Chapter 118: Woodlice and Bowtruckles

The next day, the Christmas holiday began.

After the incident of Lockhart being attacked, far more people than usual chose to go home for Christmas this year, and the usually lively castle instantly became empty.

The silence was as thick as the snow on the ground, blanketing the entire castle.

Still, those who remained didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all, and instead quite enjoyed this rare tranquility.

On the first day of the holiday, the professors went to Hogsmeade together, reportedly to investigate the details of Lockhart's attack.

Harry and Ron were playing chess in the common room. Lin Zi decided to go out for a walk, but after leaving the common room, he subconsciously found himself at the door of the second-floor library.

It took Lin Zi a few seconds to realize... before digesting all the content he had read before, he wasn't suited to reading those more complex Transfiguration books.

Hagrid was right — reading nonstop won't do; he had to give himself a break every now and then.

Then he'd go see Hagrid.

Lin Zi quickly made up his mind, left the castle, and headed for Hagrid's cabin.

The grounds outside were covered in a thick layer of snow, making walking somewhat strenuous. By the time Lin Zi reached the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid was just about to head out.

"I've heard all about it." The moment he saw Lin Zi, Hagrid gave him an encouraging smile.

"Trust me, Dumbledore would never expel a student just like that over a few lines written by who-knows-who."

"I'd almost forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it." Lin Zi smiled. "Hardly anyone's brought it up in front of me, and I haven't taken it to heart either."

"That's good then."

"Where are you off to?" Lin Zi asked.

"To visit Fang." Hagrid said, picking up a large iron bucket beside him, filled with big chunks of raw, bloody meat.

"Tomorrow's Christmas, and I've prepared his favorite — reindeer meat."

Hearing Fang's name, Lin Zi instinctively wanted to turn back, but after thinking it over, he changed his mind.

"Can I come with you?"

He wanted to try mending his relationship with the three-headed dog. With Hagrid beside him, there was certainly no need to worry about safety.

But Hagrid refused.

"That won't do. Fang lives deep in the Forbidden Forest, and students aren't allowed in there."

"But school's on holiday now," Lin Zi said. "And I went into the Forbidden Forest in first year."

"That's different," Hagrid shook his head. "That time was a detention punishment."

"But I don't think that was a punishment — it was a wonderful experience, one I still remember vividly." Lin Zi glanced toward the Forbidden Forest, as if he could still see the scene of the unicorn's spirit standing before him back then.

"And with you there, I'm sure I won't run into any danger, right?"

"Of course. As long as you're with me, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will hurt you," Hagrid said. "Alright, I can take you into the Forbidden Forest, but you have to promise me you won't suddenly run off like last time. You have to stick close to me."

Last time Lin Zi was in the Forbidden Forest, he suddenly vanished for a while, which had given Hagrid quite a scare.

Fortunately, he later reappeared on his own, and quite magically led them to find that dying unicorn.

Hagrid had never been able to figure out how Lin Zi had known the exact location of that unicorn.

"Of course, I promise I'll definitely stick with you this time," Lin Zi said. "But could you take me somewhere with a lot of bowtruckles to have a look?"

"You like bowtruckles?"

"Mainly I want to find the trees they live in," Lin Zi explained. "I want to use the break to make a few wands, but because of the Animagus transformation business, I've been stuck in the library all year and never got around to buying wand wood."

"If I buy now, the owl will have to fly back and forth for many more days."

"Why would you go buy it? Surely in a forest this big you can find the wand wood you need?" Hagrid was a little displeased.

The Forbidden Forest had more trees than magical creatures, and he was Hogwarts's gamekeeper — and Lin Zi still wanted to spend money on wood?

No matter how many galleons you had, you shouldn't waste them like that.

"Come with me, we'll pass right by a few places where bowtruckles live. I've seen those little fellows plenty of times." Hagrid picked up the iron bucket and strode into the trees.

Lin Zi was about to follow, but then thought of something.

"Wait a moment, Hagrid, just give me a few minutes."

Lin Zi ran into a nearby pumpkin patch, heaved up several large stones, and grabbed a few grey bugs from beneath them.

After finishing all this, he hurried to catch up with Hagrid.

"Alright, let's set off."

The Forbidden Forest in daylight was far friendlier than at night — beams of light fell through the gaps in the leaves, forming bright pillars of light.

Hagrid walked beside Lin Zi, just within his peripheral vision.

"You should have told me sooner." He pushed aside a shrub. "When I was picking up unicorn tail hairs, I could have picked up some branches for you on the side, so you wouldn't have needed to make a special trip."

"I'm afraid it's a bit different from what you think, Hagrid," Lin Zi sighed. "Choosing wand wood is far more troublesome than choosing a wand core."

"It's just a branch, what's so troublesome about it?" Hagrid said dismissively. "Oh, we're here."

He stopped in front of a massive beech tree.

This tree was the thickest around, and although a heavy snow had fallen the night before, it still maintained a flourishing canopy of leaves.

Between the shadows of the tree, a few small green shapes could faintly be seen peeking curiously over this way.

Those were bowtruckles. They usually only appeared on trees imbued with magic, and were the favorite magical creature of wandmakers.

Apparently catching the scent of pine oil and resin on Lin Zi, a few of the bolder bowtruckles hopped nimbly onto the lowest branch, blinking their bright black eyes as they curiously sized him up.

"These little things really like you," Hagrid said quietly. "I don't know how many times I've walked this path, but they've never come up to me on their own."

"They just like the pine oil smell on me — it's used to condition wand wood. Every wandmaker carries that scent." Lin Zi explained.

He held out his hand, and in his palm was one of the woodlice he'd just caught from under the stones.

"Come and eat, don't be shy," Lin Zi said softly.

The bowtruckles on the branch were noticeably more agitated than before, but they didn't immediately come down to take the woodlice from Lin Zi's hand.

Lin Zi waited patiently. After about two minutes, finally one greedy bowtruckle leapt into Lin Zi's hand and made off with the woodlice.

Silven released another mole cricket. This time the Bowtruckles leapt down even faster, and by the time the third one was released, a little queue had even formed along the branch. Several Bowtruckles pressed close together, craning their heads, waiting eagerly for their turn.

Silven was a little surprised.

He hadn't expected the Bowtruckles in the Forbidden Forest to be so well-behaved.

Once every Bowtruckle had received its mole cricket, Silven stated his request.

"In exchange, could you give me a branch?"

The Bowtruckles that had received their mole crickets nodded, turned, and leapt toward the higher treetops.

When they returned, they brought back what Silven wanted: a branch about thirty inches long, with a few tender leaves still on it.

The Bowtruckles carried the large thing together, swaying unsteadily, and delivered it into Silven's hands.

"Thank you," Silven said, satisfied.

Tender leaves meant it had just been broken off the tree; judging by its condition, it should be a fine twig from the treetop — the part where magical response is most active.

After a transaction that left both sides satisfied, Silven followed Hagrid deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

"Is that necessary?" Hagrid asked curiously. "Does the wand really have to be made from a branch broken off on the spot by a Bowtruckle?"

"Not necessarily, but a Bowtruckle can always pick out the best branch on a tree for you," Silven said. "Of course, if it's a main trunk over a hundred years old, there's no need to pick — any part will do."

"Like a broom handle pulled out of the Room of Requirement…" Silven thought to himself, but he wasn't quite willing to use those.

"If that's the case, then I'm afraid I really can't be much help to you," Hagrid said.

Picking up a few branches was one thing, but if it required a Bowtruckle's help, he wasn't sure he could manage it — after all, he'd never dealt with such tiny magical creatures before.

If only these little things could grow to ten feet long.

On the way deeper into the Forbidden Forest, Silven came across more Bowtruckle-inhabited trees, and each time he followed the same method, trading a mole cricket for a branch.

These insects were very common, mostly hiding in vegetable patches and under stones in the forest. Stones a Bowtruckle could hardly move only took Silven a single kick.

Stopping and starting like this, it took them nearly two hours before they finally reached the place where Fluffy lived — a vast hollow.

By this time, Silven's Shrunken Chamois Pouch already held three beech branches, two oak branches, and five fir branches.

And the closer they got to the depths of the Forbidden Forest, the more Bowtruckles there were. But once they reached this point, Silven stopped preparing to trade with them, and instead unconsciously moved a little closer to Hagrid.

The trees here were denser, and the air seemed thick with the smell of danger.

On top of that, they hadn't seen the three-headed dog, so Silven was still a little nervous.

Suddenly, a tremor like an earthquake came from the left in the form of footsteps. Silven whipped his head around and saw a massive creature at least sixteen feet tall charging straight at him.

All three heads opened their great jaws at once, revealing dagger-like fangs inside.

After such a long time apart, the teeth Fluffy had originally broken had already grown back, and they looked even bigger than before. Its body had also grown a size larger than last year. When it ran, even the ground seemed to tremble faintly.

In the blink of an eye, Fluffy was right in front of Silven — but by then it had also noticed Hagrid beside him, setting down his iron bucket and starting to roll up his sleeves.

It was the first time Silven had ever seen such a clear expression of panic on a dog's face. Fluffy slammed on the brakes, all three heads jerking back desperately, its broad paws plowing four deep furrows into the ground.

Finally, after actively crashing through a tree, Fluffy stopped in front of Hagrid, stuck out its tongue, and licked his arm.

(End of this chapter)