Chapter 482: True and False
Chapter 482: True and False
The rumor about Hagrid keeping a dragon, despite being proven false by the Ministry of Magic, had still spread among the students of Hogwarts.
Gossip often works in mysterious ways.
"Last time, you mentioned Hagrid had a lizard. Could this lizard of yours be the dragon from the rumors?" Lee Jordan whispered, glancing at Albert, who was reading a book, as others around them discussed Hagrid's alleged dragon in the game reserve.
He felt that Albert must know the truth.
"If Hagrid really had a dragon, he would have been sent to Azkaban for illegal dragon breeding during the Ministry's surprise inspection," Albert said without looking up.
Indeed! Everyone knew that the Ministry of Magic staff had not found the rumored baby dragon in Hagrid's hut.
However, not finding it didn't mean it wasn't there. Many students at Hogwarts still believed that Hagrid had hidden the dragon, thus evading the Ministry's inspection.
After all, the Forbidden Forest was vast! Hiding a dragon there would not be difficult.
Of course, these were just their wishful thoughts.
As for the truth, it didn't seem to matter much to them.
"The Ministry has confirmed this rumor to be false. Why are there still people who believe it?" Albert sigantly raised his head and looked at the students eavesdropping on their conversation, sighing softly, "If you believe it's true, why don't you go to Hagrid's hunting cabin and verify it yourselves?"
For some reason, these words struck a nerve with many people.
No one would dare venture near Hagrid's cabin.
If they did, they would be proving themselves fools and idiots, as most believed Hagrid didn't keep a dragon.
"What a dumbass!"
Fred and George's gazes towards Lee Jordan were filled with pity.
If you asked Albert in private, he might tell you.
But in front of everyone, Albert wouldn't directly reveal the truth, even if he knew it.
"What are you looking at?" Lee Jordan felt uncomfortable under Fred and George's gaze.
The twins looked at each other and laughed, "Of course, we're looking at a fool!"
"Fool?" Lee Jordan humphed displeased, "I bet your end-of-term grades aren't as good as mine!"
"This has nothing to do with grades," Fred raised his index finger and tapped his head, "It's purely a matter of common sense."
"Stop fooling around!"
At that moment, Percy hurried over and glared at the mischievous twins as they teased Lee Jordan. He asked, "Do you know Ron has been hospitalized?"
"Ron's in the hospital?" Fred and George looked surprised.
"I just visited Ron at the school hospital. His hand seems to have been bitten by something, and Madam Pomfrey said he might have been poisoned. He needs to be hospitalized for observation," Percy looked annoyed and complained, "You guys are all so careless. What am I supposed to tell Mom?"
"Should I tell her that it's my fault Ron was poisoned and hospitalized?"
"Then don't tell her," Fred said flippantly, "Anyway, it's not like Ron needs a hand amputation. Madam Pomfrey will definitely be able to cure him."
Ron was bitten by the dragon?
It seemed that the dragon would be sent away soon, and the dragon egg task would finally come to an end.
Albert listened quietly to their conversation as he packed his things, ready to head to the library.
"Where are you going?"
"The library."
"Do you want to come with us to the school hospital? It's on the way." Fred and George had already grown tired of doing homework and decided to visit Ron at the hospital when they heard he was hospitalized.
As Ron's family, it was only natural to be concerned about his condition.
"It's not on the way."
Albert was speechless. The library was on the fifth floor of the castle, while the school hospital was on the second floor. There was no way they could pass by both places.
"Don't say that, let's all go together." Fred put his arm around Albert's shoulder and looked at Lee Jordan, who was chatting with the girls. He asked, "Do you want to come with us?"
"Never mind, I still have a pile of homework to do." Lee Jordan shook his parchment.
When the trio arrived at the school hospital, they found Ron lying in bed with one of his arms propped up on a rack.
"What happened to your hand?" Fred examined Ron's hand, which was almost twice its normal size, each finger looking like a sausage, a rather comical sight.
"What bit you?" George raised his hand, intending to poke at Ron's swollen arm.
"A dog bit me." Ron gritted his teeth. "Hagrid's pet is venomous. You guys don't know, but this hand of mine hurts like hell. Don't touch it there, do you want to kill me with pain?"
Due to George's antics, the three of them were promptly kicked out of the hospital by Madam Pomfrey.
"Do you believe Ron was bitten by a dog?" Fred obviously didn't buy Ron's story.
"I guess Hagrid must have kept some kind of venomous and dangerous pet, and Ron got bitten while playing with it." Albert casually brushed it off.
"What's going on?"
George turned his head, following Albert and Fred's gaze, and saw Lee Jordan jogging towards them.
"Malfoy is going around showing everyone a letter..." Lee Jordan panted.
"What does it say?" George asked.
"The letter seems to be from Charlie to Ron, and it mentions that Charlie is willing to take in Hagrid's Norwegian Ridgeback dragon." Lee Jordan looked rather excited as he panted and shared the news with the trio.
"They're planning to take the dragon away on Saturday, through the Astronomy Tower!" Lee Jordan wore a self-satisfied expression, feeling vindicated.
"So, everyone's planning to go to the Astronomy Tower on Saturday night to watch the show?" Albert's expression became even more peculiar.
"Is that a problem?"
"In fact, I'm looking forward to it. I can just picture a group of students sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower on Saturday night, only to be caught red-handed by Filch." Albert patted the excited Lee Jordan on the shoulder, his smile gradually stiffening. "Don't worry, someone will keep you company while you scrub the bedpans."
"Do you think this is Ron's made-up lie to trick that nasty Malfoy kid?" Fred muttered in disbelief. "When did Ron get so smart?"
"It wasn't Ron. I wrote that letter!"
A voice interrupted them, belonging to Hermione, who had been on her way to the hospital with Harry to visit Ron.
"You guys just made up a whole story, making Draco Malfoy believe that there really is a dragon, so you could get him to go to the Astronomy Tower and get into trouble?"
George had already imagined the entire scenario in his head.
"Yes, yes, you should know that Malfoy framed Hagrid, claiming he kept a dragon. We plan to..." Hermione had been a bit flustered when she first heard the news, but after hearing Albert's analysis, she immediately understood his intention when he winked at her, so she readily admitted to the scheme.
"Don't let others know about this."
Although Hermione asked them to keep it quiet, the news soon spread throughout Hogwarts Castle.
Their conversation had been overheard by passing students, and somehow, the word got out. Before long, everyone seemed to know about it.
"Conspiracy, a fake dragon?"
There was no way the letter could be fake.
Malfoy quickly realized their motive.
They knew he had taken the letter and made sure everyone knew about it, so they came up with this plan.
It had to be.
Don't think you can fool me! (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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