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40.19% Return of Salazar Slytherin / Chapter 84: 84- Daphne the blood collector

Chapter 84: 84- Daphne the blood collector

Hagrid, accompanied by his dog Fang and three little friends, led them into the Forbidden Forest. After they disappeared into the woods, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows near Hagrid's hut.

Rhys watched the group of four humans and one dog from a distance, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Minerva McGonagall had some nerve sending first-year students into the Forbidden Forest.

Even a thousand years ago, such a move would have been incredibly bold. First-year students were not equipped to handle the various dangers lurking in the Forbidden Forest.

However, with Hagrid, an experienced gamekeeper, accompanying them, it was unlikely that anything too serious would happen.

Rhys cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and quietly followed them. After all, it was the Forbidden Forest—they needed someone to watch over them to prevent any accidents.

Additionally, this would give him an opportunity to observe Daphne's performance in the forest and evaluate her abilities.

Daphne maintained a calm exterior, but her heart was racing with anxiety.

Unlike the clueless Harry and the straightforward Ron, she was well aware of the risks involved in venturing into the Forbidden Forest.

Rhys had often told her stories about the four founders of Hogwarts and their efforts to clear the Forbidden Forest when they first established the school.

This vast forest, adjacent to the natural water source of the Black Lake, was a haven for magical creatures.

Although Hogwarts was situated on a cliff, it was not geographically isolated from the Forbidden Forest.

So why had no magical creatures ventured from the forest into the Hogwarts castle over the past thousand years?

The answer was that all magical creatures bold enough to attempt such a move had been eradicated by the four founders and their students.

Not only were the aggressively territorial magical creatures eliminated, but also those with a strong territorial instinct that could pose a threat to the castle were killed.

Even intelligent beings were not exempt from this purge: the goblin tribes at the edge of the Forbidden Forest were exterminated by Slytherin, Ravenclaw destroyed the merpeople kingdom in the Black Lake, and Hufflepuff eradicated the werewolves near the castle.

Only the centaur tribe was somewhat fortunate, as they encountered Gryffindor, who, after a few duels, made them swear never to step out of the Forbidden Forest proactively.

Thanks to the founders' efforts, Hogwarts Castle had remained peaceful for a thousand years.

As the saying goes, a single preemptive strike can prevent a hundred retaliatory blows. In this case, the founders didn't just deliver one preemptive strike; they cut off all potential threats in the vicinity.

However, they deliberately left some less dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest to provide a training ground for students.

Daphne's concern was precisely about these retained creatures. Now, it seemed that a powerful magical creature capable of killing unicorns was on the loose in the Forbidden Forest. Facing such a creature, she had to be on high alert.

"Fred and George always said they sneaked into the Forbidden Forest to play. Now I can say I've been to the Forbidden Forest too," Ron said proudly to Harry.

In the future, when Fred and George bragged, Ron could puff out his chest and claim he had also been there and that it wasn't a big deal.

Hearing Ron's words, Hagrid couldn't help but snort: those Weasley twins had indeed caused him quite a bit of trouble. Hagrid had spent a lot of effort to chase the twins out of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry felt somewhat helpless, not understanding why Ron would mention this in front of Hagrid. If it weren't for Hagrid's good relationship with them, he might have lost his temper by now.

"You know, it's said that there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, along with all sorts of other magical creatures—Hogwarts sometimes claims that students transfer schools, but actually, it's rumored that every one of them had mentioned wanting to venture into the Forbidden Forest to their friends," Daphne said with a hint of melancholy.

Most of what Daphne said was made up.

Hagrid raised an eyebrow. It was the perfect moment to announce the "little surprise" he had prepared for Ron.

"What?! We're splitting up?!" Ron was stunned upon hearing Hagrid's plan.

It took him about a minute to process this information before he stammered, "But, splitting up could be risky, right?"

Hagrid chuckled.

"This is a detention, Ron. It's meant to punish us," Daphne sighed.

