Sending Norbert away

"I... I don't know either. Anyway, I'm really sorry!"

Ron couldn't understand why he disliked Luo Bin, who excelled at everything. And whenever he saw him getting close to Hermione, he felt as though a block of Granite weighing hundreds of pounds were pressing down on his heart. It was unbearable.

Luo Bin guessed that the stability of the Golden Trio made Ron reject the arrival of a fourth person. He smiled helplessly, then made up an excuse and left the Hospital Wing.

When he returned to his dormitory, the three little villains were nowhere to be seen for once. He guessed Draco had gone to say goodbye to Norbert. Sure enough, just before curfew, a red-eyed Draco returned to the dormitory looking utterly deflated. He hid under his covers and cried for a long time before falling asleep.

On Saturday night, the moon obligingly hid behind dark clouds and refused to emerge. The pitch-black night, so dark they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces, provided perfect cover for their mission.

Hiding behind the greenhouse, Luo Bin suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head, only to find no one behind him. Frowning in puzzlement, he turned back to watch the Forget-Me-Not flowers inside the greenhouse.

An invisible force flattened the little point on top of his hood, and a giggle like the tinkling of a silver bell rang out in the air. It vanished in an instant. If his hearing hadn't been so sharp, he might have thought he'd imagined it!

"Harry, Hermione, is that you two? Stop playing around. We're sending Norbert away tonight!"

Only the legendary Invisibility Cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, could conceal someone so completely that even the movement of Magic currents in the air couldn't be detected!

"Hermione, I won! You're doing all my homework for the next two weeks!"

Harry pulled off the hood, and two heads appeared in midair. Even though Luo Bin had prepared himself, the sudden sight still unsettled him a little.

"Luo Bin, this is the Invisibility Cloak Harry's dad left him. With this, we don't have to worry about Filch spotting us tonight!"

"Amazing. But can it cover three people and a dragon?"

"Easily. There's much more room underneath than you'd think. Besides, the Unicorn business has kept the professors busy, which gives us another layer of protection against getting caught. Luo Bin, hurry up and get under here. Don't keep Hagrid waiting!" Hermione urged.

"All right!"

Luo Bin ducked underneath, and Harry pulled the large hood back on. Then the three of them made their way toward the Little Stone Hut, one step at a time.

Knock! Knock, knock! Knock! Knock, knock!

Hearing the pattern of one short knock followed by two long ones, Hagrid knew Luo Bin and the others had arrived. He opened the door but saw no one. Just as he was about to check the yard, Harry's voice came out of thin air.

"Hagrid, here! The three of us are right here. Move aside and let us in!"

"Looks like you've got James Potter's Invisibility Cloak. Come on in!"

Once inside, Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak. Little Black Dragon Norbert had already been shut inside a large crate. His orange-red eyes watched them through two small holes. He was unusually quiet, as though he knew he was about to be separated from his dragon mummy and his friends.

"What's wrong with Norbert?" Hermione asked in puzzlement.

Yesterday, Draco had held the little Black Dragon and cried all evening, constantly muttering things like "don't go," "stay a few more days," and "I'll come visit when I can." Norbert, whose intelligence was roughly that of a three-year-old child, seemed to have understood some of it.

And so he'd been listless since early that morning!

"Parting's always the saddest thing, isn't it? This bag's full of chicken blood, rat meat, and Brandy. Enough to feed him all the way there. Oh, his little toy's in there too. Remember to tell Charlie's friends to play with Norbert now and then, or... he'll get downhearted!"

"Goodbye, little Black Dragon. Mummy will ride his motorbike to Romania to see you over the summer holidays!"

With that, Hagrid turned his back and waved a hand, urging them to leave quickly. Norbert whimpered and sobbed too.

"Hagrid, we're off!"

Luo Bin and Harry lifted the crate while Hermione carried the bag. The three of them and their dragon left the Little Stone Hut, swaying as they went.

Once their footsteps could no longer be heard, Hagrid burst into loud sobs!

"Luo Bin, Hermione, did you hear that?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Even if we did, we have to pretend we didn't!"

"Luo Bin's right. Hagrid doesn't want anyone to see his vulnerable side!"

The three then agreed that they would never tell anyone about Hagrid crying!

To make sure they didn't make a sound, they walked very slowly. After returning to the Castle, they crept through the Entrance Hall and up the marble steps, passed along a long, dark corridor, and climbed flight after flight of stairs!

"Harry, if you're too tired to keep going, I can take over carrying the crate!"

As the panting beside her grew heavier, Hermione spoke in a whisper.

"No need. I'm not tired at all. I could climb another few dozen floors!"

They were both eleven-year-old wizards, and Harry was even a little more sturdily built than Luo Bin. Yet Luo Bin's breathing was steady, while Harry was wheezing as though he had a terrible cold. If he handed the heavy work over to a girl now, he'd be humiliated all the way back to Privet Drive. So, determined to save face, Harry refused Hermione's offer!

"Who's there?"

A voice like rusty gears scraping together in someone's throat came from the end of the corridor, frightening Harry so badly he almost dropped the crate.

"Steady. Stand against the wall. With the Invisibility Cloak on, he won't be able to find us!"

Luo Bin kept his voice so low that it couldn't carry beyond the Invisibility Cloak.

The three moved over to the wall. Inside the crate, Norbert seemed to sense that the approaching person was trouble too. He covered his mouth with his front claws, not daring to make a sound!

Tap, tap! Tap, tap!

Filch stopped two meters away from them, his cloudy eyes scanning their surroundings. "Strange. The voices were right here a moment ago. Ahem. Those misbehaving wizards had better not let me catch them, or... ha, I really miss the days before corporal punishment was abolished. When young wizards broke the rules, the lucky ones were sent to do hard labor in the Hunting Grounds. The others had iron chains fastened around their necks and were strung up from the ceiling!"

Perhaps she'd eaten too much that evening, or perhaps Filch's description had frightened her, but Hermione couldn't hold back a hiccup!

Tap, tap! Tap, tap!

Filch took several steps to the right, his eyes fixed on the gaps between the stone blocks in the wall. His sharp, hooked nose twitched as he sniffed, as though he were imitating Fang scenting the air.

Oh no, the bottle of brandy!

Hagrid hadn't tightened the cap properly, and some had spilled out when they reached the Whomping Willow. Only after Hermione wiped it dry and tightened the cap had they continued on.

But the bag had been soaked with liquor, so the smell was bound to drift out!

The three held their breath, as though the smell would vanish from the air if they couldn't smell it themselves!

Of course, this self-deception couldn't fool Filch. Narrowing his eyes, he reached out a hand like a withered branch. Just as he was about to touch the Invisibility Cloak, a thud came from the other end of the corridor as someone fell. He turned his head and met a pair of terrified eyes.

"Neville Longbottom! So it was you. You won't get away. Just wait till you're punished!"

With that, he strode after him.

"Phew, that was close. Filch almost found us. But why is Neville wandering around in the middle of the night?" Hermione asked, patting her chest.

"Never mind him for now. Getting to the top of the tower comes first!"

"Yes, Luo Bin's right!"

Once they were certain that Filch, that enormous source of danger, was no longer ahead of them, all three felt much more at ease. They pushed on, climbing flight after flight before finally ascending the steep Spiral Staircase to the tower's highest floor!

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