"I received the message to pick you up at 5: 30, but I didn't expect you to go the wrong way." The old man said slowly.
Wrong way?
His cold fingers started to warm up, and Hoffa's face gradually returned to normal.
Without a doubt, this old man with a bow and arrow on his back was the Hogwarts Hunting Ground Warden.
"Why did you set up this thing at the entrance!?" Hoffa pointed at the tree trunk, suppressing his anger as he questioned.
He was thankful that he had a meditation technique. If he was a normal first year student, he would have peed his pants. That kind of magic was no joke.
"I didn't set it up, it was set up by the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest."
The old man said lightly, without any intention to explain further.
"What, why would the centaurs do this?"
"The Forbidden Forest hasn't been peaceful recently, so they wanted to help." The old man curled his lips, "Come with me."
With that, he tightened his grip on the bow and arrow on his back and walked into the Forbidden Forest.
Seeing the old man disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Hoffa followed behind him and asked, "What are the three pictures on the tree?"
"Past, present, future." The old man said plainly. "Just follow me and you'll be fine, don't run around."
"What?" The old man's pace was a bit fast, Hoffa had to speed up to keep up with him. "What past, present, and future, can you explain more clearly?"
"I don't know, I'm not interested in centaurs' magic. If you want to know, I suggest you ask a centaur."
Seeing that the old man didn't seem to want to talk nonsense. Hoffa could only shut up and continue walking in silence.
Following the old man, the previous incident didn't happen again. The surrounding scenery also became more realistic. There were no forks in the road, and it wasn't as strange as before. It was just a normal forest.
After walking for about three minutes, their vision cleared up. Hoffa saw a faint light in the forest, and there was the crackling sound of fire in the air.
The old man brought Hoffa to a campfire in the forest. He put down his bow and pointed at the opposite side of the fire.
"Sit, we're a bit busy tonight, we'll leave after dinner."
There was a round rock opposite the bonfire. It was sheltered by trees and the ground was dry. There was no rain. There was a tin can on top of the fire. Something was simmering inside, and the air was filled with a faint meaty aroma.
Hoffa obeyed and sat down. He didn't say anything for a while. He only used the firelight to size up the old man opposite him.
Joey Dago.
This guy was the most unlike a wizard he had ever seen. He was wearing an animal skin coat and only had one eye. There were several steel daggers at his waist. He carried a wooden bow and iron arrows on his back, and there were two dead hares hanging on the wooden frame beside him.
If not for the fact that he was in Hogwarts, Hoffa would have thought that he was just an unknown hunter from the countryside.
Joey Dago did not speak. In fact, ever since Hoffa appeared, he had been rather quiet. He kept fiddling with the stone in front of him with the fire tongs and didn't even look at Hoffa.
After about five minutes of silence, Hoffa took out a piece of parchment. "Sir, this is my assessment report."
Across the fire, Hoffa politely handed the report over.
"Mm."
The old man took the report and stuffed it into his pocket without even looking at it.
Then he continued fiddling with the stone and charcoal.
Hoffa asked tentatively, "Cough, Mr. Dago, what mission do I have tonight?"
"Just call me Joey," the man said flatly.
He didn't even raise his head.
His accent didn't sound like England's, but more like America's.
"Uh."
For a moment, Hoffa didn't know how to respond. He could only shut his mouth.
After about twenty minutes, the meaty aroma in the air became even stronger.
Hoffa had only eaten a bit of potato pie and a few drumsticks before he came. His stomach was empty. When he smelled the aroma, he couldn't help but salivate a little.
Joey took out a spoon from behind his back, opened the tin can, and turned it around.
The tin can was originally rabbit meat stewed with beans. It was bright red and very tempting.
The old man tasted it a little and took out a wooden plate from behind him. He scooped some and handed it to Hoffa. Hoffa hurriedly thanked him and took it.
A spoonful of beans entered his mouth, and a warmth spread from his mouth to his stomach. It was delicious. The beans were very mushy, and the rabbit meat was delicious. This was completely different from the food made by the house elves in Hogwarts. It was rough but had a unique flavor.
Hoffa ate the beans, thinking that it would be perfect if there was a bowl of white rice at this time.
