Kapitel 19: Chapter 23: 1-13: Unicorn
Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
Underlined text taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
A couple of weeks later, Iruka was just leaving dinner one evening when he overheard Hagrid speaking with Headmaster Dumbledore.
"Another one? Are you certain, Hagrid?"
"Saw the fresh blood before I came in fer dinner, Headmaster. I'm gonna see if I can track it down tonight, help it if I can. Don't suppose there's anybody as could give me a hand?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Regrettably, I can't think of anyone on staff that could be spared, and there are no unassigned detentions at present that could be used to give you student helpers."
At this point Iruka butted in. "Excuse me, Hagrid, did I hear you say you needed help with something?"
"Evenin' Professor; sommat's been attacking the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. I found one last Wednesday, dead, and tonight it looks like another's been hurt. Like I was tellin' the Headmaster, was hopin' I could find it an' help it, maybe even figure out what's doin' this. I figure it'll go faster if there's more'n one pair of eyes lookin'."
"Something's attacking unicorns?" Iruka was shocked. "Not only evil enough to hunt them, but fast enough to actually catch them? What could be doing such a thing?"
Hagrid and Dumbledore both frowned. "Alas," the Headmaster replied, "neither of us have any solid ideas in that regard. All we can do at present is investigate, and hope that we can help the poor creature that's been hurt. I don't suppose you might be free this evening?"
"I'd be happy to help, Headmaster. Hagrid, I'll come down to your hut as soon as I've changed into something a bit better suited to the woods." Iruka gestured down at his teaching robes.
"Smart thinkin' - robes'd be a nightmare in the forest, tanglin' up an' catchin' on everythin'. I'll see yeh in a bit, then."
˄
-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-
˅
It was surprising how odd it felt to Iruka to be walking openly in his full uniform. Then again, he mused, it had been nearly fifteen years since his last field assignment, so knowingly walking out for what would have easily qualified as at least a C- or B-rank mission back home did feel a bit odd. He did feel a bit tense, not knowing if he might encounter the mysterious predator, nor how dangerous it might be. On the plus side, it was reassuring that he'd stepped up his training after the Quidditch incident; knowing that he might be called upon to protect his students again, he would need to be at the top of his game. He wouldn't be up to fighting a jounin any time soon, but he was still in the best shape he'd been in for at least a decade.
Hagrid approached, carrying a lantern in one hand and a large crossbow in the other, with a quiver full of bolts at his left hip and his dog Fang at his heels. "This way, Professor. Saw the blood earlier, near the edge of the Forest."
As the large gamekeeper led Iruka towards the trees, the chuunin saw silvery drops glistening on the forest floor. "There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least. We're gonna have ter split up; Fang can go with yeh if yeh want help."
"That's all right, Hagrid; the name of my home, Konohagakure, translates as 'Village Hidden in the Leaves' - it's in the middle of a large, dense forest. I've been handling myself in the woods since I was little."
"Righ' then, I'll head off this way, you follow the trail over that way. Send up red sparks if yeh get in trouble, green if yeh find the unicorn." Hagrid looked a bit sheepish. "If I happen ter do either m'self, I'd be thankful if yeh didn't mention it ter anyone."
Iruka nodded, and the two set off into the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's lantern quickly vanishing among the dense trees. After a few moments to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, the Leaf ninja continued in. The trees were shorter and closer together than in the forests around Konoha, with more undergrowth and a denser canopy that left the forest dark enough that only someone accustomed to working in such conditions (or trained for it) would be able to function without light. Overall, the forest gave off a somewhat ominous, forbidding vibe, but nothing too bad to someone who'd dealt with Training Ground 44. It did keep Iruka on edge, though, especially given how little he heard of the expected noises of a nighttime forest.
The silence was broken after a time by the sound of approaching hoofbeats, though whatever was coming was remarkably quiet for what sounded like a heavy draft horse. While what emerged from the brush was partly horse, the human-like torso where the horse's neck would normally be marked him as a centaur. He carried a bow, with a quiver of arrows hung from his shoulder, and had pale blond hair and eyes of a bright enough blue to be visible even in the forest gloom. The centaur eyed Iruka with an appraising gaze, clearly trying to take his measure.
Iruka decided to break the silence first. "Good evening; I'm Iruka, Umino Iruka. I teach up at the castle. I'm here helping Hagrid look for the injured unicorn, hopefully to help it or at least figure out what's been attacking them. Have you seen anything that might help?"
