The sunlight outside the window was dazzlingly bright. Through the transparent glass, I could see the branches outside the window had been drooping under the scorching sun, and the green leaves were almost wilted.
The Black Lake in the distance was calm, without a ripple, as if it were a dream, extremely quiet.
There was almost no other sound in the classroom except the rustling sound of the quills and parchment. The young wizards were all preparing for the final exams in the near future. Even Ron next to them started to do a set of test questions under Hermione's supervision.
However, Harry had no intention of studying.
He held a quill in his hand and placed both hands on the parchment. The same place on the parchment was already soaked with sweat from his hands, but there was still not a single word written on the paper.
His thoughts were wandering outside the window, thinking about all sorts of random things aimlessly, and before he knew it, the melodious bell for the end of get out of class rang.
Hermione put away her books and prepared to go to the library to review the content of History of Magic. She also wanted to drag Harry and Ron over to study for the exam together, but Harry declined because he had a Quidditch practice in the evening.
Of course, he himself knew that this training had become unnecessary because Gryffindor had lost the chance to enter the final.
And Harry also knew that he should seriously review the courses that he had not paid much attention to this semester... well, or preview them, otherwise he would definitely not get a good grade in the final exam, and might not even pass it.
But when he thought that Cedric might be in the library right now helping Qiu Zhang review the third-grade exam content, he had no intention of going to the library to study together.
Harry climbed the stairs aimlessly until he reached the Gryffindor common room on the eighth floor, and came to a portrait of the Fat Lady, who guarded the common room.
“Fennel oatmeal.”
He gave the Fat Lady the password.
The Fat Lady glanced at Harry and smiled at him.
"Oh, a first-grade little witch is looking for you just now. Come in and take a look." She said happily.
The portrait then swung open, revealing a hole into the common room.
"Oh, thank you." Harry responded in surprise.
As the culprit who caused the Gryffindor team to lose several Quidditch matches, Harry actually received a lot of criticism within Gryffindor this semester.
In addition, his mind was all on Qiu Zhang, and he didn't pay much attention to his other former loyal admirers. Now he is not as popular as before.
Therefore, Harry had no idea which first-year students would come to see him at this time when the final exams were approaching.
In fact, Harry was also confused by the situation.
The only first-year wizards who were willing to look for him at such a critical moment before the exam were basically the two who still maintained a loyal admiration for Harry. They were both Gryffindor wizards.
One is Colin Creevey, who holds a camera all day and wants to take pictures of Harry all the time. He was born in a Muggle family. Before going to school, he heard about Harry's deeds from newspapers and related books, and immediately became a die-hard fan of Harry.
Another admirer is Ginny. Unlike Colin Creevey, who became a die-hard fan of Harry after going to school, she grew up listening to Harry's deeds and has always been Harry's little fan girl.
Harry has always felt guilty towards Ginny and Colin because he feels that he is just an ordinary little wizard and is not worthy of their admiration at all...
Walking into the common room, Harry looked around and found a little red-haired witch circling anxiously beside the fireplace.
"Ginny?" He hesitated for a moment, then called out to Ginny, "Just now the Fat Lady said that a first-year witch wanted to see me. The person she was talking about was you, right?"
Ginny's anxious footsteps were interrupted by Harry's voice. She raised her head suddenly, a look of relief in her eyes.
"Harry, you're finally back!" she said anxiously, "We need your help!"
"What happened?" Harry asked in surprise, looking at Ginny's anxious expression.
"Luna is missing. She hasn't come back for a whole day!" Ginny's brows were filled with worry. "Last night was the last time I saw her. She told me she was going to the Forbidden Forest to feed the Thestrals."
"Luna? Your new Ravenclaw friend?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that girl with light blonde hair who looks very mysterious." Ginny said, "I thought she was just joking about wanting to go to the Forbidden Forest, because I had never heard of the Thestrals..."
"It wasn't until I met Rolf Scamander just now that I knew there were really animals called Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest, and Luna is apparently very familiar with them!"
"So you mean, Luna was in danger in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry frowned.
