New Lantern

... After dinner in the castle...

"Dad, is it really necessary to keep poor Fluffy locked up in that place?" Barnaby asked with obvious reluctance. "You know he needs to go out and burn energy to stay healthy; he'll feel bored and stressed in such a small, cramped room. Not to mention how problematic it will be when he needs to relieve himself; that room is not exactly well-ventilated, and you know how sensitive his sense of smell is."

From Barnaby's perspective, this was undoubtedly animal cruelty!

"Dumbledore needs a guardian for the trapdoor, and he thought Fluffy could do a great job," Hagrid scratched his head, also feeling somewhat sorry for the young cerberus but with no other choice but to comply with the director's request.

It wasn't just Hagrid's admiration for the man; it was also a sense of duty when his superior at work asked for a favor. He knew that if he refused, nothing would happen, but something in his mind pushed him to accept.

"All right," Barnaby knew that when Dumbledore was involved, his father rarely intended to refuse, and he didn't want to have another dispute between them caused by that man.

Frankly, since he graduated from Hogwarts, he could have left and settled in some other secluded place to pursue his passion. Perhaps he could become a neighbor of the Scamander family; Mr. Scamander was genuinely interested in magical creatures and had offered him a lovely nearby plot at a very fair price.

But he just didn't feel comfortable leaving his father alone, not when that person was in the position of director.

He had tried to suggest the possibility of both of them moving together, but Hagrid was adamant about wanting to spend his days at Hogwarts.

Barnaby was almost certain that it wasn't just Dumbledore who was to blame for this but also that repulsive creature living in the Forbidden Forest, which his father also had an affection for.

The invasive species that his father had as a pet during his days at the castle and had some responsibility for his father's expulsion: the acromantula.

As for his grudge with Dumbledore, it came about after learning the story of his father's expulsion. At that time, no one had any clues, and panic as well as fear manipulation led to blaming Hagrid.

Without proof or evidence.

Can an acromantula petrify people? Ridiculous!

But people demanded, no, they demanded answers!

And a culprit was all they needed, no matter how true it was.

But when his father was expelled and his wand was broken, no one came to his defense, not even Dumbledore, who had recently assumed the position of headmaster.

(I know that at the time, the headmaster was Dippet, but I'm going to throw the blame on Dumbledore. This is an AU, remember? If I have to be as accurate as the original story, what's the point of making a fanfic?)

It wasn't until many years later, after the storm had passed and everyone had forgotten about the matter, that Dumbledore seemed to remember the half-giant he had expelled and decided to allow him back into the castle to perform tasks for him.

His father didn't even earn a decent salary until he arrived in a basket, a matter that quickly became known and forced Dumbledore to be "considerate" and increase his pay enough to care for the unexpected child.

Fortunately, the rest of the current professors were not active at that time and still considered them family in a way. Only the hypocritical headmaster was outside the family equation.

But because of the respect the teachers had for the headmaster, he had to be polite with him despite his dislike. This was also one of the reasons why he rarely argued with his father.

When he encountered Harry, he gave him a subtle warning to keep his guard up and awaken his curiosity, but he didn't know if he would investigate the director's past or follow his breadcrumb trail like a duckling.

"By the way, I didn't see Filch at dinner," Hagrid commented. "Do you think he was still working?"

"I think he had dinner with the Tomberis; they got along very well," Barnaby didn't expect the caretaker to get along so well with anyone other than Mrs. Norris. "I think they intended to give him a new lantern for when he patrols at night; the one he used until now was quite worn out."

"It's always nice to receive a gift... just make sure they don't give him one of those knives they carry. I get chills just looking at their reflection on the blade," Hagrid shuddered as if a cold breeze had passed down his neck.

"Don't worry, they won't."