"Alright, lad. Head into the forest from here and keep walking for about a kilometer. You'll find it eventually."
Hagrid didn't even bother looking up as he spoke. He sat beside the fire, completely absorbed in the dragon egg resting carefully in his lap, his enormous fingers gently polishing the shell as if it were some priceless treasure.
"If it trusts you, it'll lead you to the centaurs. If it doesn't…" Hagrid paused for a moment before grunting, "then come straight back out. The Forbidden Forest isn't a place for first-years. You'll die in there."
After saying that, he went right back to admiring the egg, clearly having no intention of explaining anything else.
Sean stood there silently for a few seconds before turning around and leaving the hut. The cold night wind brushed against his face the moment he stepped outside, carrying the damp scent of soil and pine from the Forbidden Forest.
"So the dragon egg's already here. That means the plot's officially started."
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the familiar mechanical notification rang inside his head.
[System Mission Released: Hold the Philosopher's Stone for one hour. Reward will be granted after system analysis is complete.]
Sean blinked.
"A reward? What kind of reward? More magical creature feed?"
His expression immediately turned sour. The memory of the last reward still made him annoyed.
The system responded instantly.
[Please refrain from insulting the system. All rewards are generated from information surrounding the host.]
[You came to the gamekeeper's hut. Did you expect to find gold bars instead of animal feed?]
Sean slapped his thigh and laughed dryly.
"Alright, alright, that actually makes sense this time. Fine, I'll accept the mission."
Even while speaking, though, his face was full of disgust.
There was no need to think about it. Once the time came to deal with Voldemort, Sean would definitely end up dragged into the whole mess anyway.
Besides, he already had plans of his own.
More importantly, if he stayed out of it completely, Harry would practically be handed the House Cup on a silver platter. Dumbledore's shameless bonus-point operation would definitely happen again.
But if Sean got involved, then even Dumbledore couldn't go too far with his favoritism.
At least… hopefully not.
Shaking away the thought, Sean eventually arrived at the place Hagrid had described.
The forest around him was deathly quiet. Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy overhead, turning the ground silver while strange shadows twisted between the trees. Aside from the occasional rustle of leaves, there was nothing there.
Sean frowned slightly.
"Where is it?"
Just as confusion started to rise, a strange cry suddenly echoed above him.
"Coooo—!"
Sean instinctively looked up.
A massive creature swooped through the sky above the trees, its enormous wings cutting through the moonlight.
The instant Sean saw it clearly, his entire body went cold.
"Griffin?!"
His face turned pale as blood rushed straight to his head. For a split second, his mind completely blanked out.
If a real griffin appeared here, he would absolutely die.
Then, just as panic started to explode inside him, Sean suddenly froze.
"No… wait."
His expression shifted immediately.
"There's no way a griffin would appear in the Forbidden Forest. This should be…"
The creature descended slowly from the sky before landing several meters away with a heavy thud. Its eagle-like eyes stared directly at Sean while its feathered wings folded neatly against its body.
The front half resembled a giant eagle, while the rear half looked exactly like a horse.
Sean finally let out a breath.
"A hippogriff."
The creature tilted its head proudly, clearly evaluating him.
"And judging by the attitude… this must be Buckbeak."
Sean's nerves instantly tightened again.
He remembered perfectly well how proud hippogriffs were. If someone approached without proper respect, they could slash a person open in seconds.
And Hagrid hadn't mentioned a single word about proper etiquette.
If Sean had walked over carelessly, he probably would've ended up in the hospital wing tonight.
Fortunately, he still remembered the scene from the original story.
Without hesitation, Sean straightened himself and performed a deep formal bow.
Buckbeak remained motionless for several seconds. Its sharp golden eyes studied Sean carefully before it finally took a slow step forward.
Sean's palms were covered in sweat now.
Not from fear.
From excitement.
Then Buckbeak slowly bent its front legs and lowered its proud head in return.
Sean immediately exhaled in relief.
"Thank God…"
He smiled slightly before speaking carefully.
