Chapter 53. Revenge Delayed for Ten Years (Part 1)
"This road passes through the tribes of centaurs.
They dislike strangers, and the centaurs told me that one of their members recently went missing, putting the tribe on alert.
We'd better take a detour."
Professor Fawkes and Hagrid had been walking in the Forbidden Forest for over an hour.
The sky was completely dark. Guided by Hagrid, they avoided the centaur tribes, the unicorn settlements, and many other dangerous places.
They wound their way through almost half of the Forbidden Forest, finally arriving at its deepest part.
Hagrid looked at the familiar spiderwebs around him, his expression changing slightly, and he stammered,
"Fawkes , are you sure we're in the right place? Are there really things like the Red Hat here?"
Professor Fawkes's pace was very fast, and he didn't even make Hagrid slow down to wait for him.
His gaze grew increasingly calm, and his face was no longer excited, but strangely calm!
"I won't make a mistake, Hagrid."
"But I've been here many, many times." Hagrid's eyes darted around, trying to stop Professor Fawkes from continuing.
"There's definitely no Red Hat elf here, I'm sure of it."
Professor Fawkes stopped in his tracks and turned to Hagrid, who was unwilling to go any further.
"I have to find him. If you don't want to go any further, you can go back, Hagrid. Thank you very much for your help."
Seeing Professor Fawkes's determination, Hagrid began to panic. He clenched his fist, the size of a football, gritted his teeth, and finally chose to tell the truth.
"I keep some pet Fawkes here. They… they don't quite comply with the Ministry of Magic's laws, but I swear! I've never let them leave the Forbidden Forest, and I've never let them harm anyone…"
Professor Fawkes interrupted him.
"No need to say anything, Hagrid. Do you think someone like me would care about these things? I didn't come here to cause trouble for your pets."
Hagrid was usually a bit straightforward, but he wasn't stupid after all his years.
"But you couldn't possibly be here looking for some Red Hat. Other places in the Forbidden Forest might have one, but there's absolutely no such creature living here."
Fawkes turned around, smiled slightly, looking somewhat relieved, and said to Hagrid.
"Not only here, but there's no such creature as Red Hat in this Forbidden Forest. These little elves only live in Northern Europe.
They like places with traces of human blood, and there's clearly no place in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest that fits their living habits. So, I'm sorry, Hagrid, I lied to you."
Hagrid's face completely changed.
He had thought that Fawkes had discovered the whereabouts of his pets after entering the Forbidden Forest, which was why he had given up looking for Red Hat and turned to searching for his dangerous magical creatures.
But he never expected that Fawkes 's initial target wasn't some nonexistent Red Hat at all!
"Then what are you looking for here?" he asked in a trembling voice.
Professor Fawkes continued walking, following the spell's guidance.
"I'm looking for someone, an enemy."
Hagrid showed no intention of turning back; he continued to follow Professor Fawkes , for the direction he was heading led directly to the lair of Hagrid's pet and friend—Aragok!
"What enemy are you looking for? Are there others in the Forbidden Forest?"
Professor Fawkes seemed completely unconcerned that Hagrid was still following him; rather, he seemed pleased to have someone listening beside him at this moment.
"He has many identities: an unregistered Animagus, a pureblood, a dark wizard, a Death Eater… but I prefer to call him a runaway rat."
"He's a Death Eater who escaped the Ministry of Magic?" Hagrid felt a chill run down his spine, a strange tension rising within him.
"No, no, no, you misunderstood me," Professor Fawkes shook his head. "I called him 'Rat' not because he escaped the Ministry's pursuit."
"You should know why I was imprisoned in Azkaban and then released, right, Hagrid?"
"Because..." Hagrid opened his mouth, as if he knew what Professor Fawkes was about to say.
"I killed five Death Eaters," he said with a smile. "The number was supposed to be six, but the last one got wind of it and escaped beforehand. After that, I was arrested by the Ministry of Magic. Two years ago, after I was released, I traveled the world under the guise of traveling, but actually, I was looking for him. Guess where he's hiding?"
Hagrid's lips trembled slightly; he didn't answer the question they both already knew.
Night had fallen, thick clouds obscuring the starry sky from the earth, making the Forbidden Forest exceptionally dark.
They felt as if they had walked into the jaws of a colossal abyss, utterly shrouded in darkness.
"Fluorescence."
Professor Fawkes used the Illumination Charm.
Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then decided not to hide any longer, waving his small pink umbrella and using the Illumination Charm as well.
As they ventured deeper, spiderwebs resembling fishing nets began to appear among the surrounding trees, and enormous figures would glimpse themselves through them.
"Your pet is a giant spider. I remember they eat people," Professor Fawkes said, recognizing the creatures hidden within the webs.
Hagrid defended his friend, saying, "Aragok listens to me. It restrains its kind and prevents them from harming others."
Professor Fawkes disagreed.
"A beast is still a beast. Even if their leader established a rule for its kind not to harm people for your sake, what happens after you die? Or what if your friend is unable to restrain its kind?"
Hagrid didn't answer. He had considered these questions, but subconsciously avoided guessing the answers.
Suddenly, Professor Fawkes stopped.
A series of soft "crackling" sounds began to echo through the forest.
The sound was like countless feet snapping dry branches. Professor Fawkes 's expression turned serious. He shrugged and said to Hagrid,
"I think we don't need to wait that long. Your friend's descendants want to devour us now."
The spiders, hidden in the darkness, no longer tried to hide. They converged from all directions, surrounding Professor Fawkes and Hagrid like a black ocean, ready to swallow their small reef at any moment.
Hagrid stared in disbelief at the giant spiders surging up around them like a damp tide. He roared at his friend,
"Aragok! Where are you! Come out now! Are you trying to kill me?"
Professor Fawkes stopped Hagrid's pointless actions. His hair was white, his face wrinkled, but his back was straight, his eyes bright, and he looked incredibly energetic.
The howling wind blew his trench coat, and Adrian Fawkes drew his wand with a deft motion, like a medieval knight drawing his sword.
"No need to call Hagrid anymore. Your friend has clearly encountered some accident. All we can do now is fight."
Read 50+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)