When at last they entered the forest, the night was getting colder with each passing hour. The breeze ruffled their hair as they followed the winding dirt path that snakes and disappeared through the trees.
After a few minutes, the biggest and almost only source of light is the lantern Hagridloaded on top. Even moonlight couldn't seep through the treetops enough to make any difference.
"Look over there, see the shiny thing on the floor?" Hagrid asks, pointing to the base of a tree, making the four students look at the spot. "Silver?" It's unicorn blood. There's one seriously injured by something. It's the second time this week. I found a dead one on Wednesday. Let's try to find the poor thing.
Hagrid means it seriously as if it's normal to say that to four kids in their first year at school. Harry was internally alarmed at the idea that something was hunting unicorns and now he had to look for it.
He glanced at Hermione, and the girl looked back. If he could guess what she was thinking, it would be something like:
"Don't count on me again Hagrid". And as much as Harrylike of Hagrid, it was he who changed his life, and brought him out of the terror at the Dursley household, and he will be forever grateful for that.
But he never wanted to put his life on the line like that. It didn't take an adult to know that it's a terrible idea to go hunting something that is KILLING unicorns.
"What if the thing that hurt the unicorns finds us first?" Malfoy asked, unable to hide his fear.
Unfortunately, Harry sympathized with that, only once would he agree with Malfoy. Never again, never out loud.
"There isn't a creature alive in these woods that will hurt you if you're with me or Fang. And follow the trail. Alright, now let's split into two groups.
Hermione stared at Harry with wide eyes for a moment, Hagrid didn't notice as he continued to talk.
"And follow the trail in opposite directions. There's blood everywhere, he must have been staggering around since last night.
"I want Fang," said Malfoy hastily.
"Very well, but I'm going to you a warning, he's a coward. So me, Harry, and Hermione go this way" he pointed to one side "Draco, Neville, and Fang over there. Now if you find the unicorn, we shoot sparks green upwards. OK? If something goes wrong, shoot red sparks and we'll look for him. Let's go."
The groups split up.
For a few minutes of walking the three were silent, while tracking the blood.
"Do you think a werewolf did this?" Harry asked.
"Not so quickly, unicorns are very strong creatures, hurting and killing them is not easy."
They continued walking, following the path that zigzagged through the dirt path and the trees.Harry can hear the sound of running water from a nearby stream.
Hagrid grabbed Harry and Hermione by their robes, pulling them off the path and pushing them behind a tree into the darkness. The two could no longer see anything but the silhouette of Hagrid pulling an arrow, drawing the bow ready to shoot. They strained their ears, but all they could hear was the wind, until the sound of something slithering through the dead leaves nearby reached their ears, like a cape dragging across the ground.
They remained silent as Hagrid squinted to get a better look at the mysterious figure. It took several seconds for the noises to disappear.
"I knew it," the half-giant murmured. "Something's out of place."
"A werewolf? suggested Harry.
"That wasn't a werewolf," said Hagrid seriously, "nor a unicorn." All right, follow me, but be careful.
They continued to walk in silence, attentive to everything around them. When they reached a clearing, they saw something moving.
When the children were already terrified, the creature revealed itself. A centaur, Ronan. A friend of Hagrid's.
The next thing the two minor Gryffindors learned was that centaurs are so completely adept at astrology, that they didn't mean things when asked for information. This was only reinforced when a second centaur, Omen, appeared.
"Hagrid! Look!" said Hermione, grabbing the man's arm and pointing to the sky "Red sparks!"
"You two wait here," called Hagrid, "stay on the path, I'll come back for you."
Then the man shoots in the direction of the sparks.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Harry asked, still standing.
"Something is killing unicorns Harry," she said with a huff, but the fear was still clear in her tone, "being in this forest is a bad idea. Do you think they are hurt?
"I don't care about Malfoy, but if something got Neville," he says worriedly, "it's our fault he's here.
The minutes dragged by like hours, his ears more acute than usual. Harry registered every sigh of wind, every twig that snapped. Finally, a great noise in the weeds, which lifted Harry and Hermione's souls out of their bodies for a second, announced Hagrid's return. Neville and Malfoy with Fang accompanied him. Hagrid looked annoyed. The two Gryffindors discovered that it was because Malfoy tripped and caught hold of Neville, who in turn was startled and sent sparks flying.
"Let's switch groups," Hagrid said, still angrily. "Neville and Hermione come with me." Malfoy and Harry with Fang.
Harry would have preferred that detention was just over, but he left the complaints to Malfoy.The pair walked for half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the trail became impassable as the trees grew too close together.
"Look..." Harry says, grabbing Draco's arm.
Something very white gleamed on the floor. They moved closer, cautiously.
It was a unicorn and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and so sad. The brunette took a step forward, but a slithering sound made him freeze in place. A thicket shuddered at the edge of the clearing. Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure crept along the ground with a hunting beast. The children and the dog were paralyzed. The figure approached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's flank, and began to drink blood.
Malfoy's scream was terrible as he ran away being followed by Fang. The figure raised its head and looked directly at Harry, silvery blood trickling down his chest. It scrambled to its feet and lunged at Harry, who was still frozen with fear.
Then a pain he'd never felt before shot through his head, as if his scar was on fire, and the flames were consuming his entire skull. Half blinded by pain, he staggered back. The sound of hooves behind him reached his ear, making his pain worse. Something galloping leaped over him and charged at the figure.
"Are you well?" asked the centaur.
Harry needed a few minutes to recover from all the pain.
"I am, thanks" he answers a little out of breath "What was that?"
The centaur didn't answer. He looked at Harry, his startling blue eyes, lingering on the scar on his forehead.
"You are the Potter boy." You'd better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this hour, especially for you," he says.
Firenze, as he introduced himself, offered him a ride as the quickest way out of the forest.
Along the way they encountered Omen and Ronan, and Harry realized that riding on the back of a centaur was very frowned upon. It's even disrespectful. But he also realized that there is something very important that those beings know, is that they chose not to tell anyone.
As he was taken to Hagrid, he discovered something new, the usefulness of unicorn blood. Liquid silver is capable of keeping someone alive, even if they are on the verge of death. And whoever consumes such blood, committing the crime of killing a being as pure as a werewolf, will only have a cursed half-life.
"But who would be so desperate?" Harry asked aloud.
"Can't you think of anyone who has waited many years to return to power?"
Harry sighed. Voldemort is the only answer.
The man who killed his parents, and disappeared after trying to kill Harry himself. Presumed dead, even though no one has seen his body.
It doesn't make sense in Harry's mind how that man could survive, but he is new to the wizarding world, and Voldemort was, is a highly recognized great wizard.
Why, however, would he be hunting unicorns so close to Hogwarts? Everyone knew he was afraid of Dumbledore. The Forbidden Forest shouldn't be the only place with unicorns for him to be hunting there.