章 63: Chapter 63: Hagrid
"What's its name?" Albert finished eating the sandwich in his hand and gently rubbed the dog's head with both hands, asking.
"Toothless," Hagrid answered instinctively.
"Toothless? It feels like the dog's imposing aura disappeared all of a sudden. How about calling it Spike?" Albert casually gave Toothless a new name.
"I think Toothless is fine," Hagrid stopped cleaning the fur and shook his head, rejecting Albert's suggestion.
"I'm Albert Anderson. Are you also a professor at Hogwarts?" Albert asked knowingly.
"No, I'm the guardian of the hunting grounds," Hagrid continued shaking his head.
"Is the hunting ground referring to the forest over there?" Albert pointed towards the Forbidden Forest. Without waiting for Hagrid's answer, he continued, "I heard there are werewolves in the forest, is that true?"
"Are you a Ravenclaw student?" Hagrid asked uncertainly.
Albert glanced at the three people behind him who were snickering and answered, "No, we're all Gryffindor students."
"Oh, Gryffindor students," Hagrid suddenly became serious. "I won't let you go into the forest..."
"Cough, Albert, how did you know this dog would let you rub its head? I thought it looked quite fierce just now," George quickly diverted Hagrid's attention.
The three of them gathered around and started rubbing Toothless's head.
"Just intuition, I guess. I have cats of my own, I just didn't bring them to school," Albert casually found an excuse to brush it off. "By the way, Mr. Hagrid, would you mind if I took a photo of you another day?"
"You can call me Hagrid." Hagrid didn't refuse; he just suddenly recalled some memories.
"Well, Mr. Hagrid. Alright, Hagrid..." Albert subtly brought their relationship closer.
"What do you take photos for?" Hagrid asked.
"I want my family to understand my life at Hogwarts. They are Muggles and have no knowledge of Hogwarts," Albert explained.
"It's best not to reveal too much about the wizarding world to Muggles. It could cause trouble for you," Hagrid reminded, furrowing his brow.
"Oh, I understand," Albert looked at Hagrid and pondered for a moment before speaking again, "Is it because of the Secrecy Law?"
"You know about that?" Hagrid was surprised that Albert knew about the Secrecy Law. A Muggle-born wizard who had just entered Hogwarts should have limited knowledge of the wizarding world.
Albert briefly told Hagrid about the unfortunate incident with Dudley.
The gamekeeper listened intently and then whispered, "I'm not very familiar with the Secrecy Law either, but I do know that underage wizards who use magic in front of Muggle family members will be warned. If they deliberately use magic in Muggle residential areas, it's considered a criminal act and they can be expelled directly."
"Has there been any case of expulsion at Hogwarts?" Albert realized that he had indeed misled Dudley. No wonder he received an expulsion letter instead of a warning.
"As far as I know, there shouldn't be any," Hagrid replied, also unsure.
"That incident was an exception," Fred cleared his throat and explained, "We can only say that Dudley was unlucky to run into you."
"I see!" Albert thought for a moment and understood the reason. There should have been some Muggle-born young wizards who received warnings, but they were usually scared off by the letters and didn't dare to risk expulsion by using magic again.
"By the way, Hagrid, what dangerous creatures are in the Forbidden Forest? And why doesn't Dumbledore allow first-year students to enter?" Albert redirected the conversation, returning to the topic that everyone was currently interested in.
"In the Forbidden Forest, there are many dangerous magical creatures," Hagrid nodded.
"Like werewolves?" Albert raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Yes, werewolves," Hagrid confirmed.
"But isn't it said that if you get bitten by a werewolf, you become one? How can Dumbledore allow students to live near werewolves?" Albert expressed his doubt.
"Werewolves are deep within the Forbidden Forest and rarely appear near the school, and..." Hagrid's gaze shifted, and it was clear that he was evasive, hiding something.
"Hagrid, have you ever seen a unicorn?"
...
...
"How many questions is this now?" the three of them whispered to each other.
"Ten... or maybe twelve?"
Nevertheless, the three of them admired Albert. They had noticed that Albert had almost extracted every detail about the Forbidden Forest through his inquiries.
They also observed Hagrid's special fondness for dragons. When Albert mentioned dragons, Hagrid became particularly excited and enthusiastically talked about them.
As for the forest outside the Forbidden Forest, it was actually not dangerous. Students occasionally had classes there. However, going deeper into the Forbidden Forest could lead to encounters with centaurs, werewolves, and various other magical creatures, including unicorns.
Noticing Albert's keen interest in unicorns, Hagrid gave him a small bundle of unicorn tail hair. Before they left, Hagrid warned the four of them not to attempt to enter the Forbidden Forest.
Albert stopped in his tracks and suddenly turned to ask, "Hagrid, are there Whomping Willows in the forest?"
"Whomping Willows? You mean the ones with branches that attack?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Albert nodded, "They were mentioned in Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. They can actually repel... I mean, ward off dark magical creatures, right?"
"They do have some use," Hagrid nodded.
"Well, um... could you help me... I mean, could you get me a small section of a dried Whomping Willow branch?"
"Why do you need that?" Hagrid asked, suspiciously.
"I want to make a gift for my sister. I've heard that Whomping Willow has protective properties. I can pay a few Galleons," Albert said sheepishly.
"No need for that. I'll find some time to go into the forest and help you. But don't expect too much. Whomping Willows don't usually allow people to touch them so easily," Hagrid understood Albert's intentions.
Whomping Willow, protecting family?
That's really nice.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Albert said gratefully. He began to think about what Christmas gift he could give to Hagrid in return.
"Don't mention it," Hagrid scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Just like Fang, Hagrid didn't seem as fierce as his appearance suggested.
"You're really amazing."
On the way back to the castle, the three of them raised their thumbs, praising Albert.
"Do you guys want this?" Albert took out the small bundle of unicorn tail hair from his pocket and asked.
"No, thanks. By the way, what do you need it for?" Fred asked curiously.
"I want to make a birthday gift for my sister. She's probably never seen unicorn tail hair before!" Albert had already decided that if he couldn't find a piece of Whomping Willow wood, he would make a bracelet out of the unicorn tail hair as a birthday gift for Nia.
"Birthday gift?" They exchanged glances.
"By the way, what did we give Ginny for her birthday this year?" Fred suddenly asked his twin brother.
"Licorice Wands."
"And what about Ron?" Fred continued.
"Butterbeer
-flavored cockroaches and flies on a stick," George answered without hesitation.
Albert suddenly felt that Ron was also in a difficult position, having such brothers.
....
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