“Hagrid, I need to ask you something, and you must tell me the truth! Do you remember the night you won Norbert in Hogsmeade? Do you remember what the person you were playing cards with looked like?”
Harry asked Hagrid directly.
Although there were a few other students recovering in the Hospital Wing, they didn’t know Norbert was a dragon.
Chen Yu watched the two carefree individuals and quickly cast a Muffliato Charm to prevent any Little Wizards nearby from overhearing their conversation.
“Not clearly,” Hagrid sat up and casually pulled a comb from his pocket to tidy his messy hair. “He was always hidden in a cloak and wouldn’t take off his hood, so I naturally don’t know who he was.”
Seeing the look of surprise on Harry’s face, Hagrid raised an eyebrow and explained, “That’s not unusual. Hogsmeade often has strange characters visiting the Hog’s Head Inn, and they all dress oddly. There are plenty of people who hide in hoods and don’t want to be seen. Maybe that person was a peddler who specialized in selling dragons.”
Hagrid felt a buzzing in his ears, thinking he had tinnitus, and tapped his ear.
After hearing Hagrid’s answer, Harry felt a wave of dizziness. Holding onto a sliver of hope, he asked again, “What did you talk about with him?”
Hagrid sat on the edge of the bed, tapping his fingers on the frame, and tried to recall, “I had already had a few drinks, and that person came over with a drink. We talked very well. Later, he asked me what I did, and I told him I was the Keeper of the Forbidden Forest… Then he asked what animals I had to look after… I told him everything.”
“Later… later we just kept drinking, and some things I don’t remember clearly. I think I remember saying I really wanted to raise a dragon, and he said he just happened to have a dragon egg…”
“Then he suggested a gamble. If I won, he would give me the dragon egg. But he wasn’t sure if I could handle the dragon; he didn’t want to see it run off and cause trouble…”
“So I told him that I could even handle Fluffy, so a little dragon was nothing…”
Harry held his breath in tension when he heard this, then took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm as he asked, “Was he interested in Fluffy too?”
“Yes, a three-headed dog is a Class XXXXX magical creature, on the same level as a dragon, so he was naturally very interested. To prove I could handle Fluffy, I even specifically told him that Fluffy was actually very easy to deal with; just play some music for him, and he’d fall asleep immediately…”
As soon as Hagrid finished speaking, he immediately realized he had once again said something he shouldn’t have, and a look of horror appeared on his face.
“Oh no, I shouldn’t have told you that! Forget what I said!”
Seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione rush out, he blurted out, “Hey! Where are you going?”
Chen Yu looked at the loose-lipped Hagrid, speechless. Where else could they go? Of course, they were going to try and stop Snape.
Hagrid saw that Chen Yu hadn’t run out with them and felt like he had found a savior. He immediately grabbed Chen Yu’s hand and urgently pleaded, “Chen Yu, please help me! Catch up with Harry and the other two and tell them to forget what I said. It won’t do them any good.”
“Hagrid, Harry and the others are a minor issue. Have you not realized that you told a stranger how to deal with Fluffy? Have you considered that this person might be a rogue after the Philosopher's Stone?”
Hearing Chen Yu’s words, Hagrid visibly froze, and his previously calm expression instantly became tense.
He frowned deeply, his mouth slightly agape, wanting to say something, but the words caught in his throat.
Gradually, beads of sweat appeared on Hagrid’s forehead, and his face turned pale, clearly realizing the seriousness of the problem.
“This… how could this be? No! No! I’ve made a huge mistake, I must go notify Dumbledore immediately!”
With that, Hagrid immediately stood up and, ignoring Madam Pomfrey’s attempts to stop him, rushed towards the Headmaster’s office.
Chen Yu, after lifting the Muffliato Charm, followed him. On the way, he saw the three Little Wizards being interrogated by Professor McGonagall.
Hagrid also noticed Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s situation. He took a stride and ran to Professor McGonagall, anxiously asking, “Professor McGonagall, have you seen Dumbledore? I have an urgent matter to discuss with him!”
McGonagall instinctively adjusted her glasses and asked, somewhat puzzled, “Hagrid? You’re also looking for Dumbledore? These three are also looking for Professor Dumbledore; they say someone is going to steal the Philosopher's Stone. How is that possible? The Philosopher's Stone is under strict protection, absolutely foolproof. But it’s rather inconvenient; Professor Dumbledore received an urgent letter from the Ministry of Magic’s owl about ten minutes ago and immediately left for London. Hagrid, do you need Dumbledore for something? He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
Hagrid, like a child who had made a mistake, said with a somewhat evasive gaze, “Well, I made a big mistake. After drinking, I accidentally told a stranger how to deal with Fluffy.”
Upon hearing Hagrid’s news, Professor McGonagall nearly dropped the books in her hand, staring intently at Hagrid’s face: “This is bad! It seems you’ve made a big mistake, Hagrid. Come with me right now!”
With that, she pulled Hagrid’s arm and walked in the direction Hagrid had come from.
“But isn’t this the way to Madam Pomfrey’s Hospital Wing?”
“Yes, I’m going to have her check your head again. I’m worried you’ve been put under the Imperio.”
Watching Professor McGonagall and Hagrid leave, pulling at each other, the three Little Wizards were also somewhat dumbfounded.
After confirming that Professor McGonagall had left with Hagrid, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Chen Yu also left.
Once they reached the Gryffindor common room and confirmed no one was there, Harry spoke again: “Now Snape has the method to deal with Fluffy. If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely try to get the Philosopher's Stone before Professor Dumbledore returns. That means tonight is the best time for him to act.”
“It’s even possible that the letter from the Ministry of Magic was all orchestrated by Snape.”
Harry planned to have Hermione go to Professor Snape’s office to monitor his movements, but Chen Yu stopped him.
After all, having a first-year student monitor a professor, even if they did discover Snape acting suspiciously, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Besides, a professor has countless excuses and reasons to send away or avoid students, so ordinary surveillance would be ineffective.
This would only be an act of ‘beating the grass to startle the snake.’
After hearing Chen Yu’s idea, Harry had no choice but to abandon his immature plan.
Instead, he decided to secretly steal the Philosopher's Stone himself before anyone reacted, so that the person trying to steal it would find nothing.
Chen Yu expressed great admiration for Harry’s quick-witted thinking this time.
He stated that this was the best way to achieve the greatest benefit with the least cost and was worth a try.
