No one spoke except for the crackling sound of burning torches, and silence fell for a moment.
"Are they really planning to start a war against wizards?"
From some books, Hermione saw that horsemen had an unfriendly attitude towards wizards and that they rejected contact with wizards.
The centaurs didn't answer Hagrid's question, and Hermione asked in a low voice, which made Harry's heart twitch. He looked at Firenze - he liked this centaur very much because he didn't treat wizards like His kind named Bain was so rough, and he even saved himself.
Compared to the serious topic of war, even Black's matter became less important. Harry raised his head and stared into Firenze's eyes, hoping to get a reply.
"Same as then, Harry Potter"
Firenze looked up at the moon, and then said in a slow tone,
"You once again chose a bright Martian night to break into the Forbidden Forest. This is unwise. We don't want wizards to intervene in the centaurs' war."
"war?!"
Harry and the three of them exclaimed in unison, and Hagrid immediately rolled up his sleeves. He was a head taller than the strong Bane and Ronan. He stood in front of the two centaurs leaders menacingly. , stared at them fiercely, and this move also aroused Bain's strong dissatisfaction,
"We have nothing against those ponies at school, Hagrid!"
"In this case, who are you gathering your forces in the middle of the night to deal with? Oh, could it be?" Hagrid narrowed his eyes, "Aragog's descendants have caused you trouble again, right? But I have already dealt with it." Talked about it!”
"Who is Aragog?" Ron asked Harry quietly. After Harry shook his head, Ron asked Hermione the same question.
"Is there a book with that name, Hermione?"
The world of the Forbidden Forest is isolated from the world of wizards. Big names who are well-known in the outside world have no say here, and some overlords in the Forbidden Forest are unknown to the outside world. At present, Hagrid belongs to these two worlds. The only bridge of communication.
"Take it easy, Hagrid."
Firenze turned his head and said calmly,
"We just want to give some punishment to those despicable dark creatures living deep in the Forbidden Forest. They have been a little too active these days and have been haunting our territory. And this evening, they were bold enough to kidnap us. One of its kind."
"You mean"
Hagrid's brows furrowed. He was about to say the names of those creatures, but his eyes suddenly caught sight of the three Harrys who were extremely concerned about this issue. So after a brief hesitation, he said decisively,
"If this is the case, then your performance is not surprising, but Dumbledore hopes that the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest can have a harmonious and peaceful living environment. If they really do this, I will report it, Fei Renze, Professor Dumbledore will make a trip for you, but now."
"A centaur has no need of a wizard's protection!"
Baine seemed to think Hagrid had said something rude and he fumed, "Even if it was Dumbledore!"
Seeing that a conflict was about to happen, Ronan dug uneasily into the soil with his hoof, took two steps forward and stood between Bain and Hagrid.
"Hagrid only meant well, Bane."
But Ronan said to Hagrid, "We can solve the problem ourselves."
"You should respect the rights of centaurs, Hagrid."
Firenze patted Bain's horse back and said to Hagrid after returning to the forefront of his group. Then, he looked at Harry who was confused,
"I think we both have important things to do, Harry Potter, and now, it's time to part ways."
Those torches quickly disappeared among the trees. Darkness took the opportunity to enter, wrapping Harry and others heavily. The cold air hit from all directions. The three little wizards began to sway again. Hagrid walked to the motorcycle. After groping for a while, they turned on the car lights and stood in the cylindrical light.
"If the same kind of people were kidnapped, then I don't wonder why Ronan and the others would mobilize their troops."
Hagrid twisted his brows and fiddled with his beard and said,
"The number of centaurs is very small, and every one of their kind is very precious to them."
Harry nodded sadly. He suddenly remembered that during last summer vacation, Professor Blaine had taken him to the underground world deep in Knockturn Alley. It was a place that subverted his understanding of the magical world. There, Harry saw a group of dark wizards illegally buying and selling magical creatures, including centaurs. Perhaps that centaur belonged to Firenze's group.
