Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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As they neared the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Fred and George finally resigned themselves to their fate and gave up struggling, but they were still grumbling about Kyle's wasteful behavior.
"There's still plenty left; we wasted at least one Galleon,"
Fred said, lifting the hem of his robe like a large sack filled with a small mountain of silver "Moonbeast droppings."
George beside him wore the same outfit, making them look like two kangaroos.
Kyle didn't say anything, just gave a perfunctory reply. He was genuinely exhausted; it was late, and the initial excitement of seeing the Moonbeasts dance had worn off, replaced by the drowsiness from staying up all night.
He just wanted to get back to his dorm and get a good night's sleep in his warm, comfortable bed.
As they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a dog barked and heavy footsteps sounded in the distance.
Hagrid!
The group jumped in fright and immediately dropped to the ground.
Kyle quickly drew his Cloak of Invisibility.
Although the cloak was a bit small for the five of them, not enough to completely conceal everyone, the Forbidden Forest provided excellent cover, as the surrounding thickets also offered good cover.
The footsteps grew closer, and they could now clearly see Hagrid's massive figure.
Kyle, using the invisibility cloak, lay prone at the front, barely daring to breathe.
"Who's there? Come out!" Hagrid, carrying a dim oil lamp, stopped near them. "I see you!"
Behind Hagrid, the black hound, Fang, arrived.
It lowered its head, sniffing the ground, and slowly approached where Kyle and the others were hiding.
For a moment, everyone's heart was in their throats, and they all covered their mouths, trying their best not to make a sound.
Fang drew closer and closer, soon less than a meter away. Kyle could even clearly see its small black eyes and the drool dripping from its mouth.
"Did you find something?"
Hagrid noticed Fang's unusual behavior. He walked over, carrying an oil lamp, and shouted, "I don't care who you are, this is Hogwarts, not a place for people like you to come here!"
"Get out of here before I lose my temper, or you'll be in big trouble!"
For some reason, after hearing Hagrid's voice, Fang hesitated for a moment before suddenly changing direction and heading deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid followed closely behind, brushing past Kyle and the others.
Time passed slowly until the footsteps completely disappeared, at which point Kyle and the others finally relaxed, lying on the ground panting heavily.
"That was thrilling!" Cedric exclaimed, his face flushed. "Merlin's beard! I almost touched Hagrid's shoes! He nearly stepped on my hand!"
"Oh, damn it." Fred, who had just gotten up from the ground, suddenly yelled, looking at the sticky liquid on his hand and grimacing. "I think I touched that dog's saliva."
"You should be glad you only touched saliva," George said, still shaken. "Hagrid looked terrifying. If he had caught you, it wouldn't have been just a matter of being put in solitary confinement."
As he spoke, George shuddered.
It was the first time he had ever seen Hagrid so angry; the overwhelming sense of oppression still made him shudder.
"We really owe you two a lot this time," Kyle patted Fred and George on the shoulder.
If they hadn't carried a huge pile of Moonbeast droppings to confuse Fang's sense of smell, they wouldn't have gotten away so easily.
After this unexpected incident, the group didn't dare to delay. While Hagrid was still in the Forbidden Forest, they quickly packed up and ran towards the castle.
Upon reaching the exit of the secret passage, they didn't rush in. Instead, they took out the Marauder's Map and, after confirming that Filch's location wasn't on the first floor, they passed through the passage and returned to the castle.
Because it wasn't on their way, they parted ways after leaving the secret passage.
Perhaps still shaken by what had just happened, they were all very tense on the way back.
Cedric felt his heart pounding and couldn't help but ask, "Kyle, do you think we'll get caught?"
"It's okay, if we're discovered, we'll just split up and run," Kyle whispered. "That way, he won't know who to chase."
"But..." Kanna said in a trembling voice, "I... I'm slow, what should I do?"
"Oh, that's a problem." Kyle thought for a moment and said, "How about this, if we're discovered, you run upstairs."
"Running upstairs won't get us caught?" Kanna asked, puzzled.
"No, running upstairs isn't safe..." Kyle shook his head and explained, "But then Filch will chase you, and Cedric and I can take the opportunity to run back to the common room."
"..."
???
Kanna's eyes gradually became glazed, then quickly turned to anger.
Kyle, however, was completely unaware of this. He muttered, "Catch one and get rid of two, it's a good deal."
Kanna gritted her teeth and said, "Then why am I the one who gets caught?"
"Hmm...it's simple." Kyle thought for a moment and said, "If someone has to be hurt, why can't it be you?"
For some reason, Kanna suddenly stopped being nervous. She silently took out her wand and looked Kyle up and down, seemingly looking for a suitable spot to poke him.
The most prominent feature of the snakewood wand is its hardness. According to Ollivander, in certain extreme close-quarters situations, the snakewood wand can even be used as a melee weapon.
Kyle felt a chill down his back and subconsciously quickened his pace.
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Nothing unexpected happened, and the three of them returned to the common room safely.
That was for sure.
Kyle had noticed it when he was looking at the Marauder's map at the entrance to the secret passage: the professors were all sleeping in their rooms, and Filch, who was on night patrol, was on the seventh floor.
The distance from the Great Hall to the Hufflepuff common room wasn't far; it would only take a few minutes if you walked quickly.
That wasn't enough time for Filch to run down.
So, Cedric and Kanna's worries along the way were completely unnecessary.
"Goodnight, see you tomorrow." Kyle yawned as he returned to his dorm. He had originally planned to find something to eat in the kitchen first, but as soon as he entered the common room, he couldn't stay awake any longer.
His eyelids started drooping, his head was spinning, and all he wanted was a good night's sleep.
"Goodnight."
"Hmph~~"
[End of the chapter]