https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-454-The-Dragon-and-the-Puppy-Wolf/13465168/
Chapter 455: Malfoy and Astoria
Chapter 455: Malfoy and Astoria
When Wade returned to the charred land, he saw from a distance that Hagrid and Norberta were nowhere to be found, and the students were in disarray.
"Quick! Get them over here!"
"Be gentle, it hurts!"
"Do you need water? I can cast the Water-Making Charm!"
"Hurry up, what are you waiting for?"
Wade grabbed a passing student and asked, "What happened?"
"You weren't here?" Ryan looked surprised and then said, "Norberta accidentally sneezed, and then... you saw the result."
He shrugged helplessly and helped a younger student repair his half-burned robe.
"Where's Hagrid?" Wade asked as he walked toward the center of the chaos.
"The students' cries seemed to startle Norberta. Hagrid finally managed to get her back into the cave. He's probably trying to calm her down now!" Ryan explained.
As they spoke, a low growl echoed from the cave, the sound rolling like waves, and for a moment, the entire forest seemed to fall silent.
After a brief pause, Wade continued walking forward. As expected, the most severely injured was the unfortunate Malfoy.
His wizard robe was half undone, revealing large, frightening burn areas on his pale skin, the blood-red and blackened patches causing everyone to wince.
Although most of the students didn't like Slytherins, basic morals and sympathy hadn't vanished. Many students gathered around Malfoy, concerned and afraid, while Percy, Penelope, and other older students carefully used healing spells.
Malfoy gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face, but instead of his usual cry of "I'm telling my father", he gasped, "Madam Pomfrey, I need Madam Pomfrey!"
"Terrible!" Hermione said anxiously. "We need to get the injured to the hospital wing quickly."
"Don't worry", Ron reassured her. "These minor injuries, Madam Pomfrey will fix them in no time."
Malfoy glared at him angrily. "Easy for you to say, it's not you in pain!"
Ron pointed to Harry and taunted, "Harry broke his arm and didn't cry like a baby, Draco sweetheart."
Malfoy's face twisted in disgust. "Don't call me that disgusting name. Who do you think you are?"
"Enough!" Percy suddenly snapped. "Anyone who argues will lose twenty points! I mean it!"
He glared at his youngest brother and put away his wand. "We can only do so much here. We need to get back to the school as soon as possible."
"But Hagrid hasn't come out yet", Penelope frowned. "Without Hagrid, we shouldn't venture into the forest."
"Let me check." Wade pushed through the crowd, examined Malfoy's injuries, and then rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a slender crystal bottle.
Malfoy watched him with suspicion. As Wade opened the bottle and aimed it at his wound, he asked warily, "What is that?"
"If your nose isn't broken, it's burn ointment."
Considering Malfoy's injuries, Wade didn't mind his attitude and spoke in a relatively gentle tone. "To be precise, it's the best kind."
Since the rescue mission on the island to save Haley, Wade had received various potions from Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey—cough remedies, antidotes, wound-healing potions, blood-replenishing potions, and more. These potions were far more effective than the ones Wade could make himself.
After all, he didn't spend much time practicing potion-making, and his skills, while good among students, couldn't compare to a master like Professor Snape.
A light green liquid flowed from the bottle, and Wade whispered a spell. The potion seemed to have a mind of its own, crawling along the wound and covering all the burns.
Within seconds, the swelling and redness subsided, and the frightening red and yellow burns gradually turned into faint red marks. Some of the charred skin flaked off, and the thumb-sized blisters that had formed disappeared.
"Fantastic!" Astoria said happily. "It looks like you're better, Malfoy!"
"But my shoulder still hurts!" Malfoy yelled, poking it gingerly and immediately crying out in pain.
"Is it that bad?" Harry asked skeptically.
Malfoy's face contorted. "I wish you could feel this, Potter!"
Astoria sighed, exasperated and puzzled. "Why are you still being so difficult? Do you really want everyone to leave you in the Forbidden Forest?"
