Hagrid, accompanied by his dog Fang and three little friends, led them into the Forbidden Forest. After they disappeared into the woods, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows near Hagrid's hut.
Rhys watched the group of four humans and one dog from a distance, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Minerva McGonagall had some nerve sending first-year students into the Forbidden Forest.
Even a thousand years ago, such a move would have been incredibly bold. First-year students were not equipped to handle the various dangers lurking in the Forbidden Forest.
However, with Hagrid, an experienced gamekeeper, accompanying them, it was unlikely that anything too serious would happen.
Rhys cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and quietly followed them. After all, it was the Forbidden Forest—they needed someone to watch over them to prevent any accidents.
Additionally, this would give him an opportunity to observe Daphne's performance in the forest and evaluate her abilities.
Daphne maintained a calm exterior, but her heart was racing with anxiety.
Unlike the clueless Harry and the straightforward Ron, she was well aware of the risks involved in venturing into the Forbidden Forest.
Rhys had often told her stories about the four founders of Hogwarts and their efforts to clear the Forbidden Forest when they first established the school.
This vast forest, adjacent to the natural water source of the Black Lake, was a haven for magical creatures.
Although Hogwarts was situated on a cliff, it was not geographically isolated from the Forbidden Forest.
So why had no magical creatures ventured from the forest into the Hogwarts castle over the past thousand years?
The answer was that all magical creatures bold enough to attempt such a move had been eradicated by the four founders and their students.
Not only were the aggressively territorial magical creatures eliminated, but also those with a strong territorial instinct that could pose a threat to the castle were killed.
Even intelligent beings were not exempt from this purge: the goblin tribes at the edge of the Forbidden Forest were exterminated by Slytherin, Ravenclaw destroyed the merpeople kingdom in the Black Lake, and Hufflepuff eradicated the werewolves near the castle.
Only the centaur tribe was somewhat fortunate, as they encountered Gryffindor, who, after a few duels, made them swear never to step out of the Forbidden Forest proactively.
Thanks to the founders' efforts, Hogwarts Castle had remained peaceful for a thousand years.
As the saying goes, a single preemptive strike can prevent a hundred retaliatory blows. In this case, the founders didn't just deliver one preemptive strike; they cut off all potential threats in the vicinity.
However, they deliberately left some less dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest to provide a training ground for students.
Daphne's concern was precisely about these retained creatures. Now, it seemed that a powerful magical creature capable of killing unicorns was on the loose in the Forbidden Forest. Facing such a creature, she had to be on high alert.
"Fred and George always said they sneaked into the Forbidden Forest to play. Now I can say I've been to the Forbidden Forest too," Ron said proudly to Harry.
In the future, when Fred and George bragged, Ron could puff out his chest and claim he had also been there and that it wasn't a big deal.
Hearing Ron's words, Hagrid couldn't help but snort: those Weasley twins had indeed caused him quite a bit of trouble. Hagrid had spent a lot of effort to chase the twins out of the Forbidden Forest.
Harry felt somewhat helpless, not understanding why Ron would mention this in front of Hagrid. If it weren't for Hagrid's good relationship with them, he might have lost his temper by now.
"You know, it's said that there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, along with all sorts of other magical creatures—Hogwarts sometimes claims that students transfer schools, but actually, it's rumored that every one of them had mentioned wanting to venture into the Forbidden Forest to their friends," Daphne said with a hint of melancholy.
Most of what Daphne said was made up.
Hagrid raised an eyebrow. It was the perfect moment to announce the "little surprise" he had prepared for Ron.
"What?! We're splitting up?!" Ron was stunned upon hearing Hagrid's plan.
It took him about a minute to process this information before he stammered, "But, splitting up could be risky, right?"
Hagrid chuckled.
"This is a detention, Ron. It's meant to punish us," Daphne sighed.
In the end, Hagrid decided that he and Ron would go one way, while Harry, Daphne, and the hunting dog Fang would go another way.
This arrangement satisfied everyone present, including Rhys, who was trailing the group.
He thought this was the safest way to split the group. If Daphne had been paired with Hagrid, he would have had to follow Harry and Ron instead.
"Alright, if anyone finds the unicorn, shoot green sparks with your wand. If anyone gets into trouble, shoot red sparks, and we'll come find you. Be careful, everyone—let's go." With a wave of his large hand, Hagrid set the Forbidden Forest group into two teams.
Harry and Daphne walked quietly along the dark path, with the faint glow of their wand tips and the moonlight illuminating their way.
Finding the light from the Lumos charm too dim, Daphne extinguished it and instead summoned a small ball of fire, similar to what Rhys had shown her.
"It's brighter and warmer," she explained succinctly.
Harry had no objections.
As they ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest, they both stopped simultaneously: a beam of moonlight shone through the branches, illuminating a patch of silvery-blue blood on the grass.
"Is that...?" Harry hesitated.
"Unicorn blood," Daphne said with certainty, having learned about this magical substance from Rhys.
"What kind of creature would attack a unicorn? Is it the werewolf you mentioned?"
Daphne shook her head. "I made that up to scare Ron. Werewolves are mostly like ordinary wizards, except during the full moon when they transform. And it's not a full moon tonight. Even if it were, why would a werewolf attack a unicorn?"
"Plus, unicorns are intelligent creatures and have very powerful magic... Whatever can injure or kill a unicorn is not something to be taken lightly."
After hearing what Daphne said, Harry felt goose bumps all over his body.
"Let's, let's go quickly." He couldn't help but urge her, but Daphne not only didn't move, but squatted down in front of the bloodstain.
Under Harry's puzzled gaze, she pointed her wand at the bloodstain and patiently used magic to "extract" it from the bushes.
The silver-blue blood floated in the air, giving people a metallic texture. After completing this operation, Daphne took out a crystal bottle from her arms and put the blood in it.
After collecting the blood smoothly, Daphne carefully sealed the mouth of the crystal bottle with a stopper, and then put the bottle back into the pocket lining of her robe.
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