Hagrid's Hut, Strict Lucien

Lucien and Harry arrived at the edge of the hunting grounds by the Forbidden Forest.

From a distance, they could see a hut. It looked extremely crude, built so crookedly it seemed ready to collapse.

Only when they got closer did Lucien realize the hut was not small at all—the door alone was four or five meters tall.

Lucien looked around and noticed a fenced vegetable patch not far from the hut.

Many vegetables were planted inside, the most eye-catching of which were those enormous pumpkins.

So Hagrid had already been growing such a large plot of land, Lucien thought. If Hagrid agreed to let him plant Chinese Biting Cabbage directly in a corner of the vegetable patch, that would save a great deal of trouble.

Not only would the surrounding plants and fence provide cover, he also wouldn't have to worry about magical creatures running out of the Forbidden Forest and gnawing on his vegetables.

Uh, if it was Chinese Biting Cabbage, it was hard to say who would end up gnawing on whom.

Harry was just about to knock on Hagrid's door.

A bark suddenly rang out.

What followed was an enormous black dog. It shot out from the side of the hut and stared warily at Lucien and Harry.

"Fang, what's wrong? Is someone approaching the Forbidden Forest?"

A rough, booming voice came from inside the hut. After a few heavy, muffled footsteps, the door was pulled open.

The half-giant, whose beard and hair were so thick it was almost impossible to make out his face, poked his head out.

"Oh, it's Harry!"

Hagrid laughed happily and waved to signal Fang not to bark.

"And this is?"

His gaze turned to Lucien as Hagrid asked Harry.

"This is Lucien, Lucien Grafton. He's a Ravenclaw student."

"He's my good friend!"

Lucien nodded to Hagrid.

At the same time, he glanced at Harry in some surprise. He hadn't expected that, in Harry's mind, he had already risen to the status of good friend.

"Haha, is that so? Hello, Lucien."

"Ravenclaw, eh? I'm sure you're a clever little wizard!"

Hagrid seemed very pleased, both happy that Harry had made a friend so quickly and delighted that Harry had brought that friend to visit him.

"Hehe, come on in, then."

"Don't be afraid of Fang. Don't worry, he's actually a very lovely, very timid fellow."

Lucien glanced at Fang. This black dog, whose appearance was fierce and imposing, stood with its shoulders almost reaching Lucien's chest.

Then he looked up at Hagrid, who was over three meters tall.

Fine. To this half-giant, every animal probably looked adorable.

They entered the hut.

Perhaps because Hagrid was used to living alone, the room was arranged rather carelessly.

Hagrid dug out two small stools, set them down, and had Lucien and Harry sit.

"Oh, you two came at just the right time. The Rock Cakes I baked have just come out of the oven."

He carried the baking tray over in front of Lucien and Harry, looking at them expectantly.

They were small cakes with rough surfaces, mixed with raisins.

There was still a faint heat rising from the surface. They actually smelled all right, with the fragrance of dried fruit.

Lucien reached out and took one, but the moment it was in his hand, he felt something was wrong.

So hard!

He couldn't even squeeze it.

"Quick, have a taste. I don't know if they'll suit your tastes."

Lucien smiled politely.

Hehe, he wasn't sure about his tastes, but his teeth probably weren't up to it.

Using his sleeve as cover, Lucien secretly aimed his wand at the Rock Cake and silently cast a Softening Charm.

He tried taking a bite and found he could just barely bite through it.

Mm, not bad. The dried fruit flavor was quite strong.

Lucien nibbled at the softened Rock Cake in small bites.

But beside him, Harry only gnawed one bite before silently putting it down, while looking at Lucien in shock. He could actually bite into that!

Unable to eat the snack, Harry made his request directly to Hagrid:

"Hagrid, I want to learn potion brewing with Lucien. Could we practice here with you?"

"Of course!"

Hagrid barely thought about it before agreeing heartily.

Hardly anyone came over to the gamekeeper's hut most days; it was usually just a dog and a garden full of vegetables keeping him company.

