"Diricawls?"
Harry, who had only entered the wizarding world a few weeks ago, blurted out with unmistakable Muggle bewilderment, "What's that?"
"They're a rather interesting kind of bird," Hagrid said with a grin as he explained. "Their wings are tiny, so they can't fly, and they're plump as can be, so they don't run very fast either… but they've got a strange ability. When they encounter danger, they suddenly vanish from the world, and only reappear after the danger has passed. While they're gone, no one can find them, and no one knows where they go…"
"That's amazing," Harry said in awe.
He couldn't help imagining how wonderful it would be if he had that ability himself—to vanish from the Dursleys' house, from Potions class, from that room with the three-headed dog… and live freely and safely.
"Diricawls are basically dodos," Avada added when Hagrid didn't continue, offering a bit of Muggle-side knowledge. "They were originally native to Africa, but a group of indiscriminately hunting Muggles drove them all over the place. Some of the less skilled ones at vanishing were actually killed by Muggles. Later, wizards helped them migrate their populations, and only then were they able to settle safely in other parts of the world."
"That's right. Even now, Muggles still think they hunted Diricawls to extinction," Hagrid muttered. "Though that's not entirely a bad thing—it taught them a bit of a lesson, made them slightly gentler with other animals. Only slightly, mind you…"
He waved the four of them over. "Come on, you'll see when we get there."
…
The name "Forbidden Forest" was deeply misleading. Many students new to Hogwarts assumed it was merely a small woodland within the school grounds, or perhaps a managed forest owned by the school.
That couldn't have been further from the truth.
This forest was the largest magical ecosystem in all of Britain. Its scale, mystery, and biodiversity placed it among the greatest in the world. Rather than Hogwarts possessing the Forbidden Forest, it would be more accurate to say Hogwarts had been built on the forest's edge.
Because of this, Hogwarts' control extended only to the outermost perimeter nearest the school—just enough to ensure safety and occasionally gather magical materials. As for the depths of the forest—home to centaurs, colonies of Acromantulas, all manner of strange or dangerous magical creatures, and even rumors of dragons—the school left them entirely alone, allowing nature to take its course.
So when magical creatures occasionally migrated from the forest toward Hogwarts, it was considered fairly normal. As long as they weren't too dangerous, the staff were even happy about it—it benefited the school, after all.
And Diricawls, with a danger rating of only XX and such a peculiar ability, were naturally welcomed.
Merlin… living dodos…
Avada had known of their existence from books for years, but seeing a whole flock of lively, bouncing dodos with his own eyes still made him sigh. Having lived as a Muggle for decades, the feeling was unavoidable.
Perhaps somewhere on another Earth, a hidden population of dodos still lived quietly, like coelacanths, waiting to be discovered and protected by humanity.
Hopefully so. But at least in this world, they were thriving.
"They look a lot like ordinary ostriches," Harry said, standing in front of one Puffskein and watching it yank a berry from a bush with its massive beak, toss its head back, and swallow it whole. He reached out and touched its feathers, but the Puffskein merely shook itself and went back to foraging.
"They're not afraid of people to begin with," Hagrid said cheerfully. "And I've been around them for a while now. They were a bit nervous at first…"
He crouched down and scattered a handful of what looked like dried berries onto the ground, immediately attracting a swarm of Diricawls scrambling to eat. "Unless they're facing real danger, they won't easily use their vanishing ability."
Avada found that rather disappointing. If a Puffskein demonstrated its ability in front of him, it might inspire new insights into spatial magic. As things stood, he could only work backward from their physical and magical structure.
After all, he couldn't very well pull out his wand and attack them just to force them to vanish.
"That said," he asked reluctantly, "is there any chance they could be domesticated? Like owls? If they could use that vanishing ability to deliver mail, wouldn't that be much faster?"
"Doesn't seem possible," Ron replied before Hagrid could answer, as Hagrid fell into thoughtful silence. "A few years ago, Charlie and Professor Kettleburn researched that exact idea. Diricawls can be tamed, but it's almost impossible to make them use their vanishing ability on command. They really do treat it as a last-resort survival trick, not something for everyday use."
Baron laughed as well. "Besides, even if they did deliver mail for you, they can't lock onto a recipient's location like owls can."
"Exactly," Ron nodded, giving Baron an approving look. He'd felt he was missing something earlier, and Baron had filled in the gap perfectly.
"Here," Hagrid said, returning from his hut with four small packets. "You can feed them yourselves—get acquainted."
Ron opened his packet and immediately popped a dried berry into his own mouth first, nodding in satisfaction before feeding the birds. Avada tried one as well—it actually tasted quite good.
Only then did he crouch down and feed the Diricawls by hand, all the while observing the magical structure of this apparently space-related creature.
"May I take a feather?"
A short observation wasn't enough for real insight. He wanted a feather for long-term study—but plucking one might hurt the Puffskein, and cutting one off magically might damage the sample. So he turned to Hagrid instead.
"You think their feathers are pretty too, eh?" Hagrid said brightly. "Great for quills or bookmarks. Hold on a moment."
He crouched and played with a Puffskein for a bit. Then, to Avada's astonishment, the Puffskein turned around, plucked one of its own feathers, and handed it to Hagrid.
"Here you go."
After playing with the bird a little longer and sending it off happily, Hagrid finally passed the feather to Avada.
Avada: …
Hagrid's affinity with magical creatures was truly something else. No wonder he'd become a master of the field through self-study alone, and even been hired as a Hogwarts professor despite being a dropout… though his teaching skills were another matter.
"That idea you mentioned earlier is pretty interesting," Hagrid muttered. "Maybe I could try crossbreeding Diricawls with owls, see if I can get one that both vanishes and can track a recipient…"
"That would be brilliant," Ron said enthusiastically. "Our Errol's getting so old he can barely fly anymore. If he could vanish, it'd save him a lot of effort…"
"If he's already that old, why keep making him deliver mail?" Baron asked, then paused as realization struck. "Is it because he refuses to give up his job? Some of the owls in my family are like that—you could try—"
"There are owls like that?" Ron interrupted in surprise, then sighed. "Errol's probably not that type… but we really don't have the spare money to buy another owl right now."
"Not even one… sorry."
Baron nearly let something tactless slip. He'd heard that the Weasley family—despite being one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight—struggled financially due to their large number of children, but he hadn't realized things were this bad.
"Who'd want it to be like this? It's just that—"
Ron might be young, but he'd absorbed enough at home to understand his family's situation. New to Hogwarts and with few friends, he couldn't exactly explain it all to Harry, who'd grown up among Muggles. Now that he'd finally met someone who understood, he couldn't help venting. Harry and Avada leaned in as well—both were curious about how wizarding society actually worked.
"Merlin, didn't they ever consider—"
"That's exactly it. You have to admit, most of those pure-blood types who love bragging about their lineage are—"
"And of course it's Fudge. That man is just—"
"Yes! And his deputy, Umbridge, too—"
Surrounded by Diricawls, Ron and Baron talked animatedly, while Harry and Avada thoroughly enjoyed the gossip about the Ministry of Magic and pure-blood families.
"By the way," Ron said suddenly, "which House are you in? I don't think I've seen you at the Hufflepuff table."
He paused. Since Baron was friends with that "forager," surely he was in Hufflepuff too?
"Slytherin," Baron replied. "Didn't Harry tell you?"
"..."
(End of Chapter)