015 Trust
Bryan was stunned, his expression a mix of shock and confusion as he looked at the spot where the black witch had been standing just monts ago.
"Did she Apparate or use a Portkey?" a thought crossed Bryan's mind, but he dismissed it almost imdiately.
The Hogwarts grounds were protected by powerful magical defenses, rendering common teleportation thods ineffective. The ancient magic that shielded the school was on a different level altogether. Even the most formidable wizards might not be able to breach the defenses established by the founders.
Yet, the black witch, with her mysterious background, had given Bryan a venomous look before being hit by the Sectumsempra Curse and disappearing into thin air.
Bryan searched the area in astonishnt, hoping to find so clues, but the black witch was truly gone, leaving no trace behind.
"How is this possible? We're still within the boundaries of Hogwarts, and they haven't breached the protective walls in the Forbidden Forest. In theory, we're still on school grounds," Bryan pondered.
Deciding not to waste ti trying to suppress the unextinguished Fiendfyre, Bryan cautiously approached the spot where the black witch had vanished.
He noticed a pool of bright red blood on the ground, evidence of her presence monts ago.
Footsteps grew nearer, indicating the arrival of professors from the school. Bryan, resigned, stared at the blood that had yet to seep into the soil.
"You left an opening," he muttered to himself. Before Professors McGonagall and Snape arrived, Bryan swiftly collected the blood in a small bottle and cast a Freezing Charm on it.
"I will find you."
Snape and McGonagall weren't the first to reach the scene; Dumbledore arrived ahead of them.
A brilliant crimson fla suddenly flashed in the scorching air. Albus Dumbledore materialized in midair, holding his phoenix wand. He landed gracefully, displaying agility that defied his age.
Dumbledore quickly surveyed his surroundings. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Bryan standing amidst the scorched earth, his arrival catching Bryan off guard. Behind his half-moon spectacles, a simring anger emanated from the legendary wizard.
Dumbledore's first action was to extinguish the Fiendfyre that Bryan could not fully control. With a casual wave of his wand, the pale flas and the golden fire summoned by Bryan vanished instantly.
"Hand over your wand, Mr. Watson," Dumbledore's tone remained calm yet carried an undeniable firmness.
Bryan hesitated for a mont; he didn't want to surrender his wand. He believed that everything that had unfolded tonight could be explained, but it was this brief hesitation that almost led him into trouble.
In that mont, Dumbledore was no longer the kind and friendly figure he had been to the young wizards of Hogwarts. He was the man who had directly faced and defeated the first Dark Lord, Grindelwald. He was the most powerful wizard of their ti, who had kept the second Dark Lord at bay for nearly three decades. His reputation rivaled even that of the President of the International Confederation of Wizards.
For Dumbledore now, disobedience ant resistance.
Without warning, Dumbledore raised his wand and cast a disarming spell, his magic exuding unparalleled power. The air crackled and hundreds of thin tendrils of lightning surged where the spell passed. Bryan's scalp tingled, and his face turned pale.
The silver-black magic shield that had effortlessly withstood attacks from Charlie and others shattered instantly against the force of the disarming spell.
But Bryan wasn't ready to surrender; he had his resolve. In the blink of an eye, he swung his wand wildly, conjuring a golden snake engraved on its surface. From the void, a huge silver tal shield materialized, blocking the spell's path.
Boom!
The deep, resonating sound echoed through the earth, like muffled thunder on a winter night, reverberating across the land.
Bryan saw countless golden stars flash before his eyes, his legs weakening as he staggered back.
Dumbledore, surprised that Bryan had managed to halt his spell, exhibited a brief mont of astonishnt. But it quickly faded.
"Stop, Headmaster Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape finally arrived, witnessing the devastation of the ForbiddenForest before them. Professor McGonagall gasped, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.
Snape, ran hastened towards Dumbledore, boldly and roughly grabbing his hand to prevent any further action.
"Wait, Dumbledore, there must be a misunderstanding!" Snape implored.
Sweating profusely, Snape surveyed the scene. When his eyes fell upon Bill Weasley, suspended upside down in midair from a Levitation charm , he began to breathe more rapidly.
