Secrets, Hooves, and Unicorn Blood
"What do we do now? I've never ripped someone's foot off before. I mean, yeah, I ripped a troll's head off once. And there were also those huge rats Aunt Mor—"
"Percy," Grover tried to bring him back to his senses, still unable to move as the ropes had duplicated again, binding him tightly.
"No, wait. Maybe the nurse can put it back on. We just need to take the foot and—"
Percy looked down to where Grover's foot should have been and froze again. What was there now looked unmistakably like a goat's hoof.
After a few seconds staring at it, Percy slowly lifted his gaze to Grover's face.
"I didn't do that," he said.
"Yeah, I know," Grover replied, letting out a sigh, fully aware he could not hide it anymore. "That's what my real feet look like. The ones you're holding are something I use to hide them," he explained, without many options left.
Percy reacted immediately. He walked over and pulled on Grover's other foot, revealing the second goat hoof.
"My hat too," Grover added, completely giving up.
Percy took the hat off, and two small horns were revealed, hidden until then. That was the reason Grover always avoided taking it off. Percy, genuinely surprised, kept shifting his gaze between the barely visible horns and the goat legs.
"Looks like I can't hide it anymore. It's like you suspect. I'm—"
"The devil," Percy said.
"What? No! I'm a satyr!" Grover replied immediately. "Why would I be the devil? Do I really look that evil?" he added.
"Oh… well, yeah. Satyr was my second option," Percy said quickly.
And suddenly, it did not seem that unbelievable anymore. In fact, it was starting to feel fairly normal.
"Why did you lose your sense of surprise so fast? I'm a satyr," Grover said, confused.
"Well, I think it's normal, right? You're a magical creature or something like that. We see that all the time. I mean, the Weasley twins said there are giant spiders in the forest, bigger than dogs. And when we went out with Aunt Mor, we saw those things called Red Caps. So it's not that special," Percy replied calmly.
"No. No, no. We're not the same. I'm not a magical creature. I'm a mythological being," Grover said immediately, then realized he had said too much and shut his mouth at once.
"Mythological being?" Percy asked, staring at him.
"I didn't say anything," Grover replied.
Percy lowered his gaze to the floor, still soaked, until his eyes landed on the candle from before. He picked it up and stepped closer to Grover.
"You know, it's still hot, and wax really burns," he said, slipping back into his strange villain act.
"Wait, wait, don't do that," Grover said, now nervous as the candle moved dangerously close to his cheek.
"Let's continue the interrogation. Who are you? Why are you here? What's a mythological being? And who was that guy in the Forbidden Forest?" Percy asked seriously.
"Did you come from the United States because of me?" he added, bringing the wax even closer this time, actually seeming willing to do it.
"I can't tell you!" Grover shouted, trying to turn his face away from the candle. "Wait, stop! That will really hurt," he said in fear. "I really can't tell you. You'll be in danger," he yelled immediately.
Percy stopped.
"You and Harry will be in danger the moment you find out," Grover continued when he saw it had worked.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked, clearly irritated by those words he always heard whenever he wanted answers.
"Please, tell me. As long as I can remember, my Aunt Mor keeps saying the same thing over and over, and no one ever explains why we'll be in danger or what it is we're not supposed to know."
Percy lowered the candle. This time, he wasn't threatening. He was asking.
Grover looked him in the eyes. He trembled slightly. After all this time, he did not want to fail Percy, but he also did not want to put him in danger. He let out a slow sigh.
"I really started as the protector… and it looks like I'll end as one on the very same day," he said with a bitter grimace.
"It's about your father. Or who we believe your father might be. And Harry's mother," he began.
"My father?" Percy asked, confused. He had never seen his face. His mother had always told him he was a man who left for the sea before Percy was even born.
"Percy, listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you or Harry. I'm here to protect you. Because the moment you learn who your father really is, you'll be in danger. There's some kind of protection keeping you safe; that's why you were never truly attacked. But there are many things out there that want to hurt both of you. Especially in this country, or rather, this continent. The moment you learn the truth, it will be very, very dangerous. That's why you need to wait a little longer," Grover explained.
"Wait? Why? How long?" Percy asked seriously.
"I don't know. I'm just here to protect you," Grover replied.
"Who was the one in the forest?" Percy asked.
"You saw him?" Grover said, surprised. "Well… uh… he's kind of my boss."
"Then he has the answers I'm looking for," Percy said firmly.
Grover stared at him.
"Well… yes."
"Then I want to see him," Percy added immediately, his expression completely serious.
…
The next morning, Harry was having breakfast with Hermione and Ron when Percy calmly walked over and sat down beside him.
Harry, who had been quiet, looked at him for a moment. He frowned. Something felt off about his brother. He seemed more relaxed… but also far too calm.
That set off several alarms in his head.
"What are you planning?" Harry asked immediately.
