The Fate of Czechoslovakia

A question mark slowly floated up above Harry's head.

No, would it be helpful to Miss Grindelwald?

Oh right, if Mr. Bagman wants to contact Veratia, he'll have to go through the official channels of the Greater German Ministry of Magic in Austria, and they might make him wait a few business days for a reply.

But if you're going for the "wife" route—no, the "boyfriend" route—then you'll quickly pass on useful information to the other person.

"Disappeared?!"

Harry frowned; he could hardly believe what Mr. Bagman was saying.

"Mr. Crouch is a Head of Department- level official, how could he suddenly disappear?"

"Well—to be honest, we don't really know what happened either," Bagman sighed. "He—he suddenly stopped coming to work, and it's been two weeks now. His assistant—that young Percy from the Weasley family— said he was sick."

It seems he keeps sending owls to give instructions. However, you must keep this a secret at all costs, and only speak with Miss Grindelwald, okay, Harry? Because Rita Skeeter is always asking around, and I dare say she'll exaggerate Barty's illness, turning it into a disaster; she'll probably say he disappeared like Bertha Jorkins."

"I understand," Harry nodded, then asked, "So, any news about Bertha Jorkins? I remember during the summer vacation..."

Percy mentioned this, saying that the Ministry of Magic was having a major headache over it, especially Mr. Crouch, who had put a lot of effort into it.

"No," Bagman said, his expression tensing again. "Of course, I've already sent people to look for them. Things are very strange."

She must have gone to Albania, because she met her second cousin there, then left her cousin's house to visit an aunt in the south, and then disappeared without a trace.

At this point, Mr. Bagman clicked his Delia, picked up the paper on the table, and spat out a mouthful of saliva. "Damn it, I just don't understand where she went. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would elope. But who knows—ah, what are we doing talking about Bertha Perkins here? I think it's necessary to inform Miss Grindelwald about Mr. Crouch; she'll certainly be very interested in it."

"Wait a moment," Harry nodded and said to him, "I'll message Veratia now."

After saying that, he took out Crystal Ball from his pocket and dialed Veratia's number.

Veratia looked very busy. She was wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a very formal suit, and seemed to be looking down at some documents.

After answering the phone, Veratia looked up and asked, "What's wrong, Harry?"

"That's how it is." Harry cleared his throat and, under Mr. Bagman's Veratia gaze, recounted in detail what Mr. Bagman had told him.

Veratia frowned in thought. After processing the information, she looked up and asked, "Is this matter only known to people within the Ministry of Magic?"

"Yes, Miss Grindelwald." Mr. Bagman misspoke, almost saying "Mrs. Potter."

In English, it is customary to say "wife" first, followed by the surname.

Sure enough, upon hearing Mr. Bagman's slip of the tongue, Veratia revealed a barely perceptible smile.

"I understand," she said. "I will discuss this with Dumbledore."

"The Ministry of Magic— " Mr. Bagman trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"Mr. Bagman," Veratia asked with a smile, "Do you think Fudge would tolerate an outsider like the Greater German Ministry of Magic interfering in the internal affairs of the British Ministry of Magic? Of course, it's not just Fudge; any seasoned politician would probably not tolerate such a thing. After all, Mr. Crouch's disappearance doesn't endanger Gibbon's political life—though, of course, if outsiders get involved, it could very well threaten his political life."

"Alright," Mr. Bagman nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your explanation, Miss Grindelwald."

Harry turned his head, Cassandra, with a sarcastic expression, silently repeated, "Miss Grindelwald."

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now," Veratia said again. "I have some urgent matters to attend to."

"Are you busy lately?" Harry asked with concern.

"Oh, it's alright." Veratia put down the documents in her hand and placed her hands on her lap. "Recently, the Czechoslovakia Ministry of Magic contacted us, wanting to merge into the Greater German Ministry of Magic. We are handling the relevant matters."

When she spoke, she specifically emphasized the word "proactive".

The meaning is quite clear: it was their own choice, and it has nothing to do with Orange Kitten.

Czechoslovakia was originally a unified country, but after the collapse of the Eastern Europe, the Czech and Slovakia parted ways in 1992.

However, the Magical World has clearly not reacted as quickly as the Muggle World, and the two countries' Ministry of Magic have not yet been separated.

"Do you think it would be the Czech or Slovakia that took the initiative?" Cassandra rolled her eyes and whispered to Harry.

"Probably not," Harry replied softly.

"I heard you both, why don't you two speak a little louder?" Veratia said lazily. "Alright, I don't have time to play games with you, Cass— well, see you another day, Harry."

After saying that, Veratia hung up the phone.

Mr. Bagman clearly didn't care about the fate of Czechoslovakia; his attention was focused on the Crystal Ball.

"Oh, this is the Delophone," Harry explained to Mr. Bagman. "It's a remote instant messaging product developed by Mr. LeMay."

"Cool." Mr. Bagman's eyes lit up, his face clearly showing his desire.

Harry, understanding the unspoken meaning, smiled and said to Mr. Bagman, "If Mr. Bagman likes it, I will talk to Mr. LeMay about your needs and have one custom-made for you."

"I'm so sorry—"

Despite his words, Mr. Bagman clearly meant, "Then I'm embarrassed to say that."

"By the way," Mr. Bagman suddenly lowered his voice, "How's your research on that Golden Egg going? After the Christmas holidays, it'll be the Second Task."

"I haven't had time to look into it yet," Harry said truthfully. "I plan to do it later, since there's still plenty of time before the Second Task."

Mr. Bagman thought about it and agreed. With Harry's ability to completely defeat the Hungarian Horntail dragon head-on, the difficulty of the Second Task wouldn't make much difference to him.

