Hagrid's Wish

Not long after Manus knocked on the door, Hagrid came running to open it.

"Manus?"

Hagrid pulled the door open with one hand, while the other held a handful of cherry radishes. The bright red, round little radishes looked as big as Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in Hagrid's hand.

"Come in—did you see the Oak Wood in the yard?"

"I did. Thanks, Hagrid, that really helped a lot... Where's Bruce?"

Manus looked around.

Bruce was the Bowtruckle's name. Manus had now completely given up on naming Magical Creatures after myths and legends. He could just pick a few names from other students' cats and dogs instead.

As he spoke, Manus spotted Bruce in the corner of the room. He was sitting in front of a small ceramic bowl filled with pill bugs, a food Bowtruckles liked.

"Ah, Bruce is over there eating with Fang. Speaking of which—have you had lunch?"

Hagrid pointed toward Bruce, then held out the cherry radishes in his other hand to Manus.

"Want some? They were just dug up, nice and fresh."

"I already had lunch."

Though he said that, Manus still took one. It was crisp and refreshing, but the flavor was too mild, with only a faint sweetness. It would be best prepared somehow, perhaps with a sauce or candied before eating.

Still, it wasn't bad eaten plain.

"By the way, Manus, you want these oak trees to make a Broomstick yourself, right?"

Hagrid suddenly asked somewhat awkwardly.

"That's right. Is something wrong?"

Manus had told Hagrid the purpose of gathering the materials long ago, so why was he suddenly asking again...?

"Er, actually, I haven't really used Broomsticks much since I was little. You can see why—I'm too big."

A complicated, nostalgic expression appeared on Hagrid's face.

"I still remember my first