Saturday dawned quickly, bringing with it a dark, heavily clouded night. Allen, who had spent the early evening taking a brisk walk around the Black Lake, waited a short while before meeting up with the anxious Gryffindor trio.
The three quickly explained their near-disaster: they had been cornered in the Foyer, where Peeves was amusing himself by playing tennis against the wall, but they had somehow managed to slip away. They then informed Allen, sadly, of the critical blunder.
Ron, upon leaving Ravenclaw Tower after his hand was healed, had remembered that his brother Charlie had tucked the crucial pick-up instruction letter into a book and placed it back on a library shelf. Upon checking, they found the book was already checked out—by Draco Malfoy.
"We don't have time to change our plans," Harry and Hermione said simultaneously, their voices tight with stress. Then, as if trying to convince himself, Harry explained to Allen, "We can't send another owl to Charlie and rearrange things; this is probably our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We have to take the risk. Malfoy doesn't know about the Invisibility Cloak."
Ron's face was a deep crimson; he couldn't bring himself to meet Allen's eyes after revealing his truly catastrophic mistake.
"But I don't understand why Malfoy hasn't reported us immediately," Hermione muttered, shaking her bushy head. She had been living in constant terror of being caught and reported for days, and the silence was unnerving.
"Think about what Draco Malfoy's name implies," Allen explained, referencing his surname. "If we're talking about who loves dragons the most at Hogwarts… If Hagrid is number one, Malfoy is probably number two."
The group soon reached Hagrid's cabin. The Gamekeeper's enormous boarhound, Fang, lay whimpering outside the door, his tail wrapped in a hastily applied bandage. Hearing voices, Hagrid opened the window and called out to them.
"Hold on a minute, please, I'm just putting Norbert in the crate securely…" Hagrid looked up, breathless, his eyes brimming with tears. "Norbert's being an absolute nightmare right now… I don't know what I'm gonna do with him."
After waiting a nervous few minutes, listening to sounds of fighting and breaking wood inside the hut, Hagrid finally emerged, covered in fresh scorch marks, carrying a large wooden crate. He was wearing only one boot; his bare, hairy foot was covered in puncture marks from the dragon's tiny teeth.
Hagrid seemed to notice Allen's stare, or perhaps he only just remembered Allen was there, and looked embarrassed. He had been actively avoiding Allen because of his aunt's position in the Ministry. Looking down at his bare, wounded foot, he explained weakly, "He didn't bite me… he just nipped my boot clean off… he was only playing… he's still just a little baby, after all…"
Seeing Hagrid on the verge of tears, Allen nodded subtly toward Hermione. She was about to interrupt, swallowing her words. She had been planning to remind Hagrid that Allen was there to see the dragon, not just to assist with the handover. Given the rushed circumstances, Allen decided he'd just have a quick look through the crate.
He cast a shimmering Lumos charm and directed the light onto the trunk. Aside from the distinctive stench of dead mice emanating from the crate, the baby dragon inside was thrashing wildly. It was not, in fact, very pretty. It resembled a crumpled, black umbrella. Its pointed wings looked far too big for its thin, dark body.
It also had a long, pale snout, horns budding on its head, and bulging, fiery orange-red eyes. When it sneezed, sparks shot out of its nostrils. The dragon had already bitten the head off the teddy bear inside and was now fixated on the boot—which must have been ripped off Hagrid's bare foot.
"I've packed plenty of mice for him, and enough brandy for the journey," Hagrid choked out. "I put his teddy bear and my boot in there too, so he won't get lonely and he'll still be able to smell me when he misses me…"
This explanation made Harry and Ron's expressions utterly priceless, and also caused the germaphobe Hermione to look slightly green—Hogwarts had served blue cheese for dinner that night.
Allen felt genuine sympathy for Hagrid; he understood the raw emotions of losing a cherished pet. However, given the immense danger the fire-breathing beast posed to Hagrid himself and to everyone else, keeping it as a special pet was simply irresponsible.
Finally, the time for separation arrived.
"Goodbye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, wiping his eyes with his massive hands. "Yer mam'll never forget you!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione draped the Invisibility Cloak over the crate and then ducked beneath the heavy fabric themselves. Because Ron, despite his healed hand, was now an extra person, the trio had to crouch low to hide their feet.
Allen chose not to join them for the final handover. Harry's cloak couldn't comfortably conceal four people, and Allen was not about to reveal his ability to use the Disillusionment Charm in front of the trio. Most importantly, he wanted to ensure he could observe and avoid detection entirely.
