"Philosopher's Stone?" Kyle raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "The one made by Mr. Nicolas Flamel... Hogwarts is hiding something like that here?"
"Don't ask, Kyle. I'm not saying anything more." Hagrid's face turned serious. "This is top secret, not something for young wizards like you to worry about."
"Top secret, huh?" Kyle shrugged nonchalantly. "In that case, I won't ask."
Hagrid froze, taken aback by Kyle's easy compliance. He'd expected a round of relentless questioning—Harry had certainly pestered him long enough on the topic.
They continued chatting for a while, and true to his word, Kyle didn't bring up the Philosopher's Stone again. This seemed to relax Hagrid, who let out a sigh and, almost without thinking, said, "To be honest, I wish Harry could be a bit more like you."
"Potter? What about him?"
"Nothing, nothing..." Hagrid quickly shook his head. "I just mean, he was here earlier."
"Well, that's a good thing, Hagrid," Kyle said with a grin. "It means he cares about you too."
"Yeah..." Hagrid nodded thoughtfully. It was nice to feel cared for, though he couldn't help but wish Harry's curiosity was a bit less intense, so that every visit didn't involve questions about Fluffy or the Philosopher's Stone.
"By the way, when did Potter come by?" Kyle asked.
"About an hour ago," Hagrid replied after thinking for a moment. "They only had one class this morning, so they came a bit early."
"Yeah, Harry, Hermione, and Ron," Hagrid said. "The three of them have been spending a lot of time together lately."
As he spoke, Hagrid stood up and stirred the pot with his spoon, then ladled up a bit to taste. Kyle felt his stomach churn at the thought, but he kept his discomfort in check.
"By the way, Hagrid, has anything strange been happening in the Forbidden Forest recently?" Kyle asked.
"The Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid looked thoughtful, spoon in hand. "I don't know, honestly. I haven't been inside the forest for days, what with Fluffy needing my attention. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it just occurred to me," Kyle said casually. "The person who used dark magic on Fluffy must've had a reason. But now that Professor Dumbledore's on alert, he probably won't try anything with Fluffy again. I was just wondering if he might shift his focus to the Forbidden Forest instead."
"You think he'd target the Magical Creatures in the forest?" Hagrid's eyes widened, and he dropped the spoon with a loud "clang."
"It's only a guess," Kyle replied, keeping his tone calm. "But there are plenty of dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest—Werewolves, Acromantulas, Unicorns... If someone provoked them, they could cause serious trouble if they ventured out of the forest and got too close to Hogwarts."
Hagrid picked up the fallen spoon and paced back and forth, clearly concerned. Finally, he nodded with a determined look. "You're right. I'd better go have a look in the Forbidden Forest soon."
"Be careful," Kyle warned. "Whoever used dark magic on Fluffy must be powerful—possibly as strong as a professor. So just... make sure you're cautious in there."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Hagrid said, unconsciously patting his pink umbrella before walking over to the rack by the door. He took down a crossbow hanging there and gave it a couple of twirls.
"In the Forbidden Forest, this thing's often more useful than magic."
"But you're wrong about one thing, Kyle," Hagrid said with a smile as he returned the crossbow to the shelf. "Unicorns aren't dangerous. They're pure, gentle Magical Creatures, and their attacks are simple. Even if they somehow went berserk, they couldn't do much harm. You'd just have to be careful to avoid the horn."
"That's not entirely true," Kyle countered. "Don't forget Professor Kettleburn—he was only sent to St. Mungo's last summer after a Unicorn horn pierced his stomach."
Hagrid hesitated. He wanted to argue that Professor Kettleburn was a special case—after all, any reasonable person wouldn't try to hug an angry Unicorn's head. According to Kettleburn, he'd only been attempting to calm the creature down. Hagrid never quite understood that logic. He wasn't sure if the Unicorn was calmed, but Kettleburn was calm enough during treatment—he'd even fainted.
"And remember, a Unicorn's threat isn't just from its horn," Kyle continued. "Its blood is also deadly. If it somehow ended up in a crowded place and, say, exploded, it could splatter blood on people's faces. They wouldn't even need to drink it—just a touch to their lips would be enough. That curse is near impossible to break."
Hagrid was left speechless once again. Unicorns exploding? It seemed even more unlikely than Kettleburn's unfortunate encounter.
"Think of Fluffy, Hagrid," Kyle added, his tone serious. "Whoever hurt him was willing to harm a gentle creature like that—imagine what they'd do to a Unicorn."
"Ah... yes, you're right." Hagrid's expression turned solemn, and he nodded thoughtfully. "I'll keep a close eye on the Unicorns. I know the spots where they like to gather."
Kyle stayed a while longer, chatting with Hagrid, but soon he said his goodbyes and headed back to the castle. The strange smell from Hagrid's pot was getting stronger, and Kyle feared that if he stayed any longer, he'd lose the lunch he'd just eaten.
The afternoon brought Defense Against the Dark Arts. As Professor Quirrell entered the classroom, everyone noticed a bandage on his arm.
"Professor, are you hurt?" one student asked.
"A... a little injury," Quirrell stammered. "At the Quidditch match... s-someone accidentally pushed me off the bleachers, and I broke my arm..."
"But Professor, that was days ago," someone else pointed out. "When I broke my arm during flying lessons, Madam Pomfrey healed it instantly."
"It's... d-different," Quirrell replied, blushing. "I was cursed... by a Vampire. Very hard to heal..."
"But Professor, last time you said the Vampire's Curse just made you afraid of drafts," another student interjected.
"Ah... perhaps... I forgot to mention... additional symptoms," Quirrell mumbled, clearly uncomfortable, and quickly redirected the class to avoid further questioning.
Today's lesson was on how to identify and deal with Red Caps—vicious creatures that look like goblins and lurk where blood has been shed. They haunt places like castle dungeons and battlefield trenches, lying in wait to ambush lost travelers.
Lacking a Red Cap for demonstration, Professor Quirrell had substituted it for a large lizard. The lizard was somewhat of a veteran in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes; it had previously served as a Hinkypunk and now seemed almost like an assistant professor.
"Imagine... imagine this is a Red Cap..." Quirrell said, settling the lizard on his shoulder as he began to stammer through the reading.