Amidst everyone's puzzled looks, Tom bent down and embraced the little unicorn, which seemed quite content.
Faced with this gesture from a stranger, the baby unicorn didn't panic as Professor Grubbly-Plank had predicted. Instead, it shifted in Tom's arms, finding a more comfortable position, and emitted a couple of soft "Baahs."
Professor Grubbly-Plank was amazed. She couldn't understand why the baby unicorn was so affectionate towards a boy.
After all, not even she, as a midwife, had hugged that creature.
She even felt a bit envious of Tom. In her opinion, the boy had an exceptional talent for connecting with magical creatures, which was an extraordinary gift. Over time, he could become another Newt Scamander.
The talents of wizards vary; in the magical world, there are some wizards especially skilled in communicating with animals, and one of the most famous is Newt Scamander. In his presence, the gap between wizards and magical creatures simply vanishes. Nothing is "incurable" with a little love and patience.
Seeing Tom hugging the baby unicorn, Professor Grubbly-Plank saw a glimpse of Newt's spirit.
She sighed softly and told the students around her, "This is an exception, don't imitate it. It's better to increase your affinity level honestly."
At that moment, the students' attention was no longer on the professor. They all gathered around Tom, with bright eyes, watching the little unicorn in his arms.
Due to their excessive excitement, the baby unicorn turned and hid its head in the front of Tom's robe.
"Don't get too excited; you might frighten the little one." Tom gently stroked the fur of the baby unicorn in his arms, enjoying its soft touch. It was a sensation that not even the finest fur in the world could match: delicate, soft, fluffy, and warm, with a refreshing and pleasant aroma.
The baby unicorn was calm in his arms, resembling a little plush toy.
From the looks of the girls, Tom understood one thing clearly: they wanted to touch it!
But what he had in his arms was a baby unicorn, not a kitten, and he couldn't just hand it over to strangers. He wouldn't even give a kitten to anyone. Therefore, Tom ignored those looks and gently stroked the back of the baby unicorn, trying to calm it down.
Professor Grubbly-Plank also recovered from her surprise and, approaching Tom stealthily, spoke quietly to him and the nearby students about some typical behaviors of baby unicorns.
Perhaps due to Tom's warm embrace, the baby unicorn felt secure, so after playing around as if it were a doll for a while, it timidly peeked its head out and observed the world in front of it with its big black eyes.
"Do you want to eat something?" Tom teased the little unicorn, attracting envious glances from the girls around him.
"Baah! (I don't want to)," the unicorn replied.
"It's so small; maybe it hasn't been weaned yet?" Hermione looked at the baby unicorn, pondering. Then, she cast a summoning spell, and a bottle of milk and a spoon appeared.
"Here you go!" Hermione scooped up a bit of milk with the spoon and offered it to the baby unicorn. At first, the baby unicorn was a bit cautious, but it soon realized that Hermione had no ill intentions, so it drank two spoonfuls of milk politely.
"Come on, I'll give it to you." Seeing that Hermione seemed to get along well with the baby unicorn, Tom handed the small golden creature to her. A flash of surprise crossed Hermione's face; she didn't expect her "little dream" to come true so soon.
Although the baby unicorn handed over by Tom was a little restless, seeing Tom nearby and smelling his new uncle's scent on Hermione, it didn't offer much resistance. It simply raised its legs slightly in protest and let out some soft "baaahs."
Hermione carefully cradled the little unicorn in her arms and, in the face of envious looks from the others, began to groom its fur.
"Granger, can I also...?"
"Baah!"
A girl wanted to touch the baby unicorn, but before she could finish her question, the little unicorn protested loudly.
"Well, alright, alright." The girl felt helpless and reluctantly stepped back.
With its "enemy" removed, the baby unicorn felt proud and extended its tender tongue to lick Hermione's earlobe, making her laugh.
The class ended in this harmonious atmosphere.
After returning the baby unicorn to its mother, the students looked at Professor Grubbly-Plank with expectant eyes.
"Professor, will they come back to class next time?" someone couldn't contain their longing and asked.
Professor Grubbly-Plank shook her head. "Unicorns are creatures of nature; they are free. They come when they want to, and no one can stop them."
In the following weeks, Hagrid mysteriously disappeared from the castle. During meals, his chair at the staff table was empty, and on regular days, no one saw him carrying out his ranger duties outside the castle.
Harry and Ron searched for him and, knocking on his door, heard some timid dog barks from his hut, but Hagrid never opened the door. After a while, they didn't even hear the barks.
Seeing Hagrid's attitude, Harry couldn't do anything. This obstacle could only be overcome by Hagrid himself when he wished.
Moreover, Harry had his own problems to solve. After the Christmas holidays, the workload at school became much heavier. In addition, he had to take care of the school newspaper and his special Occlumency training. He was so busy that he barely had time for Hagrid.
The progress of the school newspaper went very smoothly. When Professor McGonagall learned of Harry's needs, she immediately passed the matter on to Dumbledore, and then Harry and Luna were given an empty room and an old printing press for the Hogwarts newspaper. This established the newspaper's headquarters.
"So, what are we going to call our newspaper?" Harry was a bit perplexed when deciding the name. "The Hogwarts Prophet" sounds too obvious...
"The Magical Daily Prophet" Krum suggested.
Harry shook his head. "That name is too grand. We focus on news within Hogwarts, not the entire magical world. Plus, we can't publish daily; it would be exhausting to write."
"So, what's our position?" Krum looked at Harry, curious about the content and theme of the Hogwarts newspaper.
Harry glanced at Tom and Hermione, who had come to congratulate him on the progress. He wasn't quite sure about the newspaper's position.
Tom tilted his head. "How about 'Bedtime Tidings' as the name?"