"Who, me? Nothing," Percy replied, looking at his brother with complete calm while putting on an exaggerated expression of innocence.
That only made Harry look at him with even more suspicion, narrowing his eyes.
"You know, as your older brother, I feel really disappointed that you distrust me this much," Percy said right away.
However, Harry noticed that for a brief moment, Percy's gaze shifted to the side, slightly avoiding his.
Harry was about to speak again when several notes suddenly flew toward them. Hermione, Neville, Percy, and Harry all received the exact same one.
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.
Mr. Filch will be waiting for you in the entrance hall.
When Harry read it, he could not help but lose focus on interrogating his brother. Percy, on the other hand, looked clearly annoyed as he read the note, as if it had interrupted some important plan.
At eleven o'clock that same night, they said goodbye to Ron before heading to the meeting point.
Filch was already there. Draco Malfoy was too.
Everyone made an annoyed expression upon seeing him, Malfoy included.
"Follow me," Filch said immediately, his tone irritated but at the same time clearly pleased to see students being punished. He picked up a lantern with a candle inside to light the way.
"You'll think twice before breaking another rule now, won't you?" he said mockingly.
"Hard work and pain are the best teachers. It's a shame they abandoned the old punishments, where they used to hang students from the ceiling with chains. I still keep some in my office, well oiled," he added with a twisted smile.
"But what you're getting isn't so bad. Still, you'd better not try to escape, because it'll be much worse for you."
Everyone felt that if Filch was happy about the punishment, then it had to be something truly horrible.
Filch led them out of the castle, heading straight toward Hagrid's hut. As they stepped outside, all of them wore expressions of fear and confusion.
Percy, however, was staring fixedly toward the Forbidden Forest, as if considering walking straight into it at any moment. When he noticed Harry watching him, he lowered his gaze and smiled casually, following Filch without saying a word.
That only made Harry watch him with even more distrust.
As they got closer, Hagrid's voice suddenly came from the hut.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I don't have all night."
Harry, Percy, Neville, and Hermione felt a bit more at ease when they recognized his voice. If they were going to be with Hagrid, maybe the punishment would not be as terrible as they thought.
Filch noticed it instantly.
"I suppose you think you'll have fun with that oaf, don't you?" he said with contempt.
"Well, think again, because it's the forest you're going into. And possibly not all of you will come back… at least not in one piece."
That threat made Percy's eyes light up immediately. Harry did not look particularly frightened. Neville, though nervous, had already been in the forest with Percy before. Hermione, however, had gone pale.
But the most noticeable reaction came from Malfoy, who suddenly stopped walking.
"The forest? There are all kinds of creatures in there, like werewolves," he said.
"And surely many other things even more dangerous," Filch replied with clear excitement at Malfoy's fear.
"You should have thought better before getting into trouble."
At that moment, Hagrid approached with Fang close at his heels and a large crossbow slung over his shoulder.
"Good thing, I've been waiting for half an hour," Hagrid said with a somewhat cheerful smile.
"Everything alright, Harry, Percy, Hermione?" he added.
"I wouldn't be so friendly with them," Filch said coldly. "After all, they're in detention."
"That why you're late, then?" Hagrid replied, frowning at Filch.
"You've been lecturing them. That's not your job. I'll take over now."
Filch's face twisted into a sour expression.
"I'll be back at dawn to collect what's left of you," he said before turning around and walking away.
"I'm not going into that forest," Malfoy said suddenly.
"You will, unless you want to be expelled from Hogwarts," Hagrid replied.
"That kind of work is for staff, not students. We're supposed to write lines. If my father heard about this—"
"He'll tell you this is how things are done at Hogwarts. And if you think your father would rather see you expelled, then off you go," Hagrid said firmly.
The others remained silent.
Harry stared at his brother, waiting for some sarcastic comment. A jab at Draco, or an ironic remark about how sneaking out of bed had somehow turned into a night trip into the Forbidden Forest.
But Percy looked far too happy.
So happy that it seemed like he had ignored everything else, as if all he wanted was to get into the forest as soon as possible. After all, that had been his plan from the very beginning.
"Come on, Hagrid, we're ready," Percy said with an enthusiasm that only made Harry more suspicious.
"Alright, follow me," Hagrid said, leading them to the edge of the forest.
A breeze came out from between the trees, moving their hair. Hagrid pointed to a dirt path that formed briefly before vanishing into the darkness.
"See those shiny patches on the ground? That's unicorn blood," he said.
At those words, Percy's expression changed instantly. All excitement vanished from his face, replaced by complete seriousness.
"Looks like someone's been hurting them. I found one dead last week, so we'll try to find this one and help it," Hagrid explained.
Percy looked at the unicorn blood and frowned.
"Or stop it from suffering," Hagrid added, leaving the meaning of his words unspoken.