My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 53. Revenge Ten Years Late (Part 053)

"This road passes through the tribes of those horsemen. They hate strangers, and the horsemen told me that one of their people recently went missing. The tribe is on high alert, so we'd better take a detour."

Professor Fox and Hagrid had been walking in the Forbidden Forest for over an hour.

The sky had completely darkened, and guided by Hagrid, they avoided the centaur tribes, the unicorn colonies, and many other dangerous places.

They wandered through almost half of the Forbidden Forest, finally arriving at its deepest part.

Hagrid looked at the familiar spiderwebs around him, his expression changed slightly, and he stammered.

"Fox, are you sure you're not in the wrong place? Are there really things like those red hats here?"

Professor Fox moved forward at a very fast pace, and surprisingly, he didn't make Hagrid slow down to wait for him.

His gaze grew increasingly calm, and his expression lost its initial excitement, becoming unusually serene!

"I won't make a mistake, Hagrid."

"But I've been here many, many times." Hagrid's eyes darted around as he tried to stop Professor Fox from moving forward.

"I'm sure there aren't any of those little elves called Red Hats here."

Professor Fox stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Hagrid, who was unwilling to move forward.

"I have to find him. If you don't want to leave, then you can go back, Hagrid. Thank you very much for your help."

Seeing Professor Fox's resolute attitude, Hagrid began to panic. He clenched his fist, which was the size of a football, gritted his teeth, and finally chose to tell the truth.

"I keep some pet falcons here. They don't quite comply with the Ministry of Magic's laws, but I swear! I've never let them out of the Forbidden Forest, and I've never let them harm anyone..."

Professor Fox interrupted him.

"No need to say anything, Hagrid. Do you think someone like me would care about these things? I'm not here to cause trouble for your pets."

Although Hagrid is usually a bit straightforward, he's not stupid after living this long.

"But you couldn't possibly be here looking for some Red Hat. Maybe in other parts of the Forbidden Forest, but there's absolutely no way such a creature lives here."

Fox turned around, smiled slightly, looking somewhat relieved, and said to Hagrid.

"Not only here, but the Forbidden Forest itself couldn't possibly contain any creatures like the Red Hats. These little elves only live in Northern Europe, and they prefer places where human blood remains. Clearly, none of the creatures in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts fit their living habits. So, I'm sorry, Hagrid, I lied to you."

Hagrid's expression changed completely. He had assumed that Fox had discovered the whereabouts of his pets after entering the Forbidden Forest, which was why he had given up looking for Red Hat and turned to searching for the dangerous magical creatures he kept.

But unexpectedly, Fox's initial target was not that fictitious red hat at all!

"Then what are you looking for here?" he asked in a trembling voice.

Professor Fox continued walking, following the spell's guidance.

"I'm looking for someone, an enemy."

Hagrid had no intention of going back; he continued to follow Professor Fox, because the direction he was heading was the lair of Hagrid's pet and friend, Aragog!

"Whom are you looking for? Are there other people in the Forbidden Forest?"

Professor Fox didn't seem to care that Hagrid was still following him; on the contrary, he seemed quite pleased to have a listener by his side at this moment.

"He has many identities: an unregistered Animagus, a pureblood, a dark wizard, a Death Eater... but I prefer to call him a runaway rat."

"Is he a Death Eater who hasn't been caught by the Ministry of Magic?" Hagrid felt his hands and feet go cold, and a strange sense of unease crept into his heart.

"No, no, no, you misunderstood me." Professor Fox shook his head. "I called him a rat not because he escaped the Ministry of Magic's pursuit."

"You should know why I was imprisoned in Azkaban and then released, right, Hagrid?"

"Because..." Hagrid opened his mouth, as if he had figured out what Professor Fox was going to say.

"I killed five Death Eaters," he said with a laugh. "The number was supposed to be six, but the last one got wind of it and escaped beforehand. After that, I was arrested by the Ministry of Magic. Two years ago, after I was released, I traveled all over the world under the guise of traveling, but actually, I was looking for him. Guess where he's hiding?"

Hagrid's lips trembled slightly; he did not answer the question they both already knew the answer to.

Night had fallen, and thick clouds blocked out the starry sky from the earth, making the Forbidden Forest especially dark.

They felt as if they had walked into the mouth of a colossal abyss, with complete darkness ahead, so dark that they couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.

"The fireflies are twinkling."

Professor Fox used the Wand Illumination Charm.

Hagrid hesitated for a moment, but did not choose to hide. He waved his pink umbrella and used the Wand Illumination Charm.

As they ventured deeper, spiderwebs resembling fishing nets began to appear among the surrounding trees, and at the same time, some enormous figures would vaguely flash through the webs.

"Your pet was a giant spider. I remember they eat people." Professor Fox saw the creatures hidden in the spider web.

Hagrid defended his friends, saying, "Aragok listens to me; it keeps its pack in check and prevents them from harming others."

Professor Fox disagreed.

"A beast is still a beast. Even if their leader has established a rule for its tribe not to harm people because of you, what happens after you die? Or what if your friend is no longer able to control its tribe?"

Hagrid didn't answer. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about these questions, but he subconsciously avoided guessing the answers.

Suddenly, Professor Fox stopped in his tracks.

A series of soft "clicking" sounds began to echo through the woods sometime during the day.

The sound was like countless feet snapping dry branches. Professor Fox's expression turned serious. He shrugged and said to Hagrid.

"I think we don't even need to wait until then; your friend's descendants want to eat us up right now."

The spiders, which had been hiding in the darkness, stopped trying to hide. They gathered from all directions, surrounding Professor Fox and Hagrid like a black ocean that could swallow their small rock at any moment.

Hagrid stared in disbelief at the giant spiders surging up from all around him like a swarm of water, and roared at his friend.

"Aragok! Where are you! Come out right now! Are you trying to kill me?"

Professor Fox stopped Hagrid's pointless actions. He had gray hair and a wrinkled face, but he stood tall, his eyes shone, and he looked incredibly energetic.

The howling wind whipped his trench coat as Adrian Fox deftly drew his wand, like a medieval knight drawing his sword.

"No need to call Hagrid anymore. Something has clearly happened to your friend. All we can do now is fight."

(End of this chapter)