Draco and Harry followed Filch, and this time, they did not continue their argument.
The main reason was that Draco was not in the mood to provoke Harry; watching the direction Filch was walking, he already had a faint sense of foreboding.
Ahead lay the Forbidden Forest, pitch black and without a trace of light.
The Forbidden Forest was home to all sorts of magical creatures; there was nothing you couldn't imagine that it didn't house, and without a doubt, many of those magical creatures were extremely dangerous to young witches and wizards.
Harry did not see a problem with going to the Forbidden Forest; aside from the magical creature habitats he had not yet visited, he had basically explored the rest of the Forbidden Forest.
Harry tugged helplessly at his robes, as Draco's hand was tightly gripping his clothes.
Perhaps Draco himself had not realized it, but his grip was growing stronger and his walking pace slower.
Harry finally lost his patience; he abruptly turned his head, glaring at Draco with annoyance, and reached out to pry his robe free. "Hey! You're tearing my robes apart!"
Draco's face flushed bright red, but looking at the Forbidden Forest so close, he dared not let go and instead held on even tighter.
Draco sneered, "Potter, you should consider it an honor to be protected by a Malfoy!"
Harry: "???"
Your idea of protection is shielding yourself with me? That's insane.
He let out a laugh of disbelief. "Honor, my foot. Should I put these robes you've so graciously touched on display?"
Draco's face reddened further, but he still did not let go; instead, he cleared his throat and deliberately said in a casual tone, "If you'd like, I suppose I wouldn't be opposed."
Harry: "..."
OK, fine.
Harry was speechless. "How did I never notice you were this thick-skinned before?"
Draco stiffened his neck and remained silent.
Filch had tried to speak several times, but each time he was silenced by the two boys' squabbling; his expression slowly shifted from excitement to gloom, and he quickened his pace without a word, determined to deliver the two little brats into the Forbidden Forest as soon as possible.
Hagrid stood at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, holding a lantern as he waited.
His serious expression was hidden beneath his thick beard; upon seeing them arrive, Hagrid raised his lantern and exchanged a brief greeting with Filch.
"Well, Hagrid, I'll leave these two disobedient students to you," Filch said, his raspy voice thick with obvious schadenfreude. "I imagine this trip into the Forbidden Forest will leave quite an impression on them."
Draco's earlier embarrassment and anger had faded; staring at the forest that blocked out the moonlight, his face turned pale.
He clung to Harry's robes, looking as if he wanted to attach himself to the great Boy Who Lived.
Filch noticed Draco's terror from the corner of his eye, and his expression showed even more satisfaction; he deliberately said, "I hear… there are werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest."
He let out a hoarse, sinister chuckle, then turned and left, his voice drifting back through the night: "Good luck to you, you naughty little brats."
Draco was clearly frightened; the hand clutching Harry's robes suddenly yanked hard.
Harry's collar tightened abruptly, and he rolled his eyes, nearly choked unconscious.
"Malfoy!" Harry angrily clawed at his collar, glaring at Draco with fiery eyes.
Draco, embarrassed, finally managed to let go.
Three seconds later, he grabbed on again.
"No need to worry, boys," Hagrid said, looking helplessly at Filch's retreating figure, speaking with conviction. "The friends in the Forbidden Forest are all very friendly."
Draco stared at Hagrid as if he'd seen a ghost, and then he realized with horror that this half-giant was actually serious.
He genuinely believed the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest were "safe"!
Harry shrugged and smiled. "Hopefully?"
Draco turned to glare at him. "You can still laugh?"
Draco could not understand how anyone could be so optimistic when facing the Forbidden Forest.
"Hey, relax, little prince," Harry said, ruffling Draco's hair.
The young prince had not used any hair gel today, after Harry had loudly gossiped about him going bald young just yesterday.
His unbound platinum-blond hair was unexpectedly soft, even softening his arrogant, sharp demeanor, completely erasing his overbearing air.
Harry winked mischievously. "Dumbledore wouldn't let a Malfoy die mysteriously at school.
Even if the Forbidden Forest is dangerous," Harry paused, "at least we're safe."
Draco bristled instantly. "Potter! Don't touch my hair!"
Harry gave a perfunctory nod and casually tousled Draco's platinum-blond head into a bird's nest.
Hagrid watched the two boys messing around with a chuckle; when a large dog emerged from his hut, he waved to Harry and Draco. "Alright, alright, everyone's here, let's go."
As he spoke, the large black dog came over, wagging its tail.
Hagrid pulled some jerky from his pocket and tossed it to the dog, introducing him to Harry and Draco. "This is Fang, and he'll be coming with us into the Forbidden Forest.
Boys, you'd better stay close behind me," Hagrid rumbled in his deep voice, leading the way into the forest.
"Lately, a strange creature has come to the Forbidden Forest, and quite a few unicorns that wandered off have been injured.
The centaurs have been seeing some bad omens again.
I don't think that creature will go easy on you."
Muttering to himself, Hagrid pushed aside the undergrowth, leading Harry and Draco deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Draco's face was completely drained of color; he was terrified, while Harry, in comparison, looked as if he were out for a casual stroll.
Rustling sounds occasionally came from the tall, dense bushes on either side.
When Harry turned to look, he spotted a small, soot-black creature curled up in the grass, its two shiny black eyes fixed on Draco's platinum-blond head.
It was a Niffler.
Harry looked at the Niffler, then at Draco's shiny blond head. Without the hair gel holding it down, Draco's fear seemed to have taken physical form atop his head, his soft hair slightly puffed up.
But the Niffler seemed a bit afraid of Harry, only watching the young prince's platinum-blond hair from a distance and not approaching.
Harry bent down and picked up a round magical creature from near his feet.
After getting a clear look at the little black ball, Harry raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling as he started nudging Draco. "Little prince, guess what I found?"
"What?" Draco asked, puzzled. He pushed Harry's hand away from his sleeve and turned to look at him.
They were following close behind Hagrid, and the lantern's light only reached so far; Draco could not see very clearly, only making out a round shape in Harry's hand.
He had a fair guess it was some kind of magical creature.
He made a face of disgust. "I say, Potter, do you have to pick up every dirty thing you find? That's so gross!"
"Huh?"
Disappointed not to see the young prince's immediate reaction, Harry let out a soft sound of surprise, then quickly realized Draco had not actually gotten a good look.
So Harry pulled out his wand and gave a perfunctory wave. "Lumos."
A faint light glowed from the tip of his wand, illuminating the thing in Harry's hand.
Draco saw the eight furry legs and had a vague sense that something was not right.
Draco was leaning in too close; the warm, humid breath from his nose puffed against Harry's knuckles, making him uncomfortably squeeze the spider in his hand.
The poor spider let out a squeak from the pressure. "Eek!"
This position was rather uncomfortable, so Harry suddenly shoved the creature right in Draco's face, grinning as he made an opening gesture with his hand. "Big surprise!"
This time, Draco clearly saw the eight black, gleaming eyes and the clicking chelicerae, with dark venom dripping steadily down.
Did it look familiar?
It did.
The Guide to Magical Creatures had a section on arachnid magical creatures, and Draco had read that part.
Wasn't this an Acromantula hatchling?
What the hell, why was there an Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest?
Draco's pupils contracted in shock.