Chapter 462: Hagrid Who Brought His Own Punishment

Draco Malfoy wants to tell his father that this is an unavoidable matter, a natural thing, after all he is only a thirteen‑year‑old child. So the class ended hastily, "Honestly, Hagrid should really start as a teaching assistant; at least he needs to know what step‑by‑step means." Although Hagrid helped him feed Diao, Bai Lang still thought so. The guy doesn't know his limits; he caused trouble already in the first lesson— even if he wanted to introduce a hippogriff, there's no need to bring so many; with just one he could have handled it.

This time Draco Malfoy was just unlucky; any other student could have caused problems just as likely.

Anyway, Hagrid quickly took Draco Malfoy to the infirmary, and Pansy Parkinson, tears streaming, blamed Hagrid for everything— the Gryffindor students said it was Draco Malfoy's fault, but Bai Lang did not join. Seeing the most threatening Bai Lang stay silent, the Slytherin kids got even more worked up, saying they would have Hagrid expelled. And those hippogriffs, though Hagrid had drawn them into the woods, still peered around curiously.

Bai Lang whistled, and a roar rang through the air, scattering the beasts. The students present were stunned—except for Bai Lang and the Potter trio, Dio only showed his face, drove away the hippogriffs, and then vanished into the Forbidden Forest. "What was that just now? Did you see it?" the chatter erupted, and without knowing who shouted, the vast majority of students bolted toward the castle.

At dinner, everyone worried whether Hagrid would be expelled, and Bai Lang gave no answer; in his view, even if expelled, Hagrid has nothing to defend himself with—this time luck had Bai Lang present, but what if bad luck had killed a student? With Hagrid's careless attitude, it's far too easy for his "pet" to kill a student—if it were a three‑headed dog, Draco Malfoy would likely already be dead by now.

That night, Bai Lang saw light in Hagrid's house in the distance and was sure the trio had gone to see Hagrid. "With Dumbledore shielding him, Hagrid won't be expelled," Bai Lang muttered, adding that there's no need to comfort Hagrid on a night walk; it's better to look for Dio. Dio is now a fairly impressive flying beast—obviously not as nimble as a bird, but still looks quite cool in flight.

Bai Lang thought that just flying at treetop height would suffice; showing off too much might get a professor's attention, which would be bad. Of course, this isn't the time to go find the eight‑eyed spider for another loan—his shipments are plentiful, and it will probably take three to four months to clear. "Hagrid is unquestionably a good man; the spiders he raises have brought me so much money. Just for the sake of face, I'll also try to protect his pet."

Draco Malfoy didn't show up until a day later; a five‑centimeter wound he wrapped around his entire arm, and he even hung it with a bandage as if his bone were broken. Bai Lang sneered at such sissy behavior, but if Malfoy wanted to show off, let him. After finishing breakfast, Bai Lang went out and saw a middle‑aged man with platinum hair, who must have been Malfoy's father—since Draco was standing beside him.

Old Malfoy's fury was obvious; although this guy isn't a good person, his love for his son is genuine.

In short, Hagrid will be fine, but Dumbledore will have to spend a lot of his own goodwill. In Potions Class, Professor Snape went berserk targeting Gryffindor students; Ron Weasley and Harry Potter had to serve Lord Malfoy, cutting worms for him and the like, while Neville Longbottom—this kid is pretty good, having persisted until now, and Bai Lang found him a stone in the Forbidden Forest that could be used for training. Neville Longbottom still flopped in Potions Class, earning wild mockery from Snape.

Only Bai Lang and Seamus Finnigan were performing steadily, still brewing Explosive Potion. Snape was even too lazy to bother with the two, leaving the door open so that when it exploded Bai Lang could kick the crucible away in time… "Hey, Harry," Seamus Finnigan said, leaning over to borrow Harry's steel scale. "Did you hear? This morning's Daily Prophet—they think Sirius Black is already being targeted."

"Where?" Harry and Ron Weasley asked quickly. At the table, Draco Malfoy looked up, listening intently. "Not far from here," Seamus Finnigan said, looking excited. "The one who saw him is a Muggle. Of course, she doesn't really understand." Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, right? So she called the hotline. By the time Ministry officials arrived, he had already left. "Not too far from here…" Ron Weasley repeated, giving Harry a meaningful look.

Bai Lang does recall Professor Trelawney warning Harry to watch out for the black dog, murderers, and the like. He knows Sirius Black is Harry's godfather, but that guy is a scoundrel; meeting him later is a good thing—James Potter's quartet, like Snape, are all rotten fish and shrimp. The next class is Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Bai Lang is actually quite curious about this werewolf.

Can you fight a werewolf? In movies and books the werewolf seems to turn into a wolf, not the bipedal, bear‑strong "werewolf" Bai Lang recalls. He does want to spar with a werewolf, but Lupin probably won't duel him. "And it would be wrong to accidentally smash the professor's wolf head," he adds. Bai Lang thinks a werewolf likely can't beat a scorpion monster, while he can kill a snake monster blindfolded, so a mere werewolf…

He brushed the warm wand tip and entered the classroom with the other students. "Good afternoon," Professor Lupin said, "please put all books back into your bags. Today is a practical lesson; you only need your wands." The whole class returned their books, and a few students exchanged surprised glances. They had never taken a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, unless last year's memorable class counts, when the teacher brought a basket of pixies and let them all loose.

"Well then," the professor said when everyone was ready, "will you follow me?" The class was puzzled but intrigued, stood up, and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them down an empty corridor and around a corner. There they first saw the mischievous Peeves, floating upside‑down in mid‑air, stuffing gum into the nearest keyhole.

"Whoa! Isn't that Peeves? Long time no see, how have you been?" Bai Lang laughed heartily, and before old Peeves could cause trouble, he darted forward and smashed a stick down… turning Peeves into a sticky, glowing puddle on the floor. "It's fine, Peeves will be back in at most ten minutes. The feel is really good," Bai Lang said to the classmates, smiling. Professor Lupin's face twitched… a wry smile appeared on his face.