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After a brief pause, Harry and Ron came to their senses and warily eyed Glenn, gradually moving closer to the fireplace in an attempt to hide something behind them.
They knew Hagrid was keeping a dragon egg here, and if this Slytherin found out, he might report it to the professors.
They didn't want to see Hagrid punished, and moreover, they were eager to see what a baby dragon looked like.
Glenn couldn't care less about their obvious attempts at concealment and got straight to the point: "Hagrid, how did you get that dragon egg?"
The two young lions were stunned - how did he know about this? Their eyes immediately darted to Hermione standing beside Glenn.
Ah, mystery solved.
Before they had fainted earlier, they had seen Hermione in Hagrid's hut, so she must have learned about the dragon egg.
"Hermione, how could you tell this Slytherin about it? Did you even think about what would happen to Hagrid if he reports this?" Ron complained, clearly still holding a grudge about how Glenn had embarrassed him during Halloween.
Hermione was indignant and snapped, "Glenn would never do such a thing!" She continued glaring at Ron, who scoffed and muttered under his breath, "All Slytherins are the same - cunning and treacherous. You never know what they might do."
Though Hermione hadn't caught what Ron said, Glenn heard every word but chose to ignore it. Instead, he reminded Hagrid, who was becoming flustered by the tension between the two, to answer his question.
"Oh, right! I won this egg yesterday at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, playing cards with a stranger," Hagrid chuckled. "I've always wanted to raise a dragon, and this was perfect timing!
To be honest, who would be foolish enough to use such a precious dragon egg as a betting stake? I reckon that fellow was probably desperate to get rid of the hot potato."
A stranger... Glenn thought to himself. Hagrid wants to raise a dragon and just happens to receive a dragon egg? Could this be mere coincidence?
I think not.
"I need to speak with you privately," Glenn said to Hagrid.
Hagrid hesitated but didn't refuse.
Hermione naturally moved to Glenn's side. Seeing Hagrid's puzzled look, she straightened up and explained, "You can think of Glenn and me as one person."
Hagrid couldn't help but smile, though he didn't mind. Glenn remained silent - even if Hermione hadn't come over, he would have pulled her along anyway.
"Muffliato," Glenn cast the spell, creating an invisible barrier around himself, Hermione, and Hagrid.
"Hagrid, could you tell me exactly what you discussed with the stranger who played cards with you yesterday?" Glenn asked. Though Hermione didn't understand why Glenn was asking this, she listened intently.
"Especially anything about Hogwarts, or about Fluffy, the three-headed dog guarding behind that door on the fourth-floor corridor," Glenn added, narrowing down the scope.
"Actually, yes! He asked what I did, so I told him I was the gamekeeper here, and then... he asked about what creatures I looked after, so I told him. Later, he mentioned having a dragon egg, saying if I wanted it, we could play cards for it. I've always wanted a dragon so badly, so I agreed right away."
Hagrid recalled excitedly, "But then he had the nerve to question whether I could handle a dragon! How could I let that slide? So I told him that I could even handle Fluffy - a dragon would be nothing in comparison!"
"You..." Hermione suddenly looked alarmed, but Glenn covered her mouth, gesturing for Hagrid to continue.
Hagrid paused, confused by Glenn and Hermione's interaction, but continued at Glenn's prompting.
"The stranger seemed really interested in Fluffy, which is understandable - a three-headed dog is rare even at a top magical school like Hogwarts. Worried he wouldn't believe me, I told him that Fluffy's actually quite easy to handle - just play him some music and he falls right asleep."
Hagrid looked quite proud, which wasn't entirely misplaced - taming a fierce three-headed dog was indeed impressive, but that wasn't the issue at hand.
While Fluffy was Dumbledore's guard for the fake Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid's casual revelation of how to subdue it to a stranger showed poor judgment.
However, there was an even more pressing matter at hand.
Glenn frowned as he noticed two heads suddenly appearing within his silencing charm's range.
[Earlier...]
"What spell is that?" Harry was surprised to find that after the Slytherin cast the spell, he could see Glenn and Hagrid's mouths moving but couldn't hear their voices.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling this Slytherin is trying to get information from Hagrid about the Philosopher's Stone, so he can help Snape steal it," Ron said excitedly. "We can't just watch him openly manipulate Hagrid - everyone knows Hagrid can't keep secrets. He's using that silencing spell to keep us from interfering!"
