"Diricawl?"
Harry, who had only been in the magical world for a few weeks, let out a very Muggle-like question. "What's that?"
"They're a rather interesting kind of bird."
Hagrid smiled as he explained, "They have tiny wings, so they can't fly, and they're chubby, so they can't run very fast either... But they do have a strange ability: when they're in danger, they suddenly disappear from this world, then reappear once the danger has passed. No one can find them in the meantime, and nobody knows where they go..."
"That's amazing."
Harry exclaimed enviously, then couldn't help wishing he had the same ability—he could disappear from the Dursley family's home, from Potions Class, and from the room with the three-headed dog, then live freely and safely...
"Diricawls are actually dodos." When Hagrid had nothing more to add, Avada offered a bit of Muggle knowledge. "They originally lived in Africa, but a bunch of Muggles who hunted recklessly chased them all over the place. Some of the ones who weren't very good at disappearing were even killed by Muggle hunters... It wasn't until wizards helped them migrate that they were able to settle in other parts of the world."
"Right. Muggles still think they drove Diricawls to extinction—but there's a silver lining. They learned a bit from it and became a little gentler toward other animals. Only a little, though..."
Hagrid beckoned the four of them along, muttering, "Come on. You'll see when we get there."
"Forbidden Forest" was a rather misleading name. Many students new to Hogwarts assumed that the so-called "Forbidden Forest" was just a little copse inside Hogwarts, or the school's woodlot—but that wasn't the case.
It was the largest magical ecosystem in the United Kingdom. Its scale, mysteries, and biodiversity ranked among the greatest in