บท 22: Blood Moon
"I can't believe I've been punished too!" Draco Malfoy protested as he followed the repellent Gryffindors out of the castle, guided by the equally repellent Filch.
And of all places, they were going to serve their punishment in the Forbidden Forest, where students are NOT supposed to enter under any circumstances.
What kind of twisted logic is this?
"In my time, we used to hang students by their thumbs," recounted the caretaker as he advanced with his new favorite lantern lit to illuminate the path. "Good times. Now everything is too permissive, and look at you, you don't learn your lesson."
Filch's diatribe continued as they moved forward until they reached Hagrid, who was armed with a huge crossbow and had Fang by his side.
"That's all, thanks, Filch," Hagrid nodded.
"Alright," Filch nodded indifferently. "Remind the boy that I'm still waiting for the special polish for the lantern."
Without giving a second glance to the punished students, he turned to head back to the castle and patrol the corridors.
Something told him the twins were planning a prank tonight!
"Did Filch just be kind?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go," Hagrid hurried the group towards the dark trees that seemed to block the moonlight and cast large shadows over them.
"Hagrid, what exactly are we doing here?" Harry asked, looking with little confidence at the large black dog trembling beside him.
"Unicorns!" Hagrid emphasized the key word of the night as he approached a bush and picked what looked like liquid silver from a branch with his fingers. "I found another dead one a few weeks ago. Someone is hunting them and it seems there's another injured one, so we'll have to split up and search."
"Wait, you're saying we have to split up?" Draco paled at the news. "I'll go with the dog!" he demanded, thinking the animal could protect him better than a half-giant armed with an oversized crossbow and bolts the size of his arm.
"Do what you want, but I warn you, he's a coward," Hagrid knew Fang's character; his bark could serve as an alarm. "Hmm, Ron and Hermione, you're with me. Harry, you're with Malfoy."
"I don't want to go with Potter!"
"You can go back to the castle… if you dare," Hagrid gestured with his open hand, indicating the direction they came from, where the castle was no longer visible.
"I'll tolerate it this time," Malfoy made a face as if he had swallowed a fly, but still tried to appear strong despite his fear.
Draco was going to tell his father about the unprofessionalism of Hogwarts' punishments when he returned to the safety of the castle walls!
Harry wasn't very happy to have Draco as a partner either, but he accepted the decision better. He had to wander while Draco held a lantern to light the way and wondered…
Why are they using a lantern when they knew how to cast Lumos? So strange…
He was soon pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of slurping, and following it, Fang, Draco, and Harry saw a hooded figure crouched beside a collapsed white horse.
No, wait, wasn't that the unicorn Hagrid was looking for?
A sudden itch on his forehead made him react, but Draco and Fang ran away scared, leaving him behind. The figure approached Harry as if levitating, while Harry stumbled over the roots as he retreated and fell on his backside.
Was this his end?
The figure seemed pleased, and when it extended a hand, a flock of ravens swooped down from the mist and attacked it mercilessly, pecking, clawing, and feathers flying everywhere.
Harry didn't understand what happened, especially when a pack of white wolves seemed to appear out of nowhere and pounced on the hooded figure. The figure, apparently thinking it was too much, decided to retreat forcefully rather than face the pack of wolves and the flock of ravens.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
"Barnaby!" Harry turned around and felt relieved to see Hagrid's son holding a strange axe over his shoulder, carrying logs in a basket on his back. "What are you doing here?"
Barnaby approached Harry and helped him up while checking that he wasn't injured.
"I thought it was evident by my appearance," he said, pointing to the axe and the basket. "I'm collecting some wood to make a barrel. Actually, that should be my question. Shouldn't you be serving detention?" Seeing that Harry was safe, he looked around. "You're lucky I ran into Firenze on the way and heard Fang."
"Who is Firenze?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Barnaby gestured to his right, where a person… with horse legs? emerged.
"Harry Potter, you shouldn't be here. There are many more creatures than you think in this forest," spoke the centaur as he stopped side by side with Barnaby. "The forest is not safe at the moment, especially for you."
"I… what the hell was that thing?" Harry had many questions now, but that was the most urgent one to answer.
"A monstrous creature," replied Firenze as he watched Barnaby approach the unicorn's body.
"It's a terrible crime to kill a creature like a unicorn," the redhead commented as he moved his hands to close the equine's terror-opened eyes.
"Drinking its blood can bring you back to life even if you're only a breath away from death, but that state can't be considered life anymore," Firenze continued. "For the price of killing something so pure, you only get half a life, a cursed life."
"Who would want a life like that?" Harry asked, not quite understanding it, but sure he wouldn't want something like that.
"Can't you think of anyone?" Firenze asked.
"You mean… that thing was Voldemort?"
"Do you know what's hidden within the walls of Hogwarts?"
"The Philosopher's Stone!" Harry felt everything made sense suddenly, ignoring the grimace Barnaby made when he heard it.
The sound of footsteps approached, and Hagrid arrived with Fang, Draco, Hermione, and Ron.
"Oh, hello, Firenze. I see you've already met Harry," Hagrid greeted, lowering the crossbow. "Everything alright, Harry?"
Harry nodded, and after Firenze's farewell, Hagrid noticed Barnaby's presence next to the dead unicorn.
"Dad, I'll take care of it from here," Barnaby shook his head. "It'd be better if you escorted them safely back to the castle."
"Alright, be careful," Hagrid didn't know if the unicorn's killer was still nearby, but at least he knew Barnaby wouldn't be an easy target for anyone.
Once everyone left and Barnaby was alone, he looked to his side, where some ravens converged to form smoke from which a strange creature emerged silently, bowing its deer-skull head while its tree-like body remained upright.
"It's not your fault," Barnaby spoke, waving his hand as his gaze returned to the dead unicorn. "Make sure it gets a proper burial, I won't let those damned spiders have the slightest chance to feed on it."
The leshen pointed to a specific part of the forest, asking a silent question.
"Yes, the hunt for Acromantulas must come to an end," Barnaby's expression was covered by the shadows of the trees, but even there, his eyes glowed with magical power. "It seems tonight the Forbidden Forest will spill more blood 'for the greater good.'"
He looked up and turned his head to the right to look at a thick tree trunk.
"Don't you agree, Firenze?"
The centaur, who seemed to have left, stepped out slowly, looking at Barnaby and the strange creature that had been helping his people hunt those dark creatures. He nodded solemnly.
That night Mars shone brightly, almost like a blood moon.
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