Watching Firenze disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Dudley finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
In reality, he wasn't certain whether he could convince Firenze. Centaurs weren't ordinary creatures. They had good magical resistance and some resistance to Dudley's beyonder abilities. He didn't dare use his abilities too blatantly, lest the other party notice something abnormal.
In such circumstances, he could only try to convince Firenze using his eloquence as much as possible.
"What were all those things you said? Why can I understand every single word, but when put together, I can't comprehend their meaning?" Harry looked at Dudley in surprise.
"What chaos, what order, and what about the wizarding world's fate? Did you two exchange opinions on the future development of the wizarding world?" Hermione walked over and asked. She too was completely confused by what she heard.
"I just said some things centaurs could understand. Nothing special. Let's go back," Dudley said, not bothering to explain anything and turning to walk out of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid, having just finished with the dragon egg, caught up with them. Seeing Dudley and the others already heading back, he immediately asked, "Are you all alright? Who did you encounter?"
"It was Firenze. I told him about Norbert, and he agreed to help find a habitat near water sources in the Forbidden Forest, so Norbert can live there after hatching," Dudley explained.
"Firenze? He agreed? No way..." Hagrid's eyes widened as he looked at Dudley somewhat incredulously.
Having been a gamekeeper for so many years, he knew very well how difficult centaurs were to communicate with. Even Firenze, who was relatively friendly to humans among centaurs, would almost never agree to let a fire dragon live in the Forbidden Forest.
"He agreed temporarily. Norbert's situation is still uncertain. If he really can't be tamed, then we'll have to send him away," Dudley said.
Hagrid looked somewhat reluctant but finally nodded. He also understood that if Norbert couldn't be tamed, his living here would be a huge potential danger to Hogwarts. No matter how reluctant he was, he would have to send Norbert away.
Dudley and the others didn't return to Hagrid's hut. After saying goodbye to him, the four of them returned to Hogwarts Castle together.
Over the following period, Dudley would visit Hagrid's hut whenever he had free time to check on the still-incubating fire dragon while using his Briber abilities to continuously strengthen the dragon's affection for him. He wasn't sure if this approach would work, but it was worth trying.
A week later, the four of them headed straight to Hagrid's hut as soon as class ended.
"Do you think Norbert might have already hatched?" Ron asked.
"I think probably not. That dragon will definitely wait until we arrive before coming out," Hermione said confidently.
"We're about to witness the birth of a fire dragon. I'm actually getting excited," Harry said, his face a bit flushed, though whether from excitement or the cold weather was unclear.
"Based on time calculations, I estimate Norbert has probably already been born," Dudley said.
"Weren't you all completely uninterested in that fire dragon before, even a bit afraid? How come you're all so excited now?"
"Going to see it every day during this time, we've developed some feelings for it," Ron admitted. Although he still held a skeptical attitude toward such dangerous creatures as dragons, after spending time with that dragon egg during this period, Ron felt that this dragon might not be so scary after all.
Just as they were talking, Dudley's expression suddenly changed as he looked toward the corridor behind them.
"Malfoy, come out," Dudley called, his gaze fixed on the back of a statue.
"Damn it!" Malfoy cursed under his breath and came out from behind the statue.
This time, he was alone. Crabbe and Goyle weren't with him. He mainly felt these two were too much of a hindrance. Several times it was because of them that he was discovered, so this time Malfoy chose to act alone. But he didn't expect to still be found by Dudley immediately.
"Following us?" Dudley looked at the emerging Malfoy with a serious expression.
"I was just passing by," Malfoy said, stepping back several paces to distance himself from Dudley and the others.
"You were passing by behind a statue?" Harry asked coldly.
"Malfoy, I think you're looking for another beating!" Ron said while cracking his knuckles. The sharp crackling sounds echoed ominously through the corridor.
Malfoy's face immediately paled, and he turned to run without looking back, afraid that if he ran too slowly, he wouldn't be able to escape these guys' clutches. These people really would beat him up.
Bang!
But as soon as Malfoy turned around, he ran straight into someone who had just come from the rear corridor.
"Ouch!" "Be... be careful..." Malfoy fell to the ground, while Professor Quirrell on the other side seemed somewhat panicked, speaking with his usual stutter.
"Professor Quirrell, I'm sorry," Malfoy said quickly upon seeing Quirrell.
"It's... it's fine," Quirrell replied, glancing nervously at Harry and the others. He smiled awkwardly and turned to help up the fallen Malfoy.
"Ah!" Suddenly, at that moment, Harry cried out sharply, covering his forehead with both hands.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione and Ron, standing beside Harry, were startled by this sudden exclamation.
"Nothing... nothing..." Harry shook his head, though his face had gone pale.
Just then, his forehead scar had suddenly sent a burning pain shooting through him.
Dudley glanced at Harry and frowned but didn't say anything aloud. "Quirrell? It seems Voldemort's condition isn't good. He can't even completely conceal his aura anymore, actually stimulating the scar on Harry's forehead," Dudley thought to himself.
"What's going on here?" Just then, a cold voice cut through the air. Snape appeared from somewhere, looking impatiently at the people gathered in the corridor.
"Professor Snape, Dudley and the others were doing bad things," Malfoy said immediately upon seeing Snape, as if he had found a savior.
"Don't talk nonsense, or you'll have to pay the price for your lies!" Dudley stared hard at Malfoy.
"Don't threaten my student in front of me, Dursley!" Snape looked at Dudley, speaking each word with deliberate emphasis.
"Professor Snape, perhaps you've forgotten that I have the right to interrogate students. Malfoy just slandered us, and I think on this issue, I could interrogate him to see why he's defaming us. Moreover, this isn't the first time he's done this," Dudley said without backing down.
"It's... it's just... a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding," Quirrell stuttered nervously from the side.
Snape glared fiercely at Dudley. "Don't let me catch you making mistakes!" Snape said coldly. "Malfoy, come with me. I have something to tell you."
Snape turned sharply and left, his black robes billowing dramatically behind him. Malfoy immediately scurried after him like an obedient pet.
"Misunderstanding... resolved," Quirrell said with a nervous smile directed at Dudley and the others.