Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 331 Good News
The next morning, after having breakfast in the carriage, Jon and Durmstrang's warrior Diane followed Rosier to the auditorium in the castle.
There were some people standing here, but except for Draco and Emil, they were all adult wizards.
Even when the Triwizard Tournament was going on, students in Hogwarts Castle had to continue their normal classes, and at this time, they should all be in class.
Voldemort was not here. Apart from him, the three referees from the Federation and the vice-headmaster who represented Beauxbatons were all surrounding an old man.
The old man was holding a magic wand in his hand, waving it, leaving brilliant silver light threads in the air while muttering.
"Exactly ten inches, hawthorn wood, unicorn hair. I remember when I handed it to you, Mr. Malfoy, it was a not-so-bright afternoon when you and your father came to my shop..."
Draco had no interest in listening to him reminiscing about the past. He looked at the old man's hand holding the wand.
"If there's no problem, could you please give it back to me, Mr. Ollivander?"
Ollivander heard the resentment in his tone, but just smiled slightly and returned the wand to Draco.
"I can understand that people who are proud enough will also be very possessive of their wands. You have taken good care of it."
Draco raised his head and put the wand that had been tested back into his sleeve.
At this time, several referees and Ollivander focused their attention on Jon and Diane who had just arrived at the auditorium.
"You are the only ones missing. Why couldn't you come earlier?" said the vice-headmaster of Beauxbatons in a sharp voice.
Rozier looked at him expressionlessly, as if showing even a hint of disdain towards such a person would be an insult to her.
"If I remember correctly, Mr. Graves decided on ten o'clock last night, and it's exactly ten o'clock now."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ollivander arrived early, so I let these two warriors start first. You came at the right time and didn't delay anyone. Professor Rosier, who of these two will go first?"
Matthew could only step forward to smooth things over. The referee of the federation not only had to ensure fairness for the game, but also had to regulate the relationship between the two parties during the process.
After he turned his eyes to Jon and Diane, the two looked at each other, and Jon nodded in the direction of Ollivander at Diane.
Then the Durmstrang girl drew out her wand, took a step forward, and handed the wand to Ollivander.
"Willow wood with a dragon's heartstring, nine inches. This kind of craftsmanship should be a work of Gregorovitch in the eighties?"
Ollivander looked at Diane, and Diane nodded to indicate that his judgment was correct.
"Although our ideas conflict, I have to admit that Gregorovitch is also an excellent wand maker." He praised and then waved the willow wand, "Flocks of birds flying."
The next moment, a flock of birds flapped their wings and flew out from the head of the wand. They circled in the hall and then flew out of the open window into the faint sunlight.
"No problem at all."
Putting Diane's wand back in her hand, Ollivander finally looked at Jon.
There seemed to be anticipation in his eyes, and as he looked down at the old wand that Jon pulled out of his sleeve, he reached out and took it.
"Mr. Green, I have heard of your great name for a long time. I have always wondered what kind of work would be able to match your soul."
He said this with a smile, and gently stroked the weathered stick with his left hand.
"Well, it has obviously gone through a long time. 14 inches, this length is really rare. Even in my career, I can only count the number of wands of this size on one hand. The shaft is made of chestnut wood, and the tail feathers are made of phoenix..."
Suddenly, he was stunned.
The sound, as smooth as the flow of a stream, suddenly stopped. Ollivander stared at the wand in his hand in a daze, as if he had discovered something extraordinary.
The people around him who were waiting for him to make a final judgment on Jon's wand noticed the change in his expression.
Emir was very dissatisfied.
He felt like Jon was showing his specialness in everything he did. Even an ordinary wand test could make people focus their attention on him.
"So what's going on? What's wrong with this wand? Is there a cheating spell put on it by Dumbledore?"
He looked at Ollivander, hoping to hear a positive answer from him.
However, Ollivander did not look at him, as if he did not hear what he said. This old man, who came from a pure-blood family and had been making wands all his life, squinted his cloudy eyes and looked at John with a complicated expression.
“Is this my work?”
Jon didn't deny it.
"His previous owner said he bought this wand in Diagon Alley, England."
"I remember it was a summer evening in 1920, but I can't remember whether it was Monday or Tuesday. He came to my shop and I wanted to recommend some suitable ones to him, but he refused and just wandered around the shelves. Finally, he chose this one."
Ollivander's voice was very soft, it didn't sound like he was reminiscing, but more like one of regret and helplessness.
"I told him that this wand was too long. I designed it for some special guests. He didn't care about my suggestion. He just threw a few gold galleons on the table and said that he liked this wand very much. With this length, if it was convenient, it could be inserted into the enemy's eye socket and pierced into their mushy brain."
Jon's face looked strange. He didn't know that Grindelwald had said such words when he bought the wand from Ollivander.
No wonder he always felt that the tip of the wand was more worn than other parts...
So, was it really used as a murder weapon and stabbed into someone's brain?
After listening to Ollivander's story, the vice-headmaster of Beauxbatons sneered and said in a sarcastic tone.
"The person who bought this wand might be a troll."
Just as he finished his words, an inexplicable chill pierced him. His heart suddenly jumped and he raised his head, just in time to meet Rozier's eyes that were as cold as ice.
