Conspiracy

Midnight approached and the time to send Norbert away arrived. In the end, Pro took Hermione's spot to go send off Norbert. Although Hermione could also fit under the cloak, there wouldn't be space for Norbert's crate if she came along.

If Pro recalled correctly, the duo will eventually get caught. Although Pro could have let Hermione go and take the blame, Pro didn't want to watch her end up being isolated by others like in the book.

"Rather me than her," Pro mumbled as he helped carry the crate with ripping sounds coming from inside.

"Huh? Is there anything wrong?" Harry whispered back from the other side.

"Nothing. Just remember to pick up your invisibility cloak later," Pro reminded as the duo continued to lug the crate up the stairs of the castle.

Glancing at the panting Harry on the other side, Pro felt fortunate that he had exercised a lot. Just when they were about to arrive at their destination, they bumped into McGonagall tugging Malfoy's ear. Malfoy continued to complain to McGonagall as she ushered him back to his dorm.

After McGonagall left, the duo lugged the crate up the spiral staircase and reached the top of the tower where they waited for Charlie's friends. Watching Harry throw off his cloak, Pro glanced at the faint shimmer on the ground and remembered the exact location of the cloak before the cloak fell still.

"Don't forget your cloak, Harry," Pro reminded once more.

"Don't worry Pro, it's right here," Harry replied while kicking a cloak on the ground, "I almost suffocated in there, give me a break."

While Harry recovered his breathe, Pro calmly glanced out the tower at the night sky as he felt the cold breeze brush against his skin. With the sound of Norbert thrashing around in his cage as background music, the duo silently enjoyed the tranquility of the night.

It didn't take long before the clock struck midnight, and Charlie's group of friend did not delay their arrival. Four broomsticks swooped down towards the tower and Charlie's cheery friends got off not long after. After quickly securing Norbert's crate in between their brooms, Harry reached out to thank Charlie's friends and Pro followed along.

Not long after, the duo watched the group fade into the darkness of the night sky.

"Alright, time to go," Pro said as he strolled down the tower with Harry.

Halfway down the tower, Pro couldn't help but frown a bit as he paused in place. Seeing this, Harry turned back and asked, "What's wrong Pro?"

"It seems ... like I forgot something?" Pro mumbled with a bit of confusion.

"Huh? Did you?" Harry muttered with a tilt of his head, "Well, you can remember it later. Let's get back to the commons room first."

With Harry's urging, Pro continued his trip down the stairs and it didn't take long for the duo to arrive in the corridor. Then, Pro received a shock as he saw Filch step out from the darkness.

"Well, well, well, we are in trouble," Filch whispered with a hoarse voice and evil grin.

It was then that Pro recalled what he had forgotten. It returned to his mind like a lightning bolt. How could he had forgotten the invisibility cloak at the last moment?!

Thinking about it even more, Pro began to recall that he seemed to have reminded Harry multiple times to remember to pick up his cloak, but it seemed that he had completely forgotten about it! Pro sneaked a peek at his mini-map and to his horror, he finally noticed that there were actually four yellow dots nearby! However, there was only Harry, Filch, and his cat in Pro's vision!

Pro's heart felt a hint of fear and he couldn't help but have it show on his face. Fortunately, his fear matched the situation and Pro inwardly breathed a sigh of relief before shutting down all his thoughts in an attempt to just go with the flow.

The duo was led by Filch over to Professor McGonagall, who was currently dealing with Neville. When McGonagall saw the two, they suffered from a long rant as McGonagall helped them come up with an explanation for the situation, an explanation that so happens to avoid the fact that an actual dragon exists.

Of course, the 150 points were still lost as expected. Harry tried to argue while Neville whimpered with a pale face. Pro simply accepted the fact as he tried not to think too much for the moment.

After being sent back, Pro found a worried Hermione sitting in the commons room. Seeing Harry storming upstairs while Neville stumbled up with a face of despair, she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Why is Neville with you guys?"

"We were caught by Filch. Neville went to report to McGonagall. We lost 50 house points each plus detention," Pro replied with a wry smile.

"What?! How?! That's totally barbaric! That- how did you boys get caught? Pro, with how careful you are, it's-" Hermione's whisper almost became a frantic scream, but she was shushed by Pro's finger.

"Shhh," Pro hushed before leaning in to whisper in Hermione's ear, "Hermione, we'll talk tomorrow in our secret place. Don't ask until we get there. Act normal and go to bed."

As Pro backed away, Hermione stared back with confused eyes. Pro gently stroked her head as he said in a soft voice, "Trust me."

Hermione nodded before she whispered, "Then, good night Pro."

"Good night, Hermione."

With the sobs of Neville and the constant bed sounds from Harry rolling around without sleep, Pro did his best to make himself fall asleep, hoping that he didn't reveal any flaws.

The next day, the group bore the brunt of other students' stares and mockery. Harry got hit the hardest because he was a celebrity. The higher one climbs, the harder the fall. Pro was also ignored by others while Neville was lost in his own world as expected.

Of course, Ron and Hermione still stood by their side. Hermione was fairly quiet as she peeked at Pro from time to time. Sometimes, her hands slipped into his hand to comfort him, and Pro happily returned a smile.

As soon as the duo had the time, Pro was led into the Room of Requirements by Hermione. The duo cuddled up on the couch and Hermione finally glanced at the Pro that was frowning while deep in thought, "And I thought you won't be affected by all those things that others say ..."

