Pabbie Exposed (8000 Words)

On Saturday morning, Harry learned through the Two-way mirror that Gringotts had obtained the Angel Feather from Professor Dumbledore.

Harry was stunned when he heard that Gringotts had been acquired in exchange for 40 percent of Honeydukes' shares.

He thought to himself, "It seems Gringotts really went all out."

That leaves only the Basilisk Fang.

Harry listed the urgent matters that needed to be addressed: besides finding Cassandra's location and rescuing Veratia, there was also buying a computer for Nicolas Flamel.

He really didn't expect that Mr. LeMay would become addicted to computers.

But this is a good thing, it means that the old man has rediscovered the meaning of life.

The rest... is just training the friends in the Dueling Club.

Life went on uneventfully, and before we knew it, September had passed and October had arrived.

In October, the Scottish Highlands are frosty and dewy, with a damp chill permeating the grounds and seeping into the castle.

A sudden flu outbreak occurred among faculty and students, leaving head nurse Madam Pomfrey in a flurry of activity.

Her Pepperup Potion has an immediate effect, but people who drink it will experience a burning sensation in their ears for several hours.

Ron was also unfortunately affected. He had planned to lie down in his dorm for a while, but Hermione rushed into the boys' dorm with the potion and, to Ron's horrified surprise, forced a whole bottle down his throat.

This caused a commotion; steam suddenly billowed from Ron's fiery red hair, as if his entire head were on fire.

"How could you come to the boys' dormitory!" Ron asked, covering himself with the blanket, both terrified and belatedly realizing what had happened.

"Oh, come on, Ronald!" Hermione sneered. "If I don't come, who else can make you take your medicine?"

After saying that, she took out several Muggle world pills from her pocket and slapped them on Ron's blanket.

"If Madam Pomfrey's potion doesn't work, try these— Harry should know how to take them, have him teach you."

After saying that, Hermione left the boys' dormitory without looking back.

Harry and his friends watched Ron with glee, muttering things like "crazy woman," "can't find a boyfriend," and "no normal person would want her." The dormitory was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

That evening, Ron's cold still hadn't gotten better, so he remembered the medicine Hermione had mentioned.

"How should I take this?" Ron looked down at the instructions. "Oh, three times a day, two pills each time."

After saying that, he took out a pill, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it up with a crunch.

Harry tried to stop him, but it was too late; he watched as Harry put on the Pain Mask.

"This is too painful! Blood Mother Hell! Is Hermione trying to kill me?" he said, his little face twitching.

Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Good heavens, Ron, this is taken with water, you can't swallow it!"

As he spoke, he took out... half a chocolate bar from his pocket.

After thinking about it, I realized that this must be the piece of chocolate that I broke off for Pabbie at the Dursley family last time.

I remember Pabbie said it was quite sweet.

"How about we have some of this?" Harry said. "Chocolate. It won't be bitter after we eat it."

Ron took the half chocolate without hesitation, broke off half of it without thinking, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's even worse now!" he said with a mournful face.

Harry glanced at Ron.

"How could that be?" he said. "Last time I gave it to Pabbie, she said it was very sweet."

"Want to try it?" Ron handed the half-chocolate to Harry.

Harry took the chocolate and put it in his mouth...

It was indeed very bitter, very bitter.

He couldn't help but recall the last time he saw Pabbie eating chocolate; Pabbie clearly said it was very sweet...

Do Unicorn have a different sense of taste than humans?

He muttered to himself, planning to ask Hagrid later, since he was an expert on magical creatures.

That evening, Harry also received a letter from Mr. LeMay.

Dear Sir:

It is with pleasure that I inform you that Miss Sweeting's health has almost fully recovered.

When the Christmas holidays come, you can come to Paris and bring her back to Hogwarts.

Also, please bring me several computers when you come to Paris for research purposes.

Nicolas Flamel's letter to Harry Potter, 14, October, 1992

Harry accepted the letter, feeling happy for Pabbie's recovery.

But at the same time, he wrote back to Mr. LeMay, anxiously inquiring about Pabbie's sense of taste.

