The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

Chapter 321 Hagrid's Invitation

When Anthony left Umbridge's office, he was full of confusion and even a little angry with himself because of this confusion. He felt that he should have known what Umbridge was talking about, but in fact he had only spent half an hour in that office and still didn't understand what those meaningful words and smiling threats meant. In order to ease this dissatisfaction, he opened his drawer and decided to spend more time dealing with those amiable parchments.

A few days later, Umbridge had a round of talks with all the professors.

Anthony heard that she almost fired Professor Trelawney. The two of them had a big fight on a staircase until Fawkes suddenly appeared on the scene with a flash of fire and dropped a letter from Dumbledore. After reading the letter, Umbridge left with a grim look ("Not that she hasn't had a grim look at some point," Professor Burbage commented scathingly), leaving only Professor Trelawney in hysterics, Professor McGonagall who tried to comfort her, and Professor Flitwick who hurried over.

Professor Kettleburn waited excitedly for his dismissal letter, but nothing came of it. In contrast, Lockhart seemed to have been nearly fired by Umbridge, at least there was such a rumor among the professors. Either the letter that protected Trelawney also protected him, or he used his grace and - perhaps - his superb defense against the dark arts to make Umbridge put aside the past grudges. But of course no one would be so tactless as to ask him.

Anthony heard this from his colleagues afterwards. When all this happened, he was immersed in the research materials of flesh and blood magic, concentrating on studying.

If it weren't for the note from Hagrid that disrupted his study plans, he might have learned how to make Professor Kettleburn's prosthesis look real before Umbridge found a way to fire people again. The note read:

The zoo is almost finished. I have something I want to show you. If you like, you can come over tonight.

Hagrid
This suddenly woke Anthony from his peaceful study rhythm. Instead of waiting until the evening, he rushed to Hagrid's cabin in the afternoon, paying little attention to the tall grass, the yellow or purple wild flowers, or the squirrels darting away through the rustling grass.

"Hagrid?" He knocked on the door. "Hagrid, you home?"

He heard a dog barking behind the door, but it soon quieted down. Heavy footsteps. The door creaked open.

"Oh, Henry!" Hagrid looked a little surprised. "Why are you here?"

"Didn't you ask me to come here?" Anthony asked. "The note? You told me the zoo was almost finished—"

"Hush!" said Hagrid fiercely, looking around. "Come in, come in...it's still a secret, Henry..."

Anthony had no choice but to follow him in. "What do you want me to see, Hagrid?"

The room was almost exactly the same as he remembered. The warm breeze blew through the half-open window, causing the dried ham and other things to sway slowly. A slightly deformed wooden chair was placed next to the stove, a large iron teapot was boiling water, and a ball of slightly yellowed dough was placed on the table.

Hagrid was wearing an apron and was covered in flour. Fang came over happily, sniffing Anthony's open hand with his wet nose and wagging his tail. Hagrid grabbed his collar and pulled him away, motioning Anthony to sit on a chair, then walked to the sink and washed his hands.

"You need to wait for me for a while - I'm baking rock cakes!" He placed a cup of tea in front of Anthony and announced proudly, "You can eat as much as you want later!"

"Oh...that's great." Anthony said, determined to leave before the rock cake was baked.

Hagrid hummed a song and worked for a while, finally sending all the cakes into the oven. He took off his apron, put his big hands under the faucet, and asked loudly in the sound of running water: "So, you want to see the zoo, Henry?"

"No, I came here because of your note." Anthony also raised his voice, "You said you had something you wanted to show me."

"Oh, that!" said Hagrid, suddenly enlightened. "But didn't I tell you to come back in the evening? They're more interesting at night..."

"Who?" Anthony asked.

Hagrid turned off the tap, looking suddenly uneasy.

"You know, the zoo is about to be built..." He rubbed his big hands, "They agreed to let Lu Wei watch the back door, but this means the main gate will be missing a guard..."

Anthony said, "A name, Hagrid, tell me its - or their - name. What will our lovely zoo gate guard be?"

"I haven't had time to name them yet," said Hagrid, "but I asked you to come here so you could pick one."

