Chapter 84: But You’re the Real Dog

Hearing Hermione’s question, Harry glanced at Poppy with some concern.

To his surprise, Poppy raised her head, smiled brightly, and said, “Oh no, you’ve figured it out! Yes, I’m actually Poppy Sweeting from Hufflepuff.”

“Cool!” Ron clapped his hands together. “I knew you weren’t ordinary! So you’re the famous Miss Sweeting...”

“Oh, shut up, Ronald!” Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron’s simplistic thinking.

“There’s no such thing as an Animagus that can turn into a magical creature! At least, that’s what the books say—absolutely, positively, never attempt to become a magical creature!”

Poppy’s eyes crinkled with amusement. She had expected no one to believe the truth.

Instead of lying to hide herself, she decided it was better to tell the truth outright.

Everyone knows that lies require countless others to cover them up, but the truth doesn’t.

“Oh, so Miss Unicorn can lie too?” Ron asked pitifully.

Poppy didn’t respond, simply giving Ron a meaningful look.

“Well, Ron, you’re such a fool,” Hermione said with a resigned shake of her head.

“Miss Poppy, am I really a fool?” Ron looked at Poppy with wide, pleading eyes.

Poppy shook her head, smiling. “Silly boy, how could you possibly be a fool?”

Ron: ...

He puffed out his cheeks, sulking as he hugged his knees and turned away.

This pitiful display of grievance made everyone burst out laughing.

At that moment, Hagrid appeared with Fang by his side.

When Harry saw Fang, he suddenly remembered that the dog had been left unconscious in the Forbidden Forest when he and Hagrid returned the previous day.

At the time, Harry had been engrossed in a conversation with Firenze about Voldemort, while Hagrid was preoccupied with reporting the incident to Dumbledore. Between the two of them, Fang had been completely forgotten.

“Miss Poppy—oh, and the rest of you—good afternoon!” Hagrid greeted them, his arms full of something.

“Good afternoon, Hagrid,” they all replied in unison.

Hagrid walked up, with Fang trailing behind him. He plopped down on the ground beside Ron.

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“Oh,” Hagrid said, “yesterday, when we came back, I forgot to bring Fang along. It wasn’t until I woke up this morning that I remembered—but by then, he had already returned. That said, why would Fang have fainted? He’s a coward, and normally he’d run off long before anything could scare him that much.”

“He fainted out of fright, thanks to the person in black robes,” Harry said succinctly.

At these words, Fang shot up and stared at Harry in disbelief, as if he couldn’t comprehend being accused like this by a two-legged pup.

Fang stubbornly approached Harry, barking indignantly, his wide eyes full of grievance. His expression practically screamed: I might not be human, but you’re the real dog here!

Do you not know why I passed out?

“See that?” Harry said to Hagrid. “He’s upset.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to start talking right now,” Poppy remarked in agreement.

“Alright, alright, Fang,” Hagrid called the dog back. “I know you’re a coward. Fainting out of fear isn’t that hard to understand—”

Fang whimpered twice, dejectedly lowering his head and curling up at Hagrid’s side.

Great. Now my reputation as a cowardly dog is set in stone.

The lunch break passed quickly, but luckily, Fridays only had two Potions classes. With no afternoon or evening lessons, they had more time to spend with Poppy.

However, as first-year students still needed their rest, Harry had to bid a reluctant farewell to Poppy, promising to bring her some treats tomorrow. He then returned to the dormitory with his friends.

“Goodness, Harry, you actually know a unicorn!” Hermione still seemed awestruck. “Unicorns—they’re such noble creatures...”

Harry didn’t say much, merely smiling at Hermione.

“Harry...”

“Potter!”

Two voices, one from the left and one from the right, interrupted. Harry felt two arms wrap around his neck.

It was Fred and George.

“Come chat with your big brothers,” they said in unison. “But don’t let Miss Know-It-All find out what we’re up to.”

Hermione blew at her bangs, choosing to ignore them.

“You guys go ahead. I’ve got something to discuss with Fred and George,” Harry said to Ron and the others.

“Be careful,” Ron advised. “Those two are nothing but trouble.”

“Oh, Ronniekins,” Fred and George chorused again, perfectly synchronized. “You’re just like Mum.”

Ron, who had been about to retort, blushed furiously at the nickname “Ronniekins” and stormed off to the dormitory.

The three of them headed to the common room, where Harry immediately asked, “Hey, have you two found out anything about what’s under Quirrell’s turban?”

“Nothing,” Fred and George replied in unison. “Ever since we had Defense Against the Dark Arts this week, we haven’t seen Professor Quirrell at all—it’s like he’s vanished from Hogwarts.”

“Really?” Harry scratched his head. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“But that’s not why we’re here,” Fred said, pulling a biscuit out of his pocket and handing it to Harry. “Here, take a look.”

“What is it?” Harry held the golden biscuit up to the sunlight, inspecting it but finding nothing unusual.

“A Canary Cream,” George said with a mischievous grin. “One of our new prank products. Eat it, and you’ll temporarily turn into a human canary. It’s hilarious!”

Harry looked from Fred to George, then back again.

“You two have quite the knack for pranks,” Harry remarked, placing the Canary Cream on the table.

He didn’t have any enemies at school, so he couldn’t think of anyone to use it on.

Sensing Harry’s lack of enthusiasm, the twins leaned in and whispered, “Just think, Harry. If Quirrell ate the biscuit and turned into a human canary, wouldn’t the secret under his turban be exposed?”

They waggled their eyebrows at Harry, identical mischievous smiles on their faces.

Harry imagined Quirrell as a giant, feathered canary in his mind...

“Isn’t that a bit too much?” he suddenly felt a twinge of pity for Quirrell.

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