Long before the afternoon classes had even ended, Filch was already waiting outside Rey's classroom door, clutching his mangy cat, Mrs. Norris.
The moment the bell rang, Filch—terrified that Rey might try to bolt—marched into the classroom with great fanfare and grabbed Rey before he could even think about leaving.
Ignoring the annoyance of Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, Filch bared his yellow teeth and gleefully announced Professor Snape's punishment to the entire class.
The Forbidden Forest was strictly off-limits to students. But apparently, as a punishment, exceptions were made.
The tall, thin caretaker dragged Rey out of the classroom like he was carrying a chicken. Before dinner had even started, he had hauled Rey all the way down to Hagrid's hut.
Filch, looking incredibly smug, announced Snape's decision to Hagrid.
Standing next to the towering half-giant, Filch looked like a dwarf. After hearing the order, Hagrid just shrugged. He couldn't refuse Snape's decision.
Similarly, Rey couldn't refuse either, but he didn't look particularly upset or worried about it.
Neither of them gave Filch the fearful reaction he wanted. But he had delivered the prisoner, so his job was done regardless of their attitudes.
---
Hagrid's hut was cluttered but cozy. A large copper kettle was bubbling over the fire. Hagrid grabbed a small bowl, filled it with soup, and placed it in front of Rey. "Here, have some soup first, Rey Faest."
Taking the small bowl—which looked tiny next to Hagrid's bucket-sized one—Rey asked in surprise, "Professor, you know who I am?"
"Oh, no, no. I'm not a professor. Just call me Hagrid. Your Hatstall at the feast was famous, yeh know."
Being called "Professor" clearly flustered Hagrid, though he was delighted by it. He had always wanted to teach, but for now, he was just the Keeper of Keys and Grounds.
"Oh, okay. Then you can just call me Rey."
Rey took a sip.
"Hagrid... I have to be honest, this soup isn't great."
The meat soup was frankly terrible. Hagrid, bless his heart, had zero talent for cooking.
"Yeh've had better?"
Hagrid wasn't offended. He preferred a first-year who spoke his mind over those Slytherin kids who talked in circles.
"Of course. You have fresh beef here. I can make you a proper soup."
Rey wasn't a professional chef in his past life, but making a decent beef stew was basic home cooking.
He didn't just talk; he acted. To Hagrid's astonishment, Rey dumped the contents of the pot outside. Then he grabbed a knife and started chopping the fresh beef into chunks.
He added corn, carrots, and ginger—ingredients Hagrid usually fed to the creatures.
Less than an hour later, a pot of white, fragrant beef stew was ready. The aroma made Hagrid's nose twitch as he inhaled greedily.
Hagrid had plenty of supplies, mostly meant for the magical creatures he tended.
Seeing the quality of the ingredients going to waste made Rey's heart ache. Fortunately, his cooking skills hadn't rusted, and he managed to whip up a taste of home he hadn't had in a long time.
"Rey, yeh're a natural cook!"
Hagrid downed his bowl in one go and immediately served himself another.
"Thanks. Glad you like it. Hagrid, I think sooner or later, you're going to become the Care of Magical Creatures professor."
The giant blinked, suddenly interested, leaning his massive bulk toward Rey. "Yeh really think so?"
"Absolutely."
Flattery gets you everywhere, especially when your life might depend on the person protecting you. In the Forbidden Forest, without Hagrid, Rey would be dead ten times over.
Seeing Rey so certain, Hagrid lowered his voice to a whisper. "Can yeh tell me when?"
"Probably... in five or six years."
Rey remembered from the books that Hagrid did become a professor, but the exact timeline was fuzzy.
Hagrid poured Rey another bowl of soup and nodded in thanks, though he clearly took Rey's "prediction" with a grain of salt.
"Trust me. I have a talent for Divination."
"Oh, really? Well then, thanks fer the prediction."
Hagrid clearly just thought the boy was being nice. The two of them, one massive and one small, sat around the pot of soup, chatting away.
---
"Hagrid, when do we go into the Forest?"
"After dark. We'll do a patrol, then we're done."
"What's in the Forbidden Forest?"
Adult soul or not, Rey was naturally curious about the place strictly forbidden to students.
"Beasts yeh won't find in the Muggle world. Venomous Tentacula, centaurs... and of course, the purest creatures of all, unicorns."
Venomous plants were dangerous, centaurs were aloof, and unicorns were beautiful.
Of course, Hagrid conveniently left out the Acromantulas.
Rey knew about them, naturally. But he had an adventurous streak in his bones. The thought of entering the Forbidden Forest tonight and seeing these magical creatures made his heart race with excitement.
Waiting for something always makes time drag.
Before dark, Hagrid busied himself repairing his massive crossbow.
The crossbow had long range and high power. In some ways, it was more effective against beasts than magic.
Rey didn't have any physical weapons. Everything in the hut was sized for a half-giant; he couldn't even lift most of it.
Besides, he had his wand. That was probably better than a dagger anyway.
---
Finally, darkness fell.
Hagrid picked up his crossbow. He and Rey each carried a lantern—one large, one small. With Fang, the black boarhound, in tow, they stepped into the Forbidden Forest.
Fang walked between Hagrid and Rey.
If Rey remembered correctly, Fang was a coward. He either fainted quickly or ran away fast. In a crisis, the dog was useless.
However, Hagrid mentioned that the forest had been quiet lately. And since he had Rey with him, he decided they wouldn't go too deep.
But not long after entering the trees, Hagrid suggested they split up. He needed to check something deeper in the more dangerous part of the forest.
"This area is very safe. Unicorns come here often, so there aren't any predators. Yeh can wander around within a hundred yards here. I'll go check over there and be back soon."
Rey agreed sensibly. The kind-hearted Hagrid even left Fang with him for protection.
Watching Hagrid disappear into the deep woods with his heavy pack, Rey looked around.
The weather was good. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, illuminating the thin mist that drifted between the trees. It gave the forest a mysterious, ethereal quality.
"Woof! Woof!"
Suddenly, the cowardly Fang started barking. And he was barking at something behind Rey.
Rey went on high alert. Hagrid had only been gone a moment—was there trouble already?
He spun around immediately.
A shadowy, human-shaped figure stood on the path they had just come from. It was about fifty meters away... and it was closing in fast.
---