Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 30 Second Arrest Operation

Unicorns are very fast. Once they lose the constraints of the terrain, even if one of them has almost lost a hoof, it can still disappear without a trace after disappearing into the dense forest.

Quirrell braced himself on his knees, his bear bulging like a bellows from the long battle and the fierce chase behind him. Ike looked even worse, slumped to the ground against a tree, half-dead.

"Looks like we'll have to come back tomorrow." After resting for a while, Quirrell said breathlessly, "With such serious injuries, finding it again will be easy."

Ike nodded upon hearing this, looked at Quirrell with some hesitation, and said nothing more.

"Go back first, get a good night's sleep. It'll be the same time tomorrow night, Mr. Stradwell." As soon as he finished speaking, Quirrell disappeared into the dense forest.

"Disillusionment Charm? Anyone can do the same." Ike curled his lip, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and headed back in the direction of the castle.

For the first time, Ike realized how tiring acting could be. With his magical skill level, even if he couldn't perform at his best against a fast-moving unicorn, his basic spellcasting level was still there, so he wouldn't be that bad.

Fortunately, neither Quirrell nor Voldemort knew Ike's true level of spellcasting ability, but they were well aware of his learning capacity. Therefore, even though Ike occasionally disrupted Quirrell's offensive rhythm, neither Voldemort nor Quirrell blamed him; on the contrary, they were quite satisfied.

After all, this is already a very good performance for a first-year wizard.

It was already 1:30 when Ike got back to the dorm. Looking at the two sleeping soundly, Ike felt relieved. He hung a Lighting Charm by his bedside, covered his head with the blanket, and soon fell asleep.

When Ike woke up, he still felt a bit dizzy and his body ached. Shaking his groggy head, Ike looked up and saw Stuart and Terry's big faces.

"You came back, fine, but why did you hang that ball of light up there?" Stuart's words were full of grievance and complaint. "God knows how terrified I was when I woke up in the middle of the night to that ball of light. It was so bright I thought I'd overslept!"

"My fault, my fault," Ike said with a smile, admitting his mistake repeatedly. "Next time I'll just wake you up directly."

"No, please!" The two hurriedly waved their hands and shook their heads. They knew very well that Ike was perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

"Wait, there's a next time?" Terry suddenly snapped out of his daze. "Ike, what trouble have you run into? Tell us, maybe we can find another way?"

"I'm sorry," Ike said apologetically. "This is dangerous. If you get involved, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Don't worry, I'm fine and I'll take good care of myself." Ike stretched. "Of course, if I'm not back by the agreed time, remember to go see the professor."

"I know," Terry nodded, "but if we really go looking for the professor, where are we going to find you, Ike!"

Ike was taken aback; he hadn't really thought about that. He remembered reading novels where characters didn't need prompts when looking for someone!

After thinking for a moment, Ike made a decision: "If nothing unexpected happens, I will go to the Forbidden Forest in the near future. If I don't go to the Forbidden Forest one day, I will let you know."

Patting the two on the shoulder, Ike said with a smile, "My support is in your hands now."

"Don't worry, we've got you covered!" Stuart patted his chest confidently. "This is no problem at all."

"Of course, I believe you." Ike smiled and walked towards the auditorium with the two of them.

After breakfast, Ike returned to his usual spot in the library. Hermione hadn't been here much for the past two weeks, and Ike knew this was a crucial time for Hagrid's dragon to hatch, so the three of them should be at Hagrid's hut.

Although Ike also wanted to achieve the feat of fighting dragons, unfortunately, apart from Hermione, Ike wasn't familiar with the other Gryffindors, and he didn't have much interaction with Hagrid either, so he could only dream about it.

After a peaceful day, in the evening, having arranged a time with Stuart and Terry, Ike once again plunged into the Forbidden Forest.

I don't know what time Quirrell arrived, but when Ike arrived, he looked like he'd been standing there for quite a while. He stepped forward respectfully, his manners impeccable: "Great Dark Lord! Your student greets you!"

"Heh heh heh~" Voldemort's laughter was still as mesmerizing as ever. "Child, when did you become my student?"

Ike immediately adopted a look of fear and disappointment, his voice filled with disbelief: "But didn't you promise to teach me magic yesterday?"

"Heh heh heh~" Judging from the sound, Comrade Old Fu must be very happy. "It was just a joke, kid. The Dark Lord's promise is always valid."

"You're wonderful, teacher!" Ike held his wand to his chest, nodded slightly, and his body trembled slightly.

"Alright, alright, there will be plenty of opportunities later, Ike." As soon as he finished speaking, Voldemort's voice turned cold again. "Quirok, go find that beast. We don't have much time left."

"As you wish, Master!" Quirrell replied respectfully, glancing back at Ike. "Let's go."

After speaking, he followed the marks on the ground and walked deeper into the forbidden forest.

Ike followed behind, maintaining a humble and serious demeanor, his eyes scanning the surroundings, his wand gripped tightly, and he remained vigilant.

This behavior was 70% to further improve Comrade Lao Fu's favorability, and 30% to prevent other creatures in the forbidden forest.

For wizards, tracking a target is not difficult; the Tracking Charm was invented for this purpose. As long as there are items, hair, or blood on the target, casting the Tracking Charm will cause the tip of the wand to point directly at the target's location.

The two of them, one in front of the other, quickly traversed the dense forest in the direction indicated by Quirrell's wand, and only stopped after a while.

Seeing the unicorn lying on the ground licking its wounds not far ahead, Quirrell stopped using the Tracking Charm and whispered, "Mr. Strayed, just like yesterday. After I trap it, use the Barrier Charm to help me."

"Yes, Professor." Ike nodded, his face full of determination.

Seeing this, Quirrell turned around, adjusted his stance slightly, and cast Polymorph, surrounding the unicorn with a Fire Charm, followed by a Slicing Charm. Ike also focused his attention accordingly, aiming two Obstacle Charms at the unicorn's limbs and following up.

The injured unicorn was much less agile, but Quirrell had basically recovered his fighting strength after a day of rest. Even without Ike, dealing with an injured and lone unicorn would not be difficult.

Before long, even with Ike trying his best to hold them back, the Unicorn still fell to Quirrell's relentless attacks.

Quirrell waved his wand, dispelling the earthen walls and flames that had surrounded him, and walked to the unicorn lying on the ground, groaning, gazing at the dying creature.

"Quick! Quick! Quick!" Voldemort's weak voice was filled with joy and urgency. "Drink this damned blood!"

"Master, I..." Quirrell hesitated. He knew very well what kind of curse he would suffer after drinking the blood of such a pure creature after harming a unicorn. The moment he drank the unicorn's blood, he could no longer be called human.

Given his current physical condition, Quirrell felt he could hold on for a while longer, but unfortunately Voldemort didn't seem to care.

Biting into the unicorn's wound, Quirrell groaned in pain, filled with remorse.

If only I hadn't gone to the Albanian forests in the summer of 1991 to search for the Dark Lord...

The next chapter will be a little later; I'm working overtime at work.

(End of this chapter)