Hermione's thoughts! The Forbidden Forest supplier comes online

Hermione was very pleased with the praise.

She felt that the books she had been memorizing these past two days had finally paid off.

She gave Argus a rather smug look.

Having finished teaching the basics, Professor Sprout clapped her hands, signaling everyone to look over.

"Next, I'll teach you how to handle Leaping Toadstools."

"Put on your gloves unless you want Leaping Toadstool juice splashing onto your hands and making them itch for days!"

Once everyone had followed her instructions, Professor Sprout handed each of them a Leaping Toadstool.

"Well done, young witches and wizards."

"Now, gently pick up the Leaping Toadstool by its base. Be careful, they're very sensitive. Apply just a little too much pressure, and they might jump out of your hand."

Argus had handled plenty of these plants while grinding achievements in the past, so dealing with a Leaping Toadstool was effortless.

It was a different story when Hermione's turn came.

Though she had read many books, she had never handled one up close.

Besides, how could anything on paper compare with reality?

She had only just grasped the Leaping Toadstool when she felt the thing in her palm give a sudden leap!

"Ah!"

Hermione shrieked, nearly throwing the Leaping Toadstool out of her hand.

"Don't be nervous. Relax!"

Argus's voice came from behind her.

His voice seemed to hold a kind of magic, calming Hermione without her realizing it.

"That's right, gently, as if you were handling a little animal."

"Put it in the flowerpot and cover it with soil."

With trembling hands, she placed the Leaping Toadstool in the flowerpot.

Only after covering it with soil did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Argus!"

"You're welcome."

Stars sparkled in Hermione's eyes as she stared dazedly at Argus.

An unknown amount of time passed before she came back to herself.

Suddenly remembering something, she lowered her head, looking a little dejected.

"Argus, am I stupid?"

"Because of what just happened?"

Hermione did not deny it. She lowered her head, tacitly admitting that Argus was right.

Argus chuckled and met her eyes.

"Hermione, everyone has things they aren't good at."

"We can't ignore someone's strengths because of a few shortcomings."

"Don't forget, you're a knowledgeable, wise, far-sighted Ravenclaw. When you run into a problem, you should think about solving it, not worry about it."

"Besides, this is your first time taking Herbology. It's perfectly normal to have no experience."

Argus's reassurance clearly worked.

The disappointment vanished from Hermione's face, and she beamed again.

"I understand, Argus!"

"Good. Now, my wise little Ravenclaw witch, could I trouble you to move your foot?"

"Oh! Oh! Sorry!"

After Herbology.

Hermione and the Parvati sisters invited Argus to the library one after another, but he politely turned them both down.

Thinking of his detention that evening, Argus decided to speak to Hagrid beforehand.

After all, there were plenty of dangerous fantastic beasts in the Forbidden Forest.

Werewolves, Hippogriffs, and Aragog, the Acromantula Hagrid was secretly raising!

That thing had the same danger rating as a dragon!

Given Hagrid's careless nature, Argus really feared he might casually tell him to patrol alone.

He made his way to Hagrid's Hut.

A great pile of enormous pumpkins sat outside.

Hagrid was mixing something in a wooden bucket.

The wooden bucket looked enormous to Argus, but in Hagrid's hands, it was no different from a washbasin.

Seeing Argus approach, Hagrid put down what he was holding.

He greeted Argus happily.

"Argus, you're here!"

"Come in and sit down. The professor told me. Don't worry about tonight's detention. I'll look after you."

"That's a relief to hear."

Argus followed Hagrid inside.

The moment he entered, he was stunned by Hagrid's luxurious furnishings.

A blanket made of unicorn hair, a chair made of holly wood.

There were also unicorn horns and branches broken off by Bowtruckles.

All manner of precious materials were piled in a corner like rubbish.

He wasn't guarding hunting grounds at all. This was clearly a mountain of gold!

Noticing the odd look in Argus's eyes, Hagrid mistakenly assumed that the dirty state of his room had displeased him.

He scratched his head apologetically.

"Sorry, I don't usually get many visitors, so it's a bit messy."

"Why don't you wait a moment while I tidy up?"

"You've misunderstood, Hagrid. I just didn't expect you to have so many fantastic beast materials stockpiled here," Argus explained.

"I picked all these up while patrolling the Forbidden Forest."

"They've been sitting here for ages. If you want any, just say the word, and I'll save you some."

These materials might have been precious to most people, but to Hagrid, they were already commonplace.

He felt nothing much about them.

