As soon as they approached Hagrid's hut, Fang rushed towards them, circling around the group. Albert squatted down, rubbed Fang's head, then scratched his chin, which finally calmed Fang down.
Hagrid had already pushed open the wooden door of his hut, inviting everyone inside.
There was only one room. Hams and roasted pheasants hung from the ceiling, a copper kettle sat on the fireplace, and the fire had already died out. A large bed was placed in the corner, covered with a quilt made of patchwork rags.
Hagrid picked up a pink umbrella from the corner to light the fireplace, then hung the copper kettle filled with water over it to boil, seemingly preparing to make them tea.
While doing these things, he didn't forget to turn back and tell the three of them, "Next time, if I see you sneaking into the Forbidden Forest again, I'll hand you over to Professor McGonagall. She'll certainly make sure you never dare to enter the Forbidden Forest again."
"We were just curious… about what's actually in the Forbidden Forest," George muttered softly. "Why does Dumbledore forbid students from entering the Forbidden Forest?"
"There are wild beasts in the Forbidden Forest, and magical creatures that are very dangerous for you," Hagrid explained impatiently. "Dumbledore forbidding you from entering isn't without reason; it's simply too dangerous for you right now."
"Hagrid, be careful not to let the Bowtruckle fall into the fireplace; they seem to be very afraid of fire," Albert interjected, changing the subject.
"Oh!" Hagrid pulled out a chair and sat down, placing the Bowtruckle from his body onto the table. He took out some herbs from a nearby cabinet, chewed them, then applied them to the Bowtruckle's wound. He also used small wooden splints to fix and bandage the Bowtruckle, tying them with unicorn tail hair.
This was a delicate task for Hagrid, but he still completed it very seriously.
It's just that the bandaged Bowtruckle didn't seem to appreciate it much, appearing a bit annoyed by the small wooden splints on its body.
"I'm not very good at such delicate work," Hagrid said to everyone after treating the Bowtruckle. "Bowtruckles have very slender limbs and are easily injured and fractured."
The kettle whistled. Hagrid poured the boiling water into a large teapot and served everyone a cup of amber-colored tea. Beside it was a plate of coarse, irregularly shaped biscuits.
"Is this dittany?" Albert asked, picking up the plant Hagrid had chewed.
"Yes, dittany is the simplest and most effective plant I could find. I specifically asked Professor Sprout for some; it's very suitable for treating most animal injuries," Hagrid took a sip of hot tea, ate a few biscuits, and began enthusiastically introducing Bowtruckle care to everyone.
Hagrid took out a wooden box containing something similar to brown rice. He told them, "Feed this to the Bowtruckles, it will make them feel better."
"Hagrid, what is this?" Albert grabbed a small handful and offered it to the two Bowtruckles that were trying to shake off their bandages. They immediately stopped struggling, pounced on it, and began to eat.
"Woodlice," Hagrid said. "A type of insect that Bowtruckles like to eat. Of course, fairy eggs are also their favorite food."
Fred and Lee Jordan both tried feeding the Bowtruckles, while George was wrestling with a small biscuit.
Albert watched George pick up a biscuit, put it in his mouth, and after a few bites, found he couldn't chew it. He then took the biscuit out of his mouth, held it up to his eyes, as if doubting that what he had just bitten wasn't a biscuit, but a stone.
Seeing this, Albert felt like laughing. He had no intention of touching the biscuits. These biscuits might be just right for Hagrid's teeth, but for Albert and the others, they were quite hard on the teeth.
"Hagrid, what are they used for?" Fred asked, pointing at the Bowtruckles.
"What are they used for?" Hagrid thought for a moment and replied, "Bowtruckles are the best forest guardians. Trees where they live grow especially lush, and the wood from these trees is usually suitable for wand making.
"If one day you want to take leaves or wood from a tree guarded by a Bowtruckle, it's best to offer them some woodlice or fairy eggs as appeasement. Otherwise, be careful of their sharp claws. There have been cases where people's eyes were poked out by Bowtruckles."
"Aren't you having any?" Hagrid noticed that they had barely touched the biscuits and asked curiously.
"No, it's almost dinner time," Albert argued. He then pulled out his pocket watch, checked the time, and said, "I think we should head back to the castle so we don't miss dinner."
"You're right." Hagrid suddenly remembered something and told Albert, "That dead branch outside is from a mountain ash tree…"
"Thank you, Hagrid!" Albert immediately expressed his gratitude. "I'll cut a small piece to take back later."
"Do you need my help?" Hagrid quite liked this polite child in front of him. Because of his appearance, many students feared him, and few were willing to chat with him.
"No!" Albert pulled out his wand, pointed it at the dead branch, and chanted, "Diffindo."
"Is that enough?"
"I can't carry any more," Albert said, using the Cutting Curse to cut a small piece of the branch for himself. "I might need some more later."
"Then I'll leave it behind the hut; you'll need to come and get it yourself," Hagrid said, nodding.
"Goodbye, Hagrid." Albert picked up a small piece of the branch and motioned for his three roommates to walk towards the castle together.
"What do you want this for?" Lee Jordan asked, puzzled.
"You'll find out later," Albert said with a smile, looking at the three of them. "How was the Forbidden Forest?"
"It's pretty much like the Forbidden Forest near my house," Fred said, winking at Albert. "We went in from another side of the Forbidden Forest, and unexpectedly ran into Hagrid dragging a dead branch. He was probably in the Forbidden Forest helping you get the mountain ash tree."
"So, you got caught by Hagrid?" Albert felt like laughing; he thought the three of them had really bad luck.
"I bet they're lying to us; there are no dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest at all," George complained.
Albert thought to himself, If you had encountered them, you'd probably have been carried off and eaten by now, with no time to gossip here.
Albert asked in return, "You said… why would they deceive students?"
Fred pouted and said, "Percy said there are many dangerous wild beasts in the Forbidden Forest, but in reality, not many people have actually seen those wild beasts."
"Actually, you need to think differently," Albert reminded them. "Why doesn't Dumbledore allow students to enter the Forbidden Forest?"
"Do you think… there's a secret hidden in the Forbidden Forest?" Lee Jordan's eyes lit up at the words.
"That's possible, and there are other possibilities, of course," Albert continued to analyze for the three of them. "Deep within the Forbidden Forest, there should be many magical creatures living there. Didn't Hagrid say there are unicorns in the Forbidden Forest? These magical creatures pose a certain danger to us, and going too deep into the Forbidden Forest could also cause students to get lost."