"First, Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ron Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger discovered what was going on in the Forbidden Forest and informed the Professor to come to the school's rescue, thus preventing further damage to the school…"
At this point, Dumbledore's eyes fell briefly on Ivan, and if it had not been for Harry's timely notice, the Forbidden Forest might no longer exist.
Ivan didn't regret his decision. If he hadn't started the fire, Chino, who had only been hit by a dragon, might have come back for him, and he and Hagrid would have died before reinforcements arrived…
"For this, I give them twenty points each!" Dumbledore said.
There was a huge round of applause from the Gryffindor table, and an extra sixty points was enough to put Gryffindor house on par with Slytherin house, which was in second place.
Harry was so excited that he almost jumped out of his skin, and all the depression in his chest was swept away. He could not help but want to see Snape's face, to see how disappointed he would be.
Hermione was reserved, but her smile betrayed her excitement.
Ron raised his head high, the first time he had received so much applause.
After a few moments of applause, Dumbledore continued.
"Then there was Mr. Ivan Hales! He managed to fend off the attackers with his own clever and brave actions, allowing Hagrid to be saved…
I declare Gryffindor House fifty points higher!"
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, there was a brief silence, during which many eyes turned to Ivan, including those of several professors.
They didn't know exactly what was going on in the Forbidden Forest, but they could hear the roar of a dragon, then smoke pouring out of the forest, and even Hagrid, a large man, was attacked.
Furthermore, Dumbledore made it clear that the attacker was repelled by Ivan, not the professor, who had rushed to his aid…
Clap, clap, clap …
Dumbledore was the first to applaud in the dead silence of the Great Hall.
A moment later, there was a thunderous round of applause…
This time, it was not only Gryffindor House that applauded, but also the young wizards of the other three Houses.
Because even the proud Slytherins had to pinch their noses and admit that Ivan's actions were beyond their wildest dreams.
This was the second time Ivan had seen such a display, and he was not at all excited about it. In fact, he found it rather strange. Shouldn't they be hiding these things as much as possible?
The deafening applause lasted for several minutes before it died down.
The young witches and wizards looked at Dumbledore expectantly. It was time to talk about dragons.
However, Dumbledore did not seem to have any intention of mentioning it. Instead, he waved his wand in the air, and dessert was served on all four tables.
Cream pudding, chocolate cake, cornflakes, crushed almond ice cream… it's a mouth-watering sight…
"I thought you might like some dessert to calm your nerves," Dumbledore said after a pause.
"Don't worry too much about the attacker. I know who he is, and the Ministry will send someone to investigate soon. As long as you stay in the castle, you will not be in any danger."
Dumbledore's words had a magical quality that made people trust him, and even the gloomy looks on the faces of the professors faded.
Ivan didn't listen to any of this as he dug into his dessert. He went to Hagrid's cottage in the afternoon, and with everything that had happened, he didn't even have time for dinner…
Dumbledore then left, as he had many things to attend to…
Suddenly, someone at the Gryffindor table spoke.
"Professor, what about the dragon? Aren't you going to talk about that?"
The room fell silent, and Dumbledore stopped.
Ivan looked back over his custard pudding to see which brave man had spoken.
Ivan was stunned when he saw who it was. Wasn't this the Demolition Man, Seamus? Ivan didn't expect him to have the guts…
Seamus stood up trembling under Dumbledore's "good-natured" gaze, but the headmaster did not seem to hold it against him, explaining instead.
"I must remind you that Hogwarts is not authorized by the Ministry of Magic to keep dragons, and that the dragon's cry may be due to some magical effect that I know of.
Not long after I became Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there were some young wizards who enjoyed playing these kinds of practical jokes, and Filch was fond of hanging his students in a dark room.
Dumbledore then proceeded to tell his little story, pretending that everyone enjoyed it…
Yvonne pursed her lips, thinking about Dumbledore's usual pretence of madness.
"But I saw it with my own eyes," Seamus insisted, looking nervous. "It was about the size of a house, maybe a bit bigger, with four legs and wings…and it breathed fire!"
The young wizards all around laughed. It was as good as saying nothing. Every dragon in the story looked like this.
"I really didn't lie to you just now!" Seamus shouted, his face red.
It suddenly dawned on Ivan that Seamus must have seen Norbert by accident and come back to boast about it to the others. Now that Dumbledore has denied the existence of dragons, Seamus naturally quits and gathers his courage to retort.
However, Seamus's crude description of Norbert seemed strange to Yvonne, but she soon understood why.
Hogwarts Castle is so high up that it is only possible to see Norbert from the castle when he is swooping down from a great height, presumably because he is so far away.
Understanding this, Ivan took a glass of iced lemon juice and drank it, wondering how Dumbledore would explain it…
However, before Dumbledore could reply, Seamus seemed to have thought of something else.
"I remember seeing a man riding a dragon…"
"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I think it's probably Harls!" Seamus exclaimed.
Pfft ~
Ivan spat out his juice and stared at Seamus in frustration. 'If you can see him from so far away, why don't you just call yourself God-Eye Seamus instead of Demolition Man!'