Chapter 80: Kind Dylan Convinced Hagrid Completely, Don't Ask, It's an Ancient Spell
"Don't rush, but... Hagrid should have kept that dragon in his hut, right? Why would Malfoy know? He usually doesn't go to Hagrid's hut."
"Uh..."
Harry scratched his head.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Was he supposed to say that it was because he and Ron were talking about Norbert a little too loudly... so they accidentally got overheard by Malfoy passing by?
Harry was a bit hesitant to speak, but also very anxious.
He looked at the calm-faced Dylan, "Aren't you worried?"
Dylan blinked, a little strangely. "What's there to worry about?"
Harry was taken aback. "Malfoy saw Hagrid feeding a dragon!"
Dylan nodded. "I know."
Harry: (.)
He took a deep breath and asked, "Dylan, you've researched spells so deeply, do you know the Obliviate spell?"
"The memory charm? I've done some research on it."
Hearing Dylan's words, Harry's eyes widened with excitement. "Then you quickly go find Malfoy and hit him with an Obliviate!"
"I heard Hermione say that the Ministry of Magic often uses the Obliviate on Muggles to prevent them from knowing about magic. Even if Muggles see dragons, they'll all forget!"
"I can't do that," Dylan shook his head, rejecting Harry's suggestion without even thinking.
"If I use the Obliviate on Malfoy, the Hogwarts professors are very likely to find out. Then I might even be expelled from school for harming a classmate."
"And even the pure-blood wizards behind Malfoy might even send me to Azkaban."
Harry listened, dumbfounded. "Is it that serious?"
Dylan shrugged. "Obliviate has side effects. Do you really think the professors wouldn't notice?"
"Then what should we do..." Harry looked dejected. "If we don't help Hagrid, he'll definitely be thrown into Azkaban!"
Dylan reached out and closed the book in front of him.
"I told you, Harry, don't panic. In fact, it's not entirely hopeless."
"What?" Harry looked up, a little surprised. "Dylan, do you have a way?"
Dylan's gaze swept around, and he didn't speak immediately but lowered his voice.
"Don't say anything yet, come with me."
Dylan packed up the books on the table and walked towards Hagrid's hut with Harry.
Harry was very curious about Dylan's idea, but he held back and didn't ask along the way.
It wasn't until the two of them arrived at Hagrid's hut.
Dylan knocked on the door, said something, and only then did Hagrid open the door.
Walking inside, Ron and Hermione were also there.
"Dylan said he has a way to save Hagrid!" Harry said impatiently to the others as soon as he entered.
"What? What way? Is Dylan going to use Obliviate on Malfoy?" Ron said.
"That's very risky. If the professors find out, Dylan will be in danger!" Hermione glared.
Hagrid was holding a small black dragon in his arms.
The young dragon made "click-clack" sounds the moment it saw Dylan.
Its little head kept turning left and right, and its two small hands were flapping.
"It seems to like you, Dylan," Hagrid said, a little surprised. "I haven't seen it this excited before."
"Maybe I'm just good at attracting the affection of these magical creatures," a faint smile tugged at Dylan's lips. He glanced at them and pondered slightly.
Actually, he had two ways to help Hagrid get rid of the trouble with this dragon.
The first was that they immediately wrote a letter to Ron's brother Charlie, asking him to come and take this Norwegian Ridgeback away to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary.
Then, during the handover, he would directly use the Imperius Curse to brainwash these people, making them believe the dragon was gone, while in fact, he could secretly keep the dragon for himself.
The second was that Dylan directly told Hagrid that he had a way to secretly hide Norbert and that it would never be discovered in Hogwarts.
This method could change the situation from only he knowing about the dragon's existence to both he and Hagrid knowing.
Moreover, as Norbert gradually grew up, Hagrid could also take on the feeding work for this dragon.
Furthermore, if Hagrid wanted to see Norbert, he would have to release it in the Forbidden Forest.
Dylan could use this as an excuse to not have to sneak into the Forbidden Forest every night, but instead, with Hagrid's help, he could enter the Forbidden Forest during the day.
