Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

Chapter 71 Goblins and Pointy-Nosed Puppets

"I think the professor simply didn't want to get his hands dirty, which is why he assigned this kind of work to us. His room clearly has so many useful and unique things."

Fred muttered to himself as he slowly climbed the rope ladder beneath the cabin into the thick fog.

Above him, in order, were George, Harry, and Ron, who were climbing down.

It was their first time climbing such a rope ladder, but in the thick fog, the handles weren't slippery at all; in fact, climbing it felt remarkably easy. Several times as Harry descended, he felt a gust of wind supporting his feet—the rope ladder was clearly enchanted.

As Harry pondered this, he continued Fred's words:

"Special? Isn't this how it is in your home?"

“No,” Ron said, above him. “The things at home move around a bit more, but overall it’s the same as at school. There aren’t beer glasses that just come out when you shake them. At home, Dad usually buys the beer in advance and then uses a refill spell to keep taking more from it.”

"Little Roron is right," George chimed in with a grin, earning a roll of his eyes from Ron.

But he continued, "The professor's house is clearly a bit different. Wizards usually live in separate settlements, but not too far from Muggles. I don't know what the professor meant by 'moved to the settlement.'"

They continued climbing down, vines hanging from the edge of the rope ladder, swaying in the mist. A biting chill swept over them from all directions as they passed through the dense fog, making them shrink back. But soon, they were captivated by the sight before them—two enormous shadows were slowly moving through the mist.

"That's... chicken feet?" Fred couldn't help but swallow.

Two enormous chicken legs extending from under the wooden house, like sleepless sentinels, moved step by step in the thick fog, each step producing a low "thump!" sound.

"Thump—.Thump·"

The sounds echoed rhythmically through the woods, as if providing accompaniment to this strange scene.

These chicken feet were at least ten times the height of Fred and his men, their surfaces a dull gray, covered in mud and grime. But upon closer inspection, their original yellow skin and fine texture could still be discerned. Faced with such behemoths, it was hard for anyone not to feel a chill run down their spine.

Looking down, the sharp, black claws of the chicken's feet are clearly visible, as hard as rocks.

"Merlin's red underwear."

Upon first seeing this creation, all of them stopped climbing the ladder without prior notice.

Even Harry, whom I met for the second time, was the same.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the base of the strange house for a while.

"Does your family have similar magic?" Harry asked, but as soon as he asked, he realized he had asked a stupid question—Hogwarts doesn't have teleportation, and Ron's family, which claimed to be similar to Hogwarts, certainly didn't.

"Of course not," George replied as expected. "This kind of house is at least the result of large-scale alchemy. While it's not unheard of, it's still quite rare. I really don't know where the professor found it."

"...What do you think about us saving up to build a house like this in the future?" Fred suddenly said.

"Good idea."

They were immediately lost in their fantasies, chatting away about their lives a decade or more from now. Even when they reached the top of the rope ladder, the two of them started slapping each other over control of the non-existent prank chicken feet hut, almost causing Harry and Ron to fall.

But they eventually made it safely to the bottom of the chicken-foot hut at the very bottom of the castle, a dark and gloomy place. Looking up, the sky above was gray and blocked by dense, dry tree branches. Only a few windows on the roof of the mobile hut let in a little warm light.

Harry rubbed his arms, still hoping to get back up there as quickly as possible.

The memory of wandering in the forest below for most of the day suddenly returned to his mind. He had to admit, it was an experience he wouldn't very much like to relive.

The group had a list given to them by Professor Victor, which listed the names of several plants and spices that could be found near the house, along with their specific locations. Following the first instruction, they carefully avoided the chicken feet that caused the ground to tremble with every step.

They found the spice-growing area amidst the thick fog.

In the distance, beyond those huddled patches of grass, Harry saw a small enclosure enclosed by a low fence, with a sign in front that read:

"Throw it here."

Harry read the sign aloud in a low voice, a hint of doubt in his tone.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, this is the place the professor wanted us to throw the goblins into, isn't it?" Ron said, glancing warily.

"By the way, do you know how to deal with goblins? You pick them up, swing them around in the air a few times, and then throw them away—that way you won't hurt your hands and they won't be able to find the goblin burrow."

"Goblins are quite annoying. They not only dig holes everywhere and damage fences and flower beds, but they also eat newly sprouted buds and shoots. We have them in our house too, and Mom always makes us deal with them."

As he spoke, Fred, who was walking at the front, bent down and reached into a nearby spice bush, then pulled a goblin out of a small hole at the bottom. The goblin, as it was pulled out, was still screaming, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Unfortunately, Fred had been dealing with goblins for years and had long since become hard-hearted.

He grabbed its ankle and lifted it up, ignoring its kicks from its calloused little feet, then spun it around three times like a windmill before accurately tossing it into the small circle in the distance.

"A resounding success!"

Fred clapped his hands and said.

Harry watched for a while as the goblin fell into the circle.

Fred tossed the ugly goblin headfirst into the dirt, and it took him a long time to climb out, clearly disoriented. He wandered aimlessly around the enclosure for a few steps, then lunged at the low fence, as if trying to crawl under it.

As Harry was still debating whether to stop it, a golden light suddenly flashed through the seemingly empty gap in the low railing, followed by a crisp "thump!" as if the goblin's head had hit something and bounced off.

Then it fell to the ground and didn't move.

A large bump appeared on its hard forehead.

Ron saw it too, first letting out a sympathetic "hiss," then touching his own head, and saying to Harry:

"It's alright. Goblins have incredibly tough skin; this won't harm them. At most, it'll deter them from coming here again. — The professor's magic is indeed very effective."

Harry nodded, seemingly understanding, then looked away and joined the goblin-clearing team out of curiosity.

Before long, the small circle was filled with unconscious goblins.

These goblins were really stupid. When they saw that the goblins were being dealt with, they lined up to watch. So Harry and his friends finished them off in no time.

Only a few remained, sleeping soundly in the cave, and they needed to retrieve them.

But just as Harry cautiously reached into a hole, his hand probed inside a few times, but he didn't touch a goblin.

Instead, it encountered a small, hard object.

He tentatively poked it a few times and found that it didn't move, so he took it out.

It was a puppet.

The puppet was covered in dust and dirt, but its exquisite craftsmanship was still evident. Its face was round, with almost no trace of carving, and it had wooden eyes and a pointed wooden nose.

But when Harry looked over, its eyes seemed to move.