Madam Pomfrey didn't ask many questions, but when Kroun was moved horizontally into the hospital wing , the head nurse frowned deeply.
There was no hope; one of the poor man's legs had been bitten off by Cerberus , left bleeding and torn apart; it was truly a gruesome sight.
"Move aside, everyone get out."
Madam Pomfrey led everyone gathered around the bedout of the Hospital Wing . She cleaned the wound on Kroun's thigh with a smoky, foul-smelling purple liquid, then poked the wound with her wand . But the wound showed no sign of healing.
The head nurse had a very grim expression on her face.
" Cerberus from Greece bit Kroun !" Albert stood aside, and after Madame Pomfrey finished speaking, he whispered to the head nurse, " Cerberus's fangs can be venomous."
Yes, Albert had guessed correctly. Cerberus's fangs were venomous, and that was the main reason Kroun's leg wound wouldn't heal .
" Cerberus?"
Madam Pomfrey watched Albert walk toward the door, thenexamined the wound on Kroun's leg again. She thought Albert had no reason to lie, and her face instantly darkened.
Kroun's wound was indeed caused by a bite.Although he had never treated a mage bitten by a Cerberus before, it was possible the venom in its fangs was preventing the wound from healing.
This situation was very similar to a werewolf bite .
If that were truly the case, it would be very problematic.
Madame Pomfrey hurried away and soon returned with a very foul-smelling ointment;she applied it to Kroun's woundand bandaged it.
As soon as Albert stepped out of the hospital wing , he noticed everyone gathered together, quietly discussing what had just happened.
Everyone already knew that Cerberus stood atop a trapdoor and was clearly guarding something .
As for what he was hiding, nobody knew. Everyone speculated that Headmaster Dumbledore might have planted something extremely valuable inside the school.
Ultimately, for someone wanting to keep a secret , Hogwarts School was probably the safest place after Gringotts .
Before they could reach the end of the corridor outside the hospital wing ,they saw an angry Professor McGonagall walking toward them.
Then everyone was taken to Professor McGonagall's office .
"Now tell me, what exactly happened?!" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with icy anger, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"Mr. Anderson , please speak first."
"Actually, the situation is like this..."
Albert stated quite clearly that he had simply encountered Truman at the entrance to the hallway while passing through . He said that he had learned several upperclassmenhad entered the forbidden hallway and hadn't been out for a long time,he followed Truman inside to see if they were in danger and needed help
Fred and the others' facial expressions confirmed this, especially since they had rescued the former Governor . Kroun emerged from the monster's mouth.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall , it's just as Albert said ."
Truman , at all costs, effortlessly continued to shift the blame onto those older students. Why did all three of thementer the forbidden corridor first ?
If you don't take the blame, who will?
"Why didn't you heed the warning?!" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with undisguised anger. " Didn't you hear what Headmaster Dumbledore said at the Welcome Banquet ?"
"Mr. Pruett paid the price for this and almost lost his life."
Finally, Professor McGonagall lectured everyone, and all three houses had ten points deducted for being banned from entering the hallway on the fourth floor.
Of course, Albert and the others each earned five points for handling the situation calmly and rescuing Kroun .
Professor McGonagall also ordered everyone not to go into the forbidden corridor again.
Everyone agreed immediately; whether they would go in the future was a matter for later.
To tell the truth, Albert was somewhat disappointed that he would not receive another special contribution award . Although he knew it would be difficult for him to receive such an award again, he couldn't help but think that Mr. Pruett's life was really not worth much .
As for the insignificant details, he hadn't paid any attention to them.
" What could Dumbledore be hiding at Hogwarts Castle ? And where did they get such a big dog?"
After leaving Professor McGonagall's office, Fred began discussing the subject again with his friends. He felt something burning fiercely within him, something he called a passion for adventure.
"That big dog isn't easy to deal with; the Stupefying spell didn't work very well." Without hesitation, Albert poured a bucket of cold water over the others.
"I think we can defeat him. I mean, you'll definitely find a way to defeat him!" Lee Jordan looked at Albert expectantly .
Not only Lee Jordan , but Fred and George were also looking at him with great curiosity, as if waiting for a definitive answer from Albert .
"Naive, truly naive," Albert said softly. "If Dumbledore were to entrust that big man with guarding his treasure, do you think he would be the only treasure?"
"You mean…"
" I agree that a Cerberus is indeed very dangerous , but for a powerful Sorcerer , defeating it, repelling it, and finding an opportunity to enter through the trapdoor it guards isn't actually that difficult."
"Like you!"
"Just like me!" Albert didn't deny it. He believed that with his abilities, he could defeat Cerberus without using music .
"So what does that matter?"
The three of them fell silent, waiting for Albert's next analysis . Some things sounded more reliable coming from Albert ; this man sometimes made very accurate predictions.
" Why did Headmaster Dumbledore suddenly decide to put that precious treasure in the school? Nothing like that happened last year," Albert asked his first question.
"Do you feel safer at school?" Fred asked without thinking.
"Do you think someone is after that treasure?" George shared the same thought.
"What are you talking about?" Lee Jordan was still confused.
"Yes, it's very likely." Albert nodded, " Do you remember what happened at Gringotts during the summer holidays ?"
"So, the thing at school is the same thing that's in the Gringotts vault?" Fred asked in astonishment.
"There's a high probability," said Albert .
"But the school is very safe," said Lee Jordan .
"Of course I know, but Gringotts is also very safe, yet a Dark Wizard broke into Gringotts and stole something and wasn't caught by the Goblins . What if a Dark Wizard broke into Hogwarts and stole something?" said Albert . "Although the probability is small, if these two things can be linked, then there is such a possibility."
