Chapter 28: Hagrid
Hogwarts was truly a land of treasures.
Ezio looked with satisfaction at the three still-unlocked milestones. These were not related to the map exploration percentage but were likely bonuses attached to unlocking certain special areas.
"Maybe I can try visiting other magic schools during the holidays? Though that might be a bit difficult. I'll think about it later."
"However, these three milestones don't seem that easy to complete."
Take the first one, Conqueror of the Skies. Ezio would not feel the slightest fear in a 10,000-meter freefall. But to do so while also completing a precise aerial assassination was a challenge of a very high difficulty.
He couldn't just tie some random person to a stake and then descend from the heavens to eliminate them. This kind of cheating was not feasible; he had already tried to take shortcuts when unlocking milestones in the training space, but it was completely useless.
Therefore, to complete this milestone, he would have to scout a location first, then descend from the sky to give his target a surprising gift. The target being limited to humanoid or near-humanoid was already a very generous scope.
But getting to an altitude of 10,000 meters… that was honestly a bit of a challenge. Ezio had bought the latest Nimbus 2000, but it was highly unlikely that the broom could ascend that high.
There were legends in the wizarding world of "flying to the moon," but that kind of bragging was completely unbelievable. Wizards didn't even know of the existence of a vacuum. And given the speed of a flying broomstick… even the latest Nimbus 2000 only had a top speed of 100 miles per hour. The closest distance between the Earth and the Moon is 225,623 miles, meaning even if you could fly there, it would take 2,256 hours of non-stop flying, more than three months, to arrive.
In Ezio's actual tests, the Nimbus 2000's flight stability already showed problems at an altitude of one thousand meters above the ground. Although he hadn't completed a maximum altitude test, it was very unlikely to reach ten thousand meters.
Magic was not omnipotent. Perhaps magic itself had no limits, but the things made by wizards certainly did.
"It seems the only way is Hagrid."
Ezio's gaze drifted into the distance, towards the stone hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Smoke was rising from its chimney. Perhaps Hagrid was baking Rock Cakes.
Aside from the third, timed hidden milestone, Ezio was in no hurry to complete the two known ones. The school year had just begun, and he had many more important things to attend to.
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With only one Defence Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon, Ezio devoted all his free time to exploring the library. He borrowed a catalog of the Hogwarts library's books from Madam Pince. After all, the library was so vast that even if Ezio lived in it for seven years without sleep, reading 24 hours a day, he couldn't finish it all. He could only select the parts that would be useful to him. Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of cutting wood.
Ezio only stood up and rubbed his sore eyes when Madam Pince told him to leave. Even just reading the catalog had made his head spin; it would take some time to organize it all.
It was now half-past ten at night, with only half an hour left until the Hogwarts curfew.
Taking a slight detour, Ezio scouted his route back to the common room. By the time he arrived, most of the young wizards were already in their dormitories. Only a few scattered people were still warming themselves by the fire. Ezio spotted Harry, who was writing furiously.
"What are you writing?" Ezio asked, sitting down opposite Harry and taking a bite of a freshly baked pizza.
"Homework… huh? Ezio, where were you this afternoon?" Harry looked up, shaking his sore fingers.
"I was at the library. On the way back, I stopped by the kitchens. Ham and shrimp pizza, double cheese. Want to try some? The elves are so fast at cooking. Magic is a wonderful thing."
"I'm actually a bit hungry," Harry said, not standing on ceremony. He took a slice, took a big bite, and then gave a thumbs-up. "This is ten times better than a meat pie!"
"It might be on the menu in a few days. I gave them some suggestions. The elves are really easy to talk to."
"The Hogwarts elves?" Harry asked curiously.
"House-elves. There are many of them at Hogwarts. They are great helpers with housework and logistics. They also clean the school."
"I was wondering how my socks got washed when I came back. They're amazing!" Harry said, blissfully taking a second slice. "Oh, right, I have something to tell you."
Harry struggled to swallow the pizza in his mouth, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a note.
"Hagrid invited me to visit him on Friday afternoon. You should come too, Ezio. I'll introduce you to Hagrid. I'm sure you'll like him."
As Harry's first friend in the wizarding world, he cherished this friendship deeply. Although Hagrid was old enough to be his grandfather, as a half-giant, Hagrid was actually still very young. His lifespan was much longer than that of an ordinary wizard; otherwise, he wouldn't still have a full head of black hair and be so energetic at sixty-four. Ezio had no doubt that Hagrid could grab a dragon by the tail and give it a shoulder throw.
After filling their stomachs, the two of them slowly walked towards their dormitory. Pushing open the door, they found the lights still on. Their other two roommates were not yet asleep. As Ezio entered, Draco subconsciously sat up straighter.
"I thought you'd be in the dorm playing chess with Blaise or something."
Draco was sitting on his bed with a book open in his lap. On the other side, Blaise Zabini was doing the same. He and Draco were both from pure-blood families and had a decent relationship. He was also one of the few black students in Slytherin. His ancestors were from Africa.
His mother was a charming and beautiful widow who had already had seven husbands, each of whom had died a mysterious death, leaving her very rich. At the same time, he was extremely arrogant and conceited, even looking down on everyone.
Unfortunately for him, in this dormitory, he had no grounds for arrogance. He was inferior to Draco in family status, inferior to Harry in fame, and completely outmatched by Ezio in both brains and brawn.
"We don't want to fall behind either," Blaise said in a low voice from the side. "That classroom full of garlic was just too disgusting. I don't want to go there a second time."
"I'm glad you think so," Ezio shrugged. "It would be very embarrassing for me if my roommates were terrible. But I believe you can keep up. Since we're all living in the same dorm, if you run into any difficulties you don't understand, I can help you."
"The consequences of being eliminated are dire, you know."
Ezio grinned. Beside him, Draco's face paled.
"What consequences?" Harry, on the other hand, wasn't worried. He found that if he put his mind to it, the material wasn't that difficult.
"Getting kicked out of the dorm and sleeping in the corridor, of course. I had a chat with Professor Snape today. He agreed to the elimination model within Slytherin. And this proposal was also approved by the former headmaster of Hogwarts, Phineas Nigellus Black. He believes that throwing the idiots and fools out of Slytherin is a very necessary thing to do."
"Professor Dumbledore's opinion was—this is beneficial for Hogwarts."
"I've said it before, there will be no soil for those fools to survive in Slytherin anymore. Either they get buried underground, or they voluntarily get lost."
"A man has to keep his word, doesn't he?"
Draco and Blaise nodded stiffly. In their minds, their assessment of Ezio had to be raised yet another level. Although they didn't know how Ezio had managed to get the triple approval of the Head of House, the Headmaster, and a former Headmaster, since he had done it, Slytherin was in for a major earthquake.
"Don't hang out with idiots in the future. It's getting late, let's all get some rest."
The boys rustled as they changed their clothes and got into bed. Draco, his mind racing, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He decided that tomorrow, he would write a letter to his father and tell Crabbe and Goyle to stay far away from him. He didn't want to play with idiots anymore.
*****
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