"Finite Incantatem."
He released Bill, and as Bill's head hit the ground, he flung himself comically to the side, his handso face etched with fear.
Only then did he regain his senses and fully comprehend the situation.
"Professor McGonagall, I saw it! Soone used the Killing Curse just now, I swear I saw it clearly!" Bill's words hung in the air, chilling the atmosphere to silence.
Snape, gripping Dumbledore's arm tightly, felt the aged wrist strain against his grip, trying to break free.
"Hand over your wand, Bryan!" Snape's voice was tense as he looked at Bryan standing alone before Dumbledore. "Trust , Bryan. We can resolve this misunderstanding, and I believe in you."
Tick, tick...
The sun hung high in the sky, casting its constant light and heat upon the white-capped land, making it shimr brightly.
The sunlight reflected into the house, illuminating the dark cabin. The droplets of lting ice from the thick eaves gathered on the ground, forming small, clear puddles.
"...When I returned to the castle the next day and heard about it, and when I saw the Forbidden Forest with my own eyes, you three can imagine how shocked I was!"
The lively stove had dried up the water in the kettle. Hagrid hastily got up and pushed the door open with a hot handle. Outside, there was an audible click. After a while, he returned with a kettle full of crushed ice. Upon entering, Hagrid couldn't help but laugh when he saw the three of them still frozen in their places, their mouths slightly agape.
"So, you guys really enjoyed that story, huh?"
"Enjoyed?"
Ron jumped up, his ears turning red, and he exclaid to Harry in excitent, "Why has no one ever told about this before? Well, maybe Bill and Charlie did, but I forgot. Don't give that look, Hermione. I was only six years old, and too young to rember. Anyway..."
Ron glanced at Harry and gasped before shouting,
"Can you believe it, Harry? He was only in fifth year, around Percy's age now. If soone had told Percy could have a showdown with Headmaster Dumbledore, I would have probably laughed at them until I graduated!"
Harry grinned, understanding what Ron ant,
"Has anyone ever done that, Hagrid?"
Harry's voice rose with excitent, his blood boiling as if he had fought alongside Dumbledore, even though he knew he would never stand against the venerable headmaster.
"Don't even think about it, Harry!"
Hagrid burst into laughter,
"No young wizard in fifth year could ever do that. Maybe soday, but not now. Besides, not just in Hogwarts, but in the entire British wizarding world, you won't find many who can match the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen!"
Pride resonated in Hagrid's voice, and one had to admit that he spoke the truth.
"Quiet down, you two!"
Hermione, also caught up in the excitent, loudly interrupted Harry and Ron, who were getting carried away. Of course, she had to admit that she was also thrilled. She never expected the handso and kind young wizard she t in the school hospital last night to have such a remarkable 'record'!
"And then, Hagrid, your story isn't over yet!"
Hermione tightly clutched Harry's invisibility cloak and fixed her gaze upon Hagrid's bright yellow cat-like eyes. "What happened to him, I an, Mr. Bryan Watson?"
Harry and Ron fell silent imdiately, anxiously waiting for Hagrid to answer their questions.
"Later, let think..."
Hagrid ran his thick beard through his sausage-like fingers,
"They seed to have locked him up for an entire term and deducted 100 points from Slytherin House... However, Headmaster Dumbledore added four hundred points to them not long after, putting Slytherin in the lead. They locked away the House Cup earlier."
"Added four hundred points!"
Harry exclaid. Last year, they had kept the Philosopher's Stone out of Quirrell and Voldemort's hands, which was perhaps the greatest achievent they had accomplished since starting school. But Dumbledore had only awarded them 170 points, and of those, Harry had received a re sixty points!
"What was Headmaster Dumbledore thinking?"
Although he had nothing to compare it to, Harry still felt a bit bewildered.
"It's obvious, Harry!"
Hermione raised her eyebrows, a confident smile forming at the corner of her mouth, as if she had deciphered everything,
"They locked him up for a term and deducted points because Mr. Watson trespassed into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night and attacked his classmates with highly powerful magic. Later, the points were added because he saved the little wizards of the entire Gryffindor team, including Bill."
