An Unpleasant Guest Arrives

Belvina and Bassheda each carried a stack of books and walked out.

If they wanted to take these books out of the library, they had to register their information with Mrs. Pince, the librarian, and return them on time.

Although Hogwarts doesn't have a systematic credit system, and there's no known severe punishment for overdue payments, Irma Pines is not someone to be trifled with.

Rumor has it that Mrs. Pince and Mr. Filch have a somewhat ambiguous relationship, and offending Mrs. Pince is equivalent to offending Mr. Filch, not to mention the gaunt Mrs. Lorris.

At the registration desk, Belvina handed over one thick book after another, which Mrs. Pince recorded one by one.

The more Mrs. Pince recorded, the more unfriendly her gaze became towards Belvina. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Belvina's library credentials, but rather that there was something wrong with the books she borrowed.

Leaving aside Godroth's "The Poisonous Magic," there are also books like "The Black Sheepskin Notebook" and "The Ultimate Power Explained." This list of borrowed books alone is enough for Barty Crouch to send Belvina to Azkaban for a vacation.

In addition, the book list also includes books that are obviously not serious, such as "Dark Powers: From Beginner to Tomb" and "Unveiling: Extis's Abnormal Love".

Those who know, Belvina is a professor of Muggle Studies; those who don't, might think she teaches Dark Magic.

It wasn't until Basilda started registering that Mrs. Pins's vulture-like gaze finally softened. In ancient times, the books that Niven Sweetheart borrowed were all extremely ordinary.

"Enchanted Encounters" is a romantic novel by Fifi Lafayette; "Oops, I've Deformed My Feet" is a play by Maleklee; and "The Adventures of Mad Muggle Martin Miguel" is a comic book that depicts both wizards' arrogance towards Muggles and English wizards' contempt for French wizards.

Compared to the other two, Bassheda's borrowing list seems much more normal and not dangerous at all.

Just then, Rupert Hagrid sneaked over with a few books, still wearing his heavy mole-skin coat, looking quite out of place.

Perhaps because he saw Belvina and Bassheda standing in front of the registration desk, the hunting ground guard slowed down, seemingly wanting to wait for the two professors to leave before registering.

However, Hagrid overlooked his enormous size; even the smallest movements appeared large on him, making him easily noticeable. Coupled with his furtive, guilty-looking demeanor, it was impossible for him to go unnoticed.

"Long time no see, Hagrid," Belvina greeted casually, her goodwill toward the gamekeeper growing with her "extortion" behavior.

"Long time no see, Blairvina, and Bassheda," Hagrid said, sounding a little nervous, as he hid the books behind his back, trying to block the two professors' view with his broad frame.

Words like "cautious" don't apply to Hagrid. He thought his movements were small, but everyone saw them.

If Hagrid were open and honest, he wouldn't attract much attention. The more secretive he is, the more people will be interested and want to find out.

Belvina and Bassheda didn't even need to make eye contact; they immediately began to work together.

"By the way, Hagrid, do you have any unicorn hair left? A friend of mine needs a batch of unicorn hair, and of course, the price won't be bad for you," Belvina blurted out, making things up without thinking.

Hearing Belvina mention unicorn hair, Hagrid immediately relaxed. He said憨厚ly, "Yes, recently—well—you know, I've got a lot of unicorn hair. No need for money, I'm just using it to tie things up anyway."

These words truly made Belvina ashamed and deeply ashamed that she was deceiving the kind and generous Rubeus Hagrid. She really deserved to die!

"Poor unicorns, may Merlin bless them," Belvina said. "But the money still needs to be paid, one thing at a time."

At this moment, Belvina received a hint from Bassheda and immediately continued, "We have to go now. We'll talk to you in detail after I find out how much unicorn hair my friend needs."

With that, Belvina picked up the stack of Azkaban passes and walked out, with Bassheda following behind, glancing back at Hagrid's tense expression every few steps.

However, the ordeal of the hunting ground guard did not end with the departure of the two professors. After the two professors, the Gryffindor trio also entered the library and caught him red-handed.

