Chapter 211
Hermione lightly stepped towards the table where Harry, Ron, Lavender, and Parvati were sitting, while Albert followed her with steady steps. She sat down next to Lavender without hesitation, and gestured for Albert to sit beside her. The atmosphere was full of intertwined conversations, but Hermione's voice gently cut through the noise with her usual kindness: "Albert, how will you solve the mystery of the egg?"
Her words captured everyone's attention, as Ron stopped chewing on a half-eaten piece of bread, and Harry set his glass aside. Even Lavender and Parvati exchanged glances, curious to know the answer.
Hermione continued passionately: "I'm sure the answer isn't direct, there must be a magical trick or something strange, right?"
Harry nodded in agreement, saying, "I agree with Hermione, it seems there's something extra related to this mystery." Ron nodded, saying, "Certainly, magic always has a complex side."
Albert smiled confidently, and looked at everyone with a reassuring look: "The solution is very simple, since the egg makes a booming noise as soon as I open it, I thought of a solution that it might make a comprehensible sound if the egg was in a space that could handle that noise, such as inside water, or in a box, or something like that. Therefore, I will put the egg in the lake, and dive with it underwater. There, I will hear a song that carries the answer, and through it, I will fully understand the mystery."
A short silence prevailed, mixed with obvious admiration on everyone's faces. Hermione looked at Albert with sparkling eyes and said, "That's a very clever idea, Albert. It seems you've really thought of everything."
After a few seconds, Ludo Bagman spoke with Harry, Ron, and Albert about things related to the Triwizard Tournament, but Percy intervened and interrupted his conversation with Ludo Bagman, saying: "How do you see the progress of the tournament, Mr. Bagman? Our department is satisfied with it, but the Goblet of Fire ceremony was met with some bad luck," and he looked at Albert before continuing, "But the matter went well, don't you think?"
Bagman said, "Ah... yes, and how is old Barty? It was a bad thing that he didn't attend."
Percy replied seriously, "I am confident that Mr. Crouch would have come at any moment, but for now, I hope he recovers his activity, not just for such celebrations, as I was forced to deal with all the work matters in his absence... As you know, (Ali Bashir) is still pressing the issue of supplying magic carpets to the country, and I have an interview with the head of the Cooperation Council in Transylvania in the New Year, and..."
Ron muttered to Harry, "Let's get out of here... let's escape from Percy..."
They pretended to want more drinks and left him, going out to the entrance hall to find the front doors open, casting the light of the place onto the courtyard outside, which they headed towards until they heard a familiar voice, "I don't see what worries you, Igor."
* "Severus, you cannot pretend that this is not happening."
It was Snape and Karkaroff, exchanging conversation in a low voice, although audible, and the latter continued, "The matter has become increasingly clear for months, and it has become serious to a degree that I cannot deny..."
Snape interrupted, "Run away then... run away, and I will apologize for you, but I will stay at Hogwarts no matter what happens."
They both turned to face Harry and Ron, and Snape said sharply, "What are you two doing here?"
Ron replied curtly, "Walking... it's a legal thing, isn't it?"
Snape answered him coldly, "Keep walking then," then he walked quickly in front of them, followed by Karkaroff. Harry and Ron continued walking before Ron muttered, "What is worrying Karkaroff?"
Harry said slowly, "And how are he and Snape talking like this? They are both calling each other by their first name?"
They saw the water fountain, and behind it, two large shadows, and Harry heard Hagrid say, "Since I saw you, I knew that..."
Harry and Ron froze in their places, as they did not want to get closer, so they backed away slowly, hearing Madame Maxime say, "What do you know, Hagrid?"
But Harry did not want to hear that, as he knew that Hagrid would not want anyone to hear him in such a situation, so he began to back away very slowly while Hagrid continued...
* "I knew that... I knew you were like me... I mean that... was it your father or your mother?"
* "I don't know what you mean, Hagrid?!"
* "It was my mother... she was one of the last ladies in Britain, and certainly, I don't remember her well.... because she left me when I was three years old, and she was not the loving type for motherhood... and I don't know what happened to her... perhaps she died... all I know is..."
Harry could not back away any further, as it was the first time he had heard Hagrid talk about his childhood.