Although Malfoy knew that Hagrid, as a professor, wouldn't abandon his students and leave, his face still paled when he heard the news, as if he was a bit frightened.
"These are injuries caused by a dragon", Wade explained. "The surface skin has mostly healed under the potion's effect, but deeper inside, there's still—unless you touch the wound, it shouldn't affect your normal movements."
Malfoy, half-believing, half-doubting, carefully put on his robe and took a few steps. Indeed, he no longer felt the sharp, knife-like pain he had experienced before.
He hesitated, wanting to thank Wade but couldn't bring himself to say it.
While he was hesitating, Wade was already being pulled away by others. After all, more than one student had been burned, though Malfoy's injuries were the most severe.
Malfoy didn't dare to make any big movements and carefully adjusted his clothes. He noticed someone lingering nearby from the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw it was Harry and asked mockingly, "What? Want to interview me about my injury?"
"No", Harry said, a bit awkwardly, rubbing his nose. "Malfoy, since your injury will heal quickly, you won't tell your father, right? You know it was a complete accident..."
This was the first time an accident had occurred in Care of Magical Creatures class, and Harry blamed Malfoy for it. Hagrid had repeatedly told them to respect the hippogriff, but Malfoy had deliberately provoked and insulted Buckbeak.
But this time... he had just stood a bit too close to the dragon's nose, and Hagrid was definitely more at fault.
Upon closer inspection, raising a dangerous Norwegian Ridgeback dragon in the Forbidden Forest and bringing a group of students to observe and interact with it at close range were definitely against the rules.
Harry belatedly realized how reckless Hagrid had been. Therefore, when he asked Malfoy not to pursue the matter, he felt particularly unconfident.
"None of your business, Potter!" Malfoy said coldly. "Stay away from me!"
After shooing away a few Gryffindors, Malfoy didn't dare make any big movements. He held his injured shoulder lightly and carefully kept his distance from the others.
At this moment, Malfoy was grateful that Blaise and the Weasley twins hadn't come. Otherwise, they would have pretended to bump into him and touch his injured area on purpose.
A figure approached from behind. Malfoy thought it was Harry again and turned his head irritably, only to see the petite Astoria.
He frowned and asked, "What? You're here to plead for that big guy too?"
"No", Astoria shook her head. "I know you won't pursue it."
"How do you know I won't?" Malfoy drawled maliciously. "I'll have my father skin her alive, and Hagrid will never be a professor again, and he'll be sent to Azkaban!"
If Harry and the others were here, they would have already come to blows, but Astoria just shook her head again.
"You won't. You like Norberta more than any of us do."
Astoria said firmly, "And you've always referred to Norberta as 'she' rather than 'that beast'—you've always called that hippogriff 'that beast,' right? I've heard you say it several times."
Malfoy turned his head away, embarrassed, and after a moment, asked, "Then why are you here? To laugh at me?"
"I just thought you might not want to be alone right now, when everyone else is with their friends."
Astoria walked beside him, hands behind her back, and asked straightforwardly:
"Why are you always so mean to others? Potter and Gray weren't malicious, and neither was I. And you might not like Ron Weasley, but his brother was helping you just a few minutes ago."
Draco Malfoy looked into the clear, water-like eyes of the blonde girl and suddenly felt that the long-suppressed jealousy, resentment, fear, and doubt in his heart were like smelly socks hidden under the bed, too embarrassing to bring out.
In the end, he only said, "Do you need a reason to hate someone?"
Astoria didn't immediately counter. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Okay, I can understand that... after all, I have someone I hate too."
Malfoy's steps paused, and he asked curiously, "Who?"
Astoria didn't answer, just looked up at him quietly.
Malfoy began to feel a bit confused and then suddenly realized, "—Pansy?"
"I think she often bullies my sister, but when I advised Daphne to stay away from Parkinson, she told me to mind my own business, just like you did a moment ago."
Astoria sighed, "Why do you all act this way, knowing they're bad friends but can't break ties with them?"
