Footprints in the Forbidden Forest

Having found no clues, Kyle returned to the large tree.

Just as he was hesitating about how to see the gap, Fang suddenly ran over and bit his robe.

"Stop messing around Fang." Kyle looked down and patted its head. "Now is not the time to play."

But Fang ignored all that, pulled him to Hagrid's side, and then used his front paws to scatter the fallen leaves on the ground.

Two rows of footprints were clearly visible beneath the fallen leaves.

"This is..." Kyle took a deep breath.

"Hagrid! Look! There are footprints here!"

Upon hearing Kyle's voice, Hagrid quickly lowered his head, and he too saw the two rows of footprints.

"Well done, Fang!"

Hagrid rubbed Fang's head and complained, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Ya actually put on a wronged expression and slapped Hagrid's trouser leg hard with its front paws.

It was damp there, and there was a very obvious ring of teeth marks.

Clearly, Fang had tried his best to warn him, but Hagrid's attention was focused on the tree trunk and he didn't notice.

Left with no other choice, it turned to Kyle.

"I'm sorry, Fang, I misunderstood you." Hagrid quickly apologized after noticing this.

As it turns out, not every pet is like Fawkes. Hagrid's words instantly cheered up Fang, who lay there happily wagging its tail.

Kyle also took out a piece of Murtlap jerky and fed it to Fang as a reward before squatting down to observe the footprints.

There were two rows of footprints, and they were very messy, suggesting that a fierce battle had taken place here.

The outermost ring of footprints looked normal, about the size of an adult, but the row of footprints closer to the tree was different.

They were enormous, almost twice the size of a normal person, and looked just like Hagrid's...

No, this is Hagrid's.

Kyle suddenly remembered that he had seen similar footprints in the pumpkin patch, exactly the same size, and even the pattern on the soles of the shoes was exactly the same.

Kyle frowned and asked, "Hagrid, have you been here before?"

"Impossible," Hagrid said definitively. "Such a big tree, I would never forget it if I had been here before, but I have absolutely no recollection of it."

"Then how do you explain this?" Kyle pointed to the large footprint and said, "The pattern on it is exactly the same as your shoes."

"What did you say?" Hagrid leaned down and finally saw the footprints clearly.

Then his pupils constricted sharply, and he cried out in alarm as if he had seen a ghost, "This is impossible!"

"I absolutely did not come here, I swear!"

Then, as if realizing something, he quickly said, "Could it be something I accidentally left behind?"

"Unlikely." Kyle shook his head.

Fresh footprints won't hide under fallen leaves.

Moreover... Kyle touched the soil around the footprints again; it was already quite hard there. If it had been freshly made, the soil should have been soft.

"That's enough for today," Kyle said, standing up. "Let's go back and ask Headmaster Dumbledore; he might know what's going on."

Hagrid was completely dumbfounded at this point, but he regained some composure after hearing Dumbledore's name, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Yes, Dumbledore must know."

Kyle took out his wand and used Severing Charm to remove the footprints along with the surrounding soil.

He then dug up a piece of the corroded tree trunk and used Levitation Charm to carry them out of the Forbidden Forest.

On the way back, Hagrid was still walking in front, but his mind was in turmoil, and he seemed somewhat absent-minded.

"By the way, Hagrid," Kyle asked curiously, "How did you know the Unicorn cub was missing?"

"Professor Kettleburn told me," Hagrid said. "He was supposed to come this time, but the Unicorn that lost its cub was in a very bad mood, and he needed to keep an eye on it at all times, so he couldn't leave."

Kyle suddenly realized.

Professor Kettleburn is also a renowned master of Fantastic Beasts and one of Newt's few close friends. If it's him, then there's no problem with this.

Unlike Newt, Professor Kettleburn was more reckless and impulsive, which resulted in him now only having one arm and half a leg.

Kyle still can't understand why this professor was sorted into Hufflepuff. No matter how you look at it, Gryffindor should have been a much better fit for him.

Sorting Hat was definitely drinking fake alcohol back then.

On their way back, they encountered centaurs again, but this time it wasn't Ronan; instead, it was a young centaur with platinum blonde hair.

"Hey, Hagrid, you seem a bit distracted," the other person spoke first. "This won't do. The Forbidden Forest is very dangerous at night, and don't forget you have a pony with you."

"Oh, Firenze ...yes, you're right." Hagrid slapped his forehead and turned to Kyle, saying, "Sorry, Kyle, my mind was a little muddled just now."

"It's alright," Kyle laughed. "I'm confident that with you with us, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest won't harm us."

"Thank you," Hagrid said with a smile.

"A bit confused?" The centaur named Firenze looked at Hagrid, his eyes a striking blue. "Are you in some trouble?"

"I'm not sure if this counts as trouble," Hagrid said, scratching his head. "Firenze, have you seen me in the Forbidden Forest before?"

"Many times," Firenze said, "I see you almost every week."

"That's not what I meant." Hagrid pointed in the direction they had come from. "I meant... over there, next to that huge chestnut tree."

"I think I understand what you mean," Firenze said, looking up. "Mars is perfectly normal today."

"Fine, I knew it," Hagrid said, somewhat impatiently. "Couldn't you just say so... Never mind, let's go."

Hagrid walked past Firenze, while Kyle gave Firenze a thoughtful look.

The centaur named Ronan said the same thing before.

Mars is normal...

Is this considered normal?

Firenze didn't leave immediately, but followed them until Hagrid led Kyle to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, at which point he stopped.

Ahead lay the lair of the Mooncalf. Watching the Mooncalf dance gracefully in the moonlight, Kyle instinctively thought of their first nighttime outing, when they were almost caught by Hagrid...

Um?

Kyle suddenly stopped in his tracks. If he remembered correctly, Hagrid had also taken this route to the Forbidden Forest.