[Note: Read up to Chapter - 182 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"You lot sneaking out of your dorms at night, wandering into the Forbidden Forest for a midnight stroll!"
Snape's voice was sharp and cutting. "And following this great oaf into the woods? You were just discussing it, weren't you? I'll be reporting this straight to Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid!"
"And you…" His black eyes swivelled and pinned Malfoy. "I can't believe you've got yourself tangled up in this nonsense. What was that I heard just now? Tipping them off? Since when did you cosy up to this lot?"
He sneered. "No matter. You'll be punished right along with them."
Then his gaze slid over to Aris, and the corners of his mouth curled into something between a smirk and a snarl.
"Well, well. Master Shafiq. I didn't expect you'd last an entire term before ending up in my hands. Nothing clever to say now, is there?"
The atmosphere in Hagrid's hut dropped colder than the dungeons. All the young wizards lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Not that they had done wrong—well, not in their eyes—but even on a normal day, facing Snape was enough to tie their stomachs in knots.
Harry and Ron in particular looked like they'd swallowed vinegar. Between the two of them, Snape had stripped well over a hundred house points last term—nearly a third of Gryffindor's total.
One could only imagine how gutted Harry and Ron were at that moment. If the Gryffindor lot woke up tomorrow and found all their house points gone, the two of them didn't even dare picture the scene.
"Professor Snape, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick!" Aris frowned slightly, then let a smile slip across his face. "We were simply invited over by Hagrid for a visit. Isn't that right, Hagrid?"
"Guests? At night? Breaking school rules for a midnight tea party, were you?" Snape's sneer grew sharper.
"Er—I did invite them here," Hagrid blurted nervously. "I just wanted them to see—"
Before he could spill everything, Aris cut him off smoothly. "To see his new batch of biscuits. They're actually rather decent. Would you like to try one yourself, Professor Snape?"
Aris picked up one of the rock-hard biscuits from the table and held it out politely.
"You'd best keep that for yourselves," Snape said with open disdain, giving the biscuit a look as if it were poisoned. His voice dropped colder.
"And as I said—I'll be reporting everything that happened here tonight to Professor Dumbledore. Oh, and one more thing… I heard mention of a dragon?"
Luckily, Malfoy showing up had put Aris on guard, and he'd already summoned Iris back into the pet space. As for the baby fire-drake, it was now tucked safely away inside his storage box.
Though it was called a "box," it wasn't small at all. Aris used it to stash experimental materials, and thanks to a traceless extension charm and a few other nifty enchantments, living creatures could survive inside for a short while—rather like that suitcase old Newt Scamander lugged about.
Of course, Aris's little box wasn't half as fancy as Newt's, but it was more than enough to keep a baby dragon hidden.
"What was that you said… dragon?" Aris blinked at Snape in mock astonishment, then swivelled his gaze towards Harry and the others, feigning shock.
Under their bewildered stares, he suddenly exclaimed, "A dragon?! Here?!"
He threw up his hands theatrically. "Professor Snape, surely you don't mean to say a dragon's roaming about Hogwarts? If that's the case, are we in danger of being roasted alive?"
"Best track down that dragon sharpish and subdue it, otherwise it could cause no end of chaos… right, Harry?"
"..." Harry went quiet for a beat, clearly still catching up. But soon enough he nodded quickly. "That's right. How could there be a dragon here? If there is one, it must be lurking in the Forbidden Forest, yeah? We were only chatting about it earlier… maybe there really is a dragon in there!"
As he spoke, Harry shot Aris a sidelong look. He'd never seen a wizard spin a lie so smoothly—it left him wondering if this Aris was the same one he knew at all. The contrast was unreal.
Ronald, Hagrid, and Hermione all wore baffled expressions too, but chose to keep schtum, especially Hagrid. Only now had it sunk in that he'd nearly blown Carrot's cover.
If Snape cottoned on to the truth, things would get messy fast. Who knew, the Ministry of Magic might even turn up tomorrow to cart the little fire-drake away!
Realising just how close he'd come to disaster, Hagrid felt nothing but relief. The grateful look he gave Aris said it all.
"That's enough—quit faffing about with your rubbish acting!" Snape suddenly snapped, then fixed Aris with a pointed stare. "I know Dumbledore's biased towards you… but this time, I doubt he'll let you swan about as you please."
With that, he began rifling through the room. Clearly, he'd had solid word there was a dragon tucked away somewhere—otherwise he wouldn't be so hell-bent on turning the place upside down.
But Aris had hidden the little box far too well. It now lay safely in his system space, where Snape could never sniff it out. Truth be told, if living creatures could have been stored directly in that system space, he wouldn't have bothered with the box at all. Nothing was safer than that.
"How can there be nothing? That doesn't add up…" Snape muttered darkly, prowling about. His eyes swept the table once more before he snatched up a small fragment of eggshell, holding it aloft as he turned to glare at Hagrid with a face like thunder.
"You're not about to tell me this is just an eggshell, are you?" Snape sneered.
"What's the problem, Professor?" Aris asked innocently. "They look like turkey eggs to me. Maybe from the bird Hagrid had at Christmas? He could've roasted them and scoffed the lot."
Once again, Aris stepped in before Hagrid could open his mouth.
"Aris, that's enough!" Snape suddenly barked, his voice sharp as a whip. "Do you take me for a half-wit? Or one of those idiots who fancies himself a potioneer after thumbing through a couple of books? You think I can't tell the difference between a dragon's shell and a chicken's? Don't test my patience—hand over the blasted dragon!"
Aris frowned, sighing inwardly.
Brilliant. As expected of Snape—he hadn't been fooled for a second. The Hogwarts Potions Master's eye was too sharp; one glance and he'd pegged it as a dragon's eggshell.
But even so, Aris had no intention of giving up the hatchling. He knew Snape would never find it, not when it was hidden safely in his system space. Without evidence, what could he do? A lie without proof was just hot air.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Aris said coolly, "I don't know what you're on about. Yes, we broke school rules by sneaking out, I admit that much. But a dragon? I haven't seen one. So please, don't slander me."
He sat down deliberately, as though waiting for whoever set him up to step forward. His calm expression was infuriating.
Snape's face twisted with rage. He was so close to snapping that he nearly drew his wand on the spot…
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 182 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]