After making a quick stop by the centaurs to check on the baby dragon, the patrol ended.
Leaving behind a dejected Hagrid—who was questioning his life choices after encountering far too many aggressive creatures—Harry, now 2,400 experience points richer, happily made his way back to the castle.
At five in the morning, he dragged Ron and the others out of bed for another round of morning training.
After a very productive day, at 9:45 PM, Harry knocked on Hagrid's door once more.
The first half of the journey was no different from the previous night; Harry effortlessly gained another 1,350 experience points. But when Hagrid discovered a dead unicorn near a large tree, the situation took a serious turn.
"Hagrid, was it poachers?" Harry frowned at the unicorn's corpse, its body split open, a gaping wound on its head. The sight was far from pleasant.
Unicorns were one of the few creatures Harry would spare when given the chance. They were, without a doubt, among the most beautiful beings in the Forbidden Forest. Yet here one lay, cruelly slaughtered. Even worse—Harry hadn't earned a single experience point from it!
As Harry silently vowed to make the poachers pay him back in experience points if he ever caught them, Hagrid finished examining the corpse.
His expression was grim as he stood up. "Not poachers. I can't say for certain why someone killed this unicorn, but I can tell when someone's trying to pass off as a poacher. And this one isn't. The unicorn's body is still warm, which means it hasn't been dead for long. The killer might still be lurking in the Forbidden Forest."
"Hagrid, can you track them? We have to do something for this poor unicorn," Harry declared righteously.
"Oh, Harry, I'm really glad you think that way." Hagrid patted Harry's shoulder in comfort. "But I already checked—there aren't any tracks around. That means whoever did this is extremely skilled at hiding their presence… This is beyond what a young wizard can handle. Best leave it to me."
And Hagrid was serious about handling it himself. The next day, after making all the necessary preparations and fetching Fang, he was just about to head out when a knock sounded on his door.
"Hey, Hagrid! I'm here!" Harry greeted cheerfully.
On the fourth day, Harry knocked on Hagrid's door again.
On the fifth day, Hagrid left early to avoid Harry, but that night, Harry went absolutely wild (sha) in the Forbidden Forest.
On the sixth day, Hagrid decided to stay holed up in his hut, refusing to go out.
Then—
"Open up! Open up! Don't just hide in there silently—I know you're home! Hagrid, open the door! If you had the guts to leave me behind and go patrolling alone, then have the guts to open up!"
Harry stood at Hagrid's door, having cast an Engorgement Charm on himself. With his now enormous hands, he pounded the door so hard it echoed with loud thuds.
By the seventh day—Friday—something finally happened that made Harry miserable and Hagrid relieved.
Professor McGonagall sent Filch to escort Hermione and four others for detention.
"Filch, is that you? Hurry up, I'm about to head out!" Hagrid called out happily, waving at the figures approaching across the lawn. Meanwhile, Harry crouched beside him in despair, gazing blankly at the moon hanging in the sky.
As the group drew closer, their voices became clearer.
"Weasley boy, judging by that stupid look on your face, I'd wager you thought you'd be spending your detention having fun with that oaf Hagrid, either lounging on the grass or inside his little hut, didn't you?" Filch sneered.
"Boy, you're headed into the Forbidden Forest! If you know what's good for you, start praying now that you make it back to Hogwarts in one piece!"
Harry saw Ron falter in his steps. At the same time, another student also came to a sudden stop.
"The Forbidden Forest?" Malfoy's voice carried a hint of panic. "No, we can't go in there at night! My father said all sorts of creatures live there—even werewolves!"
"Well, that's your own fault, isn't it?" Filch said, barely containing his glee. "Maybe you should've thought about the consequences before getting yourself into trouble, hmm?"
"Enough, Filch, it's time to take them into the forest," Hagrid interrupted, striding forward. "How are you feeling, Ron, Hermione?"
"There's no need to be so polite with them, Hagrid," Filch said icily. "They're here for punishment, not a holiday."
"So that's why you were late?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow at Filch. "Too busy lecturing them, were you? Well, this isn't the castle—you don't have all the time in the world to talk. Out here, I'm in charge. You can leave now."
With a massive crossbow slung over his back and a large hunting knife in hand, Hagrid led the group toward the forest. "Alright, everyone, keep up. We've got plenty of work to do tonight."
"I'll be back by dawn," Filch said darkly. "To collect what's left of them. Heh heh…"
Holding a lantern, Filch shuffled back toward the castle, his shadow stretching long across the grass.
Once Filch was gone, Malfoy turned to Hagrid, lifting his chin in an attempt to appear composed and in control. "Hagrid, was it? You can take these three Gryffindors into the forest."
Beside him, Goyle tugged at Malfoy's sleeve. "Draco, what about us?"
"We?" Malfoy scoffed. "A noble Slytherin should naturally stay somewhere safe and warm. That little hut looks decent enough—I suppose I can endure spending the night there."
Harry, holding onto Fang's leash, remained silent, watching Malfoy's performance.
Hagrid, however, had no patience for Malfoy's nonsense.
"Cut the chatter, Malfoy. You have two choices—either shut up and follow me into the forest, or leave Hogwarts!"
"I'm not going in!" Malfoy shouted, utterly incensed. "Tasks like this are for servants, not students! At most, we should be writing lines as punishment! If my father finds out about this, he'll have Dumbledore, that senile old fool, thrown—"
Boom!! The tree in front of Hagrid, nearly a meter in diameter, shattered with a single punch.
Malfoy shut his mouth instantly and fell into line behind Hagrid without another word.
With the students gathered, Hagrid held up his lantern and led them down a familiar path—one Harry had walked many times before—into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
The moment they stepped into the Forbidden Forest, the light immediately dimmed, leaving Hagrid's lantern as their only source of illumination. The eerie atmosphere, combined with the terrifying legends surrounding the Forbidden Forest, caused Malfoy, Ron, Goyle, and Crabbe to instinctively huddle together. Among them, the only ones unaffected by the forest's oppressive aura were Harry—who had just cast a Lumos spell on himself—and Hermione, who walked in the middle of the group, safely positioned between Hagrid at the front and Harry and Fang at the rear.
"All of you—stop looking around, Harry, and listen carefully." Hagrid's deep voice carried through the night. "What we're about to do tonight is dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt, so you must follow my instructions exactly."
"A unicorn was killed in the Forbidden Forest last week. I don't know who did it, but whoever it was must have been incredibly powerful. And today, I found signs that another unicorn has been injured—right here."
Hagrid led them to a fork in the path, his lantern illuminating the ground—where silver blood was scattered across the forest floor.
"Our goal is to find the poor unicorn before whatever harmed it gets to it first."
"What if the thing that hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked, his voice laced with barely concealed fear.
"As long as you stay with me or Fang, nothing in the Forbidden Forest will—er—normally, nothing in the Forbidden Forest will harm you."
Hagrid clearly recalled his patrols with Harry over the past few days and hesitated to guarantee that the creatures in the forest were all harmless little darlings.
"We'll split into two groups and follow the blood trail. I'll go with Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Fang will form the other group. If you find the unicorn, send up green sparks. If you run into trouble, send up red sparks. Everyone, practice—good."
After confirming that everyone could produce the signal sparks, Hagrid clapped his hands together. "Remember, don't stray from the path."
At the fork in the road, the groups separated—one heading left, the other heading right.
...
After walking along the path for about ten minutes, Harry suddenly stopped, turning back to stare intently at the way they had come. Then, in a swift motion, he crouched down, barked twice at Fang, grabbed Hermione and Ron by the arms, and pulled them off the path, taking cover behind a large tree.
"Harry, didn't Hagrid say not to leave the path?" Ron whispered nervously, scanning their surroundings. "We should just—"
"Quiet!" Harry traced a strange rune in the air with one hand while covering Ron's mouth with the other. "Something's coming."
