Chapter 273: Locating Another Key

In the darkness, Ivan saw the glowing windows of Hagrid's hut.

Instead of approaching, they went in another direction, moving slowly in the breeze along a narrow, twisting path that gradually faded into the depths of the dark forest.

Aside from Ron, Ivan, Harry and Hermione had experienced entering the Forbidden Forest late at night.

But those experiences were very bad.

Harry and Hermione were penalized the first year.

They entered the Forbidden Forest late at night with Hagrid and Malfoy in search of the unicorn that Voldemort had injured. Harry even met Voldemort at that time.

Ivan chased Peter Pettigrew into the Forbidden Forest a month ago.

In addition to dealing with Peter, he also fought the horrible Acromantulas. In the end, he burned the lair of their leader, Aragog, and hundreds of them along with it. These monsters must hate him to death.

The Acromantulas have a high degree of intelligence and a great sense of revenge. If they knew that Ivan had re-entered the Forbidden Forest, they would surely gather to fight him.

Fortunately, they did not go into Acromantula territory.

With Sirius in the lead, they went deeper into the winding path.

There was silence in the dark Forbidden Forest. Under the dim light of their wands, the group advanced in silence, staying together, the atmosphere growing more and more oppressive, and their voices growing lower and lower. No one knew what awaited them.

Each time they advanced, they came to a crossroads.

It could be seen that Sirius was very familiar with the area. He did not hesitate long before taking the right path.

Soon, Ivan saw a fast, meandering stream at the end of the road. They went upstream and walked for over an hour, getting farther and farther away from the castle.

The five of them had entered the core of the Forbidden Forest. On both sides of the stream were tall, unchanging trees, and the ground was covered with thick moss and unfamiliar plants, as if they had been untouched and never stepped on for centuries. From time to time, they could see magical creatures coming to drink.

Behind a dark green rock, Ivan found a Moke.

It was about ten inches long and had a silver-green skin.

It cowered in the corner motionless, looking like a rock itself.

As Ivan was approaching it, it quickly took off and fled into the distance.

If it wasn't for the important things that awaited him, Ivan would try to catch that lizard. Moke fur is highly prized by wizards in the manufacture of wallets and money bags. A Moke skin purse will shrink at the approach of a stranger, making it virtually impossible for the stranger to find it. Therefore, Moke's leather wallets and money pouches are very difficult for thieves to steal.

Together with the use of the Undetectable Extension Charm, it would definitely become an extremely valuable piece of equipment for any mage.

Ivan felt that it was a pity, and they walked forward for a while, then took a short break near the bank of a river filled with round stones.

"We'll be there soon. This is centaur territory." Sirius carefully surveyed the surroundings. "He's been hiding in the Forbidden Forest, looking for food, when I escaped from the Dementors and the Ministry of Magic last summer. But I rarely pass through here. The centaurs don't want humans to come near."

"I saw in the book that centaurs are very displeased with wizards!" Hermione looked around nervously and said worriedly, "What if they were to attack us?"

"I don't think that's going to happen. Although centaurs aren't very friendly to humans, they don't usually take the initiative to attack." Sirius explained, "They just don't want to talk to us, but if you want to talk and communicate with them, they are willing to do so, and to tell you about the fate they see in the sky, warnings, etc."

"Ivan and I have recorded all the constellation trajectories for this semester, hoping to use it." Hermione said still not so sure. "Also, I've studied their lifestyle and customs."

"Centaurs are very intelligent. When you're in contact with them, remember one point, think of them as creatures of equal status to you, and that should be enough," Sirius reminded.

"Don't worry, Hermione, they're not as terrible as they appear in books!" said Harry, breathing a little heavier than usual. "Ivan and I have met a centaur named Florence, and he's willing to help people."

"I have to say that guy is an exception in the centaur colony." Sirius smiled and said, "But he's trustworthy. I've known him for a long time. When we were students, James, Remus, Peter and I often ventured into the Forbidden Forest. I was still a little colt then, and we met at that time."

"I heard from Florence, he seems to miss the wizarding things, the food and all sorts of interesting stories you brought him.", Ivan said.

"He's very interested in the human world, and things that seem mundane to us are very novel to him." Sirius reminded, "But it's just him; the other centaurs are still very stubborn, and don't easily get in touch with humans. Compared to them, the Merpeople who live in the lake in front of the gate are much more fun. They actively communicate with us and exchange the contents of the lake for things made by wizards.

"Merpeople?" asked Ivan.

"Yes, James met them once when he fell into the lake. It was an unforgettable experience. I remember they exchanged a lot of things with the four of us, some of it high level magic, and it seemed like they wanted to tell us something. " Sirius frowned and continued. "I don't know their language and Remus learned a bit. He said the Merpeople let us into the water, because there was something underneath. Unfortunately, we didn't in the end."

Listening to Sirius, Ivan was silent.

It was so strange, why did the Merpeople want Sirius to go underwater, what was underneath?

Since he knew that the Key to the Secret Treasure of Gryffindor was in the centaur colony, he thought again about the bounties left by the Four Founders.

By the same reasoning, it wasn't hard to think that the mermaids also had a treasure key in their hand.

He didn't know who had left it, and if it was divided like Gryffindor's.

Ivan sighed. It seemed that after getting the key fragment from the centaurs, he had to learn the language of the Merpeople and try to communicate with them.

"There are Merpeople living in the lake in front of the castle?" said Harry in amazement. "I never knew that. I thought there were only giant squids."

"Hogwarts has many secrets waiting to be explored. The four of us discovered a lot, but certainly not all of them!" Sirius looked at Harry and said cheerfully, "The rest of the secrets will be unearthed by you."