Harry Potter's : Fantastic Beasts Guide

"David, how long did it take you?" Ron asked eagerly as he joined David under the shade of a large tree. Ron had just finished his turn in the obstacle course and was feeling pretty good about his performance. He had managed to solve most of the challenges, though he struggled a bit with the levitation spell in the final level.

David glanced at his watch. Ron had taken a little over twelve minutes, which wasn't bad compared to most of the other students, who were averaging around seventeen or eighteen minutes.

When David didn't respond, Ron continued, "I'm not too familiar with the levitation spell in the last level. I fell a few times, otherwise I could've been faster. How about you? Ten minutes?"

David sighed. "Your time is almost three times mine."

"Three times?" Ron's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, let me do the math. Three times... that's thirty-six minutes! But the test only started a little over an half-hour ago! Are you lying to me?"

David facepalmed. "I'm saying your time is three times mine, not the other way around. How's your math so bad?"

"Wait, so... four minutes?" Ron's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?"

"Four minutes and twenty seconds, to be exact," David said with a smirk. "And as for how I did it... I flew."

"Flew? But Lockhart made us leave everything in the classroom! How did you bring a broom?"

"That's my secret," David said, leaning in with a mysterious smile. "Use your imagination."

Ron pouted, leaning against the tree with a look of deep thought. He was either trying to figure out how David had pulled it off or mourning the gap between their scores.

Next to finish was Neville, who came in at seventeen minutes. He was thrilled with his time, thanks to Professor Flitwick's extra tutoring. But when he heard David's score, he joined Ron under the tree, staring off into the distance as if contemplating the meaning of life.

Hermione and Harry were next. Hermione pushed open the door of the final checkpoint at exactly seven minutes, looking quite pleased with herself.

"David, how long did it take you?" Hermione asked, her tone confident.

David hesitated. No matter how he answered, it was going to sting. "A bit faster than you."

"A bit? I did it in seven minutes!" Hermione's left eyebrow shot up.

"Four minutes and twenty seconds," David admitted.

Hermione's eyes widened. "How? I ran the whole way without wasting a second! How did you do it in four minutes?"

"I flew," David said simply.

"Flew? But Lockhart made us leave everything in the classroom! And he checked us!"

"He didn't say we couldn't fly," David replied with a shrug.

Hermione's face fell as she realized the loophole. "I should've thought of that! Maybe I can ask Lockhart to let me retake the test and fly through it!"

"Too late now," David said with a grin. "He already collected the brooms."

Hermione glared at him, then pinched his arm. "You could've taught me the flying spell earlier!"

David laughed as Hermione joined the group of thinkers under the tree.

A few minutes later, most of the students had finished the course, but one tunnel remained closed. David frowned. Harry was still inside, and he wasn't usually this slow. Something must be wrong.

David slipped away from the group, using a Disillusionment Charm to avoid notice. Hermione spotted him but didn't say anything, her face a mix of frustration and determination. She made a mental note to learn every spell David knew by the end of the year.

David reappeared inside the tunnel, where he heard Harry's voice calling for help. He rushed forward to find Harry half-sunk in a swamp, with a giant Runespoor—a three-headed snake—slithering toward him.

"Harry, don't move! You'll sink faster!" David warned.

"David? Is that you?" Harry turned, relief flooding his face.

"I said don't move!" David snapped.

"But the snake's about to crawl on my face!"

"Use Parseltongue. Tell the two heads on the left that the right head called them trash."

"What?"

"Do it, now!"

Harry hesitated, then hissed in Parseltongue. The Runespoor's heads immediately turned on each other, the right head hissing angrily while the left heads attacked it.

David quickly levitated a strip of Harry's robe and pulled him out of the swamp. "You're safe now. Just head to the exit."

Harry nodded, still shaken. "Thanks, David. But how did you know that would work?"

"The right head's always insulting the others. They're easy to provoke," David explained.

As Harry left, David turned his attention to the Runespoor. He couldn't let them kill each other, so he conjured a water serpent to distract them. Once they were separated, he bound their heads together with a spell.

David then followed the trail the Runespoor had left, finding a large hole in the ground with traces of enchantments. Someone had planted the snake here, waiting for Harry. David's suspicions turned to Lockhart, but the professor seemed genuinely surprised when David reported the incident.

Hagrid, however, was furious. He burst into the tunnel, smashing through doors and cages to reach Harry. When he saw the Runespoor, he turned to Lockhart. "Didn't you say you checked everything?"

"I did!" Lockhart protested. "This wasn't here before!"

David stepped in. "I found an iron cage near the hole. Someone planted the snake here to target Harry."

Lockhart's face paled. "Someone's trying to hurt my students? Unforgivable!"

David watched Lockhart closely, wondering if the professor was behind the attack. But Lockhart's reaction seemed genuine. Whoever had taken the diary was still out there, and David was determined to find them.