Hagrid simply assumed Lucien and the others wanted to brew potions for fun. It never occurred to him that they were actually here to study.

Harry said he wanted to stay here and hang out with Lucien, and Hagrid was naturally more than happy with that.

"Wait here a moment. Potions need tools and ingredients. I'll help you look for some."

"Eh, we have—"

Before Harry could stop him, Hagrid had already bustled off and started rummaging through the storeroom.

After a clattering, banging commotion, Hagrid came back holding a huge pile of things.

"Er, this is a cauldron, this is a pestle..."

"This is Fluxweed Juice, this is Acromantula venom, this is a Diricawl feather..."

When Lucien saw Hagrid take out tools like a cauldron the size of a washbasin and a pestle as thick as a forearm, he had wanted to press a hand to his forehead. But when he saw those ingredients, his eyes changed.

Unicorn Tail Hair, Ashwinder Egg, Acromantula venom...

Hagrid actually had this many ingredients, and many of them came from magical creatures that were either rare or dangerous.

Had he been going into the Forbidden Forest every few days to restock?

Wait—how had he forgotten? Hagrid seemed to love magical creatures, and he was quite knowledgeable about researching and understanding them.

It was no surprise he could collect so many things.

Magical creatures... Lucien suddenly thought, could he ask Hagrid for help?

Hagrid was sure to be familiar with the ranges of certain magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest.

If he could learn that from Hagrid, he could quickly pinpoint the locations of magical creatures.

Once the little Qilin woke up, he would only need to take it to those places once first.

After that, with Apparition, coming and going would be very convenient.

Without having to wander around blindly in the Forbidden Forest, Lucien would have plenty of time to observe and record magical creatures.

Turning to glance at Harry, who was rubbing his cheeks, Lucien realized that helping this boy catch up on lessons had actually brought him unexpected gains.

First he was lending Lucien his books, and now he was helping him build connections.

Then he had to teach him properly. He would set strict study standards and make this Savior live up to his name a little more.

"All right, Harry. You've eaten and drunk your fill. Time to start studying!"

Harry looked at the Rock Cake in his hand, which had not budged at all, and could only nod.

"Bright-Eye Crystal needs to be fifteen grams. You weighed out zero point four grams too much."

"Look at the recipe in the book again. It says to take one hundred milliliters of Ashwinder egg white. You mixed in the yolk."

"No, the Mandrake Root is cut one centimeter too short. Do it again..."

Harry processed the ingredients needed for the Vision-Clearing Potion while Lucien watched from beside him. The moment there was a problem, he pointed it out and made him correct it.

After repeating this a few times, Harry began to break out in a cold sweat.

In Snape's Potions class, although he would be singled out, Snape also had to pay attention to the other students and could not possibly keep his eyes on Harry the whole time.

Now it was different. This was one-on-one tutoring from a top student, and Lucien was watching Harry's every move from start to finish.

Unlike Snape, who lashed people with a venomous tongue, Lucien's tone was calm. But he corrected mistakes too promptly, and every tiny error had to be fixed.

It made Harry feel as if he were being pressed forward step by step, and he had been forced to start over several times.

At last, under Lucien's supervision, Harry finished preparing all the ingredients.

Then he began lighting the fire to heat the cauldron.

Taking advantage of this brief break, Harry wanted to ask Lucien whether he really needed to be so strict with him, and whether practicing one basic potion would actually be enough.

But Harry still did not dare speak, afraid that saying so would make Lucien unhappy.

Lucien, however, spoke first.

"Are you wondering why I was so gentle when I taught you all how to transplant herbs before, but now I'm being so strict with you?"

Harry had wanted to deny it, but after seeing Lucien's serious expression, he nodded awkwardly.

"Between classmates and friends, you can only offer advice. Whether someone listens or not is their own choice. Sometimes, to preserve the friendship, you can't even speak too harshly."

"But right now, this is tutoring. You are the student, and I am the teacher."

"Because of the payment you gave me, and because of the trust you placed in me, I cannot allow myself to teach you knowledge that is wrong or careless."