Hagrid's secret, in the end, could not remain hidden.
The baby Norwegian Ridgeback he had been secretly raising—Norbert—had grown rapidly. Along with his size came an increasingly violent temper.
Eventually, during one unfortunate incident, Draco Malfoy caught undeniable evidence.
To help their kind-hearted but often unreliable friend Hagrid, Harry, Ron, and Hermione devised a careful plan.
They would secretly send Norbert away in the middle of the night.
However, after successfully delivering the little dragon to the highest Astronomy Tower in the castle, they ran into trouble while returning.
Right in the corridor, they collided with a gloating Malfoy—along with Professor McGonagall, who had arrived after being tipped off.
The punishment came swiftly.
"…Sneaking into restricted areas and violating school rules. Fifty points will be deducted from each of you!"
Professor McGonagall's voice echoed sharply through the empty corridor.
"And as punishment, the four of you will accompany Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest tonight!"
"Four of us?" Harry froze.
He noticed that Malfoy—who should have been the informant—was also standing there with the exact same expression of shock, confusion, and frustration.
Just then, a calm figure walked slowly down the corridor from the opposite end.
"Ah, Lucian. Good timing."
When Professor McGonagall saw him, even her usually stern face showed a trace of headache.
"The suit of armor you destroyed—I've already asked Mr. Filch to repair it."
"As punishment, you'll come along as well."
Lucian?
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy all stared at him in disbelief.
He… got punished too?
"Professor," Hermione asked softly, unable to hold back her curiosity, "what exactly did Lucian do?"
Professor McGonagall rubbed her temples and replied in a tone mixed with helplessness—and a hint of awe she herself didn't notice.
"While conducting personal magical research, Mr. Thornwick miscalculated the power of a certain… 'explosive' spell."
"He accidentally blasted the full plate armor of the centaur statue at the end of the corridor into pieces."
Silence fell instantly.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Malfoy stared at Lucian like he was some kind of monster.
Explosive magic?
What terrifying things was this guy studying every day?
Being on the same mission as him suddenly felt… slightly dangerous.
Near midnight, the edge of the Forbidden Forest was as dark as spilled ink.
Towering ancient trees loomed like monstrous giants, blocking nearly all the moonlight.
Cold, damp air filled with the scent of rotting leaves and soil seeped out from deep within the forest, sending chills down one's spine.
Occasionally, distant howls from unknown creatures echoed through the darkness, making the forest feel even more ominous.
"Alright, we'll have to split up."
Hagrid held up his dim lantern, his voice low and serious.
"Something's not right in the forest lately. Something's been attacking unicorns."
"We've got to find the injured one and help it."
In the end, they split into three groups.
Hermione and Ron stayed with Hagrid.
Harry ended up with Malfoy—whose face was already pale with fear—and Fang, the large hunting dog who kept whining nervously.
As for Lucian, he simply gave Hagrid a calm nod.
Then he walked off alone.
Silently disappearing into the bottomless darkness of the forest—like he was the true master of the Forbidden Forest.
Harry and Malfoy's group quickly became suffocatingly tense.
Malfoy jumped at every small rustle, constantly letting out suppressed yelps that irritated Harry to no end.
As they ventured deeper into the forest—until even the faint glow of Hagrid's lantern was nearly out of sight—Harry suddenly stopped.
Ahead of him, on the leaves of a cluster of ferns, he saw something glimmering faintly in the darkness.
Silvery liquid.
Unicorn blood.
Following the trail carefully, Harry pushed aside branches and stepped into a small clearing barely illuminated by moonlight.
Then he saw it.
A scene so horrifying that his blood seemed to freeze in his veins.
A beautiful unicorn lay on the ground, its body glowing faintly with sacred silver light.
It was sprawled in a pool of blood, barely alive.
And crouched over it—
Was a tall, cloaked figure.
A mysterious black silhouette whose face could not be seen beneath the hood.
Like a greedy vampire, the figure had buried its face deep into the unicorn's wound—
Drinking.
Drinking the flowing silver blood.
A pure, overwhelming aura of evil radiated from the figure.
Where it spread, even the surrounding plants seemed to wither instantly.
"AAAH—!"
Beside Harry, Malfoy finally lost control.
Unable to contain the sheer terror flooding his heart, he let out a shrill scream—
One that tore through the deadly silence of the Forbidden Forest.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/DevilWarden