"I need him to retrieve something very important."
"So... I have to take a look in secret."
Upon hearing this, Black's thoughts began turning again.
What Dumbledore had said—
that very important thing—
was probably the Philosopher's Stone.
Logically speaking, Dumbledore couldn't possibly be unaware of Hagrid's careless nature.
Although he hadn't made any mistakes in the original story, still...
the chances of Hagrid slipping up were quite high, weren't they?
Why didn't Dumbledore retrieve that thing himself?
Even if he didn't go, he could have sent Professor McGonagall, or Professor Flitwick, or some other more reliable professor.
Why did it have to be Hagrid?
Taking a step back, if Dumbledore truly was as he claimed, and trusted Hagrid completely, then why did he need to secretly follow alongside and watch him?
Who was he watching?
Or rather!
Had Dumbledore deliberately sent the careless Hagrid to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone?
Only then could certain people be reassured enough to take the bait?
And then he could secretly observe from nearby to see who harbored ill intentions?
Dumbledore asked with a smile, "You seem to have thought of quite a lot?"
"I do have many questions." Black shrugged.
"You only need to know one thing: it isn't that I don't trust Hagrid."
"I secretly followed Hagrid in order to observe."
"To observe the people around Hagrid."
"To observe who might take a particular interest in Hagrid and the others tomorrow."
"I've always had a feeling that person isn't dead yet..."
Sure enough!
A flicker of realization passed through Black's eyes.
That made sense.
The Philosopher's Stone... was bait.
Or rather, a trap.
At this time, only the half-dead Voldemort
would desire the Philosopher's Stone most desperately.
He needed the Philosopher's Stone to revive!
And at this point, Dumbledore probably still didn't