The Fool in Hogwarts

As it turned out, the situation was even more troublesome than Vade had expected.

In less than three weeks, Griffin had doubled in size. If Vade had not expanded the pouch with an Extension Charm, it probably would not have fit inside.

The greater problem was food. To keep Griffin from going hungry, Vade had been playing the role of a glutton every day, unexpectedly advancing the digestion of the Magician potion.

However, he knew this could not continue. Griffin was not an ordinary pet. Keeping it inside a pouch all the time would prevent it from developing properly. Besides, as its appetite continued to grow, Vade genuinely could no longer afford to feed it.

"I don’t want to do this either, but I really have no choice.

"If I don’t let someone else raise you, neither of us will have an easy life. I’ll visit whenever I have time, though."

Vade spoke quietly as he walked out of the dormitory, while Griffin let out an unhappy whine from inside the pouch.

"Where are you going?" Daphne called out just as Vade reached the common room. She was chatting with several classmates.

"Er... the library."

"The library? Are you certain you don’t mean the kitchens?" Theodore teased. "We’ve all noticed how much your appetite has grown recently."

"Exactly. Even Crabbe doesn’t eat as much as you," Draco said.

"There is one thing worth envying, though. No matter how much you eat, you never seem to gain weight," Theodore remarked.

Vade shrugged without offering any explanation and continued towards the exit.

His appetite would return to normal tomorrow, and by the day after that, they would gradually forget about the matter.

The students were not detectives. At most, this was a minor curiosity in their daily lives, hardly something worth investigating.

Daphne looked as though she wanted to say something. After hesitating for a moment, she hurried after him.

"Wait."

Vade stopped and asked helplessly, "You aren’t planning to go to the library as well, are you?"

"No." Daphne pursed her lips. "Come somewhere with me first."

"Where?"

"The hospital wing."

"Are you ill?"

"Not me. You’re the one who’s ill," Daphne said with complete seriousness. "Haven’t you noticed that your appetite keeps growing?

"That isn’t normal. Either you drank the wrong potion, or someone placed a curse on you.

"We’ll ask Madam Pomfrey to examine you first. If she can’t find anything, we’ll go to Professor Snape."

Vade felt both surprised and inexplicably guilty.

Her concern was clearly genuine.

"Well... I’m actually fine. I haven’t drunk the wrong potion, and I haven’t been cursed."

"That isn’t for you to decide."

"I can prove it." Vade took out the pouch with an exasperated smile. "Put your hand on it and feel."

Daphne did as he asked. She soon felt something bumping against her palm and hurriedly pulled her hand away in alarm.

"What was that? Is something alive in there?"

"I’m raising a pet. It has quite a large appetite, so..."

"So all the food you’ve been ordering in the Great Hall was meant to fill its stomach?" Daphne seemed to understand, and her brows furrowed slightly. "What exactly are you raising?"

"A griffin."

"A griffin... Have you gone mad?

"Griffins are classified as XXXX magical creatures. If anyone discovers it, you’ll definitely receive detention. If the matter is serious enough, you might even be expelled." Daphne spoke anxiously. "How have you managed to hide it here for so long?"

"An Extension Charm."

Daphne’s eyes widened. "Isn’t that illegal?"

"I wouldn’t know," Vade said innocently. "Professor Quirrell gave me this pouch as payment for a divination."

"Professor Quirrell." Daphne considered this for a moment. "All right. If a professor is involved, the situation should not become too serious. Even so, it would be best if no one else found out."

"Has your family never used an Extension Charm?"

"I can tell you quite clearly that nearly every wizard who has mastered the Extension Charm uses it to make life more convenient for themselves or their families.

"However, the law still exists. As long as you aren’t caught, there won’t be a problem."

"And if you are caught?"

"That depends on the circumstances. The limits of wizarding law can be rather flexible."

Vade nearly laughed. That sounded depressingly realistic.

No matter the era, laws always seemed to apply most strictly to those without influence, authority, or power.

If Dumbledore broke wizarding law, probably no one would dare put him on trial. No one would risk discovering whether the most powerful wizard alive might lose his temper.

"Whatever the case, you need to deal with this pet as soon as possible.

"You can’t keep raising it like this, or it will definitely cause serious trouble."

"I know. That’s exactly what I’m going to do now," Vade explained patiently. "I plan to leave it with Hagrid, the groundskeeper. Once it grows large enough and learns to hunt for itself, it can live in the Forbidden Forest."

"Hagrid, the half-giant?" Daphne hesitated. "Can he be trusted?"

"My divination says there won’t be a problem."

"Then let’s go. I’ll come with you."

Vade did not object. Since he had already told her, he might as well let her be involved.

It took them more than half an hour to reach Hagrid’s hut.

Vade stepped forwards and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Vade Moria."

"Daphne Greengrass."

A series of clattering noises came from inside. After a while, Hagrid opened the door and looked in confusion at the two Slytherins standing outside.

"What do you two want?"

"We need your help." Vade carefully glanced around, then lowered his voice. "It concerns a magical creature."

A trace of guilt flashed across Hagrid’s face. "You know about it?"

"We..." Vade looked at Daphne. "What exactly are we supposed to know?"

"How should I know?"

Several fragmented images flashed through Vade’s mind, but there was too little information for him to make sense of them. He did not dwell on it.

"Never mind. Can we speak inside?

"This is important, and it really isn’t convenient to discuss it out here."

"All right." Hagrid stepped aside and invited them in.

The hut consisted of a single room. A huge wooden table, chairs, bed, and fireplace occupied most of the space. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling, while an umbrella, overcoat, crossbow, pots, bowls, and other belongings were scattered around the room.

A large boarhound with long fangs sat in one corner.

"He lives in a place like this?" Daphne asked in disbelief. "I thought it would be more like a professor’s office. I never expected it to be so plain."

(To be continued.)