Chapter 76: Playing in the Forbidden Forest (Edited)

Unaware that the twins had been targeted as an excuse for the drop in house points, Fish ran as fast as he could in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

"Big man! Come on now, meow!" shouted Fish as he leapt towards the door of the hut, transforming back into his human form and slamming the wooden door with all his might.(●-``Д′-)ツ

"Woof woof!"

Fang's reply sounded from the door, followed by Hagrid's heavy footsteps.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Hagrid said as he opened the door, only for Fish to grab a corner of his clothes and drag him hurriedly, "Wait a minute, Fish, I haven't finished my breakfast yet!"

"Hurry up and eat, meow, you're too slow!"

Fish immediately released him and pushed Hagrid into the hut again.

Hagrid smiled helplessly, sat back down at his table and continued to enjoy his breakfast, handing Fish a small piece of rock crust pie. "Would you like some?"

"No, I'm already full, meow."

Fish hesitated for a moment, but shook his head, he actually liked Hagrid's rock cakes, they were good for grinding his teeth, but now he was more interested in going to the Forbidden Forest, so he put the food aside for now.

Hagrid didn't press the issue, but picked up the cake again and popped it in his mouth and chewed it.

Fish made no fuss, resting his hands and head on the table, staring at Hagrid as he ate, his big eyes flashing with anticipation.(=?ω?=)?

Next to him, Fang also mimicked Fish, resting his paws and head on the table.

Hagrid felt uncomfortable with the cat and dog looking at him, and hurried to eat faster.

"Come on, let's go!"

Hagrid quickly finished his breakfast and got up, grabbing a crossbow and a pink umbrella from the corner and walking quickly to the door.

"Come on!" exclaimed Fish, jumping up behind Hagrid and hopping onto his shoulders like a tabby.

Fang quickly followed, circling Hagrid tirelessly.

As Hagrid moved deeper into the forest, Fish, crouched on his shoulder, tilted his little head, chasing the pesky flying insects with his eyes, while his triangular ears swiveled in different directions, listening to the movements of the surroundings.

Not long after Hagrid advanced, Fish heard the faint faint sound coming from the trees a short distance away.

So he jumped off Hagrid's shoulder and, ignoring Hagrid's shouts, approached the tree where the noise was coming from.

"Meow?"

Fish, who climbed the tree, cocked his head to one side and looked at the strange creature in front of him, unsure if it was an animal or a plant.

This little creature, which was not as big as he was, looked like a doll made of some twigs, but it could move freely and had brown eyes on the branches that represented its heads.

Above all, the little creature made a strange sound, which Fish could not understand, but which the druid skill could understand: this creature, animal or plant, was friendly.

"It's a Bowtruckle, a protector of trees, a magical creature with a gentle and somewhat shy nature" Hagrid, under the tree, raised his head and presented it to Fish.

"Meow!"

Sensing the joy coming from the other creature, Fish gave it a lick and then rubbed its head against the other creature's body, emitting a friendly purr from its throat.

After a quick exchange of words, the Bowtruckle pulled a woodlouse out of its hole and brought it to Fish.

The woodlouse, which looks a bit like small cockroaches, was a staple of the Bowtruckles' diet, and was brought in especially to serve Fish.

Fish opened his mouth, took a couple of bites of one, then swallowed it whole and rejected the rest.

He had long since gotten used to human food, and now he couldn't eat this stuff, though he didn't find it unpalatable, he didn't find it delicious either.

"I'll give you something good to eat!"

Fish transformed into his human form, took out a box of cockroaches from his magic bag, and handed it to the Bowtruckle.

The Bowtruckle was first frightened by Fish's transformation and hid in a hole in the tree, but only after confirming that Fish (the human) was Fish (the cat) did he come back out and take a of cockroach cones from him.

However, after sniffing the cockroach cone, he handed it back to Fish with a look of disgust.

The sweetness was too much for the Bowtruckle.

"He can't even eat candy, too bad, meow." Fish didn't press him, he just sighed, then popped the pile of roach in his mouth and chewed it.

"I'm leaving now, meow." (●ΦωΦ●)ツ

Realizing he had nothing in common with the other, Fish waved at the Bowtruckle, then changed back into a tabby cat and jumped into a nearby tree.

"Fish, where are you going?!"

Hagrid, who had been happily observing the communication between Fish and the Bowtruckle, was startled and ran after Fish.

Standing at the top of a tree, Fish lowered his head, looked up at Hagrid who was hurrying toward him, wagged his tail and....

He kept jumping and running from branch to branch.

"Wait! Fish! Don't run away!" shouted Hagrid.

"Meow~?" (=｀? ==)?

But the more Hagrid shouted from below, the more cheerful Fish was as he ran.

Fang, who understood what Fish was saying, also ran happily, chasing Fish with Hagrid, wagging his tail and sticking out his long tongue happily.

Dogs like chase games much better than cats.

"Woof!"

"Meow~"

"Stop! Stop running!"

...

After a mad dash, an exhausted Hagrid leaned against a large tree, panting heavily.

"No...I can't...run, I can't run anymore..."

Leaning against the tree trunk and sliding to the ground, Hagrid had no more strength to chase the little Fish.

He squinted and looked up, only to see Fish, who had wandered off much earlier, poking his head through the dense foliage and staring at him.

|ΦωΦ=)

Hagrid, who thought Fish would finally return obediently, braced his hands on the ground and was about to stand up, when Fish turned his head behind the leaves and fled again.

"..."

Hagrid sat back down, wondering in his mind how to explain to Professor McGonagall when he returned.

'I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I lost Fish by accident.'

'If I tell his that, I'll probably have Professor McGonagall tear me to pieces...'

The taller Hagrid winced and shook his head to shake off the unfortunate thought.

"Whoa! Whoa!"

While Hagrid's face was troubled, Fang suddenly barked at a tree, then rested his two front paws on the trunk and wagged his tail frantically.

Following Fang's gaze, Hagrid saw that familiar cat face again.

|ΦωΦ=)

"..."

After a few moments of staring at Fish, Hagrid made a motion to get up, but Fish turned his head and ran off, and when Hagrid looked away and looked up again after a while, he soon found Fish in a tree.

(|ΦωΦ=)

Hagrid, who had finally realized what Fish was playing at, didn't know whether to cry or laugh.