On the last day of the school year, Harry, Hermione, and Draco arrived at Hagrid's hut.
"Oh my goodness, I can't imagine how big it must be now," Draco said, his face full of anticipation. He hadn't seen Norbert in a long time and was itching to.
Norbert had been given to Hagrid after Harry woke up; he was still too young, and keeping him sealed for too long would be more harmful than beneficial.
"When dragons reach adolescence, their growth rate slows down a lot, so they won't be much bigger than before," Hermione said.
Draco glanced at Hermione, instinctively wanting to retort, but then stopped: "Uh… alright!"
The hut door opened, and Hagrid's huge body appeared. He saw the three of them and quickly straightened his clothes: "Wait for me for a moment."
A moment later, he put on a coat made of some kind of animal skin and led them towards the Forbidden Forest.
Along the way, Hagrid happily shared updates on the growth of the little dragon, Norbert. Although he hadn't grown much in size, he had certainly become much sturdier.
Sure enough, when they followed Hagrid deep into the Forbidden Forest, they saw a much larger and stronger Norbert. His scales were even shimmering brightly.
Harry realized… he wasn't just sturdier, he was also fatter.
As soon as Norbert saw Harry, he scurried and flew-ran to his side, rubbing affectionately against him.
"Good boy," Harry said, scratching the scales on his head. He then let Draco and Norbert play, and looked seriously at Hagrid.
"Hagrid, what did Dumbledore say about the dragon?"
"Dumbledore hasn't said… he hasn't brought it up," Hagrid said uncertainly, looking at Harry with fear and worry in his eyes.
He was afraid Harry would find another reason he couldn't refuse to make him send the dragon away.
"Alright, then I won't interfere… but I can command him not to leave the Forbidden Forest," Harry could only nod helplessly.
Returning to the Great Hall, they were surprised to see Slytherin's silver and green banners fluttering above the Great Hall.
The end-of-year feast was about to begin.
Harry used to think he would be very reluctant to leave school life, but when today actually arrived, he found… he wasn't that reluctant.
After all, the house hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and he hadn't heard Mr. Lucifer and Uncle Howl bickering for a long time either.
It seemed… he was even a little impatient for the holidays to arrive.
Moreover, he and Hermione weren't actually that far apart. If they had time, they could go out and play, or discuss their study progress during the holidays.
Hermione, perhaps stimulated by Harry in the Gryffindor common room that night, was now studying much harder than before.
Although Harry kept advising her not to always read books, to be more active, and to be a practical person like him.
But Hermione just couldn't do it.
Clearly, the two had developed completely different study habits.
As dusk fell, the Great Hall gradually became lively. The feast quickly began, and Howl once again came to the high table, immediately spotting a good-humored Snape.
It seemed he was also happy that the Great Hall was filled with Slytherin banners.
However, as soon as he saw Howl, Severus's smile faded several degrees.
—— Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
Just thinking about that made him feel awful!
Before long, seeing that most people had arrived, Dumbledore gently tapped his goblet with a spoon, producing a clear clinking sound that was inexplicably amplified to be clearly audible throughout the entire Great Hall.
"Another year has passed!" Dumbledore stood up and said cheerfully, "Before we enjoy these delicious dishes, I must trouble everyone to listen to an old man's platitudes…
Howl stopped listening when he heard "platitudes" and quietly clinked glasses with Hagrid under the table.
As he was drinking, he suddenly heard Snape cough softly.
"Now, to my knowledge, we must first proceed with the House Cup award ceremony…" Dumbledore's voice rang out.
"The exact scores for each House are as follows:
Fourth Place: Hufflepuff, three hundred fifty-two points;
Third Place: Ravenclaw, four hundred twenty-six points,
Second Place: Gryffindor, four hundred fifty-two points;
First Place: Slytherin, four hundred seventy-two points!!"
A burst of applause immediately erupted below the stage. Snape shook hands with everyone, a calm smile on his face.
It even made Howl wonder if that cough just now was intentional…
This year, both Slytherin and Gryffindor each produced a point-earning machine.
Gryffindor's was Hermione; she frantically raised her hand to answer questions in various classes, and despite Gryffindor's inherently volatile and easily penalized nature, she still managed to reach second place.
Slytherin's point-earning machine was Harry Potter.
Snape often used him to earn points in Potion Class…
Well, that's all.
The harvest was very rich; Slytherin earned at least one hundred points from him.
"What a pity…" Harry sighed helplessly.
He had tried his best, even refusing Dumbledore's extra points for him!
But even so, Gryffindor still hadn't overtaken them.
Such a House Cup… it really wasn't that interesting to win…
Alright… he didn't want to be high-minded, at least it was a festive occasion, so he clinked glasses with Malfoy—drinking orange juice!
The next day, the report cards came out. Harry was first in his year, and Hermione was second.
On the way back, Harry looked at the scrawny black Thestral and popped a small dried fish into his mouth.
"Oh!" he exclaimed.
"What?!" Hermione and Draco looked confused.
"A Thestral, a type of winged horse. I actually saw it, possibly because of Quirrell," Harry exclaimed, "I think it's definitely the coolest type of winged horse, and to add, its head looks very much like a dragon's head."
"Oh!" Draco's interest was piqued when he heard "dragon": "How come I can't see it? How did you see it? What does it have to do with Quirrell?"
"Only those who have witnessed death can see them," Harry explained, but as soon as he finished, Draco shivered.
"Uh… never mind then."
Soon, they boarded the train. By the time they arrived in London, it was already dark.
Before getting off the train, Draco looked at Harry in the aisle.
"You'd better not slack off in the slightest during the holidays!"
"I look forward to you surpassing me, if you can do it, bring it on," Harry retorted.
After getting off the train, they quickly saw Chris and Uncle Howl on the platform.
The Howl with a human face.
So, under Chris's confused gaze, the two children inexplicably said to Howl: "Very kind."
"I missed you guys so much," Chris said, "Let's go, your mother has been waiting in the restaurant for a long time."
After dinner, Howl was about to take Harry directly back to Privet Drive, but Chris called out to him.
"Howl, I have something else for you!"
Saying that, Chris quickly ran back to the car. Before long, he returned with a record.
"I recently found this, and I think you absolutely have to listen to it," Chris said.
Howl looked at the old record.
[AC/DC]
[Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap]
Heh…
This is quite Dark Arts.
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