Chapter 67: Bowtruckles

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As they approached Hagrid's hut, Fang came bounding over, circling around the group. Albert crouched down, rubbed Fang's head, and scratched his chin to calm him down.

Hagrid had already pushed open the wooden door of the hut and invited everyone inside.

The small hut consisted of only one room. Hams and roasted wild chickens hung from the ceiling, and a copper kettle sat on the fireplace, long extinguished. In the corner, there was a large bed with a patchwork quilt made of scraps.

Hagrid picked up a pink umbrella from the corner and lit the fireplace, then hung a copper pot filled with water to boil, apparently preparing to make tea for them.

While doing all this, he turned back to the three of them and said, "Next time, if I catch you sneaking into the forest again, I'll hand you over to Professor McGonagall. She'll make sure you never dare to enter the forest again."

"We're just curious... what exactly is in the forest?" George muttered quietly. "And why did Dumbledore forbid students from entering?"

"There are beasts and dangerous magical creatures in the forest," Hagrid explained impatiently. "Dumbledore didn't forbid you from entering the forest without a reason. It's too dangerous for you right now."

"Hagrid, be careful not to let the bowtruckles fall into the fireplace. They seem to be afraid of fire," Albert changed the subject.

"Oh!" Hagrid opened a chair and sat down, placing his bowtruckles on the table. He took out some herbs from a nearby cupboard, chewed on them, and applied them to the bowtruckles' wounds. He then used small pieces of wood to bandage and secure the bowtruckles, tying them with unicorn tail hairs.

However, this delicate task was a bit challenging for Hagrid, but he still carried it out earnestly.

But the bandaged bowtruckle didn't seem too grateful; it seemed annoyed with the small pieces of wood on its body.

"I'm not very good at these delicate tasks," Hagrid said to the others after finishing tending to the bowtruckles. "Bowtruckles have delicate limbs that are prone to injury and fractures."

The kettle whistled, and Hagrid poured the boiling water into a large teapot, pouring each person a cup of amber-colored tea. Beside it was a plate of coarse, irregular-shaped biscuits.

"These are white snaps," Albert asked, picking up the plant Hagrid was chewing on.

"Hmm, White Snaps are the simplest and most effective plant I could find. I specifically asked Professor Sprout for some. They are suitable for treating injuries in most animals," Hagrid took a sip of the hot tea, ate a few more biscuits, and enthusiastically began introducing the care of bowtruckles to everyone.

He took out a wooden box containing something similar to rough rice and said to the others, "Feed this to the bowtruckles, it will improve their mood."

"Hagrid, what is this?" Albert grabbed a small handful and handed it to two bowtruckles who were trying to shake off their bandages. They immediately stopped struggling and began eating.

"Woodlice," Hagrid said, "a type of insect that bowtruckles like to eat. Of course, they also like fairy eggs as food."

Fred and Lee Jordan both tried feeding the bowtruckles, while George was wrestling with a biscuit.

Albert witnessed George pick up a biscuit, take a few bites, and realize he couldn't chew it. He reached into his mouth, took the biscuit out, and examined it, seeming to doubt whether he had just bitten a stone instead of a biscuit.

Seeing this, Albert couldn't help but laugh. He had no intention of touching the biscuits. They might be just right for Hagrid's taste, but for Albert and the others, they were quite hard to eat.

"Hagrid, what are they good for?" Fred pointed at the bowtruckles and asked.

"What are they good for?" Hagrid thought for a moment and replied, "Bowtruckles are the best guardians of the forest. Trees they inhabit grow exceptionally lush, and the wood from these trees is often suitable for making wands."

"If one day you want to take leaves or wood from the trees protected by bowtruckles, it's best to give them some woodlice or fairy eggs as appeasement. Otherwise, you should be careful of their sharp claws. There have been cases of bowtruckles blinding people with their stings in the past."

"Don't you want some?" Hagrid noticed that the group had hardly touched the biscuits and asked in confusion.

"No, it's almost dinner time," Albert quickly made an excuse, taking out his pocket watch and checking the time. "I think we should head back to the castle to avoid missing dinner."

"Right," Hagrid suddenly remembered something and said to Albert, "That dead tree outside is a pear tree..."

"Thank you, Hagrid!" Albert immediately expressed his gratitude. "I'll cut off a small section to take with me later."

"Do you need my help?" Hagrid liked this polite child in front of him. Due to his appearance, many students were afraid of him, and very few were willing to chat with him.

"No need!" Albert drew his wand, pointed at the dead tree, and incanted, "Sectumsempra."

"Is that enough?"

"Even more, and I won't be able to handle it," Albert used the severing charm to cut off a small section of the tree. "I might need it for something in the future."

"Then I'll leave it at the back of the house, and you'll need to come and get it yourself," Hagrid nodded.

"Goodbye, Hagrid." Albert picked up a small piece of the tree trunk and beckoned his three roommates to head towards the castle.

"What are you going to do with that?" Lee Jordan asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out later," Albert smiled and looked at the three of them. "How was the forest?"

"It's similar to the woods near my home," Fred blinked at Albert. "We entered from the other side of the forest and unexpectedly ran into Hagrid dragging the tree trunk. He was probably in the forest helping you with the pear tree."

"So, you were caught by Hagrid?" Albert couldn't help but laugh. He thought the three of them had really bad luck.

"I bet they were just tricking us. There are hardly any dangerous creatures in the forest," George complained.

Albert thought to himself, if you had encountered them, you would have probably been carried off and eaten. You wouldn't have time to talk nonsense here.

Albert asked in response, "Why do you think they would deceive the students?"

Fred sneered, "Percy said there are many dangerous beasts in the forest, but in reality, not many people have actually seen those beasts."

"Well, you need to change your perspective," Albert reminded them. "Why do you think Dumbledore doesn't allow students to enter the forest?"

"Do you think... there's a secret hidden in the forest?" Lee Jordan's eyes lit up at the thought.

"That's a possibility, among others," Albert continued to analyze for the three of them. "There are likely many magical creatures living deep within the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid mentioned unicorns in the forest, right? These magical creatures pose a certain level of danger to us, and venturing too deep into the Forbidden Forest can also result in students getting lost."

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(End of this chapter)