Mid-sentence, he caught sight of Malfoy’s icy expression and suddenly thought of that disastrous first lesson that almost ruined his teaching career, quickly adding:
"——The precondition is that everyone must follow instructions and must not provoke the creatures of the Forbidden Forest. Can you do that? If you’re unwilling or afraid of danger, you can go back now."
No one left.
Besides Hermione and a few others who looked a bit uneasy, most seed very excited.
Although the Weasley Twins treat the Forbidden Forest like a private garden, normal students, including Harry, would never set foot in this supposedly werewolf-infested dangerous forest.
At this mont, the prospect of a risk-free yet thrilling adventure under a professor’s protection was virtually irresistible to this group of ten-year-olds.
"Wonderful! I knew you would all love Nobeta too, follow !"
Hagrid picked up the crossbow hanging on a tree nearby, slung a bag full of arrows over his shoulder, and led the way into the shadowy forest, with the students quickly following, and Fang at the very end.
"Hagrid, why are you bringing weapons?" Harry, keeping close to the front, asked.
"Just in case." Hagrid said, cautiously scanning the surroundings of the Forbidden Forest.
After exercising caution for more than half a sester, Hagrid’s innate spirit of adventure was starting to surface again. He was more than happy to introduce his beloved pet fire dragon to the students, but this ti, he would make sure to protect their safety.
When viewed from the castle, the Forbidden Forest seed like an endless ocean of black, with the tall and dense trees clustered together, their swaying in the wind resembling the ebb and flow of ocean waves.
But now, walking within the Forbidden Forest, it was clear that the place had its own unique world. The trunks were so thick that it would take several people to encircle each one, and every tree seed to have its own territory, leaving gaps between the canopies for sunlight to filter through.
All sorts of exotic plants grew beneath the trees, with enormous blossoms and glowing fungi, and so plants with thick leaves, which would abruptly uproot their short roots and scurry away as if they had sprouted legs when people approached.
The temperature in the Forbidden Forest was slightly cooler than outside, and a distinctive scent pervaded the air. As they walked, the group heard the "crunch crunch" of dried branches and leaves underfoot, feeling a faint trace of dread.
Michael stepped over a protruding root and almost slipped, quickly warning Padma behind him, "Be careful, it’s slippery here."
Padma smiled politely and walked past him.
"Lumos!" Vid raised his magic wand, and a bright light instantly illuminated a vast area around them.
"Lumos!"
Several magic wands were raised, and clusters of light large and small lit up the surroundings brightly.
Rolf caught up with Vid, eagerly asking, "Vid, have you all seen Nobeta before? What kind of fire dragon is she?"
"Norwegian Ridgeback," Vid replied, "She could breathe fire right after she was born."
"You even saw her when she was newly hatched?" Rolf said enviously, "That’s so cool... The smallest fire dragon I’ve seen was a three-month-old Romanian Longhorn, his horn was broken, and he almost died."
Vid thought for a mont and said, "I rember the horn of a Romanian Longhorn is quite a precious magic material... Without its horn, it would be hard to survive."
"Yes, Grandfather tried hard but couldn’t regrow its horn. Fortunately, its life was saved." Rolf said, "I rember he had Mr. Morry fashion a tal horn for the little guy, and when he got a bit older, he was sent to a sanctuary."
While the two chatted, Michael, walking a bit slower, offered a hand to Astoria, who fell behind, and asked in a low voice, "Can you keep up? If you’re tired, I can carry you."
Astoria, with limited stamina, was indeed panting heavily. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled, "No need, I’m quite prepared."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a colorful little blanket. With a shake, the fan-shaped blanket floated in mid-air.
The girl sat on it, and the flying carpet hovered two feet off the ground, floating leisurely beside Fang. The hound eyed the soft blanket curiously, tentatively seemingly wanting to pounce, causing several students ahead to glance back.
"Ingenious!" Michael gave a thumbs-up in praise.
Astoria bead with delight.
Percy frowned, approached, and cleared his throat, "I’m the President of the Student Council... Greengrass, are you aware that flying carpet trade is prohibited in the United Kingdom?"
Astoria blinked innocently, "Oh... but I bought this abroad!"
Percy looked sternly at her and added, "Using them isn’t allowed either."
"But this isn’t a flying carpet." Astoria pointed to one end of the blanket and said, "It’s just a toy broom."
Percy took a closer look and saw that the tip of the fan-shaped flying carpet indeed had a tiny broom handle, about the size of a quill, and the surface of the carpet was painted to look like a broom.
Percy was taken aback, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, as if witnessing a young Fred and George.
No, the twins were much more mischievous when they were young... at least the girl in front of him was still willing to put up a facade.
He pressed his lips together, but just as he was about to exercise his authority as president to make Astoria get off the broom, a hand suddenly pulled him aside.
"Alright, alright, the school doesn’t forbid students from using toy brooms, not even Filch cares."
Penelope nudged Percy forward, and Percy instantly forgot what he was going to say; he was secretly delighted, while also trying to act as if he wasn’t so easily swayed by his girlfriend.
"I’m fulfilling my duties as the President of the Student Council." Even Vid could hear Percy trying to explain to Penelope, "The law does indeed state..."
"Being Student Council President is sothing to be proud of." Rolf sidled up to Vid and whispered, "But I sure hope you don’t beco like him soday."
"I won’t beco Student Council President." Vid said confidently.
"No way." Rolf shook his head, "Aren’t Student Council Presidents chosen from the best students in seventh year?"
Vid said, "More important than academic success should be leadership ability, sense of responsibility, and communication skills. I couldn’t handle all those complicated tasks, but you might have a chance."
"Haha, I’m still far from that!" Rolf sheepishly scratched his nose and leaned in again, "By the way, uh... why didn’t Luna co this ti?"
"I don’t know, but next ti I see Lovegood, I can ask for you." Vid said.
"Ah, no need, no need." Rolf quickly waved his hand, "I was just asking casually, just asking."
The group of about twenty had ten or so using Lumos, casting a bright path through the dark Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid led effortlessly at the front. Over the years, he must have traversed this path often, as a narrow trail had ford in the dense woods, with branches and underbrush giving way, making the route relatively easy for everyone.
Whether it was their numbers or Hagrid’s presence, no Red Caps or Acromantula spawn appeared along the way; they only occasionally spotted harmless little animals darting through the edges of the light.
A journey without any dangers eventually led the students to relax, even beco a bit disappointed. Along the way, they paused briefly once, then walked for another half hour or so before Hagrid finally stopped.
"We’re here!" Hagrid turned around, a maternal smile on his face, "Listen, that little one is greeting us!"
In the gloomy, deathly quiet Forbidden Forest, a deep roar echoed, like a gust of whirlwind in the woods, and the surrounding air suddenly turned fiery hot.
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