They Say Only Friendship Can Be Open and Unashamed / Roosters Need Someone to Raise Them Too

The two strolled together on campus undisturbed, clearing their minds and saying things they didn't want others to hear...

This simple pastime was something the two, whose movements had been restricted, hadn't enjoyed for a long time.

And although they claimed to be relaxing, they actually kept talking about topics related to the incident.

"Luna Lovegood secretly told me that the Mandrake have become quiet and unpredictable, and Cedric Diggory believes this is a sign that they are about to mature and has already begun arranging for their final repotting."

Because Harry has been going to the Headmaster's Office to brew medicine from time to time lately, Hermione has been keeping an eye on the Room of Requirement. She's been like a diligent secretary, faithfully recording the messages from everyone on her side.

Hermione was very pleased that Harry was able to find normal humans at Hogwarts to help him, aside from ghosts and Peeves, although she still had reservations about one particular member.

That crazy, rambling girl— Harry actually gave her the combination to his briefcase! Isn't that a bit too much of a responsibility?!

Chapter 164 I've heard that only friendship can be truly open and honest.

Harry didn't notice Hermione's slightly jealous expression; he was simply relieved about the news about the Mandrake.

"This is definitely good news. With these Mandrake, we no longer need to worry about the victims' recovery."

Luna Lovegood and Neville provided excellent assistance, which gave Harry more confidence in dealing with his enemies.

Now all that's left to wait for is the Veritaserum. Once Harry has that powerful tool for interrogation, Harry can start by breaking through Gilderoy Lockhart and officially launch a full-scale counterattack!

"Hagrid's Hut... can't we really get there?"

The two walked until they reached the vicinity of Hagrid's Hut. Hermione's expression hesitated for a moment, as if she really wanted to go inside and take a look.

"Not now. We have people watching us; it could cause trouble." Harry shook his head warily, leading Hermione in a different direction. "Let's go to the Black Lake. It'll be nice to sit on the shore."

Although many Pure-blood Family have left, the annoying pests still remain. During the holidays, they might relax their surveillance on Hagrid and Hagrid when they are together, but things will become much more complicated if Hagrid is involved.

Hagrid is now under martial law at Hogwarts, forbidden from approaching the castle and strictly prohibited from having any contact with him.

The fact that he opened the Chamber fifty years ago somehow got out and became the talk of the school.

Therefore, on Christmas Day, Lucius and several other Pure-blood parents, advocating so-called safety principles, directly expelled Hagrid from the Hogwarts Great Hall had just put up the Christmas tree.

They even used magic to shrink the castle gates, making them only wide enough for normal adults to pass through; a three-and-a-half-meter-tall Half-blood Giant simply couldn't get in.

Of course, Hagrid could choose to break in by force, but that would only play right into their hands.

Harry knew that Lockhart was probably behind this too.

In Hogwarts today, where surveillance is everywhere, Lockhart, as a teacher, is still more convenient to act Harry, a student, even though countless people think he's a complete idiot.

His reason for targeting Hagrid was clearly to reduce Harry's support base!

But a moment's impatience can ruin a great plan. With only a short time left before the Veritaserum is finished, Harry has to endure it no matter what!

He will settle this score with Lockhart and those Pure-blood Family, bit by bit, when everything comes to light!

Moreover, although Hagrid cannot enter the castle, it does not mean that he is completely unable to help himself. At least he can still move freely and take some time to purchase other things.

For example, a new rooster.

Now that they knew the creature lurking in the Chamber was a Basilisk, Harry naturally needed to prepare in advance.

The idea that Basilisk are predators of roosters is probably unreliable, but it's always better to believe it exists.

"Hey, come sit a little closer, this is your Christmas present this year~"

As the two sat side by side on the shore of the Black Lake, Harry asked Hermione to come closer and placed a beautiful hair tie in her hair.

"Thank you!" Feeling her lion's mane suddenly tame, Hermione smiled happily.

She tossed her hair from side to side, then tilted her head to look at Harry, asking with a playful smile, "How is it? Does it look good?"

"Beautiful~"

Harry nodded seriously. After years of persistent care, Hermione's hair had finally returned to normal. Now, apart from her slightly protruding front teeth, her appearance was almost identical to the character in the movie "The Sorcerer's Stone," and in Harry's eyes, she was flawless from every angle.

"You... you answered way too fast!" Although she received praise from Harry, Hermione didn't seem satisfied. Instead, she pouted and continued to ask, "Then tell me, what exactly makes it good?"

"Well..." Harry hesitated for a moment; he really needed to think about this question carefully.

"Hmph~" Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly and let out a pleasant hum.

