"Dylan, did you hear? Malfoy's been at it again, picking on people with his little posse."
Neville walked beside Dylan after dinner.
—Lately, he'd pretty much been glued to Dylan's side.
Unless Dylan told him he needed to go do something on his own, Neville tagged along wherever he went.
"Which House this time?"
With Dumbledore temporarily booted from Hogwarts thanks to old Lucius Malfoy, Draco had gotten way bolder. Almost reckless, really.
But at the end of the day, he was just a spoiled kid who'd been taught some bad habits. Even at his worst, how bad could he get?
Even the "bullying" Neville mentioned was just him cornering someone and tossing out a few harsh words.
Stuff like—
"Hey, Hufflepuff! Hard work won't make up for how average you are! You'll all be expelled soon anyway!"
Or—
"You Ravenclaw think you're hot stuff with your little brain? Move it! Watch out, or the monster'll eat you!"
The worst it got was probably—
"You Gryffindor idiots, all guts and no brains! Next Quidditch match, Slytherin's gonna wipe the floor with you 'til you're crying for mercy!"
To Dylan, that level of "bullying" was child's play—barely worth a glance.
It didn't even have half the bite of Snape's insults. Compared to that, Malfoy's jabs felt like a warm breeze.
—Of course, even Snape's venom didn't impress Dylan much.
So, Malfoy's whole act just came off like some clumsy honor student trying to figure out how to throw his weight around.
—To be fair, Malfoy *did* have pretty good grades across the board.
That much was true.
"It was a Hufflepuff. Some kid accidentally brushed against his robe at a corner, and Malfoy latched onto him, giving him a hard time," Neville said, clicking his tongue.
"Oh? Did Malfoy do anything big? Like use a spell? Maybe a hex?" Dylan asked casually.
Neville thought for a second, then shook his head. "Not that I heard. Just that the Hufflepuff kid ended up crying after Malfoy chewed him out!"
(_)
Kids these days really couldn't handle much, huh?
Dylan thought back to the real bullying he'd seen in his past life's school days and shook his head slightly.
"Once we're back at the dorm, I'm diving into my books. You can hang out there or do your own thing. I'll be in my suitcase—if you need me, just call."
Neville nodded eagerly. "I'll stick around the dorm. Not going anywhere!"
Lately, even Professor Sprout hadn't been asking Neville to help out in the greenhouses.
The whole school had this tense vibe going on.
After classes, unless Dylan had something else planned, Neville would follow him straight back to the dorm.
It wasn't just Neville either—most students were doing the same.
McGonagall and Flitwick had even ordered everyone not to wander around Hogwarts aimlessly. If they weren't in class, they were to stay put in their dorms.
With Dumbledore gone thanks to that suspension order, Dylan's after-class tutoring had taken a hit too.
Except for Snape, both McGonagall and Flitwick had pushed his sessions way back.
That meant he hadn't had much chance lately to bounce his ideas off them or get their input on magical stuff.
He hadn't expected little Tom to mess things up this much. Sure, getting Dumbledore out of the way was whatever—Dylan wasn't running to him for advice anyway. But now it was screwing with his one-on-one time with McGonagall and Flitwick, and that ticked him off.
Still, Dylan was usually busy as hell. Cutting out professor chats actually freed up more reading time.
So, honestly, it didn't hit him too hard. But still—
"When the time's right to bring out Karthas, I'm making sure little Tom gets a taste of what a real thrashing feels like!"
They'd just gotten back to the dorm when Neville stepped out to use the bathroom. Harry and Ron, who'd beaten them back, sidled up to Dylan.
"Dylan, we've got a favor to ask," Harry said quietly.
"What's up?" Dylan glanced at him.
"Divination! We want you to do a reading for us. Me and Harry are planning a trip to the Forbidden Forest to handle some stuff," Ron blurted out, talking fast.
"Oh? The Forbidden Forest, huh? What do you want me to divine for you?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Well… will we run into any danger? Or, like, will it go smoothly?" Harry asked, frowning a little.
