The next morning the sun chased away darkness, filling the forbidden forest with warmth.


    Leon stood at the edge of Hogwarts grounds staring at the thick foliage.


    The leaves fluttered in the wind, beckoning him. “Here we go!” He muttered and twisted his arm.


    One tentacle of his e-item handed him the broom. With a last look at the castle, he climbed it and slowly gained altitude.


    Stopping just above the treeline he waved his wand.


    “Oculi Sphingis, Vincula Karmica Videte.”


    His vision blurred, and the material world took a backseat as the attention-grabbing threads occupied the world.


    He blinked.


    ‘Nice! No magical creatures well into the forest.’ Little pleased, he started to cast the spell again.


    Leon used his sight on a purebred Kneazle, the threads- karmic links- of insects are less noticeable than plants. And magical plants links are more eye-catching with the creatures coming next and a witch or wizard having the most eye-catching links.


    After casting the spell two more times, Leon descended onto the ground and hovered above it.


    He hugged the broom, trying to reduce his surface area. Then he cast his stealth combo.


    Even in the daylight, Leon disappeared to anyone who was watching him from more than 7 feet away. The notice-me not-spell coupled with the camouflage spell exponentially increased his stealth.


    Of course, that is only the case if people weren’t actively searching for him. He believed that as long as he stalked the trees, he would be safe If not he had plenty of escape plans ready.


    And he wasn’t going to fly into the forbidden forest above the treetops, away from all the magical flora and fauna in the forest because he read that Hippogriffs are territorial fliers.


    Not surprising considering they are part-lion.


    He cast the karma spell once again and started to fly into the forest, his broom nearly hugging the ground.


    He cast the spell every 100 meters into the forest, being extra vigilant.


    Flying on the broom made avoiding bushes and fallen leaves very easy. So, he wasn’t making any noise as he moved from tree to tree.


    Fifteen minutes into the forest, he got bored at his slow pace. There wasn’t even an inkling of a magical beast, and he was beginning to think he was being too cautious.


    ‘Now, this may be a bad choice, but I will be very vigilant and retreat at the first sign of trouble.’ After 15 more minutes, he rose above the treetops and used the karma spell once again.


    ‘No magical creatures as far as I can see.’ While he couldn’t see as far as the horizon because of the karmic links of trees blotting every inch of his vision, there weren’t any magical creatures near him.


    ‘It’s early in the morning, maybe the part lions are sleeping?’ Shaking his head at the stupid thought, he picked up speed and zoomed across the treetops.


    While Leon knew Hippogriffs didn’t like intruders into their domain - every inch of the sky was in their territory- he didn’t know how strict they were.


    ‘I am just above the treetops, so they won’t bother me, right?’ And he was even under some stealth spells.


    7 seconds into his journey, he used the karma spell again.


    Nothing changed.


    Again at 15 seconds, the result didn’t change.


    23, and again at 30 seconds.


    This time, a new link originating from him curled around his body and shot towards the sky through his blind spot, pulsing erratically.


    Without a second thought, Leon dived into the treetops and hid behind a tree, hovering above some bushes.


    With a wave of his wand, he made sure his stealth combo was still up and waited with bated breath.


    Just as he exhaled, multiple bodies broke through the thick treetops and landed on the forest floor with heavy thumps.


    An angry eagle cry pierced through the forest freezing its inhabitants.


    The sounds of leaves rustling and insects buzzing disappeared as the forest itself stood still.


    More cries erupted as Leon plastered himself against a tree and waited, not even taking a breath.


    With a disdainful snort followed by a loud beat of wings, the creature tore through the treetops, crashing through branches and leaves.


    Leon reached into his bag and carefully levitated a small handheld mirror.


    With a quick glance at the mirror to confirm the creatures were truly gone, he rose to his feet and looked at the gaping holes they had left in the canopy.


    He saw the backs of three departing Hippogriffs.


    Each Hippogriff was the size of a full-grown horse, towering over the Hippogriffs shown in the movies.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ‘Damn! These guys are huge and fast,’ Leon shook his head, wiping the grin off his face, and shoved the mirror back into the bag.


    ‘I guess it makes sense. Hippogriffs were used as mounts in the olden days, so obviously they are big enough for an adult to ride comfortably.’


    Deciding to stick to the floor, Leon started moving again, patting himself for exploring the Karma spell and cursing the Hippogriffs for being so stubborn.


    With the faster way of travel denied, he resumed his journey, carefully and stealthily moving through the dense forest.


    The threads- karma links- also show movement, the faster the other end is moving the faster the link contracts on itself.


    It was a side effect of visualizing the karmic links, one which he readily took advantage of.


    If not for his extensive testing, Leon wouldn’t have known what contracting links meant and would have reacted late.


    But his preparation paid off, just like always.


    Smothering the junkie who wanted a repeat, Leon used the spell again, 300 meters away from where he nearly became lunch to eagle-lion hybrids.


    Again, he noticed some new karma links on him.


    On top of being able to notice the difference between plants, beasts, and wizards, the threads felt different if the people at the other end were at a large distance, the links between them are a little less attention-grabbing or a little dim in muggle speak.


    So, he was very surprised when a link showed that a wizard linked to him was deeper into the forest.


    He could see the links to the Hippogriffs too.


    Ignoring the Hippogriffs for now, Leon started to move towards the mystery wizard.


    He knew it wasn’t Voldy waiting for him at the end because the link that connected him to Quirrel was twisted, it looked and felt ugly as hell.


    And whoever it was, they were at a quite distance from him, so he picked some speed flying just some distance below the treetops.


    It was a lot less fast than flying above the treetops, but the part lions have too keen of an eyesight.


    After 30 minutes into his journey, he slowed down a little as the wizard went in even deeper.


