Dippet let out a heavy sigh, his voice laden with deep weariness and regret. "Rubeus Hagrid. Following investigation and questioning, the evidence provided by Prefect Tom Riddle is conclusive... You illegally kept and attempted to breed a Class XXXXX dangerous magical creature within Hogwarts—the Acromantula. Its danger, and its connection to the recent...
...unfortunate incident—the death of Moaning Myrtle Elizabeth Warren—cannot be ruled out. This is a grave violation of school rules and Article Seventeen of the Animal Breeding Experiment Prohibition Act. Therefore..."
Dippet paused, as though the words that followed were unbearably difficult. "I, Armand Dippet, in the name of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, declare... that you are expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"No—! Headmaster! Please!" Hagrid broke into a heart-rending howl, his massive body shaking as he nearly fell to his knees. "It wasn't me! Aragog and the others would never hurt anyone! Myrtle... I don't know! It really wasn't me!"
The Ministry of Magic official remained expressionless, deaf to Hagrid's cries. He picked up Hagrid's pitiful "wand," gripped both ends with his hands, and coldly declared, "Under the Underage Wizard Restriction Act and the terms of expulsion, your right to use a wand has been revoked." Before the words had even faded, he exerted force with both hands!
Crack!
A sharp, piercing snap rang out! The "wand," made of an umbrella rib and adhesive tape, broke cleanly in two! Several pink feathers drifted from the fracture, looking especially mocking and desolate.
Hagrid let out a wounded-animal cry. The immense pain made him curl in on himself.
"Wait!"
A calm yet extraordinarily penetrating voice rang out.
Young Dumbledore, who had stood silently in the shadows of the room all this time, stepped forward into the light. He already wore a beard then, though it was