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Far beyond the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, Harry had no idea that Veratia's younger brother had betrayed her, even recounting the details of her past with Cassandra to Newt.
At that moment, Harry had just found Poppy Sweeting. Fixing his gaze, he noticed Hermione bouncing and frolicking alongside her with unbridled joy.
The girl and the unicorn hopped about in the snow, shouting "Hooray!" as if performing some mysterious ritual.
To an onlooker, it might have seemed like they were dancing a Māori war dance.
"What are you two doing?" Harry asked, approaching them.
"Bouncing!" Poppy cried, tossing her head. "We're bouncing—!"
Harry raised his hand like a blade and tapped her on the head.
"Eep!" Poppy stuck out her tongue, then scampered over to Hermione. "We should head back, Hermione. If we don't, Professor Scamander will start to worry."
Hermione let out a sigh.
"Ugh," she said. "I'm so jealous of Professor Scamander. He gets to keep so many little creatures…"
"Why don't you get one yourself?" Poppy turned back to ask. "You could keep a safe magical creature in your dormitory, like a Puffskein or a Mooncalf… Or, if you're out of ideas, just do what Harry did and get an owl! It can deliver letters for you when you're bored."
"I don't even know what to get…" Hermione sighed again. "Maybe I'll ask Professor Scamander."
"Oh, Hermione, don't sigh!" Poppy said, hopping about. "You know what they say—sighing lets happiness slip away…"
"Alright, no more sighing." Hermione smiled. "Come on, let's head back. Harry, want to come with us?"
Harry raised a hand to shield his eyes, spotting Hagrid emerging from the depths of the Forbidden Forest, dragging a bundle of firewood with another tucked under his arm.
"Hagrid's coming," Harry said to the pair. "Maybe we can all go together."
With that, he waved, drew his wand, pointed it at his throat, and shouted, "Oi—Hagrid!"
The amplified voice was so loud that Hagrid visibly flinched, the firewood clattering to the ground.
As he bent to pick it up, a thick layer of snow slid off the branches above, cascading onto his back.
Soon, Hagrid gathered the firewood again and trudged over, clutching it to his chest.
"Blimey, Harry, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Hagrid said, patting his chest with lingering unease.
Poppy's eyes crinkled as she giggled, then she and Hermione bounced in circles on the snow.
"What's with those two?" Hagrid asked curiously.
Harry didn't reply, merely curling his index finger and tapping his temple.
It was likely a universal gesture, implying a touch of madness.
Hagrid let out an "Oh" and said to Harry, "Alright, let's head back. It's freezin' out here—come to my place, warm up by the fire, maybe have some rock cakes. Sound good?"
"Hooray!" Poppy shouted.
Harry promptly swatted her forehead.
"What was that for?!" Poppy whined.
"Mr. Flamel said you can't eat anything, Poppy," Harry said sternly, tugging her horn. "And not only do I know this, I'm going to tell everyone you know to stop feeding you!"
Poppy looked at Harry with a aggrieved expression. Even if she couldn't taste food, she genuinely loved the sensation of eating. Hagrid's rock cakes were hard as stones, but the act of eating felt wonderful.
After all, she was a Hufflepuff.
A Hufflepuff who cherished life and adored food.
"Don't worry, Poppy," Harry added. "I'll find a way to help you recover."
"Yay!" Poppy nuzzled her head against Harry's shoulder for a good while.
"Miss Poppy is awfully fond of you," Hermione said enviously from the side. She clearly longed to have a unicorn of her own.
But Poppy Sweeting could speak, and to Hermione, that made them equals, not pet and owner.
So she settled for something smaller, cuter, and decidedly non-sentient.
Inside Hagrid's hut, Harry sent Hedwig off with a letter for Ron. Moments later, Ron arrived.
"Hermione says she wants a pet," Harry told Ron. "Why don't you help her think of something suitable?"
Hermione spoke up first. "I was thinking a cat…"
"No way!" Ron said firmly. "Not a cat! What if it eats Scabbers? He's already so old—he doesn't deserve that!"
"Cats don't have to eat rats, Ron!" Hermione shot back. "They can eat cat food. Once they're used to it, they won't even think about your Scabbers."
The door creaked open.
Newt stepped in, head bowed, his usual socially awkward self, clearly overwhelmed by the crowd.
"I should remind you, Miss Granger," Newt said earnestly, "cats have hunting instincts etched into their blood. It's their nature. No amount of food will stop them from chasing small creatures… If you choose a cat, I'd suggest Ron send his pet rat home."
He continued, "I've seen cats kill small birds more than once. They don't belong in certain places… It's just their instinct to hunt."
"Then what should I get?" Hermione sighed mournfully. "I really want a little creature…"
"Why not adopt Ron?" Harry quipped suddenly. "He'd be the perfect pet—look, healthy, eats anything, no food worries, and he can even understand you… sort of."
"No thanks, Harry," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at Ron. "Understands me? Ha! I've told him to finish his homework properly, and what does he do? Copies mine. And he even tried copying my exam answers—that's just unacceptable."
"That's an insult!" Ron protested. "I've been following the study plan you gave me. Test me if you don't believe me!"
