"Honestly, Professor Snape is so unfair..." Hermione waved her small hand back and forth, trying to catch the attention of the cold man below—Professor Snape. His icy gaze remained indifferent. He was truly ruthless. "I've been holding my hand up for over ten minutes, switched hands because my arm got sore, and yet Professor Snape just keeps calling on others as if I don't exist!"
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable!
Despite her complaints, Hermione kept her small hand raised high while grumbling to Glenn.
But...
Under the little girl's resentful gaze, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Professor Snape assigned today's homework and announced the dismissal. Once again, Hermione scored a big fat zero in terms of answering questions during Potions class.
Ignoring Hermione's glare, Snape quickly strode out of the classroom, his black robes billowing like bat wings.
"Forget it, let's go. I'm used to it anyway," Hermione sighed as she put her hand down and began packing her things. They needed to head to the Great Hall entrance to meet Hagrid soon.
Glenn's recording device had captured the culprit behind the attacks on Hagrid's chickens. Now it was time to expose the truth!
Glenn nodded and walked with Hermione toward the Great Hall.
They sat at one of the long tables, chatting and reading for a while, until Hagrid finally appeared in their line of sight, carrying his modified shotgun on his shoulder.
"Hey! Glenn, Hermione!" Hagrid looked around before spotting Hermione waving at him, with Glenn by her side. He walked over to them. "Done with your classes?"
The little girl put her hand down and nodded. "Yeah, that was our last class. Shall we head out now?" The truth felt like a Crookshanks scratching at her heart—Hermione was eager to see the recording stored in the device.
Hagrid, seeing her enthusiasm, set aside his intention to chat and nodded. Waving them over, he said, "Alright then, let's go. Stick close to me and don't wander off." His expression suddenly turned a mix of worry and frustration as he muttered, "That culprit killed a few more of my chickens. It's just outrageous!"
"Hagrid, you did what I asked last time, right?" Glenn, who had been quietly listening to Hagrid's complaints, interjected.
During their previous interaction, Glenn had specifically instructed Hagrid to do something. Glenn believed it was necessary.
Though the reason behind the attacks on the chickens remained unclear, Glenn thought it prudent for Hagrid to relocate one or two chickens as a precaution.
As the saying goes, don't put all your eggs in one basket—or in this case, don't keep all your chickens in one coop.
"Of course! Right after you told me, I picked my two favorite chickens and moved them to the owlery temporarily," Hagrid said, patting his chest to show he had followed instructions. "I just hope they can get used to living there. Poor things."
"Uh..." Hermione's expression turned odd. Those chickens definitely wouldn't enjoy living there, would they? But then again... never mind. These were unusual times.
At least it was better than being mysteriously killed.
...Although, wasn't Hagrid raising chickens to improve his meals?
Oh well. Sorry, little chickens.
The chickens: ?
As Hagrid chatted with the two of them, he remained vigilant of their surroundings. Glenn, naturally, did the same. His wand was hidden in his right sleeve, held in a reverse grip. His left hand, equipped with the Hand of Sorcery, rested in his pocket. His heightened perception was active, scanning a fifty-meter radius for any signs of danger.
Better safe than sorry.
Fortunately, from Hogwarts to Hagrid's hut, nothing dangerous occurred. The three of them arrived safely at the chicken coop behind Hagrid's hut.
"Hermione, Hagrid, keep an eye on the surroundings while I retrieve the recording device," Glenn instructed. The little girl and the big man had no objections. The three formed a triangular formation, standing back-to-back, with wands and a shotgun ready to defend against any potential threats.
With his back covered, Glenn turned his attention to his setup.
To prevent the device from being discovered, Glenn had layered it with several concealment tools.
Using the "backdoor" he had built into the tools, Glenn easily deactivated the disguises and tossed the recording device to an empty spot near the coop. Pulling out his wand, he cast a Blasting Curse, reducing the alchemical device to rubble.
Hagrid jumped at Glenn's sudden action. Recovering, he looked at Glenn with a puzzled expression. "Why destroy these magical tools? They still looked new."
"Anything that has been out of my sight and could have been tampered with is best discarded," Glenn explained calmly. "Just like the chickens that were killed, we can't be sure these devices haven't been discovered or sabotaged. Even though they're costly and difficult to make, it's safer to destroy them rather than reuse them. I can always make more."
Glenn's experiences in his previous life had instilled in him a habit of caution. After all, you never know if something out of your sight has been poisoned, bugged, tracked, or rigged with explosives.
Everything was an unknown. Glenn only trusted his own eyes. Rather than taking chances, he preferred to eliminate risks at the root.
Glenn understood the art of survival. Neglecting caution led only to death.
Hagrid seemed to ponder Glenn's explanation. Hermione remained calm, keeping watch. She was used to Glenn's "paranoid" behavior by now, and she agreed with his methods. Better safe than sorry. Though she sometimes forgot these precautions herself, Glenn was always there to remind her.
Glenn dismantled the concealment tools he had set up. The recording device gradually revealed itself. Glenn tossed it aside and destroyed it as well. The storage unit, however, couldn't be dealt with the same way.
He needed to retrieve the stored data first.
Glenn extracted the crystal containing the data and channeled his consciousness into it to view the recorded footage.
"This is..."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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