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Chapter 67: Petrified three-headed dog

Harry and Ron agreed, confident that they could extract information from Hagrid. After all, Hagrid was known to be tight-lipped, but that was only if you didn't have a bottle opener...

So, the three of them went to Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid, what happened to you?"

Harry looked at Hagrid's bandaged face, his half-burnt clothes, and the large patches of missing hair and beard, and asked in surprise.

"Oh, it's nothing. I accidentally burned myself while adding too much wood to the fire last night," Hagrid said somewhat evasively.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged glances, sensing there was more to this than met the eye.

"Hagrid, did you do something against school rules?" Harry asked.

"No! Absolutely not!" Hagrid jumped, shouting agitatedly, "Don't go spreading rumors, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

Hermione furrowed her brow in suspicion and moved closer to Hagrid to examine him more closely.

"There's something wrong," she said. "You don't just have burn marks, but also scratches from some animal."

Hagrid hurriedly covered his coat with his hands, taking a few awkward steps back, causing the entire hut to shake slightly.

"No, it's probably just a scratch I got myself," he stammered.

"Hagrid, I remember you wanted to get a dragon," Hermione said with sharp eyes. "Burn marks, scratches from animals... Did you really get a dragon?"

"I didn't!" Hagrid blurted out, "Look closely, the scratches from a scorpion tail beast are different from those of a dragon!"

After saying that, he regretted it immediately and quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late.

"So you did get a scorpion tail beast?" Hermione asked. "Then what are the burn marks from? I've read 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Scamander, and it doesn't mention that scorpion tail beasts can breathe fire."

"Alright, I admit I did something wrong last night," Hagrid said dejectedly. "I tried to crossbreed a scorpion tail beast with a fire crab. I was hiding nearby, but for some reason, it suddenly got bright, and then I was discovered by the animals..."

Harry and Ron looked at him sympathetically and patted Hagrid's large belly to comfort him.

At this moment, Hermione subtly signaled to the other two.

Harry suddenly remembered they had a mission today and quickly changed his tone.

"Hagrid, you were overwhelmed by a few fire crabs and a scorpion tail beast? You don't seem to be as good with animals as you say," he said, looking down on him.

To be honest, his acting was a bit exaggerated, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice.

"Nonsense! I'm excellent with small animals!" Hagrid felt his expertise was being challenged and retorted indignantly.

"But we can't see that." Even slow-witted Ron caught on, adding, "I think you could only tame the three-headed dog by chance!"

Hagrid's face turned red and scruffy as he slammed his hand on the table, making a loud noise.

"Ridiculous!" he shouted. "The three-headed dog is the easiest to deal with. You just need to know how to calm it down, play some music for it, and it will fall right asleep..."

Before he could finish, a look of terror suddenly appeared on Hagrid's face.

"I shouldn't have told you that!" he said painfully. "Forget what I said! Hey—where are you going?"

At this point, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten what they needed. They left Hagrid's hut and ran straight to the entrance hall of the castle without exchanging another word.

Breathless, they stood in the quiet entrance hall, looking at each other, their expressions shifting from confusion to determination.

"We must not delay; we need to get to the forbidden area as soon as possible to stop Quirrell!" Harry said, pulling out the invisibility cloak from his pocket.

Hermione and Ron nodded and they all squeezed under the invisibility cloak together.

Following the memory of their previous nocturnal excursion, they quickly arrived outside the corridor on the fourth floor—the door was slightly ajar.

"Looks like it," Harry whispered. "Quirrell may have already managed to get past Fluffy."

Seeing the half-open door, they seemed to gain a clearer sense of what they were about to face. Harry turned under the cloak to look at Ron and Hermione.

"If you want to back out now, I won't blame you," he said. "It's Voldemort I should be facing. I don't want to drag you into this. You don't have to join me in thwarting his plans. Even if he does return, you'd have a chance to save yourselves."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ron said.

"Let's go in together," Hermione said firmly, shaking her head.

Harry took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

As he stepped through, his mood became somber, as if he was walking into a destined fate...

However, instead of the deep growling of the three-headed dog, they were met with darkness and silence.

"Hermione, didn't you say the three-headed dog would definitely smell us out and that the invisibility cloak wouldn't work?" Harry asked in a low voice. "There's no movement now—could it be because the cloak hides our scent too?"

Hermione frowned, took a few steps forward, and suddenly lifted the invisibility cloak.

"Hermione!"

"Hermione, what are you doing?"

But Hermione ignored their concerns and extended her wand into the darkness.

"Lumos!"

A small light appeared at the tip of Hermione's wand, illuminating the dim room.

Harry and Ron were astonished to see a huge three-headed dog, nearly filling half the room, standing motionless.

One of its heads had wide open eyes, glaring angrily, while the other two heads had their eyes closed, as if they were still half asleep.

The three-headed dog remained perfectly still, not even breathing.

Harry mustered up his courage and walked up to it, patting its body, but found its fur and flesh were as stiff as wood.

"Quirrell must have used a curse we don't know about to petrify Fluffy," Hermione said quietly. "We need to be prepared; he's far stronger than we imagined."

Her tone was heavy with concern.