Dangerous Creatures

"I got word to pick you up at five-thirty. I didn't expect you to take the wrong path," the old man said slowly.

The wrong path?

Warmth gradually returned to his icy fingers, and Hoffa's complexion slowly returned to normal.

There was no doubt that the old man carrying a bow and arrows before him was Hogwarts's gamekeeper.

"Why did you set up something like that at the entrance!?" Hoffa demanded, pointing at the tree trunk and suppressing his anger.

He thought that it was fortunate he knew meditation. If it had been an ordinary first-year student, they would probably have been scared stiff. That kind of magic was no joke.

"I didn't set it up. The Forbidden Forest's centaurs did."

The old man spoke blandly, clearly not intending to explain further.

"What? Why would centaurs do that?"

"The Forbidden Forest hasn't been peaceful lately. They wanted to help out too." The old man curled his lip. "Come with me."

With that, he tightened the bow and arrows on his back and strolled into the Forbidden Forest.

Watching the old man disappear into the forest, Hoffa followed behind him and asked, "What exactly were those three pictures on the tree?"

"The past, the present, and the future," the old man said flatly. "You'll be fine if you follow me. Don't wander off."

"What?" The old man walked rather quickly, forcing Hoffa to speed up to keep pace. "What do you mean, past, present, and future? Can you explain it more clearly?"

"I don't know. I'm not interested in centaur magic. If you want to know, I suggest you find a centaur and ask."

Seeing that the old man had no interest in wasting words, Hoffa had no choice but to shut up and continue on in silence.

Following the old man, nothing like what had happened earlier occurred again. The scenery around them felt much more real. There were no forks in the road, nor was there any of that absurd, eerie strangeness from before. It was just an ordinary forest.

After walking for about three minutes, the view opened up. Hoffa saw a faint glow in the woods and heard the crackling of a fire in the air.

The old man brought Hoffa to a campfire in a forest clearing. He took off his bow and arrows and pointed to the other side of the fire.

"Sit. We're a little busy tonight. We'll set off after dinner."

There was a round stone opposite the fire. The trees sheltered this spot, and the ground was dry, untouched by rain. A tin pot sat over the flames, something bubbling away inside it, while a faint meaty aroma wafted through the air.

Hoffa sat down as instructed. For a moment, he said nothing, merely studying the old man across from him by firelight.

Joey Dago.

He was the least wizard-like person Hoffa had ever seen. He wore animal skins and had only one eye. Several steel daggers were tucked into his belt. He carried a wooden bow and iron arrows, and two dead rabbits hung from a wooden rack beside him.

If not for the fact that he was at Hogwarts, Hoffa would have taken him for an obscure country hunter.

Joey Dago did not speak. In fact, ever since Hoffa had appeared, he had been remarkably taciturn. He kept poking at the stones and coals before him with a pair of tongs, without even giving Hoffa a second glance.

The silence lasted about five minutes before Hoffa pulled a piece of parchment from his robes. "Sir, this is my assessment form."

Across the fire, Hoffa politely handed him the form.

"Mm."

The old man took the evaluation sheet and stuffed it into his pocket without even looking at it.

Then he went back to tending the stones and coals.

Hoffa cautiously asked, "Ahem, Mr. Dago, what task do I have tonight?"

"Just call me Joey."

The man answered blandly without looking up.

His accent did not sound British. It sounded more American.

"Uh."

Hoffa did not know how to continue the conversation, so he could only fall silent.

About twenty minutes later, the meaty aroma in the air had grown even richer.

Before coming, Hoffa had eaten only a little potato pie and a few chicken legs. His stomach was empty, and the scent made his mouth water.

Joey took out a spoon from behind him, opened the tin pot, and stirred it.

It turned out to contain rabbit stew with beans. It was red and looked extremely appetizing.

The old man tasted it briefly, then took out a wooden bowl from behind him. He ladled some out and handed it to Hoffa. Hoffa quickly thanked him and accepted it.

A spoonful of beans entered his mouth, and warmth spread from his mouth all the way down to his lower belly. It was delicious. The beans had been cooked until soft, and the rabbit meat was fresh and flavorful. It was completely different from the food made by Hogwarts's house-elves—rough, but with a distinctive flavor of its own.

As Hoffa ate the beans, he thought that if he had a bowl of white rice right now, it would be perfect.

