Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having found no clues, Kyle returned to the large tree.
Just as he hesitated about how to see the gap, Fang suddenly ran over and bit his robe.
"Stop it, Fang," Kyle said, patting its head. "This isn't the time to play."
But Fang ignored him, pulling him to Hagrid's side and using its front paws to shovel away the fallen leaves.
Beneath the leaves, two rows of footprints were clearly visible.
"This is..." Kyle took a deep breath.
"Hagrid! Look! There are footprints here!"
Hearing Kyle's voice, Hagrid quickly looked down and saw the same two rows of footprints.
"Good job, Fang!"
Hagrid patted Fang's head, complaining, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Upon hearing this, Tooth's face showed a wronged expression, and it vigorously slapped Hagrid's trouser leg with its front paws.
It was wet there, with a very obvious ring of teeth marks.
Clearly, Fang had tried its best to warn Hagrid, but Hagrid's attention was focused on the tree trunk, and it hadn't noticed.
Frustrated, it turned to Kyle.
"Sorry, Fang, I misunderstood you," Hagrid quickly apologized after noticing.
As it turns out, not every pet is like Fawkes; Hagrid's words instantly cheered Toothpick up, and it lay there happily wagging its tail.
Kyle took out a piece of Motra rat jerky as a reward for Toothpick, then squatted down to examine the footprints.
There were two rows of footprints, and they were very messy, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place there.
The outer ring of footprints was normal, appearing to be the size of an adult, but the row closer to the tree was different.
They were enormous, almost twice the size of a normal person, and looked like Hagrid's…
no, these were Hagrid's.
Kyle suddenly remembered seeing similar footprints in the pumpkin patch, exactly the same size, even the tread pattern on the soles was identical.
Kyle frowned. "Hagrid, have you been here before?"
"Impossible," Hagrid said firmly. "Such a big tree, if I had been here before, I definitely wouldn't forget it, but I have no recollection of it at all."
"Then how do you explain this?" Kyle pointed to the large footprint. "The pattern on it is exactly the same as your shoes."
"What did you say?" Hagrid leaned down to see the footprints clearly.
Then his pupils constricted sharply, and he exclaimed as if he had seen a ghost, "This is impossible!"
"I absolutely haven't been here, I promise!"
Then, as if he had thought of something, he quickly said, "Could it be that I accidentally left these footprints?"
"Unlikely," Kyle shook his head.
Freshly left footprints wouldn't be hidden under fallen leaves.
And... Kyle touched the soil around the footprints again; it was already hard there. If it had been freshly made, the soil should have been soft.
"That's enough for today." Kyle stood up and said, "Let's go back and ask Headmaster Dumbledore. He might know what's going on."
Hagrid was completely dumbfounded at this point, but he came to his senses a little after hearing Dumbledore's name. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Dumbledore must know."
Kyle took out his wand and used a cutting charm to remove the footprints along with the surrounding soil.
He then dug up a piece of corroded tree trunk and used a levitation charm to carry them out of the Forbidden Forest.
On the way back, Hagrid was still walking in front, but his mind was in turmoil, and he seemed somewhat absent-minded.
"By the way, Hagrid," Kyle asked curiously, "how did you know the unicorn cub was missing?"
"Professor Kettleburn told me," Hagrid said. "He was supposed to be the one to come, but the unicorn that lost its cub was very agitated, and he needed to keep a close eye on it; he couldn't leave."
Kyle suddenly understood.
Professor Kettleburn was also a renowned Master of Mavens and Creatures, and one of Newt's few close friends. If it was him, then there wouldn't be any problem.
However, unlike Newt, Professor Kettleburn was more reckless and impulsive, which resulted in him only having one arm and half a leg.
Kyle still couldn't understand why this professor had been assigned to Hufflepuff. No matter how you look at it, Gryffindor should have been a better fit for him.
The Sorting Hat must have been drunk.
On the way back, they encountered centaurs again, but not Ronan, but a young centaur with platinum blonde hair.
"Hey, Hagrid, you seem a bit distracted," the other man said first. "This won't do. The Forbidden Forest is very dangerous at night, and don't forget you have a pony with you."
"Oh, Firenze... yes, you're right." Hagrid slapped his head and turned to Kyle, saying, "Sorry, Kyle, my mind was a bit muddled just now."
"It's alright," Kyle smiled. "I'm sure that the creatures in the Forbidden Forest won't harm us with your escort."
"Thank you," Hagrid smiled back.
"I'm a bit confused?" The centaur named Firenze looked at Hagrid, his eyes a striking blue. "Are you in some trouble?"
"I don't know if it counts as trouble," Hagrid scratched his head. "Firenze, have you seen me in the Forbidden Forest before?"
"Many times," Firenze said. "I see you almost every week."
"That's not what I meant." Hagrid pointed in the direction they had come from. "I mean... over there, next to that huge chestnut tree."
"I think I understand," Firenze looked up. "Mars is perfectly normal today."
"Okay, I knew it," Hagrid said, somewhat impatiently. "Couldn't you just say so...? Never mind, let's go."
Hagrid walked past Firenze, while Kyle glanced at him thoughtfully.
The centaur named Ronan had said the same thing before.
Mars is normal...
Is that normal?
Firenze didn't leave immediately but followed them until Hagrid led Kyle to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then he stopped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahead lay the lair of the Moonbeasts. Watching the Moonbeasts dance gracefully in the moonlight, Kyle instinctively thought of their first nighttime expedition, when they were almost caught by Hagrid...
Hmm?
Kyle suddenly stopped. If he remembered correctly, Hagrid had also taken this path to the Forbidden Forest back then
[End of the chapter]
Having found no clues, Kyle returned to the large tree.
