Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 90 Hagrid and the Dragon
Dumbledore asked Vaughan to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible, of course because Harry had successfully mastered Occlumency.

It was two days ago, a night like any other, with the sky in the Scottish Highlands covered with dark clouds and drizzle.

As usual, Harry procrastinated and hesitated until late at night before reluctantly arriving at the Potions Office - Professor Snape believed that the study and lounge in the Room of Requirement was too comfortable and not very conducive to practicing brain occlumency.

Even though several days had passed, Harry still remembered the malice in Snape's drawling voice when he suggested to Dumbledore that they change places to practice:
"A lazy, complacent fool needs a worse environment to remind him that what he is learning now may save his life!"

Harry seriously suspected that Snape changed the practice location to the basement because it was remote, deserted, cold and damp, and even Slytherin students were reluctant to get close to it unless they had classes there.

It's an ideal place to kill and silence people.

That day Harry angrily told Ron and Hermione what had happened.

He wanted his two good friends to stay with him recently to prevent him from being killed silently by Snape one day.

Regarding his concerns, Hermione thought there was no need to worry at all: "Professor Snape can't kill you because there's no need. He only needs to break into your brain and implant all kinds of terrible self-destructive thoughts in your mind, and then you will jump off the observatory yourself!"

Harry's face turned pale and his lips turned white when he heard this.

Fortunately, his good brother Ron can always make him laugh again.

"Huh, Snape also knows that the basement is a terrible environment? I thought he just liked that kind of bat cave!"

Ron was laughing in the busy corridor, and then he was caught by Professor McGonagall.

The impartial Vice-Principal was shaking with anger. "Weasley, how dare you slander and insult a professor like this? It seems that the last detention did not make you realize your mistake. Now, clean the bathroom and no magic is allowed... Hand over your wand!"

Ron grunted and didn't want to hand it over.

Hermione, who was standing by, spoke up: "Professor, Ronald doesn't know the Cleansing Charm yet, so it doesn't matter whether he hands over his wand or not!"

Ron stared at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why she was so vicious as to expose his poor academic nature in front of the usually strict Professor McGonagall.

Sure enough, Professor McGonagall's face became uglier. "Mr. Weasley, I think I'm not mistaken. The Cleansing Charm is one of the simplest spells for first-year students. Professor Flitwick should have taught you three months ago. Even if it was a giant monster, three months..."

Her good upbringing made her swallow the words that she was about to say.

But the anger that was about to explode made her unable to control herself and she twisted Ron's ear and dragged him to the office in the face of the onlookers.

Looking at Ron's miserable back, Harry couldn't help but curl his lips. When you have to face someone who hates you and might even want to kill you every day, and then look at your companions who are leisurely around you, anyone would be unable to help but think:
I really want him to be unlucky with me!

Harry suddenly felt in a very good mood, and the gloomy sky seemed a little brighter. However, he still remembered Hermione's words.

So, that night he tried his best to resist Snape's Legilimency. It was a very strange scene: a big one and a small one looked at each other in the basement, making all kinds of hideous expressions.

Only when one side is completely exhausted will they shiver and stop, then gasp for breath.

The scene was hard to watch.

Even after finishing the practice, Harry did not relax at all. His fear and anxiety towards Snape made him unleash potential that he himself could not imagine.

On the morning of the 21st, Harry opened his eyes and subconsciously observed the environment he was in - this was a habit he had developed recently. He had not yet fully mastered the brain occlusion technique, which was always released after falling asleep due to the relaxation of his subconscious mind, and then triggered the punishment mechanism of the automatic response personality.

Harry almost forgot how many people or animals he had "transformed" into since the automatic response personality was implanted.

But to his surprise, he did not appear in some inexplicable place today.

What caught his eye was the familiar dormitory. On the right, Neville was lying on his bed with his arms and legs spread out, the memory ball in his hand emitting a scarlet light.

I don’t know what he forgot in his sleep.

Ron was sleeping on the left. He had put Scabbers in a cage and placed it at the head of the bed. The fat rat heard the noise, woke up with a yawn, and looked at Harry blankly.

Seeing Scabbers, Harry couldn't help but recall the feeling of it wriggling in his mouth last time...

vomit!
Harry turned his face away, forcing himself to forget the horrible scene, sat on the bed in a daze for a while, and then pinched himself hard.

The pain in my arm was very clear, it wasn't a dream.

Harry's first suspicion was that his automatic personality had failed. He dismissed this question immediately, as he clearly sensed that his thoughts were encased in some thin, yet incredibly clear, barrier.

It has no entity, but is a feeling, a faint coolness covering the brain. If you don't pay attention, you might even think it is an illusion.

"Is this... Occlumency?"

Harry muttered hesitantly.

