Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

Krum nodded: "I speak Italian."

"That's great." Lockhart said to him in Italian, "Then I'll just say it - 'ideas' can't be learned, only 'theories' can be learned, and Miss Granger's ideas came from her My own experience and thinking, I just introduced to her the theories I know as comprehensively as possible, and then let her decide what to believe and what to practice..."

Krum interrupted him with an eager expression: "But according to her, you helped her a lot in helping her establish the House Elf Rights Promotion Association."

"Huh? Is there any?"

Lockhart felt a little baffled, because he didn't remember that he had given Hermione any substantial help, and he didn't even make any donations except for paying the membership fee once. He also didn't know what Hermione had done.

"She's convincing pure-blood families to allow house-elves to love and reproduce freely because 'their offspring will be qualified employees of the courier company,'" Klum told him.

Lockhart whistled.

"Beautiful," he remarked, "she's become more pragmatic—she's trying to give the house-elves the joy of freedom before convincing them to change, and it's in everyone's interest... but It should be just the first step."

However, Lockhart immediately noticed something strange again.

"By the way, where is Miss Granger?" he asked.

Klum looked a bit downcast: "I asked her out for a walk, but she said it was too soon, so I thought I might need to get to know her a bit more...I thought she was happy when I asked her...and Harry Potter went out too..."

Lockhart understood that Krum had misunderstood his rival.

"She's really happy," Lockhart assured him, "and you're the first to notice her charm as a 'woman' no matter what people think of it, which means a lot to her symbolically. "

"Really?" Krum was a little surprised, "No one has ever noticed her?" Lockhart shook his head repeatedly.

"No, she is very eye-catching, but others tend to define her in a kind of "jack-of-all-trades', "active library", and child-finding student". As for Harry and Ron, at least in Now, they're all just thinking of her as their bestie, and you're the first to acknowledge her attractiveness from a 'female' perspective, which will give her a huge boost to her confidence anyway. "

Krum nodded subconsciously, and his joy gradually showed.

But then he realized that something was wrong.

"You really know her very well." Krum said to Lockhart in an affirmative tone

His expression was complicated, as if he was saying "Chang Wei, you still said you don't know martial arts"

But Lockhart really didn't think that much at this time, he cared less about Krum's friendship than about his influence in Europe.

After all, the influence that a star Quidditch player can have on the judiciary and politics of a wizarding country is likely to be greater than Lockhart imagined.

For crimes like Ludo Bagman's misreporting information to the Death Eaters, even if he is not convicted of a felony, he should at least be charged with negligence, or at least he should be refused to work in the public office.

But he relied on the influence of his playing days to effectively influence the attitude of the jury and even the Wizengamot, not to mention the public.

"Don't think too much, I'm just cultivating political successors at Hogwarts." Lockhart said lightly, makeup is also one of the new political stars I plan to cultivate, Mr. Weasley (Percy), Mr. Diggory , Mr. Porter are on my team. "

Krum seemed to accept this statement, so the atmosphere between the two suddenly improved a lot.

"I heard that you are very popular...I mean, you are very popular with the opposite sex...Can you teach me a little bit?"

Probably because of Lockhart's flirting performance on the dance floor just now, Krum began to humbly ask for advice, but he really didn't look very smart, as if all his IQ was spent on fighting, playing ball and bragging .

Only then do you see that Krum is still just a big boy.Lockhart smiled, ready to answer Krum's question.

"No problem, it seems that you really lack training in this area, let's start with the three elements of love! Passion, intimacy, and commitment, let's talk about it first..."

But at this moment, at the entrance of the ballroom, Moody's incomprehensible voice suddenly broke the warm atmosphere of the scene.

"Gidero! Come here, there is a situation!" he shouted.

Chapter 340 Voldemort's Tentacles

Hearing Moody's shout, Lockhart's heart tightened immediately.

Because Dumbledore was also in the castle, Lockhart relaxed a little today, but it would not be a trivial matter to make Moody so serious, unless he was nervous again today.

Although it is said that the possibility of Crouch Jr. bringing Voldemort back to England is very low now, without Peter Pettigrew to "feed" Voldemort, he should not be able to get out of birth.But Lockhart wasn't sure how much of Voldemort's hidden power was useless) or what new plans Crouch Jr. had.

The result of eliminating some hidden dangers in advance is what the other party will do next, and Lockhart has no idea about it.

But even so, if Lockhart were to do it all over again, he would still choose to capture Pettigrew, even if it would affect the "future" he knew

After all, a traveler who is afraid that changing the future will lead to unknowable results is not a good traveler, or an author who is afraid to change history because he is afraid of losing control of the plot is not a good fan writer—if nothing changes, what do you want? ?

He pleaded guilty to Krum, and then walked out of the ballroom under the strange eyes of everyone.