Albert glanced around, and after making sure no one was listening,he whispered, "In any case, this doesn't negate the fact that Headmaster Dumbledore placed something valuable in the school andbroughta dangerous Cerberus to protect it.
"Why do you think these things are connected?" Lee Jordan wanted to say that these were all just Albert's own guesses , but ultimately chose to remain silent.
Albert remarkedmeaningfully,"There are coincidences in the world, but not this many."
None of the three understood, so they had no choice but to listen to Albert's analysis .
Albert posed his second question:"What do you think a precious treasure means to Dumbledore ?"
" Kalleons , precious and valuable magical objects?" Albert shook his head, "No, no, none of that. Headmaster Dumbledore is actually very rich. After all, he 's Britain's greatest wizard and has lived for a century, so it's impossible for him to be poor. So kalleons or so-called precious and valuable objects wouldn't be treasure for him. I suppose Headmaster Dumbledore is certainly not interested in that kind of thing."
"So what do you think is hidden in the school?"
"I don't know," Albert shook his head. "But one thing is certain, that treasure must be extremely valuable."
All three of them listened to Albert's analysis and thought what he said made perfect sense.
"So, when such a precious object is placed in Hogwarts Castle , do you really think there will be a single idiot Cerberus guarding it ?"
"So, are there other protective measures as well?" All three of them immediately understood what Albert meant .
" The professors at the school might know about it, but they don't know what it is. Perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore will tell them that he needs to put a valuable treasure in the school and ask the professors to use their expertise . " Magic to protect it ," Albert continued , "For example, that big dog."
"So you mean that big dog could be a guard dog trained by the Professor ?" Kettleburn from the Care of Magical Creatures class ?
"Hmm, that's a possibility." Albert nodded.
"It's truly incredible how easily you can extract so much information." Fred and George admired Albert 's intelligence .
Even Lee Jordan had to admit it;he wouldn't have understood anythingif he hadn't listened to Albert's analysis point by point
Just think how much time has passed since they first encountered that huge dog!
The group ascended the escalator to the third floor . As Albert pulled aside a tapestry to take the usual shortcut to Gryffindor Tower , they saw two students embracing and passionately kissing right before their eyes.
Albert, pretending he had seen nothing, quietly prepared to back away, butbumped into Fred from behind.
Secondly, he watched the scene with interest, even struggling to keep from laughing out loud.
Alright!
The main characters were Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain , Oliver Wood , and his girlfriend, an older student they didn't know, who shouldn't have been a Gryffindor student.
Albert gestured to all three of them, asking them to leave quietly.
The three of them came to their senses and, along with Albert , smiled and quietly retreated through the secret passage so as not to disturb the couple's meeting.
"I never imagined this!"
As soon as Albert laid the tapestry on the floor, Fred whispered softly . Judging by the pursed lips and happy expression on his face, it was clear he was trying hard to suppress a laugh.
"Okay, don't tease him." Albert said softly, pouting his lips.
"Absolutely not," George replied immediately , chuckling to himself.
"Absolutely fantastic!" Lee Jordan was laughing so hard he couldn't stop.
After walking for a short while, all three of them couldn't help but burst into laughter, much to the surprise of passersby.
Albert turned his gaze away, as if he didn't know any of the three of them.
" Laughing or shouting is forbidden in the hallway !"
A furious voice came from the corner. It was Filch, in a very bad mood . Understandable, as he had spent quite a bit of time cleaning the frog brains on the wall.
"Stop laughing?" Albert looked at Filch , nudged the three of them by the shoulders, and gestured for them to quickly leave to avoid causing trouble for Filch .
" Who is Wood's girlfriend ? Do you know her?"
Wood's findinga girlfriend had greatly distracted the group. Even after returning to the common room, they couldn't steer the conversation back to the topic.
As soon as Albert opened the dormitory door,he saw Tom sunbathing on the balcony . Tom, probably hearing footsteps, turned his head, his ears twitched, and he continued sunbathing there.
"Do you still… still…" George changed the subject after closing the door.
"...are there any other measures to protect that precious treasure?" Albert finished George's sentence .
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
"Of course there are, there might even be more than one." Albert suddenly looked them all up and down and asked, " Are you planning to steal Headmaster Dumbledore's belongings ?"
"We were just curious," Fred mumbled .
"Of course we wouldn't steal Headmaster Dumbledore's belongings ." Lee Jordan nodded, emphasizing his approving tone.
"Even if you wanted to steal it, you probably couldn't," Albert said with a smile. " Do you really think Headmaster Dumbledore would leave his treasure there with just a few security measures and then forget about it? I'm sure that even if you actually managed to get your hands on the treasure hidden under the Headmaster's trapdoor, he'd invite you to a 'tea party' the very next day."
Perhaps in Dumbledore and the other professors' eyes , it was very difficult for any outsider to sneak into Hogwarts School , but they would still be prepared.
"I think this could be a fantastic adventure. If we miss it, we'll definitely regret it for the rest of our lives."
"Yes, yes!"
The trio hoped Albert would join them on this adventure. Their punishment if caught would only be a few points deducted and a school suspension, which didn't bother them much. Furthermore, with Albert's help, the chances of them being caught by the school professors were low.
Ultimately, my roommate was quite trustworthy.
None of the three of them knew that their ideas would be useful to Albert .
In fact, when Albert entered the restricted area on the fourth floor, a series of tasks had already been triggered on the task panel.
Among these, the "Game of Courage" quest required Albert to overcome a series of challenges set by Hogwarts . They had to meet with the professors and find the final hidden treasure. The rewards for the quest were quite generous: 15,000 experience points, 2 skill points, +15 reputation points from each of the three professors, plus Dumbledore's reputation, plus an unknown skill.