Chapter 199: Assistant of the Forbidden Forest

“Come on, follow me quickly—eat up, and then they’ll be leaving soon—”

Hagrid strode boldly into the Forbidden Forest, and En followed him along the footprints.

Soon, they arrived at the same dense, twilight-dark grove from last time.

“Wait for me.”

Hagrid placed Fang beside En, then plunged into the yew trees himself.

Not long after, a long, piercing cry of an eagle echoed from nearby.

An animal trotted toward En.

It was a peculiar creature.

It had the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, but its forelegs, wings, and head resembled an eagle. Its cold, sharp beak was the color of steel, and its bright, large eyes were orange-yellow.

The eagle’s talons on its forelegs were half a foot long—just as Hagrid had said—and looked fearsome.

Reassuringly, its neck was wrapped in a thick leather collar, attached to a long chain held firmly in Hagrid’s massive hands as he slowly approached En alongside the beast.

“I went to great lengths for this, En—come on, Merlin’s beard—I know you’re thrilled!”

Hagrid himself was rubbing his hands in excitement,

“Remember, En, I know you’ll listen carefully—that’s perfect.

What you need to know about the Hippogriff is that it’s proud. When you approach it, bow. If it bows back, you may touch it.

If it doesn’t bow, leave at once—those claws can hurt. Try it, En.”

En had waited long enough. He stared at the proud creature, hesitated not a moment, and stepped forward.

“Excellent!”

Hagrid bellowed loudly—he was far more nervous than En,

“Alright—hold its gaze, don’t blink—too many blinks and the Hippogriff won’t trust you...”

En fixed his eyes on the Hippogriff, while Hagrid watched anxiously and reminded him:

“Bow, En...”

En knew this was the most crucial moment in taming the Hippogriff.

As he slowly bowed,

to Hagrid’s utter astonishment, the Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaled foreknees in a clear, unmistakable bow.

“Well done, En! You’ve tamed it! Good heavens! Even I took a full week!”

Hagrid cried in delight,

“Alright—you can touch it now! Pat its beak, go on!”

【You gained the Hippogriff (Buckbeak)’s favor at expert level. Proficiency +50】

【Hippogriff Buckbeak: Slightly Favored (20/300)】

【Advancement: Gain three moderately favored (entry-level) magical creatures as companions to unlock the entry-level title of Magical Creature Affinity】

Success. En reached out and patted Buckbeak’s beak.

He was very familiar with that name.

Buckbeak, symbol of freedom and breaking through adversity. It had driven off werewolves, scared off Professor Snape, and carried Sirius Black to escape prison.

A loyal magical creature.

In the Forbidden Forest,

Buckbeak lazily closed its eyes, clearly enjoying the pats on its beak.

The dim woods carried the damp scent of earth; En followed Hagrid nonstop through the thick expanse of the forest.

They fed the Treehugger some soil beetles and other insects near the trees, then gave the Thestrals raw meat. Soon after, they would return to Hagrid’s hut to cook for Fang.

Along the way, En kept hearing his panel chime cheerfully:

【You gained the Treehugger (Tilly)’s favor at entry level. Proficiency +3】

【You gained the Thestral (Wu Wu)’s favor at entry level. Proficiency +3】

The magical creatures’ favor rose rapidly, as En handled nearly all the feeding tasks.

Hagrid, holding Fang, felt moved:

“I knew he adored magical creatures... just like me...”

Gaining the favor of magical creatures is never easy, especially for the more intelligent ones—stalling at a certain level is common.

En had long planned for the long haul.

Thanks to his title—【Title: Entry-Level Magical Creature Affinity】—En could slightly understand some magical creatures’ thoughts.

For example, Gugu, a large Treehugger.

It had always loved a small tree, but its clan believed that as the clan’s chief Treehugger, it should live among larger trees—so it had been deeply troubled.

After En helped arrange an exchange, its favor surged, instantly reaching moderately favored (entry level).

Life in the Forbidden Forest was interesting: En planned his new magical creature biscuits’ alchemy ritual while following Hagrid, lionlike, as he patrolled his territory.

They handled raw meat, collected beetles, guarded the forest—so much so that Hagrid once thought Professor McGonagall had assigned him a junior assistant.

A perfect assistant: skilled at using magic to boost efficiency (like using Transfiguration to make five stone knives for processing meat), emotionally mature, and deeply fond of magical creatures.

That day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came to the edge of the Forbidden Forest searching for Hagrid—but instead of Hagrid, they saw En riding a strange creature.

Hagrid was running behind them, excitedly.

“Merlin! Buckbeak stayed! En, I’m overjoyed!”

En smiled faintly—Buckbeak staying meant his magical creature biscuits were finally secured.

“Isn’t the gamekeeper Hagrid? Has Hagrid been demoted to key keeper now?”

Ron muttered under his breath,

“I know En’s been in the Forbidden Forest lately—but when did he get appointed?”

As they spoke, they unconsciously followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest.

“What are you doing, hmm?”

Hagrid saw their dangerous actions and suddenly roared, making them jump in fright,

“This is the Forbidden Forest! First-years aren’t allowed to wander around, Harry! And you two—how dare you do this!”

The three quickly backed out, then stared at Hagrid and En, who was flying away on Buckbeak, with strange expressions.

“Ah—! You all saw that?”

Hagrid realized belatedly. He froze for two seconds, then widened his eyes.

“Yeah... first-years wandering around...”

Harry quietly added.

“Oh oh oh—”

Hagrid’s big face turned red.

“Hagrid, aren’t you going with En?”

Hermione asked, concerned.

“Ah, that... oh my goodness! What am I doing! En, danger! Wait for me—”

And Hagrid ran off after them.

Only Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained, staring at each other in the Forbidden Forest.

The final chapter at eleven