Even if Hagrid wouldn't allow him to slaughter magical creatures on a large scale, he could quickly figure out the distribution of the Forbidden Forest during the day.
The two methods each had their advantages and disadvantages.
One was that only he knew about the dragon's existence, but he had to bear all the risks himself.
The other was that he and Hagrid shared the risks, and he could also gain some convenience from it.
But the disadvantage was that having one more person know about the dragon's existence also meant one more potential danger.
And the most crucial point was that the person who knew about the dragon's existence was Hagrid, a big mouth who couldn't keep secrets.
If Hagrid leaked the news, although he had a pet space, it was hard to guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen.
Glancing at the eagerly looking Hagrid.
Dylan thought for a moment and decided to be more cautious, choosing the second method.
Because although the first method was safer, with fewer people knowing about the dragon's existence meaning less risk, there was also a big problem.
That was, if he wanted to snatch the dragon cub from Ron's older brother, he would have to use the Imperius Curse on them, creating the illusion that the dragon was snatched away by a mysterious person.
Then, if he later revealed a dragon, or if he was discovered raising a dragon, he would very likely become the target of public criticism instantly.
This was even more troublesome than Hagrid, the big mouth, accidentally leaking the news about the dragon.
"Better let Hagrid know. At least if something goes wrong, I can directly pull Hagrid down with me."
Dylan felt that he had racked his brains and put in a lot of effort to fulfill Hagrid's wish to raise a dragon.
—He was so kind.
"It's that Malfoy who made me wait so many days, finally forcing Hagrid to deal with this dragon."
Dylan looked up at Hagrid and said, "When I was reading ancient magic books, I saw a spell."
"It allows me to make a contract with Norbert. After completing the contract, I can put it into a peculiar space—I call it a pet space."
"This means I don't need to put magical creatures in magical creature trunks—and those things are very expensive, we can't afford them at all."
"As long as Norbert is in the pet space, there's absolutely no need for external containers, and we don't have to worry about it being taken away by anyone."
"And no matter which professor wants to check if we really raised a dragon, they won't be able to find it because it's in my space."
"What?" Ron was the first to widen his eyes. "There's actually such amazing magic?"
Harry was also a little surprised. So Dylan was so calm because he had already prepared?
Hermione frowned. "Where did you see this book? What's the name of the magic? Is it ancient magic?"
"It's right..." Dylan pondered for two seconds, then blinked. "Sorry, I forgot."
Hermione: ?
Could you make your lies any more sloppy?
Dylan chuckled softly and didn't say more.
The reason she hadn't mentioned this to Hagrid alone, behind Harry and Ron's backs, was because this second method required Hagrid to firmly deny that there was any dragon at all.
—Even if there was, it had already been taken away by Ron's older brother.
So this matter couldn't be kept from Harry and Ron. Instead of being secretive and letting Hagrid, the big mouth, tell Harry later, it was better to explain it clearly in advance.
Hagrid, holding Norbert in his hands, was stunned by Dylan's words.
"There's such a spell?"
He looked at Norbert in his hands, then at Dylan. "I wonder if I can learn this spell?"
Dylan resisted the urge to roll his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "No."
"This is a magic I researched. Only I can master it."
Seeing Hagrid's stiff expression, he felt his explanation might have been a bit too blunt, so Dylan added, "Moreover, this spell is actually related to divination. It was something I accidentally created during my research into Transfiguration, Summoning, and Divination spells. I can't teach it to you."
Hermione still looked suspicious.
But Dylan didn't care what they thought.
Dylan believed Harry and Ron wouldn't actively tell others about the dragon.
Not just because of their personalities.
But also because if others found out, it would mean Hagrid would be directly sent to Azkaban.
As Harry's guide, Harry—or rather, the lions of Gryffindor—couldn't betray a companion.
Therefore, even if in the end, as Hermione and Ron's research into magic became more profound, they looked back and felt he might have been lying.
But Dylan also believed that by then, he would definitely have a significant position in the magical world!
And even now, with the three max-level Unforgivable Curses and the ten-in-a-row spellcasting trait alone, Dylan wasn't afraid of anyone.
