Chapter 496: Night Visit to Hagrid

Chapter 496: Night Visit to Hagrid
In the suitcase space.

Seeing that the girls were still busy developing relationships with the dragons and that he himself seemed to have nothing to do, Xie Ling left.

Not far from the mountains where the giant dragon was entrenched, on an open plain, a small wooden boat with a unique shape was anchored in the middle of the grass. A faint rune glow appeared on the hull, and it was obviously a magical ship that had been enchanted.

That was the small magic spaceship, the Sleeping Dragon, that Schelling had obtained from Durmstrang.

As Xie Ling approached, he saw two figures standing on the side of the ship from a distance, discussing the renovation plan intensely.

One of them was a burly man with a thick red beard and arms so strong that he seemed to be able to break iron bars with his bare hands. He was a subordinate of "Redbeard" Jirufan, an experienced Viking warship craftsman, and his craftsmanship was well-known throughout the North Sea.

Standing opposite him was a short goblin wearing a luxurious gold-threaded robe, with a high nose bridge, sharp eyes, and an awe-inspiring aura of craftsmanship. He was an extremely rare high-level blacksmith among the goblins. As far as Schelling knew, goblins attached great importance to the level of forging technology, and there were no more than ten goblins in the whole of Great Britain who could be promoted to high-level blacksmiths.

Both of them were talents borrowed by Xie Lin from his allies. He was willing to owe a favor to Jilufan and the elves in order to transform the small magic spaceship Sleeping Dragon into a medium-sized magic battleship.

At this moment, the two were gesturing about the structure of the Sleeping Dragon, and occasionally a debate broke out. The Viking warship craftsman insisted on strengthening the physical defense of the hull, using sea beast bones from the North Sea to reinforce the hull to enhance its resistance to impact; while the goblin forger advocated the use of goblin mithril combined with rune magic to maximize the magic defense and give the ship more flexible maneuverability.

"If your ship only relies on hardness, then what's the difference between it and those broken copper and rotten iron Muggle warships?" The goblin forger snorted in dissatisfaction, gesturing in the air with the carving knife in his hand, "If you want it to truly become the king of the battlefield, you must incorporate advanced magical craftsmanship so that it can dodge attacks more flexibly instead of just resisting them head-on!"

"Haha! You goblins are too particular about magic!" The red-bearded man laughed heartily and patted the side of the ship. "On the battlefield, nothing is more important than thick armor! I have seen countless warships. A ship that can be split in half with one sword is useless no matter how fast it is!"

"Please listen to me, both of you." Xie Lin stood quietly by the side, listening to the argument between the two, and finally spoke slowly.

His voice was not loud, but it carried a certain majesty that could not be ignored, causing the two people who were arguing fiercely to stop instantly and turn to look at him.

“Taking both into account is the best option.”

He raised his hand, signaling them to stay calm, and then continued in a steady tone: "If we want to transform the Sleeping Dragon into a real warship, it is not enough to just reinforce the hull or engrave magical protection. First, we must solve the space problem - the size of this ship needs to be greatly expanded. In my conception, it must be able to carry at least fifty people to be able to meet future combat needs."

Upon hearing this, the Viking warship craftsman couldn't help but frown and said, "Master Malfoy, that is not a simple project."

"That's why I invited you here." Xie Ling spoke slowly and his eyes were calm and sharp. "Time, money, materials - these are not problems. The only thing I need is your technology."

When he said this, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, a gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes, and he slowly looked around at the two people: "As far as I know, you two can be said to be the most knowledgeable experts on warships in the entire European and even global wizarding world. I went to great lengths to invite you here, and of course I have full confidence in your abilities."

The two looked at each other, and seemed to see some kind of aroused pride in each other's eyes, but neither expressed his opinion immediately.

"Therefore..." Xie Lin paused slightly, his tone was calm but unquestionable, "I hope you will put aside your differences of opinion, combine your respective strengths, and make this magic spaceship have both strong physical and magical defense capabilities."

He slowly stepped forward, his eyes sharp enough to seem to penetrate their hesitation: "Besides this, I have one more request."

The two listened with bated breath.

"I want this ship to have self-awareness."

Schelling's voice was still unhurried, but it faintly revealed an unquestionable majesty. His eyes fell on the goblin forger, and he said in a deep voice: "The Hohenheim family has been studying Arthur Wesley's alchemy. They are trying to replicate his results, hoping to give this ship a biological consciousness and make it a semi-living being."

"Half-living being?" the Viking warship craftsman repeated in a low voice, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The goblin forger frowned, pondered for a moment and said: "If we can master that kind of magic, we can indeed give this warship a certain degree of self-awareness... But this is far beyond the concept of an ordinary magic warship."

Xie Lin nodded and said calmly: "Yes, my target is not an ordinary magic warship, but a warship that can make independent decisions, assist in combat, and even protect itself and its crew in critical moments - just like Arthur Wesley's Ford Flying Car."

There was silence in the air for a moment, and the two craftsmen had complicated expressions. They were obviously aware of the difficulty of the task, but at the same time they were attracted by this unprecedented challenge.

"So..." Xie Lin looked at them, a faint smile on his face, "Are you two willing to accept this challenge?"

Upon hearing this, the fairy forger's eyes flashed with excitement, and then he revealed a thoughtful expression: "The 'life' given by alchemy...if combined with fairy craftsmanship, perhaps we can really create an unprecedented magic spaceship."

The red-bearded man laughed and waved his fist excitedly: "This is an interesting idea! If it can consciously and actively avoid attacks, it will definitely be a trump card on the battlefield!"

Xie Lin nodded slightly. "I plan to let Savannah and her Inferi troops use and operate this spaceship. We also need to equip it with six magic cannons - imitations of the Durmstrang ghost ship."

Durmstrang's ghost ship requires twelve people to drive it at the same time. Although the Inferi do not have intelligence, under the manipulation and command of Savannah, the master of tactics, driving and operating a magic ship with "intelligent driving" function is definitely not a problem.

According to Xie Ling's plan, after installing the magic cannon, the warship itself will have a certain combat capability. Even after landing, the zombies can still engage in close combat. In this way, the Sleeping Dragon will have both long-range combat and troop transportation functions.

Hearing these words, the eyes of the goblin blacksmith and the red-bearded man lit up.

"The magic cannon of the ghost ship? That's not an ordinary thing..." The red-bearded man stroked his beard, his eyes flashing with fighting spirit, "If it can be successfully reproduced, then this spaceship will truly become a weapon of war."

"I will personally supervise the forging." The goblin forger pondered for a moment and nodded solemnly, "However, I need some special materials, such as dragon blood crystal and ancient stone."

A sharp light flashed in Sherin's eyes. These two items were not ordinary items, but they were not difficult for him. Since he took control of the Pureblood Family and the power of Knockturn Alley, there was nothing he could not get in Great Britain. As for foreign items, Ali Bashir, Karkaroff, Maxim, his international allied families, and the Medieval Wizarding Union could all help.

"You don't have to worry about the materials, I have my own arrangements." Xie Ling said in a deep voice, "Just go ahead and do it. After the task is completed, I will never be stingy with your remuneration and rewards." - The magic dragon knight troops, equipped with a magic warship with life consciousness, plus six magic cannons, this will become a big trump card in Xie Ling's hand, an elite force that can truly sweep away all obstacles.

The roar of the black dragon echoed in the canyon, and the Sleeping Dragon in the distance was glowing with a faint runic glow under the setting sun, as if it was brewing some kind of storm that was about to sweep across the entire magical world.

------------

At night, Harry and his two friends sneaked out of the castle to visit Hagrid.

Ever since Harry lost the Deathly Hallows Invisibility Cloak, he has always wanted to buy a new one. Unfortunately, the raw materials and craftsmanship of the invisibility cloak are extremely precious, and it is a rare commodity on the market. Although Harry has money, he has no channels to buy it.

