Under Harry's anticipation, a week passed in a flash, and soon came the time they'd agreed to visit Hagrid at the forest's edge together.
"Sterling! Over here!"
Sterling had just left the castle when he spotted Harry waving in the distance. Ron looked somewhat dazed following behind, as if still not fully awake.
"History of Magic?"
Terry asked. Harry nodded and slapped the back of Ron'shead, making him yelp and instantly wake up.
"Very normal, very normal. Even we Ravenclaws can't withstand Professor Binns' lullabies."
"We have a fifth-year who organised a group to research whether there are spells that make spoken words hypnotic. They suspect Professor Binns has such a spell permanently cast on him."
Hermione had joined that group. According to her, a History of Magic class that even she couldn't bear was "inconceivable, against reason... there must be magical influence."
"Should we set off now?" Sterling was quite energetic these days. All he had to do was review Transfiguration knowledge for Professor McGonagall's assessment, which was quite relaxing.
Compared to that nightmarish first week of school, any challenging study tasks seemed easy.
"Yes, it's about time. Too bad Neville can't come because Professor Sprout adjusted the helper schedule... He'd definitely love the Forbidden Forest, even just the edge."
"Wait!" Sterling keenly spotted the blind spot. "You've already been to the Forbidden Forest?"
"Just the edge, the edge..." Harry smiled somewhat awkwardly. Sterling glared at him but didn't say more.
After all, it was in the past. Most importantly, he would relay this to Hermione.
He trusted Hermione would make Harry realise his mistake. And Ron too. How could he possibly escape?
"Fine, Terry. Let's go... Why don't you try stuffing a tea bag in Ron's mouth? I remember high-concentration tea can be refreshing, right?"
"Tea bag in the mouth?!" Terry looked at Sterling with exactly the same expression Snape gave him.
"Who gets refreshed by eating tea leaves? Merlin, this is custom-made tea! Custom-made! Two Galleons per bag! Such good tea used for chewing in your mouth!"
Terry was nearly fuming.
"If I really did that, in the dead of night, this tea's vengeful spirit would drag me to hell!"
"I apologise! Master Terry, please forgive my ignorance."
"Repent to the Tea God for your recklessness! Along with your previous crime of adding half a cup of sugar to one cup of tea!"
"Ron! Ron, wake up! Don't fall to the ground! The ground is dirty."
Harry, who'd been listening with interest, caught the collapsing Ron. One of Ron's eyes was closed, the other barely a slit.
"I'm... still so sleepy... Harry... Ugh! What is that?!"
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans." Sterling hid his achievement.
"Merlin's beard! What flavour is this? Like a three-day-old rat corpse..."
Terry questioned Sterling with his eyes: why carry Bertie Bott's beans at all times?
Yes, what Sterling held weren't "Every Flavour Beans" but the new "Weird Flavour Beans". Every Flavour Beans were for party fun, containing good and bad flavours, but even the bad ones weren't too terrible.
Weird Flavour Beans were purely prank items. Not only lacking good flavours but also containing disgustingly awful ones designed to torment people...
Clearly, Ron was currently tasting the tormenting kind.
Sterling whistled and avoided Terry's gaze.
He'd originally planned to secretly slip one into Terry's teacup during Utopia meetings while Terry was reading or teaching Neville.
As revenge for yesterday's hidden bean in his cake... That had been the most delicious chocolate cake, completely ruined by that booger-flavoured bean!
Terry caught on. Or rather, he'd been asking with the answer in mind.
He looked at Sterling with heartbreak. It was just an Every Flavour Bean. The punishment didn't fit the crime!
Joking and fooling around, they soon felt the surrounding air gradually freshen. Sterling especially felt an inside-out comfort, as if wind constantly circled him.
Looking up, the Forbidden Forest was right before them.
Sterling suddenly recalled running through the forest that day, flowers blooming with every step, and couldn't help smiling.
Too bad he hadn't entered from this direction. Otherwise he might still see that flower path. During his time with the forest's blessing, everything he'd created would truly exist forever.
Without intentional destruction, that flower path might be passed down with the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts forever, right?
This way, hadn't he achieved some form of "immortality"?
After all, the Forbidden Forest wouldn't forget his existence.
"Harry! How have you been these past days?"
Suddenly hearty laughter rang out. The tall Hagrid emerged from the forest, shouldering a log.
His small beetle-like eyes looked at each of them kindly. Seeing Sterling, he wiped his slightly muddy hands on his patched coat and extended his hand.
"Sterling, right? I often hear Harry mention you! He says you've helped him greatly. I'm truly grateful... Harry's doing well now, confident like his father..."
Hagrid shed a few tears, wiping them with a somewhat yellowed handkerchief.
Harry stood aside blushing, unsure where to put his hands. He was grateful to Sterling, but saying so in front of him... somehow felt embarrassing...
"Oh, and you, Terry... Harry often mentions you too. You've helped Harry a lot with Charms... Oh, let's not stand at the door. Come in and sit!"
Hagrid invited them into his "hut".
Called a hut, it was only small for Hagrid. For Sterling and the others, this cabin was quite spacious.
Hagrid served hot tea, definitely informed by Harry of Terry's preferences. The tea bags on the shelf were clearly newly bought, just opened.
Terry frowned slightly. He had quality standards... But quickly put on a happy expression.
This was Hagrid's kindness toward him. He certainly wouldn't refuse or show disdain like a rude child.
The tea wasn't good, but the sentiment made up for it.
Sterling more directly picked up and drank. He wasn't picky. Besides, Hagrid had provided sugar cubes; filling half the cup would do.
Actually, he hadn't expected Hagrid to look so rough yet be quite thoughtful, accommodating both his and Terry's preferences... It showed how much he truly loved Harry.
So he held affection for those Harry was grateful to.
Sterling envied this feeling. He... how strange, had he ever felt this way? Yes or no? If yes... who was it? It didn't seem like Vivian or Maleficent...
A strange feeling... very uncomfortable...
"Hagrid, look at this. Gringotts was robbed! This date and vault... isn't this from the day you came to get me? And it's your vault!"
Harry suddenly held up a newspaper to Hagrid, thumb pressed on the headline.
"How strange. Why is something so old only being reported today?"
Terry stroked his chin. From Hermione's Muggle world books, he knew news had an important concept called timeliness.
Nearly Christmas now, reporting something from before school started?
"That's not my vault, Harry. Remember? That's Professor Dumbledore's vault. I just did work for him... Of course, only he trusts me!"
"What a coincidence... If you hadn't retrieved it early, that package would've been stolen... What was inside?"
"It was the..." Hagrid suddenly covered his mouth and solemnly shook his head at Harry.
"I can't tell you. That's Professor Dumbledore's special secret. He entrusted me because he trusts me to keep my mouth shut!"
"Alright..." Harry disappointedly lowered his head, then looked up at Hagrid with those beautiful green eyes.
"Impossible!" This time facing those eyes so like Lily's, Hagrid held his ground. He wouldn't be as defenceless against those eyes as a certain professor.
"This is Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel's secret..."
Hmm? Sterling and Terry exchanged glances.
Did they have a different understanding of "keeping one's mouth shut"?