HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 129 Lyra's Plan B

Lyra waved to George, who immediately understood and pulled Fred behind a giant pumpkin—a signal they had agreed upon beforehand.

Buckbeak didn't quite understand what they were doing. It turned its head back and forth and scratched the ground with its paws somewhat uneasily.

"Shh—" George poked his head out and whispered a reassuring gesture to Buckbeak before quickly retreating back behind the giant pumpkin.

After confirming that the red-haired twins were not visible from Hagrid's hut, Lyra began banging on the door.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

"Professor Hagrid! Professor Hagrid, are you there—"

The door was opened by the old man from the committee, but Lyra acted as if she couldn't see him, striding straight to Hagrid who was about to sign, grabbing the hem of his shirt, and then—

She burst into tears!

The other adult wizards present were so stunned by Lyra's powerful and moving cries that it took them more than ten seconds to react.

"Wait! Young lady!" The old man on the committee was the first to be overwhelmed by Lyra's sonic attack. He covered his ears while trying to stop her. "Please calm down, okay—"

Laila ignored him and continued to wail and scream with all her might.

Hagrid was completely stunned by Lyra's crying, frozen in place as if someone had cast a petrification spell on him.

“This student—” Minister of Magic Fudge frowned as he looked at the black-haired girl who was crying shrilly. He was both annoyed and incredulous that such a slender girl could unleash a sonic attack comparable to that of the Evil Witch Bird.

“Headmaster Dumbledore, this young lady must be a student at Hogwarts,” Lucius Malfoy said with ill intent. “Is she weeping so bitterly because something unfortunate has happened to the school under your rule?”

Unlike other adult wizards who frowned and covered their ears, Headmaster Dumbledore stood there with an unchanged expression. If you looked closely, you could even see a faint smile in his deep blue eyes behind his glasses.

“Oh, this is Miss White, a fifth-year student,” Headmaster Dumbledore said calmly. “I think she may have something to discuss with Professor Hagrid. Perhaps we can listen to Miss White’s troubles together.”

"Oh—" Lyra covered her mouth in a panic like a startled little rabbit after Dumbledore finished speaking. With her red and swollen eyes from crying, she easily evoked a sense of pity.

For example, Minister Fouché cleared his throat and asked in a soft voice—

"Miss White, is there anything I can help you with?"

After Leila stopped screaming and crying, the executioner and the old man on the committee inside the room also softened their expressions and looked over with concern.

"Hmph—" A faint sneer rang out. Lyra knew who it came from without turning her head, but it didn't matter; she didn't care at all.

"I'm so sorry... I, I just," Lyra sobbed softly, "I just finished my OWL exam, I..."

“I didn’t do very well on the test; I didn’t even finish the last two big questions,” Lyra continued to explain. “I just wanted to ask Professor Hagrid if I still have a chance to get into his advanced class. I really want to continue taking classes, but I feel like I messed everything up, boohoo…”

After Lyra explained while sobbing, most of the adult wizards present showed expressions of understanding.

This is just a fifth-grade student who couldn't handle the pressure and had an emotional breakdown due to the OWL exam!

Every year there are fifth and seventh graders who have mental breakdowns, which is easy to understand, especially since this black-haired girl who was crying because of the exam was also very pretty. People are always more tolerant of things that are beautiful.

“I believe this, oh, Miss White,” Fudge said with a smile, “will definitely receive a good OWL report card.”

“I think Professor Hagrid would be very happy to accept a student who genuinely loves the subject of protecting magical creatures,” Headmaster Dumbledore said with a kind smile. “Isn’t that right, Professor Hagrid?”

“Oh, oh! Of course!” Hagrid’s eyes welled up with tears, and he replied incoherently, “Oh, I never expected anyone to like my class so much… I really… it’s my honor… I would certainly accept your application for the advanced class, absolutely…”

“Excuse me,” Lucius Malfoy interrupted Hagrid’s excited speech with a displeased expression, “I think the focus right now is on carrying out a serious death sentence, not on a fifth-year student who can’t handle the pressure of exams!”

"Oh, oh right!" Minister Fudge exclaimed, suddenly realizing. "Oh yes, Mr. Malfoy, thank you for reminding me. Hagrid has already signed. Now it's time, miss, please leave—"

“Miss White, the next scene is not suitable for you, and it is not safe outside the castle at dusk,” Headmaster Dumbledore said, looking at Lyra standing next to Hagrid. “I want you to return to the Gryffindor common room immediately.”

Leila nodded with red eyes, looking extremely obedient.

The adult wizards began to walk towards the door, Hagrid began to sob sadly again, while Lyra obediently followed at the back, quiet as if she didn't exist.

The door to the cabin creaked open, and then—

"Where did it go?" came the shrill voice of a committee member. "Where did that damned beast go?"

"I just saw it!" the executioner shouted. "It was tied up in the pumpkin patch, right there!"

Dumbledore: "That's strange."

But Leila swore she could tell from the principal's voice that he found the strange accident quite amusing.

“I don’t think this is strange, it’s very suspicious,” Lucius Malfoy suddenly turned his gaze to the dark-haired girl who had just appeared. “I think this young lady’s sudden appearance is highly suspicious—”

"What?" Minister Fudge looked at Lyra with surprise and uncertainty, then at Lucius Malfoy. "Does this have anything to do with this girl?"

“Lucius, I believe Miss White is not a suspect,” Headmaster Dumbledore said solemnly, a stark contrast to his earlier affability. Anyone could see his protectiveness towards his student. “When Miss White came in, Buckbeak was still in the pumpkin patch.”

"Indeed, when I opened the door just now, I saw that beast still pacing around there," the old man from the safety committee recalled.

Everyone ran into the pumpkin patch. Lyra noticed that Fred and George had cleaned up their footprints. The only things left on the ground were Buckbeak's huge claw marks and a chain that had been gnawed through by teeth, broken in two and lying on the ground. The hippogriff that should have been chained up was gone.

"Clearly, the bite marks on this chain were left by Buckbeak himself—" Dumbledore held up the chain to show everyone.

"It must have broken free on its own! Piccolo, oh clever Piccolo! Merlin, bless it!"

After a moment of silence, the executioner slammed the axe into the fence, venting his anger at the prey's escape.