Chapter 37: Rubeus Hagrid

Professor Qiluo's information was indeed reliable; Allen soon received an owl from Professor McGonagall, summoning him to her office after school on Thursday to discuss a work-study opportunity.

Allen arrived punctually for the appointment on Thursday afternoon at Professor McGonagall's office, only to find she already had a guest visiting.

The guest was a burly giant whose face was almost entirely concealed by wild hair and a tangled, thick beard, his eyes shining like black beetles.

In his enormous hand, he held a cup that looked remarkably small; he sat in the chair opposite McGonagall's desk, his massive frame filling the seat completely, making Allen worry whether that flimsy chair could support the weight of this "giant."

Allen quickly recognized who the guest was, as Harry had mentioned him many times before: he was Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper and keeper of the keys.

Hagrid was conversing with Professor McGonagall, and the usually very stern McGonagall actually showed a trace of a smile on her face, which was extremely rare.

Allen politely stepped forward to greet the two people in the room.

Hagrid acted very enthusiastically; he shook Allen's hand warmly and "gently" patted his shoulder a few times.

Allen felt as though he was about to be patted into pieces by Hagrid and quickly withdrew his hand.

Professor McGonagall quickly got down to business.

"Allen, some strange things have been happening in the Forbidden Forest recently, so Hagrid needs someone to assist him. We think this opportunity is very suitable for you, so we plan to attach this task to your work-study duties. Please report to Hagrid for work every Friday afternoon after school." Professor McGonagall finished her quick introduction.

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore forbid students from entering the Forbidden Forest at the start of the term?" Allen glanced at Hagrid and asked uneasily.

"Professor Dumbledore forbade students from entering the Forbidden Forest alone. You are going to assist Hagrid and will be by his side the entire time, so it is allowed by the rules, and you will not be in any danger!" Professor McGonagall crushed Allen's last hope.

Allen sized up the giant Hagrid; his sturdy body gave a great sense of security, and Allen suddenly felt less resistant to this job.

Hagrid was also very interested in Allen.

"Are you and Harry good friends? He has mentioned you to me several times!" he said excitedly to Allen.

Allen gave an affirmative reply, then carefully dodged Hagrid's large hand as it reached out to pat his shoulder again.

"Hagrid is well-versed in the knowledge of many magical creatures; you can ask him for advice more often in the future!" Professor McGonagall added from the side.

Then Professor McGonagall ushered the two of them out of the office.

Hagrid volunteered to escort Allen to the Gryffindor tower; he seemed very interested in Allen and asked him many questions about himself all the way there.

"I saw those huge wings of yours that day; maybe I should introduce you to Buckbeak. Um... Buckbeak is a hippogriff; he will definitely like your huge wings..."

"It would be even better if those wings were dragon wings; I think dragon wings are the coolest!"

"Can you transform into dragon wings sometime?"

"......"

Allen chatted with Hagrid intermittently, and the two quickly arrived at the base of the Gryffindor tower.

Hagrid clearly hadn't had his fill of chatting, but at that moment he had no choice but to bid farewell to Allen.

"Remember to wear something thick when you come to my place tomorrow; it's best not to wear wizard robes, but to dress tightly and neatly; shoes should preferably be high-top!" Hagrid instructed Allen as he was leaving.

Allen couldn't help feeling a bit surprised; he hadn't expected this seemingly rough giant to have such a delicate side, and he hurriedly thanked Hagrid.

Hagrid laughed heartily upon hearing this,

reaching out to pat Allen's shoulder again, but seeing Allen quickly dodge to the side, he could only awkwardly withdraw his hand.

"I will make my specialty, rock cakes, for you tomorrow," Hagrid changed the subject, "remember not to be late tomorrow!" Hagrid waved goodbye to Allen one last time and then walked toward the castle gates.

Watching Hagrid's receding figure, Allen let out a long sigh...

Gryffindor Tower, first-year boys' dormitory.

Harry and Ron saw Allen rummaging through boxes and drawers as soon as they entered.

Both felt very surprised.

"Allen, you actually didn't go to the library today?" Ron asked in surprise. Usually, they couldn't find Allen at this time.

Seeing it was Harry and Ron, Allen let out a breath and stopped: "Professor McGonagall asked me to go to the Forbidden Forest tomorrow to help Hagrid; I am looking for clothes to wear to the Forbidden Forest tomorrow." He pointed to a pair of worn-out jeans and a jacket on the bed.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, seeing excitement in each other's eyes.

"Wow! Fred and George always told me the Forbidden Forest is great fun! They go there often!" Ron said excitedly.

"How is it fun?" Allen was also very interested in this topic.

"They always bring all sorts of strange things out of the Forbidden Forest!" Ron said quickly, then lowered his voice to tell Allen: "It is said that they found many magical materials inside and sold those magical materials via owl, earning quite a lot of Jin Jin Jialong; now they don't even need the pocket money their mother gives them!"

As Ron finished speaking, his tone was full of envy.

Allen also felt his heart flutter; he hadn't expected such a good thing to exist.

"Pity they use those Jin Jin Jialong for some strange research and don't even take care of their dear brother; their brother is about to die of poverty!" Ron said resentfully at the end.

"Yes! Poverty is terrible! I haven't even touched a Jin Jin Jialong yet!" Allen also expressed great envy.

The wealthy Harry was not interested in this topic of two paupers; he was very happy that his friend had met Hagrid.

"Last time I said I would take you to visit Hagrid, but you were really too busy, and we couldn't find you at the time. Hagrid is a very good person; he is very interested in you." Harry said happily.

"Yes, he asked me a bunch of questions when I came back today! And is his way of expressing care patting people into pieces?" Allen complained resentfully about Hagrid.

At this moment, Dean returned and joined their conversation.

"Allen, you should still be careful; I heard the Forbidden Forest is very dangerous, with many dangerous magical creatures inside, such as werewolves, centaurs, and so on. Moreover, you are going after school in the afternoon when it is almost dark; it will be even more dangerous in the Forbidden Forest!" Dean spoke vividly.

Allen nodded lightly, and a sudden worry arose in his heart...

Finally, lying in bed, Allen actually found he couldn't sleep; holding his legs, he looked through the window at the pitch-black Forbidden Forest, where faint lights flickered inside; he always felt those were the eyes of fierce beasts coming out to hunt at night...

Dean's words kept echoing in his mind, making him feel somewhat uneasy; although Hagrid would accompany him, walking in the wild at night was still a bit frightening!

Finally, he decided to make some extra preparations; he decided to perform a wand talent transformation tonight to see what he would transform into under the influence of his subconscious...

He took his wand out of the drawer and gripped it tightly in his hand...

A short while later, he fell into a dreamland...