Chapter 400: The Puckidge in the Forbidden Forest

Wizard Sean Green returned dejectedly.

But within seconds, his furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

Next time, he could still find Lady Ravenclaw—it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he had gotten his answer.

The air was cold, and the moon still hung high in the sky.

Only a faint gray-green hue crept along the distant horizon, signaling the slow approach of dawn.

As Wizard Sean Green stepped out of the Ravenclaw common room and looked again at Lady Ravenclaw’s portrait, he felt a strange sense of unreality.

Stranger than sending away a ghost was speaking with a dead soul.

In truth, he still had countless questions.

For instance, why had Lady Ravenclaw chosen him as her heir? Was there some special selection method?

And what magic did Lady Ravenclaw’s ancient book hold? Wizard Sean had clearly seen the words “Book of Ghosts” appear upon its pages.

But it didn’t matter. He had plenty of time to explore the mysteries of magic—and better still, he was particularly skilled at it.

This weekend, Wizard Sean had too much to do.

On his plan map, several items stood out clearly:

Practice Legilimency in the Dungeons, Create a Low-Cost "Telephone", Reach "Skilled" Level with Cat Leopard Cookies…

But none of these were as important as what he was about to do now.

He stepped onto the corridor, where a thin layer of frost coated the ground.

On either side, suits of armor were adorned with vibrant flowers left over from Valentine’s Day.

It was too early—neither the young wizards nor the ghosts seemed to be active yet.

Wizard Sean Green conjured a soft cushion at the corner where Lady Grey often appeared and sat there reading for a while.

Long passed, but Lady Grey never drifted by.

At that moment, a large red exclamation mark appeared on his plan map.

So Wizard Sean gathered his books and prepared to head to the Forbidden Forest.

The weather was cold, and young wizards all wore gloves.

As Wizard Sean passed the fourth-floor corridor, he noticed with mild surprise that the black cat statue had been wrapped in a scarf, surrounded by young wizards praying with happy expressions.

He had intended to hurry past, but now he stopped abruptly.

He watched the young wizards sharing sweets, exchanging stories, and huddling together over steaming grapefruit juice to ward off the chill.

The Castle Cat Club no longer seemed like just a simple club—it had woven itself into the lives of the young wizards, like those tangled balls of yarn.

Wizard Sean suddenly understood something, and a change stirred within him.

He decided that next time, he might look into the dreams of the club members.

For instance, how had Minister Hannah conceived of this club?

…

Outside the castle, the snow was soft, the trees a blanket of white, as if dusted with cotton.

Snowflakes spun slowly in the air before melting on Wizard Sean’s slightly reddened face.

“Wizard Sean—”

Hagrid called out from afar, smoke curling from the chimney of his hut behind him.

“Good morning, Hagrid.”

Wizard Sean raised his hand in greeting.

“Oh—I’ve got good news to tell you! Come in—”

Hagrid swept his arm inward, and Wizard Sean was pulled inside.

“Dumbledore agreed—have some pear-stewed dragon’s milk, taught to me by Hufflepuff’s Finley—he agreed! I knew he would! Next term, you’ll be my assistant in Care of Magical Creatures.”

As he spoke, Hagrid handed Wizard Sean a steaming drink that looked unmistakably sweet.

Becoming an assistant was a new experience for Wizard Sean.

He nodded, his cheeks slightly flushed from the warmth of the hut.

“Yes, yes, I heard—yes, Mr. Scamander said… I’m in contact with him… you have a special magical creature…”

Hagrid seemed embarrassed, fidgeting awkwardly.

"Cat Leopard?"

Wizard Sean asked as if uncertain, though he already knew.

"Merlin’s beard! It really is a Cat Leopard!"

Hagrid exclaimed.

“Sorry, Hagrid, I need to ask Yi Fa.”

Wizard Sean paused for a second.

“You can communicate with it?!”

Hagrid suddenly slammed the table.

“Oh, sorry…”

Hagrid retracted his hand, crestfallen.

“I’m leaving Hogwarts for the Ministry soon—they’re considering dropping the charges. Oh, this is all your doing!”

A genuine smile spread across Wizard Sean’s face.

He knew about it—Rita had said the Hogwarts professors had all lent their support.

Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore was likely the most crucial.

“So you might help me manage the Forbidden Forest. But be careful. Norbert might have returned—I saw many… spider corpses.”

Hagrid stammered, then realized how dangerous this sounded.

For a young wizard.

“I’ll help. Uh… can I get someone else to help?”

Wizard Sean agreed.

Perfect—Yi Fa hadn’t been out in a long time.

As for managing the Forbidden Forest, Wizard Sean had an excellent choice.

For instance, Puckidge the butler.

“Oh, Wizard Sean! Of course!”

Hagrid’s eyes instantly welled up.

He suddenly felt guilty—he’d left such a dangerous place to a young wizard!

It wasn’t until he saw Bai Yi transform into a dragon and frolic through the Forbidden Forest that he remembered something.

In the forest, Thestrals took flight in terror; Bowtruckles clung tightly to trees, trying to turn invisible; a group of centaurs came running at the noise, saw the familiar dragon, gave Wizard Sean a strange look from the hut, then vanished into the woods.

“Bai Yi.”

Wizard Sean called out, and Bai Yi, having melted a patch of snow, reluctantly returned.

“I think… there’s nothing more.”

Hagrid muttered gloomily.

He seemed to have found the killer of the eight-legged spiders; after a brief moment of disappointment, he grew excited again.

“Here’s the hut key. Goodbye, Wizard Sean.”

Hagrid handed the key to Wizard Sean with relief and stepped out of the hut.

Wizard Sean watched a motorcycle spew black smoke before vanishing into the horizon.

Hagrid was finally clearing his name—not just at Hogwarts.

Thinking of this amusing turn of events, Wizard Sean opened the Wizard’s Book.

…

Puckidge the butler loved the vast forest; Wizard Sean left Bai Yi with him.

Walking through the snow, Wizard Sean looked up—the windows of Hogwarts Castle glowed warmly one by one.

Far off, he spotted a familiar figure, raised his hand, and his broom shot forward like lightning.

Seconds later, Wizard Sean appeared near Ravenclaw Tower.

Opposite him stood a corridor door; Lady Grey drifted slowly farther down the passage.

“Lady Ravenclaw.”

Wizard Sean said.

“Green…”

Lady Grey murmured.

Thank you to the Silver Alliance for the rainy winter nights.

Thank you for your support!

With no backup chapters, Lu will add five more tomorrow and the day after.