Joey didn't have white rice. He took out a piece of whole-wheat bread from behind him, broke it open, and gave some to Hoffa. Then he scooped a bowl of beans for himself.
Hoffa dipped the bread in the rabbit meat sauce and swallowed it. The warmth in his stomach gradually dispelled the uneasiness and fear brought about by the centaur magic.
"You're that student called Hoffa Bach?" Joey asked as he ate.
Hoffa nodded. His mouth was stuffed with beans, and he said vaguely: "Yes."
"You came at a bad time. Tonight's mission is more dangerous. We need to go deeper into the forbidden forest. Don't get lost when the time comes, understand?"
"What mission is it exactly?" Hoffa asked.
"Save a few magical animals. The old man said without looking up.
"What animals?" Hoffa was curious. This old man always said one thing.
"Dodo bird."
Dodo bird. Does that sound dangerous?
Hoffa didn't refuse. His goal now was to be an honest person and get rid of his bad record in school.
The old man ate very quickly. After a few bites, he carried his bow and arrow on his back. He lit a torch and held it in his hand.
"Let's go."
Hoffa put down his plate and followed.
It was Hoffa's first time in the forbidden forest at night. He was still a little nervous. If he was in the same generation as Harry and knew what he would encounter, even if he met the soul of Lord Voldemort or a giant spider, he wouldn't panic. Because it was certain and known. It was bound to happen.
But now, he didn't know what would happen in the forest. He also didn't know the old man beside him. Everything was unknown. This was what worried Hoffa the most.
In particular, Huo Fa was walking very cautiously after being intimidated by the strange magic illusion.
Joey glanced at Hoffa's cautious posture and asked as he walked: "Are you from Gryffindor?"
"No, Ravenclaw."
"Ravenclaw. How strange. I've been at Hogwarts for ten years, and this is the first time I've seen a student from Ravenclaw punished to the forbidden forest."
Hoffa's mouth was wide open. What? He was the first Ravenclaw student to be punished to the forbidden forest in ten years.
Joey continued: "Most of the people who come here are Gryffindor. Those energetic little bastards can't wait to break every rule. Next is Hufflepuff, then Slytherin. Ravenclaw, you're the first. "
Hoffa kept quiet. He had to admit that the old man's words were quite effective. Hoffa's uneasiness was quickly suppressed.
This old man seemed to be very experienced. So many Gryffindor were fine, so he should be fine too.
After walking for another ten minutes, the sound of gurgling water could be heard. Joey suddenly reached out and stopped Hoffa. They came to a small stream. It wasn't as dark as the forbidden forest. The reason was that there were some fungus plants on the ground that emitted yellow and blue fluorescent light.
Their small umbrellas emitted a dim light in the dark night. It was very beautiful.
But Hoffa looked at them and thought of the mushrooms in the illusion. His stomach tightened.
Joey stood still by the stream. Hoffa curiously turned his head and asked: "What's wrong?"
"Wait a minute. We're waiting for a friend," Joey said calmly.
"A friend?" Hoffa was curious.
Before he could ask, he already knew who his friend was.
In the forest at night, there was a stunning scene.
A unicorn slowly walked out of the forest, its body emitting a silvery-white light. Its mane was soft, like a horse, but it was much cleaner and more beautiful.
A few colorful butterflies were flying around the horn on its head. It looked very pleasing.
Old Joey bowed to the unicorn across the stream. Huo Fa was shocked by the beauty of this animal and could not help but bow as well. The unicorn nodded and drank a mouthful of water from the stream. It changed direction and entered the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
"Let's go." Joey motioned for Hoffa to follow.
"Unicorns know all kinds of things in the forest. Usually, they'll help you find problems in the forest. But basically, the problems they find are usually not small problems. Something might have happened in the forbidden forest. "
Joey followed behind the unicorn and explained to Hoffa in a low voice.
Hoffa looked at the blurry silver figure in front of him. It jumped in the dark forest. Its speed was very fast and very light. It almost didn't make any sound. Every time its hooves stepped on the ground, it would leave some bright magic traces. Small and bright plants would quickly grow in those traces. It was very conspicuous in the dark ground.
