Chapter 83. Excited Hagrid
A crescent moon hung high above, and the stars flickered on a black eiderdown of sky.
It was now deep into the night.
Duncan opened his eyes and turned his head to the side.
A faint snore came from nearby: Neville was sleeping soundly.
Duncan lifted the quilt gently, got up, and took out the Invisibility Potion.
Before he had even pulled the stopper, two little eyes lit up at his side.
"Where are you going at this hour?" Pro shot over from beside the pillow, blinking in curiosity.
"Why aren't you asleep? Why meddle in so much?" Duncan lowered his voice, flicking Pro back with a finger.
"I'm coming with you!" Pro braced its head against Duncan's finger, paddling with its short little legs and steadfastly crawling toward him.
"All right — but you have to behave. Don't pop out and run around." Duncan said helplessly.
He stuffed Pro into the pocket of his school uniform.
He hadn't taken Pro out to play for quite a while anyway; this could count as letting it get some air.
"No problem!" Pro shrank down in the pocket and promised at once.
Duncan pulled the stopper, tilted the bottle, and poured a little silvery liquid into his hand.
The liquid quickly spread to the rest of him.
After a few seconds, it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him — an icy sensation — and a thin film with a faint gleam covered him.
"Is that all I need to do?" Duncan raised his hand and looked, murmuring in some doubt.
In his own sight, apart from the thin film on him, nothing else had changed — his body had not vanished from his view.
But when Pro poked its head out of the pocket, it got a huge fright.
It saw itself hanging in mid-air — Duncan was gone!
Panicking, it asked, "Duncan, don't scare me. Where are you? Why have you disappeared?"
"Aren't you right there in my pocket? What are you looking for?" Duncan looked down at Pro, who was peering all around.
"Ah?" Pro followed the sound, but there was only the dim ceiling — no one at all.
"I took an Invisibility Potion, so you can't see me," Duncan said.
He was very satisfied with the potion's effect.
Pro's eyes lit up, and its voice got much louder. "There's a potion like that? Give me a little too!"
"As if! You just stay put in my pocket." Duncan pressed a hand over Pro's head and pushed it back down.
If Pro really turned invisible, the students of Hogwarts would probably all wake up in the morning to find the Galleons on them gone.
"So stingy…" Pro said in disgust.
Duncan ignored it, draped his school robes over the case, tiptoed to the door, and slowly pushed it open, heading out into the common room.
He had been at Hogwarts for so long, but at night he was usually busy inside the case and had never come out.
Now, looking at the grey corridor, the old furnishings, the flickering oil lamps on both sides, and the ghosts drifting by from time to time — it was exactly like the terrifying scenes set up in horror films, but with an extra touch of realism.
"If they turned this place into a haunted house during the holidays, Muggles would surely pay to come," Duncan thought to himself, wandering toward the castle's main doors.
On the way, Duncan ran into Argus Filch and Mrs Norris on patrol, coming from the other end of the corridor.
As Mrs Norris passed by him, she lowered her head and sniffed twice, as if she'd caught his trail by scent.
But before she could examine further, there was suddenly a clatter from the stairs leading upward in the distance.
It sounded like someone had knocked over some metal object, which rolled a few times across the floor.
"Quick, my dear — someone's over there. Must be another rascal sneaking out. Let's go and see!" Filch suddenly became excited.
Even his limping steps sped up, as if he wished he could fly over immediately.
Mrs Norris yowled and sped after him.
"Run, Filch is coming!" came another shout from the stairs.
It sounded rather like Ron's voice.
"Ron and Harry? What are they doing out so late?" Duncan was curious, but he didn't follow.
It was nearly the time he and Hagrid had agreed upon.
He still had to hurry to pick up the Acromantulas and finish the task.
After that little episode, Duncan slipped out of the castle without trouble and reached the door of Hagrid's unlit hut.
He looked around to make sure no one was there, then raised his hand and knocked, saying softly, "Hagrid, it's me. Open up!"
The door quickly opened a crack.
Hagrid's head poked out eagerly, but the empty doorstep left him a bit at a loss.
"Did I hear wrong? Am I so sleepy I'm hallucinating?" Hagrid muttered, puzzled.
"You didn't hear wrong. I used an Invisibility Potion. Let me in." Duncan pushed against Hagrid and went inside.
He found the kettle and tapped its side with his wand.
The water turned into mist, which drifted over and settled on him, making him visible again.
"Ha! That potion of yours is brilliant!" Hagrid exclaimed in admiration.
His gaze then dropped to the case Duncan had set on the floor.
He seemed to think of something, and his eyes gradually grew excited.
"Is your case like Mr Scamander's? Have you put all sorts of magical creatures inside? Can I go in for a look?"
Duncan looked at the hand waving in front of his face — the palm was about as big as his head — and felt he couldn't say no.
"Sure," Duncan nodded, then looked around the room. "Where are those few Acromantulas?"
"I've hidden 'em away. Snape's taken a fancy to 'em, and I'm afraid he'll come nick 'em when I'm not here." Hagrid chuckled.
He went to the bedside, bent down, hooked a thick floorboard up from a corner, and levered it open.
Below was a pit.
Inside, besides the cage holding the Acromantulas, there were a few things that looked rather valuable.
No wonder Hagrid's hut looked so shabby and yet he had the money to buy all sorts of things — turns out he hid the good stuff!
Duncan raised an eyebrow, thinking so to himself.
Hagrid lifted the cage out, carefully set the plank back in place, then turned and asked happily, "How do we get in?"
Duncan opened the case and pointed at the pitch-black entrance. "Just jump straight in."
Hagrid looked at the case's mouth — about as wide as his thigh — and frowned. "It's so small. Can I fit?"
"Even an Erumpent can squeeze in. What are you afraid of? Just jump," Duncan said.
"Erumpent?" Hagrid's eyes widened considerably.
Before Duncan could urge him again, he gave a high hop and dropped toward the case.
His lower half went in smoothly, but his enormous belly got stuck.
"Duncan, give us a hand!" Hagrid flailed, calling out in a panic.
"Got it, don't rush." Duncan pressed both hands against Hagrid and heaved for quite a while, until at last the case, rather unwillingly, swallowed Hagrid down.
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