Hagrid led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, pointed to a narrow path hidden in the woods, and said to them, "Since you're curious about what's in the forest... let's go!"
Albert and the others looked into the woods, where they found a desolate forest. A cold wind blew from the forest, making the four of them shiver and shudder.
"Hagrid, aren't you going to get ready?" Albert asked, thinking that Hagrid would grab a weapon and that it wouldn't be wise to enter the Forbidden Forest empty-handed.
"Ready?" Hagrid tilted his head, seemingly pondering the meaning of Albert's words. After a moment, he patted his chest confidently with his large, fan-like hand and said, "As long as you are with me, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will harm you."
Albert gave Hagrid a thumbs-up and praised him, "It seems that not just anyone can be a hunting ground manager."
"That's natural."
Hagrid walked ahead, and Albert and the others quickly followed.
The forest was deathly silent, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, which greatly hindered the short-legged group's movement, making it particularly difficult for them to walk.
"It's amazing you guys thought you could catch rabbits in this kind of environment." Albert pulled his boots out of the snow; he could feel snow getting inside.
"Catch rabbits?" Hagrid stopped and turned to look at Albert and his group. "What rabbits?"
"It's nothing. We found a rabbit when we were here last time," George muttered. "We're planning to go fishing at Black Lake soon."
"Hagrid, where are you taking us?" Fred glared at George and changed the subject.
"I'll show you around and give you a look at the Forbidden Forest." Hagrid pointed to the surrounding snow. "It's always been like this, you know."
"I've heard that giants roam the Forbidden Forest," Lee Jordan suddenly asked. "Is that true?"
"Forest trolls? They're deep in the Forbidden Forest, maybe a journey of several days." Hagrid said confidently. "Even if we encounter trolls, don't worry, I can defeat them all by myself with my bare hands."
"There really are giants here?" Albert exclaimed in surprise.
In fact, Albert did not doubt that Hagrid could defeat the giant, after all, this man had the blood of a giant and was someone who could roam freely in the Forbidden Forest.
"There were, and quite a few. After Dumbledore became headmaster, he decided to keep trolls far away from Hogwarts. He didn't like those stupid creatures," Hagrid explained. "Trolls are stupid and dangerous to most students."
"I think the headmaster knew that some students might be curious and go into the woods, so he drove away all the nearby dangers to prevent any accidents from happening to the students," Fred guessed.
"That makes sense," several people echoed.
"What I'm more curious about is, how come there's a road here?" Albert pointed to the fork in the road ahead. "This doesn't look like a beast trail."
"Most of the paths here were carved out by me," Hagrid said proudly. "Of course, some of them were originally animal trails."
For the next while, Hagrid led them on a aimless wandering through the forest, without encountering any danger or seeing any magical creatures.
There were no ferocious beasts or interesting things in the forest, only the cold and desolation of winter.
This reminded Albert of adventure novels he had read before, where behind the thrilling adventures often lay endless, tedious journeys.
In the dense thicket, there is a rare clearing where sunlight filters through the branches, casting a golden glow on the clearing.
Albert's gaze fell upon an unnatural ridge beneath an old pine tree. He walked over, brushed aside the snow, and dug out a mushroom?
No, it doesn't really look like a mushroom; this thing should be called a fungus.
"Hagrid, do you think this thing is edible?" Albert handed the mushrooms he had found to Hagrid.
"This? What are you doing with this?" Hagrid scratched his head, but nodded and explained, "It's okay, it tastes alright, but I don't eat it. It's usually only available in winter, and it's quite rare. It's also very difficult to dig it up."
You don't eat this stuff?
Albert's lips twitched as he stared at the object in his hand. He thought it looked a bit like...
"What are you digging here for?" George asked curiously.
"Nothing much. I heard it's delicious roasted." Albert coughed lightly, bent down, and dug out a smaller one from the snow. He used his wand to turn a branch into a bag, threw the thing he'd dug into the bag, and then stuffed it back into his robe pocket.
"Roasted, delicious?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "I haven't tried it."
"Ahem." Albert changed the subject. "Hagrid, were you leading us in circles around the edge of the woods?"
"The Forbidden Forest is vast; it would take several days to explore it all." Hagrid's embarrassment was hidden beneath his large beard, so no one else could tell.
After walking for a while, Albert heard the sound of flowing water in the distance. There was a stream nearby that had not yet frozen over.
Hagrid suddenly stopped, raised his hand to signal the people behind him to stop, and stared intently at the figures not far away, shouting, "Who's there? Come out."
"Hagrid? What are you doing here?" The one who spoke was a witch who seemed to know Hagrid.
"Who are you?" Hagrid looked a little embarrassed, clearly having forgotten the other person's name.
Albert looked at the newcomer with curiosity; she was a witch with short, gray hair and a prominent chin.
"Wilmina Grapland," the witch introduced herself, "we have met a few times before."
"Oh, hello, Grappleland." Hagrid said awkwardly, slapping his forehead. He had met Grappleland a few times with Professor Kettleber. Grappleland was also an expert in magical biology, and they would occasionally exchange ideas.
"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" The witch Grapland's gaze fell on the four students behind Hagrid. "They're Hogwarts students, aren't they?"
"This..." Hagrid was quite embarrassed and didn't know what to say. It was obviously against the rules for him to bring Albert and the others into the forest.
"Ahem, ma'am, actually Hagrid brought us here to dig for matsutake mushrooms." Albert pulled out what he had just dug up from his pocket, "and to satisfy our curiosity as well."
"Matsutake mushrooms?" Grapland's gaze fell on the mushrooms in Albert's hand, and he looked at Hagrid suspiciously.
The latter nodded awkwardly, pretending that was how things were.
Grapland didn't press the matter further. She wasn't a professor at Hogwarts and couldn't say much about it. After chatting with Hagrid for a few moments, she took her leave to visit Professor Kettleber.
"What is that lady doing here?" George asked curiously.
"They're both experts on magical creatures, and I've met Professor Kettleber a few times at her place," Hagrid said, scratching his head. "I heard that Professor Kettleber's avian eggs have hatched, and she's going to get a few for herself."
"Seriously, you can really come up with a lie so easily, huh?" Fred said to Albert with annoyance. "Looks like I can't believe your nonsense anymore."
"I call this cleverness, you understand?" Albert emphasized repeatedly. "Do you even know what cleverness is?"
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"And we did actually find some matsutake mushrooms. They're said to taste great grilled, it would be great if we could find more." Albert had never tasted matsutake mushrooms before, and he was a little curious whether grilled matsutake mushrooms were really as delicious as the rumors suggested.
"Ahem, that's not the point. How did that witch decide to visit Professor Kettleber?" Fred asked curiously. "Does the professor who protects magical biology live in the woods?"
"Professor Kettleber is indeed staying in the forest temporarily," Hagrid coughed, reminding him, "but I think we should go back."
"Didn't they say the Forbidden Forest is dangerous?" Li Qiaodan asked back.
"Professor Kettleber lives on the outskirts of the forest, and his magical creatures need ample space to roam." Hagrid coughed lightly and said, "Alright, I think we should head back."