After passing the code, Lockhart asked Moody in a low voice.

"What happened?"

"The wine at the dance is poisoned," said Moody grimly. "I just examined the - three broomsticks' delivery and found that the red currant rum was poisoned."

"Currant rum 0 magic poison." Lockhart repeated.

"That's right, it's a highly poisonous mixture of Akembo tree venom and snake venom.

It is colorless and tasteless, and it will attack immediately after drinking it. ’ repeated Moody.

Although the poison was highly toxic, Lockhart was not particularly concerned about it.Because the murderer poured potion into the wine, it was obviously left to Moody to find out, and the intention of provocation was very obvious.

"You mean, not all the wine was poisoned?" Lockhart frowned.

Hearing him ask that, Moody knew that Lockhart had understood the situation.

"Yeah, butterbeer, old whiskey, champagne, and cluck."

Lockhart didn't feel complacent about it, because he believed that even wizards could deduce this.

"In other words, the person the murderer intends to kill is obviously a lover of red currant rum... who?"

"Cornel Fudge." Moody directly revealed the answer.

"Ha." Lockhart was amused. "Did the murderer think that you and Dumbledore would not notice the potion he poured? Or did he think that the house-elves would not taste the food and drink first? Bring it up?"

"That's the problem, what is that guy trying to do?" Moody looked in Hogsmeade's direction, "I'm worried he's trying to lure me over."

Moody's suspicion is not without reason, because everyone knows that he has a magic eye, no matter whether it is an invisibility cloak or an illusion, he can't escape his eyes, and even people who drink Polyjuice Potion may be seen by him. The flow is wrong and the clues are found.

Lockhart agreed with Moody's judgment.

"Be careful and bring more people with you." He advised Moody.

Moody tapped the crutch in his right hand heavily: "You didn't understand what I meant. What I was worried about was that the murderer wanted to lure me away, and then took the opportunity to sneak into the ball."

"Then let him come." Lockhart sneered, "Remember to bring me that rug in your office."

"Alright."

It is not Moody's style to shrink back when things happen. Even if he knows that the poisoner has a conspiracy, he still wants to break through.

As for Hogwarts, although Lockhart with the Marauder's Map is still weaker than Moody in terms of perception, when it comes to how to control the intruder as little as possible without the guests noticing, Lockhart is stronger than Moody.

Not to mention Dumbledore is still here.

Moody called a few Aurors who were chatting and spanking outside the ball, and after whispering a few words with Dumbledore, he led the people straight to Hogsmeade. It seemed that he didn't investigate the bottom line Will not give up.

Before leaving, Moody also summoned the Marauder's Map rug that Lockhart had given him with the Flying Charm.

When Lockhart got it, he found that after two transformations by Lupine and Sirius, Moody also made further transformations on this map. Now it can not only display terrain and names, but also use colors Marking the concentration of magic power and spell fluctuations in each area, the practicality has once again stepped up to a higher level.

For example, Lockhart saw Harry and Ron on this map now. They were hiding in the bushes at the moment, and at the same time they used a magic prop to reach out to Snape. It seemed that they were eavesdropping. The conversation between Snape and Karkaroff;

He even saw Rita Skeeter outside the castle from above. She was using Transfiguration to hide beside Hagrid and Madam Maxime, probably preparing to make another big news.

After scanning the guests on the map, Lockhart suddenly noticed a person

Ludo Bagman, the former director of the Sports Department, was walking along a Hogwarts road at this time.

Ci's secret path, heading towards the ballroom in the castle.

Lockhart was shocked immediately: How smug is this guy, that he dared to come alone knowing that Dumbledore was here?

Since the gambling incident, Ludo Bagman was asked by Fudge to resign voluntarily, and has since disappeared from people's sight.

For the sake of his own future, of course, Fudge put all the blame on Bagman's head, not only gambling, but even the murder of foreign guests in the World Cup, Fudge claimed that it was because of Bagman's gambling, so the Bulgarian The director was caught by the murderer.

Not only that, Fudge also took the credit for solving the goblin crisis on himself.He deliberately emphasized to the Ministry of Magic that he had resolved the potential conflict with the goblin this time.

It is not unreasonable to say that Bagman wanted revenge after Fudge "broke his good deed", so that he felt resentful and wanted revenge after his downfall.

But Lockhart always felt that something was wrong—if he wanted to take revenge on Fudge, where could he not take revenge?Why must revenge at Hogwarts?

As Hagrid said—“Gringotts is the safest place in the world—except Hogwarts.” How stupid must Ludo Bagman be to want to come to Hogwarts? revenge?

With this ability, Bagman might as well go directly to the Ministry of Magic, go through the obstacles of the Aurors first, and then forcefully kill Fudge in front of all the staff.It may be a bit difficult to do so, but it is also easier than doing it at Hogwarts.