Of course, he wasn't idle either; he went to Hagrid's Hut again.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard a deafening sneeze coming from inside.

It was Hagrid. He looked like he had a cold and was sitting by the fire wrapped in a thick blanket.

"Hagrid? What's wrong?" Harry asked with concern.

"It fell into the water today," Hagrid replied succinctly. "Good heavens, that Puffskein was so slippery, it would probably have drowned if I hadn't jumped in... Achoo!"

Harry sat down next to Hagrid and reached out to warm himself by the fire.

The night was damp and cold, and as Harry walked this distance, the cold wind blew into his arms, giving him goosebumps.

"You feel cold too, don't you?"

Hagrid picked up a handkerchief—or rather, a rag—and blew his nose forcefully.

"It's really cold," Harry said, snuggling up to Hagrid for warmth. "By the way, Hagrid, I came to ask you something."

"Oh, go ahead and ask." Hagrid rubbed his nose.

"Well—" Harry organized his thoughts, "Do Unicorn have the same sense of taste as humans? I mean, for example, what we humans consider bitter, might Unicorn consider sweet?"

Hagrid turned his head and stared at Harry for a moment.

He reached out and touched Harry's forehead again.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Hagrid chuckled. "Oh, let me see if you have a fever, that you're talking nonsense—good heavens, how can Unicorn be like this... It doesn't make sense that what we consider bitter, they would consider sweet."

"Really?" Harry asked suspiciously. "Then why did Pabbie say the chocolate was sweet? I just ate a piece, and it was definitely bitter."

"Normal Unicorn don't talk, Harry," Hagrid said, rubbing his beard.

After saying that, he took out a bunch of red berries from a basin next to him.

Harry didn't recognize the berries, and true to his principle of asking questions when he didn't understand, he asked, "Hagrid, what are these things?"

Hagrid chuckled and replied, "These are the berries that Unicorn love to eat. I don't know what they're called either—perhaps I should ask Professor Sprout."

Harry nodded knowingly, reached out and took a berry the size of his thumbnail, and put it in his mouth...

"Good heavens, this is so sweet!" Harry said, wrinkling his nose. "It's as sweet as the lemon syrup in Professor Dumbledore's cup."

"Lemon-flavored syrup?" Hagrid paused for a moment, then realized what Harry meant and laughed, "Yes, you're absolutely right, Professor Dumbledore did drink lemon syrup."

"I understand, Hagrid. Thank you." A seed of doubt had been planted in Harry's heart, and he awaited Mr. LeMay's reply.

Hagrid thought for a moment and continued, "However... Harry, I just like Magical Creatures, but that doesn't mean I know anything about them—if you want to know more, I suggest you write to Mr. Scamander."

"Mr. Scamander?" Harry felt the name sounded familiar.

"Do you remember the book ' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them '?" Hagrid said. "The author of that book, Mr. Scamander. Newt Scamander."

Harry suddenly realized why the name sounded so familiar.

"So how can I find his contact information?" Harry asked the question in his mind.

Hagrid stood up, rummaged through the table, and picked out a thick book, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

He turned to the title page, pointed to the circled text, and said, "Look, this is it—take a note of it."

Harry felt that the handwriting in front of him looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Seeing Harry lost in thought, Hagrid nudged him and said, "Alright, Harry, stop daydreaming—go get your pen."

"No, wait," Harry suddenly said, "I feel like I've seen this handwriting somewhere before—is it Mr. Scamander's handwriting?"

Hagrid laughed, stroking his beard, and said, "How could that be? This is Professor Dumbledore's handwriting—he wrote it for me, and if anyone other than you asked me, I would never tell him."

Professor Dumbledore?

Harry suddenly remembered that the Invisibility Cloak he received last Christmas had a note with the same handwriting as this one, with circles inside circles.

So... the Invisibility Cloak was a gift from Professor Dumbledore?

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hagrid asked with concern.

"Oh, I was just thinking about last year's Invisibility Cloak," Harry said truthfully, not wanting to hide anything from Hagrid. "Professor Dumbledore said in the note that it was my father's keepsake... so he knew my father."

