They had just come out of the Pokémon daycare and already Magnus could see a small crowd of students had been attracted by the commotion going on inside Hagrid's hut.
Harry was right, it was already too late to wish Hagrid could handle the incident without attracting attention.
Even worse, Draco Malfoy and a group of Slytherin first years, of course which involved Crabbe and Goyle, his usual gang, were trying to draw nearer in an attempt to see if they could actually see what was happening.
"I think he is screwed, mate," Fred said. Magnus could detect the tension in his voice.
Hermione herself did not look quite well.
After what the three of them had undergone, they were best fitted to know that Hagrid did not stand a good chance if this matter reached the Ministry's ears. And with Malfoy here, Magnus was willing to bet his kidneys that it would.
"For hell's sake, what did he do with his Pokéball?" George asked. "We gave him one, didn't we?"
"Probably it ate it," Lee answered. "It would be the first thing I ate if I was the Deino. If every time I came out of it only to get pulled back into a confined world."
"That may be it..." Fred mused. "Probably we should have updated the internal environment, bro. That way the pokémons can be more comfortable when restricted inside."
There was no time for that.
What they could have done and what they couldn't did not matter now. What mattered was whether this incident could be contained before it blew out of proportion.
Which is why Magnus was wondering why Hagrid was taking his sweet time.
He had George's Pokéball and all he had to do was summon the Pokémon into the ball. But up to now they could still feel a commotion inside the hut, like the two of them were having a life and death duel.
"Who's willing to bet the Deino has already had half of Hagrid's foot?" George asked.
"There's nothing funny about that," Hermione said. "And is there really nothing we can do to move the crowd away from here... I mean if something happens and the Zweilous breaks out..." she faltered.
Magnus could hear the tension in her voice.
"Funny now? If the Zweilous breaks out it means Hagrid is gone, Hermione. You have quite great thinking," Fred said, patting her back.
"Fred... a minute," Magnus called, pulling him back. "Hermione is right, we have to distract the crowd."
At this point the least they could hope was that the teacher who would come to see whatever the commotion was would be a friendlier person, or anyone other than Snape or Filch.
"What can I possibly do, mate?"
"Anything," Magnus said, while simultaneously trying to think of a brilliant idea. "Use the Espeon."
"What?" Fred exclaimed.
"The Espeon... he knows your thoughts. Just think of something brilliant to drive them away. I mean, most students already fear Espeon for what he did to me. Use that fear."
"But mate, what if..."
"He won't harm them, Fred... he is reading your thoughts, right? Think of something mischievous but scary at the same time. Just not something harmful."
Already a grin was forming on Fred's lips.
Almost immediately the Espeon jumped from Fred's hands and landed with a soft pat on the grassy ground.
Gog fell right behind his friend, barking like hell. They both went towards the gathered group of students.
There was a hesitation for a moment. Then when people noticed the fully evolved Eevee which they had been waiting to see in the first place, they went into panic mode.
News had spread throughout the school of what the Pokémon had done to Magnus, which had put him in the hospital for days.
Out of curiosity, some of the students were willing to even wait and get a better look at the popular Pokémon. But Fweg was not having it. There was no sign of friendliness in his behaviour.
It jumped on the back of one student before transitioning to the shoulders of another, all the while barking in a mixture of playful and threatening body language.
The confusion worked. Most of the students scattered.
Fweg followed, pushing them further and further towards the castle. Except Draco and his group.
Malfoy stood stubbornly between Crabbe and Goyle, who clearly looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Hey Potter, I told you I would find out your stupid friend's secret soon enough. Seems the day has come. He must have an illegal Pokémon inside there. How good do you think the Minister is going to take it when my father tells him?"
"He is going to see your father as an idiot, won't he? I mean the Minister has been here himself and seen nothing of the sort. Please, run off and send a letter to daddy," George answered.
"Perhaps I will," Malfoy answered gleefully. "Maybe I will also tell him your little Weasley brother helped him with it. That would involve your peasant father in the matter. If I'm lucky, he might lose his poor job at the Ministry. Think of that. What would..."
But Draco never got to finish. Espeon had already doubled back.
And this time, at full speed, he landed in a sort of shove on Draco's back.
His next word escaped his mouth in the form of a gasp as he stumbled forward and let out a scared yelp as he turned to see his assaulter.
"Get him off me... Get him off or my father will hear of this."
"Careful. Don't pee in your robes, Malfoy. What were you saying again?" Fred asked.
But Malfoy was cowering back now as Espeon began to threaten him from the front. There was no longer a grain of courage left in those eyes. With another gasp of terror and curses, Malfoy gave in and began to run.
Crabbe and Goyle were way off already, having finally given up staying with their ringleader.
"See, no harm done," Fred mused. "Brilliant, right?"
Considering everything, Magnus decided it had gone better than expected. The Pokémon had shown a lot of restraint.
All the while he hadn't used any of his newly gained abilities, like telekinesis. Even when he had landed on Draco's back.
That must have taken a lot of restraint, seeing that Fred must have felt quite angry at the guy for insulting his family.
"This is wrong," Hermione said. "This is exactly what we were warned about in the first place. We can't use the pokémons to intimidate other students."
"What is she talking about?" George asked. "So you think it was right what Malfoy was doing? He was going to expose Hagrid."
"I know," Hermione said, "but that might bring more trouble to Espeon. Have you thought about that? If more students go report the incident, that your Pokémon was aggressive towards them, how well do you think that Ministry lady will take it? They might decide that your Pokémon cannot get along with others and confiscate it."
Fred now looked panicked, and Espeon quickly jogged back to him.
"Hey boy," he said as the Pokémon jumped into his arms.
The Eevee had become quite big after its transformation that it wasn't the normal Pokémon they used to carry around. Even the small gentle jumping movement pushed Fred back out of sheer strength.
"It was the lesser evil, Hermione," Magnus added.
"Does anyone want to go and check on Hagrid?" Lee asked.
Everything had suddenly gone quiet in the hut, but Hagrid had not yet shown up.
The silence was more threatening than the noise they had to endure previously. Magnus was about to head towards the hut when the door opened and Hagrid poked his head out.
Hagrid scanned the ground and on seeing the small group sighed in relief.
"Got him all right. I got him."
Just looking at him, there was nothing all right about it.
Clearly getting the Pokémon had cost him a great deal.
Hagrid would clearly have yet another visit with Madame Pomfrey and most likely Dumbledore.