In the end, Hagrid decided that he and Ron would go one way, while Harry, Daphne, and the hunting dog Fang would go another way.

This arrangement satisfied everyone present, including Rhys, who was trailing the group.

He thought this was the safest way to split the group. If Daphne had been paired with Hagrid, he would have had to follow Harry and Ron instead.

"Alright, if anyone finds the unicorn, shoot green sparks with your wand. If anyone gets into trouble, shoot red sparks, and we'll come find you. Be careful, everyone—let's go." With a wave of his large hand, Hagrid set the Forbidden Forest group into two teams.

Harry and Daphne walked quietly along the dark path, with the faint glow of their wand tips and the moonlight illuminating their way.

Finding the light from the Lumos charm too dim, Daphne extinguished it and instead summoned a small ball of fire, similar to what Rhys had shown her.

"It's brighter and warmer," she explained succinctly.

Harry had no objections.

As they ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest, they both stopped simultaneously: a beam of moonlight shone through the branches, illuminating a patch of silvery-blue blood on the grass.

"Is that...?" Harry hesitated.

"Unicorn blood," Daphne said with certainty, having learned about this magical substance from Rhys.

"What kind of creature would attack a unicorn? Is it the werewolf you mentioned?"

Daphne shook her head. "I made that up to scare Ron. Werewolves are mostly like ordinary wizards, except during the full moon when they transform. And it's not a full moon tonight. Even if it were, why would a werewolf attack a unicorn?"

"Plus, unicorns are intelligent creatures and have very powerful magic... Whatever can injure or kill a unicorn is not something to be taken lightly."

After hearing what Daphne said, Harry felt goose bumps all over his body.

"Let's, let's go quickly." He couldn't help but urge her, but Daphne not only didn't move, but squatted down in front of the bloodstain.

Under Harry's puzzled gaze, she pointed her wand at the bloodstain and patiently used magic to "extract" it from the bushes.

The silver-blue blood floated in the air, giving people a metallic texture. After completing this operation, Daphne took out a crystal bottle from her arms and put the blood in it.

After collecting the blood smoothly, Daphne carefully sealed the mouth of the crystal bottle with a stopper, and then put the bottle back into the pocket lining of her robe.

_______

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Chapter 85: 85- The Battle in the Forbidden Forest

Harry felt his mind struggling to keep up.

After Daphne put away the crystal vial and took a few steps forward, he finally snapped out of his daze and caught up to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Daphne gave him a strange look. "This is unicorn blood. It's very precious and rarely seen. Now that we have the chance, of course we should collect some."

Perhaps sensing Harry might want to follow her lead, she added, "Unicorn blood obtained through hunting carries a terrible curse. Drinking it is a heinous crime, and those who do will be forever cursed."

Harry suddenly understood. "So, because you didn't hurt the unicorn, you can use this blood without being affected by the curse, right?"

Daphne paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"When a unicorn is harmed, the curse seeps into its blood. So, the blood in that vial is already cursed, regardless of who hunted the unicorn."

"Then why..."

"There are ways to remove the curse, but they're very complicated." With that, Daphne refused to say more. Harry figured it must involve some secret method passed down in the Greengrass family.

He couldn't help but feel a bit envious. Daphne was about the same age as him, yet she knew so much more and had mastered advanced magic far beyond their peers.

'Is this the depth of a pure-blood family?'

Harry instinctively attributed Daphne's success to her privileged background, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

After all, not all pure-blood students were as exceptional as she was. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were perfect examples, even his friend Ron and Hufflepuff's Neville Longbottom.

They all came from pure-blood families but weren't any different from him, a wizard raised in a Muggle family.

Some, like Crabbe and Goyle, might even be worse off, with their "pure" bloodline potentially linked to trolls.

After explaining her reasons for collecting the blood, Daphne and Harry continued deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

The bloodstains grew thicker as they went, and Daphne's movements became more skillful, allowing her to collect the blood into the vial as they walked.

"What spell is that? Professor Flitwick never taught us anything like it," Harry said, his eyes filled with envy.

