Chapter 656 Chapter Title: Bad News

Evan had dealt with both and had a general understanding of the strength of each.

According to Evan, in terms of actual combat capability, Caresius was superior to Snape.

However, this was not absolute. Both had their own advantages in spell mastery and magical theories. The gap was not so significant.

Especially in magical traps, there were many uncertain factors.

Faced with Snape's elaborate magic, it was not impossible for Caresius to be accidentally injured.

If Snape had been more ruthless and left some curses, Caresius would have been a dead man by now!

"What the hell is going on?" Evan asked. "Why did you go to his office?"

"To find this," Caresius whispered, pulling something from his sleeve and tossing it to Evan.

It was Agualodo!

It looked like a bunch of slimy, gray-green rat tails, writhing in Evan's hand.

Indeed, Agualodo is a special plant from the Mediterranean Sea. It is precious and rare, serving as an ingredient for very uncommon potions. It is hard to find in Potions and Herb shops, and only Potions Masters would have this plant in their storage closets.

Evan had been searching for it for a long time without success. At Hogwarts, only Snape had Agualodo.

"Did you steal it from Snape's office last night?"

"Yes, it's the only way for Ron to pass the second task, isn't it?! Snape probably suspected I was going there, so he made some preparations. What a terrible guy!" Caresius sighed and looked at Evan. "Don't look at me like that... yes, there is a simpler way, but I don't have time!"

Snape had been alerted by several successive thefts from his private cabinet.

However, the dangerous magical traps he had placed there were obviously not meant to deal with students.

Snape had calculated that the man who had entered Ron's name into the Goblet of Fire would steal Agualodo from his private cabinet, and he was ready to catch him.

Many people thought that Ron's name had been entered into the Goblet of Fire to kill him during the tournament.

But Snape certainly did not think so. He should have suspected that someone had infiltrated Hogwarts and was plotting a conspiracy.

Making Ron a champion was a crucial step. It was not possible to simply kill him.

In that case, the person lurking in the shadows would definitely help Ron overcome the challenges and successfully complete the tournament.

The second task was in the lake, and only Agualodo could give Ron the ability to breathe underwater easily.

As for other spells, Ron couldn't master them in a short time, and Snape was well aware of that.

In the original plot, Harry obtained Agualodo with Dobby's help, and Barty Crouch Jr. did not appear.

The magical system of house-elves was different from that of wizards. Dobby could enter the closet without triggering Snape's magic.

Barty Crouch Jr. was hidden in the darkness, cleverly using others to do something so dangerous. That way, he didn't have to worry about being discovered.

Compared to him, Caresius' action the previous night was too reckless. It was not a wise choice to expose himself to Snape.

Upon review, Snape would know what was missing, and he would surely realize that something was amiss with Moody.

In other words, Caresius' true identity could be uncovered at any moment.

Following this line of thought, Caresius' action was truly foolish!

"Don't worry, I destroyed Snape's closet before leaving, took many things, and left a bit of distraction there," said Caresius, looking into Evan's eyes as if guessing what he was thinking. "If he wants to figure out what's missing and determine my true intent, it will take him a long time... enough time for me... by the way, these potion ingredients are of no use to me... they are all yours!"

He tossed another bulging cloth bag of herbs to Evan. Caresius had literally raided Snape's storage. Evan looked down and found many valuable ingredients inside.

For example, the Jobberknoll feather was a necessary ingredient in Truth Serum and Memory Potions. Such a feather could be sold for 500 Gold Galleons in the market, but it was still priceless. Few would sell it, and the rarity of the Jobberknoll greatly limited the production of these two potions.

Even he also did not pick it up and was reluctant to spend a lot of money to buy this precious ingredient.

Perhaps something like this could only be found in Snape's private store and nowhere else!

As long as the Jobberknoll feather was available, Evan could try to make real potions and Memory Potions.

He carelessly stowed away the bag, lifted his head, and continued to gaze at Caresius, feeling that this guy was a bit eccentric.

Normally, it would be ludicrous to barge into Snape's office, but it seemed that Caresius didn't mind.

"You just said you didn't have time. What do you mean by that? What do you plan to do?" Evan continued, "I hope you can explain it well."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you everything!" Caresius smiled. "You may not know that Barty Crouch Jr. was here last night!"

He noticed Evan's lack of reaction, and the smile on his lips became more pronounced.

"It seems you already know!" he whispered, looking at Evan with great interest. "You're here to ask me about it, aren't you?"

"What was Barty Crouch Jr. doing here?!" Evan said sharply. "What does this have to do with your visit to Snape's office?"

In fact, he felt a bit taken aback by Caresius's frankness and did not expect everything to unfold so smoothly.

"Bad news," Caresius said, holding the glass in front of him. "Barty Crouch came here last night to tell me that the Dark Lord couldn't wait. He wants us to bring Harry to him as soon as possible. He needs to regain his strength urgently. Under his insistence, the original plan has been canceled. Barty Crouch Jr. had to contact me on his own initiative. He will act in the second task, which will take place soon!"

"Will act in the second task?!" Evan asked, frowning. "What is he planning to do?"

"In short, he proposed a rather audacious plan, but I had no intention of cooperating with him..." Caresius said slowly. "I turned down his request. I cannot risk the lives of my people, so he can only act alone. If I'm right, he should be ready to use a Portkey."