The days at Hogwarts

It was just a pity that the Care of Magical Creatures class in the morning ended too quickly and he had not yet experienced flying on a Hippogriff.

Harry had just finished his demonstration and Hagrid was distributing a dozen hippogriffs to the young wizards. Loren had just touched the feather of one of them when Miss Parkinson shrank into Draco's arms and screamed.

Hermione's face was tense. She sighed deeply and kept muttering, "Our chances of winning are slim... I've seen trials in the Ministry of Magic. The outcome of the defense and prosecution depends only on the bias of the presiding judge. If someone like Umbridge was presiding over the trial, Buckbeak would definitely not survive."

"Eat!" Loren emphasized.

Hermione puffed up her cheeks and glared at him, then blew out the air in her mouth under Loren's intimidating eyes. She muttered softly, "Just eat it, why are you so fierce..."

At the Slytherin table on the other side.

"What's wrong, Pansy? Is it still painful?" Daphne forced a flattering smile and asked cautiously.

Pansy Parkinson didn't even look at her. One of her hands was wrapped tightly in bandages. With the other hand, she was holding Draco's arm. She came up to him with a silly smile on her face.

"Thank you for saving me, Draco. Don't worry, I will definitely expel the troll that can wear clothes from Hogwarts and make Harry Potter lose this close pet, so that he can't concentrate on Quidditch training..."

"You seem unhappy since school started. I hope this can make you smile." Parkinson covered his mouth and smiled shyly, raising his bandaged hand and then quickly putting it down.

Draco's eyebrows were knitted together, and the disgust in his eyes was not concealed: "Stupid, there is no need for you to be so smart and do unnecessary things."

"What did you say?" Pansy Parkinson was shocked. Her smile froze and the blush on her cheeks quickly faded to pale. "I was just trying to help you deal with Potter! How dare you say that!"

Draco picked up the salad on the plate with his fork, only to feel nauseous. He threw down the fork and walked away without looking back.

At the end of the long table, Astoria, who was enjoying her meal, had a bitter look on her face. She shoveled a few mouthfuls at random and began to take out brown paper to wrap the pie...

After dinner time, most of the lights in the castle went out, and the night was silent.

The Gryffindor common room was a bit crowded. Some little wizards, like Hermione, wanted to do some homework before the lights were turned off; some little wizards, like Ron, took the time to play a few rounds of Crackling Cards before the lights were turned off.

Loren wrote and drew in his notebook, his quill swishing across the parchment as he calculated the various materials needed for the wolfsbane potion.

Snape's pantry should have the ingredients for the basic version.

Those smelly herbal extracts need to be prepared one month in advance. We mentioned it last semester, and Snape should have them too.

The rest is the change of the moon phase. This year, the school starts with a full moon... The wolfsbane potion must be taken a week in advance... There is less than three weeks to prepare...

Harry was absentmindedly copying his Transfiguration homework, pausing every now and then to peer out of the tower window.

"There's a light in Hagrid's window," said Harry suddenly.

Hermione and Ron looked up and the three of them looked at each other.

Then they lowered their heads in tacit understanding. Harry and Ron quickly put the books into their bags, and Hermione dragged Loren towards the portrait hole.

Before Filch began his night patrol, the four of them quietly slipped out of the crowded Gryffindor common room, tiptoed down the stairs, and headed straight for the entrance hall.

Just as they were about to walk out of the hallway, they heard someone talking in the shadows to the right of the doorway.

"I knew you would go to see Rubeus Hagrid at night." The man flicked his sleeves and walked out of the shadows. It was Draco.

"Malfoy!" Harry stared at him warily. "What do you want to do?"

Ron tilted his head, hesitant.

He recalled a scene two years ago. That night they were preparing to send away the little dragon Norbert, but they were spotted by Crabbe, and Malfoy also appeared suddenly.

Thinking of this, he looked around vigilantly, fearing that Filch would rush out at the next moment.

Draco had wanted to play a trick on Harry, but when he saw him, he suddenly felt bored. He shrugged and said, "It has nothing to do with you. I'm looking for Loren."

Hermione's eyes were shining. She interrupted Harry and Ron who were about to say something else and urged in a low voice, "Let's go first and try to get back to the castle before lights out."

Harry was stunned for a moment, then was pushed out of the door by Ron, and the three of them trotted towards Hagrid's hut.

"Did anything happen during the summer vacation?" Loren asked.

Compared to last school year, Draco seemed to have grown a lot, and if he hadn't encountered something during the summer vacation, he wouldn't be waiting for him here.

Draco hummed softly, his eyes following the backs of the three people outside. He suddenly had the urge to follow them and take a look: "Let's talk while we walk. I also want to see the professor with the giant head. I wonder if he is hiding in the house crying now."

Loren didn't comment and responded casually: "Let's go."

It had rained heavily two days before, and the sky was clear, with the stars and the moon shining through. The dim light shone on the ground, making it seem even brighter than inside the castle. The grass underfoot was wet, and it made a rustling sound when stepped on.

