Chapter 389: Very Interesting Indeed
Chapter 389: Very Interesting Indeed
Exiting Classroom Seven, standing in the corridor, one could see the bright moonlight outside the window, casting a silvery glow on the sparse shrubs in the courtyard.
"No need to see me off", Newt turned and said, "I occasionally come to replace the manuscripts and haven't forgotten the way."
Niffler Warren stood on Felix's shoulder, waving along with everyone else.
On a side path, the brave warriors of Hogwarts watched Newt's back, a wave of envy rising in their hearts.
"Do you want to be like Mr. Scamander, working to protect magical creatures after graduation?" Felix smiled at them, asking confidently, "Or perhaps, at some moment, you've dreamed of becoming a naturalist?"
"Professor, how did you know?" Cedric asked in surprise. He had indeed felt a sudden urge to follow in this elder's footsteps, to travel to every corner of the world and see the magical creatures that shared the world of magic with them.
Felix chuckled softly.
"That's the charisma of a great wizard. Just their personal experiences are enough to move and inspire countless people, making them wish to follow in their footsteps... But you need to think carefully and not rush into decisions."
"Remember what I said? For a while, Hogwarts was popular with students taking a gap year after graduation. You can take that as a reference, travel more, and broaden your horizons. Some truths only become truly yours once you've experienced them; the wisdom others share isn't more valuable than a Knut."
They wore thoughtful expressions and parted ways at the spiral staircase.
Collins Fray and Cedric Diggory continued down, their common rooms being in the basement. Roger Davies and Harry's group went up, and in the end, only Harry's trio headed toward the Gryffindor common room.
"It's probably around ten o'clock. There shouldn't be many people in the common room, right?" Hermione said hopefully.
During the day, they had felt like exotic creatures, drawing the attention of everyone in class. The students from the other three houses weren't particularly friendly, creating an atmosphere of opposition as if Gryffindor had stolen their glory.
The Gryffindor students did defend them, but this defense felt like a form of special treatment, which wasn't what they wanted. Especially at lunchtime, when they encountered the Creevey brothers, the 'Harry Potter Fan Club' seemed to have gained new members. Dennis Creevey, Colin's younger brother, was more charismatic, evidenced by the fact that he had gathered a group of first-year students from all four houses.
So, the three of them fled.
They ran all the way to the Great Hall, finishing their lunch before anyone else arrived, and then hurriedly left.
In the afternoon Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid used the excuse that the Blast-Ended Skrewts had grown to three feet and needed regular exercise, and had each student walk one. These Skrewts were no longer the pink, squishy, shell-less creatures from the incubators but had developed thick, grayish-white, armor-like shells and incredible strength.
At a glance, and ignoring their exaggerated size, one might think these young wizards were walking their dogs. The truth, however, was that they were like helpless driftwood in a storm or small boats in the Black Lake during a rainstorm, being dragged forward by the Skrewts. Whenever the Skrewts' tails spurted flames, they would lurch forward six to seven feet, pulling the young wizards off balance. Lavender Brown was dragged to the ground, screaming in terror as she struggled to stand up.
Hagrid took this opportunity to express his concerns to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Harry and his friends thanked Hagrid for rescuing them from Malfoy's relentless taunting. Ron's face had nearly turned the color of a cooked Skrewt—Seamus had once complained that if Hagrid kept making them take care of the Skrewts, he would cast Expelliarmus on them.
This comment sparked a heated discussion among the young wizards who had long harbored grievances. Dean talked about the fried scorpions and steamed crabs he had eaten, offering to help with the preparation. Even Harry joined in, arguing with them about whether the Skrewts would turn red when cooked.
...
"Your faces look a bit pale. Are you worried about the fire dragon?" Hagrid asked at the time.
Ron's face rapidly cooled, the anger that had made it flush now turning to the grayish-white color of a Skrewt's shell. His calves trembled uncontrollably. In just a few weeks, the word "fire dragon" had surpassed spiders to become his new trigger for fear.
