#453 - A Trip to the Forbidden Forest

"Why are they here?"

Malfoy glared fiercely at the group on the other side. Harry, without any politeness, rolled his eyes at him. Ron, Neville, Hermione, and others stood beside Harry, looking at him with unfriendly expressions.

Malfoy began to regret not bringing his own classmates. Although they wouldn't be of much use, at least he wouldn't look so isolated and helpless.

He had no choice but to aim his anger at the only adult, Hagrid, and said furiously, "Hagrid, this is your fault! Why did you have to bring these guys along?"

Even though he called him "Professor," his tone was very impolite. As soon as he finished speaking, a low growl suddenly rang out.

A huge black hound came around from behind the hut, baring its teeth and growling softly. It slowly approached Malfoy, but as it passed Hagrid, the half-giant bent down and grabbed its collar.

The hound immediately struggled, whining in dissatisfaction.

"No, Fang, back down."

Hagrid soothed the hound while explaining:

Very angry, but there was nothing he could do.

After all, they outnumbered him, he couldn't beat them in a fight or a verbal argument, and even the professor and the dog were on Potter's side.

He had no choice but to "recognize the signs of the times" and swallow his anger, silently cursing Ron Weasley countless times in his heart.

"Malfoy's here too, Hagrid, shall we set off now?" Harry asked. "Is there anything we need to prepare?"

"Oh, no, wait." Hagrid looked at the time and said, "There are a few more people coming, they'll be here soon."

Within a few minutes, more and more figures appeared on the lawn, including older students like Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater, and some younger students like Rolf Scamander.

"Hi, Wade! Long time no see!"

As soon as Rolf saw Wade, he waved and ran over happily, saying, "I knew I'd see you this time."

"Long time no see, Rolf." Wade nodded with a smile.

Malfoy looked at the girl who walked near him—Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's sister.

This girl with golden curly hair was looking around curiously, seeming very excited, a faint blush rising on her pale face.

Malfoy frowned in disgust.

He did hope that more Slytherins would come, but he didn't expect it to be a little girl who couldn't help at all and might even need to be taken care of.

"You'd better turn around and go back now!" Malfoy said to Astoria in a low voice. "Our purpose this time is to see a dragon in the Forbidden Forest. If you don't want to get hurt or die on the spot, go back to the school now!"

Astoria looked at him in surprise, and then said, "I know!"

"What?" Malfoy said.

"Professor Hagrid told me that we're going to a deeper part of the Forbidden Forest this time, and I only accepted the invitation after considering it." Astoria said, "Why do you sound like my sister? Do you think I'm some kind of easily deceived idiot?"

After saying that, she wrinkled her nose with an expression even more disgusted than Malfoy's, and then moved over to the Ravenclaw students.

Soon, Astoria was chatting with several Ravenclaws. Malfoy was so angry that his liver hurt when he saw them talking and laughing.

—Don't expect me to save you if you encounter danger!

Malfoy said angrily in his heart.

In fact, Draco Malfoy was a student whom Hagrid had to bring along out of obligation, while Astoria was the only Slytherin Hagrid had actually invited.

Although Hagrid's teaching level was getting better and better, and his evaluation among the students was quite good, he still did things as he pleased as always.

For example, this time, the outdoor practical lesson was originally just an excuse he used to fool Snape, but after saying it, Hagrid suddenly felt that the idea was really good, so he simply started doing it seriously.

But the students who could participate in this course, he didn't care about their grades or usual performance, he only picked the ones he liked.

Of course, younger students like Rolf and Astoria hadn't started taking Care of Magical Creatures class yet, but they had formed friendships that transcended age and house during the maze activity, and therefore received invitations.

By four o'clock, twenty or thirty students had gathered around Hagrid's hut.

"Very good, everyone's here."

Hagrid shook a copper bell, and said in a rough voice, "I think most of you know that we're going to the Forbidden Forest this time to visit Norbert…"

"Oh, Norbert is the dragon who stayed at the school for a while before, I think the older students should remember."

"Of course, this trip is definitely dangerous, but as long as you don't run around and stay by my side and Fang's side, I guarantee that no creature in the Forbidden Forest will hurt you…"

Halfway through his words, he saw Malfoy's cold face, and suddenly remembered that failed first lesson that almost ruined his teaching career, and quickly added:

"—Provided that everyone listens to instructions and doesn't provoke the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, can you do that? If you don't want to or are afraid of danger, you can go back now."

No one left.

Except for a few people like Hermione who looked a little uneasy, most people looked very excited.

Although the Weasley twins treated the Forbidden Forest like their back garden, normal students, including Harry, would not step into this dangerous forest that was said to have werewolves.

Being able to go on a thrilling adventure without danger under the protection of a professor was hard for these teenagers to say "no" to.

"Great! I knew you liked Norbert too, come with me!"

Hagrid picked up the crossbow hanging on the tree next to him, and carried a bag full of arrows on his back, and took the lead into the dark forest, the students quickly followed, the hound Fang followed at the very end.

"Hagrid, why are you carrying weapons?" Harry asked, following at the front.

"Just in case," Hagrid said, vigilantly looking at the surrounding Forbidden Forest.

After being cautious for most of the semester, Hagrid's adventurous spirit began to emerge again. He was happy to show his lovely baby dragon to the lovely students, but this time, he finally remembered to protect the students' safety.

When looking at the Forbidden Forest from the castle, it just felt like an endless black ocean, with tall and dense trees clustered together, waving back and forth like waves in the wind.

But at this time, walking in the Forbidden Forest, I realized that this place was a world of its own. The tree trunks were so thick that it took several people to hug them, and each tree seemed to have its own territory, with a certain gap between the crowns, allowing sunlight to penetrate.

Under the trees grew various strange plants, with huge flowers and glowing fungi, and some plants with thick leaves that would suddenly pull up their short roots when people approached, and run away quickly as if they had legs.

The temperature in the Forbidden Forest was lower than outside, and a unique atmosphere permeated the air. Walking in it, the sound of dead branches and leaves underfoot could be heard, vaguely feeling a trace of fear.

Michael stepped over a protruding tree root, slipped and almost fell, and quickly reminded Padma behind him: "Be careful, it's easy to fall here."

Padma smiled politely and walked past him.

"Lumos!" Wade raised his wand, and bright light instantly illuminated a large circle of ground around him.

"Lumos!"

Several wands were raised, and the large and small balls of light illuminated the vicinity very brightly.

Rolf chased after Wade and asked with great interest: "Have you all seen Norbert? What kind of dragon is she?"

"Norwegian Ridgeback," Wade said, "She could breathe fire when she was just born."

"You've even seen her when she was just born?" Rolf said enviously, "That's great... the smallest dragon I've ever seen was a three-month-old Romanian Longhorn, he had his horns broken off and almost died."

Wade thought for a while and said, "I remember that the horns of the Romanian Longhorn are very precious magical materials... losing its horns, it will be difficult for it to survive."

"Yeah, my grandfather spent a lot of effort, but he couldn't get his horns to grow back. Fortunately, he saved his life." Rolf said, "I remember he asked Mr. Moray to make a metal horn for the little guy, and sent him to the sanctuary when he grew up a bit."

While the two were chatting, Michael, who was walking a little slower, reached out and helped Astoria, who was lagging behind, and asked in a low voice, "Can you keep up? I can carry you if you're tired."

Astoria was not physically strong and was indeed panting tiredly. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and smiled: "No need, I was actually prepared."

She reached out and took out a small colorful blanket from her pocket, unfolded it and shook it, and the fan-shaped blanket floated in the air.

The girl sat on it, and the flying carpet slowly floated up two feet off the ground, following Fang slowly and unwillingly. The hound looked at this soft blanket in surprise, tentatively trying to pounce on it, and several students in front turned their heads to look.

"Very smart!" Michael gave a thumbs up and praised.

Astoria showed a happy smile.

Percy frowned, walked over and coughed, and said, "I'm the Head Boy... Greengrass, do you know that flying carpet trade is prohibited in the UK?"

Astoria blinked, looking ignorant, and said, "Oh... but I bought it abroad!"

Percy looked at her sternly and added, "Use is not allowed either."

"But this is not a flying carpet." Astoria pointed to one end of the blanket and said, "This is just a toy broom."

Percy took a closer look and saw that a very small broom handle, about the size of a quill, was indeed installed at the tip of the fan-shaped flying carpet, and the surface of the flying carpet was also painted into the shape of a broom with colored paint.

Percy was stunned for a moment, and immediately had a strong sense of déjà vu, as if he saw Fred and George when they were kids.

No, the twins were much more mischievous when they were kids... at least the girl in front of him was willing to pretend a little.

He pursed his lips, and was about to exercise the power of the chairman to let Astoria get off the broom, when a hand suddenly pulled him away.

"Okay, okay, the school doesn't prohibit students from using toy brooms, even Filch doesn't care."

Penelope pushed Percy forward, and Percy immediately forgot what he was going to say, secretly rejoicing while trying to pretend that he was not so easily swayed by his girlfriend.

"I'm fulfilling the duties of the Head Boy." Even Wade heard Percy trying hard to explain to Penelope: "The law does stipulate…"

"Being the Head Boy is indeed quite remarkable." Rolf approached Wade and said in a low voice, "But I don't want to see you become like him in the future."

"I won't become the Head Boy," Wade said matter-of-factly.

"Impossible." Rolf shook his head: "Aren't the Head Boys all chosen from the best students in the seventh grade?"

Wade said: "Besides academic performance, leadership, responsibility and communication skills should be more important considerations. I can't do those complicated tasks, but you might have a chance in the future."

"Haha, I'm still far from it!" Rolf rubbed his nose embarrassedly, and then leaned closer to ask: "By the way, um... why didn't Luna come this time?"

"I don't know, but I can ask Lovegood next time I see her," Wade said.

"Ah, no, no." Rolf quickly waved his hand and said, "I'm just asking casually, just asking."

A group of twenty or so people, about ten of whom used Lumos, shone a bright path in the dark Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid walked easily in the front. In these years, he probably came and went often, and had already stepped out a small path in the dense forest, and the branches and shrubs on the side of the road also gave way, making it easier for everyone to walk.

I don't know if it was because there were many of them, or because of Hagrid's deterrence. Along the way, the crowd didn't even encounter red caps or acromantula cubs, only occasionally seeing some harmless small animals running quickly from the edge of the illuminated area.

The journey without any danger gradually relaxed the students, and even made them feel a little disappointed. They took a short rest on the road, and then walked for about half an hour before finally seeing Hagrid stop.

"We're here!" Hagrid turned his head, showing a maternal smile on his face, and said, "Listen, the kid is welcoming us!"

In the dark and silent Forbidden Forest, a low roar sounded, and a gust of wind seemed to roll up in the forest, and the surrounding air suddenly became hot.