Chapter 33: 33, Dangerous Creatures

"I received a message to pick you up at 5:30, but I didn't expect you to go the wrong way." The old man said slowly.

Wrong way?

The cold fingers began to feel warm, and Hoffa's face gradually returned to normal.

There is no doubt that the old man with a bow and arrow in front of him is the gamekeeper of Hogwarts.

"Why did you spread this kind of thing at the entrance!?" Hoffa pointed at the tree trunk and asked angrily.

He thought to himself that thanks to his ability to meditate, if he were an ordinary first-year student, he would have been scared enough to pee his pants. That kind of magic is no joke.

"I didn't arrange this, it was arranged by the horsemen in the Forbidden Forest."

The old man said lightly, without much explanation.

"What, why did the centaur do this?"

"The Forbidden Forest is not peaceful recently, and they also want to help." The old man pouted, "Come with me."

After speaking, he tightened the bow and arrow on his back, and walked into the Forbidden Forest.

Watching the old man disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Hoffa followed him and asked, "What are those three pictures on the tree?"

"Past, present, future." The old man said dully, "You will be fine if you follow me, don't run around."

"What?" The old man's pace was a little fast, and Hoffa had to speed up to keep up with him, "What is the past, present and future, can you explain it clearly?"

"I don't know. I'm not interested in the magic of the centaur. If you want to know, I suggest you ask a centaur."

Seeing that the old man doesn't really want to talk nonsense. Hoffa had no choice but to shut up and walk in silence.

Following the old man, the previous incident did not happen again, and the surrounding scenery became much more real. There was no fork in the road, and it was no longer as absurd and weird as before. It was just a very ordinary forest.

After walking for about three minutes, his vision became clearer, and Hoffa saw the slight light in the woods, and the sound of crackling fire in the air.

The old man took Hoffa to a bonfire in a forest glade. He unloaded his bow and arrow and pointed to the opposite side of the fire.

"Sit down, I'm a bit busy tonight, we'll leave after dinner."

Opposite the fire was a boulder, shaded by trees, and the ground was dry, without rain. There was a tin pot on the fire, something was simmering in it, and there was a slight smell of meat in the air.

Hoffa sat down as he said, and didn't speak for a while, but looked up and down at the old man opposite him by the light of the fire.

Joey Dago.

This is the least wizard-like guy he has ever seen. He is dressed in animal skins and has only one eye. There are several steel daggers stuck in his waist. Carrying a wooden bow and iron arrows, there are two dead hares hanging on the wooden frame beside him.

If it weren't for the fact that he was at Hogwarts, Hoffa would only think of him as a little-known country hunter.

Joey Dago didn't speak. In fact, since Hoffa appeared, he has been quite taciturn. He had been poking at the stone in front of him with the tongs without even looking at Hoffa.

The silence lasted for about 5 minutes, and Hoffa took out a piece of parchment from his arms: "Sir, this is my assessment sheet."

Across the fire, Hoffa politely handed over the list. "

"Um."

The old man took the score sheet and stuffed it in his pocket without even looking at it.

Then continue to fiddle with stones and charcoal fire.

Hoffa tentatively asked, "Cough, may I ask Mr. Dago, what mission do I have tonight?"

"Just call me Joey."

The man said lightly without raising his head.

His accent is not like the British side, but like the American side.

"Well."

Hoffa didn't know how to answer the conversation for a while, so he had to shut up.

After about twenty minutes, the smell of meat in the air became more intense.

Hoffa had only eaten a little potato pie and a few chicken legs before he came. His stomach was empty, and when he smelled the fragrance, he couldn't help salivating a little too much.

Joey took out a spoon from behind his back, opened the tin can and looked around in it.

The tin can turned out to be rabbit and beans stew. Bright red, very attractive.

The old man tasted it a little, and took out a wooden dish from behind him. He served some and handed it to Hoffa. After quickly thanking Hoffa, he took it over.

With a spoonful of beans in the mouth, a sense of warmth spreads from the mouth to the lower abdomen. It is delicious. The beans were very rotten, and the rabbit meat was delicious. This is completely different from the food made by the Hogwarts house elves, rough but unique.

Hoffa ate his beans, thinking that a bowl of white rice would be perfect at this time.