Seeing Ron's expression, Hagrid didn't say anything more. He just patted Ron's shoulder, and Ron plopped down on the ground with a thud.
"Ouch—sorry! But you can't keep this up. You need to get in shape so you can run faster..."
This was exactly why Harry and the others always politely declined Hagrid's well-intentioned advice—it had the opposite effect!
...
On the spiral staircase, Harry and the others tried to slow their pace as much as possible. The Weasley Twins hadn't finished using the fireworks they used to celebrate last night. According to their habits, they would definitely make up for it today, perhaps even waiting for them to open the door at this very moment.
As they climbed a few steps, two Ravenclaw girls descended and glanced at them before turning around and going back.
Hermione sighed deeply.
"Cedric and the others said they would help explain, right?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"It's only been a day. It won't happen that quickly", Hermione said. "They're still upset."
"Let's take a break here", Harry said, lacking enthusiasm. He sat down on the steps and noticed the portraits on either side of the staircase staring at them intently. A surge of anger welled up inside him: "Want to watch? Come closer, then you can see better!"
The old wizard with a walrus mustache, who had just squeezed over, rolled his eyes and grumbled as he left.
"Harry..."
"I'm fine, just a bit uncomfortable", Harry said, taking a deep breath. Sirius had comforted him that morning, and his chat with Mr. Scamander in the evening had temporarily distracted him from his worries. But now, everything came flooding back.
"If Malfoy tries to give me a nickname like 'Exploding Snail' or 'Scarhead,' I'll teach him a lesson", Harry said, clenching his fists.
Hermione's serious face broke into a smile, but then they all fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Harry, what do you think the clock at home looks like now? Is it pointing to 'Mortal Peril'?" Ron asked suddenly.
Harry hesitated, "Probably not." He knew what Ron was referring to—the magical clock at the Burrow that didn't show the time but instead indicated what each family member was doing. At the twelve o'clock position, it read "Mortal Peril."
"I haven't told my family that I was chosen as a champion", Ron said, glancing at Hermione. "You haven't either, right?"
Hermione shook her head.
"I hope to put it off as long as possible. Although Professor Hup said the champions can invite their families to watch the match, I declined", she said.
"I can't avoid it", Ron said with a grimace. "Ginny writes to the family every week, and Fred and George Weasley send letters about once every month or two, unless they've gotten into trouble. Percy and Charlie work at the Ministry of Magic, so they'll find out sooner or later..."
"Maybe one day I'll wake up to see them burst into the dormitory and carry me away, or an owl will deliver a red Howler."
"We need to do something", Harry said, standing up.
Ron and Hermione looked up at him.
Hermione hesitated, "You mean Classroom Seven? But according to the professor's plan, we'll be learning about fire dragons from Mr. Scamander's memory for the next few days. We'll determine each person's style and strategy by the weekend. The other schools are likely doing something similar. All the Ilvermorny students have taken a day off today."
"We can't always rely on others. Ron, what do you think?" Harry asked, looking at Ron.
Ron licked his lips and slowly said, "I think Hermione has a point. We don't know anything yet, and those spells won't do much against a fire dragon..."
"How can you say that!" Harry shouted, drawing the attention of the portraits again, but he didn't care. "Remember the professor's black floating door? Remember why we were chosen? Have you forgotten?"
He stared into Hermione's eyes, and she was the first to give in. He then looked at Ron, who swallowed hard.
A few minutes later.
Felix Hep's memory leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching them nonchalantly.
"So, you want to try your luck with a fire dragon early?"
"That's right", Harry said, dragging Ron and Hermione forward.
Felix Hep's memory tilted his head to one side, as if listening to someone in the air. The three of them looked around but saw nothing. In response to their hopeful gazes, the memory shrugged, "Someone disagrees. But... I find it rather interesting..."
The dark, ancient wall he was leaning against began to crumble, and fire dragons lowered their heads, drooling profusely in front of them.
"Shall I give you a countdown? Three—two—"
"Run!" Harry shouted.
(End of Chapter)
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