"What?" "Pick one as a gift, if you like..." Hagrid said a little awkwardly, "I think you will like it. It can be kept in the zoo with its companions. You only need to come and see it from time to time, and it won't take up too much of your energy."

Anthony asked worriedly, "Isn't it a dragon egg?"

"What? No," said Hagrid. "I'm not the kind of guy who gives away dragon eggs, but I guess I haven't given you much. Well, it's a lot of trouble for you." He laughed ("You're welcome," Anthony laughed too). "Anyway, I'll show you around first... Professor Kettleburn and Professor Flitwick both think this is a good idea..."

He bent down and peered into the oven, then took out half a ham for Yaya before leading Anthony out the door.

They walked straight to the Forbidden Forest - Anthony made sure there was no sign of Umbridge nearby - passing through lush lawns and muddy paths. The trees around them became denser and more bizarre, and the surroundings became colder. A few bird calls lingered in the dense forest. Anthony followed Hagrid with one foot deep and one foot shallow, regretting not notifying Professor McGonagall in advance.

"Did you keep them next to the Acromantula?" Anthony couldn't help asking as he emerged from a clump of prickly bushes.

"No, by the Chimera," said Hagrid naturally. "Aragog said he's allergic to those things, and they eat the little spiders."

They walked for a while longer. The sound of leaves and branches under their feet only made the woods seem even quieter. The sun could not penetrate the layers of leaves above them, so the woods were dark. Hagrid's lantern swung and creaked, casting dark shadows all around them.

Suddenly, Hagrid stopped.

"Here we are," he said, holding the lantern aloft. "Look, that hut belongs to the Chimeras. Professor Kettleburn said it's best for them to stay here for the time being... Leave them alone... Here, this is what I wanted to show you."

In the light of the lantern, Anthony saw that the enclosure in front of him was filled with some strange and magical animals. They were furry, big and round, five or six feet tall, like some kind of giant fur balls. In addition, they were barking.

A fur ball stuck its nose out from the bottom of the fence and sniffed in the direction of the two people's shoes. Its nose was long and pointed, covered with dense and short hair. Suddenly, a long tongue stretched out, digging into the soil vigorously, burrowing into the mud, quickly rolling up something like a worm, and then putting it back into its mouth. The fur ball hummed a few times in satisfaction and barked again.

"What do you think of 'Hairy-nosed Dog,'" said Hagrid. "Or 'Hair-Ball Dog,' or 'Bug-Ball,' or 'Long-Tongue Fluffy?'"

"Both are good," said Anthony, watching one ball of fur roll with difficulty over another ball of fur and move to the other side of the fence.

"They're pretty good, aren't they? It took me a lot of work to grow them..." Hagrid said happily.

"You bred them, Hagrid?" said Anthony. "Great! How did you come up with the idea of ​​breeding these--" He didn't know how to point out that this creature was slightly inconsistent with Hagrid's usual aesthetic standards, so he could only vaguely point to the fence with his hand.

"Oh, they're cute, aren't they? I knew you'd like them!" said Hagrid proudly.

"Really, they are really good." Anthony agreed. "By the way, is it legal to breed magical animals privately?"

"Of course, they're not dangerous. These fellows," Hagrid patted the nearest ball of fur, "are all very good-tempered..."

The fur on the fur ball he patted suddenly stood up, and it seemed twice as big. Then, the light-colored fur suddenly tightened and stuck to its body, outlining its conical head and slender body. The next moment, accompanied by a retching sound, a large amount of dark purple mucus spurted out of the fur ball's mouth, corroding the fence with a sizzling sound and emitting black smoke.

Anthony stepped back slightly to avoid challenging the still slowly spreading slime with his shoes. He noticed that the ground was an abnormal purple-blue color, almost metallic in the dim light of the lantern. There was no grass nearby, and Anthony now thought that this might not be due to some magic that built the fence.

"They'd be more worth seeing at night," said Hagrid with a hint of regret. "When they sense the moon, their mucus turns silvery white and corrodes faster, and their teeth become sharper... Pick one, Henry!"

"No, thank you, Hagrid," said Anthony politely. "Let's go. I think they'll be very suitable gate guards." If they were indeed legal.

Hagrid said happily, "You really think so? I think so too!"

(End of this chapter)