"I am Firenze." The centaur gazed upwards, through a break in the canopy. "Mars is bright tonight."
After a bit of silence, Iruka spoke again. "I'm afraid I don't know enough to interpret that. Can you help me find the unicorn, please? It's hurt, possibly badly, and the sooner we find it the better its chances."
Firenze looked at him again, clearly deep in thought. "I will accompany you. Nothing good would so harm a unicorn, and I would not have such foulness in my home."
Iruka nodded and returned to following the wounded unicorn's trail, Firenze following close behind. After a few minutes, the centaur spoke again, though he kept his voice low. "Your steps are sure, yet silent; you know forests well, and you know how to respect them."
"My home is surrounded by forests, and my people spend a lot of time in them." Iruka replied
"Your home..." Firenze looked skyward again, pondering. "It is curious how little the stars speak of you, only as you touch others. Your home must be far away indeed if you were not born beneath these stars."
Iruka clamped down on his reaction of surprise at this; he was definitely going to have to read up on centaurs later.
"There are very few reasons to attack a unicorn, none of them good." The centaur changed topic abruptly. "Umino Iruka, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" Iruka shook his head, and was given a brief lecture on the monstrous act of drinking unicorn blood.
"Such a curse," Iruka said solemnly, "I think I'd rather die than live such a life. I've heard of people going to monstrous lengths to escape death, but even they generally didn't suffer such consequences. Whatever or whoever is doing this must be horrifyingly desperate if they're willing to endure a curse like that just to stay alive."
"Perhaps," Firenze replied, "or perhaps it is only a stopgap measure; perhaps they are merely stealing enough time to last until they get what they truly want."
A chill ran down Iruka's spine. "Such as something that would restore them fully, perhaps?"
"Perhaps. It is certainly curious that this is happening so close to Hogwarts while the castle hosts such a powerful treasure, is it not?"
Iruka nodded grimly. He'd noticed Quirrell getting increasingly pale and shaky over the past few weeks, but had put it down to stress and fear of discovery, but what if it wasn't? What if Quirrell was dying? On the plus side, they might be able to simply wait out the clock and resolve the situation that way, but with unicorn blood involved, that might not work as well. Besides, fear of death could make a man desperate enough to go to extreme lengths, and it would only add fuel to the fire if his salvation would also lift a horrible curse.
Human and centaur walked in thoughtful silence, following the trail, until eventually they came to a clearing. There, sprawled painfully on the ground, a wounded unicorn shone brilliant white in the moonlight. Iruka could see it breathing, but from how labored those breaths were, it was in a bad way. Drawing his wand, he shot green sparks skyward before turning to Firenze. "Do you know if wizarding healing spells will work on a unicorn?" he asked urgently.
Firenze frowned in contemplation. "It may or it may not, but healing magics, cast with good intent, should be safe. There should be no harm in trying, at the least."
That was good enough. With a nod to Firenze, Iruka moved over to the beautiful beast, and immediately began making use of what he'd learned from Madam Pomfrey. The basic healing charms had almost no effect, though he had no idea whether due to the nonhuman patient or dark magic used to inflict the wounds. Pulling a storage scroll from his vest, he quickly unsealed his medical kit. His first stop was a bottle of Essence of Dittany, which he began applying to the unicorn's most serious wounds; a plume of greenish smoke heralded their partial closure. After some specialized wound-cleaning charms, he then proceeded to begin bandaging the unicorn as best he could. Firenze, seeing this, came and helped by lifting the head or whatever leg Iruka was working on so that he could wrap the bandages properly.
Several minutes of diligent first-aid later, Hagrid pushed his way into the clearing. "Dittany helped some," Iruka reported immediately, "but not completely. I'm hesitant to administer anything else without knowing how a unicorn's system would react to a potion meant for humans."
"Long as it's not Dark or poisoned, it shouldn't do any harm. I reckon healin' potions'd probably work all right, though it migh' take a bigger dose on account o' bein' bigger'n a human." Hagrid had by this point come over to join Iruka and Firenze in tending to the downed unicorn.
Nodding to the gamekeeper, Iruka pulled out two phials of blood-replenishing potion and used a specialized charm (apparently based on Switching and Vanishing spells) to send their contents directly into his patient's stomach. After a few seconds, the unicorn's breathing grew stronger and steadier, and its eye slid open.