"Okay," he said. "If you're still clueless as the date approaches, feel free to ask me—of course."

This matter must be kept secret.

"Okay." Harry accepted Mr. Bagman's offer of goodwill, but he did not intend to go to Mr. Bagman directly to ask for the answer.

That would make it seem like cheating.

In reality, he didn't need to cheat at all.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Mr. Bagman tactfully left.

After all, the two people in front of him were on a date, and it wouldn't be right for a middle-aged man to be a third wheel.

"He's finally gone." Cassandra picked up her Butterbeer, half-closing her eyes, and said, "Seriously, he was quite the talker, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he was a real chatterbox." Harry picked up his glass and clinked it against Cassandra's. "But at least he's gone—"

Of course, if he hadn't reminded me, I might have forgotten about the Golden Egg— "

"The Golden Egg?" Cassandra put down her glass, looked up, and asked, "You mean that silly Golden Egg you pulled out in the First Task? Ha, it's just as silly as you."

"Hey," Harry said, annoyed, "What do you mean, 'as stupid as me'?"

Cassandra smiled without saying a word; she simply enjoyed the feeling of teasing Harry.

This is one of her little hobbies.

"So, do you have any clues?" Cassandra asked again, "About this Golden Egg Golden Egg —I just heard that talkative man say that it seems to be a clue related to your next competition, right?"

"I don't think so." Harry shrugged. "Do you think that Golden Egg will tell me the truth? Like, it'll tell me, 'Hey, you with the glasses, listen up, the next event is—', just like that?"

"Hahaha-""

Cassandra was amused by Harry's antics. She covered her mouth and laughed for a moment before saying to Harry, "Have you ever tried to open that Golden Egg?"

Harry said nothing; he took the Golden Egg out of his purse.

Before putting it in, he repeatedly instructed Alfonso not to damage the Golden Egg.

It now appears that Alfonso did follow his orders.

Under Cassandra's watchful gaze, he opened the Golden Egg.

Immediately, a piercing sound erupted, engulfing the entire bar.

"Hey!" Madam Rosmerta shouted, covering her ears in annoyance. "Hey kid over there with glasses, can you put that weird thing of yours away?! Merlin's apron, what the hell is that?!"

Harry put the Golden Egg back on, and the shrill sound subsided.

Cassandra was somewhat stunned by the sound, which was understandable, given that she was the first to be hit.

"I told you," Harry shrugged, "This thing doesn't seem to have any intention of telling me what the next project is—or rather, it's not going to cooperate at all."

After a long while, Cassandra finally came to her senses.

"What did you say?" she asked, stunned.

Oh no, I scared the girl half to death.

Harry repeated what he had just said, Cassandra thought for a moment before saying to Harry, "Perhaps we're opening it the wrong way, don't you think?"

"You're not opening it the right way?" Harry asked, frowning. "What way? Shouldn't I be using some kind of spell, like Alohomora?"

"No," Cassandra said. "I mean, that sound reminds me of a legend."

"What legend?" Harry asked with interest.

"It's related to the Siren." Cassandra said after a moment's thought, "According to Greece legend, the Siren, half-human and half-bird sisters, sat in a flower garden, singing enchanting songs. Their sweet voices lured passing ships to the island, where they would crash into the rocks and perish. All the sailors and ships that passed by were bewitched and met their doom, none of them escaping."

"King Odysseus of Ithaca followed the advice of the witch Circe and took careful precautions against the Siren. Before the ships reached a place where the singing could be heard, Odysseus had himself tied to a comb and ordered his men to plug their ears with wax. He also warned them not to heed his commands and gestures when passing the island of the dead."

"Soon the rocky island came into their view. Odysseus heard a mesmerizing song. So enchanting was the song that he struggled desperately to free himself from his bonds and cried out to his crew to sail toward the siren sisters singing in the flower-filled meadow, but no one paid him any attention. The sailors sailed onward until they could no longer hear the song, at which point they untied Odysseus and removed the wax from his ears."

"The Siren' song was all for naught this time. The eldest of the three sisters Persephone, fell deeply in love with Odysseus, who resisted the temptation of the song. After his ship passed, she threw herself into the sea and drowned."

"Is she sick?" Harry asked, completely bewildered.

Cassandra shrugged and continued, "It's said that Persephone became a ghost after her death, and the songs she sang on the sea were hoarse and unclear, but underwater they sounded like heavenly music—I wonder if that's related. Perhaps you could try opening the Golden Egg underwater?"

Harry thought about it for a moment and realized that this might be a solution.

"How about Black Lake?" Harry scratched his head. "But isn't it a bit too cold to go Black Lake this time of year?"

"Are you stupid?" Cassandra rolled her eyes at Harry helplessly. "Why don't you go to the bathroom? If I remember correctly, there's a bathtub there. Just fill it with water and put the Golden Egg in it, wouldn't that be better?"

"You know what?" Harry thought about it and realized it was true. He patted Cassandra on the shoulder and said, "That's a really good idea. But forget about the school's washrooms; I'll think about that when I get back to Grimmauld Place, Number 12 tomorrow—want to come back with me?"

"Why would I go back with you?" Cassandra asked, puzzled. "This is your competition, not mine."

"No, you have to give me Christmas present," Harry said very formally. "You forgot about my Christmas present, and I'm very upset, so I've decided to make you give it to me."

"Supplement, supplement what?" Cassandra somewhat guiltily.

"Hmm—." Harry tossed the Golden Egg around, grinning at Cassandra, "So, as compensation, you'll take a bath with me!"