Chapter 62 There is an unknown enemy
The Forbidden Forest was made up of countless towering giant trees and various plants, and the thin mist in the night made it look even more eerie, especially with the occasional wolf howls from a distance, which made the few people feel uneasy.
Hagrid led the way, guiding them along a small path into the forest, moving deeper inside.
Aaron was especially glad he had rented a lamp; otherwise, he might not have been able to see the path clearly.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Hagrid's brow furrowed when he saw a puddle of viscous silver liquid on the ground ahead.
"What is this?" Harry asked.
"Unicorn blood, I've seen it before." Aaron squatted down and pinched a little with his finger. "The blood is very fresh. My initial assessment is that it's severely injured."
"He's right. A Unicorn already died a few weeks ago.
Its death was particularly tragic, with almost half of its blood drained.
This is the second one. What we need to do is find that poor fellow and protect it."
"That won't be easy." Aaron pondered for a moment, then said meaningfully, "This forest is very dangerous now. I'm afraid it's not just animals and plants.
I suggest we change the time for our punishment, preferably during the day."
"Yes! It's much easier during the day, and we wouldn't need lamps," Hagrid said. "But the Unicorn can't wait that long. One night is enough for its condition to go from severely injured to dead."
"But I don't think the safety of the five of us Wizards is less important than that of a Unicorn."
Draco's face subtly changed, and he involuntarily swallowed. "What do you mean? Don't scare me!"
"Calm down, at least we're safe for now." Aaron patted his shoulder and explained, "Unicorns are noble. Normally, this forest wouldn't harm them; in fact, some creatures would even protect them.
But according to Hagrid, one has already died, and this second one is also in a very bad state.
Two Unicorns being attacked in such a short time is far too abnormal."
"That's why we're here." Hagrid acted as if it were obvious. "That Unicorn needs our help, so please have a little more compassion."
Aaron's mouth twitched. "No one is more compassionate than I am.
But the situation is different now. There must be an external creature in the Forbidden Forest, and it's not weak. No one knows if it will attack us."
"How do you know?" Harry asked. "This is all speculation, and we're with Hagrid, so our safety is guaranteed."
Aaron pointed to the silver bloodstain on the ground. "Unicorn blood can prolong life, and before this, there should never have been incidents of Unicorns being continuously attacked or even killed in the Forbidden Forest, right?
Something out of the ordinary means something is out of control, and the unknown is the most terrifying."
As his words fell, the expressions of the others became a little unnatural.
They admitted they were scared. From Aaron's words, it wasn't hard for them to guess who was hunting Unicorns to get their blood.
And anyone who could be so brazen in the Forbidden Forestwas definitely not an ordinary person. If they encountered such a person, they would be no match.
"Hagrid." Ron looked at him pleadingly. "Can we leave this forest? It's just the few of us here. If you don't say anything and we don't say anything, no one will know."
"No, a detention is a detention.
Professor McGonagall already gave me a good scolding about Norbert, and Dumbledore was also caught off guard and flustered.
I have my pride; I can't play favorites anymore."
Ron lowered his head bitterly, and the others also looked solemn, knowing that this time they couldn't escape.
"Don't worry too much. Maybe it was a Werewolf that attacked the Unicorn!"
"A Werewolf?
That's even worse. The moon is still very full tonight, and a Werewolf's combat power will be even more ferocious." Draco instinctively took a step back, his back feeling a chill.
He had originally thought detention meant being locked in a small dark room to write essays or something, but this detention was completely beyond his expectations.
The small dark room turning into the Forbidden Forest was already absurd enough, and now writing essays turning into finding a severely injured, dying Unicorn, with the possibility of being attacked in the process, was even more ridiculous.
It was unacceptable, and he instinctively wanted to resist.
"Alright! I know what we have to do tonight will be very dangerous, and I don't want anyone to be in danger.
But this is your punishment, and you can't avoid it."
"But the problem is, this danger is unknown."
Hagrid paused, staring at Aaron sternly. "If everything were known, what would we be needed for?
The Forbidden Forest is inherently dangerous. Didn't Filchsay he'd be collecting your bodies? You don't think he was joking, do you?
Besides, even if there really is an unknown creature, I can guarantee its danger won't exceed that of the dark creatures in the Forbidden Forest."
"Alright!" Aaron spread his hands helplessly. "You're right, this is what we brought upon ourselves."
Hearing this, Hermione's face was dejected, and she subconsciously bit her lip.