"You may not know that Bellatrix Lestrange, the person on the front page of the newspaper recently, is my mother's sister." Draco's movements were lazy, and his tone did not reveal his attitude towards this aunt. He walked quickly on the grass, as if he wanted to catch up with the people in front.

"She visited my home twice during the summer vacation. The first time was when she had just escaped from Azkaban. More than a decade in prison made her look very disheveled. Her hair was a mess and her face was black. She asked my father for money like a beggar."

"Want money?"

"Yes, for money, a lot of money." Draco kicked a small stone away, and his calm tone finally revealed a trace of anger. "She threatened my father with the Dark Lord in front of me and my mother, and took away nearly ten thousand Galleons from the Malfoy family."

"She didn't even have a wand at that time..." Draco muttered softly, as if talking to himself, or to Loren, "I have two adult wizards, a little wizard, and a few house elves in my family. Any one of them is enough to deal with her...

The second time was shortly before the start of the school term, when she asked us to help her send a mouse into Hogwarts. This was not a difficult task, and compared to tens of thousands of Galleons, my father agreed easily. But she said she wanted to see us send the mouse in with her own eyes..."

Loren didn't respond, but just listened quietly to Draco's story.

I can vaguely imagine the scene at that time. Perhaps he was intimidated by Voldemort's reputation, or perhaps he was intimidated by his former identity as a Death Eater, or perhaps he was worried that the loss of the diary and the Horcrux would be exposed.

Mr. Lucius Malfoy, who was once so powerful, was easily controlled by a fugitive using the name of Voldemort, and was able to get whatever he wanted in front of his family. As a human being, Draco must have felt very complicated.

"Bellatrix praised me as a talented wizard and said I would become a leader among the Death Eaters in the future, even better than my father." Draco sneered, his tone was inexplicable, "My mother almost had to kneel down and beg her before she let this matter go..."

Walking down the grass slope towards Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the forest was covered with dew at night, and the moist moisture flowed through the nose and seeped into the lungs.

Loren looked at his expression calmly: "So what are you looking for me for?"

"To hedge my bets." Draco pulled a ridiculous smile on his face. "This is the secret that has been passed down in the Malfoy family for thousands of years. This is also what my father meant."

"How to place a bet?" Loren was a little surprised, but after thinking about it for a while, he felt that it was reasonable.

"There is no specific method. My father said that I should try to get along well with Potter at school, instigate others to embarrass him, and then I will step forward to help him." Draco stopped. Hagrid's hut was already in sight. The faint candlelight shone through the window, and Hagrid's huge shadow could be seen. "But I think this is boring. I knew last year that you are a more suitable person than the stupid Potter."

"Pay attention to that rat. We haven't heard from it since it sneaked into Hogwarts through the secret passage. If you need anything, you can come to me. Just consider it a deal between you and Malfoy." When Draco had almost finished talking, he glanced at the house and turned around to go back.

Loren stopped him and said, "Now that we've come this far, let's go in and take a look."

Draco looked at him in surprise but did not refuse.

When I pushed the door open, I saw a magnificent half-blood giant squatting beside the fire, crying like a child, with his tears and snot sticking to his beard. In front of him was a pewter tankard as big as a bucket, and he seemed to have been crying for a long time.

The other three had no time to pay attention to Loren and Draco. Harry and Ron squatted beside him and grabbed his hands when he wanted to continue raising the glass. Their faces turned red from the effort.

Hermione pushed the bucket-sized wine glass away.

Hagrid must have drunk a lot of wine and was a little confused. He didn't notice the two people coming in from behind. He cried in a muffled voice: "This is probably a record. There has probably never been a teacher who was fired after teaching only one class before."

"You're not fired yet, Hagrid!" Hermione said soothingly.

"It will happen soon. It is destined to happen!"

"At least not now." Ron's voice was a little hoarse due to the effort.

"Maybe tomorrow morning!"

It was Harry's turn. Before he could figure out how to comfort Hagrid, he was pushed to the ground with a huge force.

Chapter 295: Taking Advantage of Malfoy

Seeing Harry fall to the floor, Hagrid was stunned for a moment, then seemed to sober up. Then he picked him up in a panic and stopped asking for drinking.

Harry took Hagrid's hand and stared at him sincerely. "You will be fine. We are all witnesses, Hagrid! You said in class that if the Hippogriff was offended, he would attack. It was Parkinson who didn't listen carefully. We will tell Dumbledore about the situation."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we've got your back," said Ron.

Tears flowed down the crow's feet of Hagrid's small black eyes. He grabbed Harry and Ron and hugged them so tightly that he almost broke their bones.

The snot and tears were distributed among the three of them. Although Hermione was deeply moved by the scene, she still took a few steps back for fear that they would get on her.

In order not to disturb the beautiful hug of the three, Hermione tiptoed to Loren at the door. She glanced at Draco, bit Loren's ear and whispered, "Why is Malfoy here?"

Before Loren could answer, Draco beside him sneered loudly and said in a mocking tone: "Three idiots!"

In such a cozy little house, this sentence was particularly harsh. The three people who were hugging each other realized that there was an outsider.