This was the second time Hoffa had seen a magical creature. The last time he saw a magical creature was when he was with the dark wizard Schmidt. But those creatures almost killed Hoffa.
After running for five minutes.
Joey: "We're almost at the dodo's nest."
Hoffa: "Oh."
After being in the magic school for so long, Hoffa had some common knowledge about magical creatures. The dodo was a gentle and soft small bird. It was good at escaping and not aggressive.
This kind of bird should be very safe.
Wait!!
What's that!?
The unicorn stopped in its tracks. It whinnied.
Joey lit up his wand. Hoffa sucked in a breath of cold air and took six or seven steps back in a row. Leaning against a tree, he couldn't be more shocked.
In the middle of the forest, there was a huge creature. It was like a hill. It had an eagle's head, six wings, gray feathers, and dark golden eyes.
It was at least ten meters long, and this was in its nest. God knows how big this thing would be if it really flew.
Here, Hoffa felt that the weather was suffocating, like the sultry heat before a summer rainstorm. Damn it, it was October in England now.
There was some inexplicable electricity floating around, making Hoffa's scalp tingle.
The giant bird looked up at Hoffa and whinnied in a low voice. It meant no harm.
Joey said calmly, "This is Talas, my friend."
Hoffa was shocked. "This guy is a dodo, are you kidding?"
"No, it's a Thunderbird."
After saying that, Joey stepped forward and patted the giant bird's beak.
The giant bird nudged Joey affectionately, its head bigger than its body. Joey's expression softened. He hugged the bird's head and whispered to it affectionately, feeding it from time to time.
But the bird couldn't eat anymore.
Hoffa recovered from his initial shock and only then did he notice.
The bird was very old. The ground was covered with thick feathers. Many of the feathers on its body had fallen off. Its eyes didn't have much luster and its wings drooped weakly. It looked like it was about to die.
Thunderbird, an old Thunderbird.
A legendary creature. Hoffa had seen this kind of bird that could summon thunder and lightning in a movie in his previous life. This kind of bird only lived in Arizona in the United States. Why was there one in the Forbidden Forest of England?
Walking around this magical creation, Hoffa murmured, "I remember, this is a 4x level magical creature labeled by the Ministry of Magic. It's the same level as a dragon. It's strictly forbidden to raise it."
"So what?" Joey hugged the bird's head and said calmly. "Rules are just tools made by people. No one in the animal world rules whose territory belongs to who."
"Do the people in school know?"
Joey just glanced at Hoffa and didn't say anything.
Hoffa was embarrassed. He could only speculate that the Thunderbird was brought here by Joey because Joey sounded like an American.
Joey said a few words to the Thunderbird. Then, the Thunderbird struggled to lift its wings and let out a low cry. Its voice was a little sad.
Huo Fa walked closer to take a look. Only then did he realize that under the huge thunderbird's wings was a small natural shack. There were many nests of land birds on the ground. There were many bird feathers scattered here and there. Some were red and some were blue.
Huo Fa took a few slow steps around the shack and was surprised when he kicked a hard object. When he looked carefully, he found a dead bird that was stiff.
It was the size of a hen. Its eyes were wide open and its beautiful feathers had lost their luster.
A dead dodo.
Hoffa walked around the shelter and took a deep breath.
Around the fir tree behind the Thunderbird, there were dozens of colorful and round chocobos on the ground.
The dodos were all dead. They were facing the same direction, their bodies stiff. There was a faint smell of death in the air.
It was as if they were killed in an instant when they were running away.
The unicorn circled around Hoffa and slowly walked past him. It was a little sad and didn't want to stay here. After it nudged a few eggs on the ground, it quickly ran away and disappeared into the forest.
Joey raised his shining wand and turned around. Seeing the scene in front of him, his expression was serious.
He felt around on the ground, his brows furrowed. From time to time, he put his hand to his nose and sniffed.
"Time of death is less than 48 hours. Damn it."
Thunderbird let out a low cry. Its voice was angry and unwilling.
Joey raised his head and said to Thunderbird, "It's not your fault. You're old."
Only then did the Thunderbird stop crying.
Joey rubbed his chin and muttered, "Even the unicorn and Thunderbird were fooled. The murderer is really something …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