Joey did not have any white rice. He took out a loaf of whole wheat bread, broke it apart, and gave some to Hoffa. Then he served himself a bowl of beans as well.

Hoffa dipped the bread into the rabbit gravy and swallowed it. The warmth in his stomach gradually drove away the unease and fear brought on by the centaurs' magic.

"You're the student called Hoffa Bach?" Joey asked as he ate.

Hoffa nodded. His mouth was stuffed with beans as he mumbled, "Yes."

"You came at an unfortunate time. Tonight's task is rather dangerous. We'll need to go a little deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Don't get lost when the time comes, understand?"

"What exactly is the task?" Hoffa asked.

"Saving a few magical creatures," the old man said without raising his eyes.

"What creatures?" Hoffa asked curiously. The old man always gave only part of an answer.

"Dodos."

Dodos. Did that sound dangerous?

Hoffa did not refuse. His goal now was to behave himself and erase his bad record at school.

The old man ate quickly. After finishing in a few bites, he slung his bow and arrows over his back, lit a torch, and held it in his hand.

"Let's go."

Hoffa put down his bowl and followed.

It was Hoffa's first time in the Forbidden Forest at night. He was still a little nervous. If he had lived in the same era as Harry and knew what he would encounter, even if it were Voldemort in soul form or giant spiders, he would not have been afraid. Those were certain, known things. Things that were bound to happen.

But now, he had no idea what might happen in these woods, nor did he know much about the old man beside him. Everything was unknown, and that was what worried Hoffa most.

Especially after that strange magical illusion had given him a harsh warning, Hoffa walked very cautiously.

Joey noticed Hoffa's guarded posture and asked as they walked, "You from Gryffindor?"

"No, Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw? That's rare. I've been at Hogwarts for ten years, and this is the first time I've seen a Ravenclaw student punished by being sent into the Forbidden Forest."

Hoffa's mouth fell open. What? He was the first Ravenclaw student in ten years to be punished by being sent into the Forbidden Forest?

Joey continued, "The ones who come to me most are Gryffindors. Those overenergetic little brats would break every rule if they could. Hufflepuffs are next, then Slytherins. You're the first Ravenclaw."

Hoffa fell silent. He had to admit that the old man's words had worked quite well. The trace of unease in Hoffa's chest was quickly suppressed.

The old man seemed quite experienced. So many Gryffindors had been fine. He should be fine too.

After another ten minutes, he heard the gurgling of water. Joey suddenly stretched out an arm to stop Hoffa. They had arrived at a small stream. It was not as dark here as it had been deeper in the Forbidden Forest, because there were fungi on the ground that gave off yellow and blue fluorescence.

Their tiny caps emitted a hazy glow in the night, exceptionally beautiful.

But when Hoffa looked at them, he inexplicably thought of the mushrooms in the illusion, and his stomach tightened.

Joey stood motionless at the edge of the stream. Hoffa turned his head curiously and asked, "What is it?"

"Wait a moment. We're waiting for a friend," Joey said blandly.

"A friend?" Hoffa was curious.

Before he could ask any more, he understood who the friend was.

An astonishingly beautiful sight appeared in the nighttime forest.

A unicorn radiating silvery-white light slowly emerged from the woods. Its mane was smooth and lustrous. It resembled a horse, but was far cleaner and more beautiful.

Several brilliantly colored butterflies fluttered around the horn on its head. It was a truly delightful sight.

Old Joey bent at the waist and bowed to the unicorn across the stream. Struck by the creature's beauty, Hoffa also bowed. The unicorn nodded, took a drink from the stream, changed direction, and headed deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

"Come on." Joey gestured for Hoffa to follow.

"Unicorns know everything that goes on in the forest. Usually, they can help you find what's wrong in the woods. But the problems they find usually aren't small ones. Something may have happened in the Forbidden Forest."

Joey followed behind the unicorn, quietly explaining as they walked.

Hoffa watched the blurry silver figure ahead of them. It leaped through the dark forest, moving swiftly yet lightly, making almost no sound. Each time its hooves touched the ground, they left behind glowing magical traces. Tiny luminous plants quickly sprouted from those marks, standing out clearly against the dark forest floor.

This was the second time Hoffa had seen a magical creature. The last time had been beside the dark wizard Schmidt. But those creatures had nearly taken Hoffa's life.

