Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 38: Forbidden Forest

Chapter 38: Forbidden Forest (Part )

"Look, that's a Bowtruckle over there. Don't look down on these little creatures. Although they are gentle and shy, they are very protective of their home - the tree they live in."

"Anyone who tries to invade their home will be attacked by them. Have you seen their little claws? They are particularly vicious and will gouge out their eyes."

Vaughn and Hagrid hid behind a tree, watching a guardian tree from a distance.

It is a magical plant that is said to be able to drive away dark creatures and is an excellent material for making wands. Some small creatures whose bodies look like they are made up of branches play and frolic on the guardian tree. They are the Bowtruckles.

"But those little creatures are easy to deal with," Hagrid whispered. "They love to eat insects. If you catch some and give them to them, you can please them and they'll give you branches from the Guardian Tree in return."

"Every year when Ollivander comes to collect materials, I do the same... Oh, you might not know that Hogwarts and Ollivander have a partnership. He buys wand cores and wand shaft materials from Hogwarts at low prices. These are usually the unicorn hair and various branches suitable for wand making that I collect. Then, he offers a 50% discount on the wands he makes to Hogwarts freshmen."

As they were talking, the two of them had already gone some distance into the forbidden forest.

As they "adventured" together and explained magical creatures, Hagrid's previous reserve and politeness quickly faded away, and he hardly stopped talking along the way.

But he does have a wealth of knowledge about magical animals.

Along the way, he had taken Vaughn to see fairies, elves, hairy crabs, and they even found a family of moonbeasts near a small mound.

This animal, which has huge eyes that are disproportionate to its head and looks particularly silly and cute, has a personality as gentle as its appearance.

Some of the cubs even swung their short legs and came up to Vaughn to sniff him.

Hagrid collected their droppings.

He told Vaughn that this was a very strong fertilizer, and if spread on the pumpkin field, it would make the pumpkins grow big and good.

He said to Vaughn, "It's too late this year. The pumpkins in the field are ripe now, and they'll turn yellow just in time for Halloween. Next year, next year you'll eat giant pumpkins filled with Moon Maniac excrement."

Vaughn was speechless. It was just normal fertilization, why could it be described as so disgusting?

"Speaking of which, Hagrid, the Forbidden Forest has been pretty peaceful lately, hasn't it?"

After observing the Bowtruckle for a while, the two of them set off again, and Vaughn asked casually.

"What are you asking about?" Hagrid scratched his head. "If it's about the little wizard trespassing, your two brothers always like to cause trouble in the Forbidden Forest. From that perspective, it's not peaceful at all."

"Well, I'll keep them in check. What I want to ask is, are there any animals hurt or anything? Maybe I can help you and make some potions for them."

"You, you're such a good boy, Vaughn."

Hagrid said emotionally, "No one ever wants to make potions for them... In fact, the unicorns seem to be having a bit of a hard time lately."

Vaughn looked very interested: "Oh? What happened?"

Hagrid shook his head and complained, "I don't know either. The centaurs informed me before that the unicorns were attacked, but you know, those guys are always talking about astrology and prophecies. I can't get any clearer than they say."

"I also found some injured unicorns, but they were too alert and didn't want to pay attention to me. I searched for a long time but couldn't find the reason."

Vaughn's eyes were calm.

It seems that his guess was right. Socket Man might have already started secretly collecting unicorn blood!
He looked up at the sky. Judging from the light leaking through the gaps in the treetops, it was still early in the evening. He asked Hagrid, "Can you take me out to see it?"

Hagrid didn't think much about it. He was a carefree person by nature. Just like before, he talked about danger, but when he really took Vaughn into the Forbidden Forest, he completely forgot about the "danger".

"Come on, come this way... Yaya! Guo Guocha won't hit you anymore, you coward. Hurry up and clear the way ahead!"

More than 2 hours later.

Hagrid took Vaughn to a clearing in the woods, a rare area in the forest with large areas of sunlight.

The lack of trees to steal light allows the low shrubs here to grow very well.

Some hollies are even laden with berries.

"I opened up this place more than ten years ago. Unicorns love to eat berries, so I planted some. Since then, they have been active nearby."

Hagrid waved his pink umbrella, shooing away a few chattering fairies, and led Vaughn to the center of the clearing. He said, "A week ago, I saw a unicorn hiding here. Its leg was injured; look, the blood is still there."

Hagrid pointed to a patch of indigo dirt at his feet.

Vaughan squatted down and took a closer look.

Unicorn blood is originally silver-blue and contains abundant magical power, like mercury.

But now it has been sprinkled on the soil for a week, and the wind and sun have already changed its color.

Seeing Vaughn's attentive observation, Hagrid thought he was worried and said with a smile, "It's normal for unicorns to be injured, Vaughn. This is the Forbidden Forest, and all creatures are in a natural competitive relationship. It may have accidentally strayed into werewolf territory, or been ambushed by some ferocious creature. It's not a big deal."

Vaughan didn't reply.

He observed the bloodstain for a moment, but did not touch it casually. Instead, he raised his wand:

"Reveal yourself urgently!"

The mystery contained in the spell, together with the desire to explore the truth, gives the magic the power to reveal hidden things and strike the indigo soil.

First, a faint white light emerged, as white as the moon, and one could feel its sacredness just by looking at it.

That is the inherent magic of unicorn blood.

It is very faint, but it is the result of natural dissipation.

But then, a few wisps of gray mist appeared from the white light.

They are entangled in the light, like maggots on the tarsal bones, corroding and penetrating the white light.

Vaughan seemed to be able to smell the smell of decay and death from the fog!

"dark magic……"

He narrowed his eyes.

He is no longer a novice in black magic. Although "Introduction to Black Magic" did not allow him to learn any powerful spells, it gave him sufficient understanding of this dark power.

"what is this?"

Hagrid's voice came from above.

He is a novice in black magic...

At the same time, the system panel popped up in front of Vaughn:

【Side Quest Activation】

[Side Quest ②: Save the Forbidden Forest Unicorn]

[Reward: Random Fantastic Beasts Language Pack]

Looking at the new task, Vaughn paused and suddenly felt like laughing.

Tom ah Tom!
Even the tasks assigned by the system are aimed at you, so don't blame me for causing trouble for you!

"nothing."

Vaughan shook his head and opened the small satchel he carried with him, which was cast with a traceless extension charm.

He took out an empty bottle, carefully dug out the soil and put it in.