Hagrid's Disappearance (Bonus Chapter)

Harry hasn't had a good time since school started. He wasted the entire Christmas break having fun, and he still has no clue about the clue for the second competition— the Golden Egg.

On the first day of school, the grounds were still covered with a thick layer of snow, and the biting wind made the young wizards shiver and tremble in class.

In the Slytherin Common Room, the young wizards were not looking forward to the upcoming Care of Magical Creatures at all, and were all grumbling in hushed tones. After all, in this kind of weather, no one wanted to go outdoors for Care of Magical Creatures, and have to face the harsh climate and those disgustingly horrible Blast-Ended Skrewt.

At that moment, Draco stepped forward, a smug smile on his face. "Don't worry, everyone, that big oaf won't be teaching us today."

"Ah--" Pansy asked, "I mean, this is indeed a good thing, but why--"

Draco waved a folded newspaper in his hand; it was the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter's report, with the headline "Dumbledore's Major Mistake."

The young wizards each used Gemino Curse to make copies of themselves, and then carefully studied them.

The report not only criticized Dumbledore for hiring Mad-Eye Moody, a neurotic madman, as a professor, but also revealed Hagrid's identity as Half-Giant and accused him of scaring his students with a series of terrifying animals, causing serious injuries to several students, which Dumbledore ignored.

It has to be said, Rita is truly capable. She only overheard Hagrid's identity as Half-Giant from the rose bushes, yet she also discovered the identity of Hagrid's mother— the Giant Fridwulfa. It seems this woman also has her own unique intelligence network, and a very sophisticated and extensive one at that. A glint flashed in Skylar's eyes. It seems he had been searching for the talent needed to build and manage his intelligence network, and the answer had already been given to him in the original story.

After reading the report, Pansy said in disbelief, "I never imagined Professor Hagrid was a Giant, and I certainly never imagined Dumbledore would hire him!"

"What's so strange about that?" Draco scoffed. "That white-bearded old man is just senile, spouting nonsense. Our Pure-blood families have sacrificed so much to bring the wizarding world to where it is today, yet he only cares about the rights of Muggle and those lowly species!"

Daphne, resting her chin on her hand, calmly said, "With this report written like this, Professor Hagrid probably won't be able to teach for a while. Dumbledore will need to explain this to parents, the media, and the public, which won't be easy!"

"Don't worry!" Skylar said calmly, "Although I don't particularly like Professor Hagrid's teaching style either, Dumbledore won't let him get into trouble. At most, he'll just let him lay low for a while. With Dumbledore's current reputation, even if Rita writes something amazing, she won't be able to shake his foundation."

Nott interjected, "So, who will be teaching us today? Skylar, you're on the Faculty Hiring Committee, do you have any information?"

Skylar replied, "It's Professor Will Gera-Plan. She's a very accomplished Magizoologist, from the Grubbly Family and Plank Family..."

"Ah, I know her," Daphne said. "The Plank Family and my family have had a lot of dealings. When my father added a Unicorn department to the Fantastic Beasts Breeding Farm, he even consulted her. She seems to be an expert in the field of Unicorn."

Young Slytherin wizards are generally quite knowledgeable about famous figures in the wizarding world. They might not be able to make a connection when they first hear a name, but they will suddenly realize who it is.

Pansy asked, "Are you referring to the Plank Family, famous for breeding Unicorn, and the Grubbly Family, known for cultivating magical owls? Is this professor a descendant of either of these families?"

Skylar nodded and said, "That's right, it's her." Then Skylar smiled and said, "I have a feeling that today's class will be the most interesting one for you girls, Unicorn. Let's go! There are still ten minutes before class starts, let's not be late."

When they arrived at Hagrid's Hut, an elderly witch stood at the door. Her gray hair was cut short, and her chin was very prominent. Daphne recognized her; it was indeed Professor Glar-Plane.

"Hello, and Miss Greengrass, hello! You've grown more and more beautiful." Professor Gla-Plane greeted the young wizards with a smile, and even teased Daphne a bit.

Pansy and a few other girls couldn't wait to ask, "We heard you're an expert in the field of Unicorn, so are we learning about Unicorn today?"

"Yes," Professor Gela-Plan's eyes lit up with a smile, "It seems some of you are quite well-informed!" She then gave Skylar a meaningful look.

"But you'll have to wait a bit; the Gryffindor students haven't arrived yet." She glanced at her watch, a hint of impatience in her expression. "Honestly, five minutes have already passed. Gryffindor's discipline is terrible. It seems I need to have a serious talk with Minerva about this."

Just then, the young Gryffindor wizards arrived, led by Harry. Unlike the Slytherin students who had expected it, they were surprised to see Hagrid instead, and instead saw a strange witch.

Professor Gela-Plane, seeing them still walking slowly towards him, couldn't help but shout sternly, "Hurry up, hurry up, the bell has already rung for five minutes!"

"Who are you?" Ron stared at her and asked. "Where's Hagrid?"

"I'm Professor Gella-Plane," she said crisply, "And I'm your temporary substitute teacher for the Care of Magical Creatures."

"Where did Hagrid go?" Harry asked again in a loud voice.

"He's not feeling well," Professor Gela-Plane said, unwilling to elaborate.

Harry suddenly heard a malicious chuckle—it was Draco and a few Slytherin junior wizards looking at him with mocking eyes.

"What happened to Hagrid?" Harry hurried to catch up with Professor G. P. and asked.

"Just mind your own business," she said, seemingly thinking he was being nosy.

"I need to take care of this!" Harry said excitedly. "What's wrong with him?"

"Enough! Mr. Potter, is this how you treat a professor?" Professor Gracken-Plane finally snapped, "Because of you, Gryffindor lost ten points! Now, get back on track!"

She ignored Harry and led the students past the stables, where the enormous Beauxbatons stood huddled together to ward off the cold. They walked toward a large tree at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, beneath which a magnificent Unicorn was tethered.

Many girls exclaimed in admiration when they saw a Unicorn.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Lavender Brown exclaimed. "How did she get it? Unicorn are said to be very hard to catch!"

The Unicorn was so white it was dazzling, making the surrounding snow appear somewhat gray in comparison. It nervously pawed at the earth with its golden hooves and raised its horned head.

"Boys, stand back!" Professor Gela-Plane shouted sternly. "Unicorn love to be touched by women. Girls, stand in front, approach it carefully, come here, relax..."

She and the girls walked slowly toward the Unicorn, while the boys remained by the stable fence, watching them. Harry, seeing Professor Grubbly-Plank walk away until he was out of earshot, turned to Ron and said, "What do you think happened to him? Not a Blast-Ended Skrewt-- "

"Oh, Potter, if that's what you're worried about, I can tell you he wasn't attacked," Draco said softly. "No, he's just too shy to show his ugly face."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry demanded sharply.

"I don't need to tell you," Draco said coldly, ignoring Harry and watching the girls interact with the Unicorn, leaving Harry to sulk. This feeling of being unable to vent was incredibly painful for Harry; he'd rather have a wand-wielding battle with Draco, but with Skylar there to keep things in check, he regained some composure. He didn't want to be utterly humiliated in a single exchange. That would be incredibly embarrassing.

After the girls finished their Unicorn- touching tour, Professor Gela-Plane called the boys over as well.

"The Unicorn has calmed down now, so you can go over and try to pet it, but don't get too close. If it feels offended, it might still suddenly attack," Professor Gera-Plane said. "Now, who wants to go first?"

Upon hearing that there was a possibility of injury, the boys exchanged bewildered glances.

"Let me do it!" Skylar stepped forward.