Just as he hesitated about how to see the gap, Fang suddenly ran over and bit his robe.
"Stop it, Fang," Kyle said, patting its head. "This isn't the time to play."
But Fang ignored him, pulling him to Hagrid's side and using its front paws to shovel away the fallen leaves.
Beneath the leaves, two rows of footprints were clearly visible.
"This is..." Kyle took a deep breath.
"Hagrid! Look! There are footprints here!"
Hearing Kyle's voice, Hagrid quickly looked down and saw the same two rows of footprints.
"Good job, Fang!"
Hagrid patted Fang's head, complaining, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Upon hearing this, Tooth's face showed a wronged expression, and it vigorously slapped Hagrid's trouser leg with its front paws.
It was wet there, with a very obvious ring of teeth marks.
Clearly, Fang had tried its best to warn Hagrid, but Hagrid's attention was focused on the tree trunk, and it hadn't noticed.
Frustrated, it turned to Kyle.
"Sorry, Fang, I misunderstood you," Hagrid quickly apologized after noticing.
As it turns out, not every pet is like Fawkes; Hagrid's words instantly cheered Toothpick up, and it lay there happily wagging its tail.
Kyle took out a piece of Motra rat jerky as a reward for Toothpick, then squatted down to examine the footprints.
There were two rows of footprints, and they were very messy, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place there.
The outer ring of footprints was normal, appearing to be the size of an adult, but the row closer to the tree was different.
They were enormous, almost twice the size of a normal person, and looked like Hagrid's…
no, these were Hagrid's.
Kyle suddenly remembered seeing similar footprints in the pumpkin patch, exactly the same size, even the tread pattern on the soles was identical.
Kyle frowned. "Hagrid, have you been here before?"
"Impossible," Hagrid said firmly. "Such a big tree, if I had been here before, I definitely wouldn't forget it, but I have no recollection of it at all."
"Then how do you explain this?" Kyle pointed to the large footprint. "The pattern on it is exactly the same as your shoes."
"What did you say?" Hagrid leaned down to see the footprints clearly.
Then his pupils constricted sharply, and he exclaimed as if he had seen a ghost, "This is impossible!"
"I absolutely haven't been here, I promise!"
Then, as if he had thought of something, he quickly said, "Could it be that I accidentally left these footprints?"
"Unlikely," Kyle shook his head.
Freshly left footprints wouldn't be hidden under fallen leaves.
And... Kyle touched the soil around the footprints again; it was already hard there. If it had been freshly made, the soil should have been soft.
"That's enough for today." Kyle stood up and said, "Let's go back and ask Headmaster Dumbledore. He might know what's going on."
Hagrid was completely dumbfounded at this point, but he came to his senses a little after hearing Dumbledore's name. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Dumbledore must know."
Kyle took out his wand and used a cutting charm to remove the footprints along with the surrounding soil.
He then dug up a piece of corroded tree trunk and used a levitation charm to carry them out of the Forbidden Forest.
On the way back, Hagrid was still walking in front, but his mind was in turmoil, and he seemed somewhat absent-minded.
"By the way, Hagrid," Kyle asked curiously, "how did you know the unicorn cub was missing?"
"Professor Kettleburn told me," Hagrid said. "He was supposed to be the one to come, but the unicorn that lost its cub was very agitated, and he needed to keep a close eye on it; he couldn't leave."
Kyle suddenly understood.
Professor Kettleburn was also a renowned Master of Mavens and Creatures, and one of Newt's few close friends. If it was him, then there wouldn't be any problem.
However, unlike Newt, Professor Kettleburn was more reckless and impulsive, which resulted in him only having one arm and half a leg.
Kyle still couldn't understand why this professor had been assigned to Hufflepuff. No matter how you look at it, Gryffindor should have been a better fit for him.
The Sorting Hat must have been drunk.
On the way back, they encountered centaurs again, but not Ronan, but a young centaur with platinum blonde hair.
"Hey, Hagrid, you seem a bit distracted," the other man said first. "This won't do. The Forbidden Forest is very dangerous at night, and don't forget you have a pony with you."
"Oh, Firenze... yes, you're right." Hagrid slapped his head and turned to Kyle, saying, "Sorry, Kyle, my mind was a bit muddled just now."
"It's alright," Kyle smiled. "I'm sure that the creatures in the Forbidden Forest won't harm us with your escort."
"Thank you," Hagrid smiled back.
"I'm a bit confused?" The centaur named Firenze looked at Hagrid, his eyes a striking blue. "Are you in some trouble?"
"I don't know if it counts as trouble," Hagrid scratched his head. "Firenze, have you seen me in the Forbidden Forest before?"
"Many times," Firenze said. "I see you almost every week."
"That's not what I meant." Hagrid pointed in the direction they had come from. "I mean... over there, next to that huge chestnut tree."
"I think I understand," Firenze looked up. "Mars is perfectly normal today."
"Okay, I knew it," Hagrid said, somewhat impatiently. "Couldn't you just say so...? Never mind, let's go."
Hagrid walked past Firenze, while Kyle glanced at him thoughtfully.
The centaur named Ronan had said the same thing before.
Mars is normal...
Is that normal?
Firenze didn't leave immediately but followed them until Hagrid led Kyle to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then he stopped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahead lay the lair of the Moonbeasts. Watching the Moonbeasts dance gracefully in the moonlight, Kyle instinctively thought of their first nighttime expedition, when they were almost caught by Hagrid...
Hmm?
Kyle suddenly stopped. If he remembered correctly, Hagrid had also taken this path to the Forbidden Forest back then
[End of the chapter]