Dylan blinked, his gaze drifting off for a second.
Speaking of the Forbidden Forest—
Sure, Dumbledore had been "suspended," but he hadn't actually gone to the Ministry.
The order only sidelined him from his duties—it didn't say what he had to do next.
So, right now, even though he wasn't at Hogwarts, he was probably camped out in the Forest.
And with no school busywork to deal with, he was freer than ever!
For all Dylan knew, Dumbledore was out there right now, sparring with some dark magical creatures for practice.
Learning magic from past headmasters in his office, then testing it hands-on in the Forest.
Tsk, tsk~
This was shaping up to be the most powerful wizard in magical history polishing his skills to perfection!
"Lucius, that moron, thought he was boxing Dumbledore in. Little does he know, he's just pushing future wizards to swap 'Merlin's beard' for 'Dumbledore's on top!'"
Ever since Hagrid got hauled off, Dylan hadn't set foot near the Forest.
He didn't want Dumbledore catching wind of anything tied to him out there—whether it was Norbert or his unicorn business.
Both were things he'd rather keep off Dumbledore's radar.
As for what Dumbledore was up to in the Forest—practicing on creatures or whatever—that was none of Dylan's business.
"Dylan, did you see something?"
Harry and Ron noticed his blank stare and spaced-out look, assuming he was already divining.
But after a long pause with no reaction, they started getting nervous.
What was Dylan's deal?
Was something awful about to happen on their trip?
Dylan snapped back, blinking his lashes and chuckling lightly.
"Relax, you won't run into anything too crazy—except maybe watch out for spiders."
"Spiders?"
Harry and Ron let out huge sighs of relief at the first part, but the second half yanked their hearts right back up.
"You mean…" Harry started, hesitating.
Dylan nodded. "Yep. Hagrid's little pet—or rather, the Acromantulas that've been breeding like crazy in the Forest."
Ron's face went white as a sheet.
Just the *look* of those Acromantulas could scare someone to death!
And now they were heading into the Forest to face them?
Sweet Merlin!
What if those creepy things decided he was dinner?!
Harry saw Ron's terror and swallowed hard. "How about I go alone? You can stay back here, Ron."
"No way! We agreed to go together! I'm not letting you face those evil, leggy freaks by yourself!"
Ron was freaked out about tonight, no question, but ditching Harry wasn't an option.
What kind of Gryffindor would abandon a friend over fear?
Seeing Ron looking like he was about to march to his doom, Dylan grinned.
"Chill. I'm telling you, you won't be in real danger. If you can get past the fear, those spiders are just little cuties."
Not'Cutie' spiders? Their corpses could grow obsidian flowers, their venom and organs could be used as magical ingredients—keep some for yourself or sell them for Galleons.
How's that not adorable?
They're practically precious!
"Merlin's pants, Dylan, what are you *saying*?" Ron gaped at him, horrified.
This was the first time he'd ever thought Dylan might be… kinda scary?
Who calls Acromantulas *cute*?
Insane!
Dylan shrugged. "Anyway, I've got stuff to do. Head out tonight, but don't mention my name in the Forest."
"Why not?" Harry frowned.
"What, does saying your name summon the spiders or something?" Ron's pale face twisted, his mouth tugging down in a hilarious grimace.
"Who knows?"
Dylan gave Ron a deep, lingering look—long enough to make him squirm on the verge of tears—before popping open his suitcase and slipping inside.
"See you tomorrow~ Hope you've got good news~"
Once Dylan was gone, Ron slumped like his soul had been sucked out with him.
"Harry…" he mumbled, drained.
Harry scratched his head. "I think Dylan was just messing with you. You know everyone loves freaking you out."
Ron faceplanted into his pillow. "This is seriously gonna kill me!"
Dylan worked late into the night before climbing out of his suitcase.
His parents had sent him another chunk of cash recently—not a ton, just a few hundred thousand pounds.
He hadn't had time to swing by Gringotts to exchange it, but he still had some Galleons on hand. He'd used part of it to expand his suitcase's space and unlock some new features, tweaking it to run even better.
