Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The night in the Forbidden Forest was as viscous as melted asphalt.

Hagrid trudged through the thick layer of humus, each step making a "crunch" sound.

Suddenly, Ya Ya bit his leather boot, letting out a low whimper.

"Relax, little guy," Hagrid ruffled the hound's head with his rough hands, "It's just a routine patrol, making sure those mischievous little ones haven't slipped out of the woods..."

Before the words were finished, Ya Ya suddenly let out a whimper, and its fur stood on end.

Hagrid immediately stopped and raised the oil lamp higher.

Something was rustling in the bushes at the edge of the light.

It wasn't the elegant gait of a Thestral, nor the light hoofbeats of a unicorn, but a heavy sound, like scales scraping against tree bark.

Hagrid's neck hairs stood on end—he had lived in the Forbidden Forest for half his life and had never heard such a noise before.

"Who's there?" he called out, his voice ringing out loudly in the silent forest. There was no answer, only a more distinct rustling sound, like some enormous creature moving through the undergrowth.

The baby's sobs turned into a piercing wail.

Hagrid squinted and walked toward the crevice in the tree.

As the distance closed, he could see that it was a broken mirror—it was probably dropped by one of the students, or more likely by him. The mirror was cracked in a spiderweb pattern, yet it still reflected the light of the oil lamp.

Just as Hagrid reached out, a flash of yellow light appeared in the mirror.

The shards of the mirror reflected a pair of enormous, phosphorescent vertical pupils staring at him from the treetops twenty feet behind him.

Hagrid's blood froze instantly—even through the secondary reflection of the shattered mirror, the deadly magic in the basilisk's eyes still climbed up along his line of sight.

"What!" Hagrid roared and turned around, but it was too late.

His fingertips began to turn a marble-like grayish-white, and the petrification spread from his nails to his palms like ink dripping into clear water.

The oil lamp struck the tree root, and kerosene seeped into the moss, igniting a cluster of eerie blue flames.

Hagrid staggered backward, the petrification spreading to his wrist.

He blinked frantically, trying to stay awake, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. In the final, completely frozen moment, he did three things:

He used his still-functioning left hand to throw the umbrella wand toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest;

He kicked the barking Yaya into the rabbit hole next to him;

"Run...faster..." Before his vocal cords turned to stone, his last few words became a muffled murmur.

Several beetles collided with the mirror, creating tiny flashes of light, and the basilisk in the mirror blinked.

It was this momentary distraction that caused the basilisk to fail to notice that Yaya emerged from the other end of the burrow, carrying the umbrella and disappearing into the bushes.

Hagrid, now petrified, knelt on one knee, like a rough statue.

A few patches of moss still clung to his beard, and his large, bell-like eyes held unspoken words.

In the darkness, the basilisk slowly swam out.

It lightly touched Hagrid's petrified face with its tongue, seemingly to confirm that its prey was no longer a threat.

Tooth, who had already run away, had now circled around behind the basilisk.

Ya Ya whimpered and lunged forward, but was easily swept away by the snake's tail and sent flying far away.

The basilisk showed no interest in its petrified prey.

And that little dog didn't look very meaty.

It raised its head, sensing the new scents in the air—deep in the Forbidden Forest, the descendants of Aragog were stirring. That was its destination.

After the giant snake shadow disappeared into the depths of the jungle, Ya Ya limped back to its owner.

It licked Hagrid's petrified hand again and again with its warm tongue, its whimpers echoing through the silent Forbidden Forest.

In the bushes not far away, the pink umbrella lay quietly, its tip pointing towards the castle, like a silent warning.

The morning light streamed through the stained glass windows of the auditorium, gilding the long table with a golden edge.

Harry was spreading marmalade on his toast when he suddenly heard Ron's spoon clatter into the bowl.

"Merlin's beard..." Ron's voice sounded like someone was choking him.

Harry looked up and followed Ron's blank gaze toward the Great Hall doors.

Four school doctors used a levitation spell to slowly carry a stretcher into the room, on which lay—no, stood—a very familiar stone statue.

Hagrid's rugged face was frozen between terror and worry, with a few patches of moss from the Forbidden Forest still clinging to his beard, and his petrified eyes seemed to still be trying to convey some kind of warning.

The entire auditorium fell into a deathly silence, followed by terrified whispers.

Lavender Brown's scream was particularly piercing: "Another one! Just like Crevy!"

Hermione's lips trembled: "No...it can't be...that's Hagrid!"

Harry rushed to the stretcher and saw that Hagrid's petrified right hand was still in a forward-pushing posture.

In the teachers' section, Dumbledore unusually left his central seat.

The old headmaster's long, silvery-white hair was almost transparent in the morning light. As he bent down to examine Hagrid's petrified state, his blue eyes behind his crescent-shaped glasses flashed with a dangerous light.

"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall's voice cracked through the hall like a whip. "All students, please have your meal first, then return immediately to your respective college's common room. Classes are cancelled for today."

But panic has already spread like wildfire.

A Slytherin student jumped onto a bench and shouted, "I told you! There's a Chamber of Secrets in the school!"

His words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.

"Fifty years ago, students were attacked! That killer will purge the school of its unclean blood!"

"That's impossible!" Hermione retorted loudly, but her voice lacked conviction. "There's no evidence to prove it..." But her voice was quickly drowned out by the clamor of discussion.

"We're all going to die here!" a girl screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Go home! I want to go home!" Several first-year students began to sob, hugging each other tightly.

Panic spread rapidly, and students stood up and pushed their way out of the auditorium.

The sounds of chairs being knocked over, cries, and shouts mingled together, plunging the entire auditorium into chaos.

Harry stood there, looking at the out-of-control scene before him, his heart filled with helplessness and anger.

At the Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson sneered at Draco, "Look, even half-giants are suffering this time!"

Draco, unusually, did not agree, but instead frowned and stared at the teachers' table—his brother Kane was leaning over and whispering something in Dumbledore's ear.

Harry looked around and felt a chill creep up his spine.

At that moment, Hermione, who had also run over, suddenly spoke.

"We need to go see Ya Ya!"

She pointed to the withered leaves remaining on Hagrid's petrified body, "Only the Forbidden Forest has these silver fir leaves!"

He then whispered to Harry, "If Hagrid's accident happened in the Forbidden Forest..."