FORESTS ARE A FAVORITE CREATION OF writers, and J. K. Rowling’s Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts has all the qualities one could expect. It is nature run wild, making it the opposite of civilized places like Hogwarts or the village of Hogsmeade. Within it live magical creatures older than humankind, like the unicorn. As well, just as there is knowledge in nature that humans have always tried to understand—such as the wisdom of the nature gods worshipped by the Druids—the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts is a place where secrets are kept and mysteries can be unraveled. Most important of all, it’s a general rule in legends that forests are where one meets the unexpected. Powerful wizards live there. Lost friends are found there. That’s also true of Rowling’s Forbidden Forest. Voldemort’s murder of a unicorn in Stone reveals his presence to Harry. In Chamber, Harry and Ron follow spiders into the Forest and meet Aragog, who tells them a little about the monster in Hogwarts. This won’t be Harry’s last visit to the Forest, nor his last meeting there.