"Hagrid, what on earth kidnapped the centaurs?"
Hermione also frowned her delicate eyebrows and said thoughtfully,
"And this is such a coincidence. It happened to be tonight that the centaur tribe was attacked. Malfoy broke into the Forbidden Forest with that dog inexplicably."
"Yeah, it's really lively tonight."
Hagrid said distractedly,
"I should report these matters to Professor Dumbledore and Professor Brain immediately, but they are not in the school!"
Hagrid's words made Harry and the three of them look surprised and uncertain.
"This could be a conspiracy, Harry!"
While Hagrid was struggling to get on the motorcycle, Ron said with a pale face, "Someone must be causing trouble. Besides, I still can't figure out why Scabbers would be willing to follow Malfoy."
"I think we should go back to school and tell Professor McGonagall all this, Harry."
Hermione also said seriously.
Harry didn't speak, but he expressed his opinion with actions. When the motorcycle roared again, he turned over and got directly onto the sidecar. Under the eyelashes hanging with broken ice, there was a pair of eyes that would not waver.
Now, they are back on the original path. Compared to the outer reaches of the Forbidden Forest, the terrain here is more complicated. It is no longer a flat ground full of fallen leaves. There are endless puddles, mire, and strange rocks. It has become very difficult to find footprints. , thus, their speed also becomes slow.
The three little guys all lit up their wands and helped Hagrid search together.
So far, they hadn't heard a single human voice, which was probably a good thing. Malfoy was definitely no match for Black, but Harry thought he could still do it if he let out a few screams before dying.
Riding the motorcycle this time, Hagrid's expression was much more serious, and there was a sense of urgency all over his body, because originally his mission was to find a whimsical little wizard who went to the Forbidden Forest to practice flying skills in the middle of the night, but now , he had to hurry up and see what was going on with those centaurs.
There were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts. This was just a campus legend among young wizards. However, both Dumbledore and him knew that there were indeed traces of werewolves in the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
There was a war between centaurs and werewolves, and Hogwarts was involved.
Just thinking about it made Hagrid's insides groan.
They flew for about ten minutes. Due to the high density of plants in the forest, Hagrid had to stop the motorcycle. Now, the four of them could only move forward on foot.
After walking forward for a while, the dog paw prints on the ground became messy. Probably, the dog ran here and consumed most of his energy. Moreover, Hagrid found a cursed object on the trunk of a tree. Traces of crushing.
"Malfoy did it, right?"
Ron said tremblingly.
No one answered his question, not even Harry or Hermione.
Because it was late at night, the damp ground gradually became frozen hard. When you step on it, the frost-covered branches and leaves will break and make a clicking sound. This sound is extremely harsh and disturbing in the quiet forest.
"Harry."
In order not to miss any clues, they were spread out in a fan shape in the forest. Just as Harry, who was standing on the far left, was struggling with the marks on the ground, Hermione, who was on the far right, suddenly spoke, and there was something in her voice. Full of panic and helplessness.
Harry immediately noticed something was wrong. He raised his head suddenly and pointed his wand in the direction Hermione was facing. With just one glance, he felt as if a cold hand was clenching his stomach, and he was tormented by pain and nausea at the same time. His nerves.
Ron looked like he was about to faint, and Hagrid, like a wooden sculpture, stood motionless beside Hermione.
The cold moonlight shines on a rare clearing in the forest. The liquid in the pits on the ground reflects the moonlight and looks silvery. The liquid may be mixed with ice slag water, or maybe it is blood?
A man with a broom fell in a pothole, while a disheveled man next to him was groping his body.
Malfoy has always been the one Harry hated the most among the little wizards, but when he actually saw his body falling weakly to the ground, Harry didn't know how to describe his feelings, but he knew that his eyes were now The look that stared at the crouching wizard from inside was definitely not gratitude.
(End of chapter)
