"I received the message and came to pick you up at 5:30, but I didn't expect you to go the wrong way." The old man said slowly.

Going the wrong way?

The cold fingers began to feel warm, and Hoffa's face gradually returned to normal.

There is no doubt that the old man in front of him carrying a bow and arrow is the gamekeeper of Hogwarts.

"Why do you put something like this at the entrance!?" Hoffa asked with suppressed annoyance, pointing at the tree trunk.

He thought to himself that he was lucky to have the meditation method. If he were an ordinary first-year student, he would have been scared to the point of peeing his pants. That kind of magic is no joke.

"This was not arranged by me, but by the Forbidden Forest horse people."

The old man said calmly, without any intention of explaining more.

"What, why do centaurs do this?"

"The Forbidden Forest is not peaceful recently, and they want to help." The old man curled his lips and said, "Come with me."

After saying that, he tightened the bow and arrow on his back and walked into the forbidden forest.

Watching the old man disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Hoffa followed him and asked: "What are those three pictures on the tree?"

"Past, present and future." The old man said calmly, "It will be fine if you just follow me. Don't run around."

"What?" The old man's pace was a little fast, and Hoffa had to speed up to keep up with him. "What is the past, present and future, can you explain it more clearly?"

"I don't know. I'm not interested in centaur magic. If you want to know, I suggest you find a centaur and ask."

Seeing that the old man looked like he didn't want to talk nonsense, Hoffa had no choice but to shut up and go on his way silently.

Following the old man, it turned out that nothing like the previous one happened again, and the surrounding scenery became much more real. There were no side roads, and it was no longer as absurd and strange as before. It was just a very ordinary forest.

After walking for about three minutes, his vision became clearer, and Hoffa saw a faint light in the forest and the sound of crackling fire in the air.

The old man took Hoffa to a campfire in a forest glade. He took off his bow and arrows and pointed to the opposite side of the fire.

"Sit down, it's a bit busy tonight, we'll set off after dinner."

There is a round stone opposite the fire. It is covered by trees, the ground is dry, and there is no rain. There is a tin can on the fire, and something is simmering in it. There is a slight smell of meat in the air.

Hoffa sat down as instructed and didn't speak for a while. He just looked up and down at the old man opposite him by the light of the fire.

Joey Dago.

This is the guy who least looks like a wizard he has ever seen. He is wearing animal skin clothes and has only one eye. He has several steel daggers stuck in his waist. He carries a wooden bow and iron arrows on his back, and there are two dead bodies hanging on the wooden frame next to him.

Fallen hare.

If it weren't for the fact that he was at Hogwarts, Hoffa would only think of him as a little-known country hunter.

Joey Dago didn't speak. In fact, he had been quite taciturn since Hoffa appeared. He had been fiddling with the stones in front of him with a poker, and didn't even look at Hoffa.

The silence lasted for about 5 minutes. Hoffa took out a piece of parchment from his arms and said: "Sir, this is my assessment sheet."

Across the fire, Hoffa politely handed over the order."

"Um."

The old man took the score sheet and stuffed it into his pocket without even looking at it.

Then he continued to fiddle with the stones and charcoal.

Hoffa asked tentatively: "Ahem, Mr. Dago, what is my mission tonight?"

"Just call me Joey."

The man said calmly without raising his head.

His accent is not like the British one, but more like the American one.

"Well."

Hoffa didn't know how to answer the question for a moment, so he had to shut up.

After about twenty minutes, the smell of meat in the air became even stronger.

Before Hoffa came, he only ate some potato pie and a few chicken drumsticks. His stomach was empty and he could not help but salivate a little when he smelled the aroma.

Joey took out a spoon from his back, opened the tin can and turned it around.

Inside the tin can was rabbit meat stewed with beans. It was red and very attractive.

The old man tasted the taste a little, then took out a wooden plate from behind. He put some on it and handed it to Hoffa. Hoffa thanked him quickly and took it.

A spoonful of beans enters the mouth, and a warmth spreads from the mouth to the lower abdomen. It is delicious. The beans are very rotten and the rabbit meat is delicious. This is completely different from the food made by the house elves at Hogwarts. It is rough but has a unique flavor.

