The Quidditch match finally ended.
Ron immediately dragged Hagrid over to Harry the moment they spotted him leaving the pitch.
"Thank Merlin you're alright, Harry!"
Hagrid looked genuinely relieved.
"That Malfoy lad did good today," he added honestly. "His father may be a complete git, but there's no denyin' he an' Lucien are both fine boys."
Ron's face twisted instantly.
"All Slytherins are liars," he snapped stubbornly. "Who knows if they were just pretending?"
"I bet Harry's broom was cursed by them in the first place!"
Hagrid frowned immediately.
"Don't be ridiculous! Why would they curse Harry's broom?"
"I'm not lying!" Ron insisted loudly. "Last night we saw Lucien sneaking around the third floor, and Snape was there too!"
"That's impossible."
Hagrid shook his head instinctively.
"With Fluffy there, nobody could get inside."
Harry and Ron froze.
"Fluffy?"
Hagrid nodded proudly.
"That's right! A lovely little creature. Bought him off an Irish wizard last year."
"He's got three heads too! Big fellow."
Hagrid looked extremely pleased while talking about the monstrous Cerberus.
"Professor Dumbledore borrowed him from me to guard the—"
Then suddenly, Hagrid's voice stopped.
His eyes widened in horror.
"Guard what?" Harry asked immediately.
"I shouldn't say anymore!"
Hagrid looked like he wanted to punch himself.
"Don't ask me nothin' else about the third floor! It's top secret!"
"But Hagrid," Harry pressed urgently, "whatever's hidden there, Snape's trying to steal it!"
"And that evil Slytherin too!" Ron added immediately.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Hagrid became visibly irritated.
"Snape's a professor at Hogwarts! An' Lucien's Head of Slytherin! Why would they risk somethin' like that?"
"But we really saw him there!" Ron insisted. "Lucien disappeared on the third floor and Snape showed up right after!"
"Absolutely true," Harry added quietly.
The more the two spoke, the more annoyed Hagrid became.
"Listen ter me, both of yeh!"
"You're meddlin' in things that don't concern yeh, an' that's dangerous!"
"Fluffy's only guardin' somethin' fer Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel—"
Hagrid stopped dead.
Harry blinked.
"Nicolas Flamel?"
"I shouldn't've said that!"
Realizing he had once again revealed too much, Hagrid practically fled from the conversation before Harry or Ron could ask another question.
The two boys stared at each other.
"Nicolas Flamel?"
"Never heard of him."
Both of them looked equally confused.
…
That afternoon, Lucien arrived at Hagrid's hut.
First, he wanted to check how many magical materials Hagrid had accumulated recently.
Second, and more importantly, he needed to confirm Hagrid's patrol route for tonight inside the Forbidden Forest.
Because knowing Voldemort's personality…
If Hagrid encountered him tonight, he'd be lucky to die quickly.
And Hagrid happened to be one of Lucien's most valuable suppliers.
Allowing something to happen to him now would be incredibly inconvenient.
"Woof! Woof!"
To Lucien's surprise, Hagrid's hut was unusually quiet.
Only Fang wandered around outside.
There was no sign of Hagrid anywhere nearby.
"Fang."
Lucien crouched slightly.
"Where's Hagrid?"
Fang immediately grabbed the edge of Lucien's robes and started tugging him toward the hut.
The moment Lucien entered, a heavy smell of alcohol hit him directly.
"L-Lucien… yeh came…"
Hagrid sat slumped in his chair with flushed cheeks. Even beneath his thick beard, the redness from alcohol was obvious.
He nearly fell sideways while trying to stand.
"Sit down… sit down…"
Lucien frowned slightly before helping him back into the chair.
"How much did you drink?"
"Lucien…"
Hagrid hesitated awkwardly.
Then he asked carefully:
"What would yeh do if yeh accidentally revealed a really important secret?"
Lucien immediately understood.
So Hagrid already leaked Nicolas Flamel's name to Harry.
Honestly, anyone with functioning brain cells should realize something was suspicious.
If the information was truly top secret, why would a groundskeeper like Hagrid know about it in the first place?
Dumbledore clearly told him on purpose.
The old man simply understood Hagrid's personality too well.
Lucien remained calm outwardly.
"A secret belonging to someone else?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah… no! I mean… a friend accidentally let somethin' slip…"
"Did your friend reveal it intentionally?"
"No!" Hagrid answered immediately. "He just accidentally said too much…"
Lucien smiled gently.
"Then your friend should probably admit the mistake honestly."
"No matter the outcome, at least he'll feel better afterward."
"And if the other person discovers it early enough, there may still be time to fix things."
Hagrid's eyes widened.
"Yeh're right!"
He slapped his thigh heavily before jumping to his feet.
"I've gotta tell Dumbledore immediately!"
Unfortunately, Hagrid had consumed far too much alcohol.
After only taking two steps, his vision spun violently.
He crashed straight onto the floor unconscious.
Behind him, Lucien calmly lowered his wand.
He used a levitation charm to gently place Hagrid onto the bed.
Giants possessed naturally powerful magical resistance. Even though Hagrid was only half-giant, ordinary spells still affected him weakly.
Fortunately, Lucien never intended to hurt him.
He merely wanted Hagrid to sleep peacefully until tomorrow morning.
After drinking that much alcohol combined with a sleeping charm, Hagrid wouldn't wake up tonight no matter what happened.
Perfect.
That conveniently solved tonight's patrol problem.
…
Night fell.
Deep inside the Forbidden Forest, two figures slowly moved through the darkness.
One tall.
One short.
The strange roars echoing through the forest didn't seem to affect either of them at all.
Rather than exploring one of Britain's most dangerous magical forests, the two looked more like people taking an evening stroll through a garden.
"Mr. Grindelwald."
Voldemort's voice sounded increasingly irritated.
"We are not here for sightseeing."
Lucien looked around casually as though appreciating scenery during a picnic.
Veins visibly bulged on Voldemort's forehead.
If he wasn't currently too weak to freely cast magic…
He would never have brought Lucien along.
Not only was the boy infuriating, but Voldemort constantly had to remain alert against betrayal as well.
"Of course, Teacher," Lucien replied politely.
"I'll adjust my attitude."
Unfortunately, his behaviour didn't change whatsoever.
Lucien had absolutely no interest in getting personally involved with unicorn blood.
The curse attached to harming unicorns was notoriously vicious.
Even a wizard of Voldemort's level couldn't completely ignore its consequences.
And given Voldemort's personality, if there was dangerous or unpleasant work involved, he would absolutely shove it onto Lucien without hesitation.
Since Voldemort wasn't likely to survive much longer in his current condition anyway, risking himself now simply wasn't worthwhile.
Voldemort clearly understood Lucien's thoughts.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it.
For tonight's mission, Lucien was the real combat strength.
If they truly fell out now, Voldemort himself would suffer most.
Swallowing his frustration, Voldemort continued leading Lucien deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Then—
Rustle.
A strange sound echoed nearby.
Lucien's eyes sharpened instantly.
Just as he debated whether to investigate, Voldemort's delighted voice suddenly rang out.
"Found it!"
"That's our target!"
....
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