Hogwarts' Little Grove
Hagrid was delighted that William had come to his rescue; this was his first lesson, and he absolutely couldn't afford to fail!
However, while William's technique was flawless, his explanation... sounded rather strange!
A strange sense of familiarity...
Wait, isn't this his usual technique for playing with Fluffy? Fluffy always seems to be in ecstasy!
"Alright, now that everyone has opened their books, let's..." Hagrid suddenly forgot his lines; it was clear he was nervous.
"Oh, right... what you need now is a magical creature. Come, follow me! Let me show you my precious treasure!"
Hagrid led everyone along the dirt path Black Lake. The path had been trampled so many times by the students that it was flat and soft.
The reeds all around, taller than a person, had turned from green to yellow, swaying gently and making a soft, mournful sound.
William was familiar with this beautiful reed bed; he had visited it many times.
Especially during the second time loop, William always entered the water from this side whenever he went diving in the Black Lake.
The most outrageous time was when he was being chased by Merpeople, so he set fire to the entire reed marsh.
Then, to William's surprise, a dozen or so students, disheveled, ran out of the reeds.
There are men and women... Well, William means there are boys and boys, and girls and girls!
So even though there aren't many people here now, it gets really crowded in the evening and at night.
They were all playing their favorite games inside.
The Forbidden Forest is too dangerous, so this place serves as a special grove for Hogwarts!
Fortunately, the Hogwarts OWLs exams are proctored by the Ministry of Magic and there are no guaranteed admission spots. Otherwise, this reed marsh might very well have turned into a "path to graduate school recommendation" in the Celestial Empire universities!
William had never been to a reed marsh for a date, but that didn't stop him from receiving similar letters inviting him to admire the prickly reeds.
William immediately tore up the letter, stating that it was harassment and a serious insult to his dignity!
Hermione, standing nearby, nodded in agreement and lowered the wand that was hidden in the sleeve of her robe.
After the group reached the end of the road, Hagrid quickly clapped his hands, and a group of strange creatures emerged from the lake.
They have enormous horse heads on their heads!
"A herd of horses swimming in the Black Lake?" Eloise exclaimed.
"No, does anyone know what this is?" Hagrid shouted.
"Hippocampus!" Qiu immediately raised her hand and answered.
"That's right, Ravenclaw five points," Hagrid said happily.
Cho winked at William, signaling him to hurry up and rack up the points Snape had deducted, and while he was at it, get the House Cup...!
Hagrid, being a first-time teacher, didn't know how to control the grading. He would give out points like crazy as long as someone answered!
After the first lesson, when I experienced the harsh treatment from the "excellent student," things weren't so good anymore.
Therefore, William should cherish this opportunity. It's time to break the seal and show the terror of his scoring machine, letting everyone relive what true unparalleled scoring ability means.
Hagrid was still unaware of the eaglets' lawn-cutting plan, and he continued, "..."
"These are a group of Hippocampus. Their heads and front bodies resemble horses, but their tails and hind bodies resemble large fish."
Hagrid walked forward, spread his arms, and braced himself against a sea monster. With a sudden burst of strength, the monster was violently pulled out of the water, its entire body suspended in the air.
Everyone stared in horror at Hagrid, who lifted the sea monster, which weighed at least a ton, without any Hagrid.
What kind of strength is that?!
Hagrid is probably the most dangerous Fantastic Beasts in this area, isn't he?
Compared to the sea monster's bizarre half-horse, half-fish appearance, everyone was clearly more interested in Hagrid!
Hagrid showed everyone the lower half of the sea monster before gently putting it back into the water.
They originate from Greece and are commonly found in the Mediterranean Sea.
However, in 1949, several blue sand-haired Hippocampus were abducted by Merpeople on the coast of Scotland and tamed by them.
The sea monsters in Black Lake are their descendants.
Hagrid reminisced endlessly about the past, chuckling as he said, "Back then, I was just a 20-year-old lad!"
All I ever did was play in the Forbidden Forest. Professor Dumbledore taught me how to be a key keeper, but I was always slacking off...
In his youth, Hagrid was somewhat like a hero of Liangshan, only knowing how to "spend his days honing his strength and avoid women."
Hagrid trains his strength so he can better connect with nature, like wrestling with Troll...
"The Hippocampus has been tamed by the Merpeople and is not dangerous. As long as you feed it, if it accepts your food, it means you can ride it!" Hagrid roared happily.
He pointed to a corner where more than a dozen large barrels were already placed, filled with haddock.
"Well then," Hagrid said, rubbing his hands together and smiling at the students, "Everyone take a bucket of fish and go feed them!"
So, just like cats, they get food by being cute. Hagrid's words immediately put everyone at ease.
William picked up a bucket of large fish and walked toward a crimson sea monster.
It raised its head and stared intently at the haddock in William's hand.
William tossed one over, and it caught it, swallowing it whole without even chewing. Then it squinted its little eyes and stared longingly at the bucket of fish.
William placed the bucket on the bank, and the dog plunged its head directly into it, feasting on the contents.
It ate for less than a minute, swallowing all of the dozen or so fish. It glanced to its side and immediately plunged its head into the fish bucket next to it.
Huh, why are you so skilled at it?
That was the sea monster Qiu had chosen. She shouted at it, as if she were chasing away a husky that was stealing her dog food.
The sea monster rolled its small eyes, then suddenly swung its tail, knocking over the bucket and scattering fish all over the ground.
When all the sea monsters became agitated, it took advantage of the chaos to swim into people's buckets and eat fish.
"..."What a clever little devil!
"Alright, now get on and have a go," Hagrid shouted after stopping the commotion.
Everyone hesitated. They could accept feeding the sea monster, but riding on it... were they sure it wouldn't burrow to the bottom of the lake?
Isn't that a bit dangerous?
"Who's first? Well—nobody?" Hagrid asked pleadingly.
"I'll do it," William said.
He's a diving expert; he's not afraid even if he gets pulled underwater.
"Well done, William!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Ravenclaw, add twenty points!"
William leaped up and landed on the sea monster, pulling on the reins so the monster's upper body was raised high.
William was a skilled rider; he gently spurred his horse, and the sea monster roared and suddenly plunged into the water.
All the students seemed to hold their breath.
Less than three seconds later, the sea monster burst out of the water a dozen meters from the shore, leaping high into the air and splashing countless droplets of water.
From afar, a splash of vermilion leaps and falls silently in the mist, Silencio and unrestrained.
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