Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Kyle and Kanna returned to the castle shortly afterwards.
After they left, Hagrid sat in the cabin, brooding until evening. Finally, he decided to follow Kyle's advice and send Fluffy to the Forbidden Forest, tonight.
Though he was reluctant, there was no other way. First, it would make Fluffy feel better.
If Fluffy was happy, he would be happy too.
Secondly, he'd thought about it. Kyle was right. Things were indeed tense out there.
Earlier, Professor Oren, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had come to the Forbidden Forest looking for teaching materials and complained to him. After the publication of the Daily Prophet, the Ministry of Magic, to demonstrate their seriousness, had sent nearly all of their Aurors to search for untraceable magical creatures.
This left him unable to even buy his teaching materials, forcing him to come to the Forbidden Forest to catch them himself.
Hagrid remembered Professor Oren's fury when he said this, and he cursed Fudge in the Forbidden Forest as a fool.
At the time, Hagrid had only found it amusing, but now he regretted not joining in the scolding.
He'd bought Fluffy at the bar, and there were quite a few people around.
While those people didn't know exactly what they'd bought, if one of them were caught by an Auror, they'd undoubtedly try to exonerate themselves by claiming he'd bought a magical creature.
After all, if they guessed right, they'd get a good deal, and if they were wrong, they'd lose nothing—why not?
So, for Fluffy's safety, and to avoid causing trouble for Dumbledore, he had no choice but to send him off.
The Aurors wouldn't search the Forbidden Forest, would they? Of course, Hagrid certainly wouldn't stop them if they wanted to.
There was no need.
Deep within the Forbidden Forest, there were even werewolves and manticores, so what was so strange about a three-headed dog?
Meanwhile, Kyle, back in the castle, sat in a corner of the common room, picking through a pile of branches.
"I was just about to ask that," Kanna observed Kyle's actions, curious. "Why are you picking up these dead branches? There are plenty in the kitchen. You can always use them."
"They're different. These are guardian branches," Kyle explained. "The guardian tree is a magical pear tree that protects anyone who touches its trunk from creatures of darkness."
Kanna blinked. Of course she knew that, but what did that have to do with Kyle picking up branches?
Branches, trunks... those were two completely different things.
"I... never mind. You'll find out later."
Kyle picked up a straight stick and set it aside. He casually asked, "By the way, how did you know there were branches in the kitchen? Have you ever eaten there?"
The kitchen was so close, Kyle had definitely been there before, but every time he reached the door, he was surrounded by the house-elves.
The stove was further back, so the only way to see it was to sit at one of the long tables.
Given the enthusiasm of the house-elves, it was almost impossible to get there unless you were eating there.
Because halfway through, they can hang a whole cow on you.
"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense..."
Somehow, Kanna's face suddenly turned red, and she stammered, "I, I was just curious, so I went to the kitchen to take a look!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Kyle didn't care and continued to pick those guardian branches. When he finally sorted them out, he realized that Kanna had returned to the dormitory without knowing when.
He was the only one left in the common room. Kyle then remembered that tomorrow was the weekend, so he packed up quickly and returned to his dorm.
He had no intention of staying up late.
Tomorrow was a big weekend for Hufflepuffs, as the Quidditch matches began, and the first match was against Slytherin.
The next day.
To cheer on their house team, the Badgers woke up before 8 a.m. After breakfast, they donned their neat uniforms, carried their pre-made cheering banners, and headed to the Quidditch pitch on time.
Kyle was one of them, but after breakfast, a portly ghost suddenly floated in front of him.
"Hello, Kyle, I hope I didn't disturb your breakfast."
"Hello, Friar." Kyle responded politely, "Do you want to watch Quidditch together? There is a very high possibility that Hufflepuff will win the championship this year."
"No, in fact, I prefer Gobstone." The fat monk said with some regret, "It's a pity that Hogwarts cancelled this game decades ago."
"Sorry, Friar." Kyle said quickly, "I hope I didn't ruin your mood today."
"Of course not, child." The fat friar said with a smile, "The biggest advantage of being a ghost is that there is nothing worse than this, and you don't have to care at all.
But you may have to wait a little while to watch the game. Dumbledore wants to see you. He is in the principal's office on the eighth floor. The password is Butter Peanut Candy."
Dumbledore is looking for him?
This surprised Kyle, and he asked curiously, "Friar, do you know what the Headmaster wants to see me about?"
"I don't know," the fat friar shook his head. "I'm just helping pass on a message."
"Alright, I'll be there. Goodbye, Friar."
Kyle said goodbye to the fat monk and headed straight for the eighth floor.
He had to go since the Headmaster wanted to see him, and he just hoped he wouldn't miss the Quidditch match.
Although he had never been to the Headmaster's office before, Kyle's familiarity with the map helped him quickly locate the hideous stone beast.
"Butter Peanut Candy," Kyle muttered the password.
The beast then leaped aside, and the wall behind it split in two, revealing a spiral staircase.
The staircase slowly ascended, like an escalator.
Kyle stepped onto it and followed the steps to an oak door with a knocker shaped like a griffin.
Kyle nervously knocked on the door, and the knocker seemed to come alive, flapping its wings and slowly sliding the door open.
It can only be said that this is worthy of being the Headmaster's office. This way of opening the door is much better than knocking on a wooden barrel.
Kyle walked into the Headmaster's office and looked around curiously.
The spacious circular room was filled with all kinds of funny little noises. There were many strange silver utensils on the table. They were spinning and spewing out small puffs of smoke.
Kyle didn't know what these things were used for, but they were definitely not humidifiers.
There was a stone basin with strange symbols on it placed near the wall, and next to it, there was a huge mirror.
The mirror was very grand, reaching the ceiling, with a gleaming golden frame and two claw-shaped feet supporting it.
[End of the chapter]