Chapter 63: Hagrid
Chapter 63: Hagrid
"What's its name?" Albert asked as he finished his sandwich, extending his hands to gently rub the hound's head.
"Fang," Hagrid answered subconsciously.
"Fang? That doesn't sound very intimidating for such a large dog. How about Spike instead?" Albert casually suggested a new name for the dog.
"I quite like the name Fang," Hagrid replied, shaking his head at Albert's suggestion.
"I'm Albert Anderson. Are you also a professor at Hogwarts?" Albert asked, even though he knew the answer.
"No, I'm the gamekeeper," Hagrid continued to shake his head.
"So, the game reserve is that forest over there?" Albert asked, pointing in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Before Hagrid could answer, he continued, "I heard there are werewolves in the forest. Is that true?"
"Are you a Ravenclaw student?" Hagrid asked, sounding unsure.
Albert glanced at the three boys snickering behind him and replied, "No, we're all Gryffindor students."
"Oh, Gryffindor students," Hagrid said, suddenly turning serious. "I won't let you lot wander into the forest..."
"Ahem, Albert, how did you know this dog would let you rub its head? It seemed quite fierce just now," George quickly diverted Hagrid's attention.
The three boys gathered around and started rubbing Fang's head.
"Just a hunch, I guess. I have a cat myself, but I didn't bring it to school," Albert improvised an excuse, then added, "By the way, Mr. Gamekeeper, would you mind if I took a picture sometime?"
"You can call me Hagrid," Hagrid said, not refusing. He was suddenly reminded of some past events.
"Okay, Mr. Hagrid. Well, Hagrid..." Albert subtly tried to establish a closer relationship.
"Why do you want to take a picture?" Hagrid asked.
"I want my family to know about my life at Hogwarts. They're Muggles and know nothing about this place," Albert explained.
"It's best not to reveal too much about the wizarding world to Muggles. It could bring you trouble," Hagrid warned, frowning.
"Oh, I see," Albert said, looking at Hagrid. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Is it because of the Statute of Secrecy?"
"You know about that?" Hagrid was surprised that Albert, a Muggle-born wizard new to Hogwarts, knew about the Statute of Secrecy. His understanding of the wizarding world should be quite limited.
Albert briefly told Hagrid about Truman's misfortune.
The gamekeeper was stunned by the story. He murmured, "I don't know much about the Statute of Secrecy either. I only know that underage wizards get warned if they use magic in front of their Muggle family. But if they knowingly use magic in a Muggle dwelling or in front of Muggles, it's considered a criminal offense, and they could be expelled."
"Has anyone ever been expelled from Hogwarts?" Albert realized that he had indeed caused trouble for Truman. No wonder he had received an expulsion letter instead of a warning.
"Not that I know of," Hagrid said, unsure himself.
"Your situation was an exception," Fred cleared his throat and explained, "We can only say that poor Truman accidentally ran into you."
"Yeah!" Albert nodded, understanding the reason. There were probably some Muggle-born wizards who had received warnings, but they were usually scared straight and didn't dare to use magic again, risking expulsion.
"By the way, Hagrid, what dangerous creatures are in the Forbidden Forest, and why doesn't Dumbledore allow first-years to go there?" Albert steered the conversation back to a topic that everyone was interested in.
"There are many dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest," Hagrid nodded.
"For example, werewolves?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, werewolves," Hagrid confirmed.
"But I thought if you were bitten by a werewolf, you'd turn into one too? Can't believe Dumbledore would let students live so close to werewolves," Albert expressed his doubt.
"The werewolves are deep in the forest and rarely come near the school," Hagrid explained, his gaze shifting uncomfortably as he spoke.
"Hagrid, have you ever seen a unicorn?"
......
......
"How many questions is that now?" the three boys whispered among themselves.
"Ten... or twelve?"
However, they were quite impressed with Albert, noticing that he had managed to gather quite a bit of information about the Forbidden Forest through his inquiries.
They also realized that Hagrid had a soft spot for dragons. When Albert brought up dragons, Hagrid became particularly excited in his description.
As for the forest outside the Forbidden Forest, it was actually safe. Students occasionally had classes there, but venturing deeper into the Forbidden Forest could lead to encounters with centaurs and werewolves, as well as various magical creatures like unicorns.
Seeing Albert's fascination with unicorns, Hagrid gave him a small bundle of unicorn tail hair. Before they left, he warned the four boys not to attempt to enter the Forbidden Forest.
Albert stopped in his tracks and turned to Hagrid, asking, "Hagrid, are there guardian trees in the forest?"
"Guardian trees? Do you mean rowan trees?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Albert nodded. "They were mentioned in Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. They're supposed to ward off evil... I mean, drive away Dark creatures?"
"They do work a bit," Hagrid nodded.
"Um... could you help me... I mean, I'd like a small piece of a rowan tree branch," Albert requested.
"What do you want that for?" Hagrid asked, suspicious.
"I want to make a gift for my sister. I heard guardian trees have a protective effect, and I can pay you in Galleons," Albert said awkwardly.
"Don't worry about the money. I'll take a look in the forest when I have time, but don't get your hopes up. The gamekeeper usually doesn't let anyone touch the rowan trees," Hagrid said, understanding Albert's request.
Rowan trees, protecting family?
How nice.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Albert said gratefully, starting to think about what gift he could give in return.
"You're welcome," Hagrid said, scratching his head awkwardly.
Like Fang, Hagrid didn't seem as fierce as he looked.
"You're amazing,"
On the way back to the castle, the three boys simultaneously gave Albert a thumbs-up.
"Do you guys want some?" Albert asked, pulling out the small bundle of unicorn tail hair from his pocket.
"No, thanks. But what do you want it for?"
"I'm going to make a bracelet for my sister's birthday. She's never seen unicorn tail hair before!" Albert had already decided that if he couldn't get rowan wood, he would use the unicorn tail hair to make a gift for Niya.
"Birthday gift?" They looked at each other.
"Speaking of which, what did we give Ginny for her birthday this year?" Fred suddenly asked his twin brother.
"Liquorice wand."
"And Ron?" Fred asked.
"Cream flies and cockroach clusters," George answered without hesitation.
Albert suddenly felt that Ron wasn't so lucky, having brothers like these.
(End of Chapter)
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