Panic Deep in the Forbidden Forest

It was a massive snake.

A great serpent with three heads. The head on the left looked calm and wise, the middle one listless, and the one on the right vicious and impatient.

It was a Level 4 Runespoor. It was enormous, even more exaggerated than what Luke had seen in books. Moreover, all three of its heads were intact, with scarcely any signs of fighting. That was quite rare among Runespoors.

Looking at the large snake lowering its head so respectfully, George and Fred both thought of another legend of the Gaunt Family.

Luke stopped and stared at the great snake.

When it was four or five steps away from Luke, the snake raised the front half of its body, lowered its heads, and extended them toward his hand.

Luke reached out and stroked the snake's three heads in turn. He knew this was not a gesture of submission among snakes, because snakes had no such displays of affection or surrender. As long as one did not attack you, it was already being friendly enough. But these were snakes of the wizarding world. Who knew where they had learned such seemingly human etiquette?

George and Fred both let out a sigh of relief. It seemed they would not have to risk getting beaten up while calling for help tonight. This was the outer edge of the forest, so while there were plenty of Magical Creatures, they were not especially dangerous. No one was likely to die. A Runespoor could certainly take their lives, but it was not a particularly vicious Magical Creature. Generally speaking, as long as one did not provoke it, it would not attack.

At the same time, Luke opened his mouth and let out a hoarse, low sound.

"What are you doing here?"

He asked in Parseltongue.

The Twins behind him shuddered involuntarily when they heard Luke's voice. Parseltongue really did sound eerie, naturally carrying the feeling of a villain.

"We sensed an aura that felt familiar, Your Highness, so we gathered here. We simply did not expect it to be a prince of the Gaunt Family."

The left head spoke as well.

Luke was no stranger to such words or to the title "Your Highness." The woods around his cottage were filled with snakes. It would not have been an exaggeration to say that seeing snakes was like seeing family to him.

"Has anything strange happened in the forest recently?"

Luke did not waste any time. Coming to the Forbidden Forest for fun was naturally one of his goals, but he had business to attend to as well.

"Not for the moment, Your Highness, but..." The great snake fell into thought. After a moment, it spoke again. "But as I recall, the Unicorn herd has begun withdrawing. Their kind is highly sensitive to malice, so if you feel that something is wrong, they are the most likely explanation."

"And those cowardly Centaurs! They pulled back their defenses long ago and only send a small number of their people out to hunt. They can read the stars, Your Highness. Your instincts are correct—something really is about to happen in the Forbidden Forest!"

The right head added impatiently. After speaking, it shot the left head a provocative look.

The left head snorted coldly and ignored it.

"You seem to have been prepared for this."

Luke looked curiously at the left head.

The left head spoke respectfully. "Our kind was placed in the Forbidden Forest by Lord Slytherin. This place is important. Our duty is to watch for every little disturbance and report it to the princes of the Gaunt Family."

"It has simply been many years since we last saw any of the princes."

The middle head spoke dejectedly.

There was a faint hint of resentment in those words. Luke felt somewhat awkward hearing them, but on second thought, it did not really have much to do with him.

"Then continue your task. Help me keep an eye on the Forbidden Forest. If anything happens, notify me as soon as possible. Do you have a way to contact me?"

Luke asked again.

The left head nodded once more. "Yes. Originally, we could have used the Little Snakes to notify you, but the ones behind us seem to like you very much as well. If they are delivering a Letter for you, they should be willing."

Luke looked behind the great snake. There was a group of relatively gentle Magical Creatures there, including Monkey Frogs, Doxies, Dodo Birds, and Bowtruckles.

"Then what is your name?"

Luke thought of how every snake around his home had its own name. Even newly hatched Little Snakes would ask him to name them once they had grown a little. It seemed to be a tradition of the Gaunt Family.

At Luke's question, all three heads became excited.

"We have no names, Your Highness. We have not seen any of the princes for many years, so we have never received names."

This time, all three heads spoke together. Similar expectant lights shone in their six eyes.

Hearing that, Luke examined the three heads and curled his lips into a mischievous smile.

He pointed at the left head. "Gan."

Then the middle head. "Wen."

Finally, he smiled and stroked the right head. "Cui."

"Thank you for naming us, Your Highness."

They did not know what those three names meant, but they had been bestowed by a prince. That was enough.

Just then, a light suddenly appeared in the woods, accompanied by barking from afar.

"Who's there? Fred! George! Is that you? There's someone else too? Who is it?!"

Hagrid's loud, booming voice carried over from the distance.

Cui bared its fangs viciously in Hagrid's direction, seemingly ready to rush over and bite that rude brute to death.

Luke gently pressed a hand against it.

Then he turned to Gan. "You should leave first. Be careful. The dangers in the Forbidden Forest are enough to kill you as well, so be cautious while investigating."

Gan nodded, bumped Cui, who was still baring its fangs, then lowered itself and swiftly slithered into the depths of the forest.

Once Gan Wen Cui had left Luke, the Magical Creatures that had been holding themselves back surged forward. They gathered around Luke's feet and watched him curiously. Luke crouched down and played with them.

As the light and barking drew closer, George and Fred grew somewhat nervous.

"Aren't we leaving, Luke? Hagrid will be here soon. He won't deduct points, but he'll still give us an earful."

George spoke worriedly.

Luke stroked the head of a Demiguise and said, "There's no need. I'll be coming to the Forbidden Forest often in the future, so it would be good to let Hagrid know in advance."

Seeing that he could not persuade Luke, George glanced at his brother, who not only remained unmoved but looked as though he wanted to join in the fun, sighed, and said nothing more.

"Ha! I knew it was you two little troublemakers! I could see your red hair from far away... Wait, what is going on here?!"

Hagrid had come intending to scold them, but the sight before him left him stunned.

One Magical Creature after another was happily playing around the Twins. A Bowtruckle sat atop Fred's head, while a Niffler lay beside George's feet, wrestling him for the Knut in his hand.

"Luke? Why are you here too? Wait, is that a Demiguise? There are Demiguises in the Forbidden Forest?!"

Hagrid stared in shock at Luke, who was playing with an ape-like creature covered in silky, shimmering silver fur.

At that moment, the Demiguise was startled by Hagrid's booming voice and vanished into thin air.

Luke pulled the invisible creature out from behind him and smiled at Hagrid. "We meet again!"