He had never felt this cold feeling before, but Vaughn had told him that if one day he felt as if there was something extra in his brain, it would mean that he had completely mastered the art of Occlumency.

…Snape said the same thing!
Cold, cool, hot, empty...

Everyone's brain occlumency is different, it all depends on what "raw materials" you use to "build" the occlumency.

The raw materials can be false memories or emotions.

Harry wasn't too sure. Just as he was lost in thought, Ron, who was lying on the bed next to him, suddenly stood up, his face flushed, and shouted, "Professor McGonagall, I really can't eat anymore. I..."

His voice broke off abruptly, and he and Harry exchanged glances.

"Uh, Ron, are you dreaming?"

"……yes……"

Harry's eyes rolled, and he thought of something. Curiously, he said, "I remember Professor McGonagall asked you to clean the toilet yesterday. How come you dreamed of eating..."

Then Ron, with his face red with anger, rushed over and tore his mouth.

After some playing around, the two left the dormitory and went to the restaurant. When they found Hermione, Harry told his friend about the strange feeling and speculation in his head.

"Great!" Ron slapped his thigh. "Once you learn this, you won't have to look for that old bat anymore..."

His voice trailed off as Hermione stared at him intently.

Ron muttered indignantly, "Humph, you framed me in front of Professor McGonagall yesterday, and today you look like you're ready to eat me. You just said a few bad words about Snape, traitor!"

Harry and Ron always felt that Hermione was acting strangely lately.

Especially around Valentine's Day.

Everyone originally thought that Snape was the man in black robes, and even Hermione had come to a similar conclusion based on her own observations and speculations.

Even though she didn't want to believe it, she only took Harry and Ron's doubts with a grain of salt.

But for some reason, one day she suddenly started to defend Snape.

When the two asked her the reason, she refused to tell them and became very weird.

Of course, apart from that, she is still the know-it-all Miss they are familiar with.

For example, when it comes to homework.

Ron was stared at by Hermione and dared not speak. Harry was not spared either. He didn't even have time to be happy about having learned the brain-blocking technique. After breakfast, he was dragged to the library by Hermione.

Hermione, who was already a head taller than Harry, carried a stack of books that were taller than her and placed them on the table. Then, under the fearful gazes of the two, she took out a notebook.

"Now that Harry has learned Occlumency, from now on, you have to review with me!"

Hermione said sternly.

That look made Ron think he saw Professor McGonagall.

That was the person Ron feared the most in the entire school. He only dared to imagine in his dreams that Professor McGonagall would invite him to dinner and praise him as a genius.

Ron stared at the pile of books in a daze. "Review? Are you crazy? It's only February..."

"It's the end of February, and March is almost here. There are only 2 weeks left until the end of the semester exams. June is exam month. Do you still want to wait until then to review?"

Hermione stood in front of the two of them with her hands on her hips. Against the backdrop of the pile of books next to her, her figure was so tall and majestic!
It made Harry and Ron's scalps tingle.

Even Harry couldn't help but complain: "Hermione, could you please stop changing the concept of time every time? There are still more than three months left. Even if you convert it into weeks, it won't make it shorter."

"Have you ever thought about Nicolas Flamel? He lived for over 600 years. Three months was just a blink of an eye for him..."

Ron interrupted her: "We are not Flamel, and we won't live to be over 600 years old."

"That's why we should cherish time even more—"

Hermione always managed to confuse Harry and Ron with her clever little brain. When they came to their senses again, they were already sitting at a table in the library. Not far away was Madam Pince, holding a feather duster and glaring at the young wizards.

No one dares to make noise or disrespect books in front of her, otherwise, the feather duster in her hand will teach you what etiquette is!

Harry and Ron had no choice but to bite the bullet and plunge into the task of flipping through the books.

Although they don't understand.

It’s okay if those two poor students have to review, but why does Hermione have to review too?
That afternoon, when Ron saw Hermione flipping through her notebook and writing down her plans with different colored markers, he finally couldn't help but ask her, "You obviously know everything. You can recite everything in the book with your eyes closed. Are these review plans really useful to you?"

Hermione sneered: "Ronald, if you were as smart as your brother, you would never say such arrogant words. Even Dumbledore doesn't dare to say that he knows everything!"

Ron's face flushed, of course not out of shame, but out of anger.

He felt that Hermione was becoming more and more like Vaughn, becoming just as mean, vicious, and poisonous.

At noon that day, when he and Harry took the opportunity of going to the men's toilet to run to the courtyard for some fresh air, he complained, "Silly little girl, don't think I don't know why she works so hard. It's because Vaughn is such a genius, and she feels the pressure... Just like those little girls in Ottery St. Catchpole when they were little, they flipped through the potion book desperately just to have something to talk to Vaughn about. So stupid!"

