บท 92: ch 92.Trust
11:47 am Hogwarts Ground
Inside Hagrid's hut…
Kaa!
Hearing the young dragon's call, Harry quickly stuffed another piece of bacon inside the cage. It's the only thing the boys can do to keep Norbert from throwing a tantrum and burning the cage again.
Harry then approaches Ron, who is sitting at the dining table. He asked, "How are you feeling, mate?"
"Uhm... slightly hot, and my hand started tingling..." said Ron while showing his left hand that was bitten by Norbert earlier. His hand spasms, and showing a paler color than normal.
"That's bad. We should go back and see Madam Pomfey." Harry suggested out of concern for his friend.
Ron wiped the sweat on his forehead and shook his head, "Let's wait for Hagrid. He and Norbert will be in big trouble if the faculty finds out. Maybe he have a cure for the bite."
"Fine. We'll wait for half an hour more. If Hagrid is still not back, I'm bringing you back to the castle." Harry compromised.
Woof! Woof!
Right at that moment, the boys heard Fang barking outside.
The two boys didn't immediately stand up, but just assumed that Hagrid was back from the meeting.
A second later, the door opened, and they saw Hagrid entering the door. His whole body covering the whole door frame.
Harry stood up and wanted to say something but stopped when he noticed the anxious expression on Hagrid's face.
The half-giant then sidestep, letting them see the Headmaster following behind Hagrid.
The two boys got scared when they saw Dumbledore entering the hut with a frown and stern face.
"Headmaster..." Harry, overcoming his initial shock, tried to greet the old man but stopped when he noticed a young boy with a shiny red head and sporting a uniform in Hufflepuff color.
Ron and Harry were petrified now. Marshall showing a stern face and look at them. He silently walked inside, not saying a word and gave way to the other three men behind him.
He recognized the man with the mechanical arm as one of the school's professors, Silvanus Kettleburn.
One of the men is medium built with a shoulder-length brown hair. He is wearing glasses that don't hide his troubled look. He appears to be following closely behind Marshall.
The other man is a broad shoulder grandpa with white wavy hair. He quickly approached the birdcage housing Norbert and, showing a curious look.
Seeing Harry's blank expression, Marshall introduced the two men, "Harry, this gentleman here is Amos Diggory who works in the Ministry under the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He is also Cedric's dad…"
Marshall motioned with his hand to the large grandpa inspecting Norbert and said, "This grandpa here is Mr. Newt Scamander, the famous magic zoologist and author of the book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "
"... Uncle Newt, Mr. Diggory… These are my friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." Witcherly finished his introduction.
Amos wanted to greet Harry but, given the seriousness of the situation, decided to just stand still and gave the famous boy a polite nod and smile.
Newt, on the other hand, is fully focus on the young dragon and laughed, "It's not a Norbert. It's a Norberta."
Hearing this, Hagrid forgot the troubles he was in and joyfully asked, "Wha — Norbert's a girl?"
Kettleburn reprimanding Hagrid and said, "You can't even properly distinguish whether it's a male or female. Go read more ,you big bloke!"
"Ehem!" Dumbledore cleared his throat and turned to Hagrid, "Hagrid, do you know the trouble you are in?"
The big guy gave everyone a pleading look, "But look at Norbert… I mean… Norberta. She wouldn't hurt a thing."
The adults looked at the young dragon that is caged and innocently gnawing on a piece of bacon. For a second, they almost believed Hagrid's claim of it being harmless.
That was until Marshall spoke, redirecting everyone's attention, "Unfortunately, I think Norberta already claimed a victim. Ron, why are you hiding behind Harry?"
Being called out, Ron got startled and tried to stand up. But the moment he stood up, he experienced a bout of vertigo and stumbled a bit, and only with Harry catching his arm did he remain upright.
The adults in the room now realize that Ron was not looking well, with his pale complexion, sweaty forehead and dim eyes.
"Oh my…." Amos walked forward and approached his friend's son, and placed his palm on Ron's forehead and said, "... You got a fever there, Ronald. What happened?"
Harry and Ron give each other a look, and turned to the worried Hagrid. They don't know what to say.
Feeling frustrated, Marshall massages his temple and softly told them, "Just be honest and tell us what happened. I promise that no one will get mad."
