The Ancient Wizards of Hogwarts

A clearing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

When Ash came here from Hogsmeade, Bai Zi had been waiting here for a long time.

However, when Ash saw the tall figure standing not far away with a lantern in his hand, he couldn't help but look a little surprised:

"Hagrid, why are you here?"

"Ash? It's my turn to ask this? What are you doing here?"

Hagrid's eyes widened and he hurried forward to stop Ash.

Just as he asked, he suddenly thought of a possibility and looked at Ash in disbelief:

"Don't tell me you sneaked out of the secret passage of Hogwarts? Merlin! You're only in the first year! How could you..."

Before Hagrid could finish, Ash interrupted him and asked:

"Is there a possibility that this is how I came out last night?"

"..."

Hagrid was choked immediately, but thinking about it carefully, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him.

As long as it's a Hogwarts student who appears in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night, what else can it be if it's not someone who sneaked out?

Ash turned back to being a guest and asked:

"Okay, Hagrid, what are you doing here?"

When Hagrid heard this, he immediately stared at the two giant wolves trying to get closer with vigilant eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"I have to watch this werewolf to prevent him from running to Hogwarts!"

Ash looked at Hagrid in surprise: "Don't tell me you've been here all day? Don't you have anything else to do?"

"..."

Hagrid looked a little embarrassed: "Not entirely, I will only look at them if they appear here."

Ash understood Hagrid's thinking, but ultimately he still didn't believe in werewolves.

Despite Ash's guarantee, how convincing could a first-year student's guarantee be?

Hagrid might already be regretting agreeing to his request yesterday.

Ash said decisively:

"Hagrid, let's go back. I'll go talk to Dumbledore in person tomorrow."

"Huh? That's okay."

Hagrid was stunned for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that it was indeed a solution. He nodded and prepared to leave.

But before he turned around and took two steps, Hagrid suddenly realized, no, he hadn't even asked what Ash was doing here!

"Ash, you..."

He turned around and was about to ask when he saw Ash already riding on the back of the giant silver-gray wolf, who dashed into the forbidden forest and disappeared.

"Stop!"

Hagrid exclaimed and subconsciously lifted the pink umbrella, but he was afraid of accidentally injuring Ash on the giant wolf's back, so he hesitated and failed to cast the spell, so he had to grit his teeth and chase after him with a lantern.

But how could he possibly catch up with a werewolf known for his speed in the Forbidden Forest?

——

Lying on Bai Zi's back, Ash asked softly:

"Bai Zi, do you know where to find Mao LiZi?"

Bai Zi did not respond, but answered Ash with practical actions.

Two hours later, they arrived at Mao Lizi's lair—a long-abandoned grass hut with drafts on all sides.

This was probably built by Hagrid or a ranger in the past, and was used as a breeding nest by the cats after it was abandoned.

When they sensed Bai Zi's arrival, these magical animals fled in all directions almost immediately.

But there were still more than a dozen ignorant cats who were attracted by beauty and stayed where they were, curiously looking at Ash on Baizi's back.

This is a magical animal that looks like a cat. Their ears are large, their hair is somewhat similar to that of a leopard, and their tawny fur has various spots on it. The tail is a bit like a lion's tail, with a fluffy tuft at the end.

But this combination does not make them look weird, but has a unique beauty.

Just like Sniffs, cats and dogs also have a special magical ability: they can distinguish people with bad moral character and malicious intentions.

"Good boy, come here."

Ash gently stroked the fur of one of the cats, which was fluffy and soft, and felt quite comfortable to the touch. The cat who was touched also snored happily and rubbed Ash's hand with his head and chin.

Seeing this scene, the remaining cats immediately gathered around and rubbed their heads against Ash's body. However, Ash didn't catch them all, he just selected a few smaller kittens and put them in the bag.

Ash stood up, caressed Bai Zi's face, and asked softly:

"Bai Zi, are there any soundless birds around here? A magical bird creature that cannot make a sound."

Bai Zi nodded, squatted down and let Ash climb up.

"Meow~meow~!"

"Meow~!"

The cats who had not been taken away gathered around him again, meowing reluctantly.

"Roar!"

Bai Zi immediately showed a ferocious expression, and roared with his teeth, scaring the cats away, and then ran into the forbidden forest and disappeared.

Walking along the black woods, Ash saw the Silent Bird perched on the treetops ten minutes later.

It was a small blue bird with light spots on its feathers.

There is a crest on the top of its head, and its tail feathers are almost twice as long as its body length.

Bai Zi's arrival caused many soundless birds to flutter their wings and fly away, but just like their name, the soundless birds will not sing in their lives until the moment of death, when they make a long shrill cry. , calling out all the sounds it has heard in its life.

Perhaps it is precisely because of their characteristics that the feathers of the Silent Bird can be used to make truth-telling potions and reminiscence potions.

There was no doubt that a few female Silencebirds forgot to escape and were successfully captured by Ash.

But this also made Ash realize a fact:

These magical animals may all be his.

Unlike the Niffler, neither the Cats nor the Silencers are natives of the Forbidden Forest, but were rescued by Ash from other poachers. But now that these two magical animals are living and breeding in the Forbidden Forest, they can only be the descendants of those magical animals that were once raised by Ash in the Room of Requirement and later released by Dicko!

After all, unlike Ash, Dicko really takes it as his mission to save magical animals. As long as Dicko feels that these magical animals are no longer endangered, he will find ways to release them and actively help them adapt to the local environment.

And since these magical animals appear in the Forbidden Forest, Ash can deduce clues about Dicko from them.

Ash thought for a moment and asked:

"Bai Zi, do you know the Purple Horned Beast? Where are the Thunderbirds and Iseraurus?"

He described the characteristics of the purple-horned beast and other magical animals in detail, but Bai Zi just shook his head and gave a negative reply. But for the Ball Escape Bird and the Evil Bird, two creatures that did not originally exist in the Forbidden Forest, Bai Zi gave a positive answer.

"In other words, the ones released are all common magical animals."

Ash thought thoughtfully, which meant that Dico was raising those precious magical animals himself. With Dicko's character, he would definitely release these unfed magical animals before his death, and the best place to release them is undoubtedly the Forbidden Forest.

But since there are no traces of these magical animals in the Forbidden Forest, it means that Dicko is probably still alive and insists on feeding these magical animals.

"It's one of the few pieces of good news." Ash murmured.