"Saved?"
Confusion spread across Ron's face, "But weren't they knocked out by Watson?"
"Don't be silly, Ron,"
Hermione was not surprised by Ron's slow understanding, and she explained, sowhat exasperated, "Think about it, Ron. If Mr. Watson hadn't gone to the Forbidden Forest that night, who would have encountered that mysterious dark wizard?"
Hiss!
Ron suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening as he realized,
"It was Charlie, and everyone on the Gryffindor team at the ti!"
Hermione nodded, satisfaction evident in her tone. "I'm glad you finally caught on, Ron. With Bill's help, they saved eight lives. That's worth 400 points!"
"So, Hagrid, Dumbledore confird that a dark wizard truly entered Hogwarts. Did he catch that person?"
Harry, more perceptive than Ron or Hermione, suddenly had a thought.
"Yeah, he confird it."
As he spoke, Hagrid suppressed his smile and appeared solemn,
"That night, after Bill woke up, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared. He told Dumbledore that it wasn't Bryan who cast the Killing Curse, but a lurking dark wizard. Dumbledore personally examined Bryan's wand, and every spell cast that night was confird ."
"Afterward, Headmaster Dumbledore ticulously examined the battleground. You know, Harry, soone like Headmaster Dumbledore can almost piece together the entire story of that battle. But unfortunately, despite his extensive search, he couldn't find that audacious dark wizard. It kept awake for nearly two months, patrolling the Forbidden Forest every night."
Hagrid blinked and addressed the three, who now understood the gravity of the situation,
"It caused quite a stir at the ti, and the Ministry of Magic even dispatched elite Aurors to search the Forbidden Forest. But they found nothing. To contain the panic, both Dumbledore and Fudge decided to keep the incident as quiet as possible. That's why you haven't heard much about it since."
A somber atmosphere settled in, and Harry and Ron exchanged glances, wondering if the dark wizard could be another one of Voldemort's minions, similar to Quirrell.
"So, as I was saying, Ron, you must have heard of him—"
Hagrid smiled,
"Professor Snape released Bryan Watson during the second-year Quidditch final. Before that, he had been in Snape's office every night and every weekend, serving detention. Charlie's Gryffindor team was quite strong, with a chance of winning consecutive championships. But when Snape let Bryan Watson onto the field, well, you can imagine what happened then. Seriously, Henry and Grace, The two of them didn't just mount their brooms and escape; they truly lived up to Gryffindor's na."
"It seems Slytherin occasionally produces remarkable individuals."
Ron mumbled quietly.
"There have been plenty of notable Slytherin wizards, Ron,"
Hagrid laughed. He glanced at the sun outside and realized it was getting late—it was ti to prepare lunch.
"The story is finished, you three. Would you like to join for lunch?"
"Oh!"
Hermione snapped out of her daze, horrified,
"Damn it, Madam Pomfrey, I completely forgot about the ti!"
She put on the invisibility cloak, revealing only her head,
"Next ti, Hagrid, I'll have to stay at the hospital wing!"
With that, she hurriedly rushed out. Harry and Ron were more inclined towards the food at the school, so they quickly got up to follow Hermione.
"Oh, right."
Hagrid, slightly disappointed, suddenly rembered sothing and called out to Harry's retreating figure,
"You haven't told why you were asking about Watson!"
"Mr. Watson has returned to Hogwarts!"
Harry didn't turn back, just waving his hand above his head, "He's now the investigator for the Chamber of Secrets attack!"
Clang, clatter!
Startled, Hagrid stumbled against the hut's door, and the room shook violently from the impact. The lted snow on the roof cascaded down, burying him montarily.
"The investigator from the Ministry of Magic for the Chamber of Secrets?"
Hagrid's face drained of color as he leaned against the doorfra, whispering to himself,
"That can't be. Dumbledore... oh no, I need to figure this out!"
After a while, Hagrid slamd the door shut and marched towards the castle, without a glance back, accompanied by Fang's barking.
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