The intensity was such that even many Slytherin students felt it was unfair; clearly, Harry's mouth was injured, yet he was still...
In class, he gave Harry a special quill, making him write the answers on paper and then having Draco read them out.
"What are the production details of the Animagus Potion?"
"Exactly how large must the lightning be for the Animagus Potion to successfully transform? Do you think any imperceptible little spark from the sky will do?"
"Why is not being seen so important in the production of the Animagus Potion?"
"What dietary precautions must be taken during the month the Mandrake leaf is held? Can you drink beverages? Not even hot soup! Nothing but water! Repeat that in your pig brain a hundred times!!"
The hot soup was a mutter Draco added while reading Harry's answer.
Despite nearly being drowned in spit, Harry felt it was worth it. The questions Professor Snape gave were very tricky and gave him many reminders.
Wednesday, dinner time.
While the Little Wizards were excitedly discussing the schedule for this weekend, Harry and Draco quickly ate some dinner and came to the third floor.
Just as they stepped onto the stairs, they met Fred and George, who quickly waved for them to follow.
"Only a few people know about this secret passage, and it's one of the more unobstructed ones. It leads straight to the cellar of Honeydukes. It was probably built during the Second Goblin Rebellion a hundred years ago," Fred introduced to the two.
One of them? It seemed they knew more than one. Uncle Howl was right after all.
Harry nodded with the Mandrake leaf in his mouth and quickly followed with Draco.
Soon, they came to a statue of a one-eyed Witch. Fred pulled out his wand, and George explained at the right time, "You have to use the spell 'Finite Incantatem' here. By the way, have you learned it yet? Doesn't matter, Harry knows it anyway—wait, he can't right now—"
"Finite Incantatem!" Fred's incantation interrupted him.
Harry smiled; he couldn't answer George's question either.
Behind the Witch statue, following Fred's incantation, a dark passage slowly opened.
Fred said, "This is a slide. It slopes down toward Hogsmeade, so you can just jump right in."
Having said that, he stepped aside. "There's only one path, so I don't think you'll need much guidance."
"Okay." Harry opened his mouth slightly and nodded in a low voice. Then, he took the lead and stepped to the edge of the slide, snapping his fingers. A point of light appeared in his hand.
With a flick of his hand toward the bottom of the slide, the point of light flickered downward like a meteor, illuminating the surroundings.
Seeing the stone path that had been polished to a shine over time, he no longer hesitated and jumped straight down.
Then, a sense of weightlessness suddenly hit him. In the pitch-black slide where he couldn't see his own hand, Harry, falling rapidly, couldn't help but start imagining—what if there were spikes or blades ahead?
A minute or two later, his speed gradually leveled off. Soon, Harry landed steadily. He quickly moved out of the way, and before long, Draco also landed rapidly, his face pale.
Below, just as Fred and George had said, was a stone-stepped corridor.
Harry let out a breath and called out to Draco.
Draco nodded, and then the two of them began their formal preparations.
Harry first took out two masks and handed one to Draco.
As Draco placed it on his face, the mask quickly adhered to him, transforming into a snake head with a wide-grinning mouth, green scales, and long fangs visible inside.
This was the snake mask Fred and George had given Harry.
Harry felt it suited Draco better, while he himself took Hermione's orange cat mask.
After all, there were only a few customized masks. Each unique mask was a brand-new Transfiguration array, and it would be difficult to get new ones in a short time.
Then, they each took out a large, black wool hooded coat and put it on.
Both Draco and Harry had specific clothing requirements; robes that looked like bath towels certainly didn't meet their needs.
Aging Potion simply couldn't turn them directly into 1.8-meter-tall giants, so that method had to be abandoned.
Then, Harry took out a twig and gave it to Draco.
"Don't use your own wand."
"Then—"
"I'll do the magic, you do the talking!"
"You do the magic, I do the talking!"
At Honeydukes, a trapdoor in the cellar was slowly pushed open.
The air seemed to distort, as if a light breeze had passed through.
Creak—
The cellar door was slowly pulled open and then quickly closed.
Outside Honeydukes, two voices appeared out of thin air.
"Once we lift this, we're the bad guys—*slurp*!" Harry said in a low voice. He finally understood why Uncle Howl didn't speak when he used to practice being an Animagus; there was too much saliva.
"Bad guys!" Draco's voice came.
"We're from a secret organization, and we're going to do bad things!"
"Bad things. Tsk, I'm a bit nervous."
