Chapter 31: It's So Cute
Harry, not yet realizing what Ezio and Hagrid meant by 'little cuties', was full of excitement. But Fang was a dog who understood. He stood firmly by his food bowl, ready to defend his right to chew on rock cakes to the death.
Sad tears trickled from the corners of Fang's eyes. Compared to seeing those "little cuties," Fang would rather wage war against the rock cakes. Not even a ghost would believe those things were "little cuties." Any one of them could snatch him up and eat him for a snack. When he was a puppy and followed Hagrid on patrols in the forest, Fang had suffered greatly.
The things in that forest were terrifying to a dog.
Following Hagrid out of the hut, the unarmed giant entered the Forbidden Forest alone. He asked Ezio and Harry to wait outside for a moment.
Hagrid was gone for about ten minutes. Before he returned, a clear eagle cry echoed from the sky.
They looked up and saw Neil diving down from a great height. He then spread his wings to decelerate, and as he passed in front of them, Neil released his talons, dropping a fluffy object. He then made a nimble turn, slowed down again, and landed on Ezio's outstretched arm.
"Neil, are you getting used to Hogwarts?"
Neil tilted his head and preened his feathers, seeming to say with his eyes, "Couldn't be better."
"What is that thing?" Harry's attention was on the ball of fluff Neil had dropped. He asked curiously.
"Probably a Puffskein." Looking at the furball, which was about the size of a football, Ezio crouched down to examine it. "Looks like you've already improved your diet, Neil. No need to catch poor owls and stray rabbits now."
Neil flapped his wings and proudly raised his head.
Speaking of which, Neil was just an ordinary, non-magical gyrfalcon. To be honest, at first, Ezio had been a little worried about Neil's food situation. After all, the creatures in the Hogwarts forest were almost all magical. While there were ordinary animals, such as sheep, rabbits, and wild boars, they were at the very bottom of the food chain, their destiny in life being to be eaten.
But it was clear that Neil was no ordinary eagle either. After forming a contract with Ezio, he had also shared in Ezio's magical energy. Compared to a typical gyrfalcon, Neil was smarter and stronger. Just like wizarding owls, these birds had magic in their bodies, the result of generations of breeding and domestication. Unlike ordinary owls that slept during the day and hunted mice at night, the magical owls that served as couriers were almost all active during the day. Magic had changed them.
"Alright, I know you're very capable," Ezio said, stroking Neil's little head, which kept nudging him. He then placed him on the ground.
Neil, chest puffed out, hopped over to the Puffskein. He then pinned its body with his talons and tore open his prey with his sharp beak, beginning to feast.
Neither Ezio nor Harry reacted much to this somewhat bloody scene. In their eyes, it was simply a matter of eating. Hedwig also caught mice, and Harry had seen it with his own eyes.
The Puffskein looked quite large, but it was actually all fluffy fur. After removing the fur, the creature looked a bit like a bald hedgehog, only the size of a palm. Given Neil's appetite, he would need to catch at least one more.
Just as Neil was bloodily finishing his dinner, Hagrid's giant figure appeared at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"Come and see! Let me introduce you to Buckbeak... oh, the poor little furball." Hagrid saw the Puffskein that had been eaten clean by Neil and then grinned. "But that's not enough to fill you up, is it, lad?"
With that, Hagrid tossed over an otter that had just been killed. Neil was startled by Hagrid's action but soon hopped over excitedly. The otter, a size larger than a cat, was enough to last him two meals.
"Ok, ok, don't worry there's plenty more." As Hagrid threw the otter to feed Neil, a large creature following behind him let out a cry of dissatisfaction. The sound was very similar to an eagle's cry, but lower and much louder.
Neil snatched the otter, took to the air, and landed on the shed behind Ezio.
"A Hippogriff?"
Ezio saw the large creature, most of whose body was hidden behind Hagrid. Buckbeak revealed a head like that of a giant eagle, and the wingspan of his outstretched wings was definitely over five meters.
"Yes, that's right. A Hippogriff. A beautiful little thing, isn't he?"
Hagrid led Buckbeak to a stop three or four steps in front of them. He pulled several otters from his giant pockets and handed them to Ezio and Harry. "You hold these. You can feed Buckbeak yourselves in a bit."
"He's really beautiful!" Harry said, struggling to lift the four plump otters Hagrid had given him. He stared with wide eyes at this 'little cutie', which had a white base color dotted with grey feathers. When Buckbeak stood up straight, his shoulder height was at least 1.8 meters, making him about the size of a Shire horse.
"Buckbeak is the Hippogriff closest to me, and also the only white one. Most of these little ones are brown, greyish-brown, or black. White ones are very rare."
"Come on, come on, greet him first, or he might come and snatch the otters from your hands. It's one of their favorite foods."
"So what do we do?"
"Hippogriffs are very proud creatures. If you want to be friends with them, you need to show them respect."
Hagrid knew these lovely little creatures well. Although he had only studied at Hogwarts for three years, in his fifty years as the gamekeeper, he had mastered a great deal of knowledge and skills related to magical creatures. Due to his position, Hagrid had a good relationship with the Care of Magical Creatures professors at Hogwarts, and they were not stingy with their help.
"Look them in the eye, and then bow. If they respond, you're in."
Hagrid made it sound simple, and in practice, it wasn't difficult. Perhaps because he was truly hungry and greedy, Buckbeak responded immediately after the two of them bowed. He then happily devoured the otters one by one, squinting his eyes in enjoyment as they brushed his body with a grooming brush. Before long, Ezio and Harry had become familiar with Buckbeak.
"Hagrid, how high can a Hippogriff fly?" Ezio inquired from the side.
As things stood, he could only rely on the power of magical creatures to get to an altitude of ten thousand meters. Although he could sneak out and steal a plane or something, the problem was that he didn't know how to fly one. Learning to fly a fighter jet was too much trouble. He was an assassin, not someone who flew planes and dropped little boys out of them... though dropping them did sound rather appealing. The target would definitely have no escape.
"How high can they fly?" The question really stumped Hagrid. "Probably not that high." Hagrid scratched his head and thought for a long time. "Although Hippogriffs can fly, they are a bit too clumsy compared to other flying creatures. Similar to a Pegasus, although half their body is like an eagle's, they are not skilled at aerial hunting."
"Ten thousand meters. Can they reach it?"
"What are you going to such a high place for?" Hagrid asked in surprise.
"Just to see the world. I'm not afraid of falling. I have magic, I'm a wizard."
"Alright, but I still advise you not to entertain such ideas. Ten thousand meters, it sounds terrifying just to hear it." Hagrid was not a fan of flying high, even though he had no fear of heights. "But if there's anything that can fly to ten thousand meters, I'm sure a Thunderbird can. But we don't have any Thunderbirds at Hogwarts now. There was one that flew over from America twelve years ago, but since I couldn't find a mate for it, I could only watch it leave."
There was a hint of regret in Hagrid's voice. He had been quite fond of that big bird that crackled with electricity. It felt tingly to the touch, which was particularly satisfying.
*****
Alright team, huddle up. You are addicted and want a higher dose of chapters, and I want to see this story climb the shiny Power Stone mountain.
Let's help each other out! If you can get us into the Top 15 on the rankings and keep us there, I'll officially switch into high gear and release two chapters daily.
So, don't forget to smash that button.
Also my Patreon page is officially up and running..
The deal is simple: you get cool rewards (like reading 20 chapters ridiculously early) and I get to keep writing, fueled by your amazing support. It's a win-win!
I'd be absolutely thrilled if you'd spare a moment to take a peek. (Fingers crossed you'll join!)
https://Patreon.com/CanonTwist