Chapter 1238: Memory in hand
"Don't worry Harry, you'll make it."
Ron put down the "Daily Prophet" he had just taken from the owl postman and tried to comfort the taciturn Harry next to him.
“What’s new?”
Except for the time when he first became Seeker in his first year, Harry had not been this nervous for a long time.
"Let me see…"
Ron withdrew his gaze from Harry, reached out to open the newspaper, looked at the front page of the latest issue, and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Yes, there are rumors that the mysterious man plans to rob the prison in the near future and release the group of people imprisoned in Az Prisoners of Caban.”
With that said, Ron handed the newspaper to Harry and said: "However, the newspaper said that the Ministry of Magic has been prepared. If Voldemort dares to go to Azkaban to rob the prison, he will pay a heavy price for it."
"This news feels like a smoke bomb that someone deliberately put out to attract attention." Harry threw a candy into his mouth and carefully read the newspaper headlines about Voldemort's planned prison break.
"smoke bomb?"
Ron caught the bottle Harry pushed over and poured himself a bottle.
"But... do you think this news is true... Someone wants to use this news to attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic?" Ron reorganized his words, "What is their purpose in doing this?"
"I don't know." Harry took a bite of a piece of bread and said, "I wonder what Voldemort wants to do with this?"
"But... this is just a rumor. Similar rumors are actually very common." Ron reminded uneasily.
"Of course I know it might be a lie." Harry tapped the newspaper on the table with his finger, "But I prefer to believe it is true."
"Perhaps, there is a possibility." Harry looked at Ron and said, "This news is actually for Albert. After all, that guy can predict the future. If Voldemort plans to rob the prison, he will definitely not be able to hide it from him."
"But...why couldn't it have been leaked intentionally by the Ministry of Magic? Maybe they wanted to use this to dissuade Voldemort from escaping from prison?"
The intelligence enhancer obviously helped Ron to clear his mind.
"It is indeed possible, but I still think it should be to attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic, if Voldemort really intends to do something."
Harry didn't think that this would force the mysterious man to give up the prison robbery.
"This is all your guess, isn't it?" Hermione sat down next to Harry with a plate of food.
"certainly."
Harry didn't argue with Hermione about it because there was no point in doing so.
"I didn't see Professor Slughorn. I guess he should be dining in his office now." Hermione lowered her voice and said what she had just observed, "When do you plan to take action?"
"After breakfast. I plan to use Felixir to try my luck at Professor Slughorn's place first. If there is no chance in the morning, I will go at noon. If it doesn't work at noon, I will continue to try my luck at night. Anyway, the Felixir is enough. I was a squanderer." Harry consoled himself after wiping away the slices of bread in his hand, "I have been preparing for so long and even used the elixir of good fortune, and I can't find any reason for failure."
He ignored Ron and Hermione's relieved expressions and refocused on the news in the newspaper in his hand.
The feeling that something is going to happen is getting stronger.
After breakfast, the three returned to the Gryffindor common room. It was not that Harry forgot to bring Felixir, but that he needed to go back to the dormitory to get the mead he was going to give to Professor Slughorn as a birthday gift.
Of course, it is not necessary to get Professor Slughorn drunk. The success rate is higher if you follow the intuition of Felixir.
“We are waiting for your good news.”
After Ron and Hermione sent Harry out of the common room, they watched Harry disappear at the end of the corridor.
"Do you think Harry will succeed?" Ron asked Hermione sideways.
"I don't know, but I hope Harry can succeed." Hermione lowered her voice and said, "To be honest, I don't think Albert will be involved in this."
“Why?” Ron asked puzzledly.
"If Albert really wanted to do that, he would have done it a long time ago," Hermione curled her lips and said, "Don't you believe that that thing was a 'test that Dumbledore left for Harry'? "
"Isn't it? Didn't Harry say last time..."
Ron really thought so after hearing Harry's complaint last time. Otherwise, why would Dumbledore use it to embarrass Harry when Albert could accomplish it easily.
"That's just Harry's complaint." Hermione looked like she really had defeated you. "Let's go back and wait for Harry. If things go well, it shouldn't take long."
After taking Felixir, Harry's original anxiety was instantly swept away, and he was confident that he could convince Slughorn to hand over that memory.
After all, preparations have been made for this in the past few months.
The bottle of mead that Sirius helped to buy seemed a bit redundant now that I think about it. After all, getting people drunk depends on luck. Fortunately, it can still be used as a birthday gift.
Motivated by the Felixir, Harry took out the Marauder's Map from his pocket, intending to re-confirm whether Slughorn was still in his office, lest he make the trip in vain. The dosage of Felixir was probably only enough to last. half an hour.
When Harry found Slughorn on the Marauder's Map, he found that there was another black dot in his office. The name marked next to the black dot surprised Harry even more.
Narcissa Malfoy.
Why is she at Hogwarts?
Harry couldn't help but squint his eyes and smell the smell of conspiracy.
What's worth risking Narcissa Malfoy to run to Hogwarts?
Harry quickly guessed the reason: Felixir.
Narcissa Malfoy wanted to get the Felixir from Professor Slughorn, but why did she come in person instead of letting her son Malfoy steal the Felixir?
Could it be that Narcissa Malfoy wants to buy Felixir from Professor Slughorn?
Harry quickly rejected this possibility. He dared to use all his elixirs to bet that Narcissa would definitely not come to Hogwarts in a normal way.
Secret passages?
Not many people should know about these secret passages.
Harry slowed down unknowingly. He thought of someone. Snape knew a secret passage from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack.
“Next, just use the Disillusionment Charm or take the compound potion…”
As for the Felixir, Harry was not worried about Narcissa being able to obtain the Felixir, because Slughorn's reserve of Felixir was bought out by Dumbledore.
Harry was no longer in a hurry to find Slughorn, but deliberately slowed down his pace. He had a hunch that this time he would definitely be able to get Slughorn to hand over that part of his memory.
Harry walked slowly outside Slughorn's office. After putting away the Marauder's Map and pulling out his wand, he reached out and knocked on the wooden door.
After waiting for a few seconds and seeing that there was no sound inside, Harry became more certain that Narcissa Malfoy had come with bad intentions. Otherwise, if he heard someone knocking on the door, Slughorn would definitely make a sound or come over to help open the door, instead of like now So quiet.
Maybe the other party wants to wait for you to leave, or is preparing to ambush you?
Harry did not hesitate and struck directly.
The wand touched the wooden door lightly. With the help of Elixir, Harry used the Shattering Curse to open a hole in the door, and then used the Stunning Curse on the people inside through the hole.
This insidious move that catches people off guard is enough to knock down many people.
However, when Harry heard the noise in the office, he couldn't help but frown, because the other party had escaped the sneak attack of his stun spell.
Difficult to deal with!
Harry opened the door without hesitation and threw in the bottle of wine he was going to give to Slughorn as a bait to distract the enemy.
After the sound of the wine bottle breaking, Harry suddenly appeared outside the door, shaking his wand and chanting several spells at Narcissa quickly.
Harry used more practical spells to avoid inadvertently hurting Slughorn. He had not forgotten the purpose of coming here, and catching Narcissa was only a secondary matter.
However, what surprised Harry was that the person in front of him was not Narcissa, but Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Slytherin student.
Compound medicine.
There is indeed something wrong with this guy.
What surprised Harry the most was not Narcissa's disguise, but the opponent's strength. She actually calmly used the Iron Armor Curse to fend off Harry's spell when Harry was sneak-attacking her.
You must know that Harry has specially trained his fighting skills. He dare not say how powerful he is, but with the help of the Elixir of Fortune, ordinary wizards are definitely no match for him. Even if Lupine and Sirius encounter a sneak attack, Sometimes, he will be knocked down directly.
But Pansy Parkinson...no, it should be called Narcissa. She actually blocked it calmly and counterattacked very quickly. It is simply unimaginable.
Aurors may not be as good as you.
What a hell.
Harry waved his wand, used the Iron Armor Charm to deflect the opponent's spell, and then nimbly dodged to the side of the wall.