"Deep breaths. It's normal to be nervous."
A moment later, the Invisibility Cloak was pulled back. The two boys looked at each other, composed themselves, and both took a deep breath to make themselves look more stern.
Then they walked toward the heart of the village.
At the Pig's Head Bar, Harry and Draco pushed open the door and were met by a stumbling fellow reeking of alcohol.
The two stepped aside before turning to enter the bar.
The rowdy noise of the patrons remained the same. The filthy environment and the thick smoke made Draco frown, feeling deeply uncomfortable.
Two small figures hidden in black coats and hats appeared; their strange posture naturally attracted some attention.
"Tsk, where did these Goblins come from?!"
The two immediately looked toward the speaker, and their startling appearances gave the patrons quite a fright.
We know we're short, but calling us Goblins is a bit too—
A moment later, seeing the fellow look away resentfully, the two withdrew their gazes with satisfaction. They tiptoed to the bar, climbed up slightly, and sat on the high stools.
"What'll it be?" Aberforth looked up, his gaze lingering on their hands for a moment before he let out a sneer.
Draco looked at this man who was almost identical to Dumbledore and swallowed hard, feeling like he could barely maintain the little trick in his throat to change his voice.
At the same time, he constantly recalled his father's appearance in his mind.
The effortless talk during negotiations, the facial expressions, the tone, and the posture.
All sorts of details flashed through his mind.
Then, he straightened his back a bit.
"The Captain sent us," Draco said softly in a deep tone—another application of the Viking battle cry technique Harry had taught him.
"Don't know him." Aberforth lowered his head and continued to wipe a yellowed glass that would never be clean. "What are you drinking? Otherwise, get lost."
Draco looked at Harry in surprise, thinking the code was wrong!
Harry shot a quick glance at Aberforth, his mind racing.
A moment later, he spoke: "The snake doctor. Like me. He sent us."
Aberforth's expression suddenly turned serious. He then scrutinized them with sharp eyes, identical to Dumbledore's, that seemed capable of seeing through people.
He paused for a moment on Harry's orange cat head.
Then he spoke slowly: "What should I call you two?"
??
The two looked at each other, bewildered.
This... they really hadn't thought about it.
Aberforth gave a contemptuous smile and then turned to leave.
A moment later, he returned with two pairs of black leather gloves.
Then, he gestured with his hands, comparing his own wrist to their thin, childish ones.
"Young," he said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. "Have you decided?"
"First Mate!" Harry said in a deep voice, quickly putting on the gloves to hide his childish hands and wrists.
Draco pondered for a while. The code name Harry had given had a clear theme. He had to pick something with a bit more style, but even if he had eight times the courage, he wouldn't dare call himself 'Captain'.
"Ship Wizard," he said after some thought.
This was a term unique to the Wizarding World, referring to Wizards who accompanied ships to other continents during the Age of Discovery. The first true Ship Wizard was the one who sailed with Magellan.
"Fine," Aberforth nodded casually. "He sent you to find me for what?"
"We want to know where Mundungus is," Draco said.
Aberforth's hand, reaching for a cup again, froze in mid-air.
After freezing for half a second, he said, "He just brushed past you..."
The two youngsters looked at each other again.
The next moment, they bolted.
The village was pitch black, with only scattered light leaking from the windows.
Mundungus hiccuped tipsily as he stumbled along. He didn't come to Hogsmeade often.
He had come this time mainly because he heard Hogwarts was holding some event where people could go in and do business.
He was wondering if he could make a bit of profit here.
Thinking this, he went to the side of the road, aimed at a signpost, unbuckled his belt, and intended to enjoy a satisfying pee in the wind—
Bang!!
Someone suddenly kicked him to the ground.
Propelling himself with one hand and clutching his waistband with the other, he quickly rolled over and roared, "Who the hell—"
Then, he saw two wands pointed right at him.
At the same time, two deep, low voices spoke.
"Why did you kick him—*slurp*?"
"Didn't you say he's a bad guy?!"
Mundungus barely managed to see the silhouettes of their heads in the moonlight—large heads, short stature.
"A-A Goblin?!"
"Shut up!" the figure on the left said.
"Say 'Goblin' again and I—no, *he* will kill you!" The person turned his head slightly to indicate his companion.
Mundungus, pointed at by two wands on this dark and windy night, was scared witless. He stammered, "Then... then who on earth are you?"
"Bad guys!"
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