Drip, drip——
The sun had climbed high into the sky at some point, its constant light and heat causing the pristine white ground to sparkle.
The sunlight reflecting into the cabin made the dim little wooden house bright. Under the eaves, water droplets from melting icicles gathered into a clear puddle on the ground.
"...When I returned to the castle the next day and heard about it, and then saw that Forbidden Forest with my own eyes, you three can probably imagine how shocked I was!"
The roaring fire in the hearth dried the water in the kettle. Hagrid quickly got up, grabbed the hot handle, and pushed the door open. A crackling sound immediately echoed outside. Soon, he returned, carrying a kettle filled with crushed ice. When he found that the three people in the room still had stiff expressions and slightly agape mouths, Hagrid couldn't help but laugh.
"Looks like you really enjoyed that story?"
"Enjoyed?"
Ron sprang up with a whoosh. His ears were beet red as he excitedly shouted at Harry, "Why did no one in my family ever tell me? Oh, alright, maybe Bill and Charlie did, but I forgot. Don't look at me like that, Hermione, I was only six then, you wouldn't remember either. Anyway,"
Ron then looked at Harry, gasping, and shouted,
"Can you believe it, Harry, he was only in his fifth year then, about Percy's age today. If someone told me Percy could go head-to-head with Headmaster Dumbledore, I'd probably laugh at him until graduation!"
Harry grimaced. He understood what Ron meant.
"Has anyone ever done that, Hagrid?"
Harry's voice was a little too high-pitched. He felt his blood boiling, as if he himself had fought Dumbledore. Although, he knew he would never stand against that venerable Headmaster.
"Don't even think about it, Harry!"
Hagrid let out a chuckle,
"No young wizard in their fifth year could... well, maybe some could, but he didn't do that. Anyway, let alone underage wizards in the school, even in the entire British wizarding world, you won't find many who can contend with the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever had!"
Hagrid's voice was full of pride, but you had to admit, he was speaking the truth.
"Quiet down, you two!"
Hermione, also deeply moved, loudly stopped Harry and Ron, who were a bit overly excited. Of course, she had to admit she was excited too. She never expected that the handsome, scholarly young wizard she met at the Hospital Wing last night had such a glorious 'record'!
"What happened next, Hagrid? Your story isn't finished!"
Hermione tightly clutched Harry's Invisibility Cloak, glaring at Hagrid with amber cat-like eyes. "How did they deal with him? I mean, Mr. Amos-ta Brazen?"
Harry and Ron immediately quieted down, eagerly waiting for Hagrid to answer their questions.
"Later... let me think,"
Hagrid stroked his bushy beard with his sausage-like fingers,
"They gave him a whole semester of detention, and then deducted two hundred points from Slytherin House. However, Headmaster Dumbledore added four hundred points to him not long after. That almost secured the House Cup for Slytherin that year."
"Four hundred points!"
Harry exclaimed. Last year, they saved the Philosopher's Stone from Quirrell and Voldemort, which was almost the most glorious achievement he had since entering school, but Dumbledore only gave them one hundred seventy points, of which, only a measly sixty points were attributed to him!
"What was Headmaster Dumbledore thinking!"
Although there wasn't much to compare, Harry still felt a bit unbalanced.
"That goes without saying, Harry!"
Hermione raised her eyebrows, a confident smile on her lips, as if she had seen through everything.
"They gave him a semester of detention and deducted points because Mr. Brazen violated school rules by sneaking into the Forbidden Forest at night and attacking his classmates with very powerful magic. Oh, although there was a reason for it, he was given four hundred points because he saved all the young wizards of the Gryffindor team, as well as Bill."
"Saved?"
Ron's face showed a unique confusion. "Weren't they knocked out by Brazen?"
"Don't be silly, Ron,"
Ron's slowness was not unexpected. Hermione explained impatiently, "Think about it, Ron. If Mr. Brazen hadn't gone into the Forbidden Forest that night, who would have encountered that mysterious dark wizard?"
Hiss!
Ron instantly gasped, his eyes wide with understanding.
"It was Charlie, and everyone else on the Gryffindor team at the time!"
Hermione nodded, saying with satisfaction, "I'm glad you finally understand, Ron. Including Bill, he saved eight lives. Hmm, fifty points each!"
"So that means, Hagrid, Dumbledore confirmed that a dark wizard really broke into Hogwarts, and he caught that person?"
Harry was more alert than Ron and Hermione. He suddenly thought of this.
"That's right, he confirmed it."
Mentioning this, Hagrid's smile faded, his expression solemn.
"That night, after Bill woke up, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared. He told Dumbledore that it wasn't Amos-ta who cast the Killing Curse, but the dark wizard secretly hidden. Dumbledore personally examined every spell Mr. Brazen cast that night and confirmed this.
Later, Headmaster Dumbledore carefully examined that battlefield. You know, Harry, with Headmaster Dumbledore's skill, he could almost reconstruct the entire battle. But unfortunately, he searched for a long time and couldn't find that audacious dark wizard. For that, I barely slept in my bed for two months, patrolling the Forbidden Forest every night."
Hagrid blinked, saying to the three, who now understood the seriousness of the situation,
"This matter caused a huge stir at the time. The Ministry of Magic also sent elite Aurors into the Forbidden Forest to search, but it also ended in nothing. To prevent panic from spreading, Dumbledore and Fudge both decided to try to suppress the spread of this attack. That's why most people haven't really heard much about it since."
The atmosphere became solemn. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, wondering if that dark wizard was another one of Voldemort's pawns, like Quirrell.
"That's why I said, Ron, you must have heard of him--"
Hagrid said with a chuckle,
"Professor Snape released Amos-ta Brazen during the second year's Quidditch final. Before that, he had to serve detention every night and every weekend in Snape's office.
Charlie's Gryffindor team was very strong. They originally had a chance to win the championship again. But when Snape brought Amos-ta Brazen to the Quidditch pitch, oh, hehe, you can imagine how Priyan and Filloa would have reacted. Honestly, they didn't even flee on their brooms, which was quite a feat for Gryffindor."
"It seems Slytherin occasionally produces someone remarkable, after all—"
Ron muttered softly.
"There are plenty of famous Slytherin wizards, Ron,"
Hagrid chuckled. He looked at the sun outside and realized it was getting late, already time to prepare lunch.
"The story's over. You three little ones, do you want to have lunch here?"
"Oh!"
Hermione snapped back to reality, letting out a horrified cry,
"Damn it, Madam Pomfrey, I actually forgot the time!"
She immediately threw the Invisibility Cloak over herself, leaving only her head exposed.
"Next time, Hagrid. I have to stay in the Hospital Wing recently!"
Saying that, she rushed out. Harry and Ron clearly also preferred the school's food. They quickly got up to follow Hermione.
"Oh, right."
Hagrid, somewhat disappointed, suddenly remembered something. He called out to Harry's rapidly retreating back,
"You three haven't told me why you were asking about Brazen!"
"Mr. Brazen is back at school!"
Harry didn't look back, only waved his hand over his head. "He's now the investigator for the Chamber of Secrets incident!"
Clang, splash!
A startled Hagrid leaned against the door of the cabin. The cabin, struck by the impact, shook violently. The melted snow on the roof consequently rustled down, burying Fang.
"Chamber of Secrets investigator? From the Ministry of Magic?"
Hagrid's face instantly turned ghastly pale. He leaned against the doorframe and whispered,
"That's impossible. Dumbledore, oh, no, I have to figure this out!"
After a moment, Hagrid slammed the door shut with a bang and, ignoring Fang's furious barking, strode towards the castle without looking back.
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