After running for five minutes.

Joey said, "We're almost at the dodos' nest."

Hoffa said, "Oh."

After spending so long at a magical school, Hoffa had gained some basic knowledge of magical creatures. Dodos were gentle, docile little birds. They were good at running and had no offensive capabilities.

A bird like that should be very safe.

Wait!!

What was that!?

The unicorn stopped and let out a neigh.

Joey lit his wand. Hoffa sucked in a sharp breath and retreated six or seven steps in a row, backing against a tree in indescribable shock.

A gigantic creature lay in the middle of the woods, like a small hill. It had the head of an eagle, six wings, gray feathers, and deep golden eyes.

It was at least ten meters long, and that was while it was curled up. Who knew how enormous its wingspan would be if it truly took flight?

Here, Hoffa felt as though the weather were unbearably stuffy, like the oppressive heat before a summer storm. Damn it, it was already October in Britain.

Stray currents of inexplicable electricity drifted around them, making Hoffa's scalp tingle.

The giant bird raised its head and glanced at Hoffa, then gave a low cry to show that it meant no harm.

Joey calmly said, "This is Talas, my friend."

Hoffa stared in shock. "This thing is a dodo? You're joking, right?"

"No. It's a Thunderbird."

After saying that simply, Joey stepped forward and patted the giant bird's beak.

The giant bird affectionately nuzzled Joey. Its head was larger than Joey's entire body. Joey's expression softened. He hugged the bird's head and spoke to it in a gentle voice, occasionally feeding it something.

But the bird could no longer eat.

Hoffa recovered from his initial shock. Only then did he notice.

This bird was already very old. Thick feathers carpeted the ground, and many feathers had fallen from its body. There was little light left in its eyes, its wings drooped weakly, and it looked as though it were nearing the end of its life.

A Thunderbird. An aged Thunderbird.

A legendary creature. Hoffa had seen this species in films in his previous life: birds that could summon lightning merely by spreading their wings in flight. These birds lived only around Arizona in the United States. Why was there one in Britain's Forbidden Forest?

After circling the magical creation once, Hoffa muttered, "If I remember correctly, this is a 4X magical creature listed by the Ministry of Magic. It's on the same level as dragons, and keeping one is strictly prohibited—"

"So what?" Joey said blandly, hugging the bird's head. "Rules are merely tools made by humans. No one in the animal world decides whose territory belongs to whom."

"Do the people at the school know?"

Joey merely glanced at Hoffa without saying a word.

Hoffa looked embarrassed. He could only guess that Joey had brought the Thunderbird here, since Joey sounded American.

Joey murmured a few words to the Thunderbird. Then the bird laboriously raised one of its wings and gave another low cry, this one filled with sorrow.

Hoffa went closer to look and discovered that beneath the giant Thunderbird's wing was a small natural shelter. The ground was covered with the nests of many ground birds, and bird feathers lay scattered everywhere, in red and blue.

Hoffa slowly walked around the shelter. His foot kicked something hard, making him jump. Looking down closely, he found a stiff dead bird.

It was about the size of a hen. Its eyes were wide open, and its vibrant feathers had lost their luster.

A dead dodo.

Hoffa followed the shelter around, then sucked in a breath.

Beyond the fir tree behind the Thunderbird, dozens of colorful, round ground birds lay densely scattered across the ground.

All the dodos were dead. They faced the same direction, their bodies stiff, while a faint aura of death lingered in the air.

It seemed they had been instantly killed while fleeing.

The unicorn circled around Hoffa and slowly walked past. Its mood was sorrowful, and it did not wish to remain here. After nudging several bird eggs on the ground, it quickly ran off and vanished among the trees.

Joey turned around with his glowing wand raised. Seeing the scene before him, his expression grew grave.

He felt around on the ground, brow tightly furrowed. From time to time, he brought his fingers to his nose to smell them.

"They died less than forty-eight hours ago. Damn it."

The Thunderbird gave a low cry, its voice filled with anger and unwillingness.

Joey raised his head and said to the Thunderbird, "This isn't your fault. You're old already."

Only then did the Thunderbird fall silent.

Joey rubbed his chin and muttered, "To fool both a unicorn and a Thunderbird... the killer is really something..."

Just then, soft popping sounds suddenly came from the air, like soap bubbles bursting.