The bickering between Harry and Draco finally came to no conclusion. Hagrid stepped out of his hut, lantern in hand, leading his large black dog, Fang.
He nodded with a gentle smile at Harry, then gave instructions to the two Young Wizards present.
"Something has been harming Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest lately. Our main goal in going into the Forbidden Forest today is to investigate exactly what is hurting them."
"This is very dangerous, so you must stay safe."
Harry was originally a bit nervous, but at the thought of Draco Malfoy being right beside him, he immediately hid his anxiety. No matter what, he couldn't let Malfoy see him as a joke.
Draco, however, couldn't help himself. "Something that harms Unicorns?!"
"This is too dangerous! I want to go back; my father wouldn't agree to me going."
Hagrid gave an unceremonious snort. "This is the detention content set by Headmaster Dumbledore, and Professor Snape has also agreed to it. You can let your father talk to them."
Draco bit his lip and fell silent. The person his father was currently most wary of was Dumbledore, and Professor Snape was his father's partner.
Since both of them had agreed to this detention, it meant... there was no room for maneuver for him at all.
Listening to Hagrid's words, Amanda's brain also performed a rapid analysis.
Something that harms unicorns—Unicorns possess very powerful magic abilities, and even an average adult Wizard cannot contend with one alone. This meant that whatever was in the Forbidden Forest now was very powerful.
Turning her head slowly and mechanically toward the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's next words surfaced in Amanda's mind.
This was the detention content set by Headmaster Dumbledore, which meant that the person who wanted Harry Potter to see something in the Forbidden Forest was Headmaster Dumbledore.
Amanda reached a conclusion without any emotional fluctuation: that also meant Harry Potter would definitely be fine.
After all, it was impossible for Headmaster Dumbledore to harm Harry Potter. As for what he wanted Harry Potter to see in the Forbidden Forest, it was likely the thing that was harming the Unicorns.
In just a dozen seconds, Amanda's brain had already sorted out almost the entire truth. Hagrid, Harry, and Draco were all ready, and with Hagrid leading the way, they walked into the Forbidden Forest.
Amanda and Hermione followed behind them under the invisibility cloak. Hermione pursed her lips, feeling Amanda's temperature beside her, and couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
"Amanda... what do you think the thing harming the Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest could be?"
Amanda didn't sense Hermione's nervousness at all. She spoke in a flat tone, simply stating facts. "I don't know what it is."
"But being able to harm a Unicorn proves it is very powerful and very evil."
Hermione shuddered violently; she clearly agreed with Amanda. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Hermione reached out and drew her wand.
Beside her, Amanda's wand was already in her right hand, ready at all times to deal with any possible emergencies.
At first, everything was peaceful while they walked through the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. As they went deeper, the path they were on split into two small trails.
Hagrid looked at Harry with some difficulty. "Harry, we might have to split up."
"What?!" Before Harry could speak, Draco was the first to shout in disbelief. "The two of us alone in the Forbidden Forest?!"
Harry felt irritated listening to the guy beside him shout. He turned to Draco and mocked, "What's wrong? Are you scared, Malfoy?"
"Who's scared!" Draco glared at Harry fiercely, putting on a brave front. "You're the one who's scared, Potter!"
Harry's lip twitched as he turned to Hagrid. "No problem, we can find it faster if we split up."
Hagrid nodded and handed a lantern to Harry. "If anything happens, just fire red sparks into the sky."
"Okay," Harry agreed as he took Hagrid's lantern.
Beside them, Draco looked down at the majestic-looking Fang and quickly spoke up. "We want Fang to come with us."
Hagrid reached out and handed Fang's leash to Draco. "Alright, but I have to warn you, he's a real coward."
After a few more instructions, Hagrid headed toward the left path, while Harry and Draco led Fang down the right path.
Amanda and Hermione followed them under the invisibility cloak. Amanda's dull eyes scanned everything around them; though they lacked luster, they wouldn't miss a single clue.
As they went deeper, Amanda keenly spotted some slight signs of running and fighting on the ground.
She suddenly looked up, but before she could say anything, she heard Draco let out a panicked shout. He then dropped Fang's leash and turned to run without looking back.