"This is the only way I can think of. Otherwise, it's like I said before, write to Ron's brother, ask him to come and take away the little guy you painstakingly hatched, watched transform from an egg into a life, to a dangerous place like Romania to fend for itself."
"Good heavens, I really can't imagine what other wild dragons would do to Norbert if it went there? I think it probably wouldn't even live to grow up, becoming food for other dragon species."
Dylan sighed deeply. "By the way, Norbert's eggshell, is it still there?"
"Uh?"
Hagrid hadn't quite recovered from the tragic future Dylan had described. Suddenly asked this question, he was momentarily confused and instinctively shook his head. "No, it's gone. Norbert ate the eggshell as soon as it came out."
"Alright, what a pity," Dylan sighed again, then asked, "What do you think? Should we have Ron write to his brother?"
Hagrid hurriedly shook his head like a rattle. "No, I don't want to send Norbert away!"
"That's the right way to think!" Dylan nodded approvingly. "Think about it, although it's me who signed the contract with Norbert, you're the one who personally hatched it. Wouldn't it be close to you?"
"When the time comes, I'll usually keep it in the pet space. It won't feel uncomfortable, and it can still grow strong inside."
"If you want to see it, I can completely bring it to the Forbidden Forest and release it. You can even feed it yourself! When the time comes, all its food will be prepared by you. What's the difference between this and you raising a dragon?"
"Don't you want to try feeding a dragon and experience the feeling of raising one with your own hands?"
Hagrid's eyes shone brightly. "I do!"
"So, I'm willing to experiment with this spell that I don't even know if it will have consequences, just to fulfill your wish to raise a dragon, Hagrid."
Dylan looked utterly selfless.
"It doesn't matter, even if something goes wrong in the end, I'm willing to bear it! As long as I can fulfill your wish to raise a dragon, Hagrid! I completely understand your love for magical creatures!"
"Dylan!" Hagrid was so moved he was almost crying.
And Hermione and Harry on the side were completely dumbfounded.
"I have a feeling Dylan wants to raise this dragon himself," Hermione looked at Harry, signaling with her eyes.
"I feel the same way!" Harry nodded in response.
Only Ron's face was excitedly flushed. "Merlin's beard! Dylan, you're too righteous! I declare, you are absolutely, definitely Gryffindor!"
Dylan: "."
Ignoring Ron's nonsense, Dylan looked at Hagrid. "So what do you say?"
"I believe you can successfully cast that spell, Dylan! All the professors will praise you—except Professor Binns, he doesn't usually greet me or talk to me, but I guess he probably thinks you're an excellent little wizard too!"
Dylan nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, Hermione frowned and asked, "But will that spell really be okay? Dylan, can you guarantee that space won't have any problems?"
Actually, what she wanted to ask was, did such a spell really exist?
But if Dylan didn't want to say, she naturally couldn't ask.
Hagrid also looked over worriedly at this time.
"Don't worry, I guarantee it with my integrity—if there's a problem, let dark magic twist my mind!"
"Hey! Don't say that, I believe you," Hermione glared immediately.
Ron suddenly asked at this moment, "But Dylan, didn't you say before that Hagrid's salary isn't enough to feed a grown dragon at all? As Norbert grows bigger and bigger, how will you prepare food for it?"
Dylan glanced at Ron. "Don't worry, it's just some food. When Hagrid can't afford it, I'll pay for it."
Harry said, "My parents also left me a lot of money. If you need it, I can also buy food for Norbert."
Dylan smiled. "Then I'll thank you on behalf of Hagrid first."
Harry paused and blinked. "You're welcome."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Then what exactly is that spell, Dylan? Are you going to cast it now?"
Dylan walked up to Hagrid.
At this moment, the little black dragon in his hands, seeing Dylan approach, immediately struggled fiercely, wanting to break free from Hagrid's rough, calloused hands. It leaned forward, eager to fly onto Dylan, the little spines on its neck trembling slightly.
Dylan's eyes flashed, a trace of imperceptible fervor fleeting.
"Let me try. Although it might not succeed, we have a backup plan, and even if the spell doesn't work, I won't have any problems."
(End of chapter)