Hoffa ate the beans and thought it would be perfect if he had a bowl of white rice at this time.

Joey didn't have white rice, so he took out a piece of whole wheat bread from behind, broke it open and gave some to Hoffa. Then he also filled a bowl of beans.

Hoffa dipped the bread into the rabbit meat sauce and swallowed it. The warmth in his belly gradually dispelled the uneasiness and fear caused by the centaurs' magic.

"Are you the student named Hoffabach?" Joey asked while eating.

Hoffa nodded, stuffing beans in his mouth, and said vaguely: "Yes."

"You're unlucky to be here. Tonight's mission is more dangerous and we need to go a little deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Don't get lost then. Do you understand?"

"What exactly is the mission?" Hoffa asked.

"Save some magical animals." The old man said without raising his eyes.

"What animal?" Hoffa was curious. The old man always spoke only a little.

"The Dodo."

Dodo...does this sound dangerous?

Hoffa did not refuse. His current goal is to be an honest man and eliminate his bad record in school.

The old man ate very quickly. After a few bites, he picked up his bow and arrow, lit a torch and held it in his hand.

"Let's go."

Hoffa put down his plate and followed.

Hoffa came to the Forbidden Forest at night for the first time. He was still a little panicked. If he was of the same age as Harry and knew what he would encounter, even if he encountered Voldemort in his soul state or a giant spider, he would not panic.

Because that is certain, known. It will definitely happen.

But now, he has no idea what will happen in the woods, and he doesn't know much about the old man next to him. Everything is unknown, and this is what worries Hoffa the most.

Especially when he was offended by that weird magical hallucination, Hoffa acted very cautiously.

Joey caught a glimpse of Hoffa's conservative posture and asked as he walked: "Are you from Gryffindor?"

"No, Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw, it's really strange. I've been at Hogwarts for 10 years, and this is the first time I've seen a Ravenclaw student sent to the Forbidden Forest."

Hoffa opened his mouth. What? He was the first Ravenclaw student to be sent to the Forbidden Forest in 10 years.

Joey continued: "The people who come to me the most are Gryffindors, those over-energetic brats who want to break every rule. The next most popular ones are Hufflepuff, then Slytherin, and Raven.

Crow, you are still the first."

Hoffa kept silent and shut up. It must be said that the old man's words were quite effective, and the uneasiness in Hoffa's chest was quickly suppressed.

This old man seems to have quite a lot of experience. If so many Gryffindors are fine, he should be fine too.

After walking for another ten minutes, there was the sound of gurgling water in his ears. Joey suddenly reached out to stop Hoffa. They came to a creek. It was not as dark as in the Forbidden Forest just now because there were some odors on the ground.

Yellow and blue fluorescent fungi.

Their small umbrella covers emit a hazy light in the dark night, which is very beautiful.

But when Hoffa looked at them, he inexplicably thought of the mushrooms in the fantasy world, and his stomach became a little tight.

Joey stood motionless by the stream. Hoffa turned his head curiously and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Wait a minute, wait for a friend." Joey said calmly.

"Friends?" Hoffa was a little curious.

Before he could even ask, he knew who his friend was.

In the forest at night, a rather amazing scene appeared.

A unicorn with silvery white light all over its body slowly walked out of the forest. It had a smooth mane, like a horse but much cleaner and more beautiful than a horse.

Several colorful butterflies were flying around the horn on its head. It looked very pleasant.

Old Joey bent down and bowed to the unicorn across the stream. Hoffa was shocked by the beauty of this animal and couldn't help but bowed and bowed. The unicorn nodded, took a sip of water from the stream, changed direction, and entered the forbidden area.

Deep in the forest.

"Let's go." Joey motioned for Hoffa to follow.

"Unicorns know all the situations in the forest very well, and usually they will help you find problems in the forest. But basically, the problems they find are usually not minor ones. Something may have happened in the Forbidden Forest."

Joey followed the unicorn and explained Hoffa in a low voice.

Hoffa looked at the blurry silver figure in front of him. It jumped in the dark forest. It moved very quickly and very lightly, making almost no sound. Every time its hoofs stepped on the ground, they would leave some traces behind.
To be continued...