"I'm telling you, Harry, don't try to change yourself just to attract someone. Anyone who does that is a fool."

Because he met Qiu Zhang in the restaurant at noon, but they didn't talk. Harry, who was thinking about how to find out the other person's hobbies so that he could chat with him, blushed when he heard this.

Ron was still oblivious and continued talking: "Muggles call people like this 'Simps' (similar to the meaning of licking dogs). I don't know what it means exactly, but it's obviously not a good word... Harry, what are you looking at me for?"

Harry, who understood what the word meant, felt a little embarrassed and annoyed. He said dryly, "You know so well, was there a little girl you liked before, but she liked to play with Vaughn?"

Ron: "..." The ship of friendship capsized so easily.

However, for children of this age, temporary awkwardness is far from rising to the level of disagreement or hatred.

The next day, the two reconciled.

The reason was not only that neither of them took the awkwardness to heart, but also because the so-called "review" was no longer limited to Hermione's personal behavior.

The professors also seem to feel that it is time for students to step up their game!

There is no compulsory education at Hogwarts.

If you want to move from the first grade to the second grade, you need to pass the exam. If you fail, you will have to repeat the grade.

Therefore, starting from the 21st, professors of various subjects spontaneously assigned a large amount of homework.

Their contents covered all the knowledge points of the entire school year, as well as a large number of papers. Faced with a mountain of homework, Harry and Ron had to put aside their past grudges and work together for warmth.

"Merlin, when will days like this end?"

In the library, Ron, who had only persisted for half a day, felt like he was about to die, and fell on the desk with a low groan.

Across from him, Harry was sweating profusely as he flipped through a book.

He was looking for a plant called Dictamnus in "One Thousand Miraculous Herbs and Fungi".

Although the name of "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi" sounds like a book on herbology, this book is actually a textbook on Potions. This afternoon, Snape had been sarcastically mocking Harry, saying that he would never understand what dittany was used for.

Said his thick, crowded skull was already full and definitely couldn't hold more.

So Harry swore that even if he died of exhaustion today, he would find the damn "Baixian"!

Ever since Snape knew that Harry had learned Occlumency, his temper became worse and his attitude towards Harry was even worse than before.

Harry didn't want to admit defeat to a guy like that.

Seeing Harry completely obsessed and Hermione buried in her notes, Ron looked at the sky outside the window a little bored.

Today's sky is still overcast and rainy with leaden clouds.

In the Scottish Highlands after the spring, there was so much rain that it seemed to pour down the surrounding sea. It seemed like the last time I saw the sun was a lifetime ago.

Since the beginning of spring, Ron had never seen Hagrid take off his heavy raincoat... Wait!
"Hagrid? Why are you here?"

Ron looked in amazement at Hagrid, who was at least 11 feet tall and dodging behind a row of bookshelves by the window, and couldn't help but shout out loud.

As soon as he shouted, Ron remembered that he was in the library and quickly covered his mouth.

Sure enough, Madam Pince quickly came running over, clutching a feather duster.

Those eyes, full of fighting spirit and oppression, swept around fiercely.

The trembling little wizards at the surrounding desks all pointed at Ron.

Afterwards, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid were all driven out by Madam Pince...

"I can't believe what's going on in your head all day, Ronald Weasley? I haven't finished my notes yet, and those books are hard to borrow. This time I had to beg Madam Pince to keep them for me, and you..."

Hermione, who was interrupted during her review, became furious and started scolding Ron.

Harry felt a little relieved.

He had spent most of the day reading books out of spite, and he had reached his limit. Now was a good time for him to take a break.

Moreover, he was curious as to why Hagrid came to the library.

Although it’s not nice to label people.

But to be honest, Harry didn't think Hagrid was the kind of person who could concentrate on reading unless it had something to do with magical creatures.

Seeing that Hermione's temper was getting more and more violent, Harry asked quickly:
"Hagrid, what are you doing in the library... er, are you hiding something behind your back?"

Hagrid put his hands behind his back in his wide straw raincoat and stammered, "I'm looking for some books on agriculture... Yes, books on growing pumpkins, how to make them big and sweet, or how to make fried cod and fried potatoes taste like that..."

He began to ramble on and soon urged them on, "You should go back and apologize to Madam Pince. I heard you have a lot of classes... By the way, you haven't been investigating the Philosopher's Stone lately, have you?"

Harry perked up at the mention of this and said tentatively:

"We've already found out that it was Snape who wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Hagrid, you..."

"It can't be him." Hagrid shook his head repeatedly, interrupting Harry. He looked around again and saw that the library was busy and not a good place to talk, so he whispered, "Come to my house tonight and I'll tell you why."