When he emerged, Harry and Ron were nowhere in sight—probably already off on their adventure.
He didn't bother with them. He'd just spent a while flying as a Norwegian Ridgeback, burning through a bunch of energy. Then he'd practiced some spells, harvested a few obsidian flowers, and tinkered with an obsidian restorative potion.
Mentally and physically, he was wiped.
A quick cleaning charm later, he crawled into bed and passed out.
Lately, with the pet space in his suitcase growing, there weren't many creatures inside, but there were a few. Meowball and Norbert were having a blast in there, carefree as ever, so Dylan hadn't bothered pulling Meowball out to snuggle lately.
Let them run wild in there.
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He woke up to find Harry and Ron already back.
They clearly hadn't slept—perking up the second they saw him stir.
Ron peeled himself off a soggy pillow, staring at Dylan with teary eyes, his voice a low whimper.
"Dylan, I almost died out there—spider chow!"
Harry, propped against his headboard, sighed. "We ran into at least two hundred Acromantulas last night—"
"Hundreds! Each one fifteen feet tall!" Ron's voice crept up a notch. "And they saw me like I'd wiped out their whole family—charging at me like lunatics trying to eat me!"
Neville and Seamus were still out cold, so Ron kept his rant hushed despite wanting to let it all out.
Dylan glanced at the drenched pillow and smirked.
Scared to tears, huh?
Clicking his tongue, he softened his tone like he was soothing a kid. "Maybe… you just look tasty?"
Ron: "…"
Dylan cast a silencing charm around Neville and Seamus's beds to keep their chatter from waking them, then went on. "Anyway, you're fine now, right? Told you you'd make it back safe."
Harry nodded. "Dylan's right. It got dicey, but we came out okay—no spider snacks, no injuries."
"Who says?" Ron snapped, finally raising his voice a bit after the charm. "I hear 'spider' now and I'm shaking! My soul's *wrecked*!"
Fancy words for a guy who'd just been sniffling.
Dylan chuckled. "I know a fix for soul damage. Wanna try it?"
Ron blinked, perking up with a flicker of hope—then caught Dylan's sly grin and backpedaled fast. "Nah, forget it. I'll get used to it. I'll be fine."
He sniffled, rubbed his puffy eyes, and flopped back onto his bed.
Dylan had been ready to tease him more, but Ron wised up and dodged it. Shrugging off the missed chance, he swallowed his next jab.
"So, with all that risk last night, did you get anything useful?"
Harry nodded, but Ron cut in first. "Oh yeah! Hagrid's—"
Mid-sentence, a snot rocket shot out of Ron's nose. His eyes bulged as he scrambled to catch it, then fumbled for a tissue in a panic.
"Hagrid's? That's not a dig, right?"
Dylan blinked, flicking his wand to clean up the mess and vanish the gooey blob.
"No way!" Ron clutched his nose, his pale face flushing red with embarrassment.
Harry bit back a laugh for a solid minute before he could talk without cracking up. He shot Dylan an impressed look—how did he keep a straight face through *that*?
"Ahem! Ron meant Hagrid's Acromantula, Aragog," Harry said, turning serious. "It told us Hagrid didn't open the Chamber fifty years ago!"
"Fifty years back, a girl died. Me and Ron think it might be Myrtle from the second-floor bathroom!"
"Bold guess. Go check it out," Dylan said, nodding. "Anything else?"
Harry paused, glancing up at Dylan, hesitating before adding, "Aragog also said the Acromantulas went nuts when they saw us because someone's been hunting them in the Forest lately."
"It's made them pretty pissed at humans."
Dylan raised an eyebrow, his face blank but mildly surprised. "Someone's hunting Acromantulas in the Forest? That's illegal!"
Seeing Dylan unfazed, Harry faltered. "It… wasn't you, was it? Aragog said the guy's got some serious Unforgivable Curse skills!"
Ron stopped sniffling, propping his head on his pillow to stare at Dylan.
