Hearing Hermione's question, Harry looked at Poppy with some concern.
Unexpectedly, Poppy raised her head and said with a happy smile, "Oh, you found out, actually I'm Poppy Swedding from Hufflepuff."
"Cool!" Ron exclaimed, clapping his hands, "I knew you weren't simple, turns out you're that Miss Swedding..."
"Oh shut up, Ronald!"
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron for his simplicity.
"There's no such thing as an Animagus that can turn into a magical creature in this world! At least the book says, absolutely do not attempt to become a magical creature!"
Poppy's eyes curved. She knew no one would believe the truth.
Rather than lie to conceal herself, it's better to just tell the truth.
It's well known that lies require countless lies to cover them up, but the truth does not.
"Oh, so can Miss Unicorn lie too?" Ron asked pitifully.
Poppy didn't speak, just gave Ron a meaningful look.
"Alright, Ron, you're such a silly child." Hermione shook her head helplessly.
"Miss Poppy, am I really silly?" Ron looked at Poppy eagerly.
Poppy shook her head with a smile, "Silly child, how could you be silly?"
Ron: ...
He puffed out his cheeks, sadly hugging his legs and turning in the other direction.
This sulking gesture made everyone burst into laughter.
Just then, Hagrid came over with Axew.
Seeing Axew, Harry suddenly remembered that yesterday when he and Hagrid returned from the Forbidden Forest, he forgot Axew who had fainted on the spot.
Back then, Harry was chatting with Ferrenze about Voldemort; and Hagrid was eager to tell Dumbledore about it, so amidst all this, they forgot Axew.
"Miss Poppy, oh— and you all, good afternoon." Hagrid greeted them, holding something in his arms.
"Good afternoon, Hagrid." Everyone greeted in unison.
Hagrid walked forward, followed by Axew. He plopped down beside Ron.
"Oh," Hagrid said, "we forgot to bring Axew back yesterday. I only remembered it when I woke up this morning— by then it had returned. But speaking of which, why did it faint? Axew is such a coward, it would've run away at the first sign of danger."
"It fainted from fright, by that man in the black robe." Harry said succinctly.
Hearing this, Axew immediately perked up, looking at Harry in disbelief, as if shocked that this two-legged creature would frame it like this.
It ran up to Harry, barking indignantly, its eyes fixed on Harry, as if to say, "I may not be human, but you're a real dog."
How did I faint? Don't you know?
"See?" Harry said to Hagrid, "It's angry."
"I don't doubt it, it really seems like it wants to talk." Poppy agreed from the side.
"Alright, alright Axew." Hagrid called Axew back to his side: "I know you're a coward, fainting from fright is understandable—"
Axew whimpered twice, dejectedly crouching back by Hagrid's side.
Oh no, the cowardly dog persona has been reinforced again!
Lunch break passed quickly, fortunately there were only two Magic Potion classes on Friday, with no classes in the afternoon or evening, they could still spend more time with Poppy.
But first-year students still needed more rest, so Harry could only bid farewell to the reluctant Poppy, promising to bring her more treats tomorrow, and returned to the dorm with his friends.
"Oh my, Harry, you really know a unicorn!" Hermione was still a bit unsatisfied: "Unicorns are such noble creatures..."
Harry didn't say much, just smiled at Hermione.
"Harry..."
"Potter!"
Two voices came from either side as Harry felt himself being hugged by two people.
It was Fred and George.
"Come chat with your big brothers," they said in unison, "best if Miss Omniscient doesn't know what we're up to."
Hermione brushed her bangs aside, choosing not to mind the two of them.
"You all go ahead, I have something to discuss with Fred and George." Harry said to Ron and the others.
"I advise you to be careful." Ron warned: "Those two aren't exactly upstanding citizens."
"Oh, Little Ronnie." Fred and George chimed in perfect sync, "You're really like mom."
Ron, who initially had more to say, blushed at the "Little Ronnie" remark and lowered his head, heading to the dorm.
This comment affected him greatly, second only to Snape docking points in Magic Potion Class.
Three of them went to the common room, and Harry asked first: "Hey, how are you two? Any clue about what's under Quirrell's turban?"
"Nothing," Fred and George said in unison, "Since this week's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, we haven't seen Professor Quirrell again— it's like he's disappeared inside Hogwarts."
"Really?" Harry scratched his head, having an inkling that something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what.
"However, we didn't find you for this." Fred said, taking a biscuit from his pocket and handing it to Harry: "Here, Harry, take a look at this."
"What's this?" Harry picked up the golden biscuit, examining it under the sun without any clue.
"Canary Cookie, a new prank product by Fred and me." George said with a mischievous smile, "After eating it, you can temporarily become a human-shaped canary. It's a fun little prank product—"
Harry looked at Fred, then at George.
"Looks like you guys are really talented at pranks." Harry placed the Canary Cookie on the table.
He had no enemies in school, couldn't think of who to use it on.
The twins seemed to notice Harry's lack of interest, and whispered: "Just think, Harry, if Quirrell ate this cookie and turned into a human-shaped canary, then the secret under his turban would..."
As they spoke, they raised their eyebrows at Harry continuously, wearing identical mischievous grins.
Harry imagined Quirrell turning into a canary in his mind...
"Isn't that a bit too much?" He suddenly felt a bit sympathetic for Quirrell.