It should be said that Harry's current state is the reaction she has been eagerly anticipating.

Perhaps because she's been spending too much time with the female students at Eagle House lately, the academically gifted girl has also picked up some strange ideas, such as the saying that "only friendships can be open and honest, while other things should be done cautiously," which she recently heard from Qiu Zhang.

Although she didn't know who Qiu Zhang was referring to when he said this, she inexplicably found that she seemed to want to use this reaction to test someone.

So when this guy responded without thinking, Hermione really wanted to grab his ear and yell at him.

Please, could you think about it again and be a little more careful with your answer?

It was precisely because Harry's previous answer was so straightforward that Hermione had to give him another chance.

The academically gifted girl sighed deeply in her heart, feeling utterly overwhelmed with worry.

However, this time it should be...

"What makes you so beautiful is that you have naturally good facial features and a great face shape. With the hair tie, your naturally well-defined and delicate features are brought out even more, making you even more beautiful than before."

"Hehe, thank you so much for the compliment..."

Being complimented on her looks should be a pleasant thing, but seeing Harry looking like a beauty blogger, Hermione couldn't help but want to bite him.

So it's all my fault, that I'm not good enough for your careful treatment?

"Hey, you've interrogated me for a bit, now it's my turn, isn't it?" Oblivious to Hermione's change in mood, Harry retorted with a hint of smugness, "Where's my Christmas present?"

Harry admitted he sacrificed countless brain cells to come up with that incredibly professional answer to that "life-or-death question," and it would be really unfair of Hermione not to give him a Christmas present as compensation.

"Ah... gifts and stuff, I..."

Caught off guard by Harry's sudden question, Hermione stammered for a long time, ultimately failing to explain what she had done to Harry's gift.

In fact, she had been struggling with what to give Harry for Christmas, but in the end, she didn't have time to prepare it.

Unlike her wish from last year, Hermione had absolutely no idea what to give Harry this year. She felt like nothing she was going to give him would be right, and she was also worried he wouldn't like it...

"Seriously? I was just asking casually, why are you so nervous?" Harry chuckled and shrugged, grabbing Hermione's hesitant hand and holding it in his palm. "If you're not prepared, just say so! I won't mind."

Feeling the slight coolness in his palm, Harry rubbed his hands together a few times, then clenched them tighter.

This girl, who forgot to wear gloves, didn't even notice that her fingers were red from the cold. Harry really had no idea what she was worrying about.

"Is it very open and aboveboard...?"

Hermione was stunned when she heard Harry's words.

Harry was absolutely right; he hadn't been as generous as usual just now.

So...

Was she the one who was being overly cautious?

"Harry, I actually had a gift prepared..." After thinking for a long time, Hermione pursed her lips and said softly, "It's just that there are too many things going on at school right now, so... I'll give it to you after everything settles down, okay?"

"Alright, then I'll be looking forward to it." Harry chuckled and nodded, but a hint of seriousness crept into his voice. "Coincidentally, a certain day in the coming days is also very important to me, and I absolutely will not let it be affected by school-related incidents!"

"And then... the days?" Hermione looked up at Harry with a puzzled expression, but seemed to sense something else in his gaze.

In an instant, she quickly lowered her head, inexplicably unable to look any longer...

Chapter 165 Even roosters need to be raised.

In mid-January, after the winter break ended, Harry braved the snow and, under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak, quietly arrived at Hagrid's Hut.

Hehehe!

As soon as Harry entered, he was hit by an indescribable stench, followed by a series of high-pitched screams, interspersed with the sounds of flapping wings and scratching feet.

Hagrid's enormous body busied itself in the room. In front of him was a square chicken coop arranged in a nine-square grid, inside which were five brightly feathered roosters, each with its head held high, seemingly quite excited.

"Hey Harry, you're finally here!" Hagrid hastily gathered up the chicken feathers and droppings scattered on the floor as Harry arrived, and loudly complained to Harry, "If you don't take them away soon, this place really won't be habitable anymore."

"Here I am!" Harry said with a smile, trying to reassure her. "These roosters are really nice; they all look very energetic!"

Hagrid's choice of rooster was quite exceptional; that piercing crow just now, even if it had no effect on the Basilisk, would at least scare away most snakes, insects, and rodents.

"Of course, after all, I personally selected them!" Hagrid nodded proudly. "I specifically asked someone to find the best-looking and fiercest-tempered roosters. These guys are different from the ones we kept in the coop before. They'll crow non-stop at the slightest sound, not even waiting until morning!"

"Here you go!"

Harry couldn't help but praise Hagrid, saying that he was indeed very reliable when it came to handling matters involving animals.