In the corridor outside the library, Bassheda said, "I guess you feel guilty right now, guilty for deceiving Hagrid, and even feel like you've committed a heinous crime."

"No, I'm just upset about my wallet," said Belvina Black, still stubbornly insisting even after her cremation. "Why did I have to bring up unicorns of all things!"

"So what are you planning to do? You can't just buy a bunch of unicorn hair and then twist it into yarn to knit a sweater, can you?"

"No, I'm going to sell it to Ollivander at a higher price!" Belvina said through gritted teeth, "I'm going to drive down the price of wands with unicorn hair cores!"

Bassheda curled her lip in disdain. Ollivander has its own supply channels, why would it buy Belvina's overpriced unicorn hair? The Master of the Staff isn't really an idiot.

"Seriously, the books Hagrid hid from us were all about raising dragons," Bassheda said. "I knew he'd always liked magical creatures, but I never imagined he'd actually want to raise a dragon. That's illegal."

In 1709, the Wizarding Council officially passed a law banning the keeping of dragons.

Firstly, fire dragons are usually very aggressive, even to wizards, and raising them requires a great deal of effort.

Secondly, dragons are enormous and easily spotted by Muggles; failure to deal with them promptly could lead to leaks within the wizarding community. One of Belvina's tasks while working at the Ministry of Magic was to conceal any traces of dragons.

"If it were someone else reading these kinds of books, I would just think it's a hobby or something they like, but Hagrid..." Belvina paused for a moment, "Hagrid dared to keep a three-headed dog, so he might not be afraid to keep a dragon."

Half an hour later, the cabin on the edge of the forbidden forest welcomed its first guests of the day.

Belvina and Bassheda stood at the door of the cabin and noticed that all the curtains were drawn tightly, which looked strange.

The two professors went up to the door and knocked, but no one answered.

It's possible that the master isn't home. Hagrid has to patrol the Forbidden Forest, tend to the enormous crops in the fields, and raise magical creatures; he's very busy. At least busier than Belvina.

However, Belvina and Bassheda were certain that Hagrid was inside, because they had seen him go in with their own eyes!

"Hagrid, open the door, I know you're home."

Belvina continued knocking on the door outside, while Hagrid inside seemed determined to pretend he wasn't home and remained silent.

"Hagrid, open the door. We're just visiting."

Belvina outside was persistent, while Hagrid inside was relentless; the two seemed to be locked in a stalemate.

"Hagrid, my patience is limited, I'll count to three!"

Before Belvina could even begin counting, the cabin door creaked open, and Hagrid poked out his fluffy, messy head. The familiar scene had finally come to an end.

"Is something wrong, Belvina?" Hagrid said. "I was just asleep and didn't hear you knocking."

Hagrid had only his head sticking out of the room, his entire body inside, his mind completely resisting the two uninvited elective professors.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Belvina said. "Don't worry, I'm not here to extort you this time."

Standing to the side, Bassheda nodded like a chick pecking at rice; in times like these, Belvina was her mouth double.

Hagrid remained silent. Logically, he should have invited the two professors in, but he knew his own situation best and couldn't let the fact that there was a dragon egg hidden in the cabin be discovered.

Seeing this, Belvina knew that Hagrid must have a secret, but she didn't want to make things too difficult for him; there was no need.

"We saw your reading list at the library, Hagrid," Belvina said. "You can like dragons, and you can even go to the reserve to observe them, but if you're thinking of keeping one as a pet, I advise you to give up that idea."

Bassheda glanced at Belvina suspiciously, wondering why she wasn't beating around the bush as usual, and why her directness was a little too harsh.

It's important to know that although Hagrid was merely a gamekeeper, his seniority at Hogwarts far surpassed that of the two of them.

"My tone might have been a bit harsh, but I think you understand what I mean," Belvina continued. "This is a school, Hagrid."

Hagrid can have dragons as a hobby, or even worship them, but Hogwarts absolutely cannot have dragons. They would be too dangerous for the students, and there have been many cases of dragons attacking humans without provocation.

If Hagrid really was keeping a dragon at the school and it was discovered (which it certainly would have), even Dumbledore couldn't save him.