"Oh, I almost forgot."
Dracula turned around and looked at Harry and Ron with a half-smile, "Now that Miss Granger has mentioned it, have you two thought of a joke?"
Ron hesitated for a moment, glanced at the professors, Sirius and Peter around him, and seeing that there were no adults from Slytherin College around, he gritted his teeth and told the joke he had made up to prank Malfoy.
"A Slytherin graduate joined the Death Eaters...
…
The Slytherin graduate was delighted and said excitedly: "Yes, that's what I want to learn!"
…
After the joke was told, an eerie silence fell in the staff lounge.
Ron felt a little embarrassed and asked awkwardly, "Isn't it funny?"
“Puff—”
Sirius was the first to laugh.
"Hahahaha... This is definitely the funniest joke I've heard recently!" He laughed excitedly, "I've been annoyed with Lucius Malfoy for a long time. Of course, if the protagonist of the joke could be replaced by Snape, this joke might be a little funnier."
Sirius gave Ron an encouraging look and said, "Come on, come up with more jokes featuring Snape. I'm counting on you, kid!"
Even though he was praised, Ron wasn't very happy and just forced a smile.
He knew that Sirius Black had spent more than ten years in Azkaban, a place without happiness, and had been hiding from place to place after escaping from prison. He must have only heard this one joke.
Then this joke must be the funniest joke Sirius has ever heard recently, because there is no other one like it!
Then, Ron turned his gaze to the others unwillingly.
Lupin was preoccupied at the moment and had no intention of listening to jokes. He just smiled politely.
Peter was worried about his future and had a bitter look on his face, so he was not going to laugh at any joke.
Fortunately, Dumbledore seemed to be in a good mood.
"Young people are indeed very creative," Dumbledore said with a smile, "but I suggest you not tell the joke to Mr. Malfoy, otherwise you will fight again. Minerva has been very busy recently, so it's better not to give her too much trouble."
After listening to Dumbledore's advice, Ron felt a little guilty because Draco Malfoy had heard this joke the moment he came up with it, and they almost got into a fight...
Finally, Ron, Harry and Hermione all turned their eyes to Dracula.
Only if Professor Dracula approves of the joke will Harry's homework load be reduced and Hagrid and Buckbeak be helped...
Under Ron's hopeful gaze, Dracula slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Although I don’t think it’s very funny, it’s still quite creative.” Dracula chuckled, “You guys passed this time!”
"Professor, what about Buckbeak..." Hermione asked.
"Don't worry, Buckbeak will be fine!"
Dracula waved his hand and walked out of the staff lounge.
…
Dracula was very efficient in carrying out what he had promised.
On the afternoon of the second day, when Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the shed on the edge of the Forbidden Forest to visit Hagrid, they saw an old man with a messy head of gray curly hair and a few freckles on his face sitting opposite Hagrid in the shed and chatting.
On the table in front of the two people was an old-fashioned brown leather suitcase. A blond boy was looking at the suitcase with envy, and his saliva was almost dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"Good afternoon, Hagrid... Hey, Rolf, why are you here?" Harry walked in and greeted Hagrid, then saw an old man and a young man sitting next to Hagrid, and asked in surprise.
"Good afternoon, Harry." Rolf secretly wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, greeted Harry, and explained, "I came here with my grandfather. He was invited by Professor Dracula to find Professor Hagrid to deal with the problem of Buckbeak."
Newt turned his head to look at the three little wizards, smiled and nodded at them.
"Ah, you three little guys are here!" Hagrid waved his palms as big as a palm leaf fan, and invited the three to sit down in front of the table. "Let me introduce you, this is the most famous and powerful Magizoologist in the world, Newt Scamander!"
"Are you Mr. Newt Scamander?" Before Harry and Ron could react, Hermione rushed forward two steps and screamed excitedly.
"It's me, hello, little girl." Newt smiled at her gently.
"I've finished reading your book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You're so amazing!" Hermione's eyes seemed to be full of stars. "Ah... why didn't I bring my copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? I really want an autograph..."
Harry and Ron looked at each other and whispered to each other.
"Ron, do you know what book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is?" Harry asked in a low voice.
"I seem to have some impression of it." Ron pondered, "I seem to have heard... Fred and George mentioned it, but they don't read much, could it be their textbooks?"
"That name does sound like something from the Care of Magical Creatures textbook." Harry nodded in approval.
Since Hagrid was sitting close to them, he heard their whispers and gave an awkward laugh.
"Ah, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is indeed the textbook selected by Professor Kettleburn for the Care of Magical Creatures course, and Hogwarts has used it for many years." He said, "But I think The Monster Book of Monsters is more interesting..."
Suddenly, Hagrid's face changed, "Ah, Mr. Scamander, I didn't mean to say your book is meaningless!"
"It's okay. I know what you mean, Hagrid." Newt smiled easily and handed Hermione a signature written on a piece of paper, which made the little witch very excited. "I also encourage young wizards to read more books about other magical creatures. It's a good way to learn from all the best!"
Hagrid finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.
He needed the Magizoologist's help in solving Buckbeak's problem, and it would be bad if he accidentally offended Newt.
"Mr. Scamander, how can you help Buckbeak?" Hagrid glanced at the hippogriff in the corner who was already a little impatient in the shed, and wiped his eyes emotionally.
"Oh, I heard from Professor Dracula that the Dangerous Creatures Committee wants you to tie up Buckbeak, right?" Newt asked.
