Chapter 30: Fang
Originally, Hagrid hadn't wanted to disturb Harry too soon. But after learning that Harry had been sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, Hagrid couldn't sit still any longer.
"Harry's parents both graduated from Gryffindor! I don't understand why he would choose Slytherin at all. It was you who made him go there, wasn't it!"
Hagrid's voice was filled with a stern seriousness. Harry, who had never seen Hagrid like this, was a bit frightened. Before Ezio could say anything, Harry stood up and explained.
"It was my own choice, Hagrid!"
Harry shook his head forcefully. "It has nothing to do with Ezio. I thought Slytherin could give me... The Sorting Hat said Slytherin could help me on my way to greatness. I..."
"Oh, what a wretched old hat that is!" Hagrid said with some frustration. "The Sorting Hat must have gone senile. How could Harry go to Slytherin, right? That's just too..."
"There were Aurors from Slytherin who also stood up to fight Voldemort, and Gryffindor graduates have their own place in Azkaban as well. If a house could define a person's character, then why keep Slytherin around at all? Wouldn't it be better to just have the Sorting Hat stuff everyone who could go to Slytherin into Azkaban instead?"
"Oh, maybe that way, all the future dark wizards in the magical world would come from Gryffindor."
Ezio's sharp words made Hagrid flinch. Perhaps it was because he had heard Voldemort's name, but his face looked a little grim.
"I didn't mean that all Slytherins are dark wizards..." Hagrid was a bit clumsy with his words, but he wasn't a brainless idiot. "I meant to say, Harry, your parents were both from Gryffindor. You should be too."
"Maybe," Harry just shook his head calmly. "But compared to being smug about breaking school rules and playing pranks on others, I feel quite good in Slytherin. Everyone is studying seriously. In the first week of school, Slytherin's house points were already nearly fifty points ahead of second place. They are all working hard to improve themselves."
"At least since I came to Hogwarts, I haven't seen any Slytherins throwing Dungbombs in the corridors, making Filch wave a shit-stained mop in a rage while interrogating every passing student."
"That must have been those two little rascals from the Weasley family."
Hearing Harry say this, Hagrid sighed helplessly. "I don't even have to guess. Those two are troublemakers who just love to play with dung."
"So you see, Hagrid," Harry said, patting Hagrid's large arm. "Where I go isn't important. What's important is what I can learn at school, and what kind of person I want to become in the future, right?"
"Alright, yes. That's right, Harry." Although there was still a hint of regret in Hagrid's voice, he now felt that things weren't so bad. Harry was still that good kid. "I just don't want you to be affected by those rumors."
"What rumors?" Harry asked, confused. His recent Hogwarts life had basically been a cycle of classroom-dining hall-common room. It was busy and fulfilling, and he hadn't been wandering around anywhere else.
"Some people are saying that the reason you were able to defeat the Dark Lord was because you're an even more terrible person than he is. Only a darker darkness can... I can't quite remember, but that's the gist of it." Hagrid poured himself another cup of tea, frowning in displeasure. "That's all a load of rubbish. I thought you might have heard."
"At least that kind of baseless accusation didn't come from within Slytherin," Harry shrugged. "See? There are plenty of bad people outside of Slytherin too. I haven't done anything, have I? A lot of people subconsciously associate Slytherin with bad people, but to me, the ones who spread those kinds of rumors are the real bad guys."
"Yeah, that's right," Hagrid nodded. "Which house a person goes to doesn't define what kind of person they'll become." At this point, Hagrid finally felt at ease. He had been caught in a strange way of thinking before.
"But I think the way Slytherin is now has a lot to do with Ezio. At least he's made those idiots restrain themselves and not dare to recklessly lose points for the house."
Harry smiled. He genuinely felt that Ezio had brought a different kind of change to Slytherin. This view was shared by many others in the house. The troublemaking fools didn't dare to act up as much anymore because they were all afraid of being kicked out of the dormitory to sleep in the corridor with their blankets.
Snape had tacitly approved of the stratification within Slytherin. And Rabastan, as a prefect, had recently released some arrangements and internal assessment standards. Some people had wanted to complain to Snape, but they were all thrown out by him, furiously berated as useless idiots. Those people were completely dumbfounded. Snape had vented all his resentment towards Ezio on them, and it was terrifying.
"Is that so?" Hagrid's gaze shifted to Ezio. "I haven't heard about these things yet."
"You'll see in the future. I hate those idiots who drag others down and do stupid things. No one in Slytherin did anything about it before, but I'm not going to put up with them."
Ezio took a sip of the tea Hagrid had made. The taste was surprisingly good. It seemed to be a tea made from some kind of magical plant, with a refreshing and invigorating aroma.
The rest of the conversation was much more pleasant. Hagrid also brought them a plate of his own baked Rock Cakes. These little cookies, which Hagrid could eat in one bite, were enough for a full meal for Ezio. And they were so hard that they could barely be called food; they were more suitable as a weapon than a day-old baguette or a loaf of Russian black bread.
"Want to play frisbee, Fang?"
After trying to take a bite of a Rock Cake, Ezio gave up on it. His teeth could handle it, but he'd rather not torture himself.
"Woof woof woof!" Fang barked excitedly on the floor and eagerly ran to the door.
"Let's go!"
Ezio pushed open the door and went out with Fang. But not even a few seconds had passed before a miserable dog yelp came from outside.
"Oww-woo! Woof woof woof!!!"
Fang scrambled back into the house, whimpering what sounded like a stream of curses. He then rested his head on the table, covering his mouth with one paw and, with great intelligence, pointing outside with the other. His doggy face was full of grievance, his eyes welling up with tears.
"What's wrong, Fang?" Hagrid asked in surprise. "Did a rabbit jump out of the bushes and scare you into wetting yourself again?"
"Woo-woof!" Fang patted his own snout, looking even more wronged.
"He just chipped a tooth on a Rock Cake. I thought it could be used as a frisbee."
Ezio walked in from outside with an innocent look on his face, holding a Rock Cake with a chipped tooth mark on it, made by Fang.
Hagrid didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he patted Fang's head. "How can you not even break a biscuit anymore?"
Fang stared at Hagrid resentfully, as if his eyes were saying, *'Even a dog wouldn't eat this shit.'*
Then, angry and annoyed yet still a little intimidated, he barked at Ezio, as if complaining, 'You're the real dog here!'
Ezio tossed the Rock Cake into Fang's food bowl and laughed as he ruffled Fang's big head. "It'll soften up after you soak it in some soup for a while."
"Wooo..." Utterly dejected, Fang hung his head. He had lost all hope for tonight's dinner.
"By the way, Hagrid, could you introduce us to some magical creatures?" Ezio asked with great interest. "We can't take that course until the third year, but I really want to see them now. These lovely creatures aren't dangerous, right?"
"Of course not!" Hagrid said at once. Hearing the words "lovely creatures," he suddenly found Ezio much more agreeable.
"Such charming and lovely little things. I've been dealing with them for decades. Of course, there's no danger. The little ones in the Forbidden Forest all listen to me. Come on, there's still some time before dinner. I'll take you to see them. But we can't go into the forest, just look from the outside. I'll bring a few lovely creatures over to introduce you."
*****
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