In the moment of crisis, an exceptionally old House-Elf suddenly appeared beside Harry, grabbed his arm, and disappeared with him instantly.
At the same time, three or four spells hit the attacking Thestral, immobilizing it in mid-air.
One of the spells came from Vid.
He held his magic wand, jumped down from the Thestral's back, and rushed over to check.
Immediately after, Professor Sprout and Professor Snape also appeared nearby.
"What's going on?" Professor Snape said with a dark face, his eyes dangerously fixed on the frightened girls.
"An invisible thing... it attacked Harry Potter!"
One little girl said in panic, looking as if she was about to cry.
"A House-Elf took Harry away!"
Vid glanced at the girl's red hair... yet another Weasley.
Hagrid also hurried over, looking at the Thestral frozen in mid-air, said with worry and confusion: "But Geraldine is a gentle kid... it has never attacked anyone..."
"What did that foolish Gryffindor do before?" Snape asked coldly: "He provoked the Thestral!"
"Harry did nothing!"
Ginny Weasley summoned the courage to meet eyes with the Professor of Potions, and said loudly:
"He just helped us drive away a Grindylow, and suddenly got attacked!"
"I don't think it was Harry's fault, professor."
Vid suddenly said: "Look at this Thestral, there's a wound on its back."
Professor Snape came over, saw a slender wound near the Thestral's hind leg, bleeding.
He approached the Thestral, his hooked nose twitching slightly.
"The smell of Catha Edulis."
"Catha Edulis?" Ginny asked instinctively.
"Look at your textbooks!" Snape glanced at her and said: "Catha Edulis can be used to brew Confusing Concoctions, which can make someone feel fear, palpitation, and even hallucinations and mania."
"So... someone fed the Thestral a potion?" Vid said seriously: "Did they want to use the Thestral to harm Harry, or to create chaos at Hogwarts?"
Professor Sprout pried open the Thestral's mouth and looked, saying: "It's not a finished potion... there's still root residue between its teeth, seems like someone fed it a large amount of Catha Edulis directly."
"I recall that this herb is mainly produced in East Africa and Arab countries, and its transport and sale are banned in most countries..."
Vid recalled from the book: "But... uh... the United Kingdom and New Zealand allow it to be sold within certain limits, yet ordinary people shouldn't find it easily."
"As long as there is a conduit, obtaining it is much easier than you think. More importantly... who could target Hogwarts' Thestrals..."
Snape mused.
Hagrid angrily said: "If I find out who did it, I'll make sure they pay!"
Ginny watched the discussion from the sidelines, unable to get a word in.
Her companion tugged at Ginny's arm, wanting to leave, but Ginny seemed rooted to the spot, unwilling to move.
When the conversation paused for a moment, Ginny tentatively said: "Professor, Harry was taken away..."
"The House-Elf will take him to the infirmary, if that's what you're asking." Snape replied.
His tone was cold, and he seemed impatient, but compared to other Gryffindors' treatment from Snape, he was already quite gentle to Ginny.
Vid glanced thoughtfully at the dazzling red hair.
"Thank you, professor."
Ginny didn't feel especially treated; all she felt was that Professor Snape was as terrifying as ever.
The girl thanked quietly, then pulled her friend along as they ran away.
By that time, Dumbledore had also arrived at the scene.
The reason he was a step late was that he went to visit Harry first, and there was still some blood on his sleeve.
"How's Harry, Dumbledore?" Hagrid anxiously asked.
"Just some flesh wounds, Madam Pomfrey will heal him soon."
Having said that, Dumbledore waved his magic wand, checking the Thestral, and Professor Sprout relayed the group's findings to him.
Dumbledore nodded lightly.
"Hagrid, take all the Thestrals back to the stables. I think we need to do a thorough check."
"What about Geraldine, sir?" Hagrid asked nervously: "I know it hurt Harry, but it wasn't intentional. Geraldine has always been a good child..."
"Of course, it was merely used by someone with ill intentions." Dumbledore said: "Until the potion's effect wears off, you will take care of it."
"Alright, professor." Hagrid sniffled, picking up the immobilized Thestral with one arm, then carrying it away.
"Dumbledore!" Snape said disapprovingly: "A beast that has harmed someone shouldn't remain..."
"There's a difference between actively harming and passively causing harm, Severus. It was confused by the Catha Edulis and didn't know what it was doing." Professor Sprout frowned.
Dumbledore didn't make a decision immediately, instead asking: "Mr. Gray, what do you think?"
Vid was taken aback. Both Snape and Professor Sprout looked at him.
Under the gaze of the two professors, he thought for a moment and said: "I think we should let the students participating in the challenge leave first, suspend the event, and check if any other creatures have been tampered with."
"As for how to handle the Thestral named Geraldine... why not ask Harry's opinion? After all, he's the victim."
Dumbledore nodded, saying: "Then let's do that."
Snape immediately snorted, his gaze at Vid seeming quite displeased as well.
Everyone knew well, given Harry's character and his relationship with Hagrid, he definitely wouldn't pursue the matter further.
Vid simply pretended not to see it.
In any case, Professor Snape has always been like this—no kind words nor pleasant demeanor, but he'll always answer questions and help when asked.
In all this time since joining, Vid had only seen him praise Malfoy once.
Of course, perhaps that's also because they never attended Potions Class with the Slytherin students, or they might witness Professor Snape's array of praises for Slytherin.
But in over a year, Vid had consulted Professor Snape about potion-related questions, even some beyond the syllabus, and always got answers.
When he switched to brewing potions in the Room of Requirement, he no longer practiced in the underground classroom.
Meeting Professor Snape on the way, he was mocked twice before Vid realized it was his way of saying "Why not continue practicing? Don't give up halfway!"
Vid: "..."
So after that, after Potions Class, he showed the professor his recent results and explained—
He recently changed places for practice because some potions require long brewing times, which makes it inconvenient to occupy the Potions Classroom excessively.
Then he received comments like "mediocre," "don't get complacent," etc.