The brief exchange made Harry realize how difficult the opponent was. Once a large-scale conflict broke out, Slughorn would definitely be in bad luck. That was not the result Harry wanted, because Slughorn's safety was more important. , at least until he gets that memory, nothing can happen to him.
So, Harry did not rush to attack, but gave the opponent a chance to jump out of the window and escape.
If Narcissa Malfoy wanted to escape, jumping out of the window would undoubtedly be the best choice.
However, Harry did not wait for the sound of Narcissa jumping out of the window, but instead saw a large amount of smoke. His intuition told him that Narcissa planned to escape under the cover of smoke.
So, Harry did not fight back, but stepped away and let the other person leave.
After counting silently for a few seconds, Harry waved his wand into the strong wind and swept away the smoke in the corridor. Narcissa had disappeared into thin air.
Harry quickly glanced at the Marauder's Map, and after confirming that Narcissa had left, he immediately went to check on Slughorn's condition.
"Revitalization."
Harry pointed his wand at Slughorn's chest, trying to wake him up.
I don’t know if it was because of the elixir, but the resuscitation spell worked better than Harry expected. Slughorn, who was originally unconscious, actually started to move.
"Professor, are you okay?" Harry reached out to help the old man.
“I’m fine.” Slughorn’s tone was emotionless.
Harry raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Slughorn suspiciously, and helped him sit on the only intact sofa. At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside.
"what happened?"
Two girls appeared outside the door, gaping at the messy potions office.
"An outsider broke into Hogwarts and attacked Slughorn. Go find Dumbledore quickly." Harry tried to send the girl away.
After the intruder left, Harry immediately took the time to ask: "Why did Narcissa attack you."
"Narcissa, I don't know. That person wanted to buy Felixir. After I said that Dumbledore had bought the Felixir, he suddenly used a full-body binding spell on me and fed me Veritaserum... "
When Harry heard about Veritaserum, he knew his chance had come.
"Professor, I need that memory of yours, and I hope you can give it to me." Harry waved his wand to summon an empty glass bottle, and then handed his wand to Slughorn's hand: "I I need that memory, I need it to understand Voldemort, I must kill Voldemort and avenge my mother, this is my destiny, because I am the savior."
Slughorn's face turned even paler, and sweat even began to form on his forehead. It was obvious that he resisted doing this.
"Professor, you don't need to be afraid that Voldemort will find out that you helped me." Harry comforted, "We have found Voldemort's fatal weakness, and he will be finished soon."
“Really?” Slughorn trembled slightly.
"Yes, Professor, Albert has predicted Voldemort's death."
Slughorn held Harry's wand tremblingly, put the tip of it against his temple, pulled out a long silver thread of memory, and put it into the glass bottle that Harry handed him.
"Thank you very much, Professor." Harry said softly, "You have done a very brave and noble thing."
After Harry stuffed the glass bottle back into his pocket, he took back his wand and flicked it to make Slughorn fall asleep again.
"What are you doing, Potter." Professor McGonagall rushed in angrily, followed by several students.
"Someone broke into Hogwarts and attacked Professor Slughorn." Harry looked at Professor McGonagall calmly and said in a tone that could not be refuted: "We'd better talk alone, and I need to see him." Professor Dumbledore, I have something very important to tell him."
"Dumbledore is not in school, you can tell me and I can help tell him." Professor McGonagall waved her wand, repaired the door of the potions office, and blocked other students from the door.
"No, no, if Professor Dumbledore didn't tell you, he obviously thinks you don't need to know. Too many people who know some things can easily do bad things." Harry shook his head, "By the way, Slughorn was vomited. Truth serum, it's best not to be asked questions until the truth serum is removed, and Slughorn's attacker was Narcissa Malfoy, who used the compound potion to disguise herself as Pansy Parkinson , I dare not think that she should escape Hogwarts through the secret passage now. Also, do you have a way to contact Dumbledore? It is very important to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. "
Professor McGonagall looked at Harry, pursed her lips and said, "I'll pass the message to him right now."
As she spoke, she walked to the window and waved the wand in her hand. A silver-white Patronus flew out from the tip of the wand and quickly disappeared.
(End of this chapter)