Chapter 63 It's Impossible to Run Away Quietly
Aaron held up his lamp, leading Draco and Hermionethrough the forest.
Fang and Abey followed on either side of the group, the two pets maintaining a certain distance, not encroaching on each other.
"I hope that Unicorn isn't on this path, otherwise we're in big trouble." Aaron looked at the scattered silver bloodstains on the ground, his expression slightly grim, "But it's very likely things won't go as we wish."
"It looks like it's badly injured, and it's running at high speed even in a severely injured state," Draco analyzed, "Could it really be a Werewolf?"
"No, Hagrid is just trying to scare you.
A Werewolf's speed might not be as fast as a Unicorn's, and I've paid some attention to this forest, but I've never heard of a Unicorn being harmed or even killed.
So, be mentally prepared, that Unicorn is probably in dire straits.
If we're lucky enough to encounter the creature that harmed it, then… it's time to test our stamina."
Hermione and Draco both looked down at their shoes, making sure they wouldn't cause any trouble during their escape.
"Aaron, I…" Hermione glanced at Draco beside her, took a deep breath after a few seconds of awkwardness, "I apologize to you.
What happened last night, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
Aaron nodded, continuing to walk forward with his lamp.
"At least say something!" Hermione said aggrievedly. She would rather be scolded severely than have Aaron treat her with such an indifferent attitude.
It was too bland, as if he were treating her like a stranger.
"What do you want me to say?
You knew you shouldn't have done that, but you still did.
Do you know how much effort I put into hiding Abey's identity?
I carried it with me every day, wrapped up tightly from head to toe. Even the Professors and Dumbledore couldn't find any flaws, but I didn't expect you to expose it in just one night."
"I'm sorry." Hermione sincerely lowered her head to apologize, her voice aggrieved, her eyes slightly red.
"Bang!"
Aaron helplessly rubbed his forehead and shook his head, letting out a long sigh, "Alright, alright, I forgive you, isn't that enough?"
"Really?" Hermione cried tears of joy, the suppressed tears finally breaking free and flowing continuously from the corners of her eyes.
She felt much lighter, and the heavy feeling of having fifty points deducted vanished.
"Aaron, you just forgave her like that?" Draco asked, puzzled, "Isn't that too soft-hearted?"
"To grant forgiveness for a mistake, without blame or punishment, is to forgive.
But forgiveness doesn't mean I'll forget about it, do you understand what I mean?"
"I think I understand." Draco nodded, half-understanding, "Granger, did you understand?"
"Of course I understood." Hermione chuckled.
She understood the principle very well: forgiveness was one thing, but letting go was another.
However, this outcome was within her expectations; forgiveness was the prerequisite for mending relationships, which was much better than always treating people coldly.
The group continued to trek through the dark, dense forest.
Fang, sniffing the air, had somehow moved to the front of the group. The increasing amount of bloodstains on the ground added a sense of gloom to the trio's hearts, making them even more nervous.
"Roar!"
Abey suddenly let out a low growl, the entire dragon becoming alert, its eyes constantly darting around.
"What's wrong with it?" Draco asked.
Aaron picked up Abey, lowered the lamp, and whispered a warning: "Be careful, all of you, squat down.
There's an evil presence, and it's all around us."
"Gulp!"
Hermione swallowed, "You mean, he's all around us?
Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"No, my Abey is very sensitive to darkness."
At the same time, Fang also stopped, growling as he stared straight ahead.
Thick tree vines were tangled on the ground, and a large patch of silver-white bloodstains was particularly conspicuous under the moonlight. In addition, there were clear drag marks ahead.
It was not difficult to see that the poor Unicorn had struggled violently here, but the outcome did not seem good.
In front of the vines was a lower clearing, and a strange sound emanated from it, like something being sucked, making the trio's scalps tingle.
"It's just ahead, should we go take a look?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Are you crazy?" Draco whispered, nervously, "Let's take a detour, or just turn around and pretend we didn't see anything."
"Send the signal!"
"Here?
Aaron, calm down, you must calm down.
We're here for detention, it's not worth risking our lives, don't be impulsive."
"But there's a Unicorn whose fate is unknown inside!
If it's dead, then so be it, we'll turn around and run, but what if it's alive?
If it's still alive, and we just quietly leave like this, then it will truly be left to despair and die." Aaron said, taking out his wand, a green light shimmering on it.
"But this is very dangerous, not just ordinary dangerous.
I never thought we'd encounter something like this at Hogwarts."
"I know, you two run as far as you can first, I'll stay here to send the signal.
If we're too far, it might not have any deterrent effect, and he could leave with the Unicorn at any time.
In short, when you see the fire signal go up, you retreat, don't hesitate."
"We can't leave you here alone." Hermione said seriously.
"That's a good realization, but your presence would only be a burden.
And, to say something you might not want to hear, you might not run as fast as I do."
Draco and Hermione exchanged glances, nodded, and prepared to quietly retreat, trying not to make a sound.
However, after only a few steps, Fang suddenly sneezed, letting out a deep, thundering bark.
The two instantly froze, and Aaron also looked at the Neapolitan Mastiff in surprise.
It might not have sneezed on purpose, but at this moment, no one cared if it was on purpose.
They only knew that a quiet retreat was no longer possible.
The bark had already attracted the attention of the creature in the clearing. The scalp-tingling sucking sound suddenly stopped, replaced by a rustling, sliding noise.
A black figure in a hood slowly crawled out of the clearing, approaching the trio like a ghost.
"Run!" Aaron roared, a green flash of fire shot into the sky, followed by a red spark after the green fire.
The two sparks appeared almost simultaneously above the Forbidden Forest, meaning that the Unicorn had been found, and so had the creature that harmed it.
"But…"
"No buts." Hermione's words were cut off by Aaron before she could finish, "Running away at this moment is the most sensible decision."
Before his words even fell, Fang was the first to move his four short legs, bursting out with extraordinary speed, running desperately.
Draco followed closely, screaming as he ran away.
Aaron didn't hesitate either, putting all his strength into it. What was all that regular exercise for? