"I agree!"
Before Hagrid could even reply, Draco immediately raised his hand and loudly agreed. All he could think was that he'd feel much safer in a group with the big Hagrid, and it was certainly better than being with that awful Potter.
Hearing Hermione's suggestion, Hagrid was a little confused. He frowned and asked, "Hermione, can you tell me why?"
"No reason, but those two can't be in a group together, or who knows what might happen!" Hermione said, gesturing pointedly at Harry and Draco, and then continued, "But I don't want to be with this guy who lost us 150 points, so I choose to be with Harry!" At the same time, she glared fiercely at Draco, which made him feel uneasy.
Ah, so it's a quarrel between young wizards…
Hagrid sighed helplessly after hearing Hermione's words. To be honest, with Hermione's reminder, he was a little worried about leaving Harry and Draco together. Harry had often spoken ill of Draco in front of him.
A quarrel between kids would be one thing somewhere else, but in the Forbidden Forest? If these two archenemies started arguing on the path and attracted some dangerous creature from the forest, someone could actually get killed. It was better to be cautious.
So, Hagrid ultimately decided to respect Hermione's wishes and agreed to her suggestion. With the teams re-grouped, the two teams headed in different directions and began their search.
The surroundings were so quiet that you could hear the sound of a leaf falling to the ground. The dense ferns and bracken on the ground provided a natural cover for the animals living in the fragile forest to ambush their prey. A wavering mist filled the dim Forbidden Forest. The trees appeared and disappeared in the insignificant light of the lantern. Occasionally, a few wolf howls could be heard from a great distance, making the forest in front of them feel even more sinister and terrifying.
Harry walked in front, holding Fang's leash, and the lantern in his hand was the only thing that gave him a sense of security. Forcing down the feelings of fear and anxiety in his heart, Harry suddenly asked Hermione behind him, "Hermione, why do you think the unicorn got hurt?"
"I'm not sure…" Hermione stumbled over a huge tree root, a bad feeling in her gut. "I read in a book that unicorns are extremely noble and pure, and other magical creatures won't actively attack them. Besides, as a 4X-rated magical creature, their horns can easily pierce the body of any wizard, and their hair can even make them immune to most spells. Even the Ministry of Magic's Aurors would have a hard time getting the better of them."
"So, if that's the case, what do we do if we run into whatever was able to kill a unicorn?!" Harry suddenly stopped and turned around, looking uneasy. "Whether it was a person or some unknown monster that hurt the unicorn, I don't think either of us can handle it…"
"…" Hermione was speechless in the face of Harry's concerns.
The two could only grit their teeth and continue walking. And just as they passed through a patch of thick, gnarled tree roots and went down a slope, a terrifying scene immediately proved Harry's words right.
Fang, who had been leading the way, stopped in a clearing and stared intently ahead, his four legs trembling slightly.
The two immediately followed Fang's gaze and saw a strange figure crouched over the body of a unicorn under a huge tree not far away, doing something unspeakable.
Harry and Hermione were instantly frozen in place. They stared intently at the strange figure, not daring to make a sound, for fear of drawing its attention.
But their hopes were dashed. The strange figure seemed to sense something and slowly raised its head. The half-pale face hidden under the hood suddenly bared its teeth and let out a series of eerie hissing sounds at Harry and Hermione, silver liquid dripping from the corner of its mouth.
There was no doubt about it; he had just been drinking the unicorn's blood. Harry and Hermione were so shocked by the sudden, terrifying sight that their eyes widened. They were both frozen in place, unable to breathe. At the same time, Harry felt the scar on his forehead throb faintly, but the fear in his heart was so great that he couldn't pay attention to it.
The strange figure slowly stood up. It floated like a snake from the unicorn's body. The tattered black cloak, which was full of an aura of hell, billowed without a breeze. The cold aura it emitted made it look very much like the legendary grim reaper.
Seeing that things had taken a turn for the worse, Fang stopped trembling, turned around, and ran away. Harry and Hermione finally came to their senses and subconsciously let out terrified screams: "Ahhhhhh!"
The silence of the Forbidden Forest was instantly broken. The loud screams could be faintly heard by Hagrid and the others, who were still searching in the distance.
At the same time, on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, a person who was stepping on an Acromantula and holding its bloody brains was looking in the direction of the screams with a puzzled expression…
The Forbidden Forest was full of lush plants and intertwined roots. And being young and having short legs, Harry and Hermione couldn't run fast, even with all their might.
"Ahhhhh!!!" In the middle of their escape, Hermione suddenly screamed. She had tripped over a huge tree root.
"Hermione!" Harry heard the sound behind him and quickly stopped, then turned back anxiously to help Hermione up. But to make matters worse, Hermione's foot was caught in the gap between two tree roots, and she couldn't get up at all. She frantically tried to pull her leg out, but her great fear made her hands and feet fumble.
Harry felt the approaching coldness and looked up to see the grim reaper-like specter. He quickly picked up a stone and threw it forward with all his strength, but the specter just twisted its body and easily dodged it.
A moment later, a pale hand emerged from the billowing black robe, and the wand it held began to emit a green light.
The moment Harry and Hermione saw the green light, they felt the presence of death. The fear in their hearts was amplified to the extreme. Harry, enduring his fear, stood in front of Hermione, trembling all over. He could barely even stand.
Just as the green beam of light symbolizing death was about to hit Harry, a graceful figure emitting a blue-green light suddenly flew out of the darkness and blocked it. Then, a column of scorching, dazzling light descended from the sky.
BOOM!!!!
Harry was instantly knocked to the ground by the huge gust of wind, while Hermione looked at the slowly rotating golden magic circle in the sky, her eyes instantly filling with tears, which unconsciously streamed down her face.
"Are you alright?"
A familiar voice appeared beside her, and a hand pulled Hermione out of the tree roots. Hermione slowly stood up, wiped the tears from her face, and shook her head silently, then showed a happy smile to the owner of the voice.
"That's good. I'll go deal with that guy first. Helena will protect you!"
Victor said with a smile, stroking Hermione's head. Then he walked forward and looked coldly at the specter, which was mostly charred, not far away. "Voldemort, I didn't expect you to be able to dodge that attack!"
He then glanced at the scorched pit that the Solar Flare had just created. The soil inside had turned to glass due to the extreme heat.
"Voldemort?!" Harry lay on the ground in shock. He never expected to encounter his archenemy here.
But at this moment, the seriously injured Voldemort was already thinking about how to escape. He raised his wand and shouted at Victor, "Avada Kedavra!!!"
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