After inviting Argus to sit, he eagerly brought out his signature Rock Cakes and set them on the table.

He also poured a cup of strong tea.

"These are my homemade Rock Cakes. You're guaranteed to like them!"

"Go on, try one!"

Argus failed to hold one securely and accidentally dropped it onto the table.

It happened to land on a plate.

Crack!

The plate shattered on impact, while the Rock Cake remained perfectly intact.

It made a clanking sound.

Silence instantly filled the air.

The corner of Argus's mouth twitched.

Are you sure they don't like them, rather than simply being unable to bite through them?

Under Hagrid's regretful gaze, Argus shook his head furiously in refusal.

Looking at the fantastic beast materials scattered over the floor, he suddenly remembered something and asked.

"By the way, Hagrid, what do you usually do with the things you bring back from the Forbidden Forest?"

"I keep some for my own use, and sell some to Diagon Alley while I'm there."

"But you know, those pure-bloods in Diagon Alley are all vampires."

"Aside from a few specialized ranches, their buying prices are frighteningly low."

Hagrid was very unhappy about this subject and complained nonstop.

Argus's eyes lit up.

"Hagrid, I have a suggestion you could consider!"

"From now on, if you have any materials, you can sell them directly to me."

"I'll buy everything at market price!"

"What do you think?"

Argus had always understood that replacing Diagon Alley would take more than a few potions shops and clothing stores.

It required a large number of shops of many different kinds.

And fantastic beast materials had always been popular trading goods among wizards.

If he secured Hagrid's cooperation, the Acolytes would have a steady source of supplies.

Even if Argus fell out with Dumbledore in the future and could no longer trade with Hagrid.

The goods acquired through their earlier trades would still be his!

Besides, Argus's split with Dumbledore would not happen for at least a few years.

That would give him enough time to establish new sources of supplies.

As he spoke, he kept watching Hagrid's expression, hoping to gauge his thoughts.

He had expected Hagrid to hesitate, but instead, Hagrid grew unexpectedly excited.

He pulled Argus into a hug.

"Argus, you've done me an enormous favor!"

"You have no idea how much they push down the prices every time I go to sell materials!"

"They don't even pay half the market price!"

Of course they don't!

Argus thought to himself.

One look at how bad you are with words, and of course they'll take advantage of you!

Try bringing up Hogwarts's name!

Who would dare then?

But he did not tell Hagrid any of this.

He smiled and replied, "Don't worry. I certainly won't deliberately push down your prices."

"Of course! We're friends!"

"It's just, with prices that high, won't you..."

Hagrid hesitated, feeling that he was taking tremendous advantage of Argus.

He felt a little uneasy.

"No, fantastic beast materials always sell. At most, I'll just make a little less profit."

Argus was practically taking advantage of an honest man with those words.

Every piece of material Hagrid had was top-quality, excellent goods that money alone could not buy!

Never mind market price, plenty of people would gladly pay twice that!

If the wizards in Diagon Alley had not been certain he could not bargain, they would never have dared push the prices so low.

Fortunately, Hagrid was not particularly shrewd. Simply hearing that Argus would buy everything at market price had already gone to his head.

"That's good, then!"

Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief.

Simple and honest by nature, he only felt that he was taking an enormous advantage of Argus.

After discussing the specific trading times and quantities with Argus, he insisted on keeping him for lunch before letting him return to his dormitory.

He spent the afternoon in the library with Hermione.

As the sky darkened, Argus had a quick bite in the Great Hall, took a few pieces of fried fish from the table, and went to Filch's office.

The door was unlocked, and the room was empty.

Only a cat lay on the desk.

"Filch really doesn't know the first thing about keeping cats!"

"Such a perfectly good cat, and he's left her all scrawny, with her fur tangled."

Argus stepped forward, took out the fried fish he had prepared in the Great Hall, and placed it before Mrs. Norris.

"Hello, Mrs. Norris. We meet again."

Mrs. Norris jumped down from the desk and watched Argus for quite a while.

Hesitantly, she picked up a small piece of fried fish in her mouth.

"Scourgify!"

Argus used magic to remove the grime from Mrs. Norris.

He gently stroked her back.

Realizing that Argus meant no harm, Mrs. Norris stopped struggling and openly tucked into the fried fish.

"Eat slowly!"

"No one's going to take it from you!"

When dealing with those who were not his enemies, Argus never withheld his kindness, whether anyone was watching or not.

Even if it was only a cat.

Just as he was enjoying petting the cat, a furious voice rang out from a distance.

"Get away! What have you done to my Mrs. Norris!"