Chapter 48: Mooncalf

Cedric's Quidditch tryouts went very well.

He caught the Snitch in only five minutes and successfully became the new Seeker for the Hufflepuff team.

He then had to attend his first team practice, so he would be at the Quidditch pitch for the whole afternoon.

Kyle only managed to meet him briefly at lunchtime.

"Fred and George don't know any Slytherins either. But they said they'd help brainstorm ideas."

Cedric said with a mouthful of steak, his words muffled, "We're going to think about it properly this afternoon. Do you want to come along?"

"I…"

Before Kyle could reply, a strong voice came from the other side of the table.

"Come on, Cedric. We need to start practice."

"Okay, Captain!"

Cedric managed to swallow the steak in his mouth. He then chugged a large cup of pumpkin juice, turned to Kyle, and said, "I have to go to practice first. The Quidditch Cup is going to be ours this year."

He then ran quickly towards the Quidditch pitch.

"Tsk…"

Kyle rolled his eyes. He wasn't envious at all.

What was so great about the team? They had to practice on weekends, and they couldn't even eat properly. Unlike him, he had plenty of time to savor the tender steak.

Kyle knocked on the table and ordered himself a lemonade to cut the richness.

In the afternoon, Kyle took the parchment and walked outside the castle.

Growing Bitey Cabbage was more troublesome than he thought. It required very specific environmental and climate conditions. Only a few Herbology Masters could transplant it to places outside of its original habitat.

But the Room of Requirement could perfectly solve this major problem. Kyle only had to deal with the fertilizer.

According to "A Guide to Magical Plants of Asia," Bitey Cabbage naturally took fifty days to sprout and two or three years to grow. It had an incredibly slow growth cycle.

Kyle couldn't wait that long. He was going to speed things up.

After leaving the castle, Kyle walked through the grass to a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The hut looked very old. The wood on the roof and walls was of various shades, indicating that it had been repaired many times. A crossbow and a pair of rubber boots hung by the door.

Kyle went forward and knocked on the door.

"Who's that? …Oh, Fang, back off. You'll frighten people."

Accompanied by a deep bark, the door opened a crack, revealing Hagrid's bearded face.

"Young wizard? What are you doing here?" Hagrid looked at Kyle, scowling. "First-year students aren't allowed to go to the Forbidden Forest. Go back to the castle."

He was about to close the door.

"Hagrid, it's me." Kyle said hurriedly, "Remember, we met before."

Hmm?

Hagrid looked at Kyle carefully. The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.

"I remember." Hagrid suddenly clapped his hands. "You're that bad boy from the Chopper family. Because of you, Seiban doesn't even know his name anymore."

"It's just that he didn't like that name, Hagrid." Kyle said earnestly, "You should ask owls for their opinion when you give them names."

"I… alright. I can't argue with you." Hagrid seemed a little nervous. He asked hurriedly, "So, what are you doing here?"

Kyle didn't answer him directly. He looked around and said, "Can I come into your room to talk?"

"No!" Hagrid became even more nervous. He pressed himself against the door, "…Uh, I mean, my room is a bit messy. Let's just talk here. And Fang doesn't like strangers. I'm afraid he'll scare you.

Oh, Fang is my hound. He's taller than you."

"Oh… well, forget it." Kyle showed a surprised expression and agreed. "I came here to ask if there were any Mooncalfs in the Forbidden Forest."

As everyone knows, the best fertilizer in the wizarding world comes from the dung of dragons and Mooncalfs.

There were no dragons in the Forbidden Forest, not until the next term. So, he set his sights on Mooncalfs.

"What are you trying to do!"

Hearing the words "Forbidden Forest," Hagrid forgot about his nervousness. He said sternly, "First-year students are forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest. It's very dangerous. Go back to the castle. Otherwise, I'll go get Professor Sprout."

"Don't worry, Hagrid." Kyle said, "I didn't want to go to the Forbidden Forest. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you."

"Really?"

"Of course." Kyle explained, "I just planted two little darlings. I wanted to find some fertilizer for them."

"Is that so? No wonder you're asking me about Mooncalfs."

Hagrid cautiously squeezed out of the room and quickly turned to close the door.

Hagrid took Kyle to the pumpkin patch next to the cabin and moved a metal bucket out of a corner. "Don't be shy. Take as much as you need."

The bucket was full of silver, ball-shaped objects, the size of ping-pong balls. This was Mooncalf dung. This bucket had at least two hundred or three hundred.

But Kyle frowned.

No, the color was too dark. It looked like it had been sitting for at least a month.

"Do you have any fresh ones?" Kyle asked.

"I'm not sure…" Hagrid hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he said, "But we can go look. Come with me."

The two of them walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid told Kyle to wait outside, then went into the forest alone.

Kyle agreed and silently memorized the route and the surroundings, just in case.

Since Mooncalfs were only XX-class creatures, they wouldn't live deep in the Forbidden Forest. So, Hagrid only took about ten minutes to come back out.

"Here, take this."

He handed Kyle a bag. "Mooncalves usually bury their dung in the soil at sunrise, so I only found this much.

If you need more next time, just send me a letter by owl beforehand. I can help you collect more."

Kyle took the bag and weighed it. It seemed like it had about seven or eight inside.

It was a bit less, but it was enough.

Kyle put away the bag and laughed, "Thank you, Hagrid."

"No problem." Hagrid said, scratching his head with a hint of embarrassment, "Just don't change the names of the owls at school again next time."

"It was an accident."

When they returned to the front of the hut, Kyle suggested going inside again.

Hagrid refused, not surprisingly.

"It's nothing to see, Kyle." He blocked the door, looking around nervously, "Go back to the castle."

Kyle looked at him, wanting to laugh.

Hagrid was a terrible liar. Anyone who saw him would know there was something wrong inside.

"Alright, I'll go back to the castle."

Kyle turned around and said nonchalantly, "By the way, there's something I need to remind you. You can't keep three-headed dogs in your room."

…