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Chapter 98: The Centaur
Chapter 98: The Centaur
The Forbidden Forest was pitch-black, with moonlight cascading through the branches above like shattered crystals, scattering silver-white fragments on the fallen leaves.
Not long into their journey, Kyle suddenly realized that the surroundings seemed familiar.
Not far away, a group of Mooncrazed Beasts stared with their large eyes, curiously peering through the bushes at them.
At that moment, Hagrid spoke up, "Besides the missing Unicorn Foal, there are also fewer Mooncrazed Beasts here."
Kyle's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and asked, "Are we going to look for them today?"
"No, it's not necessary," Hagrid shook his head, "Since the other Mooncrazed Beasts here don't show any abnormalities, I think they might have gone to the southern woods, where there's a larger Mooncrazed Beast population."
"Oh, I see... That's good."
Kyle heaved a sigh of relief and followed Hagrid deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Before leaving, he took out a large handful of White Fresh Leaves and scattered them nearby, providing an extra meal for the Mooncrazed Beasts.
Hagrid noticed Kyle's action, but his mind was preoccupied with the stolen Unicorn Foal, so he didn't pay much attention, assuming that Kyle had grown these White Fresh Leaves himself.
The further they ventured, the more anxious Hagrid's expression became.
Observing his demeanor, Kyle thought aloud, "Could it be that another animal stole the Unicorn Foal?"
"Impossible," Hagrid replied, "Unicorns are extremely protective of their foals, and they possess powerful magic. Even a Dragon wouldn't be able to approach and take their foal without resorting to cunning and deceit."
They walked through a woodland covered in moss and fungi, reaching the side of a winding stream.
"Ow..." Taya howled.
In the silent Forbidden Forest, this sharp canine bark sounded particularly jarring.
"Taya, did you find something?"
Hagrid hurried over, drawing an arrow and loading it into his crossbow, ready to shoot at any moment.
Taya sat there, patting the ground with her front paw, and on a nearby branch hung a palm-sized piece of black shredded cloth.
"Good job, Taya! Well done!"
Hagrid took the cloth, gently rubbed it between his fingers, and then held it to his nose to sniff.
"Rough texture... and this distinctive scent." Hagrid muttered, "I know now, there must have been outsiders in the Forbidden Forest."
"Isn't this just an ordinary piece of cloth?" Kyle asked.
"No," Hagrid affirmed, "This cloth is made from a special type of vine, with a rough texture. Clothes made from it are extremely uncomfortable, the only advantage being their durability and wear resistance.
So only Aurors who need to carry out long-term missions and dragon keepers would wear them."
This piece of shredded cloth was the first clue they had found.
Hagrid wanted Taya to track down the person based on the scent, but Taya just circled around and then returned to her original spot.
Hagrid looked a bit disappointed.
The two continued along the stream, carefully searching the surroundings.
Suddenly, a dark figure flashed by.
"Who's there!" Hagrid raised his crossbow, blocking Kyle, and shouted, "Come out, I see you!"
"Clop-clop..."
Accompanied by the sound of hooves, a half-human, half-horse creature stepped into the clearing.
From the waist up, it was human, with red hair and a beard, but from the waist down, it had a reddish-brown horse body, and a long, red tail trailed behind.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief. "How are you?"
He stepped forward and shook hands with the centaur.
"Good evening, Hagrid," Ronan's voice was deep and melancholy. "Are you planning to shoot me with your arrows?"
"Just in case, Ronan," Hagrid patted his quiver. "There's a young wizard with me this time, and I need to ensure his safety."
Oh, and this is Kyle Joab, a student from Hogwarts."
Then he turned to Kyle and said, "This is Ronan, a centaur."
Upon seeing that it was a male centaur, Kyle's interest diminished, but out of politeness, he nodded and said, "Hello."
Ronan examined Kyle closely, then placed his arm on his shoulder and bent his front leg slightly. "Good evening, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Kyle was a bit puzzled, sensing that there was something off about this centaur. The centaur seemed overly formal.
Centaurs are proud creatures; usually, when encountering strangers, they would merely nod their heads at most, but this one had just... bowed and bent his leg like that.
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That's a treatment only Dumbledore would receive.
"Ronan, it's good to meet you here," Hagrid put away his crossbow and said, "A unicorn foal has been stolen, did you see anything?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately, gazing at the sky without blinking.
"Don't worry," he said, "The Mars is quite normal tonight."
"Yes, just like any other night," Hagrid glanced up dismissively and continued, "But did you see anything unusual, or any strangers?"
"You're acting strangely," Ronan said, puzzled.
"I'm fine!" Hagrid grew impatient. "I mean, did you see anything out of the ordinary?"
"Come with me," Ronan glanced at them and turned into a patch of bushy undergrowth.
Hagrid and Kyle hurried to follow.
They made their way through the undergrowth and stopped in front of a sturdy tree. At this point, Ronan disappeared.
"This is strange; he's actually guiding us," Hagrid looked around and whispered, "These centaurs know a lot, but they're tight-lipped. I always thought they were only interested in things around the moon."
At that moment, Taya suddenly darted out and lay under the tree, howling.
"Did you find something so quickly?"
Hagrid and Kyle rushed to follow.
Where Taya was, there seemed to be a missing chunk on the tree trunk, as if a bite had been taken out of a loaf of bread, with clear signs of corrosion along the edges.
Hagrid approached, stroking his chin. "This must be some sort of evil dark magic."
Kyle, due to his height, couldn't see the gap, so he circled around. This tree was truly massive, with a diameter of about five meters, which was quite rare even in the Forbidden Forest.
Compared to it, the surrounding plants seemed malnourished, small and stunted. Kyle didn't need to walk over; a quick glance was sufficient to take in the scene.
(End of Chapter)
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