"What's its name?" Albert asked, stuffing the sandwich in his mouth and gently rubbing the hound's head with both hands.
"Tooth." Hagrid answered instinctively.
"Ya Ya feels like this big dog's imposing presence has vanished all at once. How about we name him Spike?" Albert casually suggested a new name for Ya Ya.
"I think calling him Tooth is fine." Hagrid stopped cleaning the mink and shook his head, declining Albert's offer.
"My name is Albert Anderson. Are you also a professor at Hogwarts?" Albert asked, knowing the answer already.
"No, I'm the hunting ground guard," Hagrid continued, shaking his head.
"Does the hunting grounds refer to that forest over there?" Albert pointed towards the Forbidden Forest, and before Hagrid could answer, he continued, "I've heard there are werewolves in the forest, is that true?"
"You're a Ravenclaw student?" Hagrid asked uncertainly.
Albert glanced sideways at the three people behind him who were chuckling, and replied, "No, we are all Gryffindor students."
"Oh, Gryffindor students," Hagrid said suddenly, seriously, "I won't let you into the woods…"
"Ahem, Albert, how did you know this dog would rub your head? I thought it was pretty fierce just now." George quickly tried to divert Hagrid's attention.
The three of them gathered around and started rubbing the dog's head.
"A gut feeling, maybe. I own a cat myself, but I didn't bring it to school," Albert casually made up an excuse. "By the way, Mr. Hunting Ground Guard, would you mind if I took a picture of you another day?"
"You can call me Hagrid." Hagrid didn't refuse; he was just suddenly recalling some past events.
"Well, Mr. Hagrid. Alright, Hagrid…" Albert subtly tried to rapprochement with the two.
"What are you taking pictures for?" Hagrid asked.
"I want my family to know about my life at Hogwarts. They are Muggles and know absolutely nothing about Hogwarts," Albert explained.
"It's best not to reveal too much about the wizarding world to Muggles, or you might get into trouble," Hagrid warned, frowning.
"Oh, I see." Albert looked at Hagrid, then thought for a moment and retorted, "Because of the secrecy law."
"You know this?" Hagrid was a little surprised that Albert knew about the Law of Secrecy. A Muggle wizard who had just entered Hogwarts should have very limited knowledge of the wizarding world.
Albert briefly told Hagrid about Truman's misfortunes.
The hunting ground guard was stunned after hearing this. He said softly, "I don't know much about the secrecy law either. I only know that underage wizards will be warned if they use magic in front of their Muggle family members. If they knowingly use magic in a Muggle residential area in front of Muggles, it is a criminal offense and they will be expelled immediately."
"Are there any cases of expulsion from Hogwarts?" Albert realized he had indeed misled Truman; no wonder it was an expulsion letter instead of a warning.
"As far as I know, there shouldn't be." Hagrid wasn't sure either.
"Your case is an exception," Fred cleared his throat and explained. "It's just that poor Truman ran into you by accident."
"Hmm!" Albert thought for a moment and then realized the reason. There must have been some Muggle wizards who received the warning, but they were usually frightened by the letter and did not dare to risk being expelled from using magic.
"By the way, Hagrid, what dangerous creatures are in the Forbidden Forest? Why doesn't Dumbledore allow new students to enter the Forbidden Forest?" Albert steered the conversation back to the topic that everyone was currently interested in.
"There are many dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest," Hagrid nodded.
"For example, werewolves?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, werewolves."
"Isn't it said that if you get bitten by a werewolf, you'll turn into one? How could Dumbledore allow his students to live next to werewolves?" Albert asked, expressing his doubts.
"Werewolves are deep in the Forbidden Forest and won't easily appear around the school, and…" Hagrid's eyes darted around as he spoke, clearly feeling guilty.
Hagrid, have you ever seen a unicorn?
...
...
"How many questions is this now?" the three whispered to each other.
"Ten...or twelve?"
However, the three of them still admired Albert. They had all noticed that Albert had almost completely figured out the situation in the Forbidden Forest through questioning.
They also discovered that Hagrid had a particular fondness for dragons, and he became especially excited when Albert talked about them.
As for the forest outside the Forbidden Forest, it is actually not dangerous. Students occasionally have classes there, but if you go deeper into the Forbidden Forest, you may encounter centaurs, werewolves, and various magical creatures such as unicorns.
Seeing Albert's fondness for unicorns, Hagrid gave him a small bundle of unicorn tail hair and warned the four of them not to try to enter the Forbidden Forest before they left.
Albert stopped and suddenly turned to ask, "Hagrid, are there any guardian trees in the forest?"
"Guardian Tree? You mean the mountain pear tree?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Albert nodded. "Both Herbalism and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes mentioned this tree. It really can ward off evil… I mean, repel dark magical creatures?"
"It does have some use," Hagrid nodded.
"Um... could you help me... I mean, I want a small piece of dead twig from a wild pear tree."
"What do you need that for?" Hagrid asked suspiciously.
"I'm planning to make a gift for my sister. I heard that the Guardian Tree has a protective effect, so I can pay some Galleons," Albert said shyly.
"No need. I'll go into the woods to check for you when I have time, but don't get your hopes up too high. The Bowtruckles usually don't let anyone touch the hickory trees." Hagrid understood what Albert meant.
Does the yak tree shelter my family?
That's great.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Albert said gratefully, as he began to consider what Christmas gift to give him.
"You're welcome." Hagrid scratched his head, feeling rather embarrassed.
Like Tooth, Hagrid is clearly not as fierce as his appearance suggests.
"You're really amazing."
On the way back to the castle, the three of them gave Albert a thumbs-up in unison.
"Do you want some?" Albert asked, pulling a small bundle of unicorn tail hair from his pocket.
"Never mind, by the way, what do you need this for?"
"I'll give it to my sister as a birthday present. She's definitely never seen a unicorn's tail hair before!" Albert had already decided. If there was no pear wood, he would make a bracelet out of unicorn tail hair and give it to Nia as a birthday present.
"A birthday present?" The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
"By the way, what birthday present did we give Ginny this year?" Fred suddenly asked his twin brother.
"Licorice Wand".
"And what about Ron?" Fred asked again.
"Fudge flies and cockroaches," George said without hesitation.
Albert suddenly realized that Ron had it tough too, having such a brother.