Harry Potter And The Lord Of Darkness - Chapter 26

Arth sat down at the Ravenclaw table with a nasty expression. He had an entire day of exams in a large, sweltering hot classroom where the students did their written papers with AntiCheating quills. The practical exams were somewhat better. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox. Professor Snape made them make a Forgetfulness potion.

Of course, this was not the reason for Arth’s annoyance. No. His annoyance and anger stemmed from a black book that now sat warmly at the bottom of his trash can bin back at his room.

Last night, Arth had experienced what it felt like to have a bunch of arrows stuck inside him. And he had to say. It was very painful. He didn’t know whether or not the archers were bad at shooting, or if they missed on purpose but the arrows seemed to miss his vitals. He only died after one of the swordsmen cut off his head.

A standard execution.

Of course, Arth had no physical injures other than the fact that his entire body was sore and that his mind felt like ripping apart from weariness.

Arth quickly finished his plate before heading off to his last exam. His very last exam was History of Magic. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Arth frowned as cheering erupted around his classroom. His head already hurt enough to put up with the screaming.

“FREEDOM!”

“LESS GO!”

Arth collected his stuff and prepared to walk away when Daphne came near him. She seemed to be relieved and happy as she gave Arth a slight nudge. “Exams are finally over but it seems like someone isn’t happy.”

Arth rolled his eyes. “It’s only a slight headache. It’ll go away if I don’t do anything to make it worse tonight.”

“Like what?” Replied Daphne with a smirk, “staying up late reading books? I reckon that you will have a stronger headache by tomorrow.”

“I’ve had enough of books today. Especially books with black covers,” said Arth with a snarl.

“A black book? What kind of book is it?”

“Nothing important. The contents are only slightly confusing and sadistic. I’m planning on having a good nights sleep today.”

Daphne let out a frown. “Sadistic? You must be going insane. Make sure to really sleep tonight. If you stay awake to read books, Corvus will tell me.”

Arth scoffed. “Corvus would never betray me.”

However, once Daphne went out of earshot reach, Arth grabbed Corvus off his head causing Corvus to let out a surprised peep.

*peep?

“If you ever betray me, I’m going to disown you.”

*Peep!?

Placing the terrified and confused little bird back on his head, Arth made his way down to Hagrid’s.

When he arrived, he noticed that Hermione, Harry, and Ron were already there talking to Hagrid. Making sure not to disturb them, Arth quietly closed the door.

“-What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?”

“Mighta come up, Yeah… he asked what I did, an’ I told him I was gamekeeper here…. He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after… so I told him… an’ I said what I’d always really wanted was a dragon… an’ then… I can’ remember too well, ’cause he kept buyin’ me drinks…. Let’s see… yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an’ we could play cards fer it if I wanted… but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn’ want it ter go ter any old home…. So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…”

Arth grabbed a pair of tongs before taking out the chicken that had been cooking over the fire. He put on an apron and started to shred the meat off the bones and placed it into a bowl.

“And did he- did he seem interested in Fluffy?” Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

Arth gave the bowl to Fang as he searched around the house for Feedshay. A particular type of grass that herbivores loved. He had to use it to attract goats which would be used in turn to feed Noa.

“Well- yeah- how many three-headed dogs d’yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy’s a piece o’ cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus’ play him a bit o’ music an’ he’ll go straight off ter sleep-”

“Hey Hagrid, do you know where the feedshay is?”

“I shouldn’ta told yeh that! It’s in the third cupboard-”

“What the-”

The four of them watched Arth open the cupboard as he took out the feedshay. When he noticed that their gazes were on him, Arth waved his hand. “Don’t mind me, continue your conversation. I’m off to feed Noa. See you.”

With that, Arth closed the door to the hut and went off to feed the dragon.

Later that afternoon during dinner, Harry and Hermione approached Arth with nervous gazes.

“Hey Arth, can I ask you a question?”

“Come in Hermione, we don’t need to ask him. We are fine with us three.”

“Oh be quiet Harry. I trust him.”

Arth raised his eyebrow. Something interesting was going on.

Hermione once again asked Arth, “Are you free tonight?”

“It depends. I have a slight headache and would prefer to sleep the night away, however, depending on your next few words, I would be glad to forsake my sleep.”

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. “Well you see, I- no, we have a suspicious feeling that the sorcerer’s stone will be stolen tonight. We want to stop it.”

Arth raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that the sorcerer’s stone is in Hogwarts at the moment?”

“Yes.”

“It must be in the forbidden corridor I suppose. It must also be what Fluffy the three headed dog is guarding.”

“Yes- you know Fluffy?” Asked Harry disbelievingly.

“Met him during the first month of school. Charming little fellow. Nasty breath though. So, what do you need my help for?”

“Well,” said Hermione said hesitantly. “Can you play a musical instrument?”

Arth had a suspicious feeling that he was not going to be able to sleep tonight.