The sound of the bell was not loud, but it was sharp, as if it came from some corner, penetrating the sound of the fireplace flames and the bubbling of the pot, and clearly reaching the ears.
Hagrid's smile faded slightly. He listened intently for a moment, then put down his cup and stood up. "Something's come up in the Forbidden Forest. I need to go check it out."
He finished speaking and was about to leave when, as if remembering something, he turned back, carefully took off the new apron Draco had given him, folded it neatly, and placed it on the sofa. Then he walked to the corner, picked up a small pink umbrella, and set off again. When he reached the door, he glanced back at them and said, "Please sit for a while. Help yourselves to the tea and snacks. Don't wait for me."
He pushed open the door and strode out, Fang immediately followed. The door closed behind him with a dull thud, and the footsteps quickly faded away along the dirt path outside, soon disappearing into the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
Herman looked at the closed door, then glanced at the plate of rock-shaped pastries on the table, pondering that Hagrid's words, "Something's happened in the Forbidden Forest," didn't sound like a trivial matter.
Connecting this to the earlier news that Hogsmeade had banned students from entering, a worrying thought popped into his head: were Vampire and Werewolf trying to sneak into the school through the Forbidden Forest?
As for the source of the bell sound, Hagrid didn't explain, but it was somewhat similar to Herman's guess—it was indeed related to Vampire and Werewolf, except that they weren't trying to enter the school, but rather had entered the Forbidden Forest and arrived at Hagrid's pet base.
The bell is a magical artifact that Hagrid had Professor Kettleburn set up at the entrance of the cave where the Vampire were kept. It was originally intended to prevent the Fantastic Beasts kept by Professor Kettleburn from escaping, since the Fantastic Beasts Professor Kettleburn kept were quite energetic and had large appetites, and lax supervision could easily lead to trouble.
Hagrid was probably afraid that his giant bat would secretly fly away. Although Headmaster Dumbledore had already cast a spell, given his love for pets, even Dumbledore couldn't completely control Hagrid when it came to pets, so he secretly added another layer of security.
Hagrid left, and the room fell silent, save for the crackling fire in the fireplace and the slow, rhythmic simmering of the stew in the pot.
Draco sat in her chair, looking at the large plate of pastries on the table that had only been bitten twice, her expression somewhat troubled. "So much, it won't be good to leave it behind."
Herman thought for a moment, "Take it back to Crabbe and Goyle."
Draco hesitated for a moment. "They both have good appetites, but their teeth might not be very good."
Herman took the half-eaten pastry out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "Losing a tooth is a good way to lose weight."
Draco glanced at him, but did not refute his statement. She found a clean cloth next to her, wrapped up the rock-shaped pastries on the plate, tied it, and placed it on the corner of the table.
The two sat for a while longer. Herman walked to the window and glanced towards the Forbidden Forest. The treetops spread out quietly in the afternoon sun, showing no signs of anything unusual, but he felt that the deep green shadows in the forest were even darker than before.
Draco sat down next to him and glanced outside as well. "How long do you think it will take Hagrid to come back?"
Herman shook his head and was about to speak when he heard footsteps outside the door, more hurried than he expected, and then the door was pushed open.
Neville stood in the doorway, his school uniform collar askew, his bangs falling across his forehead, and he was breathing slightly heavily.
Hugo stood beside him, clutching an open notebook in her hand. Ron En followed behind, one hand on the door frame, her expression one of relief as if she had finally found her place.
Herman looked at the three of them and asked, "What brings you here?"
Neville took a couple of breaths before speaking, his voice filled with barely suppressed urgency. "We were supposed to come see Hagrid this afternoon, but we were delayed on the way."
Herman asked curiously, "What happened that caused this delay?"
Neville looked up at him, his eyes holding a "you'd never guess" expression. "We saw Professor Quirrell at the side gate of the castle when we arrived. He was walking very fast, not wearing his usual robes, but a dark outfit, as if he was going out on business."
Herman looked puzzled. "Just going out, what's the problem?"
Neville paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "He went towards the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest... he's definitely not going there for good."
Herman stood by the window, gazing at the quiet, silent canopy of trees in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
Draco sat in the chair, clutching the cloth that had wrapped the pastries in her hand. She still harbored some resentment towards Ron and didn't want to talk to the three of them.
Neville stood in the doorway, his school uniform collar askew. Hugo and Ron squeezed behind him, all three wearing the same expression. "We were right, weren't we? Quirrell is definitely up to something." But Herman was in no mood to respond to their gazes.
The image of Hagrid and his words "Something's come up in the Forbidden Forest " flashed through his mind, along with Quirrell's disappearing figure deep within the Forbidden Forest. The two images overlapped in his mind, like two shadows gradually approaching each other.
The deep green canopy at the edge of the Forbidden Forest stood quietly in the afternoon sun, showing no signs of anything amiss. Only the occasional startled bird taking flight from the treetops brought with it a series of rapid chirps, as if something unseen was moving in the shadows of the forest, but from this distance, its full form was completely obscured.
When Herman turned his gaze back, he mentally reconnected the dots: the strange occurrences at Hogsmeade, the commotion in the Forbidden Forest, Quirrell's departure, and Hagrid's hurried footsteps. Clearly, something was happening somewhere Herman was unaware of, something that was no longer relevant to him.
Herman stood there for a moment, then turned his gaze from the window back to the three people waiting at the door for his agreement. He had no desire to agree anymore and simply said, " Hagrid isn't here. Please sit down and wait."
As Hagrid walked through the low bushes, the soil beneath his feet became soft and damp, and a strong, fishy smell filled the air, as if something had been torn apart not long ago.
He gripped the pink umbrella tightly. Although he usually communicated with Fantastic Beasts using physical gestures, having something in his hand always made him feel more at ease.
He walked briskly along the barely visible path, his shoes crunching softly over fallen leaves and broken branches.
Dark shadows darted through the distant treetops, their flapping wings sounding as dense as a swarm of bees, occasionally punctuated by a low, sharp hiss that broke the forest's tranquility before quickly disappearing.
Hagrid paused for a moment when he parted a clump of waist-high ferns in front of him and saw something that made him stop in his tracks.
In the open space ahead, several gray bats were gathered at the edge of the bushes, their wings half-folded and half-spread, tearing at something with their sharp claws.