Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 316 Is being arrogant a common trait among friends?

It looked as if the three of them had isolated Ron, a despicable act—but Hermione's role as the middleman made up for it well.

So when they arrived at Hogsmeade together, Hermione was called away by Ron from afar, and for the next half hour, Hermione ran around like an owl delivering messages.

“Ron said—wait, let me rest—” Hermione said, panting and clutching her side, “He wants you guys to go to the Three Brooms later…”

"What, is he going to yell about me participating in the Triwizard Tournament again in front of everyone while holding three brooms?" Harry said angrily. "Go tell him that if he has something to say, he can come and say it to my face. There's no need for him to hide like a coward—"

“I’m not an owl!” Hermione said angrily. “Can’t you just—act a little more like men and talk to me face to face?”

“Alas, the Earl almost lost even his last bit of advantage,” Cohen said regretfully. “But I do want to go get a drink and ask Ms. Rosmerta if she wants to invest some money.”

“Since Cohen wants to go, I have no choice but to…” Harry tried to distance himself from the situation.

"Alright, alright, I know you didn't go because of Ron." Cohen pushed Harry's back and led him toward the three brooms.

People passing by often pointed and whispered about Cohen and Harry, clearly believing Rita's reports.

"This is so annoying." Harry was so upset that he wanted to pull out his Invisibility Cloak and put it on to escape the noise. "I'm fed up with these looks that are like I'm a dead man—if they think I'll die in the first project, then why do they think I'm the one who put my name in the Goblet of Fire?"

“Dramatic conflict,” Cohen said. “People love to see stories of overconfident people courting disaster, just like they love watching clowns—that’s why so many people subscribe to the Daily Prophet just to see the show.”

Cohen didn't seem to mind. At least these people thought that Harry and I would die in the game, and they didn't say anything inappropriate in public.

Regardless, Cohen Norton's name has been remembered, and it will likely become even more prominent once the competition is completely over.

"Going into the tavern should make you feel better," Hermione comforted her.

After they entered the tavern, they found Hagrid at a table.

"Harry! You're here!" Hagrid waved to Harry, gesturing for the three of them to come to the table where he was sitting.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione looked around but couldn't see Ron anywhere.

“He said his stomach hurt a little.” Hagrid scratched his head. “He probably went to the bathroom. Did you and Ron have a fight? He’s been acting all sullen these past few days.”

“He just doesn’t want to believe the truth,” Harry said in a muffled voice.

“Of course,” Hagrid waved his hand. “Young people will be stubborn for a while, but you’re still friends, right? Shake hands, make up, and then—oh, I almost forgot—”

Hagrid slapped his forehead, as if he had finally remembered his ultimate purpose in finding Harry and Cohen.

He crouched down like a thief, glancing left and right, and finally spoke in a very low voice between Cohen and Harry's heads:
"Come to my cabin at 10 p.m. tonight. I'll show you something very important—remember to bring Harry's Invisibility Cloak."

“So mysterious…” Harry said, puzzled.

"Shh, shh, shh—" Hagrid hissed repeatedly. "Just come on, but remember not to let anyone else see."

Even after Hagrid had drunk most of his drink, they still hadn't seen Ron return from "going to the toilet."

After saying goodbye to Hagrid, the three of them embarked on their journey back to school.

"He still can't bring himself to do it," Hermione sighed helplessly.

“What could Hagrid be talking about that’s important?” Harry was still thinking about Hagrid. “It’d better not be that the Blasttail has bred a second generation.” Hermione shuddered.

“It could also be that he’s about to announce that he and Ms. Maxim are officially dating,” Cohen speculated. “Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that Hagrid wants to help us cheat.”

Cheating is a long-standing tradition in the Triwizard Tournament, and Cohen knows that Hagrid will probably drag him and Harry to see the first challenge's opponents tonight—a bunch of dragons.

“That’s immoral!” Hermione said sternly.

“You can’t expect morality from other schools,” Cohen raised his eyebrows. “They’re all obsessed with beating Hogwarts.”
-
At 10 p.m., the starry sky outside was completely covered by thick clouds. After everyone in the common room went to sleep, Harry and Cohen secretly left the castle wearing invisibility cloaks.

The grounds were pitch black. Looking down the lawn toward Hagrid's hut, the only other brightly lit spot was Beauxbatons' carriage, in addition to the light still on at Hagrid's place.

The two places are very close—Hagrid could easily go and "flirt" with Ms. Maxim.

“I have a feeling that Hagrid is really likely to announce his relationship with Madam Maxim now…” Harry said worriedly.

“The key isn’t Hagrid and Beauxbatons’ carriages.” Cohen wasn’t looking in those directions, but rather at the other end of the Forbidden Forest’s edge—where something like fireworks shot into the sky in the distance, only to disappear quickly. “Look over there.”

Cohen pointed it out to Harry.

"That's...someone setting off fireworks?" Harry squinted and found the spot Cohen was pointing to. If it weren't so dark, he might not have been able to find the light.

“Setting off fireworks in the middle of the night is definitely not realistic; this fire looks like it’s coming from Norbert,” Cohen said.

Harry was silent for a moment, and Cohen could even hear his heart pounding faster.

"Are we going to fight a dragon...?" Harry took a deep breath.

“I think Hagrid called us out tonight just to show us these things,” Cohen said. “If it’s a dragon, that would be easy; I have experience training Norbert.”

“But I haven’t…” Harry said nervously, “I only have the experience of being chased and bitten by Norbert—”

“It’s just a regular fire dragon, the goats can handle it,” Cohen reassured him. “Don’t be nervous, just stay calm, that should get you more points from the judges.”

“That makes me even more nervous…” Harry said.

"Boom boom boom——"

They arrived at Hagrid's cabin and knocked on Hagrid's door.

Harry pinched his nose as Hagrid opened the door—because there was another strong scent of perfume inside.

He was wearing his best suit, with a flower stuck in the buttonhole, and his hair was full of broken comb teeth.

Hagrid must have spent a lot of time getting ready, but the effect wasn't very noticeable.

"What are you going to show us?" Harry asked anxiously.

“Come with me, and don’t make a sound,” Hagrid whispered. “You all stay under your invisibility cloaks, don’t come out, and don’t let anyone else see you…”

(End of this chapter)