"Of course I know him." Hagrid smiled kindly. "Your father? Your father is a member of the Order of the Phoenix..."

Harry was taken aback.

No, the Order of the Phoenix?

"What did you say? What society?" Harry asked again for confirmation.

"The Order of the Phoenix? What's wrong?" Hagrid asked, somewhat puzzled. "It's an organization Professor Dumbledore established to fight against the Dark Lord. Your father was one of the most valiant wizards in it!"

Harry opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

The Order of the Phoenix, isn't that the organization I founded a hundred years ago?

It seems this junior student... is quite the scholar?

"You can write your letter here," Hagrid added. "I can deliver it for you. Mr. Scamander may not know you, but with my introduction, he should read your letter."

"Yes, Hagrid." Harry nodded seriously.

He carefully crafted his words, detailing his questions about Pabbie in the letter, and concluded by requesting Mr. Scamander's assistance.

After that, he carefully packed the letter and put it into an envelope.

Hagrid took the envelope and signed his name on it as well.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'll get the letter to Mr. Scamander as soon as possible," Hagrid said, patting Harry on the back.

Perhaps because Hagrid had a cold, he hadn't controlled his strength properly, and those two blows almost made Harry's lungs pop out.

Soon it was the last day of October, and Hogwarts was Halloween Feast.

The previous Halloween, Harry encountered an incident where Troll broke in.

Hogwarts this year seems to be going smoothly so far, since everyone is healthy and together except for Mrs. Norris Colin Creevey.

On the last day of October, he also received letters from Nicolas Flamel and Mr. Scamander.

Mr. LeMay's letter explained Pabbie's situation and told him not to worry, as it might be due to the special circumstances of the magical Margus.

Mr. Scamander's letter was quite intriguing; he said that... he had already arrived at Hogwarts when he received the letter.

Harry put away the letter, looked up, and sure enough, saw an unfamiliar old man sitting in the Faculty Table. He was sitting between Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore, with Hagrid looking at him like a fanboy, while the man had his head down, seemingly talking to Dumbledore, or perhaps listening to Dumbledore speak.

Could this be Mr. Scamander?

He glanced to the side again. The other professors all looked normal, but Professor Lockhart's gaze towards Mr. Scamander was clearly a little off.

It was as if the two of them were sworn enemies.

Perhaps it's because Mr. Scamander is also a bestselling author, Harry thought, just as Virginia Woolf despised Lawrence.

With these questions in mind, Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, but after waiting all night, no one came looking for him.

The next day, Harry received an invitation from Hagrid, saying that Professor Scamander was already waiting for him at Hagrid's Hut.

Harry hurried off to Hagrid's Hut, intending to meet the expert on Magical Creatures.

Upon entering the hut, Harry pushed open the door and found Hagrid busily boiling water, with an old man sitting on a chair nearby, his head bowed.

"Oh, Harry." Hagrid put down his water bottle and greeted Harry as he entered. "You've come at the right time. Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Newt Mr. Scamander, the expert on Magical Creatures."

Harry stepped forward and extended his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Scamander."

The old man kept his head down, seemingly unable to meet Harry's gaze—probably due to social anxiety.

He reached out and shook Harry's hand. "Hello, Mr. Potter, I... I've heard about you."

Before Harry could say anything, he saw Mr. Scamander look up at him with bright eyes.

"The Unicorn you mentioned—where is she?"

"Uh, Pabbie isn't in the Forbidden Forest right now," Harry said honestly. "I went to France during the summer holidays, Mr. LeMay said she wasn't feeling well and needed to stay and recuperate, so I left her at Mr. LeMay's house..."

"You actually know Mr. LeMay?" "When did you go to France?"

Mr. Scamander Hagrid the question together, the former out of curiosity and the latter out of concern.

"I'm friends with Mr. LeMay, after all, I gave him his Philosopher's Stone..." Harry stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him.

"Oh." Hagrid nodded, imagining Dumbledore introducing Harry to Mr. LeMay...

