A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 551 The Fairy's Challenge

During the first Hogsmeade Week in May, the students were still playing around in the village.

Charles continued his alchemical resistance experiments, with only minor breakthroughs to date.

“The fairies have made their move.” Eleanor said, studying today’s front page headline in the Daily Prophet. “They’re challenging your decryption challenge.”

Charles said, "Let them be."

The goblins built a vault in Gringotts, containing a prize five times the bounty Black had once received. Whoever could open the door would get it.

This gimmick was unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

Safety is Gringotts' lifeline. The tent insurance claim is nothing compared to that. Insurance negotiations can be delayed; rebuilding wizards' confidence in Gringotts is the most important thing.

So the fairies set a high bar, inviting wizards from all over the world to participate, and deliberately not naming "a certain company".

The young people at Farbatton Castle were somewhat excited, but Charles had just asked the company to remain silent on the matter and not to make any public or private statements.

"It's alright, I'll take care of it."

Everyone got even more excited after Charles finished speaking.

Everyone is watching closely to see what the boss will do next.

Eleanor asked him, "I think you're definitely up to something. Can you tell me about it?"

Charles turned to look at her and asked seriously, "Do you want to know, or does Fudge want to know?"

Fudge will probably look into this, so Charles thinks Eleanor came here today for that reason.

Eleanor said, "I want to know, and of course, the minister wants to know too."

Charles smirked and said, "That will come at a price."

Eleanor asked with great interest, "I can't think of anything I have that you haven't received. What do you want?"

Charles said, "Quickly think of a way to prove that I went into the vault in a very discreet manner."

Eleanor sensed something was amiss and asked seriously, "Are you trying to provoke the fairies?"

"This is dangerous; there are violent individuals among the fairies."

Charles's expression turned serious. He put down his work and entered the mirror space.

The two worked together very well, knowing exactly what to do in what place.

Eleanor said, "My sources say that the wizards' food retailers are only making less than 40% of their usual sales recently, and that sales are still declining."

"They plan to return the goods to the fairy."

After she finished speaking, Charles said in a deep voice, "You know, that's not what I want to know."

"From what you're saying, you can control part of the fairies' plans?"

Eleanor has hinted at it almost explicitly, so it's obvious what the violent fairies are going to do.

Charles is a celebrity, a shining star among British wizards, and normally wouldn't do anything to him. Eleanor must have heard something to say that.

If the fairy really wanted to harm Charles, she certainly wouldn't do it openly or talk about it everywhere; she would definitely do it in secret.

The fact that Eleanor was able to speak out suggests that she may have played a significant role in it.

When faced with Charles's question, Eleanor kept her mouth shut and didn't utter a single word.

If it were someone else seeing her like this, they would first think that she would never tell, but Charles knew her well and could tell that she couldn't say it.

The answer to the question is itself the statement that "it cannot be said".

Charles casually remarked, "I've heard there's a pretty good German restaurant in Coventry. Have you ever been there?"

After thinking for a moment, Eleanor said, "Is it the Moonlight Sonata Restaurant? I heard that Muggle Prime Minister Churchill once went there."

Charles nodded and said, “Yes, that’s it.” The “Coventry Plot” has been quite popular among British Muggles since it emerged in 1974. Elves couldn’t possibly know about it. With just a slight hint from Charles, Eleanor understood what he was going to do.

Charles sat down next to Eleanor, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

He had no idea how many spies Eleanor was involved in. The British capitalists were one, Fudge was another, Grindelwald was yet another, and now there were the goblins and his own side as well. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was dancing under the Avada Kedavra curse.

Eleanor rested her head on Charles's shoulder and whispered, "I love your Majesty, according to my bond; no more nor less."

She quoted Cordelia's famous line from Shakespeare's King Lear, "I love you as much as I am entitled to, no more and no less." Cordelia's taciturnity contained the deepest sincerity, while her sisters' flowery words were nothing but hypocrisy.

Charles replied with a line from the same play, related to the Earl of Kent: "Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least, Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sounds reverb no hollowness."

The Earl of Kent told King Lear that "the youngest daughter is not necessarily the most disobedient, and a deep voice is not necessarily hypocritical," and was therefore banished. However, he returned in disguise to continue protecting Lear, proving his loyalty through actions rather than words.

Beyond the dialogue, the two conveyed a message about loyalty in this way.

Eleanor knew very well that if anything happened to her, only Charles would do everything in his power to save her.

Charles gave her a guarantee.

The relationship between the two was somewhat awkward from the beginning. Over the past few years, Charles's development has far exceeded everyone's expectations, evolving from awkwardness to distortion. It's hard to say how to define it, so we'll leave it at that.

One thing was certain: they both believed the other would not harm them.

"I need you to get some sleep."

Charles told her to do it, and Eleanor did as he said.

In a private garden at Farbatton Castle, Zeta and several comrades who were arriving one after another were planting potatoes to pass the time when they were surprised to see Charles carrying a sleeping lady over.

Charles put Eleanor down on the table and said to Zeta, "I'd like you to check if she has any fairy magic on her."

Fairies are the ones who know the most about fairy magic, so Charles came to find them.

Zeta asked, "Is this lady important?"

Their existence is a top secret at Farbatton Castle, and Charles bringing this person here probably means something big is going on.

Charles said, "Just consider me as having my own Lubyanka."

Zeta asked no more questions and summoned a fairy to examine Eleanor.

"A silencing spell." The fairy quickly realized. "My goodness, how many secrets does she hold? She's cast more silencing spells than I ate potatoes yesterday!"

"Yes, there is indeed fairy magic, a very traditional structure. Should we dispel it?"

Zeta told Charles, "I don't recommend lifting the ban; it would be dangerous if it were discovered."

Charles thought it made sense; at worst, they could continue to speak in riddles.

The fairy said, "It's okay if you don't want to undo it; I have a way to temporarily disable that spell."

Charles thought for a moment and asked, "Can we let her control whether it fails or not?"

The fairy replied, "It's a bit troublesome, but it can be done."

After weighing the options, Charles said, "I'll talk to her first and then decide."

He then asked Zeta, "Do you have a way to build a fake office?"

"That's the security department's office. There's a map of the Dancing Grass Restaurant and the castle on the wall. Someone accidentally took a picture of it."

Zeta immediately understood his meaning; he was trying to pass on false information. After recalling the castle's structure, she said, "Having only maps and photos isn't enough. We also need photos of several key locations for the other side to verify."

"You don't need to give it all at once; I suggest giving it in installments."

Charles thought it was a good idea, so he assigned Zeta and the others to take charge while he carried Eleanor back himself.

(End of this chapter)