Madam Pomfrey's healing magic was highly skilled, and the hospital wing was well-stocked with remedies.
After being given several potions, the fire dragon and the unicorn, who had been suffering from their wounds, both calmed down and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.
Professor McGonagall was busy setting up a temporary barrier around the Quidditch pitch to house the fire dragon, ensuring no students would accidentally wander in and get hurt.
Meanwhile, the unicorn was allowed to rest near Professor Sprout's greenhouses, where the plump witch happily prepared an abundance of berries and fresh oat hay for it.
Other professors soon arrived after hearing the news, making Hogwarts unusually lively for the middle of the night.
"A fire dragon!"
A strange little old man rushed over to Norbert's side, his eyes were gleaming. He was covered in scars, with both legs and one arm replaced by wooden prosthetics.
He used his only remaining hand to stroke Norbert's black wings with a look of pure excitement, exclaiming, "Hagrid, you should've told me you had a dragon!"
Professor McGonagall, having finished setting up the barrier, walked over with a stern expression and scolded, "Professor Kettleburn, private dragon ownership is a serious violation of the law!"
The infamous temper of McGonagall seemed to have no effect on the little old man. He grinned slyly and said:
"Oh, don't be so stiff, Minerva! Who's illegally keeping a dragon? Clearly, this is a wild young dragon from the Forbidden Forest that wandered into Hogwarts because it was hungry.
Our kindhearted gamekeeper just gave it a little food, that's all! No law-breaking involved…"
"Oh… that makes sense!" Hagrid said, hitting his palm in sudden realization.
"Please stop encouraging illegal behavior, Professor Kettleburn! And don't forget you're still on probation!" Professor McGonagall said, starting off serious, but ending up laughing herself.
"Yep, probation for the sixty-second time. But it doesn't matter, I'm retiring soon anyway," Professor Kettleburn said with a shrug, before turning back to the dragon. "Does this little one have a name, Hagrid?"
"His name is Norbert!" Hagrid said proudly. "I watched him hatch with my own eyes!"
"'He'?" Professor Kettleburn paused and looked more closely, then chuckled, "Actually, it should be 'she'… this is a little girl!"
"What?" Hagrid was stunned and leaned in closer, while Professor Kettleburn began teaching him how to tell the gender of baby dragons.
"If that's the case, calling her Norbert might not be the best choice," Hagrid quickly shifted into a "proud father of a daughter" mode, as if worried his precious girl would be teased for her name.
"How about calling her Norberta?" Professor Kettleburn suggested. "It sounds like a girl's name, and it's quite cute."
"Oh, there you two are! I've been looking all over for you!" Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared, speaking briskly as she stared at Wade and Harry. "Come with me—Dumbledore said you might need a calming draught?"
"We're not scared," Wade replied.
But Madam Pomfrey wasn't listening. She led them to the hospital wing and without giving them a choice, handed each of them a bottle of the calming draught. "Drink it, then get some sleep. There are only a few hours left until dawn."
Wade noticed that the potion was one he had brewed himself!
"Has Dumbledore returned?" Harry asked quickly as she was about to leave.
"How should I know, child?" Madam Pomfrey responded.
"But you said—he told you we needed a calming draught?" Harry persisted.
"Dumbledore sent his Patronus to notify me."
"What's a Patronus—"
"Drink the potion and sleep, child."
Under Madam Pomfrey's firm gaze, they had no choice but to down the calming draughts, and sleepiness quickly overcame them.
...
The next morning, even though no one had made an official announcement, it seemed like the entire school knew what had happened the previous night.
Students were flocking to see the fire dragon and the unicorn. After hearing that Wade and Harry were involved, the members of the SSC rushed to the hospital wing to find them.
"I heard someone attacked the fire dragon!" Hermione burst in, looking worried. "Are you alright? Did you run into whoever it was?"
"Forget about the dragon for a second, I—" Harry glanced around cautiously. "I have a secret to tell you all, about the attacker from last night—"
"Wait, Harry," Michael suddenly interrupted, and then walked over to the door to check outside before closing it.
Ryan quickly caught on and moved to the window, ensuring no one was eavesdropping from outside.
Wade asked, "Did you see who it was?"
"Yes, I got there a little earlier than you all. I saw what the person looked like. It was..." Harry shuddered involuntarily before saying, "Professor Quirrell."
The room fell into a sudden silence.
Harry, feeling a bit anxious, hurriedly said:
"Maybe you think I'm lying—but I'm not! Actually, I overheard something weeks ago—in the forest! It was the day of the Quidditch match when Gryffindor won!
I heard Snape threatening Quirrell, telling him to cooperate with him to steal the Philosopher's Stone that's hidden on the fourth floor! Last night, they were the first to arrive in the Forbidden Forest too!"
Theo asked, "I heard Professor McGonagall was also one of the first to arrive?"
"You weren't there, so you didn't see—Professor McGonagall showed up in her nightgown! It was obvious the fire dragon had woken her up from her sleep!" Harry desperately tried to explain his reasoning.
"But Snape and Quirrell... they were dressed perfectly. They were probably already wandering around the Forbidden Forest, and they might have attacked Norbert and the unicorn!
But then Hagrid arrived, so they had to run off and pretend they had just been woken up. They didn't even have time to change into proper clothes!"
No one spoke for a while.
In the silence, Neville looked around nervously and tried to make conversation. "Harry, you've been really friendly with Professor Quirrell lately... I thought you'd started to like him."
"I thought he was fighting against Snape!" Harry said, frustrated. "I even tried to encourage him to be strong! I didn't expect him to fall in with Snape so quickly!"
Seeing the complicated expressions on everyone's faces, Harry grew more agitated and raised his voice, "Are you all thinking—'they're professors, Dumbledore trusts them, so they wouldn't do something like that'? But I really—"
"Harry, calm down."
Wade interrupted him suddenly, his calm voice was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing Harry's excitement. Harry looked at Wade, who was gazing at the others.
"Tell him the truth," Wade said. "Harry already knows this much, and revealing the truth wouldn't mean we've broken our promise to Dumbledore."
Harry was stunned.
"Tell me... what?"
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +86 Chapters & 2 Chapters/Day
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