Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

"friend."

"Yes! Gropp, my friend!"

In the Forbidden Forest, John and Hagrid stood at Grop's feet, and this time Grop did not make a move.

Hagrid was very happy that Gropp could now distinguish between friends and food.

Grop walked back to the spruce tree that had tied him to, squatted down, and pulled out a rusty bicycle handlebar from his treasure trove, with what should have been a handlebar bell still hanging on it.

He clumsily removed the bell from the front of the bicycle and gently twisted it with his large fingers—"Ding-a-ling!" A crisp sound echoed through the cedar forest.

Grop grinned, then slowly handed the front of the car to John.

"Oh, is this a gift for me?"

John was flattered and accepted the old bicycle handlebars, then rang the bell.

Another crisp sound.

Gropp looked very happy, still muttering to himself.

"friend."

Gropp may not seem very mature, but he's more like a child who hasn't grown up yet. With patient guidance, he can become a civilized person.

After spending some time with Gropp, Hagrid left with John.

As he left, Gropp would awkwardly wave, mimicking their gesture.

They clearly didn't understand the meaning behind it, but they still tried their best to imitate this gesture of goodwill.

"Thank you so much, John, for helping Gropp make his first friend."

John waved his hand, his boots crunching on the snow.

"Nonsense. Gropp seems quite intelligent, and very pure, like a blank sheet of paper."

"I look forward to Gropp learning more in the future, truly integrating into Hogwarts, and becoming as popular and beloved by the students as Uncle Hagrid."

Hagrid was both touched and embarrassed when he heard John's words.

He scratched his messy beard and finally managed to utter a sentence after a long pause.

"Hehe, Hermione is right, you always know how to say things to make people happy."

John: "..."

What I'm saying is, Hermione's words and what you mean are completely different things...

They were clearly praising him, but I still felt like Hagrid's insults were really harsh...

Just as the group was walking back, they suddenly heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves approaching them.

Hagrid immediately stopped smiling and stood in front of John.

Although John didn't know who the newcomer was, seeing Hagrid's appearance, he prepared to take out his wand.

"Don't pull out your wand, John; it'll cause trouble."

But Hagrid stopped him before he could reach for his wand.

Will this cause a dispute?

John was taken aback upon hearing this, but before he could ask any questions, the sound of hooves approached them.

They were a group of centaurs with brown manes all over their bodies.

They all had their hands on their bows, poised to shoot arrows at any moment.

"Hagrid! The giant you brought back has repeatedly disturbed the peace of our territory."

"You should know that the Forbidden Forest is not a garden for giants!"

The centaur leader, Florence, spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, the arrowheads gleaming coldly in the snow.

"No, Florence! Gropp is a good kid!"

Hagrid retorted to the centaur leader.

"Giants are just barbarians who only know how to destroy!"

Florence coldly rebuked.

"If you don't send that giant away, don't blame us for using force!"

Hagrid's chest heaved violently, his heavy breaths condensing into white mist in the cold air.

Centaurs are the native inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest. They believe in astrology and order, have a strong sense of territory, and cannot tolerate any intrusion.

Grop was located right within their territory.

They refrained from using force immediately out of respect for Hagrid and Dumbledore.

If Grop had just behaved a little better, they might have turned a blind eye.

But Grope always seems to create a commotion, yelling loudly, smashing trees, and throwing stones from time to time.

These commotions were like a thunderclap in the silent Forbidden Forest.

This seriously affects the peace and tranquility of the centaur tribe.

Hagrid clenched his fist, then reluctantly let it clench, knowing he was in the wrong.

"I understand, Florence. Give me some time, and I'll send Grop deeper inside. I promise it won't affect you."

Florence narrowed his amber eyes, lowered the arrow tip slightly by half an inch, but did not retract the bow.

"Three days," he uttered, his voice like a cracked pine branch. "If he sets foot east of the Silver Birch Forest before the snow melts—we will act according to the ancient covenant."

Before the words were even finished, the herd of horses had already turned and reared up, their brown shadows sweeping across the snow slope, leaving only a few deep tracks and a flurry of falling ice crystals.

Hagrid sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped, as if all his strength had been drained away.

John remained silent throughout the rest of the conversation.

He knew most about centaurs from books, and even when he occasionally walked with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid only told him not to mess with centaurs.

They are like the mermaids at the bottom of the Black Lake, belonging to intelligent life. Although they are defined as "beasts" like mermaids, they also have corresponding "human" rights.

Therefore, John also had to respect their territory and rules.

"On the bright side, Hagrid, settling Grop somewhere further away will also help hide him better."

John patted Hagrid's broad back.

"I know that, but the deeper you go into the Forbidden Forest, the harsher and more dangerous the environment becomes. I really don't want Grop to stay in a place like that..."

Hagrid shook his head weakly.

"Glopp is a real giant, he's not as fragile as you think."

"I'll go with you to see him off tomorrow, and we can help him build a little place while we're at it."

John continued to comfort him, and Hagrid nodded, saying that was all they could do.

The next day, John followed Hagrid back into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

The two of them worked together to get Gropp to a more distant place.

It was a forest surrounded by ancient trees, whose dense foliage almost completely blocked out the sunlight, making it so dark that even the moss had a cold, bluish-gray hue.

They found a natural rocky hollow surrounded on three sides and settled Gropp there.

John took out his wand and used the power of the Earth Dragon's Turn to gently rotate the rocky hollow. The rubble arched and piled up as if it were alive, and in the blink of an eye, it became a foundation.

Cover it with another layer of soil, and then lay a thick layer of dry grass.

Then John pulled out a large bundle of sticks the size of chopsticks and waved his wand to turn them back into thick logs.

This was something he and Hagrid had specially prepared yesterday.

As John operated the system, the logs automatically stood up, interlocked, and nested together, forming the four walls with a perfect mortise and tenon joint. At the top of the slope, a dragon skin that Hagrid had somehow pulled out was used as a roof.

A giant's hut was thus built. The space inside was not large, just enough for Grop to sit with his legs curled up or lie down and stretch out his limbs.

But at least it's much better than that old place where the ground was my bed and the sky was my blanket.

Gropp seemed to understand that this was where he slept, and a dazed yet bright light flashed in his eyes.

He stretched out his large, fan-like hand and carefully touched the dragon-skin roof, then withdrew it, as if afraid of damaging it.

"This will be your new home from now on, Gropp!"