THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
with that oaf ? Well , think again , boy — it ’ s into the forest you ’ re going and I ’ m much mistaken if you ’ ll all come out in one piece .”
At this , Neville let out a little moan , and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks .
“ The forest ?” he repeated , and he didn ’ t sound quite as cool as usual . “ We can ’ t go in there at night — there ’ s all sorts of things in there — werewolves , I heard .”
Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry ’ s robe and made a choking noise .
“ That ’ s your problem , isn ’ t it ?” said Filch , his voice cracking with glee . “ Should ’ ve thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble , shouldn ’ t you ?”
Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark , Fang at his heel . He was carrying his large crossbow , and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder .
“ Abou ’ time ,” he said . “ I bin waitin ’ fer half an hour already . All right , Harry , Hermione ?”
“ I shouldn ’ t be too friendly to them , Hagrid ,” said Filch coldly , “ they ’ re here to be punished , after all .”
“ That ’ s why yer late , is it ?” said Hagrid , frowning at Filch . “ Bin lecturin ’ them , eh ? ’ Snot your place ter do that . Yeh ’ ve done yer bit , I ’ ll take over from here .”
“ I ’ ll be back at dawn ,” said Filch , “ for what ’ s left of them ,” he added nastily , and he turned and started back toward the castle , his lamp bobbing away in the darkness . Malfoy now turned to Hagrid . “ I ’ m not going in that forest ,” he said , and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice .
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