The reason why domestic roosters usually crow is mainly due to long-term habit and the influence of light stimulation. They generally crow between 3 a. m. and 6 a. m.

But how could Harry be sure he would actually be able to deal with the Basilisk at that time? To resolve this concern, Hagrid specifically chose a group of 'fighting' roosters with tempers as fierce as fighting cocks.

"It's precisely because they are so fierce. If they are placed in two adjacent cages, they will fight constantly. Otherwise, I will definitely fill this chicken cage." Hagrid said naively.

"This is enough," Harry said gratefully. "Hagrid, you've really been working hard lately."

Raising these five chickens must have been quite a hardship for Hagrid these past few days.

To avoid being detected by the enemy, he couldn't keep the chickens in the school's chicken coop; and to prevent the rooster's crowing from being heard, he not only couldn't open the windows and doors for ventilation, but he also had to completely seal all the gaps in the doors and windows with thick cotton quilts.

With five aggressive birds making noise, eating, and defecating in the house, you can imagine how terrible the environment must have been for the cabin over the past twenty days.

"You can relax a bit after this." Harry put the nine-compartment chicken coop into the suitcase he had brought with him, and then cast a Scouring Charm on the whole room, which made the situation in the room a little better.

However, after this, Hagrid will likely need to ventilate the area for an extended period.

"Alright, I need to get ready to go back now."

After packing his suitcase, Harry put his Invisibility Cloak back on.

"Harry..." Hagrid hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, before leaving, "Regarding what happened at Aragog, I..."

"Forget it, I was also at fault in that matter." Harry gently interrupted Hagrid's apology. "Hagrid ... there are some things, like conquering the spiders, that I had to do. I know you might have some complaints, and you don't need to humble yourself by apologizing to me. I just hope you can be more understanding and that this won't affect our friendship."

Hagrid is a simple and enthusiastic person, and there are some darker things he is destined to be unable to understand.

For example, how Harry, with Scamander's help, reached an agreement with Albus Dumbledore and thus gained control of the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest, two important strategic locations.

And why did he insist on subduing the Acromantula clan, and then incite the spider swarm to attack the Centaur Tribe while he watched the chaos unfold in the Forbidden Forest?

Harry didn't need Hagrid to understand these things; he only needed Hagrid to know that their friendship, despite their age difference, would not change once Harry embarked on the path of fighting Voldemort.

Harry left; his next stop was the Room of Requirement, where he would return the suitcase.

He had originally considered leaving the suitcase in the Headmaster's Office, but the Mandrake was about to be repotted, and even with the password, Luna Lovegood and the others might not be able to get into the Headmaster's Office. If Harry were to carry it all, it would make them too conspicuous.

Therefore, Harry thought it best to leave the chest in the Room of Requirement. Once he brewed the Veritaserum, he could simply go and get it and be ready to go.

"Hmm... why did it suddenly go silent?"

Shortly after Harry left, another figure quietly arrived at Hagrid's Hut. However, after carefully peering over the wall and listening for a long time, he could no longer hear the crowing of the chicken that he had accidentally discovered earlier.

"There are footprints on the ground, so he was only taken away recently... But how did he get out?"

Gazing at the trail of footprints on the ground, not yet buried by the wind and snow, the mysterious figure fell into deep thought.

"Harry Potter, is there something else hidden that no one knows about?"

Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, Harry leisurely put down his suitcase and left, completely unaware of the trouble he had caused Luna Lovegood and the others.

Considering it would be more convenient to take it from the box, Harry didn't place the chicken coop too far from the box's exit. This caused Luna Lovegood and the other two to be startled by the crowing roosters when they came to tend to the Mandrake.

This scare backfired spectacularly; Neville, who was at the back, slipped and fell off the ladder, accidentally knocking open a row of cage doors and releasing two roosters that frolicked freely.

Suddenly, a flurry of feathers flew up at the entrance of the suitcase.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Fortunately, one of them was Cedric Diggory, a high-achieving fourth-year student. With a Full Body-Bind Curse, he managed to catch the two runaway roosters.

"This is... this is terrifying! These chickens... when did they even appear?"

After the dust had finally settled, Neville got up and began cleaning himself of the chicken feathers and droppings, his face still showing signs of lingering fear.

"Harry probably just put them here; he probably hasn't had a chance to tell us yet," Cedric Diggory guessed, but then frowned. "But... if we're going to take care of them, we'll have to come even more often than before."

Cedric Diggory, who came from the Hufflepuff House, knew very well the difference between raising chickens and raising Fantastic Beasts. In addition to feeding them more frequently, he also had to let them out of their cages regularly.