Harry meekly asked Marshall, "Really?! You promise you won't get mad, mate?"
"I promise that I won't get madder… than I am now. Now tell us." Witcherly promised.
Ron lifted his left hand and said, "Norberta bite me earlier when we try getting it back into the cage. But it was just an accident. The dragon didn't mean it."
Reaching in his pouch, Marshall took out a glass vial and gave it to Harry, "Harry, make Ron drink this."
Having spent a month in the Witcherly residence last summer, Harry was familiar with Marshall's potions and quickly received the glass vials, unsealed it and gave it to Ron to drink.
Few seconds after taking the potion, an obvious change can be seen on Ron. Starting with him gaining some color on his cheeks and his hand spasms stopping.
With Weasley obviously recovering, Harry and the adults let out a sigh of relief, especially Hagrid.
Unfortunately, Marshall is not letting what happen go. The lad began to speak with the most respectful tone he has, but it can't hide the hint of authority he's projecting, "Hagrid, what was your plan when you decided to hatch Norberta?"
"Uhm..." The half-giant has no reply to that question.
Witcherly look at Dumbledore, and then at Kettleburn. The Professor and the Headmaster nodded at each other, and understood that they need to have a serious talk with Hagrid.
Marshall had already pointed out his concerns. And as a student, he can't be the one to reprimand Hagrid.
Though not sure what the adults meant by their silent conversation, Harry asked a question, "Uhm… What will happen to Norberta?"
Hagrid looked around anxiously. He finally turned to the one he's most scared off in the room, Marshall, with a pleading puppy eye.
Witcherly again sighed and rolled his eye and asked Amos, "I'm sorry for putting you in a tight spot, Mr. Diggory. But can you…"
Also letting out a sigh, Amos reluctantly nodded, "I understand, Mr. Witcherly. I won't report this to the Ministry." He then looked at the big guy in the room and said, "Hagrid, I hope this is the last time something like this happens. And please keep in mind that we're putting our necks on the line to cover for you."
Diggory then asked Marshall, "Mr. Witcherly, will you be taking in the young dragon as your pet? Among us, you and Mr. Scamander are the only ones that have clearance to take in a dragon."
"Ha!?" Hagrid let out a shock.
Ron and Harry perked up hearing this. They look at Marshall, hopeful that he'll agree.
"No. How about you Uncle Newt?" Marshall immediately answered.
Newt gave a wry smile and said, "I'm sorry. I also can't. Tina will grill me if I take in a baby dragon home."
Having recovered, Ron urged his friend, "Marshall, it's a dragon! Magical creatures are your thing! I can't believe you're passing on a dragon."
"What do you mean magical creatures are my thing?!" gawked Marshall, who reverted to being a kid bantering with his friends, "I also always save you guys from trouble. Can that be my thing? Shut it, you two."
Harry let out a chuckle now that Marshall is less serious, "But seriously Marshall, you don't want to take in a dragon? Aren't you always singing that song about 'catching them all' ?"
"Ha?" Caught off guard, Marshall took a moment to reply.
Meanwhile, Ron also reacted, "Yeah, you sometime sing that weird song. How does it go again?.. Hmm… Hmm… I wanna be the very best… Like no one ever was…"
Then Harry remembered and also sang along with Ron, ""To catch them is my real test... To train them is my cause... dun dun dun...""
"Then there's a weird part where you want to poke a mom? What's that about?" Ron innocently asked with a very puzzled look.
When the two turned to look at Marshall again, Witcherly was already beet red with both his hands raised and shaking, and looked like he wanted to choke his friends.
The adults watch the kids joke around, long gone of the serious atmosphere earlier.
After Marshall took few deep breaths and calmed down, he explained his decision to pass on Norberta, "I recently got a new young one, and I haven't spent time with him, since I got him during the school year…"
"Oh, you mean the unicorn foal?" said Newt.
Nodding, Marshall said, "Yeah. His name is Uno. I just can't bring him in the school yet because of some circumstances…" He briefly looked at the Headmaster.
"What?! You have a unicorn?! Where is it?" Ron quickly asked.
Witcherly waved his friend off, saying, "Don't worry. You guys will meet him in a few weeks. Now, back to the topic about Norberta. I think it's best to send her to a dragon reserve, so she can be with her kind."