Hagrid was there in an instant, gently stroking the beast's neck and crooning soothing words of calm and comfort. Slowly, carefully, he helped the unicorn rise unsteadily to its feet. Iruka made sure to back away, knowing that his shinobi career would most likely make him repellant to a creature so sensitive to purity and innocence. He watched as the gamekeeper and centaur steadied their patient, while continuing to tend it as best they could. Slowly, its steps became firmer, its gait steadier; its strength was clearly starting to return.
A few minutes later, Firenze made his way over to Iruka. "The unicorn will recover, though it will take time. I assume you can make your way back to the castle on your own?" Iruka nodded. "Then you should do so. Hagrid and I will lead this one back to its herd; they will keep it safe as it heals. Safe journeys, teacher of the prophesied child."
He really needed to read up on centaurs.
˄
-――――===ͽ ˂ O ˃ ͼ===――――-
˅
The next morning, at the earliest opportunity, Iruka paid another visit to the Headmaster's office.
"We may have a serious problem," he stated after refusing Dumbledore's customary offer of candy. "A centaur I spoke to last night while helping Hagrid suggested that the attacks on unicorns have been for the sake of drinking their blood. If Quirrell is responsible, and his sickly appearance lately makes that more plausible, that means that he's getting really desperate for the Stone, and specifically for the Elixir of Life. If he just wanted the Stone for money, it wouldn't be as bad, but if he's so desperate to escape death that he's willing to drink unicorn blood, there's a much higher chance that whatever plan he comes up with will seriously endanger or harm the students. If he's pushed far enough, it might even lead him to take children hostage, demanding the Elixir in exchange for their lives."
Headmaster Dumbledore looked solemn. "Troubling news indeed. We shall have to redouble both our vigilance for the students' sake and our efforts to expose Quirinus as the villain in this case. I am curious if you've any ideas in either regard?"
Iruka nodded. "First and foremost, we need some contingency plans. Make our best guesses as to what Quirrell might try, and prepare as best we can to counter him or at least keep the students out of harm's way. I've thought about such things a bit over the last few months, but I can only do so much with my limited knowledge of both magic and Quirrell."
"True, very true. Then again, I clearly didn't know Quirinus as well as I thought; before this year, I would never have believed him capable of such foul deeds. We must get him away from the students, and the sooner the better. The question is how..."
Both men descended into thoughtful silence for several moments, before the Headmaster spoke again. "Perhaps, if we were to lay a trap?"
"What are you suggesting, sir?"
"If Quirinus were to be presented with a clear window of opportunity, his desperation would likely compel him to make an attempt on the Stone. While most of the obstacles in place could be overcome by a sufficiently capable individual, I am confident that the final protection is nigh-impregnable. Driven by his need, Quirinus would strive to obtain the Stone, and in so doing would commit provable wrongdoing, allowing us to finally move against him. At the same time, he would undoubtedly be frustrated in his efforts. The gauntlet of protections is windowless, to prevent a thief from simply bypassing a portion of it, but in this case it could also serve to hide any clear signs of the passage of time..."
"He could work at it for hours, maybe, without realizing it." Iruka completed the thought.
"Precisely! And even were he to somehow obtain the Stone, Quirinus would still need to leave again, and would be doing so with stolen property in his possession, again giving due cause to remove him from the castle."
After discussion and refinement, the two agreed on a plan: Headmaster Dumbledore would leave the castle, stating urgent business at the Ministry that would require him to stay overnight in London. Iruka, meanwhile, would conceal himself near the entrance to the forbidden corridor and keep watch. When Quirrell made his move, the chuunin wouldn't act as long as the turbaned teacher was alone; any company would be either an accomplice, a dupe, or a hostage, and either of the latter two would need action to ensure their safety. He would only act to protect innocent victims, or to stop Quirrell if he tried to leave again. An hour or so after curfew, the Headmaster would return to the castle and hopefully catch Quirrell red-handed.
With luck, Quirrell would be gone within a week.
A/N: Iruka should really know better than to taunt Murphy like that, even in his head...
To guest reviewer "Snd": I will confirm only that Naruto has indeed tasked people with figuring out what happened to Iruka and finding a way to contact/retrieve him.
I've decided to, with each posting or update, also state what chapter I'm currently working on. The idea is both to reassure my readers that there's plenty of content already written and to demonstrate over time how variable my writing output gets (which is a big part of why I keep a large buffer).
Fic Recommendation: "Why Kakashi Should Never Read Out Loud" by the lord of the land of fire - A series of short, mostly-unconnected chapters of various bits of wackiness and hilarity.
Posted 14 January 2018
Current WIP Chapter: 51
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein