Chapter 52: Accidentally Turning Around Fantastic Beasts
Hagrid kept patting his beard, extinguishing the sparks on it.
The burst of dragon fire came somewhat unexpectedly, but Hagrid's gaze towards Norbert was still full of affection, "Of course, he still needs some training."
Norbert coughed a few times, spewing black smoke mixed with sparks from his mouth.
Crack! Crack!
At this moment, a strange sound suddenly echoed in the hut.
"What's that sound?" Hermione frowned, "Hagrid, what other magical creatures are you keeping?"
"None, really none.
Although I'd like to keep more, Hogwarts doesn't allow it.
Besides, hatching Norbert took up most of my energy."
"But what's with that sound?" Ron asked, puzzled, "It sounds like eggshells cracking, and cracking very frequently."
"I think I know what's going on." Harry extended his index finger, pointing in surprise to the other side of the table.
Abey, who had woken up at some point, was chewing on a broken eggshell, slowly savoring it, seemingly enjoying it very much.
For Abey, the quality of these eggshells couldn't compare to his own; they contained almost negligible magic and offered little nutrition.
But even a small mosquito is still meat!
The eggshells of newly hatched dragons were a decent snack for him in his infancy.
Crunchy, chicken leg flavored.
"What?" Hermione's eyes widened, "Didn't you say it was foolproof? What's going on now?"
"How should I know?" Ron was also very surprised, but still explained, "Our plan should have no problems, ask Harry if you don't believe me.
Even if I made some oversight, he was there as a second safeguard."
Harry thought of something, placed a small purple bottle on the table, and then stared at Hagrid with some complaint, "Hagrid, is the sleeping potion you gave us expired?"
"That's impossible." Hagrid picked up the sleeping potion and patiently explained, "As long as it's for animals, I won't allow myself to make any mistakes.
In other words, there won't be any expired medicine in my hut.
Could it be that you guys added too little?"
The three looked at each other, wishing they had made such a basic mistake, but the truth was quite the opposite.
"Hagrid, these two idiots added six drops of sleeping potion to Abey.
If that's considered too little, we really don't know how much to add; we can't just put the whole bottle in, can we?!"
"Six drops?" Hagrid stared in astonishment at Harry and Ron, who were guiltily looking down, "Are you crazy?
Even a lion, a tiger, or even an elephant can be knocked out with one drop.
Even a Magical Creature hatchling like Norbert would be put to sleep with five drops.
You used six drops to bully a cat; do you think it's even stronger than a dragon?"
"Actually, it really was an accident." Harry said weakly, "Besides, isn't Abey still lively and jumping around now?"
Hagrid froze for a moment, turned his head to look at Abeygnawing on the eggshell, then carefully re-examined the small purple bottle, feeling somewhat at a loss, "This can't be right!"
Ron breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, "I knew it! The sleeping potion must have expired."
"Nonsense, I got this with a lot of money, and it still has three years until its expiration date!"
"Then how do you explain this?
You can't even handle a cat; I seriously suspect you've been scammed, Hagrid."
"I wouldn't be mistaken." Hagrid shook his head, a glint flashing in his eyes, "There's only one possibility now: Abeyisn't a cat.
I was only suspicious before, but now I can be a hundred percent certain.
Abey is definitely a Magical Creature, and his quality is definitely not low, even comparable to a dragon or a Phoenix."
Gulp!
Hearing this, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all swallowed.
They had initially thought they were 'stealing' a cat, so the pressure wasn't that great; at most, it would be a prank among classmates, as long as they weren't caught.
But now it had completely reversed; they had abducted a Magical Creature, which was way too thrilling!
If the Magical Creature Management Control Divisionfound out, the three of them… no, four of them including Hagrid, would probably be invited to the Ministry of Magicfor tea.
Draco outside the hut was also incredibly shocked; he even felt somewhat fortunate that he had risked being caught by Filch to stay here tonight.
Catching Granger's 'betrayal' was already a great harvest, but who knew he would also have the good fortune to witness a dragon hatching? This was truly an unexpected bonus, a buy-one-get-one-free!