Mr. Scamander nodded knowingly, then asked, "What's Miss Pabbie, the Unicorn you mentioned, like? Would you like to tell me more about her?"

"Hmm..." Harry paused to gather his thoughts. "I should say, Pabbie very cheerful. She loves eating human food—and she also loves eating grass. Oh, and like I said in the letter, after eating the chocolate I bought, she thought it was very sweet, but the chocolate itself tasted bitter."

"Can I try some chocolate?" Mr. Scamander asked.

Harry took the chocolate out of his wallet and handed it to Mr. Scamander.

"A really cool wallet—it looks like Untraceable Extension Charm?" Mr. Scamander asked with interest. "You can't find anything like this on the market anymore."

"Gringotts gave it to me," Harry said truthfully.

Mr. Scamander and Hagrid both thought Harry was joking.

"Haha, how could those stingy Goblin in Gringotts possibly give you something like this?" Hagrid stroked his beard and said, "They're all extremely miserly creatures with an unimaginable thirst for money—you might as well say you bought it in Knockturn Alley, so I must warn you, Knockturn Alley is extremely dangerous, a little wizard like you should never go in casually—be careful the Dark Wizard inside don't kidnap you!"

At this point, Hagrid stretched out his hand in a claw-like gesture, trying to scare Harry.

"Yes, Knockturn Alley is horrible," Harry said curtly. "Thanks for reminding me, Hagrid."

"You know that much," Hagrid patted him on the shoulder. "Listen to what Mr. Scamander has to say."

Mr. Scamander picked up the chocolate, carefully broke off a small piece, and savored it.

"Pure dark chocolate, at least 95% concentrated." Mr. Scamander savored it carefully. "Normally, Unicorn wouldn't like this flavor..."

"So..." Harry asked tentatively.

"If she were a normal Unicorn, she definitely wouldn't eat chocolate, especially since she finds it sweet," Mr. Scamander stated confidently. "Besides, Unicorn generally don't talk..."

This statement did enlighten Harry. Indeed, while Pabbie was Unicorn, she was, after all, magical Margus, and in essence, she was still human.

Harry thought for a moment, could it be because Pabbie was human that he liked the taste of chocolate?

But you can't just call something bitter sweet...

"However, it's hard to say for sure," Mr. Scamander said after a moment of contemplation. "After all, people's constitutions are different, and it's hard to say that the Unicorn's constitution has also undergone some kind of mutation—just like what you said about Miss Pabbie being able to talk, that's the same principle."

"I see." Harry still couldn't shake his doubts and planned to ask Veratia again that evening.

After all, Pabbie is magical Margus, Harry was genuinely worried that if the truth were to be revealed, someone might harm Pabbie.

But Mr. LeMay was different. He was an old friend of Veratia's parents, and Veratia trusted him completely. Even Cassandra, who always looked down on others, spoke of Mr. LeMay with respect.

"I think I should go with Tina to see Mr. LeMay," Mr. Scamander said, a hint of excitement in his aged face. "Actually, I really like Magical Creatures —it's just that Unicorn never approach human men..."

Now that you mention it...

Harry thought Pabbie seemed to resemble Mr. Scamander in some ways.

"But this name..." Mr. Scamander thought for a moment, "It sounds familiar, like one of my elders was named Pabbie..."

Harry glanced at Newt, still thinking to himself...

The British wizarding world is really small; it feels like anyone you pick out could be connected to someone else.

Hmm... Could it be that there are now descendants of Sebastian and Ominis? Harry wondered.

Just as Harry was lost in thought, Mr. Scamander finally remembered.

"Oh, I remember now," Mr. Scamander said. "My mother, Linda Scamander, whose last name Sweeting before she got married, had a sister named Pabbie, Pabbie Sweeting. Like my mother and me, she loved Magical Creatures ..."

Harry: Huh?

Oh, so it turns out that a passion for Magical Creatures can be inherited?

