The Niffler ran desperately ahead, its short legs moving incredibly fast.
Charlie followed leisurely behind, completely invisible due to the Disillusionment Charm.
"This little thing can really run," Charlie muttered to himself.
"But no matter how fast it runs, it can't escape my grasp."
The Niffler darted through a dense thicket of bushes, squeezed under a few fallen dead trees, and finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous small hill.
Charlie hid behind a large tree, observing carefully.
The small hill looked very ordinary, its surface covered with moss and wild grass.
But soon, two Nifflers emerged from a hole on the side of the hill.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The returning Niffler immediately cried out, gesturing wildly with its small paws.
The other two Nifflers gathered around, their black bean eyes full of confusion.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!" The returning one continued to explain, even drawing something on the ground with its paw.
Although Charlie didn't understand the Niffler's language, he could roughly guess.
The little fellow was saying the gold was gone, all of it had disappeared.
Sure enough, after listening, the eyes of the other two Nifflers instantly became stern.
Having found the lair, Charlie dispelled the Disillusionment Charm and walked out from behind the large tree.
The three Nifflers instantly froze, turning their heads in unison to look at Charlie.
The two Nifflers guarding the home looked even more bewildered, glaring at the returning one:
"Did you bring the Wizard here? I repeatedly warned, no returning home with a tail behind you!"
The returning Niffler was on the verge of tears, frantically waving its small paws, indicating that it truly hadn't noticed.
"Stop arguing," Charlie raised his wand, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Not a single one of you will escape."
Seeing the unfavorable situation, the three Nifflers immediately scattered and fled.
"Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!"
"Stupefy!"
Three shots, three hits. Charlie blew on the tip of his wand and nodded in satisfaction.
Next came the main event.
Charlie walked to the small hill and carefully observed the terrain. The hill was about two or three meters high, its surface covered with thick turf.
How was he going to get the gold out? Directly blowing up the hill might damage the items.
Charlie pondered for a moment.
"Vanish."
Charlie waved his wand, casting Transfiguration on the small hill.
The stones and soil in the small hill transformed into Flat-Mouthed Rats, which then ran off under Charlie's control.
Soon, the small hill completely disappeared, revealing the hidden space beneath.
"Is this the Flat-Mouthed Rat's lair?"
Charlie's eyes widened.
This underground space wasn't too large, roughly the size of a classroom.
But the items inside were varied and eclectic.
All sorts of sparkling glass shards were scattered on the ground, and Galleons and Sickles were piled in a corner, about twenty or thirty of them.
There were even red underwear with rhinestones?
Charlie's several pieces of gold were also among them, standing out conspicuously in a pile of miscellaneous items.
Charlie picked up his gold and Galleons and tossed them into the undetectable extension trunk.
What remained was a pile of junk.
Charlie looked at the ground full of glass shards, torn cloth, and various miscellaneous items, falling into a dilemma.
If he took them, these things were useless to him.
But if he didn't take them, wouldn't that just benefit these Flat-Mouthed Rats?
Dare to touch my gold, and you must bear the consequences.
Charlie raised his wand and cast a Flame Charm at the scattered items on the ground.
"Incendio!"
Orange-red flames spewed from the tip of his wand, instantly igniting the rags on the ground.
A few minutes later, all the miscellaneous items in the underground space turned to ash.
Only bare earth walls and a layer of black ash remained.
Charlie clapped his hands, picked up the undetectable extension trunk, and left in a cheerful mood.
Over an hour passed.
The three Nifflers slowly regained consciousness.
They looked around dazedly, then froze.
Where was their home?
Where was their big home?
The Nifflers rubbed their eyes, thinking they had seen wrong.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
They let out cries of terror... Charlie returned to the Castle, heading straight for the Hufflepuff dormitory.
He encountered many classmates along the way, all nodding in greeting.
Back in the dormitory, Charlie placed the undetectable extension trunk on his bed and, following Dumbledore's instructions, injected magic into the box.
A faint blue light flickered across the surface of the box, then subsided.
"Now only I can open it," Charlie nodded in satisfaction.
He shoved the box to the very back under his bed, covering it with his quilt.
He needed to find time to take all the gold to Gringotts to deposit it.
Leaving it at school was still too unsafe.
If it were ever stolen, box and all, that would be troublesome.
Charlie finished organizing his things, and his stomach began to rumble.
After an afternoon in the Forbidden Forest, he was already starving.
He hurried towards the Great Hall, smelling the aroma of food from afar.
Pushing open the Great Hall doors, warm lamplight spilled out.
The long tables were laden with a sumptuous dinner.
Charlie's eyes instantly lit up.
Tonight's dinner actually had poached chicken!
He wondered if it was free-range chicken, raised for over 180 days.
Charlie eagerly sat down at the Hufflepuff long table and began to feast.
