Harry Potter: The Lion of the Serpent House

Harry told Azrael and the others about the three-headed dog, apologizing for investigating on his own. They were furious about his sneaking around but trembled at the news of the beast on the fourth floor.

"Is the headmaster planning a murder at school?" Azrael snapped.

"He probably doesn't care about students' lives. Dumbledore couldn't care less about suffering kids," another added bitterly.

Resentment toward Dumbledore churned in Harry's heart, usually buried under warmth but ready to erupt uncontrollably. Once, overhearing Draco say his father thought Dumbledore should be sacked, Harry quietly agreed. Despite the headmaster's leniency with rule-breaking, it didn't erase Harry's bitterness from being trapped with the Dursleys. He hoped to dream of the impossible scene in the Mirror of Erised, but his parents never appeared.

Over the days after the holidays, Harry, Ron, and Hermione scoured for information on the Cerberus after school. In the library, Hermione's hushed notes revealed it was a magical creature, nearly impossible to tame, its body shielded by protective charms and highly resistant to dark magic. Perfect as a guard dog against dark wizards. Harry scribbled thanks and promised to ask Hagrid about it.

At Hagrid's hut, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and, surprisingly, Zabini gathered to question him. While Hagrid brewed tea, Harry bridged the awkward gap between Zabini and the others, who barely knew each other.

"Zabini, don't you have a girlfriend to keep company?" Harry ventured, hoping Ron would lighten the mood.

"She wasn't into me," Zabini grumbled. "Kept asking about you. Same with Bloom. She's all, 'I'll make him notice me.'"

"Azrael will manage. He's attentive, unlike you," Harry teased.

"Don't lecture me, Potter! Never had a girlfriend, have you? Take a cue from Weasley!" Zabini jabbed a finger at Ron, who flushed alongside Hermione.

"We're just friends!" Ron sputtered.

Harry sensed Zabini's disdainful glance at Ron.

"It's… it's not like that," Hermione mumbled.

Hagrid arrived with a tray of tea, its aroma crisp and refined compared to the Dursleys' cheap blend.

"You lot are always breakin' rules," Hagrid sighed, eyeing them wearily. Harry knew only the Weasley twins rivaled their first-year infractions.

"I haven't done anything dangerous or against the rules," Zabini boasted. "Look at these three—glasses, freckles, and buckteeth. Filch has them pegged as troublemakers. Not me. My face doesn't scream 'suspect.' If something happened to me, Hogwarts' good looks would take a hit."

Harry cringed. "Zabini, don't insult people you've just met like Draco does."

"Did you just badmouth Hermione?" Ron growled.

"Sorry, Hermione, don't take it personally," Harry said quickly. "Zabini starts with insults."

"What a jerk! Want a boil on that pretty face?" Ron snapped.

"Ron, don't get hostile," Hermione interjected. "We haven't talked much before. We can find common ground."

Harry scrambled to keep the peace. Hermione seemed oddly lenient with Zabini, perhaps charmed by his looks. Whether it would spark friendship was anyone's guess.

"I'd rather you lot got along," Hagrid muttered, his beetle-like eyes pleading with Zabini, who finally quieted.

"Enough small talk," Harry said. "Hagrid, what do you know about the Cerberus on the fourth floor? You're an expert on magical creatures, right?"

Harry deeply admired Hagrid's knack for understanding creatures, like the clever, noble basilisk he'd found. Surely Hagrid knew something about the Cerberus. Harry respected him from the bottom of his heart.

"You… you saw Fluffy!?" Hagrid gasped, staring at them in shock, clearly wondering how they'd gotten in and why they knew.

"Yeah! There was a door behind it! The Cerberus was guarding something!" Ron shouted.

"It's… it's nothin'. Fluffy's just fond of dark, quiet places. Nothin' suspicious there," Hagrid stammered.

Harry suddenly recalled Hagrid retrieving something from a vault at Gringotts when they first met. "Hagrid, when we went to the bank, you took something from a vault, didn't you? Is that what's behind the door?"

The question hit a nerve. Hagrid, visibly flustered, shooed them out. "That's Nicholas Flamel's! None of your business! Forget the fourth floor and focus on your studies! No more dangerous nonsense!"

As they bolted from the hut, Zabini and Ron exchanged glances.

"Didn't expect a lead here," Zabini muttered.

"Nice work, Zabini!" Hermione beamed.

"Yeah, Harry's tip from you moved things along," Zabini replied awkwardly, nodding at Hermione.

Harry felt a faint warmth watching them. "Let's look into Nicholas Flamel. The library's bound to have something."

But the library yielded nothing. Harry, following Hagrid's advice, devoured books and deepened his magical knowledge. Later, in his room, he spotted Flamel's name on Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card.

Analysis of Dumbledore's Respect for Hagrid

Hagrid's natural resistance to curses, likely including the Unforgivable Curses, makes him uniquely trustworthy. Most wizards would fall to such spells, but Hagrid's resilience—whether he shrugs them off or endures them—sets him apart. For Dumbledore, who values loyalty and strength, Hagrid's rare qualities make him an unparalleled ally.