Chapter 42: Harry's Alone Actions

Since the trio's most urgent task was to send Norbert away, Hermione and Harry, with only two days left to practice, began fervently rehearsing the spells. Fortunately, the Shrinking and Enlargement Curses weren't too advanced or difficult. By noon on Friday, Hermione was the first to master both spells. Soon after, around 1:00 a.m. that night, Harry managed to do the same.

However, when they tried the spells on Norbert at Hagrid's hut on Saturday, they encountered some difficulty. Although they could shrink Norbert, the magical resistance of creatures and the limited magic power of the two made it impossible to shrink him smaller than the size of a washbasin. They still couldn't fit him into the storage ring.

Luckily, Eisen had lent them the suitcase enchanted with the No Trace Stretching Charm. After using the Shrinking Charm to reduce Norbert's size, Harry found he could easily fit the dragon into the suitcase. This success brought relief to Hermione, Harry, and Hagrid. It was much more convenient to transport Norbert in a suitcase than in the crates they had originally planned.

Since Norbert could now be packed into the suitcase, their plan changed accordingly. Initially, they had planned to carry a crate to the Astronomy Tower, which would require both Hermione and Harry to carry it slowly to the top. But now, Harry could manage alone. After a discussion, they decided Harry would wear the Invisibility Cloak and go to the tower with the suitcase, while Hermione waited in the Gryffindor common room for news.

That Saturday, after finishing his studies of Potions and Ancient Runes, Eisen spent some time practicing spells. Once it was fully dark, he retrieved his observation mirror from the faculty dormitory. He intended to watch how Harry and the others managed to send Norbert away and see if any complications arose.

The night was particularly dark, perhaps foreshadowing something. Even the sky over Hogwarts was covered in clouds. With a thought, the scene in Eisen's mirror shifted to the Gryffindor common room. Time passed slowly. After ten o'clock, as the last Gryffindor students left the common room for bed, two figures remained by the fire, sitting on the sofa—Hermione and Harry. They exchanged a few words before Harry donned his Invisibility Cloak, disappearing from Eisen's sight along with the suitcase. Hermione stayed behind, nervously flipping through a book, clearly distracted.

Eisen shifted the mirror's view to Hagrid's hut, where Hagrid continued playing with Norbert. His reluctance to part with the dragon was evident on his face. However, Eisen waited for half an hour, yet Harry did not appear. Switching between the common room and the hut, Eisen saw nothing unusual. Hermione remained seated, visibly anxious, and Hagrid kept fussing over Norbert.

"Could the plan have gone wrong?" Eisen muttered, stretching to shake off his growing boredom. Time dragged on. Fifteen minutes later, just as Eisen was about to give up, movement caught his eye. The door to Hagrid's hut opened and shut quickly, and a figure with a suitcase appeared—Harry had finally arrived.

Fearing further delays, Harry wasted no time. After a brief exchange, he asked Hagrid to help him put Norbert into the suitcase. With the task completed, Harry, now invisible again under the cloak, quickly departed.

Watching this unfold, Eisen realized he had miscalculated. Because Harry was invisible for most of the mission, Eisen couldn't see if any mishaps had occurred. But knowing Harry's destination, Eisen set the mirror to show the highest point of Hogwarts—the Astronomy Tower.

By the time Harry reached the top of the tower, it was almost midnight. Perhaps sensing Harry's solitude under the night sky, within minutes, four figures on broomsticks descended in front of him. Charlie's friends, having been briefed about the situation, quickly tied Norbert, who Harry released from the suitcase, and flew off with the dragon in tow.

Seeing the plan executed smoothly, Eisen nodded, satisfied. It seemed everything had come to a close. But then, something unexpected happened. Harry, feeling triumphant, turned to leave—without his Invisibility Cloak, which he had left behind on the tower. 

Eisen groaned. "You're going to get caught!" And sure enough, Harry's carelessness led him straight into Filch. 

Eisen zoomed in to witness Harry's face shift from joy to panic. Filch, ever watchful, immediately escorted Harry to Professor McGonagall's office. When they arrived, the office was empty. While waiting, Harry nervously tried to come up with excuses for his actions. But before he could settle on a story, Professor McGonagall entered, followed by Neville Longbottom.

"Tsk, tsk," Eisen muttered. "Looks like points will be docked, and detention is inevitable."

Just as in the original story, Hermione had been spared thanks to Eisen's intervention. Shifting his attention back to the common room, Eisen saw Hermione still sitting anxiously by the fire, oblivious to what had transpired.

Returning to McGonagall's office, Eisen saw her lecturing Harry and Neville, though he couldn't hear the words. Still, it was clear what was happening.

Eisen sighed and put away the observation mirror. Despite Harry's mistake, he had managed to send Norbert away. The mission, for the most part, was a success.

I hope your like the chapter 😊.