After Charlie had informed Ron that some of his friends would come to the tallest tower at Hogwarts late at night to pick up the baby dragon, Ron made a special trip to the library to inform Marcel, asking if he wanted to join them that night.
But not long after, Marcel saw a green-faced Ron in Hagrid's hut.
He was slumped on Hagrid's sofa, his hand swollen to the size of a ball, the wound a faint green color.
"Dragon-fang venom," Marcel said, looking at his hand. "Did it bite you?"
"Oh—I don't think Norbert meant it, he was just a bit scared..." Hagrid said with an apologetic look.
"I bet that hurt," Harry said, also looking shaken.
"It's not just my hand," Ron said in a low voice, "though it hurts like it's about to fall off. What's worse is that Malfoy had a good laugh at my expense after class. He pretended to ask to borrow a book, and took the chance to press hard on my wound—"
Harry and Hermione did their best to calm Ron down.
"It'll all be over by midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't comfort Ron at all. On the contrary, he shot up from the sofa, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Saturday midnight!" he said hoarsely. "Oh, no, oh, no—I've just remembered. Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy borrowed. He's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert!"
"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this is probably our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it."
"We've got the Invisibility Cloak. Malfoy doesn't know about that."
"It's fine. If I go too, there won't be a problem. But more importantly, Ron, you'd better go to the hospital wing," Marcel said with a smile, "before your hand starts to rot."
"Or I could whip up some ointment for dragon-fang venom for you."
The week passed quickly.
But that night, when Marcel saw Harry and the others emerge from under the Invisibility Cloak in the corridor, he saw Harry looking at him with an embarrassed expression.
"Sorry, Marcel," he said. "I mean, I'm afraid there's no room for you under the cloak."
"Oh, that's alright," Marcel said with a smile. "You can be invisible without a cloak. Let's go. But I can't speak while I'm invisible. Don't mind me, I'll be right beside you."
With that, he took out his Fae-Fade Potion and took a sip. Instantly, Harry found he couldn't even tell how Marcel had disappeared. It was as if no one had ever been there.
This was the most outstanding advantage of the Fae-Fade Potion—it allowed a person to disappear from others' sight in the most inconspicuous way possible.
"Um—then let's get going," Harry said, scratching his head. He pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over them, concealing their bodies.
It was a dark, cloudy night. They were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because Peeves had been playing tennis against a wall in the entrance hall, and they had to wait for him to leave.
By the time they had laboriously carried the large crate containing Norbert to the top of the tower, they suddenly heard a noise up ahead.
The little lions were so frightened they almost dropped the crate. In a panic, they seemed to forget they were invisible and all squeezed into the shadows of the staircase.
Marcel had to jump aside a few steps to avoid being hit.
He saw, about ten paces away from them, two dark figures wrestling with each other. A lamp flickered in the darkness.
One of them seemed to be Professor McGonagall.
She was in a tartan dressing gown and a hair net, angrily pulling Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you—"
Malfoy quickly tried to defend himself. "You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming—he's got a dragon!"
"What utter nonsense! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see what Professor Snape has to say about you, Malfoy!"
Professor McGonagall dragged Malfoy away by the ear. As she passed by Marcel, he looked with some interest at Malfoy's slightly flushed face.
Having gotten rid of Malfoy, the steep, spiral staircase to the top of the tower was clear. Harry and the others didn't take off the Invisibility Cloak until they were out under the cold night sky.
As they waited, they giggled and mocked Malfoy. Norbert was moving violently inside the crate.
"Where's Marcel? Are you still with us?"
Harry suddenly remembered Marcel. He looked back, but there was no sign of movement. Seeing this, Hermione couldn't help but worry.
About ten minutes later, four brooms suddenly descended from the darkness.
Charlie's friends were cheerful people. They showed Harry and Hermione the ropes they had temporarily fastened, so they could suspend Norbert between them.
The four of them worked together to securely fasten Norbert with the ropes. Then Harry and Hermione shook their hands and thanked them profusely.
