Chapter 202
Chapter 202
Whether it was Suer’s little “talk” or Hagrid had truly come to his senses, no one could say.
At the next Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Hagrid finally stopped making them stuff chopped leaves into Flobberworms’ mouths with tweezers.
Instead, he handed every young wizard a small jar of insects. Fortunately, the insects were all half-dead, or the young witches would have started screaming.
“Today, we’re going into the Forbidden Forest.”
Hagrid made the announcement after distributing the jars. Thanks to Dumbledore and the other professors’ endless warnings, exhortations and outright threats, almost every young wizard regarded the Forbidden Forest as a den of savage beasts.
It did not help that some students boasted about having personally seen werewolves, dragons, Dark wizards and spiders larger than buildings inside.
Put it all together, and the students’ faces filled with alarm the moment they heard where the day’s lesson would be held.
Not far away, the woods looked gloomy even in broad daylight. Now they appeared more sinister than ever.
Suer did not care. The Forbidden Forest inspired no fear in him at all. He had even set fire to it the previous school year.
“Don’t worry.” Hagrid noticed their expressions change. “We’ll only be having the lesson on the outskirts. It’s just that today’s subject is a bit unusual.”
“Come on, follow me. So long as you stay close, you won’t be in any danger.”
“They’re not easy to find.”
Hagrid led the way. The students looked from one another to him, and only when he had walked some distance, noticed no one behind him and turned to beckon in puzzlement did they react.
“Come on! We haven’t got much time for this lesson.”
Suer shrugged and strode after him. Once someone took the lead, the others finally forced their feet to move and followed Hagrid.
The dangers of the Forbidden Forest were relative. According to Hagrid, he had caught the Weasley twins inside more than once. The brothers were clever about it, though: they never ventured into the depths, only prowling along the fringe and helping themselves to whatever they could find.
The forest’s outskirts held little danger. One of the centaurs’ duties was to patrol there, keeping dangerous creatures from the depths from getting out–and young wizards from getting in.
There certainly were no dragons, but werewolves and the like were another matter.
Oh, and one must not forget the Acromantulas… A species with a four-star danger rating deserved at least that much respect.
But that was beside the point. Hagrid led them through turn after turn, and the steadily darkening trees and undergrowth made the students ever more frightened. Every rustle by the path and every occasional cough sent a tremor through the group.
More than a dozen young wizards huddled together for comfort as they shuffled along behind.
Suer had no interest in crowding close to sweet-smelling young witches. He had Hermione; he ought to preserve his virtue.
Only joking. He was busy talking to Hagrid.
“Where have all the giant spiders gone, Hagrid? I haven’t seen so much as a cobweb all the way here.”
“Why do you ask?” Hagrid thumped a nearby patch of undergrowth with his stick, sending a snake darting away. “Last year’s explosion nearly destroyed this part of the forest. You planning to do it again?”
“Aragog’s very old. Leave him in peace.” Hagrid’s voice was muffled.
“Of course not.” Suer gave a dry laugh. “There was a reason for what happened last year. Those spiders wanted to eat Harry, the others and me. I could hardly offer no resistance at all. I only started a fire. How was I to know there’d be an explosion as well…”
Suer’s defence was perfectly reasonable. Hagrid knew the Acromantulas showed him a little respect only because of Aragog. They might not harm Hagrid, but that did not mean they had no appetite for meat that wandered into their lair. Hagrid understood those spiders better than anyone.
“Then why are you asking about them?” Hagrid continued tapping about with his stick as he questioned Suer’s motives.
Naturally, Suer wanted to find a few spiders for practice, then collect some venom to sell to an apothecary in Diagon Alley for pocket money.
And one must not overlook the delicious legs. As a proud Hufflepuff, his pursuit of good food was lifelong and unwavering. What wicked intentions could a little badger have when all he wanted was a bite to eat?
He could not tell Hagrid that, of course.
“I wanted to apologise to Aragog. I didn’t cause that explosion on purpose,” Suer said, inventing an excuse on the spot.
