The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 178 The Promise with Hagrid

The Magical Creatures Conservation class has ended.

In a sense, this was a very unsuccessful lesson.

Because all the students who left had expressions of fear and apprehension on their faces.

At that moment, Hagrid probably realized he had messed up, not only betraying Dumbledore's trust but also nearly injuring a student.

Just as he was feeling frustrated, a voice came from behind him.

"Excuse me, Professor! Could I have a few minutes of your time?"

Hagrid turned around dejectedly and found that it was the student who had stopped the accident earlier.

"Oh, sorry! Sorry! I forgot to give you the points! I really owe you so much just now, we were so close, but now that get out of class is over, I can't give you the points..."

As he finished speaking, Hagrid's voice trailed off.

To be honest, Hagrid's naiveté can sometimes make him quite endearing.

"Professor, I'm not here to ask for extra points, I'm just here to ask a question!" Ino explained his purpose with a light laugh.

"Don't call me Professor! Because I've messed this all up, it's a complete mess! Just call me Hagrid, and if you have any questions, just say so."

Although he kept his head down and looked sullen, Hagrid still fulfilled his duty as a professor by answering his students' questions.

Seeing that the other person seemed a bit out of sorts, Ino went straight to the point:

"Hagrid, I've raised a nest of giant eight-eyed spiders..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hagrid suddenly raised his enormous head, his expression showing some fear.

"An eight-eyed giant spider? Quick! Throw it into the Forbidden Forest! Listen to me! The castle can't keep those, you'll be fired."

"Professor Dumbledore knows about this!" Ino said with a smile.

With just one sentence, Hagrid visibly fell silent.

After a long pause, he struggled to say, "How about... how about you bring them to me? I'll take care of them for you. You can come see them at my place on the weekend. Leaving them in the castle will cause trouble..."

"I have a box similar to Mr. Scamander's!" Ino said again in the same tone.

Well, Hagrid eventually fell into silence. Not only did he remain silent, but he also seemed somewhat aggrieved.

This situation was actually within his expectations. After a pause, he continued:

"Don't you want to see them? Besides, I have many of them, and they all live in suitcases."

……

Half an hour later.

On the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, in a wide-open meadow far from the castle, surrounded by lush bushes.

In the center of the grass, there was an open suitcase, and next to the suitcase stood an elegant blue phoenix.

Inside the box, in a vast, seamlessly extending space.

Hagrid stared in disbelief at the scene before him. The seemingly endless space was filled with countless eight-eyed giant spiders of all sizes.

Of course, this is nothing special, after all, he had witnessed Aragog leading his descendants to migrate.

But what truly shocked him was the style of the place. When did the giant spiders learn about architecture? They actually built a castle with their webs.

Yes, a castle!

In terms of both appearance and design, it looks like a castle specifically built for the eight-eyed giant spider.

At this moment, as if sensing someone's arrival, hundreds of eight-eyed giant spiders lined up in two rows, standing quietly like soldiers waiting to be inspected.

"Merlin's socks! How did you do that?"

This illogical scene left Hagrid bewildered for a time.

"Perhaps this is a talent." Ino didn't explain further, simply categorizing it as a jack-of-all-trades talent.

In the magical world, whenever something inexplicable happens, as long as it's attributed to talent, everything generally makes sense.

Sure enough, Hagrid didn't press further after hearing about the talent; instead, he turned away with a troubled expression.

"When it comes to giant eight-eyed spiders, you raise them better than I do! Really! There's probably not much I can do to help you."

Faced with Hagrid's candor, Ino shook her head.

"Don't you think they're too vulnerable? I mean, this species is somewhat capable in the jungle, but once it's on the plains, it's just a sitting duck."

The assessment that the 5x Octopod is fragile is so simplistic that anyone else would likely think it's a joke.

However, after listening, Hagrid actually thought about it very seriously.

"It is indeed a bit fragile. Buckbeak can kill several eight-eyed giant spiders on his own on the plains."

After hearing Hagrid's affirmative answer, Ino also revealed her true thoughts.

"Then why don't we try to make them stronger? The biggest weakness of the giant eight-eyed spider is that its legs are too thin. If we can improve its legs, we might be able to cultivate a new species that can live on the plains."

"A new species?" Hagrid savored the word.

……

On the lawn outside the castle.

Hagrid held a silk cocoon the size of a washbasin with great joy; inside were many young eight-eyed giant spiders.

"Ino, why don't you come to my cabin for a chat? If you don't have classes this afternoon!"

"I'm sorry, Hagrid!" Ino said apologetically, then turned to look at the castle.

"I do have class this afternoon, and I also need to go to the library to look up some information for the evening event. But don't worry, I'll come see you when I have time. If I run out of materials, just have someone pass on a message to me."

Although he was rejected, Hagrid didn't seem to mind; instead, he said with a look of agreement:

"Alright! Class is the important thing. I'll let you know as soon as there's any progress."

……

After saying goodbye to Hagrid.

Instead of going straight back to his dormitory, he strolled to the shore of Black Lake.

He chose a secluded spot and opened the suitcase again.

Soon, a giant eight-eyed spider, about the size of a palm and entirely blue, jumped out of the box.

"Lina, is there any way for me to control myself and temporarily let down my mental defenses? There might be a very interesting class this afternoon!"

Gazing at the shimmering lake, Ino asked leisurely.

When he declined Hagrid's invitation, he suddenly remembered something he had almost forgotten.

Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

He had always found the unique teaching methods described in the story very interesting.

Use the Boggart to make the young wizard confront his own fears.

Although he wasn't quite sure which class it was in during the semester, he wanted to participate and see what his own underlying fears were.

But this must be based on learning to control oneself.

Otherwise, if Borg had specifically mentioned the transformation, he probably would have been frozen as soon as he started spying.

(End of this chapter)