"No... that's right, and they're going to put Buckbeak on trial after the Christmas holidays, and they might sentence him to death." Hagrid sobbed. "Those scumbags always treat these little guys like monsters!"
"I see. Those guys are still the same as before." Newt thought thoughtfully. "Well, Buckbeak must not be tied up, so why not let him stay in this box of mine for two months before the trial."
"Really? That's great!" As a fan of magical animals, Hagrid certainly knew what Newt's suitcase meant.
If he hadn't been afraid of hitting the roof, he would have jumped for joy.
Harry and Ron didn't understand why Hagrid was so excited, nor did they know how to fit Buckbeak, who was as big as a horse, into such a small box. Both of them looked confused.
"Rolf..." Harry approached Rolf quietly and asked, "Your grandfather's suitcase looks like an ordinary suitcase, why does Hagrid look so happy?"
"An ordinary box?!" Rolf's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he had never expected that someone would not know about Newt's famous suitcase. "That's the box that all magical zoologists dream of. I've wanted it for a long time!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the suitcase with envy.
"Of course I can't give you the box, Rolf." Newt saw Rolf's expression and laughed, "Last time I only brought a Winged Demon, and you caused such a big trouble in Hogwarts. Not to mention taking a magical beast suitcase."
Luo Fu's expression became visibly sad, and he frowned unhappily.
"Don't be unhappy. We are glad that you can continue to stay in Hogwarts." Newt chuckled. "The professors at Invermorny will be very angry about your choice, so they are going to send several professors to Hogwarts for inspection next school year..."
"They want to know what kind of magic this school has that has kidnapped their students."
"Ah?" Rolf was a little panicked. "Why would the professors come to Hogwarts for an inspection? Don't they have classes every day?"
"As far as I know, there are also a group of exchange students coming here, and those professors will come to visit as their leading teachers." Newt smiled, "Maybe some of your old friends will be among the students who are going to exchange to Hogwarts!"
Ignoring Rolf's struggling expression, Newt focused his attention on Buckbeak.
He first picked up a piece of meat and threw it aside to attract the attention of the hippogriff. Then, when it stood up and prepared to eat, he quickly grabbed the briefcase on the table and pressed it on Buckbeak's back.
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in amazement, Buckbeak's body turned into a shadow and was swallowed by the open suitcase...
The opening of this box is much narrower than any other direction of Buckbeak's body!
"It's just a small spell." Newt saw the expressions of the three people and said to them with a smile, "There are many animals in this box. Buckbeak will find some good friends here!"
…
Time passed quickly, and snowflakes gradually began to float in the sky of the Scottish Highlands.
In the two months before the Christmas holidays, Harry felt that his bad luck seemed to have been used up by the previous time, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Professor Dracula found a professional Magizoologist to help Hagrid, and put Buckbeak, who needed to be tethered, into a suitcase that looked small but was actually as big as several Quidditch pitches.
Mr. Newt Scamander also promised that after the Christmas holidays, he would personally go to the Magical Creatures Committee to help Buckbeak win the case.
In addition, Harry easily defeated the Slytherin team in the subsequent Quidditch match, giving Gryffindor another chance to compete for the championship.
Because of the influence of the Dementors, Harry's Nimbus 2000 had been smashed to pieces in the previous Quidditch match. He rode the same Sweep series broom as his teammates.
Even though there was a huge gap in hardware equipment between Harry and the Slytherin team whose entire team was equipped with Nimbus 2001, Harry still managed to catch the Golden Snitch right under Draco Malfoy's nose with his flexible positioning and superior flying skills. The entire game took no more than ten minutes!
The Dementors have not left the castle yet.
In his correspondence with Sirius, Harry learned that the officials of the Ministry of Magic did not fully agree with the evidence submitted by Dumbledore that Peter Pettigrew was the culprit. They decided to hold a trial at the Wizengamot Magical Conference before officially announcing whether Sirius was cleared of the charges.
Therefore, Dumbledore also concealed the news of Sirius's whereabouts to prevent him from being troubled again.
Although the sight of Dementors flying around not far from the castle was still very depressing, Harry's progress in learning the Patronus Charm in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class seemed to have accelerated a lot...
Harry thought that this was because he learned who the real murderer of his parents was and had some courage to face his childhood memories, so the Dementors did not affect him as much as before.
After the Dementors Dracula captured released their aura, he would no longer faint immediately, but would be able to stay conscious during the difficult process, and successfully raise his wand and recite the Patronus Charm -
The silvery-white mist will dispel the darkness before his eyes and bring him courage and spiritual comfort.
Before we knew it, it was the Christmas weekend.
It's time for Hogwarts to organize the little wizards to go to Hogsmeade.
Harry felt a rare gloomy mood as he watched other students chattering in the common room, discussing which shop in Hogsmeade to visit.
"We can buy all the Christmas presents we want there!" said Hermione happily. "My mum and dad may be Muggles, but they love the Fluffy Teeth mints they buy from Honeydukes!"
At this moment, she saw Harry's expression and her voice couldn't help but lower.
"Harry, if you need anything, we can bring you some," she said softly.
"No, I don't want anything." Harry said stiffly.
"Harry..."
Just as Hermione was still worried about Harry, an owl suddenly flew in from the window above the Gryffindor common room.
A long package fell from the sky and landed heavily on the sofa in front of Harry.
…
…