Catching four Gryffindors in one swoop made it worth it even if he, Draco Malfoy, was caught by Filch.
But he never expected a final easter egg: Abey wasn't a cat, but a Magical Creature comparable to a dragon and a Phoenix.
However, thinking about it carefully, this was only natural; after all, Abey's behavior was nothing like a cat's—he was too intelligent, too adorable, too human-like.
If such a cat were for sale, he would definitely buy one.
Hopefully, Crabbe and Goyle would be quick; although this grand show was exciting, Aaron's absence was a slight imperfection.
Inside the hut, Ron stammered, "Hagrid, you're not joking, are you?"
"Joking?" Hagrid smiled meaningfully, "Have you ever seen a cat eat eggshells? And dragon eggshells at that."
Ron's expression froze; the facts were before him, leaving him no choice but to believe.
"Then what do we do now?" Harry asked, "This is a Magical Creature, not an ordinary cat; Hagrid, are you still going to watch him?"
"Of course I am.
Abey could very well be a Magical Creature yet undiscovered in the Magical World, and it's very necessary to observe him."
"But Abey is awake now, not asleep.
We can't just grab him, can we?" Hermione frowned with some worry, "What if we hurt him? How will I explain it to Aaron?"
"Hermione." Hagrid took a deep breath and said patiently, "I've always treated Magical Creatures as friends; I promise I won't hurt him."
With that, Hagrid stood up, casually picked up his umbrella, which contained his wand, and cautiously walked towards Abey, ignoring Norbert who was crying for food on the table.
But the next moment, Hermione spread her arms, blocking his way, and defiantly raised her head to meet his gaze, "No, I can't let you do this."
"Why?"
"I brought Abey here, and I have a responsibility to protect him."
Hagrid was stunned, then chuckled and scratched his head, "I wouldn't want to hurt him either.
Hermione, I'm really curious about Abey.
You know how much I love Magical Creatures; I just want to observe him up close for a bit. Is that not allowed either?"
"This…"
"Don't forget, you promised me.
You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"
Hermione bit her lip, her heart in turmoil, regretting having gotten involved with Harry and Ron.
Hagrid had told them about the people involved in protecting the Philosopher's Stone, so they naturally had to return the favor and meet his conditions.
Originally, there was nothing wrong with this; Hagrid was a kind and honest Giant, and also their good friend, absolutely trustworthy.
But the problem was Abey's identity was far from simple; given Hagrid's passion for Magical Creatures, heaven knew what he might do. The fact that he dared to violate school rules by secretly raising a Norwegian Ridgeback in the school was enough to prove the point.
If he got carried away, he might even directly approach Aaron, and then everything would be exposed, and their relationship would likely suffer a major rift.
As if sensing Hermione's difficulty, Hagrid turned his head helplessly to look at Harry and Ron, hoping these two Gryffindors could speak up for him.
But they both, with perfect synchronicity, looked up at the ceiling, pretending they hadn't seen anything.
Are you kidding? They just didn't like studying, but their intelligence and emotional quotient weren't low.
In this situation, helping anyone would be unhelpful; staying out of it was the best option.
"Alright, Hermione." Hagrid put down his umbrella, "I admit I like Magical Creatures, but you are also my favorite Gryffindors.
Since you're unwilling, I won't make things difficult for you."
"Thank you." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Hagrid with some shame, "I'm sorry, I got your hopes up for nothing."
Hagrid smiled and said, "There's nothing to be sorry about.
I've been very lucky tonight; Norbert was born, and it's confirmed that Abey is a Magical Creature.
Later, when I want to get close to him, I'll find a way to talk to Aaron, and you'll have to put in a good word for me then."
"I will, but Abey is unusually important to Aaron; I can't make any guarantees."
"There will always be a chance; Aaron has seven years of schooling at Hogwarts!" Hagrid looked with some reluctance at Abey, who was moving towards the next eggshell, "Let's focus on my Norbert first!"