"So your name's Buckbeak, right? I brought you a little gift. Hopefully you won't hate it."
As he spoke, Sean pulled out a bag of premium magical creature feed the system had rewarded him earlier and carefully extended it forward.
Buckbeak leaned in curiously and sniffed it once.
Then, without warning, it opened its beak and swallowed both the food and Sean's entire hand.
"Bloody hell—!"
Sean nearly screamed.
A second later, Buckbeak pulled back again, shaking its head happily while chewing contentedly. Every bit of feed was gone.
Meanwhile, Sean stared silently at the saliva covering his hand.
"…Lovely."
He immediately pointed his wand downward.
"Scourgify."
The sticky mess vanished instantly.
Buckbeak clearly enjoyed the food and immediately stared at Sean expectantly, as though asking for more.
Sean looked up at the enormous creature in front of him.
"Take me to the centaurs, and I'll give you more later."
Buckbeak tilted its head thoughtfully for a moment before slowly lowering itself onto the ground.
Sean's eyes lit up.
"You actually understood?"
Considering Sean was barely over five feet tall, climbing onto Buckbeak's back wasn't exactly graceful. After struggling awkwardly for a while, he finally managed to haul himself up.
The moment he settled properly, Buckbeak stood.
It trotted forward a few steps through the trees before suddenly spreading its massive wings.
The next instant, they shot into the sky.
Sean's heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
Wind roared past his ears while the entire Forbidden Forest shrank beneath them. The moon hung enormous above the treetops, bathing Hogwarts Castle in pale silver light in the distance.
Sean couldn't stop himself from shouting.
"THIS is flying!"
His laughter echoed through the night.
"Who needs a stupid broomstick when you can do this?!"
"Coooo—!"
Buckbeak cried proudly as it soared just beneath the canopy. Sean could even feel leaves brushing against his shoes while branches whipped past overhead.
The sensation was completely different from riding a broom.
A broom felt fast.
This felt alive.
After several minutes, Buckbeak gradually slowed before descending back toward the forest floor.
The moment they landed, Sean hadn't even climbed down yet before several shadows emerged silently from the darkness.
In the blink of an eye, he found himself surrounded.
A group of centaurs stood among the trees, each holding bows aimed directly at him.
Their powerful horse bodies shifted restlessly while their human torsos remained perfectly steady. Moonlight reflected off polished arrowheads.
Sean immediately raised both hands.
"Easy. I'm not here to cause trouble."
The centaurs exchanged several rapid sentences in a language Sean couldn't understand. Their eyes remained locked on him the entire time.
Finally, one of them stepped forward.
"We have been waiting for you for a long time," the centaur said calmly. "Come with us. The hippogriff will remain here."
Sean nodded before turning toward Buckbeak.
He gently stroked the creature's neck.
"Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
Buckbeak suddenly grabbed the edge of Sean's robe with its beak, refusing to let him leave.
Sean looked genuinely surprised.
"You're worried about me?"
Buckbeak snorted loudly.
It took several minutes of coaxing before the hippogriff reluctantly released him.
Only then did Sean follow the centaurs deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
The further they walked, the stranger the atmosphere became.
The trees grew taller and denser while silver moonlight poured down through gaps in the canopy like liquid. Occasionally Sean caught glimpses of strange creatures hiding in the darkness, watching silently before vanishing again.
Not long afterward, the forest suddenly opened up.
Sean stopped in place instinctively.
A hidden village stood beneath the stars.
Wooden platforms and huts had been built naturally between the trees, connected by rope bridges and stone paths. Fires burned throughout the settlement while dozens of centaurs moved around calmly.
Some worked with tools beside enormous wooden structures. Others sat beneath ancient trees while staring silently at the night sky, whispering softly among themselves as though discussing the stars.
The entire place felt ancient, mysterious, and completely detached from the outside world.
Then suddenly, an angry shout erupted ahead.
"A human?!"
Several centaurs immediately turned toward Sean in shock.
"How did you bring a human here?"
.....
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