Guess What Contribution Dumbledore Made

The next day happened to be the weekend, and Harley prepared to take another trip to Hagrid's to see if there were any materials she could use; she wanted to purchase a bit more.

Although taking advantage of his generosity was a comfortable thing to do, Hagrid was such a kind person and cared for Harley so much that she couldn't bring herself to be that thick-skinned all the time.

Besides, the prices Hagrid charged Harley for materials were very cheap, which already made her very happy.

Hermione accompanied Harley on the trip, taking the opportunity to put the Potion knowledge she had learned into practice.

Almost everything was as usual, the only difference being that Harley noticed something abnormal about Hagrid's hut from quite a distance away.

It was already February, and the weather was starting to turn warm. Yet, Hagrid's hut had its windows tightly shut, and his thick curtains were drawn.

But was Hagrid afraid of the cold? The robust physique brought about by his suspected half-giant heritage gave him the ability to swim back and forth in the Black Lake even in the coldest winter.

Harley subconsciously drew her wand, pinched her earlobe, activated Spirit Vision, and looked into the wooden hut.

After all, the reason Harley felt something was off was because she had judged it from the details, not from any spiritual warning obtained through mysticism. So, she wasn't worried about seeing anything she shouldn't.

"What's wrong?" Hermione, standing to the side, noticed Harley's reaction and couldn't help but ask.

"Hagrid's hut isn't quite the same as usual," Harley replied concisely.

Hermione scrutinized Hagrid's hut carefully and also frowned: "Indeed. The weather isn't cold enough to warrant locking the doors and windows and drawing the curtains, is it!"

"Exactly," Harley nodded, "And the chimney has been puffing smoke the whole time; he must have the fireplace going.

I don't know if he's sick... no, perhaps not... he seems quite healthy..."

"What?" The last few words of Harley's sentence were so quiet that even Hermione couldn't hear them clearly.

However, Harley didn't explain; she simply pointed at the hut: "We'll go in and see for ourselves, and we'll know what's going on."

During her earlier observation with Spirit Vision, the color of Hagrid's spirit body looked very healthy, and the spirituality of the materials around him was as active as ever, though constantly dissipating.

It seemed Hagrid didn't have any major problems; the only thing that made Harley regretful was that although she had taught Hagrid many ways to preserve materials, it appeared Hagrid's methods were not correct.

Harley gently knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut: "Hagrid, are you home?"

"Who is it?" Hagrid's thick, yet slightly panicked voice rang out.

"It's me, Harley!" Harley answered loudly, "Hermione and I have come to visit you!"

"Wait a moment, just a moment, I'll be right there..."

After a while, Hagrid opened the door of the small wooden hut just a crack.

After confirming who it was through the gap, he quickly opened the door, let Harley and Hermione in, and then immediately shut the door tight.

The hut was stiflingly hot, and the flames in the fireplace were leaping high.

"Why are you two here?" Hagrid brought over tea and stoat sandwiches, though Harley and Hermione tacitly declined the latter.

"There are no classes on the weekend, so we came to visit you. At the same time, I wanted to buy some more materials from you."

Harley took out a piece of parchment, "Hagrid, take a look and see if you have these items?"

"No problem!" Hagrid glanced at the parchment, "I've seen these materials in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, and there are plenty in the Forbidden Forest that look very similar.

I'll write to you once I've gathered them, and you can come and identify if they are the correct materials."

After saying this, Hagrid wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a large gulp of tea, and then said with a smile:

"Harley, you really are just like your mother. Lily was just as fond of Potion studies back then..."

Harley listened to Hagrid speak while quietly observing the room.

Hermione, however, was listening very intently; she was quite interested in things from the time of Harley's parents.

Ten minutes later, Hagrid's throat was parched from talking. Taking advantage of the gap while he drank tea, Harley began to steer the direction of the conversation:

"Hagrid, it's so warm outside, why are you keeping the doors and windows closed and using the fireplace?

I see you've broken into such a sweat, you must be very hot. Do you want me to open a window for some fresh air?"

As she spoke, Harley made a move to stand up and open the window.

"Don't!" Hagrid immediately shouted to stop her, "You can't open the window, the dragon egg needs a hot environment..."

"Dragon egg?" Hermione keenly caught the word Hagrid had said.

"Oh!" Hagrid covered his face.

After a long while, he said dejectedly: "Alright, I admit it. I recently obtained a dragon egg, and I'm currently hatching it."

"But Hagrid," Hermione said with a look of shock, "Professor Binns just told us in class this week that the 1709 Wizarding Convention officially passed the ban on dragon breeding, and those who violate the law will be punished by the Ministry of Magic!"

"Oh, that's not a problem," Hagrid hadn't listened at all, "I believe that once the people at the Ministry of Magic see such a cute little thing as a dragon, they won't have the heart to punish it.

It's fine, trust me. Let's talk about the dragon egg itself!

I borrowed a book from the library, and it says you have to hatch a dragon egg in fire..."

Without realizing it, Hagrid became excited and began to show off all sorts of information about his dragon egg.

However, Harley was more interested in the channels Hagrid used to obtain the dragon egg; perhaps she could acquire some contraband materials through that same source.

So, she began to steer the conversation in that direction.

"Hagrid, can you afford that much high-quality brandy? I imagine you spent a fortune when you got the dragon egg."

Harley interjected at the perfect moment when he was describing how to feed the baby dragon.

"Oh, actually, I didn't spend much at all," Hagrid said, scratching the back of his head with a laugh.

"I was drinking in the village of Hogsmeade a few days ago and happened to run into a masked stranger.

We played a few rounds of cards, and this dragon egg was the stake; I ended up winning it. Though, I suspect he was just dying to get rid of the thing!

My only expense was buying him two Butterbeers. I got lucky—he didn't even drink Firewhisky!"

Harley felt a bit disappointed. She had no need for a dragon egg; at most, it could only be used to craft some Sealed Artifacts.

What Harley was truly interested in was a potential black-market channel, but clearly, this had just been a stroke of luck.

Of course, Harley had already caught one name from Hagrid's lips: "Knockturn Alley." This was a place she had never heard mentioned at school.

Harley made a mental note of it, planning to sneak a look for herself when the opportunity arose.

While Harley was lost in thought, Hagrid began arguing with Hermione, who was desperately trying to persuade him to get rid of the egg:

"Hagrid, just think about it! You live in a wooden house, and dragons breathe fire!

So, once it hatches, it could easily burn your house down, exposing the fact that you're illegally raising a dragon!

Even if it doesn't burn your house down, a dragon can grow as long as your house within two weeks! You have to get rid of it!"

"Oh, no!" Hagrid bit his lip. "I can't. This baby hasn't even been born yet; where could it go?

I have to at least hatch it and raise it until it can live on its own, otherwise, it will be harmed the moment it's out in the wild!

Only Hogwarts is safe enough!"

Hearing Hagrid's words, Harley suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

She spoke in a low, haunting voice: "Safe enough? Hagrid, I think you've forgotten what Dumbledore's most famous achievement is."

Hagrid looked at Harley, bewildered: "What achievement?"

Hermione had already answered before he could: "One of Professor Dumbledore's most famous academic achievements is discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood!"

Hagrid's large face turned deathly pale in an instant; he opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.