Interesting, it seems that he should be arrested and questioned.

Chapter 340 Six This is a temptation.

In order to confirm that Bagman was indeed coming towards Fudge, Lockhart deliberately disappeared, and then secretly hid at the entrance of the secret passage that Bagman sneaked into.

Not long after, he saw the statue of Gregory the Flatterer slowly move away to the side, revealing the secret passage hidden behind, and then Mangkomos Diggory sneaked through the secret passage come out.

After confirming that there was no one around, "Mr. Diggory" tidied up his skirt, sleeves, and hem, and then slowly walked towards the ballroom after confirming that there was no dirt on them.

He has a calm demeanor, and when he sees some students, he will pretend to ask them where his son Cedric has gone, and he will complain loudly, such as why the boys' bathroom is so high.If Lockhart hadn't seen him coming out of the secret passage with his own eyes, maybe he would have been bluffed by this guy too.

At last "Mr Diggory" came to the door of the ballroom.There, a wizard in a purple robe with a long ponytail was busy checking the attire of the passing people, and if he thought anyone was suspicious, he would stop that person.

But probably because it was Christmas, and there were people checking the invitations at the gate of the castle, so the Auror's checking was often a hasty check, especially when he knew the person.

Seeing an Auror guarding the gate, "Mr. Diggory" did not retreat but advanced: "Hey, Eric, have you seen my son?"

"Amos?"

The Auror guarding the gate subconsciously pointed outside when he saw Mr. Diggory: "I just saw your son go out with a black-haired girl..."

Truth be told, the Auror couldn't remember if Mr Diggory had come to the ball,

But since his son is here, it should be normal for him to appear here.

5 Me, damn it! Mr. Diggory slapped himself on the head with feigned annoyance, "I'm only half an hour late, if it wasn't for that damned hippogriff... No, I have to go find him!"He never told me about it, not us Digorys.

Seeing him acting so realistically, if he hadn't seen his name from the map, I'm afraid Luoha would have been deceived.

And this Auror was obviously deceived: "Forget it, Amos, it's better for us to ignore the children's affairs. Besides, today is Christmas! Why don't you go in and have a drink or two?"

"Digory" hesitated: "You mean, I'll wait for him inside?"

"Yes, even if you want to scold, you should wait until they are happy." Auror looked very reasonable, "Go in and rest for a while, I will notify you when he comes back, Amos."

"Mr. Diggory" didn't expect that he would slip in so smoothly, and after thanking him, he walked into the ball.

However, just as he rushed to Fudge and reached for the wand in his sleeve, he was knocked over by a wand that suddenly appeared in the air.

Before the other guests noticed, Lockhart and a few Aurors hurriedly pulled Diggory out under the pretext that "he was drunk".

Dawlish, who had already been there, and a few Aurors immediately took over him, and took him to the "temporary president" of the Aurors—that is, Moody's office.

As for how they plan to fight "Bagman" in the future, that's beyond Lockhart's knowledge.

— An hour later, Lockhart welcomed Moody back and worked with him to maintain the rest of the order.

"Okay, now we can be sure that this guy is after Fudge," Lockhart told Moody.

During the process just now, Lockhart has been following Bagman, and he even secretly told the Auror at the door with a sound transmission spell, asking him to let this guy in for the time being.

And Ludo Bagman also used practical actions to show Lockhart that his purpose of coming this time seems to be really simple-he came here specially to find Fudge for revenge.

Lockhart felt very strange. Although Ludo Bagman is a gambling dog who has been dazzled, he is just dazzled, not without brains. Why would he do such a stupid thing? ?

With this doubt, he pretended to be nonchalant and returned to the ball

At this time, the Slytherin elementary school girls had already found Madam Pomfrey, and asked her to help Gemma heal her ankle, and Lockhart was able to dance with her again

And the girls from Hogwarts also boldly joined in and began to invite Lockhart to dance, and these people even included Hermione who had gone and returned.

Lockhart couldn't remember how many people he had danced with that night, anyway, he felt his legs and feet were a little sore by the end.

It wasn't until the end of the dance that Moody found him again.

He told the results of the interrogation by the Loha Niu Al Aurors: "Bagman was under the Imperius Curse, he can't remember what happened, the last scene he remembered was in a tavern called "The Hanged Ghost Tavern" Zhong got very drunk, and then a stranger approached him. "

Lockhart racked his brains and didn't remember where the "Hanged Ghost Tavern" was until Moody reminded him.

"It's in a village called Little Hangleton, very remote, with only a few run down

The purebloods lived there. added Moody.

Lockhart first felt that this place called "Little Hangleton" was inexplicably familiar, but he couldn't remember what it was. He didn't remember what it was until "Fallen Blood" came out.