His vision shifted, revealing the scene beyond the trees.
Hermione and Ron strained their ears to listen. A minute later, a faint rustling sound came from the path they had just left—something was gliding over the fallen leaves.
The sound quickly faded as whatever it was moved past their hiding spot.
"It sounded like… a cloak dragging on the ground," Hermione murmured.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, it really did."
"No, not just 'like'—it was the sound of a cloak dragging on the ground," Harry said, suppressing his shock. "But why would it be him?"
"Who?" Ron asked curiously.
"Professor Quirrell." Harry's gaze darkened as he stared in the direction the figure had disappeared. He had heard everything—the conversation between Quirrell and that second voice emanating from him.
He needed to get Hermione, Ron, and Fang to safety as soon as possible. Fortunately, he knew a safe place nearby—for young wizards, at least.
Leading his two friends and the dog, Harry soon arrived at the entrance to the centaur settlement.
Staring at the towering wooden walls that enclosed the settlement and the two centaurs standing guard—tall beings with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of horses—Ron and Hermione were left speechless in shock.
"I can't believe there are actual centaurs in the Forbidden Forest… and so many of them…" Ron's gaze lingered on the impressive form of a female centaur for a long moment before he gulped and murmured in awe.
"There's far more in the Forbidden Forest than you imagine, Ron." Harry chuckled, patting Ron on the shoulder before turning to the centaurs before him. "Evening, Hael, Vio!"
"Good evening, Harry. Mars is particularly bright tonight," said Vio, the female centaur, with a knowing smile.
After greeting the two guards, Harry led his friends through the settlement's gates.
On either side of the main path stood rows of wooden houses. At the path's far end was a massive longhouse, where the centaur leader, Xinjira, lived with her husband and three children. However, as she was deeply engrossed in stargazing, even her own people rarely saw her.
To the left of the settlement, a wide stream split a series of neatly arranged fields in two. Several male centaurs were plowing the fields with strangely shaped iron plows.
Near the fields stood a massive stone warehouse. After entrusting Hermione and Ron to the care of the platinum-haired centaur, Firenze, Harry pushed open the warehouse's heavy stone doors.
Beyond them lay a mountaintop, wreathed in clouds and snow.
"Little dragon, want to go out for a spin?" Harry let out a dragon's call, and within seconds, a far more powerful roar echoed in response.
A small black dot in the sky rapidly expanded.
A Norwegian Ridgeback, Norbert (name pending), flapped its wings and landed beside Harry. No longer the tiny hatchling it once was, Norbert now stretched four meters long, with a wingspan exceeding six meters.
...
Under the tranquil night sky, Ron and Hermione were questioning Firenze about centaur life when, suddenly, a burst of red sparks erupted in the distance.
"That's bad! Hagrid's in trouble!" Ron jumped up immediately, drawing his wand to rush off.
Hermione and Firenze stopped him in unison.
"Hermione! Why are you stopping me? Didn't you see the red sparks? Hagrid's over there!" Ron shouted in frustration.
"Precisely because Hagrid's in trouble, I can't let you charge in recklessly!" Hermione remained calm, quickly analyzing the situation. "If even Hagrid can't handle it, what can you possibly do? What we should be doing is seeking help from the centaurs!"
"She's right. The Forbidden Forest is too dangerous for you young foals." Firenze lowered his head in thought. "And if this is a threat even Hagrid cannot handle, a single centaur wouldn't be much help… We may need to mobilize the patrol unit…"
A second flare of red sparks exploded in the sky. Seeing the dire situation, Firenze wasted no time, lifting the two young wizards and dashing off to find the patrol leader.
Just then, a dragon's roar echoed above them. Looking up, they saw a dark silhouette soaring through the sky—
A black-haired boy's cloak billowed in the wind as he rode upon the dragon's back.
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