"Is it really as simple as you say?" Malfoy said angrily. "These things are complicated. What do you know, you little girl?"
Astoria hit the nail on the head. "Steering clear of friends who make you feel uncomfortable doesn’t require much wisdom… You just lack the courage."
Malfoy was speechless, unable to find a way to counter her. The sharp tongue he usually used to argue with Harry seemed to have rusted over.
At that moment, Hagrid finally emerged from the cave, his beard badly singed and his clothes torn in several places.
"Alright, kids, is everything okay?"
Hagrid carefully looked around, paying special attention to Malfoy, who seemed to have let out a cry earlier. Seeing that everyone appeared unharmed (thanks to Wade’s quick treatment), he finally relaxed and said hurriedly,
"Alright, let’s head back to the school. Norberta is… well… not in the best mood right now. Did anyone get hurt? Nothing serious, I hope?"
Hagrid glanced at Malfoy several times, but Malfoy ignored him. He had belatedly realized that he had forgotten to counter Astoria’s argument. Pansy wasn’t a bad friend; she was one of the most supportive people in Slytherin.
But as they walked for a while, Malfoy slowly recalled the details of their interactions.
He couldn’t help but think: Astoria might not be entirely wrong.
…
Wade stayed at the back of the group, turning a piece of dead wood into a thin plank. He wrote a message on it and then walked to where he had found the wolf pup, tying the plank to a tree with a rope.
He quickly caught up with the group, with Tawny the Hound still bounding along beside him.
"Strange…"
Hagrid kept looking around as they walked, but the dense trees obscured his view, and he noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
"What’s strange?" Harry asked.
"The Forbidden Forest seems a bit warmer than usual", Hagrid said, puzzled. "And did you smell that? I keep getting a whiff of something like cooked meat…"
Harry sniffed the air, and his stomach growled.
"You’re hungry, Hagrid", Harry concluded. "I’m hungry too. The Great Hall’s dinner probably hasn’t disappeared yet."
"Don’t worry", Theo said. "If we’re late, we can always go to the kitchen and help the house-elves prepare some food."
He winked, and Harry immediately smiled, thinking of the abundance of food and the friendly house-elves.
He now hoped they would return to find an empty dining table.
Mentioning dinner, Hagrid forgot his earlier thoughts. Besides, his main task was to get the students back safely.
The return trip was smooth and quiet, perhaps too quiet. The forest was usually filled with various night sounds, but tonight it was eerily silent, as if even the insects had fallen asleep. All they could hear were their footsteps and breathing.
Hagrid felt uneasy and quickened his pace, urging everyone to walk faster. He only relaxed when the castle lights came into view.
Wade paused for a moment, and a sudden flash of light darted from the dark forest, disappearing in an instant.
Wade stuffed his bag of pens into his pocket and smiled gently at Tawny the Hound, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
The hound tilted its head in confusion, then shook its head and trotted toward Hagrid’s hut, collapsing on the steps as if utterly exhausted.
"Alright, let’s go eat", Hagrid clapped his hands. "If anyone got hurt, go see Madam Pomfrey at the hospital wing—though I’m sure you’re all fine. Also, I want a paper on Norwegian Ridgeback Dragons due next week…"
Amid the students’ loud complaints, Hagrid efficiently assigned the homework and strode toward the castle.
…
More than half an hour later, a hand removed the plank from the tree. A man dressed in tattered clothes stood under the tree, turning the plank over to read it.
Beside him was a white wolf and a few wolf pups. After a while, the white wolf, growing impatient, scratched at his leg with a paw.
"Don’t scratch, this is my only intact pair of pants", the man said in a hoarse voice. "The wizard took Morris into the castle. He said he would return the pups once they’re healed."
The white wolf whined, its eyes showing a human-like concern.
"We can’t enter that castle. We have no choice but to trust them", the man said, tucking the plank behind his waist. He then turned to a small wolf with amber eyes. "Cullen, tell me exactly what happened."
(End of Chapter)
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