Joey didn't have any white rice, so he took out a piece of whole wheat bread from behind him, broke it and gave some to Hoffa. Then he also filled a bowl of beans.

Hoffa swallowed it with bread dipped in rabbit meat sauce, and the warmth in his belly gradually dispelled the anxiety and fear brought about by the centaur magic.

"Are you that student named Hofbach?" Joey asked while eating.

Hoffa nodded, with beans stuffed in his mouth, he said vaguely, "Yes."

"You came at an unfortunate time. Tonight's mission is more dangerous. You need to go a little deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Don't get lost then, understand?"

"What exactly is the mission?" Hoffa asked.

"Save some fantastic animals," said the old man without raising his eyes.

"What animal?" Hoffa was curious. The old man always said only a little bit.

"The dodo."

The dodo. Does that sound dangerous?

Hoffa did not refuse. His goal now is to be an honest man and eliminate his bad record in school.

The old man ate quickly, and after a few mouthfuls, he picked up his bow and arrow. Light a torch and hold it in your hand.

"Let's go."

Hoffa put down his plate and followed.

In the Forbidden Forest at night, Hoffa came for the first time. He was still a little panicked. If he was of Harry's age and knew what he would meet, even if he would meet Voldemort in the spirit state or a giant spider, he wouldn't panic, because it was certain and known. It's bound to happen.

But now, he had no idea what would happen in the forest, and he didn't know much about the old man beside him. Everything is unknown, and this is what worries Hoffa the most.

Especially when Mawei was slapped by the weird magical illusion, Hoffa walked very cautiously.

Joey caught a glimpse of Hoffa's reserved posture and asked as he walked, "Are you from Gryffindor?"

"No, Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw, it's really strange. I have stayed in Hogwarts for 10 years, and this is the first time I saw a student from Ravenclaw House sent to the Forbidden Forest."

Hoffa opened his mouth wide, what? He was the first Ravenclaw student sent to the Forbidden Forest in 10 years.

Joey continued: "Gryffindors are the ones who come to me the most. Those little bastards who have too much energy want to break every rule. It's followed by Hufflepuff, followed by Slytherin, Lavin Crowe, you are still the first."

Hoffa kept his mouth shut, and had to say that the old man's words were quite effective, and the unease in Hoffa's chest was quickly suppressed.

This old man seems to have a lot of experience, so many Gryffindors are fine, so he should be fine.

After walking for another ten minutes, the sound of gurgling water came to his ears, and Joey suddenly reached out to stop Hoffa, and they came to a small stream. It's not as dark as in the Forbidden Forest just now, because there are some fungus plants emitting yellow and blue fluorescence on the ground.

Their small canopies exude a hazy shimmer in the dark night, which is very beautiful.

But Hoffa looked at them and inexplicably thought of those mushrooms in the illusion, and his stomach tightened a little.

Joey stood motionless by the stream, Hoffa turned his head curiously and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Wait a minute, wait for a friend." Joey said lightly.

"Friend?" Hoffa was curious.

Before he could ask, he understood who his friend was.

In the forest at night, there was a pretty amazing scene.

A unicorn exuding silver-white light slowly walked out of the forest. Its mane is soft, like a horse but much cleaner and more beautiful than a horse.

Several colorful butterflies are flying around the unicorn on its head. The appearance is very gratifying.

Old Joey bowed and bowed to the unicorn across the stream. Hoffa was shocked by the beauty of this animal and couldn't help but bowed. The unicorn nodded, then took a sip of the stream, changed direction, and entered the forbidden area. Deep in the forest.

"Let's go." Joey signaled Hoffa to follow.

"Unicorns know all kinds of situations in the forest. Usually, they will help you find problems in the forest. But basically, the problems they find are usually not minor problems. Something may have happened in the Forbidden Forest."

Joey followed behind the unicorn, explaining to Hoffa in a low voice.

Hoffa looked at the vague silver figure in front of him, it was leaping in the dark forest, it was moving very fast and very light, and it hardly made any sound. Every time its hooves stepped on the ground, it would leave some bright magical traces, and small and bright plants would quickly grow in those traces, which were very conspicuous on the dark surface.

This is the second time Hoffa has seen a magical creature. The last time he saw a magical creature was by the side of the dark wizard Schmidt. Those creatures nearly killed Hoffa, though.

