78 Chapter 78 "The Answer Is Wrong"

On a quiet night, a spell explodes, and a loud sound can be heard. The floor beneath Sherlock and Dumbledore's feet shook slightly, but soon it stopped, and another sound began to appear again.

It was a violent running sound. Under their feet, when the sound reached Sherlock, it had become subtle, but he could still clearly hear the characteristics of the sound.

This is not the sound of a bipedal creature.

Another louder sound came down from the stairs, and the young Dumbledore, who had just walked upstairs, had a serious expression and ran downstairs in a hurry.

Sherlock and Dumbledore followed him and soon came to the corridor where the basement room was. Just as they emerged from the stairs, a huge figure suddenly passed them.

Sherlock saw the whole creature figure. It was a huge spider.

The young Dumbledore also apparently found out what the creature was. Sherlock didn't even see where he drew his wand, but in the next second, he swung his right arm. A red light exploded in the air; it spread a little bit of spider webs in the stairway.

A low-pitched scream sounded, and green blood was spilled on the stairs. But the speed of the fleeing figure remained unstopped and disappeared without a trace in an instant.

After losing his target, the young Dumbledore frowned. Instead of chasing after the fleeing spider, he continued to run quickly towards the Potions Classroom, where the noise came.

A sudden burst of a powerful spell had destroyed the classroom, and Tom, who had met young Dumbledore before, was being pinned down by a bigger student.

"Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid released the monster in the Chamber of Secrets! I almost caught them with my hands just now, but Hagrid stopped me and let it run away!" Although Hagrid subdued Tom, his face was still calm, and he recounted everything that had happened just then.

But the young Hagrid was mad. He desperately explained his side of what happened.

"No, Professor Dumbledore, it's not Aragog! He hasn't even been out of the cupboard since it was born, and he won't kill anyone! It really isn't him!"

Young Dumbledore's eyes were calm, but he could see that he couldn't tell who was right now.

"Get up, Hagrid, and let Tom go first."

Just as they talked, a footstep sounded, and several older wizards and witches came. All of them were professors at Hogwarts at the time.

Sherlock recognized two people between them: one was Professor Slughorn when he was young, and the other was the former Hogwarts Principal, Armando Dippet, whom he had seen in the portraits of the principal in the principal's office.

He looked very old, a little older than Dumbledore.

"Albus, what happened?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I just arrived; I'll let the two of them speak for themselves."

Hagrid and Tom went on to tell their own stories. As a prefect, Tom's image in the eyes of the professors is really good. Except for Dumbledore, almost no one thinks he will lie about things.

As for Hagrid, because he is mixed-blood, his talent in magic is really different. It can even be said he's not good at common magic, but he's very talented in the Care of Magical Animal classes.

Coupled with the creature who had just been injured by Dumbledore's spell and ran away in front of his eyes, the situation can be said to be one-sided.

Everything around them turned into silver mist, whirling and flying around Sherlock and Dumbledore.

"His acting skills were good," Dumbledore's calm voice sounded, "Even when I first saw him, I knew what he was really going to do. When I saw him later and his school performance, I thought he had changed his way. The things he did when he was a child were just because no one taught him, and he was ignorant."

"You mean, Tom?" Sherlock asked.

From the beginning to the end, he showed maturity and steadiness that did not match his age. Judging from this alone, he should be a good wizard.

Dumbledore doesn't answer his question as the silver mist surrounding them reunites to create a new scene.

This time, it was in the principal's office at Hogwarts.

There is no Phoenix here. The portraits of past principals are on the wall. It only misses one of the principals, Armando Dippet, because this old man was sitting on the chair in the principal's room at this time.

"I don't think Hagrid's decision can be determined prematurely. This matter needs more specific investigation. At least we have to catch the creature that attacked the students." In the office, the young Dumbledore tried to persuade Dippet to change his mind.

But Dippet just shook his head, "We don't have time, Albus. The Ministry needs an answer, the board needs an answer, and the parents of the dead girl need an answer. We have to show them so that Hogwarts will not be shut down because of this."

"Even if it's wrong?"

"Wouldn't it be much of a difference?" Dippet's voice sounded weak and old.

"Hagrid himself admitted that he did have a friend in the form of weird creatures. We asked him to give him that friend, but he never agreed. He didn't trust us and thought we would kill his friend. Why would he act like that if someone could prove his innocence?"

The young Dumbledore didn't continue. He silently turned around and left the principal's office. Dumbledore said softly as he watched his young self leave.

"I knew at the time that even if Hagrid brought out his friend and proved that he wasn't the culprit, it wouldn't change the situation."

"As Principal Dippet said, they need an answer, even if it may be wrong."