I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 271 December

Marilyn came in second place with a high score of 45 points; if it weren't for Karkaroff's obnoxious behavior, her score would definitely have been higher.

She stood on the stage, smiling brightly, and waved to the audience.

She was very satisfied with her second-place finish. Marilyn couldn't feel any jealousy towards Catherine. She might feel jealous of someone similar to her, like Fleur, but Catherine was someone far superior to her from any angle, someone she could only look up to.

So, I'd be satisfied with second place!

"Harry! What's going on?" Hermione growled in a low voice. "You also got a 45, how come Mr. Bagman forgot about you?"

"Yeah, Harry!" Ron muttered, then stood up. "I'll go tell Mr. Bagman what happened..."

After saying that, he walked behind Mr. Bagman and whispered something, but the noise in the room was too loud to hear their conversation. After a while, Ron came back and gave Harry an OK sign.

"We've finished talking to him, now we just wait," Ron said, frowning. He was still a little annoyed that Mr. Bagman had forgotten about his good brother.

After a long pause, Mr. Bagman exclaimed, "Oh...sorry, I forgot something, oh dear, this is a truly, truly, truly enormous mistake—tied for second place with Miss Chabanor is Mr. Harry Potter from Hogwarts! He also got forty-five points! Let's congratulate him!"

Harry quickly stood up and walked to the front of the stage, his eyes fixed on the Gryffindor side, where the Gryffindor seats had become a joyful sea of ​​gold and red.

The lion cubs called out Harry's name loudly, offering him their sincerest blessings.

As the cheers subsided, Mr. Bagman continued, "So, in third place is Mr. Vasily Petrenko from Durmstrang! His final score is—forty-four points! Let's congratulate him!"

After the cheers subsided, Mr. Bagman mentioned the remaining contestants: Viktor was in fourth place with 43 points, and Cedric and Fleur were tied for fifth with 42 points each.

Mr. Bagman, sitting in the main seat, looked overjoyed, as if he himself had just successfully passed through a fire dragon.

"Alright, I only have a few words to say," Mr. Bagman said to the warriors after everyone had quieted down. "The second project will begin at 9:30 a.m. on February 24th next year. Before that, you can rest for a long time—but we have some questions for you to consider."

At this point, Mr. Bagman pointed to the golden egg that Fleur was holding and said, “Look down at the golden eggs you are each holding, and you will find that they can be opened—see the seam there? It’s that rather dark and thin line, well, it’s a little inconspicuous. I must say, you must decipher the clues provided inside the eggs—that will tell you what the second project is.”

"I think you have enough time to prepare in the next six months! So, are you all clear? No problems? Okay, everyone can leave the venue in an orderly manner. I hope you take all your belongings with you so you don't have to come back and look for them."

Halfway there, Harry was stopped by Rita Skeeter, who had excitedly caught up with him.

Harry was clearly caught off guard; he didn't know how to deal with this annoying reporter who loved to create big news. Meanwhile, Rita Skeeter's eyes gleamed with excitement as she scanned Ron, Hermione, and Harry, probably already having prepared a lengthy script in her mind about a love triangle.

"Hello, Ms. Skeeter. Goodbye, Ms. Skeeter," Harry said quickly, grabbing Hermione and Ron and running away as fast as he could.

He didn't want to be interviewed by Ms. Skeeter again; who knew what kind of nonsense that old woman might spout.

After being dumped by Harry, Rita found Louise behind her.

"You mean you want to interview Catherine?" Louis immediately understood Rita's purpose.

Rita nodded repeatedly, saying it was her greatest honor to be able to interview Catherine.

"Then let's do it tomorrow morning. We're very busy today." Louis set the interview time, and Rita didn't dare to object, so she could only nod in agreement.

Instead of rushing back to their office, they followed Draco's advice and went to the Slytherin common room first. Sure enough, when they entered, it erupted once again in a great uproar and cheers. The tables and chairs were piled high with mountains of cake, along with jugs of pumpkin juice and butterbeer.

Crabbe and Goyle set off some hard-to-draw fireworks in the lounge, adding sparks and flecks to the air. Someone had hired an artist to paint a Hungarian wasp crouching with its head in its hands on a banner hanging high above—presumably Draco's work.

When Catherine placed the golden egg on the table, the cheers grew even louder, and the entire Slytherin common room became as lively as Gryffindor.

"Oh my goodness, it's quite heavy." Pansy picked up the golden egg that Catherine had placed on the table, weighed it in her hands a few times, and said impatiently, "Quick, open it and see, Miss Worley! I heard from the host, Mr. Ludo Bagman, that the clue to the next project is in this golden egg. Can you show everyone what's inside?"

Catherine didn't object; she was in a good mood today and simply granted their request.

"Alright, Pansy, Miss Worley has agreed," Draco said with a grin. "Open it and let's see what's inside!"

Unbeknownst to them, Louis casually covered his ears with his hands and nudged Catherine with his leg. Catherine saw Louis's action and instantly understood what was going on. She cast an ear-blocking spell on herself and pretended nothing was wrong, looking at the crowd in front of her.

Pansy dug her fingernails into the grooves around the golden egg and pried it open with force.

It was empty inside, there was nothing there—but the moment Pansy opened it, an extremely terrifying, shrill scream filled the entire room. Louis felt like he had heard a similar sound before—oh yes, it was like the sound of an iron drill bit being forcefully scraped across sheet metal, making one's teeth ache.

"Quick! Turn it off!" Draco shouted, covering his ears.

Crabbe and Goyle, who were closest to the golden egg and had their faces pressed against it before Pansy opened it, had already collapsed unconscious on the ground from the shock of the screams. Pansy, however, remained relatively calm. She quickly closed the golden egg again, finally stopping the teeth-grinding noise.

