Charlie released his claws, and the Basilisk's body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Snape and Professor Sprout stood on the teachers' platform, exchanging glances.
Although the Basilisk was dead, they didn't relax.
The Dragon had appeared suddenly, its origin unknown, and it was hard to say whether it was friend or foe.
Their attention had been entirely on the Basilisk just now, and they hadn't noticed where the Dragon had come from.
Snape gripped his wand tightly, his eyes fixed on the Dragon.
The Dragon turned and flew towards the teachers' platform.
Professor Sprout's breath hitched, and her wand was already raised.
Snape also tensed, ready to act at any moment.
But the next second, they were both stunned.
The Dragon descended towards the teachers' platform, its massive body beginning to shrink.
The dark red scales gradually vanished, its Dragon wings folded, and its claws transformed into human hands and feet.
A moment later, standing before them was no longer the fierce Dragon, but Charlie.
Charlie brushed the dust off himself and looked up at the two Professors.
Snape's expression was frozen on his face.
Professor Sprout's eyes were wide, her mouth agape enough to fit an egg.
"This... this is an Animagus?" Professor Sprout's voice was trembling.
But this wasn't right.
An Animagus could only transform into ordinary animals, cats or dogs, at most an eagle.
She had never heard of anyone being able to transform into magical creatures, let alone a top-tier magical creature like a Dragon.
This completely overturned her understanding.
Snape stared at Charlie, complex emotions flashing in his dark eyes: shock, doubt, confusion... This sudden Dragon Animagus had a huge impact on their worldview.
It was like people who had always lived on Earth suddenly finding themselves in outer space one day, discovering that where they lived wasn't Earth, but a giant jade foot – equally absurd.
Charlie didn't have time to care what they were thinking.
He quickly walked over to the two Professors.
"Professor, don't just stand there."
Charlie's tone was urgent.
"Lockhart must have been controlled by the diary; he was the one who summoned the Basilisk, but now he's gone. You'd better go find him quickly."
Snape suddenly snapped out of it.
He gave Charlie a deep, searching look, but said nothing, turning to walk out of the Quidditch Pitch.
Professor Sprout opened her mouth; she had a pile of questions she wanted to ask, but she also knew it wasn't the time for a chat.
So she nodded at Charlie and followed Snape's footsteps.
Charlie didn't follow them.
His expression was frighteningly grim as he turned and walked towards the stands.
The students on the Quidditch Pitch slowly recovered at this point.
They had secretly opened their eyes midway and personally witnessed the fierce Dragon roast the Basilisk into charcoal.
Then the Dragon landed and transformed into Charlie.
A first-year student's voice trembled.
"What... what was that? Is Senior Charlie a monster?"
Hermione shook her head, saying with certainty, "That was an Animagus."
The student was stunned for a moment.
"But Animagi usually transform into ordinary animals, Professor McGonagall said."
Ron, standing nearby, said with the air of an experienced person, "You just started Hogwarts this year, you're still young, there's a lot you don't know. Charlie isn't an ordinary person."
The student seemed to understand but not quite, and was intimidated.
Just then, Charlie walked to the stands, and everyone looked at Charlie with awe.
Charlie ignored them and beckoned to Hermione.
"Come with me, Hermione."
Hermione pointed to herself, looking confused, but still followed Charlie, walking towards the Castle.
Ernie and Justin were still standing there, Justin's face still showing lingering fear.
But Ernie looked worried.
"This is bad. Charlie is definitely going to be in trouble now."
Justin didn't understand at all. Charlie was so amazing; he even dealt with the Basilisk. What trouble could he possibly have?
"Why?"
"He's too special. Forget about a Dragon Animagus; no Animagus of any magical creature has ever appeared."
Justin was still confused.
"So what? Doesn't that just prove Charlie is even more amazing?"
Ernie shook his head.
"When one person is different from everyone else, others will only fear him and suppress him. If Charlie's ability could be replicated, it would be one thing, but if it's just his personal talent, then many people will definitely covet Charlie's ability."
Charlie didn't know about Ernie's worries, and of course, even if he did, he wouldn't care.
If someone had bad intentions, let them come; just kill one if they came.
He led Hermione quickly through the corridor, heading straight for the Principal's office.
The gargoyle, seeing his furious appearance, wisely jumped aside.
Charlie stomped up the spiral staircase, rushing to the office door in a few steps.
Hermione was dumbfounded.
It wasn't good to rush into the Principal's office like that, was it? Wasn't he afraid of being expelled?
Hermione quickly followed.
Charlie pushed open the door; Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk.
Charlie didn't knock, walking directly in front of Dumbledore.
"Is this your plan?" His voice was cold.
"To let the Basilisk appear on the Quidditch Pitch and kill all the students?"
Dumbledore looked up.
The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by deep guilt.
"Mr. White..." Dumbledore's voice was very low.
"I am very sorry."
He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.
"Although I kept an eye on Lockhart, I didn't expect Tom to use this method to lure out the Basilisk."
He paused.
"This is my mistake."
Charlie stared at him, saying nothing, but gave Hermione a look.
Hermione immediately understood; so this was why he called her.
She instantly teared up.
"Professor, why did the Basilisk suddenly appear? Didn't the Professors already drive the Basilisk away?"
"It was just a little bit away; the Basilisk almost rushed into the stands. If it had come up..."
Hermione trembled all over, leaning her head against Charlie's back, sobbing softly.
Dumbledore looked up, his blue eyes showing even more guilt.
He had noticed the commotion on the Quidditch Pitch immediately. Just as he was about to rush over to deal with the Basilisk, Charlie had acted.
Dumbledore was also shocked by Charlie's Animagus, but more than that, he cared that no students were harmed today.
Even if he had handled it himself, he couldn't say he would have done it as cleanly and quickly as Charlie.
"If it weren't for you, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
He stood up and bowed deeply to Charlie.
"I apologize to the students of Hogwarts and to you."
He straightened up.
"Beyond that, thank you for your timely intervention. As Principal, I express my gratitude to you. If you have any requests, I can fulfill them."
The anger on Charlie's face instantly disappeared.
He blinked, a smile playing on his lips.
"You said that, right? Then I'll start asking."
To say he was angry, Charlie was a little, after all, he was also in danger at the time, but it wasn't to the extent of directly questioning Dumbledore. Of course, it was an act to extort a little more.
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