After the training match, the three teams gathered separately to summarize their gains and losses.
The atmosphere on the Gryffindor side was somewhat heavy; their inferior brooms made today's match exceptionally difficult.
On the Slytherin side, Flint was reprimanding his team members.
"You have the best brooms, and you still lost to Hufflepuff?" His voice was so loud that the entire Quidditch Pitch could hear him.
"It's utterly disgraceful!"
In contrast, Hufflepuff's atmosphere was much better.
Everyone had performed well in the recent match.
Charlie stood up when he saw the match had ended.
"I'm going to Hagrid's," he told Hermione and Ron.
Now, every weekend, Hagrid would have Charlie come to his Hut to check on Norbert and give Charlie Norbert's food for the next week.
To be honest, with Hagrid preparing these things, Charlie saved a lot of worry.
Ron and Hermione were originally going with Harry to Hagrid's, but Harry was still in a meeting, so they went with Charlie first.
The three walked along the path at the edge of the Castle towards Hagrid's Hut.
Ron didn't look to be in a good mood; Gryffindor's defeat also made him very melancholic.
Charlie looked at Ron's expression, feeling a surge of secret satisfaction.
This is how I felt when Hufflepuff lost last semester!
Soon, the three arrived at the door of Hagrid's Hut.
Charlie stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
From inside the door came Hagrid's heavy footsteps and some unhappy grumbling.
The door opened, and Hagrid's furry big face peeked out.
Seeing Charlie standing outside, he instantly smiled.
"Oh, it's Charlie!" Hagrid's voice immediately became warm.
"Come in, come in quickly."
He let Charlie and the others into the room, then closed the door again.
The room was warm, and the flames in the fireplace crackled and popped.
But Charlie quickly noticed that there was another person in the room.
Lockhart sat in Hagrid's chair, wearing a purple robe, elegantly sipping tea from a teacup.
Seeing Charlie enter, Lockhart's smile became a bit stiff.
After the autograph session and the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class incident, he felt that Charlie had a certain malevolence about him.
"Oh, student Charlie." Lockhart forced a smile.
"What a coincidence."
Charlie nodded: "Professor Lockhart, good afternoon."
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Lockhart cleared his throat, deciding to continue their previous conversation.
"Where were we just now?" He looked at Hagrid.
"Oh, right, you need to learn how to prevent mermaids from getting into wells."
Hagrid's expression was clearly unhappy.
He had been a gamekeeper for so many years; how could he not know these things?
Lockhart continued:
"If you've read my books, you'll certainly know how to deal with problems like mermaids and banshees."
He winked proudly: "I have a knack for dealing with banshees."
Charlie's mind instantly conjured the image of Lockhart dealing with a banshee.
Ugh... a bit disgusting.
Hagrid's face grew even uglier.
"I know how to deal with mermaids," he said gruffly.
"I haven't read your books, and I don't want to."
These words were very direct, completely disregarding Lockhart's feelings.
Lockhart suddenly wanted to leave; this conversation wasn't going anywhere.
"Well... I suddenly remembered I have something to attend to." He stood up and adjusted his purple robe.
"Hagrid, let's talk another day."
With that, he walked towards the door.
As he reached the door, he turned back and added.
"If you need help, feel free to come find me. I'll give you one of my books."
"I'm surprised you haven't read a single one."
After the door closed, the atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed a lot.
Hagrid let out a long sigh.
"Merlin's beard, that fellow is truly annoying," he complained.
"He came here to show off his rotten books."
Ron asked curiously.
"What did he come to you for?"
"He said he wanted to teach me how to deal with magical creatures." Hagrid rolled his eyes.
"When I was raising magical creatures, he was still in diapers."
Hermione was alert: "Raising magical creatures?"
"Cough, cough, you misheard. I meant... Oh, where's Harry? Why don't I see Harry?"
Hagrid awkwardly changed the subject.
"He's still at the Quidditch Pitch."
"Oh, that's such a shame. He won't be able to see the giant pumpkin I've prepared for Halloween with you all."
He hastily stood up, opened the door, and said to Charlie and the other two.
"Come on, come out and see, I guarantee it'll surprise you."
Hermione covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
What's so strange about Hagrid raising magical creatures? He even wanted to raise a dragon.
She was just teasing Hagrid.
Spending time with a certain person had given her some strange traits.
The three followed Hagrid to the vegetable patch behind the Hut.
The sight before them was very unusual.
Several enormous pumpkins lay on the ground, each as big as a small car.
Their orange-yellow skins shimmered in the sunlight, looking like pumpkin carriages from a fairy tale.
"Oh, my goodness!" Ron's eyes widened.
"These pumpkins are too big!"
Hermione walked around a pumpkin: "Hagrid, how did these pumpkins grow so big?"
Hagrid scratched his messy beard, his eyes a little evasive.
"Hmm... I gave them a little help."
Charlie understood that Hagrid must have used an Engorgement Charm.
"You did a really good job, Hagrid." Ron praised him sincerely.
Hagrid smiled genuinely upon hearing the praise.
"Your little sister said the same thing yesterday; she came to see me yesterday."
Charlie heard Ginny's name and realized that Ginny must still be planning to steal a Rooster.
His expression instantly became serious.
"Hagrid, I was just about to tell you something about Ginny."
Ron looked at Charlie in confusion:
"What could my sister possibly have done?"
"Hagrid, have your Roosters been decreasing lately?"
Hagrid froze for a moment, confusion flashing in his eyes.
"That's right, one Rooster has gone missing." He scratched his head.
"I thought a fox had taken it."
Charlie shook his head: "It wasn't a fox."
"The night school started, I saw Ginny steal a Rooster and then kill it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene instantly fell silent.
Ron's face turned white.
"Impossible!" He jumped up excitedly.
"Absolutely impossible!"
"Charlie, you must have seen wrong!" Ron's voice was trembling.
"How could Ginny do such a thing?"
Charlie's expression was serious: "I didn't see wrong, Ron."
"I saw it with my own eyes that night."
Ron's face flushed crimson, even his ears turned red.
"You're talking nonsense, Ginny wouldn't do such a thing!"
Hagrid was also shocked by the news.
He gaped, unable to speak for a long time.
Hermione was also very surprised, but she knew Charlie wouldn't talk nonsense about something like this.
She calmly analyzed the situation.
"Ginny doesn't seem like the type of person to do such a thing."
"Could Ginny be influenced by some Dark Arts object?"
"I've recently read in books that some Dark Arts objects can affect a person's consciousness, causing them to act abnormally."
Charlie nodded.
"It's not impossible, but I don't know Ginny well enough to judge."
He turned to Ron: "Do you think Ginny has been acting abnormally recently?"
Ron was still reeling from the news. Hearing Charlie's question, he answered subconsciously.
"No, not really, she just stays in her room all day and doesn't come out."
"I thought she was shy because Harry was staying at our house."
Charlie's eyes narrowed: "Staying in her room all day? Did she used to do that?"
"No, Ginny has always been very lively; we all like her very much."
"Ron, you need to figure out what Ginny was doing in her room during the holidays."
"If she really is being influenced by a Dark Arts object, that thing is probably in her room."
Ron's face grew increasingly grim.
He began to recall Ginny's behavior during this period.
Indeed, since the start of school, Ginny had become very strange.
The formerly lively and cheerful girl now always hid alone in her room.
She no longer chatted with them, and her whole demeanor was secretive.
Ron felt deeply regretful that he hadn't noticed Ginny's abnormality sooner.
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