In front of the annoying Malfoy, Ron felt that it was not very manly to curl up in Hagrid's arms like this, and he pulled out by his moleskin coat, his face still flushed from being squeezed.

Hagrid was wiping his beard haphazardly.

"What did you say!" Harry glared at Draco angrily, "What are you doing here? You are not welcome here!"

Hermione wanted to say something, but Loren held her hand and signaled with his eyes that Hermione should not be anxious.

"I say, you three are idiots!" Draco's face was still full of sarcasm. "The power of faculty appointment and dismissal is firmly in Dumbledore's hands. That old crazy wizard will definitely not fire this troll professor. After all, they are all weirdos."

"Don't you dare talk about Dumbledore like that!" Hagrid shouted loudly, shocking the little wizards so much that they were a little confused.

Harry and Ron had complicated expressions, angry but also secretly happy.

He was angry at Draco's disparagement of Dumbledore and Hagrid, but also happy that Hagrid would not be expelled. After all, these words coming from Malfoy's mouth were subtle and convincing.

Draco continued calmly, "But you should be worried about those hippogriffs. If you're lucky, only one of them will die, Buckbeak. If you're unlucky, all of them will be beheaded."

Hagrid's face instantly lost its color and turned pale with fear. His lips trembled as he said, "No, it shouldn't be like this. Those little guys are innocent. They are not wrong."

"That's right! Buckbeak is innocent!" Harry shouted.

Ron's eyes kept changing, and his mind recalled many cases he had heard, all of which were mentioned by Arthur during casual chat.

"Tsk, what's the point of telling me?" Draco raised his chin, trying his best to provoke Harry's emotions, "Do you think the people in the Ministry of Magic will believe it? I might as well tell you that any magical animal that intentionally hurts wizards, especially young wizards, will have its head chopped off."

Loren glanced at Draco and sighed that he was indeed the representative of Slytherin. He was full of sarcasm and provocation, quite like Professor Snape.

"You're talking nonsense!" Harry retorted hotly.

Ron patted his arm and whispered in an obscure tone, "It's not nonsense. My father has told me about many such cases. If the victims pursued the case, the animals that committed the crime would indeed be dealt with. The trials were only won after Mr. Newt introduced the "Magical Creatures Protection Act."

Hearing him confirm this statement, Hagrid's tears fell down in big drops, and he was almost breathless due to the pressure of self-blame and guilt. Although this half-blood giant was usually heartless, he was sincere to animals.

Hermione had an angry expression on her face, and she moved her lips restlessly, wanting to say something.

Loren calmly squeezed her hand to stop her from participating.

Hermione gritted her teeth, glared at him, and began to pinch back with her white and tender hands. Seeing Loren grimacing in pain, she relaxed her strength and rubbed him gently.

Although Harry was sad, he was not frightened by the bad news. After a while, his eyes lit up and he suddenly remembered something. He said in surprise, "We can send Buckbeak away, just like we sent Norbert away!"

"Nobert?" Hagrid stopped crying, his small black eyes looked a little dazed.

Ron also reacted and cheered in surprise: "Yes! Norbert!"

Draco smiled coldly and poured cold water on them again: "Hippogriffs are not dragons. They are worthless and no one will adopt them. Moreover, these beasts will be recorded in the files of the Ministry of Magic. It is illegal to keep them without permission!"

Harry's smile froze on his face and slowly fell.

Ron quickly came up with an idea: "We can send them away, back to the depths of the Forbidden Forest, where wizards can't find them!"

"No." Hagrid had a sad face and sobbed and muttered, "These poor little guys are too weak. They will be eaten by other creatures if they are sent to the depths of the Forbidden Forest. Without my help, it will be difficult for them to live well outside the Forbidden Forest."

brat……

Remembering that the Hippogriff was as big as a lion and had huge wings, Loren and Hermione fell silent.

But if you think about it carefully, it seems to make some sense. After all, the Acromantula, the Giant Monster... these are all 5X level dangerous animals, and the Hippogriff is only 3X, which is not enough.

"We can go find Dumbledore."

"This is legal and compliant. Dumbledore has no control over the Ministry of Magic."

"Poor Buckbeak, it's all my fault... wuwu..."

Harry, Ron and Hagrid went through all their ideas, but in the end they couldn't think of a way to save Buckbeak. The three of them sat together dejectedly, looking sad.

Seeing this, Draco smiled sincerely for the first time tonight. He said gently, "I can ask Parkinson to issue a letter of apology and let the poor beast - the Hippogriff - go."

The corners of Loren's eyes twitched, and he couldn't help but reveal an expression of watching a good show.

It’s finally here, tonight’s great show.

He knew Draco wouldn't talk nonsense.

After not seeing him for a summer vacation, this guy has learned how to lay the groundwork, to make a nest before casting the bait... Lucius must have secretly given him extra lessons.

Harry and the other two looked at Draco blankly.

"Would you be so kind?" Harry looked alert.

Ron's eyes moved between him and Loren. Thinking back, Malfoy had indeed helped them because of Loren, and it seemed that this was more than once.

Then this time...

Draco smiled and said, "Of course there are conditions."