He shuddered and subconsciously took a step back.
At this time, when Ollivander had returned the chestnut wand to Jon, he did not mention Grindelwald's name, but just glanced at Matthew out of the corner of his eye without attracting any attention.
"Take good care of it. It is already part of a legend. I hope you can take it to another new story."
Jon took the wand and nodded without saying anything.
The wand inspection was just a formality, and generally no wizard would tamper with his wand. After the inspection, Jon and his friends did not stay in the hall any longer, and the Auror guarding the door did not want them to stay here any longer, so he watched them leave the castle.
After returning to the carriage, Jon went straight back to his dormitory. He did not forget what he had promised Dumbledore yesterday. He took out his suitcase and then fumbled out a cloak that was as cool and smooth as water.
Just when he was about to leave with the invisibility cloak, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something. After hesitating for a moment, he returned to the suitcase and pulled out an old blank parchment from the bottom.
After finding these two things, Jon did not stop, walked out of the dormitory, and went straight to Dumbledore's office along the corridor.
When he entered, Dumbledore was writing a letter. Fawkes was standing beside him, combing his bright red feathers boredly. When he heard Jon come in, he raised his head, then tilted it, as if to greet an acquaintance.
Seeing Jon come in, Dumbledore put down the quill in his hand and looked at what he brought.
"Thanks for sending it, Jon."
"I should thank Professor Potter. If she hadn't lent me this thing, I wouldn't have been able to get it for you."
John placed the invisibility cloak on Dumbledore's desk, and then handed the parchment to Dumbledore with a serious expression.
"I think this thing might be helpful to you as a professor."
Dumbledore obviously noticed the parchment under the invisibility cloak when Jon just walked in. He gently raised his eyes and stared at the blank paper with a look of surprise.
“A sophisticated design.”
Jon was not surprised that he could find the difference in this parchment, and he spoke up to remind him.
"Its activation mantra is 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'."
Dumbledore laughed and raised his wand.
"This spell design reminds me of a few naughty students I once taught."
He chanted the spell and tapped the exact center of the parchment with his wand.
In an instant, an ink spot appeared where the magic wand touched the blank space, and then black lines spread in all directions, and soon a line of text appeared on it.
[Salute to you! The greatest headmaster in the history of Hogwarts! ] - Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail.
The text on the parchment soon began to change, and the ink lines were rearranged.
[I hope that when you open it, it was not confiscated from some good student. Oh, yes, we are also good students! ] - Prongs.
Dumbledore watched in silence as the line of text slowly disappeared. Finally, countless lines spread around like a spider web, forming a living map.
He didn't speak, and his eyes didn't focus on the map. His expression seemed to be frozen by a petrification spell.
After a long time, just when John was about to speak to wake Dumbledore up, the old man slowly reached out and touched the codes above the map.
His murmuring voice seemed to be able to penetrate the gap between life and death, and the young wizard wearing glasses, who was brave and enthusiastic and had grown from a naughty child into a fearless warrior, stood beside him with a smile.
"I have never been a great principal...but you have always been a good student..."
Jon didn't say anything else. He silently looked at the principal, who had never looked so decadent and sad before, and didn't want to disturb his thoughts at this moment.
He didn't have to wait long before Dumbledore calmed himself down. He took off his glasses, wiped the crescent-shaped lenses carefully, then looked at John and smiled.
"Maybe students often say that I am a bit crazy, but even an old man with a mental disorder will be moved by the scene sometimes."
He didn't seem embarrassed, and there was even a hint of mischief in his tone.
Jon shrugged and he smiled .
"When I get back, I'll tell Neville and the others that Professor Dumbledore is not only crazy sometimes, but also an old man who likes to cry."
"Ha, that's a bit embarrassing for me."
Dumbledore muttered, put his glasses back on, and looked at the activated Marauder's Map.
All the locations in Hogwarts are marked on the map, and the name of every person in the school is also shown on it, moving with the movement of the person named.
Jon also glanced at the map.
Well, Voldemort's name didn't appear anywhere in the school.
"An amazing tracking spell." Dumbledore said in admiration, "This is the result of their collective wisdom, and this parchment itself also contains unique magic."
He looked up at Jon.
"May I know how you got it?"
Jon did not hide anything. He just said that he deliberately went to find the live map and found it by accident, and he figured out a way to open the map himself.
After listening to John's story, Dumbledore nodded very seriously.
"It's crucial, Jon, thank you for being willing to lend it to me."
Even now, Jon hadn't asked Dumbledore what he was going to do when he asked him to borrow the Invisibility Cloak, but he could feel that the Marauder's Map would be of great help to what he was going to do next, so he took it out without hesitation.
This was originally made by the four plunderers, and Jon would never keep it for himself no matter what.
Then, after Jon told him that he knew the spell to remove the magic on the map, Dumbledore put away the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak and looked at Jon.
"If you want to know, I can tell you what I need these two things for."
But Jon waved his hand.
"You should wait until you have good news before telling me. I only have so much energy. From now on, I should focus all my energy on the competition."
Dumbledore laughed heartily.
"Then let's hope that we can get more good news in the end, good news that will comfort the living and let the dead rest in peace!"