Daphne Greengrass stared at the closed golden egg with lingering fear, her face pale, and asked, "What the hell is this thing? Good heavens, it sounds like a screaming ghost from Halloween! Is the next challenge going to be guarded by a ghost? It looks like it'll be one of those vengeful spirits..."

"Probably not..." Her sister Astoria mused. "Judging by the intensity of that scream, I think it might be... a test of the Cruciatus Curse?"

“Oh, don’t be silly, Astoria,” Draco said, covering his face. “It’s illegal. They can’t use the Cruciatus Curse on champions—I think that sound like someone singing—like Crabbe or Goyle singing. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing their horrific singing before—”

At this point, Draco paused, not continuing, and a look of lingering fear appeared on his face, clearly indicating that he was quite shaken by their impressive singing.

Childhood psychological trauma is a factor.

To be fair, Draco's guess was not wrong—there really was singing in the golden egg, but you just couldn't open it and listen to it directly.

After the first project was completed, the little dragon model could be kept. Some kind of magic had been applied, but Catherine's Hungarian hornet wasp was incredibly lifelike, almost as if it were alive. Catherine wasn't interested in the little dragon, so she gave it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth, clearly inheriting the violent genes of old London's Union Jack, adored this little pet, practically inseparable from it, even cuddling it while sleeping.

Harry had the same problem as Elizabeth, and he treated his little Norwegian Spinosaurus the same way. When they had nothing to do, the two would often get together to talk about the details of raising pets, from the little dragon to Quidditch, then to Find the Ball, and finally to actually ride their respective Firebolts out for a real battle.

Harry had to admit that there were always people more talented than him, and Elizabeth's flying talent was absolutely rare in the world.

The next day, Rita came to interview Catherine as promised. She behaved fairly well and didn't do anything outrageous. Of course, it's also possible that Louis's gaze was too kind and friendly.

November flew by, and December in the Scottish Highlands is often accompanied by howling winds. This year, rain and snow have been frequent, and drafts often blow through the castle, chilling you to the bone.

Fortunately, the castle walls were very thick, and the warm fire in the fireplace could dispel the students' chill. Compared to Karkaroff's house on the big ship that swayed in the gale and waves, Hogwarts was quite warm.

Durmstrang's students were more than once thankful that they hadn't stayed on the ship with Karkarov, but instead had scattered to the common rooms of their respective colleges. Sitting by the fireplace in the common rooms, enjoying snacks and hot butterbeer, and thinking of Principal Karkarov, who was freezing like a chicken in winter on the ship, the Durmstrang students couldn't help but silently mourn for him for half a second before raising their glasses in celebration.

Malt whiskey was constantly being supplied to Mrs. Maxim's horse's manger, and the aroma of whiskey wafted from the feed trough in the corner of the temporary stable, making the students on their way to their magical animal protection class dizzy.

"Hagrid's spring has arrived," Louis commented quietly, quite objectively.

"How did you know?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"I knew it." Louis had a confident look on his face, then he saw the slug feed that Hagrid was holding, and his face froze.

"I'm not sure if they're hibernating, sigh," Hagrid told his shivering classmates in the pumpkin patch. "But we might as well try and see if they're actually asleep..."

In the large box in front of the students, there were fluffy blankets and pillows, and the Blasttail lay quietly inside, a stark contrast to its previous defiant and aggressive nature. Seamus stared at the Blasttail and asked loudly, "Professor Hagrid, I have a question..."

"Ah, it's Seamus." Hagrid stroked his messy beard. "You said it."

"How do we determine whether the 'Bombtail' snail is hibernating? What tests do we need to do?" Simon asked hesitantly.

Draco immediately said, "Oh, I know that." He looked at Hagrid with a sly smile and said, "Perhaps Professor Hagrid means we should reach out and test them. If our hands are gone, it means the Blasttails aren't hibernating; if our hands are still there, it means they're really asleep..."

As soon as Draco finished speaking, the students burst into laughter.

Nobody wanted to give Hagrid any face—after all, the Bombtail looked just too damn disgusting.

As soon as the words were spoken, the first box of blasting snails suddenly emitted a crackling sound from its tail. It continued to explode its fire-breathing tail, blasting a hole in the box. The students immediately backed away, and the blasting snails slammed the box open with a bang, revealing its slimy, grayish-black body, along with its disgusting tentacles and suckers.

Draco was startled; he was closest to the Blasttail. Instinctively, he drew his wand and fired a burst of sparks at the Blasttail, trying to scare it away. At the same time, the remaining nine Blasttails rushed over from behind. Seeing this, Harry immediately grabbed Ron and followed Draco's example, spraying sparks at the Blasttails with his wand.

"Hey! Don't scare them!" Hagrid panicked; those blasting snails were his treasures.

"I think we're scared, Hagrid," Draco shouted, using sparks to corner a Blasttail and then securing it with a box.

Louis wasn't idle either. He used Transfiguration to create giant hands and pinched the remaining Blasttails back into the box one by one—he subconsciously used a bit of force, and the Blasttails that had been pinched looked a little wilted.

He controlled his strength very well, neither causing serious damage to the snails nor failing to eliminate some of their vitality.

Draco and Ron were both hit by the Blasttail to varying degrees, and their clothes and pants were burned with several holes; Harry was more seriously injured, as he was accidentally hit on the arm by sparks, and his wand fell to the ground and he almost stepped on it.

Harry picked up his wand with lingering fear, touching his old friend with some heartache. It wasn't until the Blasttail was caught that he realized he had been burned, and he immediately grimaced in pain.

(End of this chapter)