HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

Malfoy stood frozen in place, as if under a spell, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Hagrid. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

The trio were delighted to see Malfoy get his comeuppance, and they weren't worried at all about what was inside the confinement.

“Hagrid has been doing this job for decades without any problems, so there’s no reason for us to encounter danger as soon as we arrive,” Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron.

But Hagrid's next words immediately dispelled their idea.

“Listen up, everyone. Tonight’s operation is extremely dangerous, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” Hagrid’s tone left no room for argument.

He led the group to the edge of the forbidden forest, raising his lamp high above his head. The light swept across like a searchlight, illuminating a winding path that gradually disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

“Look over there!” Hagrid’s voice was exceptionally clear in the night. “See that shimmering light on the ground? It’s silvery-white. That’s unicorn blood. The unicorns in the Forbidden Forest have been attacked by other creatures and are badly injured. This is the second time this week. I found a dead unicorn last Wednesday. What we need to do now is find that poor creature and give it some help.”

The trio were somewhat stunned, filled with doubt, unsure whether Hagrid's words were meant to scare Malfoy or if there was any truth to them.

"What if, I mean, is there a possibility that we'll encounter the monster that harms the unicorn first?" Fear made Malfoy's voice tremble, and he no longer cared about the trio's mockery.

“As long as you stay with me or Tooth, the creatures of the Forbidden Forest won’t harm you,” Hagrid said confidently. “Now, let’s follow the trail of blood. Remember, don’t fall behind, and don’t stray from the path.”

The group moved slowly, the Forbidden Forest dark and silent. They walked a while and reached a fork in the road. Hagrid had originally intended to split into two groups, but to be on the safe side, he chose to stay together.

"Are there really werewolves in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked.

"Maybe so, I sometimes hear wolves howling."

“Could it be that the werewolf killed the unicorn?” Ron asked.

“Absolutely impossible…” Hagrid said anxiously, “Catching a unicorn is no easy task. They are powerful magical creatures, and very fast. I have never heard of a unicorn being injured before, never!”

The group walked around an ancient tree stump covered in moss, resembling a green throne. Not far away, the gentle sound of flowing water rose quietly, like a soft melody of nature, telling the secrets of the forbidden forest's depths.

Suddenly, they all heard something approaching them.

Hagrid stopped the four young wizards and herded them behind a tall oak tree like ducks.

Then he drew an arrow, loaded it into his crossbow, and raised it to fire.

Something was gliding swiftly across the fallen leaves nearby: the sound was like a cloak trailing across the ground. Then came the faint sound of horses' hooves. Hagrid squinted at the dark path, and after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

“I think I understand,” he muttered to himself, “something that doesn’t belong here must have infiltrated.”

"Could it be a werewolf?" Ron asked softly.

“No!” Hagrid said firmly. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely not a werewolf.”

Their pace slowed further, and everyone held their breath, trying to catch the slightest sound.

After walking for nearly half an hour, they went deeper and deeper into the forest, where the trees became extremely dense and the path was almost impassable.

The bloodstains on the ground grew denser, almost forming a silver line.

Through the tangled branches of the ancient oak, a patch of silvery white suddenly peeked through the dappled shadows. Harry abruptly held his breath and pointed to the distance.

“Look over there…” His voice was hoarse, trembling and stuck in his throat.

A ball of snow-white light lay among the decaying leaves; it was the dead unicorn.

It curled up on the thick layer of fallen leaves, its long limbs like haphazardly placed sticks, and every strand of its hair emitted a fluorescent white light.

Those emerald-green pupils still retained the clarity they had in life, yet they reflected no trace of vitality, as if the silence of the entire forbidden forest was frozen in those eyes.

Hagrid's eyes widened. Just as he was about to approach to investigate, a clump of bushes at the edge of the clearing began to shake violently... Then, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows.

It crawled slowly on the ground, like a wild beast gradually approaching.

Everyone stood there dumbfounded, clearly frightened by the bizarre scene.

Only Hagrid carefully took out his giant crossbow and slowly aimed it at the cloaked figure.

"Whoosh-"

The crossbow bolt left the bowstring and flew swiftly toward the strange figure.

Upon hearing the sound, the cloaked figure immediately looked up, and everyone finally saw it—right beneath the hood, the silvery blood of the unicorn stained the figure's face—he was drinking unicorn blood!

The strange figure suddenly stood up, and the young wizards clearly saw that the arrow shot at him from the air suddenly slowed down and finally turned into a writhing venomous snake, which fell to the ground with a thud.

Chapter 35 A Series of Unexpected Events

That's a wizard!

A thought flashed through everyone's minds.

Moreover, he was a powerful wizard, because they did not see him make any movements, nor did they hear him utter any spells.

This was a standard silent, wandless spellcasting—something they had only seen from the professor before.

The cloaked figure swam quickly toward them, and Hagrid hurriedly cocked his crossbow, but the giant crossbow in his hand just wouldn't obey him.

"Get out of here!" he shouted immediately, turning back to the young wizards.

But everyone was clearly frightened by the dark figure; they stood there, stunned, without moving.

"escape!"

