The Forbidden Forest had everything. Herbs, monsters, unicorns, centaurs, you name it.
Some were highly poisonous. Others were delicacies.
Just pinch off the head, dip it in wasabi, and take a bite. Crunchy, chicken flavored, five times the protein of beef.
Nutritious and delicious. Roasted monsters, fragrant and sweet.
Mom, I want roasted monsters. Eat, eat big pieces.
Two are enough, okay. Enough. Thank you, Mom.
When Garfield flew off from Hogwarts, the Scottish round faced chubby chickens delivering messages and goods in the sky scattered in fright.
They looked at Garfield with terrified eyes, as if recalling the return of their ancestor, the first owl.
Legend had it that an eagle fell asleep on a branch, and a cat climbed on top of it, and thus the owl clan came to be. "Oh my god, it's an orange cat."
"The cat can fly." "Run."
"Why are you running?" "Think about the ancient story of the origin of our owl clan."
The Scottish round faced chubby chickens were so frightened that their feathers almost fell out.
Although they did not know if the story was true or not, as intelligent magical creatures, avoiding the cat was a necessary task.
Only after they watched Garfield fly further and further into the Forbidden Forest did they gradually feel at ease enough to fly back to the Hogwarts dining hall.
They delivered their cargo to its target, perhaps even getting some food or collecting a delivery fee along the way.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Upon entering the Forbidden Forest, Garfield did not land immediately. He perched atop a tall tree, overlooking the entire forest.
Dark, damp, and silent. During the day, only a few apex predators could move freely.
Most weaker creatures chose to venture out at night. The Forbidden Forest was no exception.
Garfield flew from one treetop to another, making no sound except for disturbing some birds perched on the trees.
Was it because he was too close to Hogwarts?
Hogwarts should probably clear any unsafe elements from the edge of the Forbidden Forest every year for the students' safety.
Thinking this, Garfield, who had initially planned to linger on the edge, decided to venture further in.
Garfield, following the descriptions in the books, planned to check out the centaur tribe in the Forbidden Forest. He decided to skip the werewolves.
They were too smelly and too aggressive. He figured there were probably bowtruckles and wild swoops too.
Unicorns seemed interesting. Garfield considered getting a few to raise.
The unicorns here were vastly different from the world destroying monsters of mythology or fantasy.
Several of them had been killed by a relatively weak magician named Quirrell.
They seemed like just some horned horses from the wizarding world. He tried to recall what was in the forest.
There were no giant spiders. No thestrals. No unicorns, no centaurs, no werewolves.
And Gromp's flying Ford Anglia would not be around for decades. There were no cichlids, no winged beasts, no deer, and no roe deer.
He figured the giant spiders, unicorns, centaurs, and werewolves could not be eaten. Gromp was a mystery.
Hippogriffs, deer, and roe deer seemed like good options. Having a target made things much easier.
He simply circled the Forbidden Forest, looking for edible creatures to catch, tie them up, and stuff them in his pocket.
Garfield caused a ruckus throughout the flight.
He even spotted a dragon flying in the distance. Dragons in the Harry Potter world could not even compare to the talkative Smaug.
They were more like larger flying dragons from World of Warcraft.
Dragon meat was said to be quite nutritious, and Garfield had not mentioned not eating the dragon meat Newt brought.
He decided against hunting wild dragons. The Forbidden Forest likely had a complete food chain.
Catching too many, especially powerful apex predators, could cause a butterfly effect that might lead to Harry and Ron's future demise.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
While flying aimlessly, Garfield discovered a centaur settlement in the Forbidden Forest.
Having entered a new era, the centaur tribe had long lived a prehistoric hunting lifestyle.
If it were not for the wizards hiding behind the scenes controlling the development and exploration of ordinary human society, the centaur tribe probably would not have survived for a hundred years.
After circling around and seeing that the edible things were mostly packed up, Garfield randomly found a centaur camp.
He intended to borrow a place to start a fire and roast some meat. After flying for a few minutes, Garfield spotted a centaur tribe.
The centaur tribe was built on a mountainside in a stepped fashion. It was roughly circular with a diameter of three hundred meters.
Some stone houses and tents made of animal hides were scattered sparsely.
Upon closer inspection, he found that the tents were all built with piled stones, so this centaur tribe did not seem too primitive.
In the center of the tribe was a large bonfire, surrounded by some centaurs.
Directly north of the bonfire was a stone building twice the size of the surrounding buildings.
It had guards and totem like decorations made of animal bones on the threshold.
It seemed to be the residence of the centaur tribe's chief or prophet.
Scattered around the centaur tribe were watchtowers, with several centaurs guarding the perimeter.
The tribe itself looked clean and tidy, not messy at all, and generally quite decent.
Suddenly, an orange cat descended from the sky, opening its mouth to catch fire and roast meat. This startled the centaur tribe.
Those with bows and arrows grabbed bows and arrows. Those with axes grabbed axes.
They instantly surrounded Garfield's enclosure. "Stop."
"Don't move." "Where did this evil wizard come from?"
"Trying to trick us by turning into a cat." "Kill it."
Holding a stick, Garfield looked around fearlessly and roared at them. "Meow."
Realizing his cat language might not be effective, Garfield switched to English.
"I am a new teacher hired by Hogwarts, just taking a stroll in the Forbidden Forest. You can ask Headmaster Dippet if you do not believe me."
After Garfield finished speaking, the centaurs whispered amongst themselves.
They looked at him with suspicion.
One of the centaurs, seemingly the leader, questioned Garfield. "Are you really a teacher at Hogwarts, or are you some black wizard who turns into a cat and harms people?"
"Why would I lie to you? You are all dirt poor. What is there to lie about? Just send someone to Hogwarts and ask."
The centaur leader said, "It is not far from here to Hogwarts, but it would still take an hour to run there and back at full speed."
Half an hour was nothing to Garfield.
He raised a paw and drew a circle, creating a portal. The other side of the portal clearly showed the entrance to Hogwarts.
The centaurs huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. "That is Hogwarts."
"It cannot be real. Cannot such powerful wizards make fire?"
"It must be a black wizard's hoax."
"But I think I saw Hogwarts students flying in the sky on broomsticks."
While the centaurs were still discussing whether it was true or not, one of them suddenly roared.