Chapter 86: Execute Buckbeak?! Dismiss Dumbledore?!

That night, Hagrid returned to his hut. He had inquired, and Madam Pomfrey said Malfoy only had some skin and flesh wounds, and there were no major problems with his bones; he would be fine after resting for a period of time.

Looking at it this way, Hagrid estimated that he would just be fined some money and that would be the end of it. He didn't care about this; if he stayed at Hogwarts, he would be provided with food and housing, so he wouldn't need much money. If he went to the Fire Dragon Queen's paradise, he would need it even less.

"Woof woof!"

Fang saw Hagrid return and immediately ran over excitedly, circling Hagrid. His tail, like an iron rod, whipped against Hagrid's legs, as if giving him a massage.

At the spot where Fang had run over, there was a small black dog with dirty skin, looking a bit wretched.

This "small dog" was only in comparison to Fang and Hagrid; in fact, this black dog was also over a meter long, just a bit thin—you could see its bones.

"Fang, be good, Fang, be good~" Hagrid patted Fang's head, then looked at the black dog and smacked his lips. He had picked up this black dog a few days ago; how was it still so thin after being raised for a few days?

However, this black dog was quite smart; it looked like it had gained intelligence. This point made Hagrid very satisfied; when the time came, if he went there, he could just take it along.

One important rule there was that supernatural animals that had gained intelligence could not intentionally kill each other, and could not prey on each other. The food on the island group and nearby was absolutely abundant compared to the number of existing magical creatures.

Hagrid thought, scratching his big beard, then led Fang and the black dog into the hut. Hagrid's regular height was now over three meters, so he needed to curl his body to enter the hut.

Inside the hut, Hagrid opened the cupboard and poured out a pile of homemade biscuits, placing them in front of the black dog, signaling it to eat more.

The black dog also obediently bit into the biscuits, but this stuff was harder than a teething stick; it really wasn't something an ordinary person could enjoy.

When night fell, Hagrid and Fang fell asleep. The black dog sighed in a very human-like way and went to the window, looking in the direction of Hogwarts.

This black dog was actually not an animal, but Sirius Black's Animagus form. He had wanted to find an opportunity to sneak into Hogwarts from the Forbidden Forest, but had been caught by Hagrid halfway.

Now, Sirius Black didn't dare to expose his true identity at all. He had seen Hagrid easily flip over an Erumpent with brute force while following Fang. If he were discovered, Sirius Black estimated he wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch.

As for escaping while they were asleep at night, that wasn't realistic either. Fang was used to sleeping at the door, and the doors and windows inside the hut were reinforced. If he made any noise, Fang and Hagrid would definitely wake up.

*Sigh*~ Sirius Black helplessly returned to the mat Hagrid had arranged, poking at the biscuits with his paw. Compared to these things that were hard to an outrageous degree, he felt that eating raw meat wasn't something he couldn't accept.

Time passed just like that, and in a flash, several days had gone by.

Malfoy had been healed by Madam Pomfrey, with only a bandage wrapped around his wrist.

The school's operation was also very stable. Ever since Dumbledore forcibly demanded that Minister for Magic Fudge keep the Dementors far away from the Hogwarts campus, various accidents had decreased a lot.

It was in such a harmonious situation that Lupin received a letter sent by an owl, and his face changed instantly.

He ran to several places without finding Hagrid, and sweat broke out on Lupin's forehead. Recently, Hagrid seemed to have his own things to be busy with, and when he wasn't in class, he was always somewhere unknown.

"Johnson!" Lupin ran to Johnson's office and pushed the door open directly. "I need your help with a divination!"

"What's wrong?" Johnson saw Lupin's state and hurriedly welcomed him in.

"Help me find Hagrid's current location!" Lupin said urgently.

"Huh? He returns to his hut to rest at night. What's so urgent?" Johnson asked.

"It's too late. The day after tomorrow, Fudge and Umbridge are coming to the school!" Lupin said anxiously.

"What are they coming to the school for?"

"To read the verdict!"

"Verdict?!" Johnson took the letter from Lupin's hand. The verdict was very clear: dismiss Hagrid from his teaching position, place him on probation, and pursue his dereliction of duty; as for the Hippogriff Buckbeak, it was to be executed immediately!

"Is Fudge crazy?! And what about the hearing?!" Johnson was shocked. Fudge was complicating a simple matter; he wanted to use this small problem to stir up trouble!

"Fudge opened an emergency meeting, and it passed unanimously. There's no need for a hearing. The formal processing document will come out tomorrow. This is what a friend told me in advance so I could make some preparations!"

Lupin said, panting. "Buckbeak cannot stay at the school anymore. Even Hagrid, if possible, should leave with him. Malfoy and those people seem to want to use Hagrid to establish their authority!"

"Wait!" Johnson suddenly realized one thing. "What about Dumbledore's opinion? In this school, is there anyone who can ignore his opinion?"

Before Lupin could speak, the door to Johnson's office was knocked on. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Johnson, I hope you can help divine Headmaster Dumbledore's location." The first sentence McGonagall said upon entering stunned both of them.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is missing?!"

"No, he left the school after dealing with the Dementor matter to handle some things, and some people took advantage of this time to try to step on his head to save their own butts!" McGonagall was very angry; it was the first time Johnson had seen her so angry.

"What exactly happened? You're being so unclear, I can't divine." Johnson pursued the question.

McGonagall closed the door and sat beside Lupin, her voice low. "Fudge has united with the School Board to dismiss Dumbledore from his position as Headmaster!"

"Is Fudge really crazy?!" Lupin couldn't believe what he had heard.

McGonagall sighed and started from the beginning. "In recent months, incidents of magical creatures hurting people have occurred frequently, and many magical creatures have disappeared. Coupled with Sirius Black's prison break and the Dementors hurting people, Fudge has already been commented on by numerous newspapers as the second-worst Minister for Magic."

"He is worrying about how to divert public attention. It just so happened that Buckbeak hurt someone, so he pinned a charge of dereliction of duty on Headmaster Dumbledore and demanded the temporary revocation of his Headmaster position. Now, only this matter can divert the attention of all the public."

"At the same time, to show his toughness, Fudge intends to execute Buckbeak. Additionally, forcibly keeping Hagrid is probably to use him as a bargaining chip when Dumbledore returns."

Johnson understood now. Fudge first splashed dirty water on Dumbledore to attract everyone's attention, then used this name to show his attitude and tough measures, thereby stabilizing his position as Minister for Magic.

Then, fearing that this matter couldn't be resolved after Dumbledore returned, he suppressed Hagrid, and when the time came, he would throw all the blame on Hagrid, and Dumbledore would have a reason to return the Headmaster position.

Even Fudge could use the handling result of Hagrid to bargain with Dumbledore—killing multiple birds with one stone. No wonder he couldn't even wait for a hearing. Now, as long as Dumbledore returned to the school, half of Fudge's schemes would fall through. ===== CHAPTER 87 =====