Su Er, who had been forced to "sleep" on a tree trunk all night, was roused by a string of cries as sunlight spilled down.
He had stayed in his Animagus form all night, clinging tightly to a branch, neither quite asleep nor quite awake.
It was not that he was a coward. He was looking out for his life.
He had truly experienced how terrifying the Forbidden Forest was late at night. Roars from unknown creatures came from every direction, along with all sorts of sounds of things crawling across the ground, and various screams, as though something was being hunted.
Besides that, the faint rustling never stopped.
Every time something stirred beneath the tree, it startled Su Er awake after exhaustion had dragged him into a light sleep.
The assortment of noises only stopped when dawn broke and light replaced the darkness. Those nocturnal animals finally ceased their hunting.
Only then could Su Er sleep peacefully, until a Bowtruckle woke him in broad daylight.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a crowd of Bowtruckles gathered in a circle around him, staring with their little eyes as though watching a spectacle.
The movement of Su Er opening his eyes startled the Bowtruckles. Apart from the one with the distinctive marking that had stayed on his head, all the others swiftly moved away and hid themselves.
They really were timid, cautious creatures, just as the books said.
But they were also very curious about Su Er, so-
Countless instances of-peeking out to watch.jpg.
Day had broken, peace had returned to the Forbidden Forest, and danger had quietly receded. Only then did Su Er let out a relaxed breath, loosen his claws, and "drop" from the tree trunk, badger and all.
Instinct automatically adjusted his posture in midair.
**Jump!