Chapter 56: The Forgotten Dragon

Soon, Professor Sprout, who had received the news, also arrived, her face full of anger, looking absolutely furious — it was the first time anyone had seen this usually gentle professor lose her temper like this.

"This is too much…"

"You Gryffindors have gone too far!"

Silven and the Weasley brothers hunched their necks, trying as hard as they could to reduce their own presence.

However, her second sentence was clearly directed at Professor McGonagall, and Professor McGonagall herself unconsciously showed a guilty expression.

In fact, what she had just said wasn't baseless guesswork, but experience — over a decade ago there had been students who'd done the same thing, and as luck would have it, they too were from Gryffindor.

Only back then the Whomping Willow had just been planted not long before, and its aggression was far less than now, so after seeing the branch in Silven's hand, she couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

Punishment, they must be punished!

Professor McGonagall put on her stern face again.

Seeing her like this, and since the Whomping Willow hadn't damaged any main branches either, Professor Sprout didn't say anything more, glanced at Silven and the Weasley brothers, and hurried off.

"You…" Professor McGonagall wanted to say more, but was cut off by a rough, sharp voice.

"Get over here, stop dawdling, you lot won't get away this time."

The voice came from the stairway.

It was Filch, and behind him were three dejected-looking students.

Harry, Ron, Hermione…

"Professor McGonagall, I've caught three students out after curfew." Filch said excitedly, completely failing to notice Professor McGonagall's expression, which looked ready to faint.

This night had been too much for her — not only had a full eight students come out after curfew, but seven of them were from Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall felt the world spin, and swayed several times before steadying herself again.

"Good work, Filch."

After sending Filch away, Professor McGonagall finally turned around, took a deep breath, and said: "You lot, follow me!"

She really didn't dare stay here any longer, afraid that two more curfew-breaking Gryffindors might pop out at any moment.

So she brought them to the second-floor study, a place where she usually read books and magazines, and which also served as her second office.

After closing the door, she looked expressionlessly at the three new arrivals.

"Now, explain yourselves…"

"Professor, they brought a dragon!"

Before the three could speak, the only Slytherin present, Malfoy, couldn't wait to say: "They're illegally keeping a dragon, and they've decided to send it away tonight… to someone called Charlie Weasley."

"Complete nonsense!" Professor McGonagall said angrily. "A dragon… how dare you make up such a lie."

"I didn't…"

"You may go back now." Professor McGonagall didn't let Malfoy continue. "I'll be telling Snape about this, and I want to see how he deals with you."

"Now, back to your dormitory, immediately!"

Malfoy clearly wasn't very willing, but didn't dare defy Professor McGonagall, and could only leave resentfully… He didn't even dare slam the door — he closed it gently.

"Your turn." There was a note of weariness in Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Cooking up a story out of thin air and telling it to Draco Malfoy, about some dragon or other, tricking him out of bed — you must think that's hilarious, and then Longbottom heard the same story and took it for the truth."

The three of them looked at Neville at the same time.

"I-I've been looking for you all along…" Neville blurted out. "I wanted to give you a heads-up — I heard Malfoy say he was coming to catch you…"

"Enough!" Professor McGonagall snapped, and Neville immediately shut his mouth.

"I'm furious — seven students not going to bed in a single night, I've never heard of such a thing in all my years, you… forget it."

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione, then at Harry and Silven, seeming to want to say something, but wearily waved her hand.

"Detention — each of you will be given detention, and fifty points off each…" Mid-sentence, she suddenly stopped.

Professor McGonagall did a quick calculation — if she applied her original point deduction, Gryffindor would have no chance whatsoever of competing for the House Cup.

"Two hundred points," she said. "Gryffindor will lose two hundred points because of you!"

"Two hundred?" Harry felt he couldn't breathe — going straight from first to dead last, they'd be the villains of the house.

The others felt much the same, even Fred and George, who were used to losing points, felt at a loss.

They'd never heard of anyone losing two hundred points in one go.

As for Silven, he had been standing there dumbfounded ever since the points were deducted.

"Professor… please…"

"You can't…"

"I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do. Now, get back to your dormitories. I have never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students than I am right now."

The few of them left the room in a daze, only Silven still standing there, looking as if he'd gone stupid.

Professor McGonagall could tell he wasn't putting it on, and for a moment her heart softened.

It looked like he'd been led astray by the Weasley brothers — he just hadn't expected the consequences to be so severe.

But no matter what, going out in the middle of the night was a violation of school rules, and he had to accept punishment.

In the end, Silven didn't even know how the Weasley brothers and Harry and the others had dragged him back to the dormitory.

There was only one thing on his mind — Harry and the others were going to send away a dragon tonight…

After hearing Neville's words, he finally remembered what it was he'd been unable to remember.

A dragon!

Quirrell had deliberately lost a dragon's egg to Hagrid at cards, then used the chance to worm out of him the method for dealing with the three-headed dog, Fang.

And that dragon's egg had been hatched by Hagrid in the fireplace — a rare Norwegian Ridgeback at that.

It must have been around the Easter holidays, only back then his mind had been entirely on the Whomping Willow staff, and he'd completely forgotten the whole thing.

"Ouch!" Silven couldn't help but groan.

Now he remembered, remembered everything, but the Norwegian Ridgeback had already been sent away.

Every time he thought about it, Silven felt his heart bleeding.

That was an entire living Norwegian Ridgeback.

Although Silven knew perfectly well in his heart that Hagrid couldn't possibly give it to him as a wand core, but what if...

What if the Norwegian Ridgeback had some extra dragon scales, dragon spinal cord, dragon heart or something like that? Failing that, dragon flame was also one of the best choices for smoking the body of a Whomping Willow wand.

Oh, speaking of the Whomping Willow, all those branches picked up tonight were confiscated by Professor Sprout, not a single one left.

Even more heartache!

Silven tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

Harry's dormitory seemed unable to sleep either; Silven could even clearly hear Neville's sobbing and Ron's complaining,

"It's all because of that damned tree, Professor Sprout kept guarding outside all night, otherwise we could have written to Charlie ten days ago!"

(End of this chapter)