Chapter 10
Once everything was ready, Hagrid led Gabin and Fang toward the Forbidden Forest.
The vast forest bordering Hogwarts was home to countless magical creatures and rare, magic-infused plants.
Deeper inside lived several intelligent non-human societies—centaurs, Acromantulas, werewolves, and more.
But none of that concerned tonight's patrol. Gabin and Hagrid stuck strictly to the outer edges, where the trees were mostly ordinary beech and oak. Only in hidden corners did you find the occasional magical animal or herb.
By now the sun had completely set. The sky held only the faint glimmer of stars.
In the darkness, the dense woodland fell silent. Towering trees and thick canopies blocked every trace of light from the castle, leaving the surroundings pitch black.
But tonight that quiet was broken. The heavy crunch of giant footsteps snapping twigs and leaves echoed loudly through the trees, followed by the warm glow of a handheld lantern that lit up a five-meter circle around them.
Hagrid led the way. Gabin followed close behind, with Fang bringing up the rear, ears pricked and eyes scanning for anything approaching from behind.
As a hunting hound, Fang always did his job well.
While walking, Gabin quietly observed their surroundings—through his magical perspective.
The air was thick with ambient magic. It didn't form circuits; it simply permeated the forest like ordinary air.
The tall oaks, the vines climbing their trunks, the damp moss on the ground—all of them had accumulated faint traces of magic in their tissues over time. But without proper circuits, none qualified as true magical plants.
Gabin breathed it in and could feel his own magic slowly replenishing. Ever since he first became aware of it, his magic had been steadily growing—just at different rates depending on his surroundings.
Tonight's haul wasn't impressive. Judging by the position of the stars, they were already halfway through the patrol, and he had only found one flower with a complete magical circuit. Hagrid had glanced at it and guessed it might fetch about three Sickles.
Better than nothing.
Gabin was beginning to think the night would pass as quietly as every other patrol when suddenly—something stirred ahead and to their left.
Tap-tap-tap.
The sound was unmistakably hooves. And from the way the branches rustled and the ground trembled slightly, whatever it was wasn't small.
"Gray—take the lantern and stay behind me. Fang, guard him!" Hagrid passed the lantern to Gabin, spread his massive arms to shield him, then drew his pink umbrella and pointed it forward.
Fang moved to Gabin's side, lips peeled back to show sharp teeth, issuing a low, warning growl from deep in his throat.
Gabin wasn't nervous. With Hagrid here, even if something truly dangerous appeared, Hagrid could hold it off long enough for help to arrive from the castle.
Besides, Gabin seriously doubted there was any dangerous creature in the Forbidden Forest that didn't recognize Hagrid—or that Hagrid hadn't at least tried to feed at some point.
Rather than worry about danger, Gabin was far more curious about what the creature's life circuit might look like.
As the sounds grew louder and closer, he noticed Hagrid's posture relax slightly—though he still kept his umbrella raised.
He clearly recognized whatever was coming.
Moments later, a creature Gabin had read about and seen pictures of stepped into the lantern light.
A centaur.
From the waist up it was human; from the waist down, a powerful horse's body.
In Gabin's magical vision, the centaur's life circuit was extraordinary. The upper half matched a normal human's circuit exactly. The lower half was something entirely new to him.
And at the waist, the two halves joined in an incredibly intricate, knotted pattern—like a tangle of thread with no clear beginning or end. Just looking at it made Gabin's head spin.
"Oh, Ronan—it's you. I thought it might be one of you centaurs," Hagrid said, lowering his umbrella and giving a friendly greeting.
"Hello, Hagrid," Ronan replied. His red eyes slid past Hagrid to fix on the boy behind him.
"Hello, Void Star."
His voice was deep and resonant, carrying the weight of a priest invoking a deity.
Gabin blinked in confusion and glanced at Hagrid.
"What's 'Void Star'?" Hagrid asked for him, then gestured toward Gabin. "This is Gray—Gabin—a student at Hogwarts. And this is Ronan, a centaur. We know each other well. You can trust him."
Gabin nodded.
The name Ronan rang a bell from the first book. If memory served, there were two others—Bane and Firenze.
But tonight only Ronan had appeared; no others followed.
"Ah, Gabin," Ronan said, his red gaze seeming to look through Gabin rather than at him. "Good evening. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Gabin touched the base of his wand. A string of tiny glowing points drifted from the tip on his forearm.
"Good evening. Nice to meet you too."
"Oh—right. Gray's a mute, you see. Can't speak. He uses a modified Lumos to communicate," Hagrid explained quickly.
"Impressive," Ronan said simply.
Throughout the exchange, Ronan kept staring at Gabin—so intently that Gabin started to feel a little uncomfortable.
"What does 'Void Star' mean?" Gabin asked via floating words. With a centaur present, Hagrid didn't object to the magic.
"Don't worry about it, Gray," Hagrid said with a shrug. "Centaurs are always a bit… mystical. They read the stars, but they don't usually tell anyone what they see—just like human diviners."
He sounded mildly exasperated. "He probably saw something odd again."
But unexpectedly, Ronan spoke directly to Gabin.
"The Void Star is a star that does not exist in this moment—yet it has appeared."
Gabin didn't understand. How could something both not exist and appear? Was it there or wasn't it?
He decided not to press the point. Centaurs probably didn't explain things in ways humans could easily grasp.
"Then… why are you here?" he asked instead.
"I followed the guidance of the Void Star. You can help me."
Ronan reached behind him and produced a strange-looking plant, holding it out for Gabin to see.
"This is called hidden-lotus herb. It grows underground, so it is very hard to find. I need a large quantity. I hope you can help me locate more."
Gabin studied the plant called hidden-lotus carefully.