"I'm sorry, but I really feel a connection to this name." Mr. Scamander smiled sheepishly. "However, my mother said that my aunt seems to have disappeared before I was born, and no one knows where she is... Hmm, I've heard that Unicorn have very long lifespans, so perhaps this Unicorn with the same name as my aunt is a friend of hers."

Harry thought to himself, "She doesn't just know your aunt, she is your aunt."

However, even if Mr. Scamander said this, he might not believe it, and might even feel offended.

So Harry chose to remain silent, but Pabbie would tell him himself if he wanted to.

"In that case, I should set off as soon as possible." Mr. Scamander seemed somewhat impatient. "My mother's dying wish was to find my aunt. I hope this Unicorn Lady can find out about her."

"I hope so," Harry said to Mr. Scamander.

Mr. Scamander seemed to be an impatient man; he quickly apologized to Hagrid and Harry, got up, and left the hut.

Judging from his expression, he wanted to go home as soon as possible to pick up his wife Tina so they could go to France to visit Pabbie.

But as soon as he stepped out of the room, he turned back and took out his wand.

A loud clattering sound came from inside the room, as if a plate had fallen and shattered on the floor.

"Accio Niffler Accio!"

Mr. Scamander flicked his wand, and in Harry's sight, a black hamster flew out of Hagrid's cupboard.

"Sorry, it always likes to run around, that little guy..." Mr. Scamander said apologetically.

"It's alright, I like them very much," Hagrid said, patting his beard.

Mr. Scamander stuffed the still-struggling Niffler into his pocket and turned to leave Hagrid's Hut.

As Mr. Scamander walked further and further away until he disappeared from sight, Hagrid covered his mouth with both hands, looking extremely surprised.

"My God, I never imagined there could be such a connection..."

"Yes, I really didn't expect that," Harry said sincerely; he truly hadn't thought of it.

A hundred years ago, Harry had never heard of Pabbie having a sister, nor had he ever heard her talk about her family.

Besides, her sister's son wouldn't have the surname Sweeting, so Harry certainly wouldn't have thought of that.

"Would you like some Rock Cakes?" Hagrid pulled several large pieces of Rock Cakes —as big as cartwheels—from the cupboard and handed them to Harry.

Harry wanted to politely decline, but Hagrid had already handed it to him, so he could only thank him and accept it.

Hmm... go back and soak it in water before eating. Actually, once it's softened, it should hold its shape...

Wait, something's not right?

Why not soak it in a cocoa powder drink or in milk? Wouldn't that taste even better?

Thinking of this, Harry asked again, "Do you still have Rock Cakes, Hagrid? I'm planning to bring some back for Hermione and Ron."

"Oh, yes." Hagrid was so pleased that Harry liked his Rock Cakes so much that he stuffed more than ten into his hands.

Harry stuffed the Rock Cakes into his wallet and waved goodbye to Hagrid.

"Goodbye, Hagrid," he said.

"Goodbye, Harry." Hagrid waved with a smile.

Since it's Sunday and Halloween, there are no classes at school.

Harry carried a piece of Rock Cakes all the way from Hagrid's Hut back to the castle.

He sat at the Gryffindor's long table until after ten o'clock before Ron and the others finally arrived, yawning.

"Good heavens, Harry," Ron said with a yawn, "You're up early—what's that in your hand?"

He didn't see it clearly.

"Rock Cakes, Hagrid asked me to bring it to you," Harry said innocently.

Upon hearing Harry's words, Ron's expression changed instantly.

"My goodness Merlin!" he exclaimed in shock. "Harry, are you going to murder us too? Good heavens, how can we possibly eat such a huge Rock Cakes?"

"Don't worry." Harry took out his wand and broke the Rock Cakes into small pieces.

"But this isn't something we can eat." Ron picked up a small piece and tapped it on the table—

As its name suggests, the Rock Cakes cake makes the same sound as a stone hitting a table when tapped on it.

"Look at this, is this even edible?" he said angrily.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly added, "I wasn't talking about Hagrid."

"Perhaps we should find another way to eat it." Harry tapped the table, and a glass of milk, a glass of hot cocoa, and several empty bowls appeared in front of him.

