Thanks to the magical Invisibility Cloak, Hermione had no trouble sneaking out of the castle.
As they passed the Great Hall, Hermione caught a glimpse of Mrs Pomfrey, who was chatting animatedly with Madam Pince, the Hogwarts librarian, at the staff table. She urged,
"Quickly, Harry, Ron. Madam Pomfrey will be back at the hospital wing by ten. I don't want her to find out I'm not quietly lying in bed!"
"You really don't have to come all this way, Hermione. We'll tell you everything we find out from Hagrid," Ron said, quickening his pace. He tried to look nonchalant as he gazed ahead, and Harry nodded in agreement.
"Stop talking nonsense, you two."
As they stepped out of the castle, the sudden brightness of the sunlight and the refreshing breeze lifted Hermione's spirits. Her orange cat eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Before leaving Hagrid's hut, I'd be worried you'd forget everything Hagrid said!"
Halloween had passed some time ago, and with the pumpkin vines cleared and snow covering the ground, Hagrid's little hut looked tidier than usual. When Harry and the others arrived, Hagrid was busy chopping the Christmas trees, used for decorating the Great Hall, into firewood.
For others, this might be a physically demanding task, but for Hagrid, who stood about ten feet tall with a waist five times that of a normal person, it was as easy as pie. He simply raised the axe and let it fall, and the Christmas trees, which were as thick as a bowl, were split into several pieces.
The black hunting dog, Fang, was the first to notice the visitors. It stood on a snow-covered mound and joyfully barked at them.
"Don't bark, Fang, you just had a whole chicken."
When he looked in the direction Fang was barking, Hagrid's face, mostly covered by his bushy beard, broke into a smile.
"Oh, Harry, Ron, it's you two!"
Hagrid cheerfully waved his arm to greet Harry, who was struggling through two feet of snow. "This is unusual, Harry. You usually come here at midnight wearing your Invisibility Cloak!"
"That's because I have classes during the day, Hagrid!"
"Oh no!"
As Harry, who was helping Hermione with the Invisibility Cloak, accidentally stepped into thin air and fell to the ground, Hermione screamed and tumbled along with him.
"Stop staring, Hagrid! Come help us!"
"Oh, heavens!"
Hagrid's step froze in surprise as he suddenly saw Hermione beside Harry and Ron.
"You brought me a cat person?!"
After a moment, Hagrid's surprise turned into a delighted call.
Hagrid's room was still as cluttered as ever. The narrow wooden hut had ham and game birds hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle boiling water over the hearth, and the large bed in the corner was covered with patchwork quilts, which, aside from their darker colour, showed no other changes.
"Please, Hagrid, don't ask me why I look like this," Hermione said as she sat on the edge of the bed and noticed Hagrid's eager curiosity. "It was a nightmare I'd rather not talk about!"
Ron laughed heartily, and even Harry, who was worried, couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, alright."
Hagrid shrugged regretfully.
"I just wanted to know if it was possible to create a 'cat-person' through experimentation. Since you don't want to share, don't make those silly faces. Fang, that's Hermione, not a cat. You should be able to smell Hermione's scent."
He took out several cups, added some dark tea leaves, and prepared to make tea for the three of them. As the water on the stove took a while to boil, Hagrid kindly prepared some of his homemade snacks.
"You don't look very happy, Harry. Would you like some toffee?"
"Thanks, Hagrid, but I'm not very hungry."
Harry, who had already experienced Hagrid's culinary prowess several times, politely declined. After exchanging silent looks with Ron and Hermione, Harry spoke up.
"In fact, Hagrid, we came here today to ask you about someone. We think you might have heard of him."
Hagrid, who was poking the embers with his finger, chuckled and looked at Harry through the handle of the copper kettle, his tone teasing.
"Who are you three trying to find out about now, Harry? Let me remind you, there's no Philosopher's Stone hidden in the castle this year!"
Yes, there may not be a Philosopher's Stone, but there is a Chamber of Secrets!
Harry muttered to himself, feeling that Hagrid's joke did little to lift his mood.
"Amorsta Blaine, Hagrid, have you heard of him?"
Because Hermione's time was limited, Harry went straight to the point.
"Amorsta Blaine?"
Hagrid blinked in surprise, "Why are you asking about him?"
"So, you do know him?" Hermione immediately pressed, "Tell us, Hagrid, what do you know about him?"
Hagrid didn't answer immediately but looked curiously at Ron.
"Do you have any recollection of Amorsta Blaine, Ron?"
"I must have heard the name somewhere, but it doesn't seem like it was from Dad. Hagrid, why do you think I know him?"
Ron furrowed his brow, struggling to remember.
"You must have heard of him, Ron."
Hagrid laughed as he took the steaming kettle off the stove and poured tea for the three of them. "He was a Slytherin, in the same year as your brother Bill. He's probably been graduated for over three years now. I haven't heard much about him lately, but that's not surprising. He was very reserved and didn't like to stand out during his time at school."
"So, maybe Bill mentioned him to me once?"
Ron still couldn't recall the lost memory.
"Reserved?"
Hermione, too, sounded puzzled. She tried to remember her brief encounter with Blaine last night. If she had to judge, Mr. Blaine was excessively friendly, not at all like a typical Slytherin, but it was hard to say he seemed reserved.
"Well, he wasn't exactly reserved, but he just didn't like to interact with people. At least, that was the case back then."
Due to the presence of the three visitors, Hagrid could only stand and talk.
"I hardly interacted with him myself, so I only know what I've heard. Apparently, Amorsta Blaine was an orphan who spent his childhood in an orphanage. You know, in Slytherin, orphans aren't exactly welcomed, so he faced a lot of scorn in his early years at Hogwarts. If it weren't for Professor Snape's protection, his situation might have been even more difficult."
Hagrid's memories of Amorsta Blaine were indeed limited, so his tone was slow. However, no one in the room hurried him; even Ron had given up on his memory and was intently watching Hagrid.
"I heard from the professors that Blaine was a very diligent student, polite when asking questions, and his grades were considered excellent. Of course, he couldn't compare to Bill, or Percy, or even you back then."
Hagrid looked at Hermione.
"—But it was hard to get close to him. It was as if he deliberately kept himself distant from everyone. Given that he was a Muggle-born orphan, the professors could understand his aloof behaviour."
"Sounds like an ordinary person?"
Ron furrowed his brow.
"And since he was a Slytherin, why would I have heard his name from Bill or maybe Charlie?"
"That brings us to the fight Blaine caused in the Forbidden Forest during his fifth year!"
Hagrid downed his cup of tea in one gulp, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"Even though that duel happened several years ago, I still find it hard to believe!"