Hogwarts' Golden Glory

"With me and Toothpaste here, the creatures of the Forbidden Forest won't harm you," Hagrid's voice sounded unusually firm in the darkness. He patted the crossbow at his waist with his huge hand. "But time is of the essence, we have to split up to search."

Ron's face was deathly pale in the moonlight. "Separate? No, that's too dangerous! Toothpick is even more timid than me—it hid behind me the last time it saw a goblin!"

Harry looked at Ron's trembling fingers and suddenly made a decision: "Then I'll team up with Neville, and Ron, you go with Hagrid."

"But—" Ron wanted to object, but Hagrid had already nodded in agreement to the arrangement.

"That's settled then," the gamekeeper said gruffly. "Remember, signal with a red spark immediately if you see anything unusual. Neville, you stay with Harry and stay alert."

Neville nodded vigorously, his round face filled with determination, though a hint of fear lingered in his heart.

Ron reluctantly stood next to Hagrid.

Toothpick tucked his tail between his legs and circled around Harry and the others' feet.

The two groups soon parted ways.

Harry held up his wand, its glowing light appearing particularly faint in the dense forest.

Neville followed closely behind him, occasionally glancing down at the intermittent silvery-white bloodstains on the ground.

"Harry," Neville suddenly whispered, his voice tense, "don't you feel... someone watching us?"

Harry stopped abruptly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

The feeling of being watched was real—like a pair of cold eyes pressed against his back.

He slowly turned around, the light from his wand sweeping across the surrounding bushes.

"Who's there?" Harry called out, his voice echoing through the silent forest.

The only answer he received was the rustling of leaves.

Ya Ya suddenly let out a whimper.

Then—to Harry's utter disbelief—the dog tucked its tail between its legs, turned and ran, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

"Toothie! Come back!" Neville called out, but the hound had already disappeared.

The two boys stared at each other, their heartbeats so loud they could almost hear each other.

Harry swallowed hard. "Let's...let's keep going. Be careful."

They followed the trail of blood for a few more minutes, until the woods grew denser and the moonlight was almost completely obscured.

Harry had to increase the brightness of his wand, but that made him feel like a sitting duck.

Suddenly, Neville grabbed Harry's arm.

But she used so much force that it almost hurt Harry. "Harry! Up ahead!"

Harry followed Neville's trembling finger and looked down—about twenty feet away, under an ancient tree, lay a beautiful silver creature.

Its fur emitted a faint glow in the darkness.

Its long neck hung limply, and its horn was covered with dark liquid.

"A unicorn..." Harry held his breath.

Just as they were about to step forward, a dark figure emerged from behind a tree.

It loomed over the wounded unicorn like a living darkness.

It was a humanoid figure dressed in a tattered black robe, but its movement was not like that of a human—it was more like that of some kind of reptile.

It bent down, and Harry was horrified to see it bring its face close to the wound on the unicorn's neck.

"It's...it's drinking its blood!" Neville whispered in terror.

Harry felt a wave of nausea rise in his throat.

He instinctively raised his wand, but at that moment he was somewhat bewildered.

I don't know what kind of magic spell was used to help this poor unicorn.

But the man in black robes suddenly stopped and slowly turned his head to look in their direction.

Even from this distance, Harry could feel those eyes.

Red, as red as blood, without pupils, only pure evil.

"Run!" Harry shouted, grabbing Neville and turning to run.

But it was too late. The man in black moved with incredible speed, appearing in front of them almost instantly.

Up close, it looks more like a moving corpse—and it even smells bad.

Neville, though trembling, bravely drew his wand: "Faint—"

With a mere wave of his hand, the man in black sent Neville flying as if struck by an invisible hammer.

It crashed heavily into a tree, then silently slid to the ground, where it remained motionless.

"Nawei!"

Harry screamed, fear flooding his veins like ice water.

His wand pointed at the man in black, but the light at the tip was like a candle flickering in the wind.

The man in the black robe let out a gurgling laugh, like bones rubbing against each other.

It slowly approached Harry, the stench of decay filling the air.

Harry backed away, his heel tripped on a tree root, and he almost fell.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "What do you want?"

The man in the black robe did not answer, but simply extended his pale, bony fingers with long, black nails.

Harry suddenly realized—it wanted his life.

Just as that terrifying finger was about to touch him—

"The Divine Blade is Without a Shadow!"

A flash of silver light came from the side, and the man in black robes nimbly dodged it, but a large piece of his cloak was still torn.

Harry turned his head and saw Professor Snape emerge from the bushes like a giant bat.

The wand was pointed directly at the man in black robes, whose dark eyes remained indifferent.

"Professor...?"

Harry's voice caught in his throat. He never imagined he would one day be so fortunate as to meet Snape.

But at this moment, the man who always made things difficult for him seemed like a vengeful angel descended to earth.

"Potter, step back!"

Snape gave a stern command, while simultaneously casting another spell at the man in black.

Before he finished speaking, he had already fired three spells of different colors in succession.

A scarlet Stunning Charm, a purple Binding Charm, and finally, a dark green beam of light that Harry had never seen before.

The air around them was filled with magical fluctuations.

The man in black robes let out a shriek that was beyond human comprehension.

It twisted its body in an ergonomically unnatural way, managing to dodge all three spells.

With a sudden flick of his withered, twig-like fingers, a dark red energy wave surged toward Snape.

The bushes along the way withered instantly, and even the soil turned grayish-white.

Snape's wand flashed through the air, and the silver-blue barrier barely blocked the attack.

"You think your little tricks with those potions can stop me?"

The black-robed man's voice seemed to be squeezed out of his chest, carrying an eerie echo.

"Hand over the boy, Snape..."

"How pathetic," Snape sneered, his wand remaining unmoved. "A coward who can't even show his true face dares to make demands?"

The two wands simultaneously lit up with a blinding light, and forces collided in mid-air.

A deafening roar erupted, forcing Harry to cover his ears.

I watched helplessly as all the surrounding trees snapped in half, their cuts as smooth as if they had been sliced ​​by a sharp blade.

Harry could only hide in the distance, his heart pounding in his chest.

He had never seen such a high-intensity magical duel—the spells they were learning were like children playing house.

Just as Snape was struck in the shoulder by a powerful stun spell and staggered to his knees—

"Flames are raging!"