A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 150 Fantastic Beasts

Not long after, the male unicorn returned. It gracefully walked up to the three of them, lowered its head, and placed the empty bucket down.

Up close, Felix noticed that its mane shimmered, white as pearls, and even the hazy Forbidden Forest could not conceal the radiance emanating from it.

On a high, brown slope, a slender unicorn watched them from afar, with a small unicorn with golden fur beside it.

"Look! Look!" Hagrid rubbed his hands together involuntarily, his face filled with fascination. "That's your child, isn't it, Ruby?"

The unicorn named Ruby nuzzled Hagrid's hand affectionately.

Soon, Ruby leaped up the slope and left with its family.

The mottled silvery-white light followed their figures until they disappeared completely.

"I'll show you around," Hagrid said. "I don't have anything else to do anyway."

He looked at the black hunting dog: "Tooth, you go home first."

It bared its white teeth and made a "woof woof" sound—

"Go ahead, don't worry, I'll be back later." Hagrid stroked its head with his large hand.

Hagrid didn't realize he was still carrying a bucket until Toothy disappeared from sight.

"I should have let Ya Ya take the bucket back," he said regretfully.

Felix tapped it with his wand, transforming it into a silver cane.

Hagrid swung his cane excitedly twice—it drew a dense, impenetrable silver streak and made a whistling sound, almost hitting Belby on the head.

"Watch out, Hagrid!"

"I'm sorry, I got a little excited. Is your name Baby?"

"Belby, Damocles Belby."

"Oh, uh, okay, Professor Bellby."

Hagrid walked ahead in the dense jungle, with Felix and Belby following behind him.

They walked and talked—

"Hagrid, I've heard there are werewolves and trolls in the Forbidden Forest... Is that true?" Felix asked with interest, though he was skeptical, as he had never encountered them when he used the Disillusionment Charm to wander at night during his school years.

"You mean that one?" Hagrid muttered. "There is one, but it's on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, not near us."

Because of his work making wolfsbane potion, Belby had gained in-depth knowledge of werewolves, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why would werewolves live in the Forbidden Forest?"

Hagrid's eyes widened. He stopped and thought for a long time, then finally waved his large hand and said, "Don't ask me, I don't know either. Most werewolves live in seclusion. I know some who live with their packs, though. I think they're probably heartbroken..."

The group moved on from that topic, and Felix asked, "Hagrid, are there any interesting magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest?"

This was exactly what Hagrid wanted to hear, and he rattled off a string of names as if they were second nature: "Eight-eyed Giant Spider, Hippogriff, Billy Wiggler, Thestral, Luvius Cerberus, Teppo Warthog, Bowtruckle, Hinkpunk, Sphinx..."

Belby quickly wrote them down; some of the names sounded dangerous.

"There were quite a few humanoid creatures too. Besides centaurs, trolls, and werewolves, I remember seeing a group of flower fairies," Hagrid said. "Of course, they just looked a lot like humans, the kind with wings."

Felix knew about these creatures, fairies or flower fairies, which are generally 1 to 5 inches tall and look very similar to humans—except for having a pair of insect wings on their backs.

They are generally divided into groups according to the different types of wings, some transparent and some colorful.

Unlike the wise fairies commonly found in Muggle fairy tales, these creatures are generally not very intelligent, love to quarrel, and cannot speak human language.

However, Felix's focus is not on this—

"Luvius the Cerberus? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Cough, cough!" Hagrid coughed violently, explaining in a flustered manner, "You must have misheard me. Did I mention it to you?"

Felix looked at him calmly, and for some reason, Hagrid suddenly felt that his eyes resembled Dumbledore's. He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Okay, I admit it, I let Fluffy roam freely in the Forbidden Forest. He's my three-headed dog, and the details are complicated..."

"Hagrid," Felix said softly, "as far as I know, Cerberus is more dangerous than a lone troll."

"Ah, well, that..." Hagrid stammered for a moment, then finally said dejectedly, "You're right, Felix. So I sent it deep into the Forbidden Forest, even further from the school than here. I check on it once a month, poor Luwei, it's still so small..."

He sniffled sadly, tears welling in his eyes.

Felix and Belby remained silent. An adult Cerberus is at least three or four meters tall and is a rather dangerous magical creature, capable of fighting giants one-on-one without being at a disadvantage.

……

With Hagrid's guidance, Belby's goal was achieved quickly, and Felix also picked up a lot of miscellaneous materials.

They saw the Bowtruckles, which were covered in bumps and looked like brown tree branches. These little guys were clinging to the Wand Tree and peering down.

I saw the family of eagle-headed horse-bodied winged beasts, whose names perfectly matched their eagle heads, horse bodies, and wings; their bright orange eyes were particularly eye-catching.

There's also the Hinkpunk, hiding near a body of water, and the blue Billywig bug, who's taken over an area...

Felix even found a giant eight-eyed spider's claw on a rugged, winding rocky path.

As darkness fell, the last vestiges of light in the Forbidden Forest vanished rapidly, and the trees seemed to turn black. They prepared to return to the castle.

"The road is too far, we might not make it to dinner time." Hagrid raised his arm, using his silver cane and his other arm to push aside the dense foliage above his head, and looked at the sky glowing with the afterglow of dawn.

As he moved, golden light cascaded down, forming a dazzling halo around the three of them.

Felix squinted, adjusting to the sudden brightness.

"I have a better way, Hagrid."

He stretched out his hands, one on Belby's shoulder and the other on Hagrid's waist—

"What?" Hagrid asked, somewhat surprised.

The next second, their bodies twisted rapidly and disappeared from the spot.

The branch, having lost its support, sprang back sharply, and a few leaves fluttered down.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, not far from Hagrid's hut, the three figures suddenly appeared.

Hagrid looked around at his surroundings, and upon seeing his own little hut, he excitedly exclaimed, "Apparition? How convenient! To be honest, I've never experienced this magic before..."

"I've heard wizards in the tavern say that they think anyone who uses Portkeys and Apparition to get around is a fool—it takes at least half a day to get used to that disgusting feeling, but it's not as bad as they make it out to be."

Felix shook his head, explaining that Apparating Hagrid with him was far more strenuous than doing it alone.

After having dinner in the auditorium, Felix returned to his office.

He took out his day's harvest from the ring; some magical plants were piled in the corner. He prepared to visit Professor Sprout to inquire about transplanting and planting them—they didn't need careful nurturing, just enough to sustain him until they were ready for his use.

He also had materials from magical creatures, such as the giant claws of the eight-eyed spider, the feathers of the hippogriff, and the stinger of the Billywig worm, all of which he planned to test their magical properties one by one.

Just after eight o'clock, he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw his assistant standing outside.

"Professor, I have some questions I'd like to ask you about course selection."

(End of this chapter)