"I think that's right." Ginny nodded. "I haven't seen Luna all day today. She didn't come to the study session that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had together."
"Later, I went to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room and found several of her roommates. I asked them if they had seen Luna, but they told me that Luna didn't return to the dormitory last night!"
"But for this kind of thing... shouldn't I ask the professor for help?" Harry hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't you know where Professor McGonagall's office is? I can take you there."
"I know where Professor McGonagall's office is, Harry!" Ginny cried, "but none of the professors are in the school today, not even a single adult member of staff!"
"This... How is this possible?" Harry opened his mouth in astonishment, "Will Professor McGonagall allow such a situation to occur in the castle?"
"But the fact is, Professor McGonagall is not in the castle either," said Ginny.
"I just ran into Nearly Headless Nick, and he told me that Professor Dracula felt that he had been at Hogwarts for more than a year and had never invited his colleagues here to his home, so he suddenly had the urge to invite all faculty and staff to dinner in his castle."
"And Professor Dracula said that anyone who didn't go was not giving him face. In the end, even Professor McGonagall was forcibly taken to his home by him."
"This is indeed Professor Dracula's style..." Harry said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Professor Dracula is so rich, his house must be very big, it should be no problem to accommodate all the professors of Hogwarts."
"Harry, now is not the time to think about how big Professor Dracula's house is!" Ginny interrupted Harry and continued, "The problem now is that Luna is in danger in the Forbidden Forest, and we need your help!"
"But even if the professor is not here, we should ask the prefect for help." Harry said blankly, "Percy should be in the library, right? He must be happy to show his responsibilities as a prefect to protect the younger students."
"No, Harry, we don't need Percy, we need you!" Ginny shook her head. "Actually, I wasn't the first person to discover that Luna was missing. Scamander was the first..."
"Scamander has been on good terms with Luna since he first transferred to Hogwarts. After he discovered that Luna was missing, he skipped his daytime self-study classes and went to the Forbidden Forest alone."
"Just now, Scamander told me that he had found the place where Luna was trapped, but it required a specific magic to open it, so I asked you to help me!"
Ginny emphasized the word "we".
She didn't expect Harry to be so slow. The two of them talked for such a long time, but he couldn't even distinguish between the words "we" and "I" in his own mouth, and he didn't even have the slightest doubt.
"But I'm just an ordinary second-year student, Ginny. I'm not any special than other people, and I don't know any special magic." Harry said softly.
He has been feeling very inferior to others during this period of time, and doesn't think that he can do anything that Percy can't do.
"Listen, Ginny, I know you have a kind of... well, blind worship for me, but I am not the savior you say I am. I really did nothing the day Voldemort left..."
Ginny looked at Harry, who had obviously given up on himself. She was angry at the person she admired, and at the same time she was worried about Luna's current situation. In addition, she had long suppressed her admiration for Harry in her heart...
All the emotions condensed to one point, and finally burst out completely—
"Don't you understand what I mean, Harry?" She stared into Harry's eyes and shouted, "You have always been the most special wizard, not because you are the savior, but because of who you are!"
"I admire you not only because you drove away Voldemort when you were a child, nor because of your fame in the wizarding world, but because of your brave character and sense of responsibility!"
"Have you forgotten? Last school year, even though you knew that Assistant Professor Quirrell was a dangerous dark wizard, you still rushed into that dangerous restricted area to protect the Philosopher's Stone. You even dared to face the mysterious man and duel with the dark devil that everyone feared!"
"Where is the fearless and courageous Harry?" Ginny said hysterically with her face flushed and her eyes closed.
Harry stared at the youngest girl in the Wesley family in front of him, and suddenly felt that he had never really known her.
In Harry's impression, every time Ginny saw him, her cheeks would turn red, and she would even become clumsy, often dropping things in her hands on the ground... So he always thought that she was just a silly little girl.
But he had actually heard about Ginny's original character from Ron, Fred and George: she was never a silly and shy girl, but a lively and energetic girl who had her own opinions on everything she did.
It was only because Ginny admired Harry that she became so submissive, shy and naive in front of him.