    Still following the mystery wizard, he also kept an eye out for the reason he ventured into the forest- the Bondugs.


    He wasn’t afraid of missing them, the Bondugs were the size of a golden retriever with a honey-colored coat, white stripes, and two spiky tails.


    Leon was prepared to spend all of his holidays scouring the forest for them. If he couldn’t find them in that time, he planned to bother Hagrid again.


    It wasn’t like venturing into a magical forest wasn’t a holiday on its own. The sights of magical flora were more than worth the trip.


    The Hufflepuff started to encounter more and more magical creatures as he moved deeper into the forest.


    He saw a stag with glowing antlers leading a deer herd, along with colorful birds, some magical.


    Most of the avians were interested in the flying camouflaged blob while the land creatures ignored him.


    Leon thought that’s how he would have looked, at least. He knew he was stretching the notice me not and camouflage spell soaring across the forest but stalking from tree to tree got boring even before the Hippogriff wanted to teach him a lesson.


    His e-item stopped any birds from getting too close to him, some did land on the outstretched tentacles before getting bored of him.


    Of course, Leon only let the magical birds he recognized come near him- which was nearly every bird as he studied every type of creature he could encounter in the forest.


    He did have to use his magical flash grenade spell to escape from a curious vulture-looking magical bird he didn’t recognize.


    Leon continued scouring the forest for the Bondug lair while avoiding lairs of big magical creatures.


    While he likes to dance with death, he doesn’t dance without hell out of preparations so that death doesn’t take him as a permanent partner.


    So, he didn’t go into a 3-meter cave that had big footprints in front of it nor did he peek into valleys that had melted rocks.


    He was going to find a Bondug roaming around the forest and follow it to its lair, not poke his head into anything that could house a magical creature.


    After all, trespassing into a manticore’s lair rarely ends well, even if you can fly away from it.


    Leon didn’t think he would have ventured into the forest as readily as he did today if he hadn’t borrowed the broom from Susan.


    Slowly, but surely, he came very near to the mystery wizard who was still.


    But shockingly more karmic threads linked him as he got near, every link ending beside the first mystery wizard.


    ‘Are all Hogwarts professors here or something?’


    Leon slowed down and began stalking his way forward, exponentially increasing his stealth.


    It wasn’t long before he was greeted by the scene of seven Centaurs standing in his way.


    Cringing, he slowly ducked behind a tree.


    ‘Do they lift or something?’ Leon wondered looking at the sculpted torso of the Centaurs.


    He used the spell again and was confused upon finding that the new karmic links tied him to three of the Centaur''s presents, the link he was following was also connected to the Centaur standing on the right.


    ‘So, the spell can’t differentiate between a Centaur and a wizard, good to know.’ Noting it for later, Leon continued eyeing the Centaurs.


    “Come out, child! It’s rude to sneak into another’s home.” The Centaur standing in the middle sighed and quietly called out, his hands rubbing his wizened beard as he stared at Leon’s hiding spot with his milky white eyes.


    ‘Got caught!’ Shaking his mind which was finding the answer to how a Centaur can bench press, Leon floated out into the open and canceled his spells.


    But he didn’t climb down from the broom, opting for a quick escape if needed.


    ‘I don’t how much help it will be though,’ Leon thought looking at the bows hanging on the Centaurs’ back.


    ‘Most probably a Centaur came to check on the errant behavior of Hippogriff and stumbled across me. So, just peeping at a person creates a karmic link, huh!’ Leon quickly connected the dots and gave his best innocent smile to the Centaurs.


    “How did you find our home?” A middle-aged Centaur asked, clearly agitated, judging by his rapidly moving tail.


    “I have a spell that lets me track anyone who interacts with me in some way. The spell showed a new wizard deeper into the forest, so I got curious. I thought I was following a wizard, not a Centaur.” Leon replied, shrugging at the end before a curious gleam occupied his eyes.


    “How are you guys so fast? I had to travel on the broom for hours and it looks like the Centaur who peeked at me was here way before me.”


    “As much as you wizards like to think you are only the children of magic, it doesn’t mean you are. Tell me, foal, do you think wizards are superior to every other magical race?” The same Centaur questioned Leon with a cold stare.


    “I don’t know, but we have Hogwarts,” Leon instantly regretted his answer.


    ‘This isn’t the time to fanboy about an ancient castle even if it’s magical.’ But something wasn’t right, he wasn’t the type to blurt out things on his mind but before he could analyze that feeling the Centaur spoke.


    “Typical wizard arrogance, assuming time only looks kindly upon your kind.” The middle-aged Centaur stomped his leg, crushing overgrown roots under his feet.


    “Well! We are of the same kind, no? We all are magical creatures, are we not?”


    He didn’t know whether it was a good save, but it was something as the Centaur just huffed.


    “Seeing as I answered your questions? Can you answer one of mine?”


    If the Centaurs know the heart of Bondugs then he can relax in his holidays. He really missed sleeping in late and being lazy the whole day.


    So, he could take a day or two if completes his goals for the holidays early.


    “Why should we answer you, child?” The same Centaur huffed.


    “Because I answered yours?”


    “You trespassed into our turf.” The Centaur snorted, folding his hands.


    “You stalked me, near my home.” Leon didn’t care that he sounded childish, the Centaur’s voice was getting on his nerves.


    A frown appeared on his face as Leon suddenly noted that the centaur looked a minute away from galloping back .. or towards Leon.


    ‘Oh oh!’


    “E-”


    Two things happened when Leon was going to diffuse the tense situation when an arrow embedded itself in front of him.


    Leon barely managed from frying the eyes of the Centaurs and herded the orbs that were peeking from his sleeves back in.


    ‘Something is very wrong, I am acting more impulsive and aggressive,’ he thought watching the arrow vibrate in front of him.