In the early morning, the quiet Forbidden Forest was startled awake by a deafening wail.
A half-giant, standing over three meters tall, knelt in a clearing, his tearful eyes fixed on the pure white corpse of the animal by the stream.
Dracula stood nearby, covering his ears with a look of helplessness, trying to block out Hagrid's anguished cries.
...
An hour and a half earlier.
It was February, and Hogwarts had just resumed for the term.
At the transition from winter to spring, the sun lazily lingered below the horizon, refusing to show its face.
However, the world without the sun did not seem dark. The heavy, soft snow that had fallen during winter still lay on the ground, reflecting the soft white light of the stars in the sky.
Dracula enjoyed this bright, sunless sky, so he jumped out of his office window early in the morning and landed in the snow to wander around, admiring the snow-covered Hogwarts castle under the night sky.
Not long after, a huge figure caught his attention.
"Good morning, Professor Dracula," Hagrid greeted him hastily in the snow and quickly headed towards the castle.
Dracula noticed that Hagrid looked extremely anxious, barely having time to wipe the dew off his face.
"Why are you going to the castle so early, Hagrid?" Dracula asked curiously.
"There's an urgent situation in the Forbidden Forest. I need to report to Professor Dumbledore right away," Hagrid said, continuing to walk briskly towards the castle.
"Oh, go ahead then. Dumbledore should be asleep at this hour. Remember to knock hard on his door and don't let him sleep too soundly," Dracula said, uninterested in the situation in the Forbidden Forest but curious about how to wake the old headmaster. "If he won't wake up no matter how hard you knock, I'd be happy to help."
As if he had wings, Dracula floated through the air beside Hagrid, his dark red robe trailing behind him. At the same time, he picked up a snowball about the size of Hagrid's head from the ground.
"I could fly directly to the top of the castle tower and throw the snowball through the window of the headmaster's office. That should wake Dumbledore up," Dracula said seriously.
"Er... it's not that urgent," Hagrid said, looking at the snowball the size of his head and worrying about Dumbledore, "It's just that there are signs of a possible vampire in the Forbidden Forest. I need to inform Dumbledore to ensure the safety of the students."
Dracula abruptly stopped floating.
Hagrid looked back in confusion and saw Dracula standing in the snow, his expression fluctuating. He couldn't help but shiver.
"Maybe it's better not to disturb the headmaster, Hagrid," Dracula said, tossing the snowball aside and letting it scatter into pieces, "We should go directly to the Forbidden Forest and catch that troublesome vampire. Wouldn't that save the headmaster the trouble?"
He snapped his fingers, and the crisp sound echoed in the silent night.
In the next moment, Hagrid felt as if a dark moon collided with him and then passed through his massive body. When he opened his eyes again, he was already near the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid looked around at the familiar shed and garden, and the deep forest in front of him, feeling greatly shocked.
He had run for quite a while to approach Hogwarts Castle, and now Professor Dracula had brought him back to the starting point in an instant? He felt a bit like crying.
"What... what kind of magic is this?" Hagrid wiped the liquid from his face, unsure if it was dew or cold sweat, and asked.
"Just consider it Apparition," Dracula said casually, "Now, take me to where the vampire signs are."
Since Hagrid had been instantly transported back to the Forbidden Forest, he wasn't about to waste more time running back to report to Dumbledore. It wasn't worth it!
So, he resigned himself to leading Dracula into the Forbidden Forest.
"Professor Dracula, look at this poor rabbit," Hagrid said as they reached a deep part of the forest, finding a withered rabbit corpse next to a bush. "Its blood has been completely drained, leaving only shriveled flesh and skin. I can't think of any animal other than a vampire that would do this."
Dracula frowned, levitating the rabbit's corpse and examining it closely.
"This isn't the work of a vampire," he said, shaking his head. "The rabbit has no wounds on it, and a vampire cannot drain the blood of an animal without leaving any marks."
"Is there any magical creature that can drain blood without causing wounds?" Hagrid pondered, trying to recall magical creatures he had seen, but was at a loss. "Or should we ask Professor Kettleburn? He's been teaching Care of Magical Creatures for sixty years, so he might have another opinion."
Dracula remained silent, his wine-red eyes focused on the rabbit's intact corpse.
"Hagrid, how long do you think this rabbit has been dead?" he suddenly asked.
"From the condition of the body, it should have been dead for two or three days. I've been a gamekeeper for years, I wouldn't be mistaken!" Hagrid confidently patted his chest, assuring.
As soon as he finished speaking, Hagrid seemed to realize something and stared at the rabbit's corpse in astonishment.
"How could this rabbit's body have been preserved for two or three days?!" he exclaimed, "This doesn't make sense! In this season of scarce food, other carnivores in the Forbidden Forest would definitely drag away and eat such a corpse. It couldn't have been left for even a day!"
"That's what I'm saying," Dracula nodded slightly. "So the most likely scenario is that this rabbit died under a dark magic curse. Therefore, the surrounding animals instinctively avoided the corpse that carries an aura of evil."
"Professor Dracula, do you mean... the evil creature in the Forbidden Forest isn't a vampire, but a dark wizard?!" Hagrid looked around, lowering his voice.
"Just a guess," Dracula said. "Let's keep searching for other bloodless animal corpses."
Taking the lead, Hagrid, familiar with the surroundings, ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest and found many withered animal corpses.
Seeing so many small animals in such a pitiful state, Hagrid's expression turned very sad, and this sadness peaked when they reached a stream deep in the Forbidden Forest—
On the riverbank lay a pure white, unicorn-like creature with a single horn on its forehead, sprawled on the pebble-strewn shore. The stream flowed over its golden hooves, soaking its pure white mane.
Even though it had been dead for two or three days and its body had become shriveled, its fur remained so bright that it made the surrounding snow appear gray.
It was a sacred unicorn.