Hagrid's suspension was undoubtedly a bad thing for him and the young wizards who knew him. But for the average students, things didn't seem so bad. Dumbledore quickly found a substitute teacher for Care of Magical Creatures class and didn't delay the teaching for the students.
The new teacher's name was Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, a witch with short gray hair and a pronounced chin. Her attire was similar to Professor Sprout's, but her personality was more like McGonagall's.
Professor Grubbly-Plank was clearly displeased with the students' laziness after the Christmas holidays.
"The bell for class rang five minutes ago!" she pointed to her wristwatch with a serious expression, while the young wizards who were struggling through the snow showed surprise.
"Who are you?" Ron asked, wide-eyed.
"I am Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank," she replied succinctly. "I am the substitute teacher for Care of Magical Creatures."
She had a very tight-lipped mouth and was not inclined to say much more, which began to frustrate Harry.
Harry's impatience was evident to Professor Grubbly-Plank, but she had no intention of explaining anything to him. From her perspective, even if Harry knew the reason for Hagrid's suspension, he couldn't do anything to help him. What Hagrid needed at that moment was not chatty young wizards but someone like Dumbledore with influence in the wizarding world.
And most importantly, it was time for class!
So she paid no attention to Harry and led the students to the stable. She believed that the mysterious magical creature she had obtained with great effort for this class would surely "captivate" these young wizards.
In the stable, the gigantic Beauxbatons Abraxans were huddled together to keep warm. Before the class, Professor Grubbly-Plank had given them a bit of whisky in their feeders and added a new bag of coal to the outdoor fire, so these horses weren't too cold.
Not far from the stable was the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where a beautiful adult unicorn was tethered. The unicorn was dazzlingly white, and the surrounding snow looked faint in comparison. When it saw a large group of strangers approaching, it raised its head with some unease and began to scrape the ground with its hooves.
"How beautiful!"
"It's so pretty!"
"How did the professor get it? They say seeing a unicorn is very rare..."
Professor Grubbly-Plank waved the boys back and let the girls approach first since unicorns like to be caressed by girls while showing hostility towards males.
That's just what Harry wanted, so he stepped aside and started talking to Ron.
"Do you think something happened to Hagrid? It can't be that he ran away with Madame Maxime, can it?" Harry recalled the scene he and Ron had seen on Christmas night, and a very absurd but not entirely impossible idea came to mind.
In case... yes, in case Hagrid and Madame Maxime had run away together.
It wasn't impossible. When one is swept away by love, a professor and a headmistress running away together...
After hearing this, Ron displayed a "I don't understand but I'm quite surprised" expression. He couldn't think of anything more ridiculous than that, but then he thought that maybe it was possible: Hagrid and Madame Maxime were both half-giants, and with mutual sympathy and opposite attraction, wouldn't it be normal for sparks to fly between them?
They had both strolled through the garden together at the Christmas party. How many couples walk in the garden together?
But looking at Harry, Ron suddenly realized that he had also been strolling in the garden with Harry...
But right at that moment, Harry grabbed Ron's arm, and Ron's skin prickled.
Opposite sex! Opposite sex! He quickly added a restriction to his thoughts.
"Wow, Potter! I beg you to use your brain a bit more!" echoed a familiar and drawling voice. Harry didn't even have to turn to know it was his eternal rival, Draco Malfoy, who was speaking.
Malfoy had been in a bad mood lately and had no intention of messing with Harry, but he happened to overhear what he said. This argument had so many flaws that Malfoy couldn't contain his desire to mock.
"Look at the newspapers more!" he handed a newspaper to Harry and went to talk to Crabbe and Goyle elsewhere.
Harry thought a verbal battle was brewing, but he didn't expect Draco to leave after just two sentences, displaying a killer elegance, like an assassin who attacks and immediately withdraws, leaving no room for confrontation.
Harry understood that if he ran fast, he would only have to attack and not be hit, a smart choice.
Harry unfolded the newspaper in his hands and was met with a photograph of Hagrid and the bold headline that read "Dumbledore's Big Mistake."
Harry and the other Gryffindor students who gathered around were astonished.
Now they knew why Hagrid hadn't come to teach; it would have been better if he had run away with Madame Maxime!
The worst part was that, since it was in the newspaper, most British wizards would know that Hagrid was a half-giant, as there weren't many people who didn't read newspapers like Harry and his friends.
After reading the newspaper article, Harry was furious, and his hands and feet grew cold. He wanted to chase after Draco and confront him, but Ron held him back.
Confronting Draco would be pointless; the most important thing now was Hagrid's situation.
"According to the investigation, the vast majority of students either hate Hagrid or have objections to his teaching methods," Harry pointed out angrily, pointing to a paragraph in the article. "It's pure lies!"
Harry didn't notice the strange looks from his peers. He stared at Rita Skeeter's name in the newspaper, wishing he could kill her with his gaze.
However, he soon realized that Dean, Seamus, Neville, and even Ron were all lost in thought.
Finally, Ron, with an uncomfortable attitude, said to Harry, "Harry, I actually think Rita isn't entirely wrong..."
Harry: ???
"Can you look me in the eye and repeat that? Do you hate Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"I don't hate him, but the point is in the second part of her sentence; I have objections to his teaching method... Harry, don't tell me you're completely satisfied with Hagrid's teaching methods."
Harry was speechless. Even if he had a close relationship with Hagrid, he couldn't deny a fact: his teaching methods were really outdated, especially when Blast-Ended Skrewts grew to over two meters long.
If Rita had used this approach in an interview, the dissatisfaction of Hogwarts students with Hagrid would be one hundred percent.
The "or" in Rita's statement allowed her to avoid any accusations of slander; there was no way to find a weak point.