The next day, after a deep, refreshing sleep, Allen went to the Room of Requirement for his usual morning exercise. Feeling fit and covered in a satisfying layer of sweat, he washed up and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, as was his routine.
The moment Allen stepped into the Great Hall, he sensed a heavy, peculiar atmosphere hanging over the long tables. He quickly spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Gryffindor sitting dejectedly at their table, accompanied by Neville, whose eyes were now the size of walnuts, and a subdued Fleg comforting him.
They got caught.
To confirm his suspicion, he strolled over to the giant hourglasses that recorded the House Points. Sure enough, the colossal hourglass representing Gryffindor was missing a significant number of its rubies.
Compared to the sapphire-filled Ravenclaw hourglass beside it, the nearly empty Gryffindor one looked weak, pitiful, and utterly pathetic. But then, Allen noticed the state of the plates in front of the little lions—they were definitely making up for their emotional distress with food.
When Gryffindor woke up that morning, they knew something was terribly wrong. Previously, Gryffindor held the second-highest jewel count, having finally surpassed Slytherin, the perennial House Cup winners for six consecutive years. Now, even without counting the few remaining stones, they knew they were dead last, with virtually no chance of even catching Hufflepuff.
The question was, how could they have lost two hundred and fifty points overnight? But news quickly spread: the famous Potter and his four foolish first-years had essentially destroyed the House's entire year's efforts. Even if they hadn't won the House Cup, it would have been a triumph for most of the young lions to finally beat their six-year rivals, Slytherin.
But today… they had lost exactly two hundred and fifty points!
It turned out that when Fleg and Neville noticed Harry and the others missing, they had tried to dissuade them. All five were caught red-handed by Professor McGonagall.
Even though Allen had healed his hand, Ron didn't rest; he went with Harry and the others to deliver Norbert. The Gryffindors were initially lucky: Professor McGonagall had caught Draco Malfoy lurking about, deducted twenty points from Slytherin for breaking curfew, and sent him to detention.
Filled with excitement after successfully delivering Norbert at the highest tower—the Astronomy Tower—and handing the mission over to Charlie's colleague, the little lions completely forgot to put the Invisibility Cloak back on, leaving it behind in the tower. They then descended, chatting and laughing loudly, only to be intercepted by Filch.
Professor McGonagall had punished the five Gryffindor students with a staggering deduction of fifty points each for severe curfew violations and assigned them all to detention, alongside Malfoy. Though clearly heartbroken, Professor McGonagall, true to her reputation, did not hesitate to penalize her own House, determined to maintain an image of absolute fairness.
As Allen walked back to the dining hall, he noticed Gryffindor students pointing and whispering at Harry and his friends, not bothering to lower their voices as they shouted insults at them.
Harry, once the school's most famous and beloved figure, the pride of Gryffindor, had instantly become their disgrace. No Gryffindor wanted to sit near or speak to them. Seamus Finnigan only allowed his roommates to look at the new bald patch on the back of his head.
Meanwhile, whenever the Slytherins walked past, the young snakes clapped, whistled, and cheered. Even though Draco Malfoy's actions had cost them twenty points, the students, who had long ago given up on winning the top spot, watched in awe as Malfoy's betrayal moved them up to second place. They thought this treachery was perfectly aligned with their House's style.
Malfoy acted like a conquering hero, deliberately bringing Goyle and Crabbe along as his personal bodyguard. The trio repeatedly marched in and out of the Great Hall, openly taunting Harry. "Thanks, Pott! Your stunning stupidity has handed us second place!"
Harry could no longer sit still. Hermione, who valued the House's honour far more than personal pride, bowed her head, fighting back tears, unable to bear the prolonged humiliation. Harry yanked Ron and Hermione to their feet, called for Neville, and tried to leave, but the three Malfoys deliberately blocked their path, shouting insults at them.
The surrounding Gryffindors watched indifferently, making no move to defend Harry and his friends.
"But Malfoy, thank you too. You've just made Slytherin's chances of catching Ravenclaw even more difficult. But it seems you've already given up and are focused on competing for second place, haven't you?" While Allen wouldn't explicitly remind Gryffindor of the point loss, he decided to publicly chastise them to amend the situation and, perhaps, subtly boost his own reputation.
Draco grunted, knowing that prolonging the argument would only make him look like an idiot, and slunk back to the Slytherin table with his two bodyguards.
