The four of them made their way back on the Thestrals, with the Demoness's faintly threatening aura keeping them company.
So no Fantastic Beasts got any funny ideas and charged at them.
Every now and then, a few Fire Crabs with poor eyesight wandered into view, but as soon as they spotted Harley and the others, they hurriedly fled in fright.
Feeling how listless they were, Harley strongly suspected these Fire Crabs were part of the batch Hagrid had used to make Blast-Ended Skrewts.
Tsk, tsk, poor little things. They still hadn't recovered after all this time.
Hagrid really was a beast!
Gabrielle, on the other hand, was bouncing around with excitement.
After all, she'd been at Hogwarts for so long without ever having the chance to visit the Forbidden Forest.
Now that she had a perfectly reasonable, lawful opportunity, how could Gabrielle possibly pass it up?
Just riding a Thestral was enough to get the little girl chattering excitedly for ten minutes straight.
So Pheobe had to keep a close eye on her sister to make sure Gabrielle didn't get lost.
With their journey smooth and full of playful antics, the four of them left the Forbidden Forest before half past five in the afternoon.
Before they emerged from the woods, the Thestral leader confirmed their payment with Harley once more, then left, thoroughly satisfied.
Outside the Forbidden Forest, Professor McGonagall was waiting with a broad smile. She gave Harley and Hermione a big hug.
"Brilliant work, Harley! That was a perfect performance!" Professor McGonagall's voice was brimming with joy.
"You need to return to the place by the Black Lake where you started and wait for the judges to score you."
"Of course, if you'd like, you can stop by the first-aid tent and ask Madam Pomfrey to