The reason for his flight was right there on the clearing in front of Harry.
Amanda looked expressionlessly at the Dark Shadow huddled on the ground nearby. In front of the shadow was a small pool of silvery-white blood and a Unicorn that was neither dead nor alive.
Draco's exclamation had clearly attracted its attention. The Dark Shadow suddenly looked up, staring directly into Harry's face.
Harry held his breath, drew his wand, and fired red sparks into the sky.
The Dark Shadow lunged toward him rapidly. Under the invisibility cloak, both Amanda and Hermione raised their wands in unison.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Stupefy."
The two spells hit the Dark Shadow one after another, causing it to pause in place for a moment.
Hermione, hidden under the invisibility cloak, shouted to Harry with a trembling voice, "Harry, run!"
Hearing Hermione's trembling shout in his ear, Harry pinched his palm hard to regain his ability to move. The next moment, he raised his wand toward the Dark Shadow without hesitation.
Run? How could he run! Hermione was here, and Amanda was here too. He could never bring himself to abandon his friends and flee.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry followed Hermione's lead and used a Full Body-Bind Curse on the Dark Shadow. However, the effect was not significant. The Dark Shadow was clearly enraged; it pulled out its own wand and directly deflected Harry's curse.
Then, it actually bypassed him and rushed straight toward Hermione and Amanda. Their incantations and shouting had just exposed their positions.
Watching the Dark Shadow charge over, Amanda didn't even need to think. She reached out, threw off the invisibility cloak, and stepped out, shielding Hermione firmly behind her, just as she had when they encountered the Troll.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Her wand traced a circle in the air as her emotionless incantation rang out. All the fallen leaves in the area floated off the ground, rising into the air and spinning rapidly, encircling Amanda, Hermione, and Harry firmly in the center.
The edges of the fast-moving leaves were as sharp as blades. Amanda's hand gestures with the wand changed rapidly, and the fallen leaves gathered into a long dragon, charging at the Dark Shadow.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Spells continuously shot out from the Dark Shadow's wand, and the dragon of leaves was repeatedly broken apart, but more leaves would immediately fill the gaps in the next moment.
The Dark Shadow roared in anger. Many leaves had already broken through its defenses, leaving countless blade-like cuts on its body.
Seemingly completely enraged, the frequency of the Dark Shadow's spells increased. Hermione and Harry only felt bursts of red light mixed with green light before their eyes, so piercing they couldn't open them.
As the stalemate dragged on, Amanda's face rapidly turned pale.
In this emergency state, her brain quickly performed an analysis. She had already recognized the spells the Dark Shadow was using: the red one was Crucio, and the green one was the Killing Curse.
If this continued, her magic would eventually be exhausted, and by then, the three of them would likely not escape alive.
Take one hit of Crucio, then drive back the Dark Shadow—Amanda arrived at the optimal choice.
Without hesitation, she dashed forward, charging straight out of the range protected by the leaves and colliding with a red light heading her way without dodging.
The red light struck Amanda's body. Pain—extreme pain—pain that went deep into her bones and pierced her heart.
Amanda's face remained expressionless, though she couldn't help but stumble.
The Dark Shadow gave a mocking laugh. After all, she was just a Young Wizard who couldn't keep her cool and lacked sufficient magic. Now that she had been hit by Crucio, how could she still fight?
She would just have to crawl on the ground and wail! Thinking this, the Dark Shadow's vigilance completely relaxed.
Unfortunately for it, Amanda had long known it would think this way; or rather, she had been waiting for the moment the Dark Shadow let down its guard.
Steadying her footsteps, she waved her wand toward the sky. Amanda's voice was exceptionally hoarse, yet still flat.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Four dragons of fallen leaves surged up from the ground around the Dark Shadow, slamming into it fiercely.
The Dark Shadow looked at Amanda, who was still able to stand and even use such a large-scale spell, its eyes filled with utter disbelief.
Four dragons of leaves were rushing at it; there was no way to block them all. And no matter which of these four dragons it was hit by directly, death was certain.