Hermione huffed, ignoring him, and turned to Harry. "By the way, Harry, where's Veratia been lately? I haven't even seen her at the Gryffindor table during meals."
"She's been busy," Harry said, idly tugging Poppy's ear. "I heard her say Dumbledore's agreed to let her study at a Muggle university in her spare time… She's even applied for a Time-Turner to help."
Hermione's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Merlin, that was so diligent, so dedicated.
"But how's she getting there?" Ron asked. "You can't Apparate at Hogwarts, can you?"
"She has a phoenix," Harry said simply. "Fiona, her phoenix…"
"Yours too, right?" Poppy interjected. "I know about that—"
She abruptly stopped.
The phoenix wasn't a secret. It was, after all, Harry and Veratia's hard-earned prize.
A phoenix?
Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She knew exactly what pet she wanted now.
The entire weekend, Veratia was nowhere to be seen. Aside from mornings when she dragged Harry to the second-floor girls' bathroom for a quick hug, he didn't see her until evening.
According to Veratia, the enrollment process for the London School of Economics had been handled entirely by Gringotts.
In that regard, Gringotts was quite professional, adhering to their strict "six don'ts" policy and asking no questions.
On Saturday morning, the Hogwarts Board of Governors convened as planned.
The meeting took place in the Headmaster's office. Early that morning, the governors arrived at Hogwarts in a flurry.
The students, of course, recognized most of them—many were their fathers.
Poppy was nervous, flanked by Newt and Tina as her family escorts. Harry gave them an OK gesture and stepped into the Headmaster's office.
The side chamber was a spacious meeting room. Harry would bet his wand it had been expanded with an Extension Charm.
From the outside, no one would guess the Headmaster's meeting room could be so bright and airy.
Lucius nodded at Harry as he entered.
Harry took a seat, with Dumbledore settling beside him to observe.
Soon, under Lucius's direction, the meeting commenced.
"We've gathered today to discuss adding a new member to the Board of Governors," Lucius began bluntly. "This seat originates from Gringotts and the Lestrange family, transferred by decision of the Goblin Brotherhood's president, 'Cockeye' Bodrick, and witnessed by Gringotts' representative, Skard. The seat was granted to Mr. Potter, who holds full authority over it. At his discretion, the seat has been assigned to Miss Poppy Sweeting."
"We will now vote. Those in favor, raise your wands and emit blue sparks. Those opposed, red sparks. Abstentions need not raise their wands."
Nearly half the room consisted of Lucius's allies, who had no objections.
A few neutral members went along to do a favor.
After all, Harry had defeated Voldemort—both sentiment and reason inclined them to support him.
As for those who clashed with Lucius, they were the minority. Opposition was futile, so they didn't bother.
Of the twelve governors, nine voted in favor, three abstained.
Seeing the consensus, Lucius smiled at Harry. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Please invite Miss Poppy to join us."
Harry nodded, rose, and left the room.
Moments later, he returned with Poppy, accompanied by the Scamanders.
"Hello!" Poppy said, waving a hoof. "I'm your new colleague, Poppy Sweeting."
The room stared in shock at the unicorn-formed Poppy, Lucius included.
No one had expected the new Hogwarts governor to be a unicorn.
"This is an outrage!" a bald elderly man stood, declaring. "We will not allow a unicorn to join the Hogwarts Board of Governors!"
"Absolutely!" "No way!" "Unacceptable!"
The few governors at odds with Lucius echoed his protest, refusing to let a unicorn sit as their equal.
"I believe you should show Miss Sweeting some respect," Dumbledore said suddenly. "She is a Magizoologist, only temporarily trapped in unicorn form due to certain circumstances. In terms of lineage and age, she's far older than anyone here. By family ties, she's Newt Scamander's aunt."
The governors hadn't anticipated this. A unicorn with such a background left them stunned.
A unicorn as a governor was unthinkable, but the governors were flexible.
First, Miss Poppy Sweeting wasn't truly a unicorn—she was a Magizoologist, essentially human.
Second, the Board's chairman, Lucius, supported her, as did Harry Potter.
Finally, Headmaster Dumbledore and the renowned Scamanders backed Poppy's appointment.
It was a done deal. Opposing it further was pointless, so they might as well go along.
"Well, if that's the case…" The bald man sat down. "We have no objections."
With the leader conceding, the others saw no point in resisting and reluctantly accepted the outcome.
A glint flashed across Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles, his thoughts unreadable.
"Then let us welcome our new Hogwarts governor, Miss Poppy Sweeting."
Lucius led the applause, followed by the governors on either side.
Poppy pranced her front hooves, clopping against the floor as her own form of clapping.
With Poppy's appointment settled, the other governors offered congratulations and departed Hogwarts.
Only Lucius, Pansy's father, Mr. Parkinson, and Daphne's father, Mr. Greengrass, remained.
"I must thank you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Parkinson said first. "If you hadn't helped my daughter escape the Dark Lord's control last year, she might have caused great harm—or worse, lost her life…"
"You're too kind," Harry said with a smile.
"So, if you ever need anything, just let me know," Mr. Parkinson continued. "If I can help Mr. Potter in any way, I'll do my utmost!"
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