Everyone gave their suggestion on the topic. At the end, they decided to send the young dragon to the reserve in Romania.
As a Norwegian Ridgeback, Norberta should be sent to the reserve in Norway, but they don't have someone there they can trust to keep the whole transfer a secret. So they settled for the reserve where Charlie is at.
Ron was asked to send a letter to his brother. And until Charlie reply back, Norberta will remain in Hagrid's hut.
The Headmaster then said, "Marshall, could you please accompany Newt and Amos to the Great Hall for lunch? Silvanus and I need a moment alone with Hagrid."
"Sure Headmaster. Gentlemen, I'm sure you're both familiar with the place, but allow me to lead you there. I'm eager for you to experience the new changes we made to the school menu." Witcherly said as he opened the door and let Scamander and Diggory out first.
He then waved at Ron and Harry, "You two come along as well."
The two Gryffindor boys reluctantly exited the hut, giving a few glances back on Hagrid and Norberta.
Before Marshall walked out the door, he left a promise to Hagrid, "Hagrid, I promise to clear your name of the crime you didn't commit, and get you your right to wield a wand again. But regarding your access to the zoo and the creatures in it, you have to show that you can be trusted with the responsibility. I hope you make great use of the time before Professor Kettleburn retires to address your issues."
Hagrid gave a weak nod to the boy.
The lad exited the hut, closed the door, leaving the Dumbledore and Kettleburn to have a grown up talk to Hagrid.
"Aren't you being hard on Hagrid, Marshall?" Ron asked as they start to walk back toward the castle.
"No..." Marshall directly answer, and smirked before adding, "On the contrary. I've been holding myself back, given that he is a 60-year-old grown up who had smuggled a creature that could… and had hurt people in the school."
Seeing that the two of them want to say more in Hagrid's defense, Marshall sighed and calmly explained, "This is all about trust. The wizarding community in Britain trusted that Hogwarts will serve as a safe place for young wizards to learn magic and anything related, such as magical creatures."
"... Hagrid, being part of the school staff, broke that trust and almost endangered the very students that they should be keeping safe. If words of this gets out, there will be a massive outcry from concern parents and guardians. Which might then cause them to pulled their kids out and transfer them to other schools..."
"... If that happens, Hogwarts will be close down temporarily, until the issue had been addressed. Such thing happened before." Marshall's last words shocked Ron and Harry. They haven't thought that deeply about the consequences of such action.
Scamander and Diggory didn't say a word to contradict what Witcherly said. Both of them know the complexity of the wizarding community and how the Ministry handles such thing.
Witcherly instructed his friends to never tell anyone about this except Charlie, whose assistance they needed.
After getting his point across to his two friend, Marshall decided to lighten the mood and said, "Speaking of trust. You guys broke my trust and embarrassed me in front of everyone earlier by singing that song..."
The two Gryffindors gave each other a started look and quickly ran to the castle, leaving behind Marshall with Scamander and Diggory. The three continued to walk in a leisurely pace.
Turning to Diggory, Marshall apologize, "Sorry again, Mr. Amos for compromising your work today."
Amos is currently employed by the Ministry and is duty bound to report such violation, but decided to look the other way. Marshall can't help feeling guilty about it.
"You're not to blame, Mr .Witcherly. No need to feel sorry. Thankfully, we caught the problem early before someone knows about it, and scandalized everything." Diggory was happy to be able to show his 'allegiance' to the heir of Merlin today.
Newt jokingly asked, "You're not apologizing to me, lad? I'm also implicated today."
Marshall smirked, "Hardly. From the stories that Uncle Nick and Aunt Penny told me, you don't mind breaking the law."
"Please don't bring up my past blunders. It's embarrassing." Scamander cringed.
The three of them laugh as they continue to walk toward the castle. Marshall then remembered something he wants to talk about.
"Oh! I just remembered! Can you two seniors kindly tell me some information about a place I have been planning to visit?" Witcherly stopped walking, and asked his senior Hufflepuffs.
"Where?" "Which place?" Thinking that they had moved on from any serious topic, the two men nonchalantly said.
Marshall showed a mischievous grin and said, "The black market."
~end chapter ~
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