Run for five minutes.

Joey: "We're almost at the dodo's nest."

Hoffa: "Oh."

After coming to the magic school for so long, Hoffa also has a little common sense of magical creatures. The dodo is a gentle and docile small bird that is good at escaping and not aggressive.

This bird should be very safe.

etc! !

what is that! ?

I saw the unicorn stopped. There was a hiss.

Joey lit his wand, Hoffa took a breath, and took six or seven steps back. Leaning against the tree, I was shocked beyond measure.

In the middle of the forest, there is a huge creature, like a mountain bag, with an eagle head, six wings, gray feathers, and dark golden eyes.

It's at least ten meters long, and when it's nestled, God knows how big this thing's wingspan will be when it really flies.

Here, Hoffa felt that the weather was suffocating, like the sweltering heat before a summer rainstorm. Heck, it's October in the UK right now.

There was some inexplicable electrical energy floating around, making Hoffa's scalp tingle.

The giant bird looked up at Hoffa and neighed softly. Said he was not malicious.

Joey said calmly, "This is Taras, my friend."

Hoffa was shocked: "This guy is a dodo, are you kidding me?"

"No, it's a Thunderbird."

After speaking briefly, Joey stepped forward and patted the beak of the giant bird.

The giant bird gave Joey an affectionate hug, its head bigger than his body. Joey's expression softened. He hugged the bird's head, talked to it in a low voice, and fed it something to eat from time to time.

But the bird couldn't eat anymore.

Hoffa had recovered from his initial shock, and that's when he noticed.

This bird was already very old, the ground was covered with thick feathers, many feathers on its body had fallen off, its eyes did not have much brilliance, its wings drooped feebly, and it looked like it was dying.

Thunderbird, old Thunderbird.

Legendary creature. This kind of bird that spreads its wings and can call out thunder and lightning, Hoffa has also seen it in movies in his previous life. This bird only lives in Arizona, USA. Why is there one in the British Forbidden Forest?

Walking around this magical creature, Hoffa murmured: "I remember, this is a 4X-level magical creature marked by the Ministry of Magic, it's the same level as a dragon, and it's strictly forbidden to breed."

"So what," Joey said lightly, holding the bird's head. "Rules are just a tool made by people, and no one in the animal world stipulates whose territory belongs to whom."

"Do those people at school know?"

Joey just glanced at Hoffa and didn't speak.

Hoffa was embarrassed, he could only speculate that the Thunderbird was brought by Joey, because Joey sounded like an American.

Joey murmured a few words to the Thunderbird, and then the Thunderbird raised its wings with some difficulty, and let out another low cry, with a sad voice.

Hoffa took a closer look, only to find that under the wings of the huge thunderbird, there was a small natural shack. There were many chocobo nests on the ground, and the feathers of many birds were scattered here and there. Either red or blue.

Hoffa took a few steps slowly around the shack, and was startled when he kicked a hard object. Taking a closer look, he found a stiff dead bird.

It was as big as a hen, and its eyes were round and round, and its bright plumage had lost its luster.

A dead dodo.

Hoffa turned around the shack, and then he gasped.

Turning around the fir tree behind the thunderbird, dozens of colorful round chocobos lay densely on the ground.

The dodos were all dead. They were facing in one direction, their bodies stiffened, and there was a hint of death in the air.

It seems that they were killed instantly at the moment of escaping.

The unicorn circled around Hoffa and walked slowly. Its mood is a little sad, and it doesn't want to stay here. I saw it slammed a few eggs on the ground, then quickly ran away and disappeared among the trees.

Joey turned around with his shiny wand in his hands, and when he saw the scene in front of him, his expression was a little dignified.

He fumbled around on the ground, frowning. From time to time, put your hand to the tip of your nose and smell it.

"Dead within 48 hours, damn it."

The Thunderbird let out a low cry, a little angry and unwilling.

Joey raised his head and said to Thunderbird: "It's not your fault, you're old."

Thunderbird stopped calling.

Joey rubbed his chin and murmured, "You can even fool the unicorn and Thunderbird, the murderer is really amazing..."

At this moment, there was a soft bang, bang, bang in the air, similar to the sound of soap bubbles bursting.