Honestly, he wanted to learn it too, though he wasn't sure if Daphne would be willing to teach him.

"It's not a spell," Daphne explained. She wasn't using any incantation but was simply manipulating her magic to gather the unicorn blood from various spots.

This highlighted a key difference between ancient and modern wizards. Ancient wizards did have spells, but they focused more on the flow of magic during casting. Modern wizards, on the other hand, emphasized the precise pronunciation of spells and hand movements.

As a wizard trained by Rhys, Daphne's casting style resembled that of a sorcerer from a thousand years ago.

"Not good," Daphne muttered, stopping in front of a large bloodstain.

The spread of the blood indicated that the injured unicorn had stayed here for some time, showing its strength was nearly depleted. Considering the freshness of the blood, Daphne believed they were close to finding it.

"Get ready to shoot the green sparks," she instructed Harry, but secretly she tightened her grip on her wand.

The injured unicorn was nearby, so the creature that attacked it couldn't be far either.

After walking a few more steps, an open clearing appeared before them. Daphne didn't enter it right away; she stopped in the shadow of the trees and held out her arm to stop Harry as well.

They saw a white form lying on its side in the clearing, its fur glistening in the moonlight. It was the unicorn they were searching for, but it was already dead.

The dead unicorn, bathed in moonlight, created a beautiful yet tragic scene. Its long legs were positioned as if it had fallen, its mane spread over the dark leaves, with pearl-like drops of blood scattered around.

Suddenly, Daphne yanked Harry to the side, narrowly avoiding a spell that flew past them.

The misfired spell hit a nearby tree, shattering its trunk. A hooded figure emerged from the shadows of the forest, moving in a strange, almost crawling manner.

"Send up the sparks!" Daphne shouted. She cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself while activating the defensive magic stored in her necklace to protect Harry.

Her form quickly vanished from sight, while Harry stood frozen, clutching his forehead instead of sending up the sparks as planned.

The appearance of the hooded figure had sent a piercing pain through his head, making his scar feel as if it were on fire. The pain blurred his vision, causing him to stumble backward.

Daphne couldn't worry about that now. Under the cover of her Disillusionment Charm, she rose into the air and launched a counterattack against the hooded figure.

A spell shot down from above, but the hooded figure quickly cast a Shield Charm to deflect it. At the same time, the tip of its wand produced a black rope that fell to the ground, transforming into black beads which then morphed into sharp black spikes aimed at the source of the attacking spell.

All the black spikes missed their mark because Daphne had already changed her position after casting her spell. She lightly landed on the ground, her wand pointed at the hooded figure.

It was as if the hooded figure could see through her Disillusionment Charm. As soon as Daphne's wand pointed towards it, it turned and conjured a shield in mid-air.

The ground beneath its feet rippled like liquid, forming a defensive earthen wall beneath the shield.

In the next moment, the shield shattered with a thunderous explosion as a powerful spell struck it, tearing it apart and slicing through the wall behind it.

The weakened spell continued through the defenses, hurtling towards the astonished hooded figure. In a desperate attempt to dodge, it twisted its body, but the spell still struck its right arm.

The spell severed the arm cleanly, causing it to fall to the ground with a smooth, mirror-like surface where the arm had been.

As the attack spell broke through its defense, the blood of the unicorn scattered on the ground seemed to be reborn, and shot towards the hooded man like bullets - this was Daphne's attack.

The powerful attack spell just now was the spell stored in Daphne's necklace, and these dozen blood bullets were her real killer move.

Daphne's original plan was to use the attack magic in the necklace to attract the hooded man's attention, and then take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack with the unicorn's blood.

However, the power of the attack magic that Rhys left for her exceeded her expectations, and the feint attack turned into the main attack.

Bullets made of blood hit the hooded man, splashing a few blood flowers. After being injured many times, it no longer wanted to tangle here.

With a bang, a thick black fog emerged from the open space. When the fog dissipated, the hooded man had disappeared, and even the broken arm that fell on the ground disappeared.

_______

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