. As long as this kind of dragon species lies on the ground a little bit, it can leave a large pit like a basin on the ground. After the game, even if they are sent away , the ecology that has been changed cannot be restored.
How difficult it is to deal with, but also because of its heavyweight body, Iron Belly's movements are not agile. If you just want to catch the golden snitches around them, the difficulty is even much easier than other dragon species.
But Jon and Cedric's trip was not to catch the golden snitch, but to cross the area where the fire dragon was and open the way to the centaur camp.
Getting off Hoss's horse, Jon didn't look at the iron belly to figure out how to do it, but began to observe the surrounding terrain first.
(end of this chapter)