"First, Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ron Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger. They found the trouble in the Forbidden Forest and were smart enough to tell the teachers, which helped us stop something much worse from happening."
As he talked, Dumbledore looked right at Adrian. If Harry and the others hadn't raised the alarm, there might not be much of the Forbidden Forest left.
Adrian didn't feel bad about the fire at all. If he hadn't started it, Quirrell might have gotten better and escaped to attack someone else. Without doing that, both he and Hagrid could've been dead before help came.
"For this, I'm giving twenty points each to Gryffindor!" Dumbledore said.
The Gryffindor table went crazy with cheers. Sixty points, enough to get past Ravenclaw and tie with Slytherin for first place.
Harry jumped up, forgetting all about feeling crappy earlier. He looked over at Snape, hoping to see him looking upset. But Snape's face didn't show anything, like always.
Hermione tried to look calm, but the smile on her face gave away how excited she was.
Ron sat up straight and proud. This was the first time so many people had clapped for him.
When everyone finally got quiet, Dumbledore spoke up again.
"Next, Mr. Adrian Blackwood! He thought fast and was incredibly brave, managing to drive off the attacker and make sure Hagrid was rescued. I'm giving Gryffindor fifty more points!"
The Great Hall went completely silent. Tons of eyes turned to look at Adrian, and even some teachers stared at him like they couldn't believe it.
Nobody knew exactly what happened in the forest, but everyone heard the dragon's roar and saw the smoke above the trees. With Hagrid getting attacked, it was obviously dangerous. But Dumbledore made it clear, the attacker wasn't driven off by teachers, but by Adrian.
Clap... clap...
Dumbledore started clapping.
In seconds, the whole hall joined in. The silence broke into crazy loud applause. This time it wasn't just Gryffindor, kids from every house, even Slytherins, were clapping for what he did.
But Adrian didn't feel excited about it. Getting recognized wasn't new to him. If anything, he was confused. Shouldn't they be keeping this whole thing quiet?
The clapping went on for several minutes before it died down, and everyone waited to hear more. Surely Dumbledore would explain about the dragon?
Instead, he waved his wand casually. Plates of desserts appeared on every table, custard tarts, chocolate cake, treacle fudge, almond ice cream. Everyone's mouths started watering.
"I think you all need something sweet to calm your nerves after tonight's excitement," Dumbledore said warmly.
"As for the attacker, don't worry, I know who it is. The Ministry will look into it soon. As long as you stay inside the castle, you'll be safe."
His words always made people feel better. Even the teachers looked relieved.
Adrian stopped listening halfway through and bit into a custard tart. He hadn't eaten since visiting Hagrid that afternoon.
Dumbledore looked like he was about to leave when someone from the Gryffindor table spoke up.
"Professor, what about the dragon? Aren't you going to explain that?"
The hall got quiet again. Dumbledore stopped, and Adrian looked up while chewing, curious about who had talked.
To his surprise, it was Seamus Finnigan. The kid was shaking under Dumbledore's stare, but he didn't back down.
"Hogwarts doesn't have permission from the Ministry to keep dragons," Dumbledore said gently. "As for dragon sounds, lots of magical tricks can make those noises. Before I became headmaster, some troublemaking students pulled similar pranks. Poor Filch always wanted to hang them upside down in the dungeons, though I always chose lighter punishments..."
He started telling one of his usual long stories, like every word was super important.
Adrian rolled his eyes. Classic Dumbledore, change the subject with charm and storytelling.
"But I saw it!" Seamus burst out, his voice cracking. "It was the size of a house, bigger! Four legs, wings, and it breathed fire!"
People started laughing. That description could've come from any fairy tale.
"I'm not lying!" Seamus said, his face turning red.
Adrian figured it out. Seamus must have seen Norbert by accident and bragged about it. Now, with Dumbledore saying there was no dragon, he felt like he had to stick to his story. From far away though, he wouldn't have been able to see details.
Adrian picked up his pumpkin juice and took a sip while waiting to see how Dumbledore would handle this.
But before the headmaster could answer, Seamus shouted again.
"I also remember someone riding on that dragon's back!"
Everyone gasped.
"I can't be totally sure," Seamus kept going, "but I think it might have been Adrian!"
The one in question almost spit his drink all over the table. Adrian started coughing hard and stared at Seamus in shock. How the hell had the kid seen that from so far away?
Maybe they should stop calling him Seamus the Blast-Happy and start calling him Seamus Eagle-Eyes.