Hagrid possessed enough sense not to believe Suer merely wished to apologise.
“No need.” Hagrid gave a quiet snort. “They’ve moved, and they’ve no wish to see you again. They lived in that part of the forest for more than twenty years, then you burned it down. If you show up again, they’ll want to kill you.”
Where had they moved? That was precisely what Suer wanted to know, all for the sake of his private little scheme.
No matter how he probed, however, Hagrid remained evasive and refused to reveal the Acromantula colony’s new home. Suer could still tell that Hagrid had visited them and had probably arranged the new location himself.
“All right, all right, stop asking. I won’t tell you.” Hagrid knew his habit of saying too much and making mistakes, so he cut the subject short and used his stick to sweep aside the undergrowth blocking their path.
“We’re here.”
Hagrid held the plants down so the students could squeeze through one after another without the thorns on the leaves scratching their tender skin.
Every one of them was astonished by the sight beyond.
The place where Hagrid stood was like a dividing line. From there to the meadow before them, the dark green of the forest gave way to a vivid green brimming with life.
They could even see the towers of Hogwarts from where they stood. Hagrid had led them in a great circle around the edge of the forest, only to emerge at another part of the edge.
Several sparse, oddly shaped trees grew on the meadow. Every one was flourishing, and the breeze carried the fresh scent of grass towards them. After being frightened throughout the journey, the students breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Everyone here? No one wandered off? Gather round.” Hagrid counted them, set down his stick and clapped his hands.
The young wizards crowded noisily around him.
“Anyone recognise these trees?” Hagrid asked with a broad smile, pointing towards the trees in the meadow.
The students shook their heads in unison. To them, they were merely trees that looked a little peculiar.
“Right.” Hagrid nodded. “This is where we’ll have today’s lesson. Don’t worry, there’s absolutely no danger to your lives, though if you don’t pay attention, you may lose a little hair.”
“Those trees may have different individual names, but they can all be described as Wiggentrees.”
“Can anyone tell me what a Wiggentree is?” Hagrid asked expectantly.
As expected, few students from any House could match Ravenclaws for breadth of knowledge. One young eagle raised a hand.
“It’s a magical tree. Its wood is usually made into pendants or amulets to protect people from attacks by Dark creatures. Sometimes wandmakers also use Wiggentree wood to make wands.”
“Exactly. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Five points to Ravenclaw.” Hagrid nodded, generous with his new power to award points. “You may be wondering whether I brought you into the Forbidden Forest and exposed you to danger merely to identify these trees.”
Several students nodded in agreement.
“I didn’t.” Hagrid shook his head. “We’re studying Care of Magical Creatures, class, not Herbology or Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ha ha.”
Hagrid plainly thought it was a joke, but not one young wizard actually laughed.
“Right.” He scratched his head awkwardly. “Next question: what creature makes its long-term home in a Wiggentree? Suer, you answer this one.”
“Er… a Bowtruckle?”
“Correct.” Hagrid happily awarded Hufflepuff five points. “Now, please take out the jars I gave you before we entered the forest.”
“Next, we’ll meet these marvellous little creatures. If you’re lucky enough and polite enough, I don’t think they’ll mind giving you something in return.” Hagrid winked playfully at the students.
“This is one of several colonies that live in the Forbidden Forest. They move often for safety, and it took me a long time to find this place.”
“Come on, don’t be frightened. They’re very gentle creatures. If you accidentally anger one, a few insects will make it quite willing to forgive you. But mind your hair and arms. Don’t let yourselves get scratched.”
Hagrid took the lead, and more than a dozen young wizards followed, their faces alight with delight and anticipation.
Knock, knock. Hagrid had reached one of the trees and was tapping its trunk with his stick. “Little ones? Are you home? Come out and meet our guests.”
The leaves rustled softly…
Several tiny tree-men with leaves sprouting from their heads peered out of the dense foliage, curiosity and puzzlement plain in their eyes.
“Chirp?”