Now, the emotional outburst of the little witch made Harry realize her other side, and at the same time, reminded him of his past side.
Harry's mind was in turmoil, and the emotion in his eyes gradually faded away.
"I..." he said softly, "I have Quidditch practice soon, so I came back to get my broom."
Hearing Harry's words, Ginny's eyes showed extreme disappointment and sadness.
"I understand. Scamander and I will get Luna back." She said coldly and walked towards the door of the common room without looking back.
"Wait a minute!" Harry called to her suddenly.
"Anything else?" Ginny stopped walking, but had no intention of turning back. "My time is very precious now. Every second I delay will make Luna's situation more dangerous."
"I know," said Harry. "So I guess I should just grab my broom. It would probably be quicker to get to the Forbidden Forest on a broomstick, right?"
He smiled easily, and the confidence he felt when he won the Quidditch trophy, got first place in the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, and won the house cup before the end of the first year returned to his green eyes.
Ginny covered her mouth in disbelief and turned to look at Harry, who was smiling.
She knew that the Harry Potter she admired the most was back!
…
So that afternoon, in the blue sky under the bright sunshine, a brand new flying broom flew by, carrying the clean breath of youth.
"Ginny, where is Scamander waiting for us?" Harry asked loudly to Ginny in front of him, holding the front end of the broom, facing the whistling wind.
At this time, the two little wizards completely violated the rules of using the flying broomsticks and flew quickly in the sky on Harry's Nimbus 2000.
Harry sat on the back of the broom and reached forward to hold the handle at the front of the broom. This posture almost hugged the waist of Ginny who was sitting in front of the broom.
Ginny's face was flushed, her head almost dropped into her collar, and she didn't hear what Harry was asking.
"Ginny, you have to tell me where Scamander is waiting for us?" Harry had to repeat himself. "I need to get the direction right, otherwise if I fly to the wrong place I'll miss the chance to save people!"
This time Ginny finally heard Harry's voice and raised her head in a daze.
"Ah, Scamander said he'd be waiting for us at Hagrid's hut," she said in a trembling voice.
Harry nodded, adjusted the direction of his broom, and flew towards Hagrid's hut next to the Forbidden Forest.
After a gust of lightning, Harry and Ginny landed in front of Hagrid's shed.
As the game keeper and key keeper of Hogwarts, Hagrid was obviously also a member of the Hogwarts faculty and staff. He was also taken by Dracula to his home, that is, Dracula's Castle, for a large dinner.
However, at this moment, there was another person standing in Hagrid's hut, rummaging through drawers.
"Oh no, someone came to steal things while Hagrid was away!" Harry angrily helped Ginny off the broom, and then ran into Hagrid's shed at full speed.
"Stop! That stuff belongs to Hagrid!" He kicked the door open and shouted into the shed.
However, when he saw Hagrid's figure inside the shed, he was stunned.
"Scamander, why are you in Hagrid's hut?" Harry looked at the little wizard in the house and asked puzzledly, "And how do you have the key to Hagrid's hut?"
"Oh, you're here, Harry." Rolf looked up at Harry at the door and continued to search back and forth in the house. "My grandfather had a good relationship with Hagrid, so I knew Hagrid when I was a child."
He didn't explain to Harry why Newt and Hagrid were on good terms.
In fact, Newt Scamander and Rubeus Hagrid were both students expelled from Hogwarts. They both liked magical creatures and had experienced the era of the Global Wizarding War, so they had a lot of common topics and easily became good friends.
"When I came to Hogwarts this time, I immediately applied for the position of Hagrid's assistant." Rolf puffed out his chest proudly, "In the future, I must become the best wizard who is a Magizoologist. To be a Magizoologist's assistant, I must start from a young age!"
"So Hagrid gave you the key to the house?" Harry nodded in understanding. "Yeah, there's nothing too valuable in Hagrid's house, so it doesn't really matter if we don't lock the door."
However, after listening to Harry's comments on Hagrid's Hut, Rolf suddenly raised his head and looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Harry asked in surprise. He looked around and indeed did not find any valuables here.
"Hmm... do you know what this is?" Rolf asked, picking up a large, dirty fur cushion from a chair.