Hagrid roared, finally snapping them out of their daze. Fang was so frightened by the roar that he tucked his tail between his legs and ran away, while Malfoy also turned and fled.

Harry suddenly felt a burning pain in the scar on his forehead, as if a red-hot iron skewer had been plunged into his head, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"What's wrong, Harry!" Hermione noticed his unusual behavior and reached out to support the swaying Harry.

"We have to get out of here, or we'll be a burden to Hagrid!" the little witch said firmly, her mind perfectly clear at that moment.

“No, I don’t think we can leave Hagrid behind…” Ron was terrified, but he was unwilling to leave Hagrid alone.

Harry didn't speak. His vision was blurry, his head was throbbing, and he could barely stand.

Not far away, Hagrid, holding two long arrows, charged headlong into the shadowy figure.

"Sand and stones flying everywhere!"

After a hoarse, low chant, Hagrid's massive body was instantly struck by the spell and flew backward at an even faster speed.

When he got up from the ground again and shook his slightly dizzy head, he found that Harry and the other two were still standing in the same spot.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, his surprise tinged with anger. "Go back to Hogwarts, find Dumbledore, or any of the professors!"

“But Hagrid, Harry… I don’t know what happened, he seems to have been struck by a curse…” Hermione said in a panic.

"what?"

Hagrid asked in surprise, but he realized that now was not the time to pursue these matters. So he immediately turned around and hurled the stone crossbow in his hand at the shadowy figure. Then he reached out and grabbed the little wizard by the collar, lifting them up one by one—the last one was also tucked under his arm. Then he turned and ran.

But when they turned around, they saw a scene that filled them with despair—another figure in a silver-gray cloak was standing behind them, holding a magnificent and bizarre magic wand and pointing it at them.

"Holy Light Expel!"

A pure white light emanated from the tip of the opponent's staff, and Hagrid and his companions instinctively covered their eyes with their hands.

Then, as if nothing had happened, the young wizards were unharmed and looked completely bewildered.

Hagrid examined his body with suspicion and uncertainty, just as that melodious voice came once again from under the silver-grey cloak.

"Ice Blast!"

A massive surge of icy energy condensed in the air, then swiftly swept across the faces of the group, striking the strange shadows moving behind them like cannonballs.

"Boom—"

A powerful explosion rang out in the forest, and the huge impact nearly knocked Hagrid off his feet.

The group of people, stunned by the sight, turned around and realized that the strange figure that had killed the unicorn had vanished without a trace.

The pain from Harry's forehead scar disappeared, and he and the others looked in astonishment at the person in the silver-grey cloak, only to find that the person's hood had also been blown off by the impact of the explosion.

Long, silvery-white hair spilled out from under the hood, and the four people—one adult and three children—exclaimed in unison—it was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that!

At the same time, a centaur emerged from the bushes behind her.

Is he dead?

"No, he escaped!" the woman said expressionlessly.

“Alright…” The centaur walked to the spot where the explosion had occurred and turned over the frost-covered soil with one hoof.

"Leon?" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise.

"Hello, Hagrid, it's been a long time."

“Good? Not good at all, I'm in pain all over…” Hagrid said. “Leon, what are you doing here? What was that just now? And who is this lady?”

“I’m sorry, Hagrid, I can only answer your first question…” the centaur said with a smile, “Not long ago, while I was patrolling in the north, I was ambushed and captured by a group of dark wizards… Later, they sold me to Belgium…”

"A dark wizard?" The group looked in surprise at the witch in the silver-gray cloak beside him.

"She has nothing to do with this..." the centaur said with a smile. "I was rescued from an underground auction in Belgium, and this beautiful lady was commissioned to bring me back, and of course, she was paid in return."

All eyes turned back to her.

“I’m not responsible for collecting payment,” she said, her eyes fixed on the unicorn’s carcass. “My only responsibility is to get you back to England.”

Lyon shrugged and didn't say anything.

"So you are all students of Hogwarts?" the woman suddenly asked the three young wizards.

“Uh…yes, we…” the two boys stammered, unable to speak, “we are…we are indeed students of Hogwarts.”

“We’re in first grade,” Hermione added, feeling somewhat embarrassed by her friend’s performance.

“Thank you, madam, thank you for saving us. To be honest, we misunderstood at first and thought you were in cahoots with that thing…” Hagrid pointed to the large crater created by the explosion.

She nodded without answering, but looked at the three young wizards with renewed interest: "Since you are all students of Hogwarts, do you know Sagrais?"

“You mean Professor Greengrass?” Hermione paused, surprised. “Of course, we know him. His classes are very interesting, and everyone learns a lot from them!”

The woman smiled slightly upon hearing this. Harry and Ron were drawn to the sudden smile and stood there dumbfounded, while Hermione kept rubbing her forehead.

Just as they were speaking, a deeper darkness suddenly approached rapidly from afar, its immense force like the Forbidden Forest twisting its body.

Malfoy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his face filled with terror, and he scrambled to the group's side.

The dark figure was incredibly fast and covered a vast area, causing the forest to rustle as it approached.

Everyone understood that no one could escape before it arrived; it was like a premonition, as if someone was persuading them to give up resistance. So the crowd quietly gathered together, silently awaiting the arrival of the dark shadow.