After saying that, he hurriedly hugged the books hidden behind his back into his arms, said goodbye to the trio, and quickly disappeared in the rain.

Looking at Hagrid's receding back, Ron curled his lips. "That book he borrowed definitely wasn't about agriculture, at least not about growing pumpkins. Otherwise, why would he be hiding? Could he possibly grow pumpkins that eat people?"

Harry didn't think so either.

But Hagrid obviously didn't want to say anything, and there was nothing he could do. However, what made him happy was that Hagrid, who had always been tight-lipped and would lose his temper every time they asked him about the Philosopher's Stone, was actually willing to tell them some information this time.

This made Harry look forward to it.

Just as he was wondering why Hagrid was so sure it couldn't be Snape.

Hermione, who had quietly left at some point, came back with a note.

She spread the note in front of Harry and Ron and hummed, "Hagrid's looking for books about dragons. Look, 'A Guide to Keeping a Dragon,' 'A Complete Encyclopedia of Dragons of the World,' 'How to Hatch Eggs.'"

Harry lost interest instantly.

He shrugged. "That's not surprising. Hagrid has always wanted to have a dragon. He told me about it when we first met."

"But it's different, Harry. You can ask anyone in Hogwarts who knows that Hagrid likes dragons."

Ron suddenly said, "That's not a secret at all. I bet if someone showed an interest in raising a dragon, Hagrid would be able to hold him over and talk all day, instead of being afraid of being discovered like today."

Harry was stunned: "You mean..."

"That's right, Harry. It's not illegal to like dragons. There's no need to be secretive about it. Unless, Hagrid has one... a living dragon, no, maybe a dragon egg!"

At this point, Ron's nostrils flared excitedly and he breathed heavily.

Hermione immediately poured cold water on him: "Ronald, don't forget, raising a dragon privately will land you in Azkaban."

"..."

Ron, whose daydream was shattered before it even began, snorted and said nothing more.

Harry, who was not very familiar with the wizarding world and did not like reading, was surprised when he heard this: "He will go to Azkaban? Then Hagrid..."

Hermione glanced at him, then looked at the busy corridor. "So, while you guys discuss this, can you please find a quiet place?"

In the end, they decided to go to the Room of Requirement to review. There was no better place in the whole Hogwarts to study and chat.

No boy could resist a live dragon.

On the way to the Room of Requirement, Harry kept asking Hermione and Ron questions about dragons.

Because even in the magical world, the fire dragon is a domineering, powerful and mysterious magical creature.

At least Harry hadn't seen any at Hogwarts.

Ron answered his question, "Because all dragons are protected. They're not kept in captivity, but each country's Ministry of Magic has designated a protected area and hired professionals to keep dragons captive in the wild. This is mainly to prevent poachers from attacking dragons for materials like dragon blood and dragon nerves."

"Charlie works at the Fire Dragon Sanctuary in Romania."

Under Charlie's influence, he was considered a half-dragon enthusiast, and he easily gathered some basic information on the subject: "...Actually, there are wild dragons in the wild. I heard that there's a group of black dragons living in the Hebridean Islands in Scotland, not too far from Hogwarts."

"That's one of only two species of fire dragon left in England. The other is the common Welsh Green Dragon..."

Throughout the afternoon, Hermione was still busy with her review plan, while Ron was sharing with Harry the knowledge about dragons that he had heard from others. His knowledgeable look made Harry once again begin to doubt what he was doing all day.
At night, the three of them went to a restaurant and had something to eat.

Hermione returned to the dormitory with some Fruit Tea, intending to take the opportunity to let Fruit Tea get some fresh air while going to Hagrid's Hut.

Ron was unhappy about this because it meant he couldn't take care of Scabbers anymore.

"Can't you consider my feelings? Scabbers is so pitiful. I have to keep him in a cage all day long."

"Isn't Guoguocha pitiful? There's a mouse right in front of it, but it can never get to eat it!"

Ron was dumbfounded. Is this something a human could say?
At this moment, Guo Guocha, who had been following Hermione quietly, suddenly raised its nose, sniffed the air a few times, and then ran towards a corridor while meowing.

"Fruit tea!"

"It's all your fault, Ronald. Guoguocha is very smart. You must have hurt its heart."

"Stop talking nonsense, it's just a cat and can't understand human language!"

"Alright, alright, let's go get it back! We still have time to get to Hagrid's!"

The three of them hurriedly caught up with him, clamoring.

But soon, they stopped - and when they turned the corner of the corridor, Guoguocha was not lost.

This big fat cat is showing its belly, hugging a young boy's feet and acting coquettishly towards him.

Hearing footsteps, the boy turned around: "Hi, Hermione, Harry, oh, and my brother, Ronald Weasley!"

(End of this chapter)