"Isn't this just the same chair cushion that Hagrid usually sits on? What's so strange about that?" asked Harry.
"That's right." Luo Fu nodded. "Then do you know what material is used to weave this mat?"
"Um... isn't it wool?" said Harry.
"No, it's actually unicorn tail hair." Rolf gave the answer and then smiled evilly.
Harry's eyes widened in shock.
He vaguely remembered that when he was buying potion materials in Diagon Alley, he had seen the price of unicorn tail hair in a magic material shop.
Ten Galleons per bag!
If you calculate it this way, then a cushion made of unicorn tail hair that is big enough to fit Hagrid's butt would cost... a lot of Galleons? !
Harry opened his eyes wide and looked carefully at the dirty cushion in Rolf's hand, completely unwilling to admit that it was made of unicorn tail hair.
"Do you understand what I mean now?" Rolf shrugged. "Hagrid is the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, managing a huge treasure trove like the Forbidden Forest. So many of the inconspicuous things he has here are of extremely high value!"
"So what are you looking for?" Harry was shocked, then looked at Rolf suspiciously, "Are you trying to steal Hagrid's good stuff while he's not around?"
"I'm not interested in Hagrid's little fortune!" Rolf glanced at Harry and said proudly, "I have many more magical animals at home than Hagrid can see!"
Rove was not exaggerating at all.
Newt doesn't just have a suitcase containing those precious magical creatures. The Scamander family's basement has also been greatly expanded by the Traceless Extension Charm, and a large number of magical creatures live in the vast basement.
In comparison, no matter how big the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts is, it only has the same single climate environment as that of Scotland.
However, Newt's basement and boxes have been decorated with almost all kinds of climates using weather spells, and also have most of the natural environments in the world.
So what Rolf said was right, their family's assets related to magical creatures are much more abundant than Hagrid's!
"If you're not interested, then what are you looking for here?" Harry asked puzzled.
"Find a useful little tool. It will be useful when we go to rescue Luna later." Rolf said to Harry while searching.
"Found it, Hagrid put it here!"
He fished out a long stick from a large box, with a metal device similar to a pair of pliers attached to one end.
"What is this? Is it a weapon?" Harry looked at the strange-looking stick, his eyes a little dazed, "Hmm... I don't know if it's because I'm not experienced enough, how lethal can this thing be?"
"This thing is called a snake fork," Rolf explained. "It's a tool specially used to deal with snakes. It might come in handy later."
As he said this, he glanced at Harry curiously, "But this is not the main means of response. Our main fighting force is you!"
"Me?" Harry was stunned. "I'm just a second-year wizard. You weren't fooled by Ginny into believing that I'm so powerful, were you?"
"Ahem, I think I have to explain before I act, Scamander, I was ranked first in Defense Against the Dark Arts in my first year, but..."
"Who said you were called here because of your first place in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Ginny walked in carrying Harry's Nimbus 2000 and interrupted Harry.
Her face was still a little red, but after the experience of riding on the same broom with Harry, she was no longer as shy as before.
"Isn't it because of my Defense Against the Dark Arts score?" Harry turned and looked at Ginny. "Is it because of the specific magic you told me about before? But I don't know any extracurricular magic at all... Otherwise, let's call Hermione over, she might know."
"Harry, have you really forgotten what you can do?" Ginny pouted helplessly, "Think carefully, what abilities have you demonstrated in the Dueling Club?"
Harry's expression became even more dazed.
Because of the punishment given by Dracula for daydreaming in class, he often had to fight four duels in a row at the Dueling Club meetings this semester.
Although his combat ability had indeed improved significantly, after so many duels he could no longer distinguish what magic he had used.
"Harry, have you forgotten the duel you had with Malfoy during the first duel in the duel club?" Ginny couldn't help but remind him when she saw that Harry couldn't remember it anymore. "At that time, Malfoy conjured up a big snake, and then you spoke a strange language to control the snake away from you."
Rove added:
"Potter, through what Ginny told me about your experience, I can preliminarily determine that you are a snake old man! We need your help."
…
…