Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

Chapter 77 The Story of the Unicorn and the Eight-Eyed Giant Spider

Quirrell's expression was grim as he left. Although he managed to maintain his usual composure, his hands clenched tightly beneath his cloak, and the tension on his face revealed a genuine change.

He was clearly not very satisfied with the outcome of Victor's capture.

Is this really divination?

Or is she trying to send him some message?

His hand tightened and loosened repeatedly, until finally he uttered only, "Then this is best—it shouldn't happen," before hurriedly leaving.

Victor watched Quirrell's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, then simply shrugged and put away the tarot card that read "The Tower".

As he has always said, he has made a prophecy, and whether they believe it or not is their own business.

The rest of the morning was spent with the fourth-grade students learning tarot. Many of them had some misunderstandings about the interpretations of the tarot cards. For example, Mr. David from Hufflepuff gasped and almost fainted after drawing the Death card.

But it wasn't until he was ordered to watch "Seeing the Future Through the Fog" that he realized the Death card merely represented a new beginning.

It doesn't mean he's about to die. Furthermore, in the Tarot, the only card that consistently represents misfortune regardless of interpretation is the One [The Tower].

"What? You mean Quirrell took off his headscarf?"

"Yes, even his garlic smell is gone! I saw it with my own eyes this morning!"

"Really? I thought he would only take it off if he was under a spell! That headscarf looks like it's welded to his head."

By the end of the last class, such conversations were heard throughout Hogwarts.

In fact, few wizards believed Quirrell's previous excuse about wearing a headscarf. While vampires were difficult creatures to deal with, they weren't a cause for constant worry. Usually, escaping their territory was enough to resolve the issue. Therefore, most wizards initially believed Quirrell had been traumatized during his travels and had become mentally unstable.

So they were surprised that Quirrell had finally become a little more normal.

"I'm actually quite pleased to see Professor Quirrell back to normal. That poor guy, he was incredibly bright in school. If it weren't for that trip, he'd probably still be a popular Muggle Studies professor—of course, I'm not saying Professor Bubbaggy isn't popular."

When Victor met Hagrid in the library, Hagrid made this gruff assessment.

Because of the Christmas meal at the cabin, the two were noticeably less unfamiliar with each other—especially since Victor was the first wizard to eat rock bread in front of Hagrid, which naturally improved Hagrid's impression of him.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Find some information."

Victor was carrying a stack of books about medicinal herbs. He happened to run into Hagrid and asked:

"Hagrid, I've heard that there are many special magical materials in the Forbidden Forest. I wonder if you have any in stock?"

Hagrid didn't find Victor's question particularly strange, since professors often needed things from the Forbidden Forest.

He stroked his chin, thinking as he spoke:

"Oh, I do have a lot of stock. I went into the Forbidden Forest a couple of days ago to get some devil grass seeds for Professor Sprout, and I still have some left. I also have some unicorn tail hairs I collected before; those little guys are going through molting season..."

"So which kind of magical material do you want?"

"Unicorn blood. Do you have any?"

Hagrid suddenly paused for two seconds.

Victor watched him quietly.

Hagrid remained rooted to the spot.

A few more seconds passed before Hagrid realized Victor wasn't joking. He widened his eyes and repeated it loudly in a volume that made Mrs. Pince glare at him.

"Unicorn blood??"

His eyes, which were originally like those of a small beetle, widened as if they were about to bulge out.

"Merlin's Beard, are you serious? How could you possibly want to do something so blasphemous?!"

"Blasphemy?"

Victor looked at Hagrid's excited reaction with a puzzled expression, clearly not quite understanding—he hadn't fully grasped all the common knowledge of the magical world yet, after all, there were always some obscure facts that could only be learned after living in the world for a long time.

Unicorn blood is just this one thing.

Seeing Victor's clearly bewildered expression, Hagrid's shock and anger subsided slightly, and he said in a low voice:

"Good heavens, Professor Victor, I don't know who told you this, but unicorn blood is something that absolutely, absolutely cannot be taken away. Unicorns are pure and innocent beings; those little creatures would never harm anyone, so obtaining anything by harming them will inflict a curse upon you for life!"

Victor blinked and slowly shifted his hand position, placing it on his knee.

"So what's the use of unicorn blood?"

".-- To prolong life, no matter how close to death. But that only gives one a half-dead, cursed life."

A body that has drunk unicorn blood will be utterly defenseless against any pain for the rest of its life.

Hagrid spoke in a low, serious voice, then couldn't help but add in a suppressed angry tone:

"I don't know who brought this up with you, Professor Victor, but harming unicorns is absolutely unacceptable. And I certainly don't have any of those horrible materials derived from suffering here."

Victor shrugged. He neither refuted Hagrid's words nor showed the regret Hagrid hoped to see; he simply said calmly:

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I didn't know that before."

"It seems there aren't many people who pursue this kind of thing."

Not many, not none.

To be honest, Victor was actually a little surprised that no one came to Hogwarts looking for such a creature—when someone is certain of dying, why would they be concerned about whether to harm an innocent animal?

Besides, if the unicorn is innocent, isn't the Flobber Caterpillar, which dies thousands of times a year from potions, also innocent?

He felt that, ultimately, it was simply that wizards lived stable lives and had no need to pursue unicorn blood.

However, since Hagrid had said so, Victor naturally gave up his plan to find unicorn blood—he was not prepared to become a problem person ostracized by the entire wizarding world because of Quirrell.

But Hagrid still wouldn't let the matter drop, asking incredulously, "Why exactly do you want this material?"

"A friend mentioned to me that he might need it," Victor said casually, "but this doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Of course not!"

Hagrid spoke with absolute certainty, but lowered his voice again after being glared at by Mrs. Pince, the librarian. However, seeing that Victor had decisively abandoned the idea, Hagrid's tone softened somewhat, and he said dryly:

"Has he run into some serious trouble? Even St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries can't cure him? To be honest, I really can't imagine a situation where only unicorn blood can be used. A potent healing potion would have the same effect, wouldn't it?"

"Professor Snape asked me for some venom sacs from the Octopod spider just the other day; he wanted to make this potion."

"Are there eight-eyed giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest?"

It was another unfamiliar term. But this time, Victor vaguely remembered the name "Eight-Eyed Giant Spider"—it seemed to be a particularly dangerous Class 5X creature.

Hagrid said, slightly uncomfortably:

"Oh, yes, they've been there for many years — anyway, their venom sacs have some life-stimulating effects and can also neutralize some poisons. Because you need to prevent the toxins from harming yourself, they can be used as the main ingredient in powerful potions after processing. If you want their venom sacs, I can help you, but don't even think about unicorns."