His expression was full of shock and disbelief.
Ian sighed. "I heard everything you were discussing. In fact, I was right nearby, and the three of you acted as if I weren't even there."
Even now, Ian still found it unbelievable. Upon hearing this, Ron's face instantly turned red, Neville hung his head in shame, and Hermione bit her lip, seeming to ponder how to respond.
"Alright… sorry, I just… I was a little worried…"
Ron looked extremely embarrassed, wishing he could dig a hole in the ground and disappear.
"You think Harry is hiding a secret in the Forbidden Forest?"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
He was still curious about what Ron had said earlier regarding Harry, or rather, Riddle, frequently visiting the Forbidden Forest. That curiosity was part of why he had so readily agreed to act as their babysitter.
"Yes!"
Ron quickly adjusted his emotions and continued his "deduction": "A dragon! There's a dragon in the Forbidden Forest! I bet! He's the one keeping it! That's probably the secret of the Forbidden Forest!"
"That… that person keeps dangerous dragons in the Forbidden Forest! He wants to use the dragon's power to invade Hogwarts!" Ron said, his own speculation sending chills down his spine.
Well.
There's always the one whose name must not be spoken at Hogwarts.
Why couldn't it be Harry?
"No, you already know I know what you think of Harry. So why are you still using 'that person' instead of saying it?" Ian looked slightly exasperated at this Gryffindor junior.
"…"
Ron awkwardly scratched his head.
"Habit." His face flushed red again, filled with shame.
"I must say, your imagination is comparable to the editors of the Daily Prophet headlines," Ian remarked, completely unconvinced by Ron's speculation.
His knowledge level was simply on a different plane from these three.
A dragon invading Hogwarts?
That was easily the funniest joke of the year.
"This isn't imagination! It's reasoning! Think about it, dragons are incredibly powerful creatures. If they were really controlled by someone with ill intent, Hogwarts would be in danger!"
"I'm serious! Dragons are dangerous magical creatures!" Ron, clearly angered by Ian's dismissive tone, emphatically stressed his point.
"Yeah, dragons are at the top of the food chain." Hermione also agreed with Ron's final statement.
However.
Ian shook his head again.
"To a really strong wizard, dragons are as fragile as paper."
That was the truth. The new trio clearly didn't realize that if dragons were truly that terrifying, they wouldn't be creatures so easily captured and kept by wizards.
Ron, of course, could not grasp this.
He widened his eyes.
"How is that possible?!"
The boy looked completely incredulous.
"But I thought that in front of dragons, a wizard's magic hardly works? They have incredibly strong magical resistance," Hermione said, her expression one of disbelief.
She had some understanding, but not complete.
As for Neville, he was just lying under a tree, dazed.
"Dragons have high magical resistance? Yes, that's true, but that's only for ordinary wizards. In our House alone, at least seven people can take down a so-called dragon without injury."
Ian just gave a rough estimate. Hermione calculated in her mind and was about to ask further, but Ian raised a hand to stop her: "Alright, Hermione, what happens next has nothing to do with you."
His tone brooked no argument.
Ron and Neville froze, exchanging bewildered glances, while Hermione suddenly realized and widened her eyes: "Wait! You don't mean you're going to face that dragon alone, do you?"
Ian nodded.
"You three should go back to sleep."
His tone was completely calm.
To be honest, for Ian, the appearance of such a mysterious dragon in the Forbidden Forest was impossible to ignore, not because he was worried about the forest's ecological balance.
Ian's mind was entirely focused on all the potion ingredients; he had already thought through how to use them. Bringing the three along wouldn't be a problem, but keeping all the ingredients for himself would be much harder.
Two of the trio had big mouths.
If Snape found out…
Ian didn't think the good professor would allow him to keep everything for himself.
"I'll send you back."
Ian thought this and was about to cast a spell.
Hermione immediately panicked.
"Ian! This isn't a joke! The Apex Beasts: Dragon records countless tragic cases!" She spoke as she pulled an extracurricular book from her bag.
The worried girl tried to show Ian the contents of the book.
"Look, it says here how powerful dragons' attacks are. Their flames can reduce an entire forest to ashes in an instant. Their scales are incredibly tough, and ordinary magic barely harms them."
"In the chapter on dragon attack cases," She continued quickly, "the 1992 Romania Dragon Trainer Association report shows that untrained wizards had only a 17% survival rate in dragon attacks!" Hermione spoke rapidly, hoping to convince Ian, her tone urgent and charged with a strong warning.
Ian remained calm.
She paused, then added, "We should go back and tell the Head of House, tell the headmaster, and let the adults at Hogwarts handle this."
This had been Hermione's original thought, later sidetracked by Ron.
Having witnessed the terrifying power of a western dragon, her Gryffindor brain had sobered up.
"Hmm, you're right."
Ian nodded in agreement. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had changed his mind. "Then let's quickly go tell Professor McGonagall, or even Headmaster Dumbledore directly!"
Ian nodded again.
"At this hour, Dumbledore probably isn't asleep yet."
He offered his judgment.
Hermione's expression relaxed, but in the next instant, Ian drew his wand and waved it gently. The stones on the ground transformed into three blankets that appeared before them.
"Ah?"
Before the three could react, the blankets seemed to come alive, wrapping them tightly.
"Wait! Ian! You can't---"
Hermione's voice was muffled by the blankets.
"What a joke, oh, this is Hogwarts, and in Hogwarts, I can do anything."
Ian winked at her.
The three blankets rose into the air as if held by invisible hands, swiftly flying toward the castle.
"Ian! You can't take such a risk!"
This was worried Hermione.
"He should be in Gryffindor!"
Ron exclaimed, stunned.
"Merlin help, Merlin help."
Neville tightly closed his eyes, muttering constantly, the blankets flying farther away, Hermione's protests, Ron's shouts, Neville's whimpers, all scattered by the night wind.
Ian watched them go until their figures disappeared into the layered contours of the Forbidden Forest. Only then did he turn back, his gaze toward the depths of the forest filled with curiosity.
"All right…"
Ian murmured to himself.
"Now, let's see who put a dragon in the Forbidden Forest that shouldn't be here."
His boots crushed the decaying leaves, producing faint crisp sounds in the silent forest.
Step by step, he moved toward the direction of the earlier western dragon's roar.
A clear silhouette.
Disappearing into the dark jungle.
(End of chapter)
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