It was silent around the forbidden area, with Dumbledore deep in thought, while Hagrid subconsciously touched his chest, as if to confirm he was really still alive.
"Did you mean to say earlier that Fluffy thought I was dead, which led to its frenzy?"
Hagrid scratched his head, feeling quite confused.
"Hmm... that's probably right."
Kael nodded, looking at Dumbledore and asking, "Professor, do you think someone used a Confundus Charm on Fluffy?"
The Three-Headed Dog has high magic resistance; normal charms are like tickles on it, but that's not the case with everyone.
Just like with Dumbledore earlier, Fluffy seemed no different to him than a fragile doll.
Put it to sleep with a Stunning Spell.
"That's possible," Dumbledore said after pondering for a moment, "But to me, this doesn't seem like a simple Confundus Charm."
Kael frowned and said, "Do you mean there's another charm on Fluffy besides the Confundus Charm?"
"Exactly, and it's a Dark Magic."
Dumbledore walked a couple of steps forward, bent down to carefully observe Fluffy, almost touching his nose to its fur.
Then Dumbledore tapped the middle head of Fluffy with his wand, murmuring: "Just as I thought... Fear Curse."
"Fear Curse?" Hagrid was taken aback, evidently hearing about this charm for the first time.
"Yes, strictly speaking, it's not considered traditional Dark Magic, but it only appeared fifty years ago, so you probably haven't heard of it."
Dumbledore stood up and asked, "Kael, do you know Boggarts?"
"Of course, professor," Kael said, "It's a transformative magical creature that can see into people's hearts and turn into what they fear the most."
"Is this Dark Magic inspired by Boggarts?" Dumbledore put away his wand, calmly saying: "It can create illusions, making those affected by the charm see their greatest fears at all times."
"Looks like someone cleverly combined the Confundus Charm and Fear Curse, turning Fluffy into what it is now."
Kael nodded thoughtfully, he roughly understood Dumbledore's point.
The Fear Curse made Fluffy see Hagrid's "death" over and over, gradually tormented its spirit; while the Confundus Charm made it see everyone as "killers."
Kael felt somewhat relieved.
If Dumbledore hadn't timely discovered Fluffy's problem, if Fluffy had broken through the gate into the castle...
Kael shuddered, not daring to think further, it would certainly be an irreparable disaster.
Knowing that most professors were in the Quidditch Pitch, only some students uninterested in Quidditch were left in the castle.
If they encountered a frenzied Fluffy, surely just one face-off and they'd be torn to pieces.
If this really happened, possibly Hogwarts would have to shut down because of it.
Thankfully... Dumbledore discovered it in time, preventing the worst situation.
Kael took a deep breath, asking: "Professor, do you have a solution?"
"Solution?" Dumbledore's gaze flashed, "It's simple, as long as..."
"No, Dumbledore!"
At this moment, Hagrid suddenly burst into tears, rolling and crawling to Dumbledore, pleading: "Please... don't kill Fluffy... it's a good child... please..."
"I think you misunderstood, Hagrid." Dumbledore looked up at the tearful Hagrid, patting his arm to comfort him: "I never said I would kill Fluffy."
"Re... really?" Hagrid held his chest, sobbing.
"Of course." Dumbledore smiled: "I promise."
Although directly killing the Three-Headed Dog Fluffy would indeed be the simplest and most convenient method, Dumbledore never even considered doing so.
Because in the whole matter, Fluffy is the most innocent.
Once Hagrid gradually calmed down, Dumbledore continued: "Coincidentally, before I became headmaster, I happened to study the Fear Curse for a period of time, so I'm quite familiar with it."
"But now, Kael... could you accompany Hagrid to the Hospital Wing?"
Dumbledore winked, saying: "I think he needs a good sleep now."
Kael nodded and walked out of the room.
Obviously, Dumbledore did not want them involved in the next things.
Hagrid also followed behind him hesitantly.
"Oh, almost forgot..." At this point, Dumbledore's voice came again from the room.
"Hufflepuff plus fifty points."
...
After leaving the forbidden area, Kael accompanied Hagrid to the Hospital Wing.
Originally Hagrid disliked going there very much, but now he couldn't care less.
Just thinking about Fluffy's previous condition made Hagrid feel like his heart was being pricked with needles, making him unable to focus, almost falling down the stairs several times.
Dumbledore was right, he definitely needed a good sleep.
Upon reaching the Hospital Wing, Kael explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey, but for some reason, he didn't mention what happened in the forbidden area; he just mentioned Hagrid was stressed.
Madam Pomfrey glanced at Hagrid standing there with his head down, didn't ask much, just took out her wand to enlarge a bed in the corner.
Then she walked to a cabinet, took out a bottle labeled "Draught of Living Death," and poured all the magic potion inside into a wooden barrel about the size of a Quaffle.
Madam Pomfrey poured a total of three bottles before handing the barrel filled with Draught of Living Death to Hagrid.
"Lay down on that bed and drink it."
Hagrid took the barrel, stumbling to the bed, knocking several beds askew along the way.
This made Madam Pomfrey quite displeased.
Luckily Kael promptly tidied the beds, so she didn't say much, just gave a few reminders before leaving.
Soon, the Hospital Wing was filled with snoring.
Kael finally breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the curtain around the hospital bed.
After leaving the Hospital Wing, Kael walked briskly through the courtyard, looking towards the direction of the Quidditch Pitch, and sighed wistfully.
The sky above the pitch no longer had anyone flying, vaguely, he could still see a large group of young wizards walking towards the castle.
All this clearly indicated that the match had ended!
Kael rubbed his forehead, he had already anticipated this outcome.
It seemed like since last year, whenever there was an important Quidditch match, he'd always run into something.
He originally thought there would be changes this year, but it seemed like it was still the same.