Chapter 41: First Entry into the Forbidden Forest

After school let out in the afternoon and dinner was finished, Allen left the castle and walked toward Hagrid's hut; the setting sun stung his eyes so badly he could barely keep them open, so he had to put on the sunglasses Hermione had given him...

Hagrid lived in a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest; a stone crossbow and a pair of rubber boots lay before the door.

As Allen knocked, he heard a sound of tense struggling inside the hut and several low barks from a dog. Then Hagrid's voice came: "Back, Fang, back."

Hagrid opened the door a crack, revealing his large, bearded face.

"Wait," he said, "back, Fang."

Hagrid let Allen into the hut while struggling to hold onto the collar of a huge black hound.

The wooden hut had only one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling; a copper kettle boiled over the fire in the hearth; a large bed stood in the corner, covered with patchwork quilts made from scraps of cloth.

"Don't stand on ceremony," Hagrid said, then released Fang. Fang immediately leaped at Allen; Allen lost his balance and fell to the ground, but fortunately the turtle shell on his back protected him, so he wasn't hurt by the fall.

Just as Allen thought he was about to be attacked, Fang began licking his face enthusiastically...

Like Hagrid, Fang was obviously not as fierce as his appearance suggested.

"Looks like Fang likes you; that's good! From now on, you two will go to work together every week." Hagrid reached out and lifted Allen up.

Only then did he get a clear look at Allen's appearance today; looking at Allen, he said in surprise, "Ha, your outfit today is really tight!"

Allen briefly explained the situation of the day.

But unexpectedly, Hagrid did not mock Allen; he even said to Allen with a touch of envy, "Wow! This ability of yours is truly enviable! I wish I had an ability like that."

Allen chose to ignore Hagrid's words and found a place to sit in Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid then brought out rock cakes that had been prepared long ago, poured Allen a cup of tea, and went to pack the gear needed for the Forbidden Forest in a moment.

Allen took a bite of the rock cake and found it truly lived up to its reputation; he couldn't even bite off a piece with one bite, but putting it down now would seem too rude, so he had to force himself to bite off a piece, then chew it crunch-crunch in his mouth until it was finished...

After finishing, he felt his cheeks were a bit sore; looking at the rock cake that was still more than half left, he decided to try again and finish it; before he could take his second bite, he heard a crunch-crunch sound from behind him...

Allen thought he was hallucinating; how could there be a sound before he even ate the rock cake? He quickly turned around and found Fang was gnawing on his turtle shell, gnawing it with such relish that it made a crunch-crunch sound, and a large puddle of drool had formed, soaking Allen's trousers.

Allen quickly kicked Fang aside with one foot, and at the same time adjusted his body so Fang couldn't easily bite his turtle shell.

At that moment, Hagrid had finished packing his gear; he was holding a huge crossbow, and a quiver full of arrows hung on his shoulder.

Seeing Allen staring tightly at his weapons, Hagrid said to Allen casually, "Most of the time they aren't needed; they're only occasionally used to warn some magical creatures. As long as you stay close to me, the Forbidden Forest is still very safe." Hagrid emphasized the last sentence.

"Then what do we go to the Forbidden Forest to do?" Allen finally asked the question he most wanted to know.

"Usually we go to patrol the Forbidden Forest and check on the various magical creatures. But today the situation is a bit special; some abnormal things have happened in the Forbidden Forest recently, and we are going to investigate. You just stay close to me and help me watch for any clues," Hagrid explained patiently.

Allen nodded quickly; he felt much more relaxed now.

Then he hoisted a large water jug full of water onto his back, took down a red umbrella and a huge lantern from the wall.

Allen looked at the clear weather outside and asked in confusion, "The weather is so good outside; why do we still need to bring an umbrella?"

Hagrid clearly became a bit unnatural; he muttered, "Just in case; don't ask too many questions."

Allen had to give up; he pointed at the huge lantern and asked, "Will we be out very late today?"

"It shouldn't be too late; if we don't find anything, we'll come back early!" Hagrid said after taking a big gulp of tea.

"Do you need another rock cake? Once we finish eating, we'll set off." Hagrid handed Allen a rock cake.

Allen quickly refused and said he had eaten very full at dinner.

The two humans and one dog were thus ready to set off.

Hagrid handed Fang's leash to Allen and told him, "Hold Fang well; he will protect you."

Allen took the leash, gripped it tightly in his hand, and looking at the big dog and the giant ahead, he felt a sense of security in his heart.

By this time the sun had already set; by the time they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it had grown somewhat dark.

Hagrid lit the huge lantern in his hand, while Allen drew out his wand and summoned a ball of light at the tip of the wand; holding Fang tightly with one hand and following Hagrid closely with the other, they walked along a narrow sheep-track path.

"Many beautiful magical creatures live in the Forbidden Forest; the more often you come here later, the more familiar you'll get. Many of them are friends of mine," Hagrid introduced slowly ahead.

Fang remained very interested in Allen's shell, circling Allen and sniffing back and forth; Allen was fully occupied dealing with Fang and had no mood to respond to Hagrid.

"Wolves haven't appeared in the Forbidden Forest for a long time; if you meet a centaur, you can give my name. However, you won't meet them alone; I won't let you leave my line of sight," Hagrid continued to explain the situation to Allen.

Soon they found some signs of destruction on a tree by the roadside.

"Recently, many magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest have been restless; I've been looking for the cause. This mark was likely left by that thing. Allen, bring Fang over and let him sniff it carefully," Hagrid said to Allen.

Allen quickly brought Fang over; Fang finally gave up gnawing on Allen's turtle shell, walked up, and sniffed carefully at these marks...

Hagrid placed the lantern on the ground, reached out to carefully feel the marks on the tree, then said to Allen, "This thing seems to be quite large in size; let's follow it. Don't relax your guard."

Allen nodded quickly; he saw Hagrid had already started to draw the crossbow and had adjusted the position of the large red umbrella on his body.

Fang had also found the direction by this time; barking loudly, he charged toward that direction; Allen had to pull him tightly; to prevent him from breaking free of the leash, Allen had to tie the other end of the leash to his wrist.

Soon they arrived at their destination: a clearing in the forest, where various signs of destruction were present.

Fang stopped and barked threateningly at a large tree, constantly emitting intimidating barks...

Hagrid also quickly set down the lantern, raised the crossbow and pointed it in that direction, while reminding Allen to be careful.

Allen quickly extinguished the ball of light at the tip of his wand and hid behind Hagrid...

"What is it? Come out quickly!" Hagrid shouted at that tree.

At that moment, heavy footsteps and the sound of breaking shrub branches came from behind the tree; a huge black shadow darted out from behind...

Hagrid's expression tightened; he shouted:

"It's a Graphorn!"