With an unwilling roar, the Dark Shadow's body misted, turning into a black fog that rose into the air, then tried to dive back toward the ground.
Whoosh! The sound of something cutting through the air rang out, and a sharp arrow landed in front of the black fog. Clearly, the Centaur arranged by Headmaster Dumbledore had arrived.
The black fog paused for a second before turning and fleeing without hesitation.
Amanda stood in place with a pale face. Although she had only been hit once, the pain throughout her body was still throbbing with an aftereffect.
She lowered her wand, and with a bang, all the fallen leaves lost their support and fluttered to the ground.
Without the leaves blocking her view, Hermione immediately located Amanda. She rushed forward, pulled her into the invisibility cloak, and looked at her with concern.
"Amanda, how are you? You're not hurt, are you?"
Amanda spoke in a hoarse voice, "Not hurt..." There wasn't a single wound on her body, so saying she wasn't hurt was the truth.
"What happened to your voice?" Hermione felt a slight sense of relief when she heard Amanda say she wasn't hurt, but she couldn't help but worry when she heard her exceptionally hoarse voice.
It was far too dark in the Forbidden Forest, so she couldn't see Amanda's pale face at all; otherwise, she would have probably screamed and dragged her to the Hospital Wing long ago.
"I'm fine, it'll be better in a while," Amanda replied in a flat tone.
Once the sensation of pain passed, her voice would naturally recover.
"Alright." Hermione pursed her lips and said no more. The Centaur and Hagrid had both arrived.
Harry, who was being questioned by Hagrid and the Centaur at the same time, made up a story about the situation on the fly, but his gaze couldn't stop drifting toward where Amanda and Hermione were. He was truly worried about how they were doing.
Fearing Harry was startled, the Centaur let Harry ride on his back, and then he and Hagrid quickly escorted Harry out of the Forbidden Forest.
Amanda and Hermione walked slowly toward the exit of the Forbidden Forest under the invisibility cloak.
Her legs felt weak and her footsteps were unsteady. Amanda had never felt her body so powerless before. Even though she was weak and in pain, there was not the slightest change in her expression; her face was full of calm and composure.
Finally stepping out of the Forbidden Forest, Amanda's breathing could no longer be restrained and became heavy.
However, Hermione beside her didn't hear it because of the sound of the wind around them.
"Hermione, you go back first so you can let Harry know you're safe."
Amanda spoke in a hoarse voice with a calm tone. Her brain was intermittently popping up thoughts amidst bursts of sharp pain, telling Hermione to leave first.
"I'll take you back to Ravenclaw Tower." Hermione shook her head; she didn't want to leave Amanda here.
"The Professors won't catch me," Amanda's voice was hoarse and flat. "You go back first so you can tell Harry and Ron you're safe."
Hermione glanced at Hogwarts Castle and lowered her eyes. It was true... if she didn't go back, Harry would tell Ron the specifics after he returned, and they would likely think something had happened to her and Amanda.
If they went to find a Professor then... Harry would probably get detention again, and she and Amanda would have points deducted.
"Alright, then I'll go back first and let Harry and the others know. Be careful yourself, and get back to your Dormitory quickly."
"Okay," Amanda agreed in a flat tone.
Hermione walked away quickly under the invisibility cloak. Amanda stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, reaching out to support herself against a nearby large tree.
Her face was pale and she was drenched in sweat. Stumbling, Amanda held onto the trees and bit by bit moved toward Hogwarts Castle.
Even for someone like her who was used to pain, the pain of Crucio was far too "advanced."
However, it should also be said that it was lucky she was used to pain; otherwise, at the first moment she was hit by Crucio, she would have collapsed without any ability to resist.
She moved into Hogwarts Castle step by step, then supported herself against the wall as she climbed the stairs bit by bit. The speed of the moving stairs slowed down all the way, as if fearing that moving too fast would knock this weak child over.
After answering the Knocker's question in a hoarse voice, Amanda entered the Common Room and slowly climbed the final set of stairs. She opened the Dormitory door, walked to the bedside, and before she even had time to take off her shoes and socks, she collapsed directly onto the bed.
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