Midnight on Saturday. The castle had sunk into silence.
Hagrid was crying like a baby. He had stuffed Norbert's crate with brandy and dead rats, and even packed a teddy bear for him—though it was instantly charred by a sneeze from Norbert the moment it went in.
"Goodbye, Norbert! Mummy will never forget you!" Hagrid sobbed.
"Hurry up, Hagrid's being too loud," Hermione urged anxiously.
Harry and Hermione struggled to lift the massive wooden crate, covering it with the Invisibility Cloak.
"Rove, you get under too."
"No," Rove refused. "The crate is too big; the cloak can't cover all three of us. Besides, the Fellowship needs a scout."
He tightened his robes around himself, melting into the darkness like a true Ranger of the North.
> [Mission Start: Escort the Source of Calamity to the North.]
> [Current Environment: Mines of Moria.]
> [Threat Detection: Goblin Taskmaster (Filch), Orc Spy (Peeves).]
The group began moving toward the castle.
For Harry and Hermione, this was grueling physical labor. Norbert thrashed constantly inside the crate, the banging echoing in the quiet corridor, making them sweat cold bullets of fear.
Suddenly, Rove raised a hand, signaling a halt.
Around the corner ahead, two eerie green lights appeared—Mrs. Norris's eyes.
> [WARNING! Outpost of the Eye of Sauron.]
Harry and Hermione's hearts nearly stopped.
Rove took a deep breath and fished a pebble from his pocket.
"Look over there, stupid beast."
With a flick of his wrist, the pebble arced through the air and struck a suit of armor at the far end of the corridor.
CLANG—!
Mrs. Norris was instantly attracted by the sound and shot toward it like an arrow from a bow.
"Move! Move! Move!" Rove mouthed silently, urging them on.
They rushed past the danger zone.
Next was Peeves. The annoying poltergeist was tossing balls at the top of the stairs.
Rove didn't force his way through. Instead, he mimicked the raspy, sinister wheeze of the Bloody Baron (the Slytherin ghost, and the only thing Peeves feared): "Peeves... I want to... turn you... into a specimen..."
Peeves shrieked in terror and fled through the wall instantly.
Finally, panting heavily, they climbed to the top of the Astronomy Tower.
The cold night wind stung their cheeks. Harry and Hermione collapsed on the floor, feeling like their arms were about to fall off.
"Are they here?" Hermione asked.
Rove looked up at the night sky. Four broomsticks descended from the clouds.
> [Reinforcements Arrived: Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains.]
> [Faction: Friendly.]
Four wizards jumped off their brooms. They were friends of Charlie, all looking very capable.
"Is this the trouble?" the lead wizard asked with a grin, eyeing the shaking crate.
"Yes," Rove stepped forward. "This is a juvenile Smaug. Please ensure you take it deep into the wastelands. Do not let it plague Middle-earth (Hogwarts) any longer."
The wizard paused, then burst out laughing. "Haha, Charlie was right, you really are funny, Hufflepuff kid. Don't worry, we'll take good care of it."
The crate was rigged with a special harness. With a few whistles, the wizards took off with Norbert, disappearing into the vast night.
Rove stood at the edge of the tower, watching the black dot representing "Destruction" fade away, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Mission complete. The world is safe."
Harry and Hermione also smiled with relief.
"Great, finally got rid of him," Harry wiped his sweat. "Let's go, time to get back to bed. Ron will be thrilled when he hears this."
The three walked down the stairs cheerfully.
Perhaps because they were too happy, or perhaps because they thought the biggest threat was gone, they made a fatal mistake—they forgot to put the Invisibility Cloak back on.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, an oil lamp suddenly lit up, casting their long shadows against the wall.
Filch stood there, a twisted smile of ecstatic malice on his face.
"Got you," he whispered, his voice full of venomous joy. "Wandering around in the dead of night. Potter, Granger, and the Hufflepuff who's always muttering to himself."
> [System Alert! Ambush!]
> [Enemy Unit: Goblin Taskmaster.]
> [Status: Captured.]
"Follow me," Filch said. "Professor McGonagall is waiting for you."
In that moment, Harry felt his heart sink into his stomach.
Professor McGonagall's Office.
Professor McGonagall was wearing a tartan dressing gown, her lips pressed into a thin white line.
> [Boss Battle: The Furious Queen / Galadriel's Dark Side.]
> [Oppression Level: MAX.]
"I would never have believed it," Professor McGonagall's voice trembled. "In the middle of the night! At the Astronomy Tower! And Neville Longbottom, he was looking for you everywhere and I caught him too. And Malfoy, he said you had a dragon and wanted to catch you all—absolute nonsense!"
So Malfoy got caught too? Rove raised an eyebrow. That was good news.
McGonagall said sternly, "Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor! For each of you!"
"Fifty?" Harry gasped in horror. That was almost like wiping out Gryffindor's efforts for the entire year.
"And fifty points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Rove," McGonagall turned to Rove.
Harry and Hermione hung their heads in despair, knowing the hell they would face tomorrow.
But Rove kept his back straight.
On the System interface, although [House Reputation] was plummeting, displaying a tragic red, another line of golden text was shining:
> [Main Quest Complete: Banish the Source of Calamity.]
> [Achievement Unlocked: The Burden Carrier.]
> [Reward: Load-Bearing Capacity +2 (Strength Correction).]
> [Hidden Reward: Willpower +1 (Faced the Queen's Wrath).]
"This is fair, Professor," Rove said suddenly.
McGonagall froze. "What did you say?"
"I mean, to protect something more important, sometimes a price must be paid."
"Even if misunderstood, even if punished, as long as the world remains at peace, a Ranger has no regrets."
McGonagall stared at him for a long time, and finally seemed to laugh out of exasperation.
"You are still so peculiar, Rove. Now, all of you go back to bed! Notices for your detention will be sent to you soon."
Walking out of the office, Harry was on the verge of tears.
"Everyone is going to hate us to death."
Rove patted Harry on the shoulder and handed him a handkerchief he pulled from somewhere.
"Don't cry, Ring-Bearer." He pointed to the moon outside the window. "Heroes are always lonely. At the end of the story, people will sing our praises. As for now... let us enjoy this solitude."
Harry looked at Rove. Although he was still very sad, for some reason, he suddenly felt it wasn't quite as hopeless.
"You're weird, Rove," Harry sniffled. "But thanks."
> [Current Status: Rove [Status: Despised Reservist / Master of Mental Victory].]