Having escaped famine, I was accepted into Hogwarts.

Chapter 9 Living Wood

"Oh... I need to contact Newt, he might have some clues..." Dumbledore said, about to use the Portkey to go directly to Newt's house, when he suddenly remembered that he was the headmaster and didn't need to go through all that trouble. He simply disappeared from the spot in an instant.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had already rushed towards the Forbidden Forest. She cared more about Kane and Hagrid's lives than the emergence of a new species in the magical world.

Soon Dumbledore appeared in the office with another white-haired old man, and the two looked back at the scene in the crystal ball.

A giant tree, four meters tall and as thick as a water bucket, suddenly pulled its roots out of the soil and, in a very human-like manner, walked towards Hagrid, its trunk baring its fangs and claws as it relentlessly attacked him.

Behind the tree spirit was a young wizard, diligently hacking at it with an axe.

The two stared at each other for a full three seconds before Scamander, the Master of Fantastic Beasts, gave the answer Dumbledore had anticipated.

"I don't recognize them, but the Forbidden Forest is so vast that it's understandable that we might encounter some magical animals and plants we've never seen before. But shouldn't you be more concerned with protecting the lives of those two children?" Scamander said.

"Well, given that they grew this big guy themselves, or more precisely, which junior wizard grew it themselves, I'll assume they should have the ability to solve the problem."

Dumbledore spoke softly, and then they heard Newt Scamander's heart nearly leap out of his chest.

"What the hell?" Scamander stared at Dumbledore in shock. "This thing... is it grown? Could it be some kind of variant of the Whomping Willow?" Scamander quickly went into thought mode, but still felt something was off.

"I've decided to ask that kid myself," Scamander said, pulling his ever-present flying broom from his pocket and soaring out the window.

"Hmm, still as enthusiastic as ever." Dumbledore smiled as he watched Scamander fly away, then walked out of the office and strolled slowly towards the castle gates.

But things were not so peaceful in the Forbidden Forest.

Kane's axe attacks on the Dryads deal far more damage than Hagrid's attacks, so unfortunately, Kane is now the Dryads' target.

However, there was no real regret, since in Hagrid's eyes, Kane defeating this giant dryad was as easy as bullying a child.

Walk under the tree spirit's feet and chop it down four times in quick succession, then run a certain distance away and wait for the tree spirit's attack to land before coming back to chop it down again.

But just as a mother always thinks you're hungry, Professor McGonagall always thinks you're in danger.

Just then, she landed gracefully on a flying broomstick and shouted, "Mr. Heath, get out of the way! I'll take care of this big guy!"

Upon hearing this, Kane felt a greater shock than the moment before each of the dryad's attacks landed. He quickly ran to Professor McGonagall and raised his hand to stop her: "No, no, no! This dryad will only be effective if I kill it myself!"

"But this is dangerous!" Professor McGonagall stood with her hands on her hips, somewhat indignant at Kane's willfulness. She hadn't even settled accounts with Kane for running away from home and making her come all this way for nothing.

"But this big oaf isn't really that scary. Look, we've talked so much, and it's only taken three steps," Kane explained.

"Sigh..." Professor McGonagall sighed, waved her wand, and several stone pillars sprang up from the solid ground, immobilizing the dryad from head to toe.

"Go now," Professor McGonagall said impatiently, watching Kane charge off with his axe. Then she looked at Hagrid: "Hagrid, go help him."

Hagrid shrugged helplessly: "He won't allow it. Kane said that only if he kills that monster with his own hands will the thing he needs appear."

Professor McGonagall was somewhat helpless. Soon Scamander arrived as well. Watching Kane hack at the tree spirit with his axe, Scamander felt as if the blows were hitting him.

He instinctively wanted to save the tree spirit from its predicament, but Professor McGonagall stopped him in the end.

"Mr. Heath said it was to... obtain something strange."

Scamander sighed helplessly. This tree spirit was planted by someone else, and he really had no right to ask them to spare its life. He could only numb himself by thinking that plants don't have pain receptors.

Soon, with the final axe blow, the entire tree spirit collapsed to the ground, turning into several tree stumps and a long-faced, groaning, twisting wooden stick about the thickness of a fist and thirty-five centimeters long.

Dumbledore, who had arrived at some unknown time, slowly walked over. He didn't reach out to take it, but squatted down to the side, looking at the wooden stick that kept groaning, and then looked at Kane.

"Is this all you need? It certainly looks like excellent material for making wands," Dumbledore exclaimed.

"He looks like he's in pain," Scamander finally couldn't help but say as he walked over.

"Uh... you're faking it." Kane said, poking at it with his finger. "If you yell again, I'll burn you."

The stick quickly quieted down, and Kane picked it up, sobbing softly.

"Who are these two?" After the dust settled, Kane looked at Professor McGonagall and Scamander.

"Minerva McGonagall, you can call me Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor, Vice-Headmaster of Hogwarts, and also the poor girl who went to Number Four Privet Drive today to investigate your running away from home. You made me come all this way for nothing, kid," Professor McGonagall said gloomily.

"I'm sorry, Professor." Kane maintained a polite smile and demeanor even when facing the vice-principal.

Professor McGonagall looked at the young wizard in front of her with some helplessness. As the saying goes, you can tell what a child will be like at three and what he will be like at seven. As for Kane, she could tell what kind of outrageous things he would do after he enrolled by what he dared to do before he enrolled.

Perhaps a very talented Gryffindor? But considering the traces of dark magic this kid left on Harry's clothes... Ravenclaw or Slytherin are also possibilities.

"I don't blame you. The Dursleys... it's not a place for ordinary people to stay. But you need to explain to Harry what's going on. He's very worried about you," Professor McGonagall continued.

"Yeah, I'll go back to see him when I have my vacation." Kane still felt that he shouldn't go back to see Harry too soon. After all, his dark circles were a bit scary. If Harry saw them, he would think that he wasn't eating or sleeping well. Wouldn't he look like a clown who was suffering for the sake of saving face in Harry's eyes?

I'd better take care of myself at Hogwarts first, get myself clean and tidy, and then go back to see him. By the way, I can also learn some less sinister magic to improve Harry's situation at the Dursleys' house.

Everyone present looked at Kane with strange expressions, but that was normal. A junior wizard might not have a few proper magical outbursts in a month, so it was normal that Kane couldn't tell that Harry was a wizard, and they didn't expose him.

It would be wonderful if Kane and Harry met at the Sorting Ceremony or on the Hogwarts Express, bumping into each other while meeting old friends in a foreign land or passing the imperial examination.

When it was Scamander's turn, Hagrid spoke first, introducing himself to his idol: "This is Newt Scamander, a very talented magizoologist."

Scamander smiled and knelt down in front of Kane: "Child, this tree spirit... did you create it?"

Kane glanced at Scamander, seemingly unfazed by the possibility that he might be captured and turned into a ruthless seed-producing machine because of this particular trait. Instead, he answered quite frankly, "I used my magic to modify an oak seed. Once the modified oak seed is planted, it becomes a tree spirit."

"So, is this the seed?"

"I don't really agree with it, and it wouldn't do the world any good. As for why I did it... I'm a little selfish," Kane said somewhat awkwardly.

"No..." Dumbledore shook his head: "This is not selfishness, but rather an unexpected sense of responsibility."

"Hmm?" Kane looked at Dumbledore, wondering what this seemingly wise old man was about to say.