Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Philosopher's Stone?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow, looking quite interested.
"Is it the kind Mr. Nicolas Flamel made...? Hogwarts has something like that hidden away?"
"Don't ask, Kyle, I won't tell you." Hagrid said sternly, "It's top secret, not something little wizards like you should know."
"Secret, huh..."
Kyle shrugged, nonchalantly, "In that case, I won't ask."
Hagrid suddenly paused, surprised that Kyle gave up so easily; Harry had pestered him for ages before.
The two chatted for a while longer, but Kyle seemed genuinely uninterested in the Philosopher's Stone, never mentioning it again.
Hagrid suddenly sighed, and subconsciously said, "Honestly, I wish Harry could be like you."
"Potter? What happened to him?"
"Nothing, nothing..." Hagrid quickly shook his head and said, "I mean, he was just here too."
"That's a good thing, Hagrid." Kyle said with a smile, "It proves he cares about you too."
"Yes..." Hagrid nodded.
It was indeed a nice feeling to be cared for, but it would be even better if Harry's curiosity were lessened, and he didn't ask about Fluffy and the Philosopher's Stone every time he saw him.
"By the way, when did Potter arrive?" Kyle asked.
"About an hour ago." Hagrid thought for a moment and said, "They only had one class this morning, so they came a little early."
"Them?"
"Hermione and Ron too." Hagrid said, "The three of them have been together a lot lately."
As he spoke, Hagrid stood up, stirred the pot a few more times with his spoon, and this time he scooped up a little and tasted it.
This made Kyle's stomach churn, but he forced himself to endure the discomfort and said, "By the way, Hagrid, has anything strange happened in the Forbidden Forest lately?"
"The Forbidden Forest?"
Hagrid, holding his spoon, pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't know. I haven't been inside these past few days because of what happened to Fluffy.
Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, it just suddenly occurred to me,"
Kyle said. "The person who used dark magic on Fluffy obviously had some intention, but after alerting Professor Dumbledore, he certainly can't do anything to Fluffy anymore, so I'm a little worried he might target the Forbidden Forest."
"You mean, he might also harm the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid was startled, and the spoon in his hand clattered to the ground.
"This is just a guess," Kyle said calmly. "After all, there are many dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest—weren's men, giant spiders, or unicorns…"
"If they suddenly go berserk and run out of the Forbidden Forest, it would have a significant impact on Hogwarts."
Hagrid picked up a spoon from the ground and paced back and forth. After a long while, he said solemnly, "You're right. I'll go check out the Forbidden Forest in a bit."
"Be careful," Kyle reminded him. "A wizard who can use dark magic on Fluffy is probably as powerful as the professor. Be careful when you go to the Forbidden Forest."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
Hagrid subconsciously touched his little pink umbrella, walked to the shelf in front of the house, picked up a stone bow hanging there, and brandished it a couple of times.
In the Forbidden Forest, this thing was much more useful than magic.
"But you're wrong about one thing, Kyle."
Hagrid put the stone bow back on the shelf and said with a smile, "Unicorns aren't dangerous. They're pure and gentle magical creatures with a very simple attack method. Even if they suddenly go berserk, they're unlikely to hurt anyone.
Just be careful not to get gored by their horns."
"That's hard to say," Kyle retorted. "Don't forget Professor Kettleburn. He went to St. Mungo's last summer after being gored in the stomach by a unicorn..."
"Ah..." Hagrid was momentarily speechless.
He wanted to say that Professor Kettleburn was an exception, because no normal person would try to hug a unicorn's head when it's angry.
According to Professor Kettleburn, he was comforting the unicorn, trying to calm it down.
Hagrid still didn't quite understand this explanation.
He didn't know if the unicorn calmed down, but Professor Kettleburn was quite calm during the treatment... even after he fainted.
"And… unicorns don't just have that horn as an attack tool," Kyle continued. "Don't forget its blood is deadly too. What if it runs into a crowd and explodes, splattering everyone with blood?
It doesn't even need to drink it; just a sip is enough… that kind of curse is hard to remove."
"Huh?" Hagrid was speechless again.
This was even more absurd than Professor Kettleburn's outburst.
A unicorn exploding on the spot… how could that be?
"Don't forget Fluffy, Hagrid,"
Kyle said earnestly. "He could even bring himself to harm such a cute three-headed dog, let alone a unicorn."
"Ah… yes, you're right."
Hagrid's expression slowly turned serious, and he nodded solemnly. "I'll keep an eye out for those unicorns; I happen to know where they frequent."
Kyle stayed a little longer before hurriedly saying goodbye to Hagrid and returning to the castle.
Mainly, the smell wafting from the pot was getting stronger, and Kyle was afraid that staying any longer would make him throw up his lunch.
The afternoon class was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
When Professor Quirrell entered the classroom, everyone noticed the bandage on his arm.
"Professor, are you injured?" someone asked.
"A little... a minor injury," Professor Quirrell stammered. "While watching Quidditch... I don't know who kicked me off the stands, and I broke my arm..."
"But Professor, that was a few days ago," someone else said. "I broke my arm in flight class last year and went to the infirmary; Madam Pomfrey set it in a second."
"That's different..." Professor Quirrell said, his face flushed. "It's because... I'm cursed by a vampire... it's hard to recover from..."
"But Professor, didn't you say last time that the vampire's curse only makes you afraid of the wind?"
"Maybe... I forgot to mention that..."
Quirrell seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further. He ignored the other young wizards' questions and forcefully shifted the topic to the lesson.
Today's lesson was on how to identify and deal with Red Hats.
It was a troublesome creature that resembled a fairy; its tracks could be found wherever there was bloodshed. They typically lurked in castle dungeons and trenches of battlefield ruins, waiting to ambush lost travelers.
However, Professor Quirrell seemed unable to find a Red Hat, so he used a large lizard as a substitute.
That lizard was a veteran actor in Defense Against the Dark Arts class; it had even played Hinkpunk last time, and could easily be considered a teaching assistant.
"Suppose… this is a Red Hat…"
Professor Quirrell, supporting the lizard on his shoulder, began to stammer as he read from the book.
[End of the chapter]