Snakes at Hogwarts

Chapter 113: Fooling Draco

"Ander, do you have anything else to say?"

Draco asked in the dim Slytherin lounge.

He and Andros sat on the two sofa chairs closest to the fireplace. Not far away was the crackling fire. This area was probably the brightest and warmest place in the Slytherin lounge. .

"Of course, but it's not about this. I have other questions to ask you." Andros waved his hand, signaling Draco not to worry.

"Let me ask you, are you still thinking about that big dog guarding the restricted corridor?" he asked suddenly.

Hearing such words, Draco's face suddenly became a little panicked.

The expression was very much like that of a little boy who was suddenly at a loss after someone discovered his innermost secret.

"No, no, if you didn't say anything, I~I would have forgotten about this a long time ago." He stumbled to explain, his pale face full of guilt.

He is clearly not a qualified Slytherin yet.

After all, no Slytherin would be so unnatural when making up lies.

This is actually normal. At this time, this immature little dragon has not yet grown up.

Glancing at the embarrassed Draco in a funny way, Andros sighed pretending to be helpless.

"Really, that would be such a pity. Originally, I wanted to ask if I could be of any help. Since you are no longer interested in the three-headed dog and the secrets it guards, then this matter will be like this forget it."

"What! Don't, don't forget it!"

Draco's voice suddenly became louder, and when he saw Andros' half-smiling eyes, Xiaolong's face turned red.

"I, I mean, I am indeed very interested in the secrets there. I was just afraid that you would tell this to Senior Sister Farley." He explained in a low voice.

"And how did you find out?" Draco couldn't help but ask, he felt that he had been careful enough.

"When you winked at me in the library, I already noticed that you came out of the area where books on magical creatures are placed, and you are obviously not a person who likes magical creatures, so the purpose of doing this is only one."

"Okay, okay, I didn't expect you to observe so carefully. I wanted to find out if there are any weaknesses in the three-headed dog recorded in those books, or if there is any way to deal with the three-headed dog blocking the road. "

"Then have you found any solution?" Andros asked.

"Not at all!" Draco shook his head in distress.

"I really don't know how that creature was created, it seems to have no weaknesses at all!" He kept complaining to Andros.

"My original plan was to add some living hell decoction to the food fed to the three-headed dog, but that didn't work at all. The three-headed dog is very vigilant and has a very sensitive sense of smell, so it is impossible for it to be fooled!"

"Besides, to bring down such a big creature would probably require more medicine than food."

"Ender, do you have any good ideas?" After complaining, Xiaolong looked at Andros expectantly, but the latter's words made him suddenly disappointed.

"No, I don't know how to deal with that thing." Andros shrugged innocently.

In comparison, telling lies was as simple as eating and drinking. Andros certainly knew how to deal with the three-headed dog named Lu Wei.

The three-headed dog trained by Hagrid has a very fatal flaw. It is very sensitive to music. As long as it hears any sound with some rhythm, its three heads will become dizzy at the same time. Drowsy.

In fact, it is likely that all three-headed dogs have this weakness.

Because in Greek mythology, Orpheus in the Argonauts, in order to bring his dead wife Eurydice back from the underworld, he entered the underworld and played the beautiful harp with which he was good at. Boros fell asleep and was able to escape from the underworld.

However, it was impossible for Andros to tell Draco this method directly, wouldn't that be a betrayal!

After all, he had no way to explain why Draco couldn't find the method after looking through so many books, but he could easily come up with it.

For Draco to know this method, he would need a clever reason and some time.

Looking at the disappointed Draco, Andros smiled.

"But, I already know who the owner of the three-headed dog is. Do you still remember the big man who picked us up at the station platform when we first arrived at Hogwarts? He later took us across the river in a small boat. Went to the Black Lake and came to Hogwarts."

"I have an impression, what's wrong?" Draco thought about it carefully, he still had some impression of this person.

That stupid guy seemed to be an employee working in the castle like Filch, and he also had a good relationship with Scarhead of Gryffindor. He once took him to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies.

"His name is Hagrid. He is the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. A week ago, I was punished to patrol the Forbidden Forest because I was in solitary confinement. He took us there with him."

"So you mean, he raised that three-headed dog?" Draco asked doubtfully.

"Yes, he was bragging to us about how good he was at raising magical animals, and I took the opportunity to get something out of him."

Andros was naturally confident when he made up a lie. Apart from himself, only Hagrid and Potter knew what happened that night.

And Draco, who had no dealings with these people, obviously couldn't go to them to confirm the authenticity of Andros' words.

Besides, with Xiaolong's IQ, it was impossible for him to doubt it.

"Did he tell you about the creature's weakness?" Just as Andros expected, Draco's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this. He didn't expect such a good thing.

"No, but this is a direction. Hagrid's attitude towards me is pretty good, and his mouth doesn't seem to be so strict. Maybe I can try to talk to him, but it will take time."

"That's great Ender! You've really done me a big favor!" Draco waved his fist excitedly, but soon he couldn't help but have some doubts on his face.

"But didn't you warn me not to take risks before? Why did you suddenly want to help me?"

"Anyway, I'm just doing you a favor. The Malfoy family has a very high reputation and rich connections in the wizarding world. The future heir of such a family owes me a favor. What can I refuse for such a good thing?"