Finally, they watched as the four of them departed with the crate, disappearing into the night sky.
They tiptoed down the spiral staircase, finally free of the heavy burden of Norbert. Even their steps felt much lighter.
The dragon was gone, Malfoy was in detention—could anything be better than this?
There was nothing better, but there were certainly many things that were worse.
The moment they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face suddenly appeared out of the darkness.
"Oh, no, no, no," Harry whispered. "We're in trouble."
In their excitement, they had left the Invisibility Cloak at the top of the tower. Just as they were panicking, a thin object was suddenly draped over their heads.
"Marcel?" Hermione whispered in surprise.
Marcel gave them a wry smile, because it was too late. The moment the cloak had settled, Filch had already seen him.
"Good observation, Hermione," he said, meeting Filch's glare, yet still finding the time to make a light joke.
The greatest weakness of the Fae-Fade Potion was just that: once you were willingly seen, the invisibility effect was completely gone. Just now, Marcel had been hiding in the shadows behind them, but Hermione had still spotted him immediately.
"Oh, yes, Mr. Maclean!" Filch said, his voice rough as he glared at him fiercely. "I think I should hand you over to Professor McGonagall. Professor Sprout is too lenient with her students."
Under the worried gaze of Harry and the others beneath the cloak, Marcel followed Filch. He even had time to give them a discreet wave, telling the three little lions not to be impulsive.
When Filch led Marcel to Professor McGonagall's study on the second floor, they found she wasn't there. After waiting for a while, Marcel saw Professor McGonagall return, followed by a short, stout, and timid-looking boy—it was Gryffindor's Neville Longbottom.
"Marcel!" Neville blurted out, trembling, as soon as he saw him. "What are you doing here? Malfoy said he was going to catch—"
"Neville," Marcel immediately interrupted him. "I think Malfoy definitely intended to frame me, but that's not important. And thank you for your concern."
With that, he turned to Professor McGonagall and said apologetically, "Professor, I'm truly sorry. But please, let me explain."
Professor McGonagall was clearly very angry, because she had found Marcel in this situation yet again.
"Before you explain, shouldn't you first tell me where Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are right now?"
Marcel could guess with his butt that Neville, in his bumbling and confused state, must have let it slip.
He didn't even look at Neville. He simply met Professor McGonagall's gaze with a frank expression and said with utmost composure, "It's like this. Mr. Malfoy has had some friction with Harry in the past. So when Harry and I were discussing knowledge about dragons, he overheard. I believe Mr. Malfoy mistakenly thought we actually had a dragon, but how could that be possible?"
"As for tonight's matter, I'm very sorry, but it is indeed my fault," Marcel said, placing a potion vial on Professor McGonagall's desk. "I inadvertently mentioned a new potion I've developed to Harry and the others. I was originally going to test it tonight, but who knew they would be so interested in it."
"A new potion?" Professor McGonagall's anger suddenly vanished, replaced by a look of shock. "You mean, you invented this potion?"
"Yes, Professor," Marcel continued apologetically. "Harry and the others were originally going to come out and find me, but I persuaded them to go back early. Perhaps they missed Neville on the way."
Marcel glanced at the utterly bewildered Neville and sighed inwardly. Don't be fooled by Neville's usual timidity. At critical moments, he's brave to the point of recklessness. A true Gryffindor.
Professor McGonagall was clearly not listening carefully anymore. She was still wearing an expression of disbelief.
"Mr. Maclean, I would like to know, what are the effects of this potion you've invented?" Professor McGonagall asked seriously, carefully picking up the potion vial from her desk.
After Marcel had explained the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of the Fae-Fade Potion to her in detail, Professor McGonagall immediately decided to inform Dumbledore and Snape of the good news that very night. Although Marcel had expected this, he was still moved by Professor McGonagall's dedication to her students and the school.
"So, you're saying you invented this?" Snape asked, putting the stopper back on the vial of Fae-Fade Potion after sniffing it, a rare look of surprise on his face.