Dylan tilted his head, curious. "Why would you think that? I'm swamped—where'd I find time for that? And how would I even know the Unforgivables?"
Harry chewed his lip, then admitted, "Dumbledore pulled me into his office a while back. He said you might be dangerous and told me to keep an eye on you."
Dylan narrowed his eyes. "Why'd he say that?"
Harry opened his mouth, unsure. "I don't know… maybe 'cause you pick up magic so fast?"
Dylan studied Harry for a beat, making him squirm, then broke into a grin. "Thanks for telling me, but I'm not dangerous at all. Maybe the headmaster's just worried you'd tick me off and I'd smack you halfway to dead."
"Plus, someone hunting Acromantulas with Unforgivables? That's a stretch. Where'd I learn them? Restricted Section doesn't have that stuff—those dark spells aren't in old books."
He kept it vague—neither confirming nor denying anything. Just stating facts.
To Harry, it sounded like Dylan was explaining he *couldn't* be the Acromantula-hunting, curse-slinging guy.
And it made sense to him.
Dumbledore *had* told him the Unforgivables were nasty magic—anyone using them had to be twisted inside.
But Dylan?
—Sure, his tongue could be sharp.
That didn't mean his soul was warped, right?
Harry relaxed. "I knew it couldn't be you. But then… who?"
"Someone's out there in the Forest, using Unforgivables, killing creatures—right next to Hogwarts!"
Ron piped up. "I told you—it's gotta be Slytherin's Heir! They've already let the monster loose, attacked Hermione. An evil jerk like that knowing Unforgivables fits!"
Harry nodded. "Could be. But we can't tell Dumbledore—maybe McGonagall?"
Dylan shook his head. "Dumbledore's probably in the Forest right now. I bet that guy won't strike again—or at least not hit the Acromantulas anymore."
"So you two should focus on nabbing the Heir here at Hogwarts."
Harry gave a small nod.
Dylan got up, waved them off, and left the dorm.
Harry watched him go, then flopped back on his bed, tightening his grip on something he'd been holding before shoving it under his pillow.
Outside, Dylan headed toward the owlery, eyes narrowing to slits.
So, old Dumbledore was starting to suspect him?
Was it Quirrell—did he think Dylan knew dark magic, maybe attacked Voldemort and Quirrell in the Forest?
Or was he pegging him as Slytherin's Heir?
Or maybe sniffing around his secret identity?
Dylan strolled along unhurriedly, mulling over what Dumbledore might be onto.
Telling Harry to watch him—outright saying it?
"Or maybe he *wanted* Harry to spill it, knowing he couldn't keep it quiet long. Using Harry's mouth to tip me off?"
Dylan rubbed his chin, reaching the owlery. He fed Luna some fancy meat strips and played with her a bit before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Last time I looked in the Mirror of Erised, my desire was pretty simple. Not much for Dumbledore to read into."
Scooping up spoonfuls of seafood cream soup, Dylan pondered quietly.
"Guess I'll need to drop by his office next time. Snape said he stashed the mirror back in there."
If he showed his face and stood in front of the mirror with Dumbledore watching, revealing nothing juicy, the old man might ease up.
—Dylan didn't want him breathing down his neck.
"Speaking of, is Quirrell even still alive? Voldemort was latched onto him, two in one. Once Voldemort bailed, Quirrell shouldn't have lasted."
Dylan hadn't tried possession spells himself, but he knew plenty about them.
Voldemort's version was way harsher and darker than his own magic—zero regard for the host's survival, just brute-forcing his way in.
Even if they merged, the second Voldemort peeled out, he'd take most of the host's life force with him.
So even if Dumbledore's crew dragged Quirrell off, he shouldn't still be kicking.
Which meant Dylan didn't have to worry about Quirrell ratting him out. So why was Dumbledore poking at him through Harry?
What did he *know*?
Dylan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Wonder if I hit Harry with a spell, would Lily's protection bounce it back?" His eyes flickered.
(Chapter End)