If she hadn't taken Abey away, Draco wouldn't have found out, Aaron wouldn't have broken school rules, and they wouldn't have been caught red-handed by Filch and Professor McGonagall.
Ultimately, for them to be in this situation today, she had to bear a large part of the responsibility.
"Good that you understand.
Now we'll split into two groups to search, following the bloodstains."
"Wait, we have to split into groups?" Draco asked in surprise. "Don't tell me Gryffindor is one group and Slytherin is another?
That's not fair. Your group has twice as many people as ours; we'll be very dangerous."
"I didn't say that.
As long as you're with me or Fang, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest won't harm you.
And I'm very fair. You, Ron, and Harry are with me; Hermione, Aaron, and Fang are in one group." Hagrid said, winking at Hermione and subtly giving an OK sign.
The opportunity has been given to you; whether you can seize it is up to you.
Hermione gave him a grateful look and nodded heavily.
She didn't have time yesterday, but she had plenty of time today. No matter what, she had to apologize first.
"I don't agree," Aaron said. "This grouping feels particularly awkward. I suggest we switch groups.
What happened last night made me very unhappy, and it's not that easy to let go.
If Hermione and I team up, it might affect the unity within the team, which is very detrimental."
"Uh..." Hagrid paused, glanced at Hermione, whose eyes were slightly red, and took a deep breath. "Rejected. Opposition invalid.
I'm in charge of your detention, so you have to listen to me."
"Heh! Hagrid, your actions now only make me suspect you have ulterior motives.
I thought you were a fair person! Now it seems I was mistaken."
"I..." Hagrid hesitated, his mind in a battle.
He did have a slight ulterior motive in pairing Hermioneand Aaron together, wanting to resolve the misunderstanding between them.
After all, they were just twelve-year-old children; what couldn't be explained clearly?
As long as Hermione sincerely apologized, and with some time, their relationship would slowly recover. Aaron didn't seem like such a grudge-holding person either.
But now he had an extra hat called 'fairness' on his head, and that hat was threatening to fly off, which made him very uncomfortable.
"The teaming of you and Hermione was decided by me. If you think it's unfair, I can assign one more person to you.
This is the limit."
Aaron didn't raise any more objections. Hagrid had said it all, so he had to be sensible and give him face.
"Ron, definitely not." Aaron glanced at him with a hint of disdain, then turned his gaze to Harry Potter. "Too much trouble. I have a premonition that teaming up with you would be especially troublesome."
"Then there's no choice left." Draco chuckled. "As expected, only Slytherin is trustworthy."
"No, don't overthink it. There are actually other options." Aaron poured cold water on him. "Hagrid, why don't you switch with Fang?"
"Me?" Hagrid was stunned, then immediately waved his hand. "That won't do, absolutely not.
Without me, the danger level for those three would increase significantly.
Let's stick with Malfoy! He's more suitable for your team."
"This... that works, I guess. It's better than the other two."
Draco's eye twitched slightly. He inexplicably felt like he was being disliked.
"Alright, from now on, we split into two paths.
If anyone finds the Unicorn, fire a green spark. If you encounter trouble, fire a red spark.
We will immediately come to rendezvous. Alright, be extra careful!"
After Hagrid finished speaking, he took Harry and Rondown the left path, leaving the right path for Aaron, Hermione, and Draco.
"Hmph!" Aaron took a deep breath, placed Abey on top of his head, then looked at Hermione and Draco. "Tonight, you'll listen to my command, no objections, right?"
"No, I'll definitely listen to you." Draco said, patting his chest. Aaron's abilities in all aspects were stronger than his, so he had no reason to be unconvinced.
"I, I'll listen to you too," Hermione immediately said.
"You?" Draco looked at her suspiciously. "It would be good enough if you didn't abandon us and run away by yourself when danger strikes."
"I won't, definitely not."
"Who knows?"
"Enough, this is why I didn't want to split into groups; it's too much trouble.
If you two have anything to say, say it when we get back. We're in the Forbidden Forest right now, so can we all be a bit more discreet?"
Hermione and Draco exchanged glances and simultaneously closed their mouths.
"That's right.
Now listen to me, check your shoes, and if you have shoelaces, tie them tightly." Aaron said, squatting down to tie his own shoelaces securely.
Hermione didn't waste words and followed suit.
Draco, however, was a bit puzzled. "Tie shoelaces? Can you tell me why?"
"To make it easier to run away. You don't really think everything will be fine just because Fang the dog is here, do you?"