Ron "Sherlock Holmes" Weasley, believing he'd uncovered the truth, charged headfirst into the spell's range, with Harry close behind.
Due to the silencing charm and not having activated his enhanced senses, Glenn hadn't immediately noticed their approach. When Harry stuck his head into the spell's range, Hagrid was just explaining how to handle Fluffy.
The two boys exchanged knowing looks - their suspicions confirmed!
This Slytherin was indeed fishing for information.
"Hey! How dare you eavesdrop!" Hermione, having spotted the two, was furious at their rudeness.
"You're one to talk! Can't you see he's trying to get information from Hagrid to tell Snape? You traitor - and to think we trusted you before!" Ron's face reddened. Being caught eavesdropping was embarrassing, but he had done it to protect the Stone. Standing on his moral high ground, he turned Hermione's accusations back on her.
"Traitor? That's ridiculous! When did I ever join your side? Let me tell you something - Professor Snape would never try to steal the Stone. You can't even identify the right target, yet you dare accuse me!" Hermione stomped her foot in anger. Ah! These two are absolutely infuriating - no wonder being around them raises one's blood pressure.
"Glenn, let's go. Don't bother with them." An angry Hermione pulled the grim-faced Glenn past the two boys and stormed out.
"Hey, don't fight..." Hagrid's peacekeeping attempts faded as they walked away.
Glenn was quite displeased. That Weasley boy had repeatedly offended Hermione, and Glenn was beginning to harbor murderous thoughts.
Sensing the killing intent unconsciously emanating from Glenn beside her, Hermione immediately understood his thoughts. She squeezed his hand and said indignantly, "Don't bother with those two. They speak without thinking. I won't let such trivial matters upset me."
Feeling the soft touch from her hand and a subtle trace of calming magic, Glenn's murderous intent receded.
"In the future, if they make you unhappy, tell me," Glenn said seriously.
"Yes, yes, little Glenn is such a good boy," Hermione said soothingly, patting his head.
"..." Glenn was surprised that Hermione had managed to pat his head first this time. It felt quite nice, actually. But then why did Hermione always swat his hand away when he tried to pat her head?
Glenn couldn't figure it out.
"By the way, Glenn, did you ask Hagrid about how he got the dragon egg because you were worried he might have revealed how to subdue Fluffy? That's brilliant - I never would have thought of that," Hermione said, still patting Glenn's head. The sensation was addictive - no wonder Glenn enjoyed patting her head so much.
Glenn shook his head and replied, "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I just felt something was suspicious about how Hagrid obtained the dragon egg. I didn't expect to uncover such a serious issue when I asked."
Current public information:
- Someone now knows how to subdue Fluffy, the three-headed dog
- Someone is attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone
- The Stone is being guarded by Fluffy
- Quirrell released a troll on Halloween as a diversion while attempting to get past the fourth-floor door, but was driven back by Fluffy
Glenn had also seen Quirrell waiting for Hagrid at the Leaky Cauldron on the last day of Christmas break (though he couldn't share this with Hermione, as she didn't know about his visit to Diagon Alley).
After analyzing the information with Hermione, they could draw a clear conclusion.
Quirrell was the stranger who played cards with Hagrid yesterday!
He now knew how to get past Fluffy!
Well, that was that.
Having solved the mystery, Glenn's slight unease about the unknown dissipated.
Go ahead and try to steal it! You'll be lucky to make it out alive from behind that door - who knows, you might not even find Fluffy there, but rather an old cunning bee!
Moreover, Quirrell might not even live to see his planned day of action.
Every night, Glenn carried his special surprise prepared for Quirrell and Voldemort as he moved secretly through the Forbidden Forest, even suspending his own training.
If Glenn spotted them, he would unleash the maximum damage he could currently inflict.
It might not kill them, but it would certainly cripple them.
Voldemort was already in a weakened state, reduced to sustaining himself by drinking unicorn blood despite its curse, heading down an irreversible path of deterioration.
Since Dumbledore, that old honey bee, wasn't planning to eliminate this threat quickly, then let Glenn himself become the final straw that breaks Voldemort's back, firing...
The first shot in the resistance against Voldemort.