John was a kind man, after all.
He might as well spare the children sneaking around at night.
It certainly wasn't because someone had called out to him.
"John."
John turned to look.
Neville looked relieved.
John spotted the ornate sword at his waist, and his gaze sharpened. "What happened?"
"Hagrid's looking for you." Neville's expression was grave. "It might be the Forbidden Forest."
"I'll head over now." John glanced toward the fourth floor and said, "Neville, stay in the castle and check the fourth floor."
"I will. Don't worry."
With that, John headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
Neville had even brought out his sword. Whatever Hagrid had discovered was no small matter.
When John arrived, he saw Hagrid chopping up a large slab of meat.
Hagrid waved happily when he saw John.
"Brilliant, John, you're here." Hagrid tipped all the chopped meat into a bag.
John gave him an odd look. "Don't tell me you invited me over for a meal?"
"A meal?" Hagrid froze for a moment, then realized what he meant. "This isn't for me. It's for Grawp."
"He ran into those things. A few centaurs were hurt."
"Grawp protected the centaurs, but he was attacked too."
Hoisting the huge bag of meat onto his shoulder, Hagrid looked less like an older brother and more like a devoted father.
John walked beside Hagrid.
They reached Grawp's house, which served as a buffer between the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts. Several centaurs lay motionless around it.
Grawp sat off to one side, an iron-plated oak club lying at his feet.
His arm was bleeding, and the big fellow looked very wary.
At the sound of movement, he immediately swung his club toward the noise.
"No, Grawp, it's me!" The club skimmed Hagrid's scalp and smashed through a tree.
Grawp