Forbidden Forest (Part 1)

Vaughn did not go looking for Hagrid right away.

It was not until the next day, after receiving the small package Zhu Weiqiong had sent him, that he carried it out of Hogwarts Castle with Guoguo Tea, crossed the mountain behind the castle along a Stone Path, and arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It was a flat meadow, likely cleared regularly to keep the forest from expanding. There were barely even any shrubs on the grass.

Hagrid's home stood out all the more.

It was a small hut cobbled together from wooden planks. A gravel path stretching from the castle led all the way to its front door. Moss covered the stone foundation, while a simple fence extended along it on either side, enclosing a pumpkin patch behind the house.

When Vaughn arrived, Hagrid was sitting on the steps with a large copper basin at his feet, peeling potatoes.

Above him, thick smoke billowed from the hut's strange pointed roof.

Spotting Vaughn in the distance, Hagrid put down his work and wiped his enormous hands against his apron again and again.

"Vaughn Weasley?" he shouted.

"That's me!"

At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, a large dog came barking out of the house. Hagrid hurriedly grabbed it. "Fang, you bad thing, shut up."

Vaughn quickly approached, glanced at the shaggy, filthy-furred dog, and greeted it with a smile. Then he raised the package in his hand. "Hello, Hagrid. It's our first time meeting, so I brought you a little gift."

"Ah, this..."

A flush immediately spread across Hagrid's bearded face. His hands fidgeted helplessly, not knowing where to go. After stammering for quite a while, he suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly pushed open the door.

"Quick, come in. You're too kind. I only wanted to remind you in person. I never expected... this to be so formal. Really, it's..."

This Half-giant who had been classmates with Socket Man did not possess the maturity someone his age ought to have.

He was flustered and rash, more like a child.

Vaughn followed Hagrid inside. The hut was not particularly tidy, rather like the bachelor dorm Vaughn had lived in when he had first started working in his previous life. All kinds of things were piled around haphazardly, yet they could always be found at hand when needed.

The fire in the fireplace burned fiercely, filling the room with warmth.

A huge table and enormous chairs stood beside the fireplace. A Moleskin Coat and a Pink Umbrella had been tossed on top of them.

Hagrid hurriedly grabbed them and threw them aside, invited Vaughn to sit, then poured him some tea while rambling on.

"You really didn't need to bring a gift. You're too polite. I wasn't prepared at all... What would you like to drink?"

"...You're already pouring tea, Hagrid."

"Oh? Oh... Sorry, I mean, hardly anyone ever brings me a gift specially when they come to see me. I'm a little nervous..."

After handing Vaughn the tea, Hagrid dropped into his enormous chair with a thump. His little beetle-like black eyes kept unconsciously darting toward the package Vaughn had brought.

Vaughn smiled and opened it. Inside was an illustrated book.

"Ron said you really like animals. I definitely don't know as much as you do about Magical Creatures, so I had Dad buy an animal picture book from Muggle Society."

"It has animals from all over the world. There should be some you've never seen before, so you can look through it when you're bored."

The gift had clearly struck a soft spot in Hagrid's heart.

He carefully opened it and took a look.

The book was sized for ordinary humans, so in the hands of the eleven-foot-tall Hagrid, it looked exceptionally tiny.

That only made him treasure it even more. After turning through a few pages, he put it away.

Having accepted the gift, Hagrid found it difficult to say what he had been meaning to say. He explained, "The Philosopher's Stone concerns Headmaster Dumbledore, so I specially reminded you to keep it secret. There was no other meaning behind it."

"I know. Other than Harry and the others, I haven't told anyone. You can rest assured, Hagrid."

Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear Vaughn say, "Actually, I came this time because I have a small favor to ask."

Hagrid immediately patted his chest. "What is it? As long as I can do it."

"I want to take a look around the Forbidden Forest."

"Ah..." Hagrid froze, then shook his head repeatedly. "No, no. Young Wizards can't go into the Forbidden Forest. Vaughn, I heard you're a very good student, right? Don't ever learn from your two older brothers, Fred and George. Those two little troublemakers have given me endless headaches..."

Vaughn interrupted him. "Hear me out, Hagrid. I won't be going alone. I need you as a guide, to tell me what kinds of Magical Creatures and Magical Plants are in different places."

"Uh, what do you want to do?"

"I'm a Potioneer. I've recently been preparing to develop a new potion, and I may need certain materials, so I want to observe them in person."

"This..."

Hagrid hesitated. He had heard of Vaughn, of course, though it had all come from Harry and Ron.

Seeing his attitude soften, Vaughn immediately launched into a long explanation of his ideas for potions, their significance, and the difficulties involved in choosing materials.

It made the Academic Underling Hagrid's head spin. After a while, he finally nodded blankly.

"All right, all right. I can take you, but we need to agree on this first. We can't go deep into the Forbidden Forest, and we can't go anywhere I think is dangerous, like where the Acromantulas and Werewolves are. Oh, and Centaurs too. Those fellows aren't very easy to talk to either, always muttering mysterious nonsense all day."

Hagrid acted swiftly and decisively.

Since he had agreed, and after asking whether Vaughn was free today, he put on his Moleskin Coat, picked up the Stone Crossbow by the door, and decided to take Vaughn for a walk around the forest that very day.

"Fang, come here... Oh—what a beautiful cat, Vaughn. What's its name?"

"Guoguo Tea," Vaughn answered, then called out, "Guoguo Tea, stop hitting Fang. He's already hiding under the bed."

Only after swatting Fang with several more cat punches and sending him scurrying away with his head in his paws did Guoguo Tea return to Vaughn with its head held high.

Hagrid was not angry. Instead, he explained to Vaughn, "I'm not surprised at all. Fang is a coward. He bullies the weak and fears the strong, but he's a good helper. Many animals in the Forbidden Forest know him."

With a cat and a dog in tow, the two soon entered the Forbidden Forest.

This forest, which had existed for who knew how many years, possessed a landscape entirely different from the outside world. The vast canopies of ancient trees stretched overhead, blotting out the sky and stealing nearly all the sunlight. Only scattered, dappled patches filtered down, keeping the forest from becoming completely dark.

Wisps of thin mist still curled around the thick trunks of the ancient trees within sight.

Perhaps because it was daytime, not when most animals were active, the forest was quiet, as though even the air had solidified.

Only the rustling of footsteps crossing the thick carpet of fallen leaves could be heard.

Vaughn drew his Wand.

Noticing his movement, Hagrid reassured him, "Don't worry. I've lived here for decades. I absolutely won't let anything happen to you."

Though he had refused earlier, now that they had truly entered the Forbidden Forest, he had become the one taking the initiative.

Vaughn smiled without speaking, nor did he put away his Wand.

He knew that the Forbidden Forest was anything but safe this term!