Hearing Hermione, Pro pulled himself out of his deep thoughts as he stroked her head with a smile, "No. I'm actually not. It's just childish rumors, and it won't affect me."

Hermione stared back at him with confusion as she asked, "Then, why are you frowning?"

"Because of what happened yesterday. I'm sorting out my thoughts now," Pro muttered with a frown.

Hermione furrowed her brows as she muttered, "What exactly happened yesterday? Can you tell me now?"

After a moment of silence, Pro took a deep breathe before replying, "Hermione, you know how careful I am. I constantly reminded Harry to not leave behind his cloak, and you know I am good at avoiding being caught."

Hermione nodded in agreement. As far as she knows, Pro had his way of avoiding being caught by others even though he never told her exactly how.

"Yesterday, after we sent Norbert off, we should have left with the invisibility cloak to avoid being caught ... but we somehow forgot the cloak and left it behind," Pro stated with a frown.

"What? How did you forget? Didn't you say that you were constantly reminding Harry to not forget it?" Hermione exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. If there were no special circumstances, there should be no way for me to forget," Pro replied with a wry smile.

Hermione fell into silence as she thought about what Pro said. It wasn't long before she came to a conclusion, "Special circumstances ... like interference ... from others? Memory charm? Confundus Charm?"

Glancing at Hermione, Pro replied with a smile, "As expected of my Hermione, smart as always."

Hermione sat up in shock as she stared back at Pro, "But! Who would do such a thing?! That- that's totally barbaric! Outrageous! Pro, did you notice anyone else nearby in the tower?"

"Nope," Pro replied with a smile as he looked at Hermione with sparkling eyes.

Hermione didn't disappoint him as she continued to deduct, "To be able to cast a memory or confundus charm without doing permanent harm on the student, the person who has done this must be a highly skilled wizard or witch. To be able to completely hide themselves under the gaze of other wizards like Charlie's friends, not many wizards can do this ... could it be-"

Pro reached out his finger to shush Hermione as he shook his head, "As long as you know, just don't tell anyone and mention his name out loud. Although I haven't heard that his name was charmed like you-know-who, it's best not to do so just in case."

Hermione gawked for a bit before she whispered back while looking around, "B-But how could he do this? I mean, he's the greatest wizard of all time, why would he target a young boy like you?"

"It's not me he is targeting," Pro replied in a laid back tone.

Hermione fell silent for a bit before she whispered, "It's Harry?"

Pro nodded, causing Hermione to fall silent. After a while, she couldn't help but ask with a frown, "Why?"

"Probably to guide Harry towards a certain trajectory or event," Pro gave a reply that caused Hermione to widen her eyes with horror.

Pro gently stroked her head and calmed her down, "Don't worry. It's not a bad thing, at least not for Harry. He is probably cultivating Harry and helping him grow into a person that he wants him to be."

Under Pro's gentle pats, Hermione calmed down a bit before she whispered, "And what would that be?"

"A savior," Pro mumbled.

"Savior?" Hermione muttered with a hint of confusion, "Savior for what?"

"You will know when the time comes," Pro replied with a chuckle.

Hermione frowned as she stared back at Pro with fierce eyes. She gave Pro's chest a light punch as she growled in a bossy tone, "You seem to know everything, but how come you always refuse to tell me when it comes to the part I'm the most curious about?"

Pro laughed a bit as he pulled Hermione into a hug, "It's so you don't have to worry too much for now. Hermione, you're smart, but you're still young. Enjoy your happiness with me for now, and I will tell you when the time comes. Trust me, I'm doing it so you don't have to worry so much."

"But I'm more worried because you won't tell me," Hermione mumbled as she buried her face against Pro's chest and snuggled up against him.

"It won't take long. Perhaps, we may even be official by then," Pro chuckled with mirth as he changed the subject.

Hermione looked up and gave him a pinch.

"Ow, why did you have to learn this from my mother?" Pro muttered.

"To punish a naughty boy that keeps secrets," Hermione giggled before she snuggled back into a comfortable position.

As the duo cuddled, Pro finally spent some time to check on the rewards for sending the dragon away.

[Congratulations! You have completed Hidden Dragon Quest. You are awarded: 1 Quest Point, 200 Hunter XP]

With the welfare package from the quest, Pro's hunter level was raised from 13 to 14. It didn't affect the grand scheme of things, but it was better than nothing. At least it was one step closer to the level 83, the required level to tame the lowest level of dragons.

The school year moved on as exams gradually approached. Hermione fell in a studying frenzy, and Pro was dragged along for the ride. Ron and Harry were also complaining on the side because they suffered collateral damage from the study battle between the two outstanding students.

Through time, Harry has slowly crawled his way out of his depression and began to pin conspiracy theories on Snape once more. Pro couldn't help but roll his eyes while Hermione glanced at Harry with eyes filled with pity. The poor boy couldn't even notice that his friends knew the truth, let alone knowing that he was already trapped in a larger conspiracy.

Just when Pro thought he could finally settle down into study mode, the detention slip was finally delivered over to him. After assuring Hermione that there would be no dangers, Pro finally headed out at eleven o'clock at night.

A group of four boys met with Filch in the entrance hall. They were then led towards their final destination ... the Forbidden Forest.

Not dangerous at all right?