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chapter 170 part 2
"Still, a great discovery... I wonder what it could be?"
This question bothered William for a good while.
---
By the time William had bought his gift and ordered enough snacks for himself, it was already half past ten.
He hurried towards the school gates, not even returning to his office, and headed straight for the Forbidden Forest.
However, before he could even see Hagrid's hut, Hagrid himself appeared in his line of sight.
"Hagrid, good morning. What are you doing here?"
William said as he held out the gift to Hagrid. The half-blood giant grinned as he took the gift and gave a wink—to be honest, the gesture was a little frightening.
"Let's maintain a little mystery, William. I've invited a lot of guests today. You'll like today's feast..."
Hagrid was being secretive and didn't even seem to intend to invite William towards his hut.
"I have to stand here, William. Even though that's the Forbidden Forest, you know those students don't care about that," Hagrid chuckled. "But for today, I think it's better to keep an eye on the students from this spot. It's for their own good."
What did he mean, 'for their own good'?
What was he being so mysterious about?
The twins, and now you. Can't you just let me have a peaceful day off? My seven days have already shrunk to one, can't you just give me a break?
Oh, right, I have to subtract the evening from that one day—I still have to supervise students in detention tonight.
Just as William was grumbling internally, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"Ah, little William, you're here too!"
There was no need to guess who it was; it was the old professor—he was the only one in the whole school who called him that.
Turning around, he saw it was indeed the old professor, waving at him from a distance. William had no choice but to jog a few steps to catch up, ready to protect him—offering an arm was out of the question, as the old professor disliked being helped.
"Hagrid, seriously, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea," the old professor said, smiling happily. "Even when I was wearing the Diadem, I never would have thought of this!"
William watched with a smile as the old professor brought up the Diadem every third sentence. He had been the same way when people from the Ministry of Magic came to visit; it was very endearing.
As the first person to risk his life testing the Diadem, no amount of exaggeration was too much, not to mention the old professor was only joking. Besides, apart from William himself, there were probably few in this Castle who didn't want to wear the Diadem.
'Actually, I want to wear it too, but it's obviously a completely different type of curse,' William thought about the Diadem for a moment before quickly pushing the image from his mind. 'What if trying it on meant dying on the spot?'
Compared to the Diadem, he was more curious about what creative thing Hagrid had done to earn such high praise from the old professor.
---
William soon found out.
When it was nearly time for lunch, Harry and his friends arrived. After confirming there were no other students around, Hagrid cheerfully led the group toward his hut.
"Good heavens, did you invite a whole tribe?"
From a distance, William could see countless bonfires. Herds of centaurs were sitting or lying around the fires, creating an incredibly lively scene.
"Of course, they're my good friends. If we're having a celebration, it has to be lively."
Hagrid said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
William knew about the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, of course, but this was the first time he had seen so many—just as he'd said, Hagrid had probably invited an entire tribe.
'But today isn't Halloween! My guess yesterday was wrong. Why are there so many centaurs?'
"Look who's here!"
Hagrid raised his hand, calling out to his friends.
"Heavens—that boy."
"Yes, it's him."
"That's right, it's him."
…
Although he knew from books what the name Harry Potter signified, it was only now that William truly understood—being The Savior meant you could rack up affection points like crazy even among other races.
Whether it was due to the Ministry of Magic's propaganda or some other reason, it was undeniable that these centaurs respected Harry even more than the professors of the school.
Although both the old professor and Hagrid could mingle with them easily, William could tell that their attention was focused more on Harry.
"William, you're here!"
A familiar voice called out from among the centaurs—it was Adams.
"Adams, you're here too?"
"Of course! You shouldn't underestimate the social skills of a Hufflepuff!"
Adams replied with a laugh, a branch with roasting meat in one hand.
'Don't just pin every random thing on Hufflepuff! It's not like Hufflepuffs are born with a social aura!'
William grumbled internally as he glanced at the other bonfires—though all sorts of things were being roasted over the flames, without exception, they all included chicken.
"Are these the roosters you were guarding with magic before?"
"That's right. We killed them all in one go today," Adams replied, his eyes on the roast chicken.
"Hagrid was so thoughtful. I never would have thought of this—"
"Thoughtful?"
"Yeah. Do you remember why Ginny came here in the first place?"
"To kill a chicken for its blood. But that parchment was destroyed—there are too many bizarre rituals in dark magic, I could never guess what situation would require chicken blood."
"Exactly, for blood. The truth is, it doesn't matter how closely we watch them. As long as the blood is here, someone will be after it. The most ridiculous part is that we even bought more."
"So," Adams said, smiling brightly, "we killed all the roosters. That way, even if some loophole appears with the Diadem, there will be no chicken blood left at Hogwarts for it to use."
In a Western fantasy story, you'd be the type to starve a dragon to death, wouldn't you?
"That's a pretty good idea," William said, lowering his voice. "So the centaurs are here to help eat the chickens?"
"Shh," Adams whispered back, also lowering his voice. "It was just good timing. We were originally planning to do it in several batches, but Hagrid felt Harry's victory was a big deal and wanted to have a proper celebration—and give the boy a belated birthday party at the same time."
'Right, the belated birthday,' William suddenly remembered how upset Hagrid had been at the beginning of the school year because Harry hadn't replied to his letters.
"That's great. My lips are sealed."
"Good. By the way, how should we dispose of the chicken blood? I've collected it all carefully. You're the professional, and I'm afraid it could be used, so it's all in this bucket over here." Adams pointed to a nearby bucket.
How to dispose of it?
Logically, eating it would be the safest way.
But I've never learned how—speaking of which, I wonder if you can make blood pudding from chicken blood?
