socalfunplaces Chapter 19 Two Children
Chapter 19 Two Children
"That's awesome, Ellie!" Lucas exclaimed happily.
Ellie nodded frantically, laughing and crying at the same time, "I will definitely try my best! Thank you, Daddy! Thank you!"
She rushed forward and hugged her father tightly. Alastair's expression softened as he gently stroked Ellie's long hair.
Ellie let go of her father, then turned around and hugged Lucas tightly.
"Thank you, Lucas, thanks to you..."
She was squeezing so hard that Lucas could barely breathe: "Cough... Ellie, I'm being strangled... Let go, if you still want to be my classmate at Hogwarts."
"What a touching friendship," Dumbledore said with a smile, wiping his glasses. "Looking at these children, it feels like I've returned to my student days. How did I become the headmaster in the blink of an eye?"
Unexpectedly, Alastair handed the dragon scale to Lucas again: "I granted your request and fulfilled my promise. But this dragon scale is for you, as a token of your... courage."
"This is the most powerful dragon scale in the history of the archipelago; perhaps it will come in handy someday."
Lucas grasped the heavy scale, stroking its strange patterns, and nodded earnestly: "Thank you, Mr. McFastie."
Alastair nodded to Dumbledore again: "Headmaster Dumbledore, I'm leaving Ellie in your care."
Dumbledore smiled and said, "Of course, please rest assured, Hogwarts will take good care of Ellie. Now we can discuss Ellie's enrollment."
He turned to Hagrid: "Hagrid, could you please take these two young warriors to the edge of the Forbidden Forest? Our centaur friends have been waiting there for quite some time."
"Of course, I'd be delighted!" Hagrid said happily.
Dumbledore and Alastair stayed where they were, while Hagrid led Lucas and Ellie toward the Forbidden Forest.
Ellie's mood was soaring. Her purple eyes were sparkling, and although there were still tear stains on her face, she couldn't stop smiling.
Lucas glanced at her, deliberately putting on a stern face: "Please, you're smiling like an idiot."
"Mind your own business!" Ellie blushed and slapped Lucas on the shoulder without any politeness.
"Ouch!" Lucas cried out in pain, caught off guard. "Easy! I'm seriously injured!"
"Ugh—" Ellie tensed up and hurriedly moved closer to Lucas, then snorted and turned away, "Madame Pomfrey has already healed you, stop lying here."
Lucas rubbed his shoulder and shook his head helplessly. The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder, following Hagrid with light steps.
They walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest for a while, away from the castle's view. In a clearing where the trees were a little sparse, they spotted two figures.
Two centaurs, a father and daughter who look remarkably alike, Ferenze and Thea.
"Ference!" Hagrid greeted them familiarly. "I've brought them with me."
"Good day, Hagrid." Ferenc nodded slightly.
Lucas finally had the chance to observe the centaurs closely in the sunlight in the forest, and Ellie's eyes widened as well.
Ferenze and Thea's platinum blonde hair and fur shimmered with a faint silver glow. Their upper bodies were indistinguishable from humans; Ferenze's muscular physique was exposed, his face handsome and serene, while Thea remained as delicate and beautiful as ever.
Noticing Lucas's gaze, Thea took a half step back, hiding most of her body beside her father, her face flushed as she lowered her sapphire-like eyes to look at the soil on the ground.
Ferenczek stepped forward, placed one hand on his chest, and performed an ancient gesture of respect.
"Lucas, Ellie, children of humans, thank you for your kindness. You saved my daughter, and we will never forget this debt of gratitude."
Lucas returned the greeting in a very professional manner: "In the end, we still couldn't defeat the troll. If you hadn't arrived in time, we would all have died in the forest. So don't mention it."
Ferenze shook his head: "If you hadn't held the troll back, everything would have been beyond saving."
Thea looked up and whispered, "Thank you..."
Suddenly, something occurred to her, and her eyes reddened: "I'm...I'm sorry, in the end, I still couldn't hit the target..."
Her voice trembled, and by the end it was choked with sobs.
"It's alright." Lucas gave her a thumbs up. "If a giant monster were to pounce on me, I'd be too scared to even draw my bow. It's quite an achievement that you managed to shoot that arrow."
"That arrow was incredibly powerful!" Ellie exclaimed. "If it had been just a tiny bit closer, it would have undoubtedly blown the troll's head off! If you're not good at aiming, just practice more, Thea. You have a real talent!"
"Yes, Thea," Lucas continued to encourage her, "the hardest part is shooting, and you've already done that, haven't you?"
"Remember, when you are afraid, say your name!"
"Draw your bow, shoot the arrow, and you'll definitely hit the target next time."
"Um—" Thea's eyes glistened with tears as she murmured, "Thank you, thank you all... But, let's hope there won't be a next time."
Ferenc watched quietly as Thea interacted with them, then took a horn made of birch wood and some kind of feather from his waist and handed it to Lucas.
"You saved our little foal, and our tribe will never forget this kindness."
"Take this. If you encounter danger in the Forbidden Forest, blow it and we will come to your aid."
Hagrid gazed intently at the horn; he knew, of course, how precious it was.
Lucas carefully accepted the horn, and just as he was about to express his gratitude, he saw Ferenczek take out two items from the leather pouch behind him.
"Oh, right, we also found this."
Those were Lucas's flashlight, which he dropped after he was seriously injured, and Ellie's silver-handled knife, which was left on the back of the troll's head.
"Xiao Dao, I... I've washed it clean," Thea whispered.
Lucas took the flashlight and instinctively flipped the switch. The light shone, momentarily blinding Thea. Thea gasped and took a half-step back, her face full of curiosity.
Lucas smiled and handed her the flashlight: "Here, this is for you. It'll light your way at night."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Ferencze's face, but looking into his daughter's eyes, he ultimately did not stop her.
Thea blushed as she accepted it. After a moment's thought, she untied a bracelet made of oval brown seeds from her snow-white wrist, which shimmered with golden light in the sunlight.
She gave the bracelet, still warm from her body, to Lucas.
"This, this is something I made from ancient oak seeds. I hope it brings you good luck."
Ellie protested, nudging Lucas hard. "Hey, where's my present?"
Lucas was both amused and exasperated. He pulled out the metal lighter and handed it to her, saying, "Here, this is for you."
"That's more like it!" Ellie accepted the lighter with satisfaction, then shoved the silver-handled knife into Lucas's hand. "This is for you! You looked so cool stabbing that troll with it!"
The forbidden forest was very quiet in the early morning. Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, refracting through the dewdrops, creating a scene that was both brilliant and hazy.
The three children stood in the halo of light and exchanged their gifts.