Barnaby watched as the first-year students were escorted by the tomberis to their headmistress's office, shaking his head.
He didn't go home immediately but retraced his steps to inspect the locked door of the room Fluffy was guarding. The situation Hermione described was unusual, to say the least, piquing his interest.
"Strange," he murmured as he finished his inspection. "A simple Alohomora cast by a first-year shouldn't have been able to bypass the magical protections and let them in."
Barnaby scratched his head, feeling something was off with all the events that had happened to Harry and his friends.
Given the defenses this site had on Dumbledore's orders, one of the first measures taken was to place counter-charms against such novice spells.
Besides the headmaster and the professors who collaborated with whatever the old man hid under the trapdoor, the only ones authorized to access this place were him and his father to care for Fluffy.
The only way they could get through would be if someone with authorization let them in on purpose...
But that didn't seem to make any sense!
"Maybe there was some loophole in the enchantments that created some kind of breach," Barnaby concluded. "I'll tell Uncle Flitwick tomorrow morning to come and check it out, maybe add some additional reinforcements."
After entering to check on Fluffy once more, he made sure to close the door properly and went home without further incident.
The next morning, the Gryffindor students stared bewildered at the ruby clock representing their house points.
Why did it seem one line lower than yesterday?
They soon learned about the "night adventure" of their house members, leaving them very dissatisfied as the point gap with the other houses became narrower.
They even dropped a position!
Neville felt everyone's stares and looked like he was about to cry...
Harry and Ron ate with their heads down, trying to ignore the looks.
Hermione, on the other hand, frowned constantly as she seemed to want to roast the buttered potato on her plate with her gaze.
Professor McGonagall was so upset about it that she not only took points but also punished them by making them help Professor Snape process large quantities of flobberworms!
At the teachers' table, other morning conversations were taking place.
"You're right, Barnaby, it is very strange," Professor Flitwick listened to Barnaby's comments and felt equally puzzled by Miss Granger's success. "Don't worry, I'll take a look this afternoon to make sure everything is in order."
He looked around and leaned in to speak in a low voice.
"I'll make sure they don't bother Fluffy; the poor puppy already has to endure enough being there alone," he commented with a tone of annoyance.
He wasn't happy with the headmaster's request to use the young Cerberus as a guardian either; there were many other things that could work better without putting the poor animal through a hard time.
"Thanks, I'll bring some rock cakes as a thank you later," Barnaby nodded as he resumed his breakfast of waffles with chocolate syrup.
He didn't notice the subtle change in Flitwick's expression when the famous rock cakes of the Rubeus family were mentioned.
"That's not necessary; lately, I've been gaining a bit of weight and should stay away from sweets for a while," he hurried to say as a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Though I would accept some help with decorating for this year's Halloween."
"Hmm, alright," Barnaby wiped the chocolate syrup from his lips with a napkin and nodded in agreement.
He usually did other things while his father and the faculty decorated the castle for Halloween; helping for one year wasn't a problem.
"Wonderful!" Flitwick clapped enthusiastically. "Should we expect any show this year?" he asked, intrigued.
One of the reasons Barnaby didn't help decorate was because he prepared some performance to entertain the students with his creatures, often surprising everyone.
Last year, the guests to perform were Whisper, Jibanyan, Chafarina, Insomnia, and some really peculiar creatures that came directly from Japan.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible this year," Barnaby shook his head, much to Flitwick's disappointment. "I'm extremely busy taking care of the tree, and its fruit will soon mature. I have to be attentive to it at all times. In fact, in recent days, I've even been sleeping among its roots."
The mention of the tree made Flitwick look around furtively to ensure Dumbledore wasn't there, then discreetly drew his wand to conjure a soundproof barrier around them.
"Yes, you've been working hard on that," Flitwick nodded understandingly when he heard the reason, sighing with some melancholy. "How long has it been? Five? Six years?"
"Eight years," Barnaby corrected while adding more chocolate syrup to the waffles. "And if it hadn't been for your help, Aunt Pomona and Uncle Snape, who knows how much longer it would have taken."
One disadvantage of being part giant was that his appetite wasn't small at all, but at the same time, he didn't have to worry about gaining weight. So he took advantage of that to eat to his heart's content without overindulging.
"Wow, eight years already..." Flitwick looked up with a reminiscent expression.
He still remembered how a young Barnaby almost fought to the death when Dumbledore "suggested" burning the tiny, tender green shoot that took a year of great efforts to obtain during a great storm, with the memories of his mother's bloodline, because it "seemed" to be dark magic and for the "greater good" of all.
Flitwick had never seen the boy get so aggressive with anyone before.
It was fortunate Barnaby was an obedient child, still didn't have full control of his abilities, and Hagrid managed to calm him down with effort.
Although since then, it became a secret project only four people in the entire castle were aware of.
Barnaby himself, Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick.
Not even Hagrid knew about it; after all, Barnaby knew his father's propensity to accidentally let things slip...