HP: Wizardry’s a Hassle, Wand in the Right Hand, Gun in the Left

"Cluck—cluck—cluck!"

Sensing Hagrid's movements, the little rooster in his arms suddenly sharpened its gaze.

A high-pitched and resonant crow broke through the silence of the Forbidden Forest, sounding utterly out of place.

Clearly, the Basilisk lying on the ground felt the same way.

Its body, struggling beneath Nobert's massive weight, froze for a brief moment before convulsing violently in a desperate attempt to break free.

But Nobert, having learned its lesson once, wasn't about to let the Basilisk act recklessly again. With a resounding thud, thud, thud, the fire dragon's claws struck the Basilisk's remaining upper head repeatedly while fiery dragon breath poured relentlessly from its mouth.

The rooster's crow had an immediate and lethal effect on the Basilisk. Its once smooth, dark green scales visibly lost their luster, and black liquid began seeping rapidly from cracks between its scales and the various wounds on its body. Even its dried, hollow eye sockets started to ooze fresh blood.

Under the dual assault of Nobert and the rooster, the Basilisk's once-supple body began to stiffen, and the sounds it emitted grew faint and barely audible.

Its consciousness was slipping away, its thoughts becoming sluggish, and even the pain from its many wounds was gradually numbed.

This feeling of having its very existence stripped away by the passage of time, powerless to resist, plunged the Basilisk into utter despair.

Before long, Nobert felt the resistance beneath its claws vanish completely. Glenn and the others watched as the Basilisk's raised head slumped lifelessly into a massive crater created by the two enormous creatures. It moved no more.

Glenn instructed Nobert to paw at the now-limp Basilisk. When it showed no reaction, she set up a sniper rifle aimed at the Basilisk's head and fired a shot. The gunshot echoed, and a bloody hole appeared in the center of the Basilisk's forehead. The bullet penetrated its brain, though it didn't pass entirely through its skull. Still, it was enough to confirm the outcome.

This creature, which had lived for over a thousand years and belonged to Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, had now lost all traces of life.

The Basilisk was pronounced dead.

Hagrid, watching as Glenn dealt with the once-terrifying creature, wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He tucked the little rooster back into his coat and turned to gaze at the now-confirmed-dead Basilisk.

"So... it's over?" Hermione asked, watching Nobert, now bored with its opponent's lifeless body, circling around it and occasionally nudging it.

"Yes, this incident caused by the 'Heir of Slytherin' no longer poses any threat to us," Glenn replied.

"But there's still one thing we must do."

"And that's to retrieve Tom Riddle's diary."

Glenn's gaze shifted to the diary, which she had been searching for since arriving on the scene and had only recently located.

Now that the danger had passed, it was time to deal with this troublesome artifact.

"Fair enough. But what do you plan to do with it?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms as she followed Glenn to a spot a few meters from Tom Riddle's diary.

"Let me make this clear—I won't allow you to use that kind of curse again to... interrogate the diary about Voldemort," Hermione said firmly.

"Those curses should be avoided whenever possible. They're harmful to your soul and consciousness."

"Sure, I can help you purge the negative effects of those dark spells each time," Hermione continued, "but it's precisely because I can use holy magic to cleanse those influences that I know why those spells are called..."

Hermione glanced subtly at Hagrid. Although the big man was still some distance away, she refrained from saying the five infamous words.

"...you know what I mean."

Glenn understood exactly what Hermione was referring to. The Unforgivable Curses indeed had a detrimental effect on the caster's mind and soul—this was an undeniable fact.

In truth, any spell imbued with negative emotions could have similar effects, varying only in degree.

Of course, the power and effectiveness of such spells were also undeniable.

While Glenn believed she could resist the influence of the Unforgivable Curses with Hermione's help, it was still best to use them sparingly.

Thus, she had no intention of using the Cruciatus Curse to further interrogate Tom Riddle's diary.

She had another plan in mind.

Though it was somewhat tangentially related to the Cruciatus Curse, it was ultimately irrelevant.

However, before implementing her idea, there was another matter to address.

"Step... step... step..."

"Rustle... rustle..."

Suddenly, the sound of unhurried footsteps came from a direction within the Forbidden Forest, heading straight for the trio.

Hagrid tensed up, immediately calling Nobert to his side and unholstering the shotgun Glenn had given him.

Through their bond, Nobert sensed its master's tension and bared its sharp teeth once more. Wisps of black smoke began to rise from its nostrils.

"Hagrid, Nobert, it's okay. No need to worry," Hermione said, tugging on Hagrid's oversized mole-skin coat with a smile.

"It's one of our own."

Hearing this, Hagrid relaxed, patting Nobert's side. The fire dragon, however, snorted and swatted him aside with its tail, sending him stumbling.

"Hmph... quite the reckless strategy," a familiar cold voice remarked from the darkness.

"What a pity. I came here expecting to collect your corpses, but it seems my plan has fallen through."

Severus Snape, clad in a black robe, emerged slowly from the forest, his words as sharp as ever.

He was one of the contingency plans Glenn and Hermione had arranged before their operation—an additional safeguard in case the Basilisk's injuries weren't enough for Nobert to subdue it or if other emergencies arose.

Seeing Snape's arrival and the subsequent silence that followed, Glenn spoke expressionlessly.

"Since Professor Snape has shown himself, are you still planning to stay hidden, Professor Dumbledore?"

Almost immediately, a ripple in the air near Glenn and Hermione revealed Albus Dumbledore's tall figure as he stepped out of the void.

"Glenn, I'm curious—why didn't you seek my help before taking action?" Dumbledore asked, his tone light and cheerful, showing no embarrassment at being caught.

"Because I figured that even if we didn't inform you, you'd still sneakily—"

Before Glenn could finish, Hermione clamped a hand over her mouth.

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