Fortunately, there is a think tank named Hermione in the trio. Without the invisibility cloak, she spent a lot of time and effort, and finally learned the "Disillusionment Charm" during the summer vacation.

……

As night fell, drizzle enveloped the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and the lights of Hogwarts flickered with a warm glow in the darkness.

In a spacious and messy hut, Hagrid enthusiastically served a few pieces of burnt cake and a pot of steaming tea. Harry, Hermione and Ron sat opposite him, listening quietly to him tell his experience.

"...You didn't see the scene. It was such a mess." Hagrid shook his head, his voice low and tired. "We originally wanted to negotiate with Kakus. After all, he was the old leader of the giants and was relatively friendly to wizards. Unfortunately, within a few days, the Tall Horses launched a rebellion."

"GaoGaoMa?" Hermione frowned.

"Kakus should be dead." Hagrid's voice became heavy, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. "Among giants, the one with the biggest fist is always the one. Gao Gaoma and his men raided Kakus' camp. Before I left, he was only half dead."

Hermione gasped and turned pale.

"What about you?" Harry asked eagerly, "You and Ms. Maxime? Aren't you going to look for allies?"

Hagrid sighed, his brows furrowing further.

"I had intended to, but who knew... Then a group of dark wizards suddenly showed up." His voice lowered, his eyes became deep, "We were completely caught off guard. They wanted to catch us at first, and Olym and I fought for our lives to rush out. Fleur was there too, she ran faster than me, and in the end we just... got separated."

Ron looked at Hagrid with a complicated expression: "Those dark wizards...who are they?"

Hagrid shook his head and whispered, "I don't know, but he's definitely not a good person."

The hut fell silent for a moment, with only the crackling of burning wood echoing in the air.

……

Late at night, after returning to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione stood at the window of her dormitory, looking at the night outside, her heart in turmoil.

She originally thought that she would be worried about the news brought by Hagrid, but when she closed her eyes, another picture emerged in her mind - a picture that she had never expected.

Xie Lin. Zhang Qiu. That unexpected kiss.

She thought she had let it go. Really, she tried.

She once mustered up the courage to confess her love to Xie Ling, but was rejected. She accepted the result on the surface and told herself to let it go, but the reality was much more difficult than she imagined.

She tried to fill the void with heavy schoolwork, trying to convince herself that this was just a short-term infatuation that would pass one day. But tonight, the scene pierced her mind deeply - Zhang Qiu kissed Xie Lin without hesitation, and Xie Lin did not refuse.

Hermione closed her eyes and her breathing became a little rapid. She didn't want to admit it, but the bitter feeling in her heart was very clear - she was jealous.

She envied Zhang Qiu's courage, and envied that she could express her feelings without any scruples, and Xie Lin seemed to accept her. In comparison, her courage and her efforts seemed so ridiculous - she tried her best to get close to Xie Lin, but she could never get into his heart.

She kept wondering, if she had persisted a little longer, would the outcome have been different?
She took a deep breath and dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to calm down.

"Hermione Granger." She whispered her own name in her mind, as if to remind herself, "Forget him! There will be no result between you and him."

She is not Zhang Qiu, she will not let her emotions get out of control. Her pride will not allow her to do so.

But even so, she still couldn't stop herself from tossing and turning in the long night because of that scene, unable to sleep for a long time.

On the other side, Harry lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

His feelings were much more complicated than Hermione's.

He knew that there was nothing between him and Zhang Qiu - they were just ordinary classmates, nothing more. But when he saw her take the initiative to kiss Xie Lin, he felt an indescribable anger and loss.

He wasn't even sure whether he was jealous of Xie Lin or simply frustrated that Zhang Qiu didn't care about him at all.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, and finally he turned over and buried his face in the pillow, trying to let himself sink into the dream - unfortunately, the picture was still lingering in his mind, making him toss and turn.