"Come on, Hermione, Harry. These superficial, self-serving friendships aren't worth your time," Allen said, raising his voice far louder than usual so that more students could hear him.
"If every Ravenclaw point were wiped out because of me, I believe the intelligent Ravenclaws would work together for a greater victory, not abandon and insult you when you're at your lowest. You know, Hermione, your earned class points alone already exceed fifty. And Harry, your performance in Quidditch speaks for itself… There's a good reason Gryffindors work so hard to earn points, but I don't know what gives you the nerve to ridicule the Gryffindors who normally only lose points in class." Allen's words were sharp and directed at the onlookers. "
Gryffindors, supposedly the epitome of bravery and nobility, are proud and arrogant when their friends are honored, but when those friends lose points, you stand by and watch them be humiliated? You are all complete hypocrites, less united than even the Slytherins."
Some Gryffindors were angered by the criticism, others were deeply embarrassed, but no one dared to speak up in defense. This was, unfortunately, a trait of Gryffindor, the house of courage, and they would continue to exhibit similar behavior for years to come.
Edward, who knew the Gryffindors well through Allen, couldn't help but interject when he saw his roommate dominating the argument. "By the way, your Weasley twins have been losing points continuously since the start of the year. If you counted carefully, they should have lost at least fifty points each, but you Gryffindors still seem to adore them, don't you?"
Hearing this, the nearby Ravenclaws puffed out their chests, some even offering Harry friendly smiles. Ron and Neville, the ignored pair, were profoundly embarrassed; even without the latest fifty-point deduction, they were already part of the infamous 'negative points' group.
Furthermore, while Allen's statement about the point loss was mostly accurate, his portrayal of Ravenclaw unity was largely due to his own personal charisma. In truth, Ravenclaw was arguably the least united of the four Houses.
However, unlike Gryffindor, which collectively excluded those who failed, Ravenclaw preferred a hands-off approach. If Allen's academic dominance this year hadn't spurred some of the reserved young eagles into competition, they would likely have focused entirely on their own pursuits rather than point-earning.
But in this current context, Allen's words served as a powerful rebuke. The Gryffindors who had just been shouting insults flushed crimson with shame. A stuttering Seamus gathered his courage and muttered apologies to Harry and the others, while several older students walked past, bowed their heads in shame, apologized, and hurried away. This caused Hermione and Neville, who had been struggling to hold back tears, to finally break down and weep.
Still, while a few of the present Gryffindors recognized their mistake, the majority of the House was still furious at Harry and his friends. After all, they had worked hard to earn a considerable amount of points. Unlike those in the negative group, the rubies that fell from the hourglass represented part of their effort.
The damage was done, and it was too late for true repentance. Harry vowed never to interfere in other people's affairs again. No more sneaking around, no more spying. He was so mortified that he went to Wood and offered to quit the Quidditch team.
"Quit?" Wood roared. "What's the point? How are we going to make up the points if we don't win Quidditch?"
But even Quidditch had lost its former joy for Harry. During practice, the other team members were reluctant to speak to him, only referring to him as "Seeker." They felt they had every right to treat Harry this way, as he had been the single biggest contributor to their House Point disaster.
The other four little lions suffered as well. Their days weren't quite as difficult as Harry's because they weren't famous, but no one wanted to speak to them. Hermione fared slightly better, but having few friends to begin with, she simply buried herself in her studies.
However, whenever that little snake Malfoy tried to humiliate Harry again, a few of the Gryffindors who had been chastened by Allen's speech would stand up for their classmate. So, while Harry and his friends' days were still hard, they weren't completely unbearable.
More importantly, with the final exams rapidly approaching, no one had the energy to focus on anything else. Professors were demanding assignment after assignment, each day bringing new expectations for the complexity and size of their work. This allowed everyone to temporarily forget their problems and focus solely on their studies.
Word of Allen's public speech in the Great Hall spread like wildfire, eventually reaching Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House.
He was deeply pleased to see that the bright and talented Ravenclaw students, especially the first-years, were more united than ever. Impressed by Allen's exemplary academic performance this year, they imitated his disciplined lifestyle, diligently studying the textbook material.
It seemed they finally had a leader, rather than merely determining their wand motions by whether their dice roll landed on an even number each day.
In his first year, Allen was king in all but name. Although he wasn't old enough to be appointed Prefect in Ravenclaw, his words now carried more weight than perhaps anyone else's, save for the overbearing female Prefect Penelope, whose full name Allen still couldn't quite recall…