Andros made up a random reason why he wasn't going to tell Draco what he was planning to do.

"Wise choice, Ender. I have always known that you are a smart man, completely different from that brainless Scarhead. Only such a person can become a friend of the Malfoy family."

.....................

After Draco was tricked away, Andros sat quietly in front of the fire, thinking.

For a long time, he has been very clear about one thing in his heart.

Even if he has become a wizard, he is still the same penniless pauper.

In order to attend Hogwarts, he spent all his savings.

In addition to leaving a few pounds for emergencies, Andros exchanged all the pounds he had accumulated during those years of scavenging into a common currency that could be used in the wizarding world.

Coupled with the meager Hogwarts poverty subsidy, he was able to barely buy all the things necessary to enter Hogwarts.

And these are just the necessary items used by the first grade.

His body is growing rapidly, and the robes custom-made at Madam Malkin's Robe Shop are no longer as close-fitting as before. If I remember correctly, next year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be Gilderoy Lockhart. big liar.

That guy's books are not cheap at all, even if they are relatively cheap second-hand books.

It is foreseeable that if Andros does not come up with some way to make money, then at the beginning of the second year semester, he will probably appear in Slytherin like the Weasleys wearing patched and ill-fitting robes. of the lounge.

This is something Andros absolutely cannot stand.

He had always paid great attention to his appearance, and even his hair, which was always growing wildly, was often trimmed and taken care of by Andros.

Is this because he has some kind of mysophobia?

No, of course not.

That's because Andros is well aware of his situation.

Are you kidding me? This is the Snake Academy, the academy with the most pure-blood nobles among the four major academies.

These little snakes of noble origin have basically received strict and standardized etiquette education since childhood, and have strict pursuit of these etiquettes.

If you don't believe it, you can observe a little. In the Great Hall, there is never any lively noise from the long Slytherin table, and there are never any Slytherin students who gorge themselves on meals regardless of their appearance.

They always look like gentle nobles, wearing neat robes, holding knives and forks in their hands, handling the food on the plate slowly, and whispering a few words to the people around them from time to time. They have very obvious differences with other colleges. difference.

Even Goyle, who looks silly, is no exception.

This little chubby guy has been disciplined many times by Prefect Farley and other senior students for being too rough with his eating habits.

This is the current Slytherin, vain, arrogant, and extremely focused on these boring etiquette.

To be honest, Andros didn't like such a depressing approach.

However, what he said didn't count.

This has continued for many years, and the thoughts that have been deeply ingrained in the Snake Yard will not change due to Andros's personal will.

At least not yet.

Then he had no choice but to adapt.

After being sorted into Slytherin by the Sorting Hat, Andros has always understood a truth.

If you want to live safely in the Snake Yard, then you cannot appear so special. You must make the Slytherins around you think that you are one of their kind.

Only in this way can you be accepted by the Snake Institute.

Because only when facing similar species, venomous snakes will temporarily put away their fangs.

Etiquette that leaves no room for fault and a justifiable personal image are important factors in maintaining this recognition.

This is one of the reasons why Andros is so eager to earn money for next semester.

And if he cannot earn enough Galleons in the wizarding world, then he must find a way to obtain enough pounds in the Muggle world, and then go to Gringotts to exchange for Galleons.

That would just be more risky.

After all, strictly speaking, underage wizards cannot perform magic after returning to the Muggle world.

Violators may even be expelled from Hogwarts, in the case of Gryffindor Harry.

Therefore, Andros actually wants to raise enough funds in the magical world.

He also had a brilliant idea.

On the night of the midnight duel, they had no choice but to hide in the restricted corridor on the east side of the fourth floor in order to avoid Filch's pursuit.

I saw the three-headed dog guarding the trap door, Lu Wei.

After realizing that the saliva of the three-headed dog was probably worth a lot of money, Andros immediately decided to focus on it.

He re-opened the advanced potions textbooks that were used as recreational readings, and even wrote to the drugstore in Diagon Alley that sold Dragon Whip.

He finally determined one thing. Just like the venom of the Acromantula, the saliva of the three-headed dog was equally valuable.

According to what Andros learned, the price of a pint of this stuff is as high as fifty gold galleons, and it is also a scarce commodity that has a price but no market.

This is mainly because the origin of the three-headed dog is Greece, and it is rare to see this kind of creature in the UK. It is no exaggeration to say that the three-headed dog raised by Hagrid is probably from the UK. The only one.

This means that this magical material is difficult to obtain, because British wizards who want to buy three-headed dog saliva can only import it from Greece through the Ministry of Magic. Heavy tariffs make the price of this material extremely high.

If I could get some of the saliva of this creature, I wouldn't be short of living expenses during this period.

However, this is just an initial idea, and there are still many practical issues that need to be considered.

For example, the most important thing is how to enter that corridor without attracting too much attention from Dumbledore.

Through this trip to the Forbidden Forest, Andros gradually began to realize that Dumbledore was paying attention to him, which meant that he could not enter the forbidden corridor by himself and needed someone to attract Dumbledore's attention.

Or in other words, you need to find a backup guy for this operation.

Today at noon, when he saw an angry Draco walking in, Andros suddenly had a great idea.

If I go exploring that restricted corridor with him, does it seem to be justifiable?