* "My father suffered a lot from her departure, and I lived happily with him despite that, and... but he died... he died after I enrolled in school, and Dumbledore helped me a lot, as he was very kind... and in any case... that's enough about me... what about you?"
But Madame Maxime suddenly stood up and said in extreme coldness, "It is cold here... I will leave now."
Hagrid stood up, saying, "No... don't go... I... I have never met another one before."
Madame Maxime asked in the same coldness, "What?"
Harry almost told Hagrid that it was best not to answer and wished he wouldn't do it from his place, but this would not help, as Hagrid said, "One of my size and... and half-giant."
She shouted at him angrily, "How dare you? You have insulted me greatly, I am your size? Me?... I... I only have large bones!"
Then she walked away from him quickly, and Hagrid remained in his place, following her with his gaze, and after about a minute, he stood up and walked away, but not towards the castle, but towards his hut, so Harry whispered, "Come on... let's go, Ron..."
But Ron did not move, so Harry looked at him, asking, "What is it?"
He turned to Harry, saying seriously, "Did you know that Hagrid... is a half-giant?"
Harry said, "No... so what?"
Harry knew from the look on Ron's face that, once again, he had revealed his ignorance of things related to the wizarding world. His upbringing in the Dursleys' house made him unaware of many things about this world despite belonging to it, but these matters began to decrease gradually with his enrollment in the school, but after seeing Ron, he was confident that any wizard in his place would not take the matter so simply and naively ask, "So what?"
Ron realized the matter, so he said calmly, "I will explain to you inside, let's go."
They headed to the Great Hall to find Parvati and Padma sitting in a far corner among a group of Beauxbatons girls, while Hermione and Albert were still talking to each other and laughing, sitting at a distant table, and Harry asked Ron, "And now... what's the problem with giants?"
Ron's voice was hoarse as he said, "Well... they... they are not nice."
Harry said, "And who cares about that? Hagrid is a wonderful person."
* "I know, but... he keeps the matter a secret, so... I always knew he was hiding a secret about his upbringing..."
* "But what is important about his mother being a giant?"
* "No one who knows him would care about that because they know he is not dangerous, but... they are evil creatures, they love killing, and everyone knows that, and none of them remain in Britain."
* "What happened to them?"
* "They were becoming extinct... but some think that some of them live abroad... and most of them hide in the mountains."
* "But I don't know what angered Madame Maxime to this extent. Hagrid meant her large size."
Harry and Ron spent the rest of the ball discussing giants, but neither of them wished to dance, and Harry tried to endure looking at Cho and Cedric.
The Weird Sisters finished their performance at midnight, so they received high applause from the students before heading towards the entrance hall, and many wished for the ball to continue longer than that, but Harry was happy because he would sleep.
In the entrance hall, Harry and Ron saw that Hermione and Albert were very different this day from the rest of the days, as they were absorbed in conversation with each other to the extent that they did not see Harry and Ron passing in front of them.
Harry turned to Ron, saying, "What is happening with them?! If I saw them for the first time, I would say that this is their first meeting!"
At the table where the professors were sitting with Professor Dumbledore, Professor Moody sat staring into space, lost in thought. He suddenly raised his head and cast a sharp glance towards Albert, who was standing with his friends.
Moody looked with his bulging eyes, full of anxiety, and said in a low, trembling voice that no one could hear: "I must find a way to get Albert's blood. We cannot rely entirely on the plan to lure him to the graveyard. Albert is no ordinary opponent, his power is mysterious and unexpected, and I don't think Peter is capable of facing him or forcing him to provide what we need, even if he is within the boundaries of the graveyard with its complex magical rituals."
Moody paused for a moment, and features of deep thought were drawn on his face. He realized that every wrong step could ruin his grand plan to summon Voldemort. Time was passing slowly, and anxiety was increasing in his chest, but he knew that this matter could not tolerate error. Moody sat down and began to think deeply, putting all possible possibilities in his mind, how can he deceive Albert? How can he force him to provide his blood without arousing his suspicions? He had to devise a foolproof plan that left no room for failure.
And while everyone had begun to leave the Great Hall, a malicious smile appeared on Moody's face. He raised his head again and looked at Albert with his shining eyes, and said in a voice full of confidence: "I have found the plan!!."
To be continued....