He placed a small piece of Rock Cakes in a bowl, poured in some hot milk, then some hot cocoa. After it softened slightly, he pressed it down on the Rock Cakes with Prongs.

"Here, have a taste." Harry handed the bowl to Ron.

Ron turned a blind eye, looking at Harry with suspicion.

"Try it, I wouldn't lie to you," Harry said.

Ron picked up his Prongs and took out a piece of Rock Cakes.

"It went soft as expected."

He exclaimed with delight as he put the cocoa milk-flavored Rock Cakes into his mouth.

"It's delicious!"

Seeing Ron's expression, Neville and Seamus asked skeptically, "Really? Aren't Rock Cakes supposed to be very hard?"

"Who said this Rock Cakes is hard? It's absolutely delicious!" Ron quickly shoveled the Rock Cakes into his mouth, then handed the bowl back to Harry: "Get me some more!"

"You guys make yourselves, the cocoa and milk are right there," Harry said. "I have something to do, I need to go out for a bit."

"Oh, okay." Ron and the other two sat down around where Harry had been sitting and began preparing Harry's Rock Cakes.

Harry left the Great Hall and went to the second-floor restroom, where he cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.

As he came out of the restroom, he suddenly heard that voice again.

"Kill... kill! Destroy them!"

Harry was startled, but the voice only appeared for a moment before disappearing.

He paced back and forth on the second floor, waiting for a long time, but the sound did not appear again.

Left with no other choice, he had to give up searching for the source of the sound and went up the stairs to the entrance of the Map Chamber.

He still managed to dispel the Ancient Magic fluctuations and followed the door into the Map Chamber.

"Harry?"

Veratia greeted them, sounding somewhat unhappy.

Harry walked up to Veratia and looked up at Veratia, whose cheeks were puffed out.

"Fifty-five days, seventeen hours, thirty-six minutes, and two seconds." Veratia crossed her arms and looked down at Harry. "That's the time since you last visited me."

"Oh, sorry, Veratia," Harry quickly explained, "I've been searching for those two alchemical ingredients lately..."

"So, did you find it?" Veratia squinted her beautiful eyes.

Harry nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Gringotts has obtained the Angel Feather from Professor Dumbledore, reportedly in exchange for 40 percent of Honeydukes' shares."

Veratia was somewhat taken aback upon hearing this news.

It wasn't that I was surprised at how easily I obtained the Angel Feather, but rather...

"Honeydukes shares? Are they really that valuable?" she asked, puzzled.

"Honeydukes is a candy shop," Harry explained. "Professor Dumbledore has a sweet tooth, and he'd even accept Cockroach Candy —you know, like Chocolate Frog, they move and look exactly like real cockroaches."

"Disgusting," Veratia said with disgust. "But this is good news; I'll forgive you for not visiting me... So, is there any news about the Basilisk Fang?"

Harry sighed. "Not yet. It seems like this creature hasn't appeared for a long time..."

At this point, he slapped his thigh, belatedly realizing, "Oh no, Mr. Scamander was just here, I forgot to ask him... He's Magical Creatures expert!"

"Mr. Scamander?" Veratia frowned; the name... made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Although she had never met anyone with the surname Scamander, she was instinctively annoyed.

"Yes, Mr. Scamander is, by kinship terms, the son of Pabbie' sister Linda," Harry explained to Veratia with a smile. "But as you know, Pabbie has been staying at Mr. LeMay's house to recuperate, and Mr. Scamander plans to visit her..."

He recounted everything that had happened to Veratia in detail, and then added, "I also ate the chocolate that Pabbie ate, and it wasn't as sweet as she described..."

Before the words were finished...

Click!

Veratia's portrait cracked again.

Veratia: ()?!

"What did you say?! You ate the chocolate she had eaten?!"

(Please vote with your monthly tickets, my good brothers! The monthly ticket ranking is really useful, don't wait for double votes QWQ)

(The last one will be updated during the day. I'm a bit neurasthenic, so I need to sleep more and recharge.)