Chapter 64. Unicorn Tail Hair
At breakfast, Harry was still steeped in last night's brush with danger.
However, what delighted him especially was that when Malfoy appeared in front of him, he could give him a meaningful smile, and then…
"Coward."
After that, he could contentedly take in Malfoy's expression—as if he'd swallowed an entire sour lemon—then, in excellent spirits, cut a slice of pumpkin pie and slowly lift it to his mouth.
.....
In the afternoon, Adrian Wesson stood by the Black Lake, preparing the magical creatures needed for next week's Care of Magical Creatures lesson—a large pack of Crups.
These Crups had all been sent over by Roskin; according to her, every Crup had received professional training.
A Crup is a dog bred by wizards; as its name suggests, its tail is forked like a swallow's tail.
Only, when a Crup reaches six to eight weeks old, wizards are legally obliged to use a painless Severing Charm to remove the tail, to avoid attracting the attention of Muggles.
Of course, if you're unwilling, you can choose not to dock it—only you can't let a Crup appear in front of Muggles.
These Crups were prepared for the fifth-years, because material related to this creature often turns up in the O.W.L.s.
"Right, line up, little fellows!" Adrian Wesson clapped his hands.
At the sound of Wesson's command, the Crups stood in a neat row all at once, as if on parade, leaving nothing to criticise.
Wesson nodded in satisfaction; Roskin hadn't exaggerated—Crups were unbelievably clever, especially the ones she had trained herself.
"Roll over," Wesson ordered next.
This time, however, every Crup turned its gaze on Wesson in unison, without making the slightest move.
"Roll over," Wesson repeated.
The Crups still didn't budge, only stared at Wesson in unison, a look in their eyes that seemed… disdainful?
"..."
All right, they seemed a bit too clever.
In that case, he could only resort to special measures.
In the end, by threatening to withhold dinner, Wesson successfully got all the Crups to roll over—very reluctantly.
.....
By the time Wesson finished drilling the dogs and got them back into line,
Hagrid hurried past him, as if he hadn't seen Wesson at all, not even offering a greeting.
He even ignored the Crups.
Wesson was momentarily puzzled.
Ordinarily, if Hagrid saw a whole pack of Crups, he ought to come charging over in high excitement.
"Hagrid?" Wesson waved to him from a distance. "What's the matter with you?"
Only then did Hagrid come back to himself. He turned his head and looked at Wesson.
"I've got something urgent!" Hagrid shouted, sounding rather anxious. "Fluffy's hurt—I've got ter tend ter him."
Fluffy?
Wasn't that the three-headed dog?
Wesson was a little puzzled as to what could injure a three-headed dog.
Could Quirrell have made his move early?
Seeing that Hagrid was about to leave, Wesson quickened his pace to follow.
"Need a hand?" he asked as he caught up.
Hagrid glanced at him, seemed to hesitate for a moment, but in the end still nodded and beckoned to Wesson. "Come with me."
Wesson immediately lengthened his stride and jogged along with Hagrid.
"What on earth happened?"
Hagrid's brow was furrowed; his voice was low. "This mornin', when I went ter feed Fluffy, I found a mighty deep wound on his left leg—blood everywhere…"
"Doesn't sound good."
As Wesson and Hagrid headed into the castle,
the Crups watched their hastily retreating backs and couldn't help looking at one another.
.....
Hagrid led Wesson all the way to the fourth floor of the castle—to the room where the Philosopher's Stone was being protected.
In fact, the Stone hadn't been stored there yet; it was still with Dumbledore for the time being.
Hagrid unlocked the room with a key and went in with Wesson.
The air was thick with the smell of blood.
Sure enough, just as Hagrid had said, Fluffy was curled up in the corner of the room, three heads drooping, letting out low whimpers.
On its left leg there was a very deep wound—a mess of blood and torn flesh; the fur and the floor around it were already stained scarlet.
"I found he was hurt this mornin'," Hagrid said, stepping forward to stroke one of Fluffy's heads, sounding rather heartsick. "Oh, yeh poor thing… don' be scared, mate, I'm here."
Wesson wanted to approach Fluffy as well, but whenever he drew near, Fluffy bared its fangs at him.
"Seems he doesn't like me," he said, and then stepped aside to let Hagrid tend to Fluffy's wound.
While Hagrid worked, Wesson stood to one side and carefully examined the state of the room.
His gaze swept slowly over the floor, and suddenly, beside a pool of blood in the corner, he spotted an inconspicuous leaf.
The leaf had been stained almost dark red, blending in with the floor—perhaps that was why Hagrid hadn't noticed it.
Wesson frowned, stepped forward, crouched, and scrutinised the leaf.
"Eldra."
[Type: Chinese Chomping Cabbage leaf]
All right—Wesson could more or less guess what had happened in this room last night.
Aside from Harry's Chinese Chomping Cabbage, who else could it be?
After pocketing the leaf, Wesson said to Hagrid, "Any idea, Hagrid? Why would Fluffy be injured?"
Hagrid was busy smearing ointment on the wound. Hearing Wesson's question, he looked up, seeming rather helpless. "I ain' exactly sure, Wesson. But I don' reckon it was an intruder. Judgin' by the scene… I'd say… his three heads had a fight."
"His three heads had a fight?"
Hagrid nodded. "Yeah. Fluffy's three noggins sometimes quarrel with each other—an' even have a go. They share one body, but each head's got its own mind. Sometimes they'll kick up a right row over food or some other triflin' thing. But this time… bit his leg—tha's odd…"
Hearing Hagrid's words, Wesson couldn't help feeling a little doubtful.
When a three-headed dog got hurt, did one head hurt—or did all three hurt at once?
"All right, Wesson, hand me the bandage from me bag," Hagrid said, having used up nearly a whole basin of ointment. He pointed at the bag by Wesson's feet. "It's in there."
Wesson crouched and opened the bag Hagrid had indicated, reaching in to rummage.
However, he didn't find any bandage; instead, his hand came upon a great hank of white hair, as if shed by some large animal.
"Hagrid," Wesson looked up, "there's no bandage in here—just some hair."
"That's it," Hagrid confirmed.
Wesson could only heft the great bundle of hair over to Hagrid.
"This is unicorn tail hair," Hagrid explained, beginning to wrap Fluffy's leg with practised ease. "Bandages made out of it hold firmer than common cloth an' won' stick ter the wound. Helps it heal faster."
"..."
Wesson remembered that even a small bag of unicorn tail hair cost ten Galleons.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium