Ian was afraid this little creature would start hurting itself again, so he leaned against a big tree, waved his hand, and said, "I sincerely hope we're not in the Amazon rainforest."
Without Uncle Snape's potions to help, using the original, rough version of Apparition was an even wilder ride; the little wizard took quite a while to recover and get back to normal.
"This is the Forbidden Forest, Mr. Prince." House-Elf Rabi looked incredibly guilty, speaking in a timid tone. "Rabi is just a very ordinary House-Elf, not like the great Dumbledore with his magnificent magic power, so Rabi can't use Phantom Teleportation to travel such a long distance."
It seemed to think Ian wanted to go to the Amazon rainforest.
Clearly annoyed by its own weakness.
"Phantom Teleportation? Isn't it Apparition?" Ian sized up their surroundings. Even though the Forbidden Forest was especially quiet at night, he could still hear the occasional sound.
Those could be the distant babbling of a brook, or the low calls of night birds. Yet, hidden within the calm were other, unknown sounds.
Maybe it was the footsteps of some fantastic beast, or the low growl of an unknown creature.
"Our magic is a bit different from wizards'." House-Elf Rabi replied honestly; after all, there were plenty of things House-Elves could do that wizards could barely manage, or couldn't do at all.
Like jumping through space inside Hogwarts.
"If you ever have some free time, would you try teaching me?" Ian became interested in House-Elf Rabi's magic—it might be a special bloodline thing, or maybe an even older kind of magic.
House-Elf Rabi quickly nodded, excited.
"It would be Rabi's honor!"
It replied in a high, squeaky whisper, then hesitated, "But, wizards probably cannot learn our magic. Still, that doesn't stop Rabi from being willing to become Mr. Prince's test subject!"
Well, damn!
This kid jumps to wild conclusions way too fast!
"Not a test subject—we'll explore magic together." Ian raised a hand for a fist-bump, but House-Elf Rabi just clutched its face in panic.
"Rabi isn't worthy of exploring magic with Mr. Prince. Rabi is just a little elf—being able to contribute to Mr. Prince's magical studies is the greatest happiness already!"
Such firm words.
Ian was honestly at a loss for how to respond.
"Are there sheep here? Do you normally keep live animals in the Forbidden Forest?" He could only change the subject, gazing into the low-visibility distance, washed in the sparse moonlight.
Silvery moonbeams filtered through the treetops, leaving dappled patches of light and shadow on the ground.
"The food little wizards eat comes from special farms—by the time we get it, it's already processed. That's why Rabi brought Mr. Prince to the Forbidden Forest."
"Other little wizards aren't allowed to come here, but Mr. Prince is different…" House-Elf Rabi, arms and legs thin as twigs, started leading the way up ahead.
Ian was just about to ask if this little guy knew Divination and somehow realized he was Dumbledore and Snape's favorite kid, but House-Elf Rabi's words caught his attention instead.
"There are a lot of creatures in the Forbidden Forest you don't see outside—goblins, Poison Horned Beasts, Occamies, Evil Witch Birds, rats, Fire Ash Snakes, warthogs, even fierce, terrifying giant dragons."
As House-Elf Rabi got to this part, its expression turned terrified as well.
This whole elf race is seriously talented in facial expressions.
"But Rabi won't take Mr. Prince anywhere so dangerous! Rabi needs to protect Mr. Prince's safety, and will only look for Three-legged Sheep with Mr. Prince near the edge of the Forbidden Forest." House-Elf Rabi was definitely reckless, but clearly not as much as the one Harry Potter met.
"Three-legged Sheep?"
Ian was a bit surprised.
He hadn't seen this kind of fantastic beast in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them books.
"Yes, they're from Japan—a cowardly, bully species of xxx-class fantastic beast. To be honest, Rabi thinks they'd even lose to the Tree-Protecting Leprechauns here in the Forbidden Forest."
There was disdain in House-Elf Rabi's tone; this was the first time Ian had seen a creature so unimpressive that even a house-elf would look down on it.
He started getting a little curious about the Three-legged Sheep.
"Honestly, any animal is fine. I'd even settle for uncooked beef." This was a sentence Ian hadn't had the chance to finish back in the Hogwarts kitchens.
Trailing behind the much shorter House-Elf Rabi, Ian spotted a couple of Tree-Protecting Leprechauns snoring away. As they approached, those creatures instantly stood up, full of suspicion.
Their sprout-like, emerald-green, branchy bodies were extremely interesting to look at. Giving this guarded territory a wide berth, Ian soon came upon a patch of earth soaked with bloodstains.
The trail of blood stretched on and on.
Leaving a long, crimson smear across the clearing.
"It's deer blood."
House-Elf Rabi dabbed at it with a tiny hand, took a sniff, and said, "Probably those centaurs. Sometimes they like to cross the line to hunt the food they need."
The little guy's certainty made Ian grow a bit curious.
"Centaurs, huh? I'd actually like to meet one." Ian glanced at the bloodstains, getting a rough idea of how House-Elf Rabi came to its conclusion.