The poached chicken had thin skin and tender meat, dipped in ginger-scallion soy sauce, it was smooth and juicy.
With one bite, the chicken juice burst in his mouth.
"So flavorful!" Charlie squinted in enjoyment.
Just as he was engrossed in eating, Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed over.
"Charlie!" Harry called out, panting.
Charlie looked up.
"What's wrong?"
Ron plopped down next to Charlie, reaching for the bread on the table.
"We have an important discovery!"
Hermione also sat down, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Since the points deduction, the Gryffindor students hadn't spoken to the three of them for several days.
During those days, they often came to Charlie's place, scrounging for food at the Hufflepuff table.
It wasn't until the big battle with Slytherin that they were re-accepted.
But even so, the three of them still came to Charlie's place whenever they had nothing to do.
The Hufflepuff students had already grown used to it.
"Charlie, today when I was studying for my final exams in the library…" Hermione began.
"Wait, wait," Charlie raised a hand to interrupt her.
"Final exams? Isn't that still several months away?"
Ron rolled his eyes, his mouth full of bread as he mumbled indistinctly.
"See? A normal person would ask that."
Hermione glared at him.
"What's wrong with preparing early?"
She turned to Charlie and continued.
"That's not the point. The point is, I saw Hagrid reading a book about Dragons!"
"And he was being secretive, not wanting me to see."
Charlie put down his chicken leg and wiped his mouth.
"Is there anything strange about Hagrid reading a book?"
Hermione lowered her voice, speaking mysteriously.
"I suspect Hagrid wants to raise a Dragon."
Ron rolled his eyes, mumbling indistinctly.
"Oh, come on, Hermione."
"Private ownership of Dragons is strictly forbidden, it's a Ministry of Magic iron law."
"Besides, Hogwarts doesn't have anywhere to raise a Dragon."
Harry also thought it was unlikely.
"Hagrid likes dangerous animals, but he wouldn't be so reckless."
As his words fell, the four exchanged glances.
The air suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.
"It's hard to say."
The group discussed going to Hagrid's Hut to gather information.
Charlie was very interested.
He wondered what kind of Dragon Hagrid wanted to raise, and how it differed from his Animagus form; it was worth seeing.
"Let's go," Charlie put down his cutlery and stood up.
The four left the Great Hall, crossing the dark grounds.
The night breeze carried the scent of grass and trees, and moonlight cast a silvery glow on the stone path.
Warm orange light shone from Hagrid's Hut window.
Harry stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A frantic sound came from inside the Hut.
"Wait! Wait a moment!"
This was followed by clattering noises, and Hagrid's loud voice shouting something inside.
Charlie and Hermione exchanged glances.
Something was up.
Normally, Hagrid would rush out to greet them as soon as he heard a knock.
His reaction tonight clearly indicated something suspicious.
"All right! Come in!"
Hagrid opened the door, a stiff smile on his face.
His hair was messier than usual, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Harry, you're here!"
Hagrid's words were very strange, very stiff.
The four walked into the Hut.
A wave of heat washed over them.
Charlie immediately felt his clothes stick to his body.
The temperature was much higher than usual.
"Hagrid, why is it so hot in here?" Ron started tugging at his collar as soon as he entered.
"Ah, well…" Hagrid nervously wiped his forehead.
"It was a bit cold today, so I burned a bit more firewood."
Outside, it was clearly a warm spring night.
Hermione frowned, her gaze sweeping around the Hut.
"Do you want anything to eat?" Hagrid hastily changed the subject.
"I have rock cakes here, and…"
"No, thanks, Hagrid," Charlie quickly waved his hand.
"We've already had dinner."
Hagrid's rock cakes could definitely be used as controlled weapons.
"Then is there anything you need?" Hagrid's eyes darted around, not daring to look directly at them.
"We just wanted to come chat with you," Harry shrugged.
"Anyway, we'll be going to detention later, so we might as well come see you early."
"Chat?"
"Tonight's not very convenient, I still have things to…"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly closed his mouth.
The four were even more certain something was going on.
Charlie's gaze roamed around the Hut.
The teapot on the table was steaming.
The curtains were tightly drawn.
By the fireplace… "Hagrid," Charlie pointed to the fireplace.
"If you don't take that blanket off, the house is going to catch fire."
The fireplace, which should have had a fire, was covered by a blanket.
Only Hagrid could pull off such a clumsy act.
Hagrid followed his finger, his face turning frantic.
"Oh no!"
He ripped off the thick blanket covering it.
Flames suddenly shot up.
In the fireplace, a large black egg lay quietly in the middle of the embers.
The eggshell had irregular patterns on its surface, shimmering with a metallic luster under the firelight.
It was more than ten times larger than a normal chicken egg.
"Ha, Hagrid, you really are hatching an egg!" Hermione put her hands on her hips.
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