(end of chapter)
"Still, a great discovery... I wonder what it could be?"
This question bothered William for a good while.
---
By the time William had bought his gift and ordered enough snacks for himself, it was already half past ten.
He hurried towards the school gates, not even returning to his office, and headed straight for the Forbidden Forest.
However, before he could even see Hagrid's hut, Hagrid himself appeared in his line of sight.
"Hagrid, good morning. What are you doing here?"
William said as he held out the gift to Hagrid. The half-blood giant grinned as he took the gift and gave a wink—to be honest, the gesture was a little frightening.
"Let's maintain a little mystery, William. I've invited a lot of guests today. You'll like today's feast..."
Hagrid was being secretive and didn't even seem to intend to invite William towards his hut.
"I have to stand here, William. Even though that's the Forbidden Forest, you know those students don't care about that," Hagrid chuckled. "But for today, I think it's better to keep an eye on the students from this spot. It's for their own good."
What did he mean, 'for their own good'?
What was he being so mysterious about?
The twins, and now you. Can't you just let me have a peaceful day off? My seven days have already shrunk to one, can't you just give me a break?
Oh, right, I have to subtract the evening from that one day—I still have to supervise students in detention tonight.
Just as William was grumbling internally, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"Ah, little William, you're here too!"
There was no need to guess who it was; it was the old professor—he was the only one in the whole school who called him that.
Turning around, he saw it was indeed the old professor, waving at him from a distance. William had no choice but to jog a few steps to catch up, ready to protect him—offering an arm was out of the question, as the old professor disliked being helped.
"Hagrid, seriously, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea," the old professor said, smiling happily. "Even when I was wearing the Diadem, I never would have thought of this!"
William watched with a smile as the old professor brought up the Diadem every third sentence. He had been the same way when people from the Ministry of Magic came to visit; it was very endearing.
As the first person to risk his life testing the Diadem, no amount of exaggeration was too much, not to mention the old professor was only joking. Besides, apart from William himself, there were probably few in this Castle who didn't want to wear the Diadem.
'Actually, I want to wear it too, but it's obviously a completely different type of curse,' William thought about the Diadem for a moment before quickly pushing the image from his mind. 'What if trying it on meant dying on the spot?'
Compared to the Diadem, he was more curious about what creative thing Hagrid had done to earn such high praise from the old professor.
---
William soon found out.
When it was nearly time for lunch, Harry and his friends arrived. After confirming there were no other students around, Hagrid cheerfully led the group toward his hut.
"Good heavens, did you invite a whole tribe?"
From a distance, William could see countless bonfires. Herds of centaurs were sitting or lying around the fires, creating an incredibly lively scene.
"Of course, they're my good friends. If we're having a celebration, it has to be lively."
Hagrid said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
William knew about the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, of course, but this was the first time he had seen so many—just as he'd said, Hagrid had probably invited an entire tribe.
'But today isn't Halloween! My guess yesterday was wrong. Why are there so many centaurs?'
"Look who's here!"
Hagrid raised his hand, calling out to his friends.
"Heavens—that boy."
"Yes, it's him."
"That's right, it's him."
…
Although he knew from books what the name Harry Potter signified, it was only now that William truly understood—being The Savior meant you could rack up affection points like crazy even among other races.
Whether it was due to the Ministry of Magic's propaganda or some other reason, it was undeniable that these centaurs respected Harry even more than the professors of the school.
Although both the old professor and Hagrid could mingle with them easily, William could tell that their attention was focused more on Harry.
"William, you're here!"
A familiar voice called out from among the centaurs—it was Adams.
"Adams, you're here too?"
"Of course! You shouldn't underestimate the social skills of a Hufflepuff!"
Adams replied with a laugh, a branch with roasting meat in one hand.
'Don't just pin every random thing on Hufflepuff! It's not like Hufflepuffs are born with a social aura!'
William grumbled internally as he glanced at the other bonfires—though all sorts of things were being roasted over the flames, without exception, they all included chicken.
"Are these the roosters you were guarding with magic before?"
"That's right. We killed them all in one go today," Adams replied, his eyes on the roast chicken.
"Hagrid was so thoughtful. I never would have thought of this—"
"Thoughtful?"
"Yeah. Do you remember why Ginny came here in the first place?"
"To kill a chicken for its blood. But that parchment was destroyed—there are too many bizarre rituals in dark magic, I could never guess what situation would require chicken blood."
"Exactly, for blood. The truth is, it doesn't matter how closely we watch them. As long as the blood is here, someone will be after it. The most ridiculous part is that we even bought more."
"So," Adams said, smiling brightly, "we killed all the roosters. That way, even if some loophole appears with the Diadem, there will be no chicken blood left at Hogwarts for it to use."
In a Western fantasy story, you'd be the type to starve a dragon to death, wouldn't you?
"That's a pretty good idea," William said, lowering his voice. "So the centaurs are here to help eat the chickens?"
"Shh," Adams whispered back, also lowering his voice. "It was just good timing. We were originally planning to do it in several batches, but Hagrid felt Harry's victory was a big deal and wanted to have a proper celebration—and give the boy a belated birthday party at the same time."
'Right, the belated birthday,' William suddenly remembered how upset Hagrid had been at the beginning of the school year because Harry hadn't replied to his letters.
"That's great. My lips are sealed."
"Good. By the way, how should we dispose of the chicken blood? I've collected it all carefully. You're the professional, and I'm afraid it could be used, so it's all in this bucket over here." Adams pointed to a nearby bucket.
How to dispose of it?
Logically, eating it would be the safest way.
But I've never learned how—speaking of which, I wonder if you can make blood pudding from chicken blood?
(end of chapter)
