Chapter 119： denizens of the woods

 Chapter 119 The Dwellers in the Woods

Hagrid led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, raised his hand and pointed to a narrow path hidden in the forest, and said to them: "Since you are curious about what is in the forest... let's go!"

Albert and the others looked into the forest one after another. Within their field of vision was a dead forest. A cold wind blew from the forest, making the four of them tremble all over and shiver.

"Hagrid, aren't you ready?" Albert asked aloud. He thought that Hagrid would pick up a weapon and enter the Forbidden Forest with bare hands. Isn't it unreasonable?

 “Ready?” Hagrid tilted his head, seeming to be thinking about what Albert meant. After a moment, he patted his chest with his palms as big as cattails and said confidently: "As long as you are with me, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will harm you."

Albert gave a thumbs up to Hagrid and praised: "It seems that not everyone can be a gamekeeper."

 “That’s natural.”

Hagrid walked in front, and Albert and others quickly followed.

There was deathly silence in the forest, and thick snow accumulated on the ground. The movement of the short-legged people was greatly hindered, and walking was particularly difficult.

“It’s a shame you want to catch rabbits in this environment.” Albert pulled his boots out of the snow, and he could feel the snow filling them.

 “Catch rabbits?” Hagrid stopped and turned to look at Albert and his group, “What kind of rabbits are you catching?”

“Nothing, last time we came here, we found a hare.” George muttered, “We are going to go fishing at the Black Lake recently.”

“Hagrid, where are you going to take us?” Fred glared at George and asked, changing the subject.

“I’ll take you around to get to know the situation in the Forbidden Forest.” Hagrid pointed to the surrounding snow, “This place has always looked like this, you know.”

“I heard that there are giant monsters in the Forbidden Forest.” Li Qiaodan suddenly asked, “Is this true?”

"Forest trolls? They are deep in the Forbidden Forest. They may need to walk for several days." Hagrid said confidently, "Even if you encounter trolls, you don't have to worry. I can defeat them with my bare hands." .”

 “Is there really a giant monster here?” Albert asked in surprise.

 Actually, Albert did not doubt whether Hagrid could defeat the giant monster. After all, he had the blood of a giant and was a person who could walk sideways in the Forbidden Forest.

"There used to be, and there are many more. After Dumbledore took over as the principal, he decided to drive the trolls away from Hogwarts. He didn't like those stupid guys." Hagrid explained, "Trolls It's stupid and dangerous to most students."

"I think the principal knew that there would be students who were curious about entering the woods, so he drove away all dangers nearby to prevent students from getting into accidents." Fred guessed.

 “It makes sense.” Several people agreed.

"What I'm more curious about is, how come there is a road here?" Albert pointed to the fork in the road ahead, "This doesn't look like an animal trail."

“Most of the roads here were opened by me.” Hagrid said proudly. "Of course, some of them were indeed animal tracks."

 For the next period of time, Hagrid took them wandering around in the forest without encountering any danger or seeing any magical creatures.

There are no so-called ferocious beasts in the forest, and there are no curious things. There is only the cold and deathly silence of winter.

 Reminds Albert of the adventure novels he once read. Behind the thrilling adventures, there is often a boring journey day and night.

In the dense trees, there is a rare open space. The sun shines from the branches, reflecting a golden color in the open space.

Albert’s gaze fell on an unnatural raised area under an old pine oak. He walked over, pushed aside the snow layer above, and dug out a mushroom?

  No, it’s not quite like a mushroom, this thing should be called a mushroom.

"Hagrid, do you think this thing is edible?" Albert handed the mushroom he found to Hagrid.

"This? What are you doing with this thing?" Hagrid couldn't help scratching his head, but he nodded and explained: "Okay, the taste is okay, but I don't eat this thing. It is usually only available in winter, and the quantity is It’s relatively rare and difficult to dig out.”

 Don’t want to eat this stuff?

Albert's mouth twitched and he stared at the thing in his hand. He felt that this thing looked a bit like...

 “What are you doing digging here?” George asked curiously.

"Nothing. I heard that this thing tastes delicious when baked." Albert coughed lightly, bent down and dug out a smaller flower in the snow. He directly used his wand to turn a branch into a bag, threw what he dug into the bag, and stuffed it back into his robe pocket.

“Roasted, is it delicious?” Hagrid raised his eyebrows, “I haven’t tried it.”

“Ahem.” Albert changed the subject, “Hagrid, are you taking us in circles outside the forest?”

“The Forbidden Forest is so big that we can’t even walk in it for several days.” The embarrassment on Hagrid’s face was hidden under his beard, and no one else could see it.

After walking for a while, Albert heard the sound of gurgling water in the distance. There was a stream nearby, and it wasn't frozen yet?

Hagrid suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal the people behind him to stop. He stared at the figure not far away and shouted: "Who is there, come out."

"Hagrid? Why are you here?" The person who spoke was a witch who seemed to know Hagrid.

"Who are you?" Hagrid looked a little embarrassed, apparently forgetting the other person's name.

Albert looked at the visitor curiously. He was a witch with short gray hair and a protruding chin.

 “Wilmina Graplan.” The witch introduced herself: “We have met several times.”

"Oh, hello, Grapeland." Hagrid patted his head awkwardly and said. He had met each other several times at Professor Kettlebo's place. Grapeland was also an expert in magical biology and occasionally communicated with each other to exchange experiences. .

"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Witch Grapeland's eyes fell on the four students behind Hagrid. "They must be students of Hogwarts!"

"This..." Hagrid was quite embarrassed and didn't know what to say. It was obviously against the rules for him to take Albert and others into the forest.

“Ahem, madam, Hagrid actually brought us here to dig matsutake mushrooms.” Albert took out what he had just dug out of his pocket, “to satisfy our curiosity.”

 “Matsutake?” Graplan’s eyes fell on the mushroom in Albert’s hand, and he looked at Hagrid suspiciously.

 The latter nodded awkwardly, pretending that was just the way it was.

Gramplan did not continue to ask. She was not a professor at Hogwarts, and she could not say much in this regard. She chatted with Hagrid for a few words, then left and prepared to visit Professor Kettlebo.

“What is that lady doing here?” George asked curiously.

"In order to visit Professor Kettlebo, they are all experts in magical creatures. I have met Professor Kettlebo several times." Hagrid scratched his head and said, "I heard that Professor Kettlebo's bird The snake eggs have hatched and I’m going to give her some.”

"By the way, you guys can really tell a lie casually?" Fred looked at Albert angrily and said, "It seems that I can't believe your lies in the future."

 “My name is wit, do you understand?” Albert emphasized again and again. "Do you know what wit is?"

"Moreover, we did dig up matsutake mushrooms. It is said that this thing tastes good when grilled. It would be great if we could dig some more." Albert has never tasted matsutake mushrooms. He is a little curious whether grilled matsutake mushrooms are as delicious as rumored. .

"Ahem, this is not the point. Why did the witch plan to visit Professor Kettlebo?" Fred said curiously. "Does the Professor of Conservation of Miraculous Biology live in the woods?"

“Professor Kettlebo is indeed temporarily living in the forest.” Hagrid coughed dryly and reminded: “However, I think we should go back.”

“Didn’t you say that it’s dangerous in the Forbidden Forest?” Lee Jordan asked.

“Professor Kettlebo lives on the outskirts of the forest, and the magical creatures he raises need open space for activities.” Hagrid coughed lightly and said, “Okay, I think we should go back.”

 (End of this chapter)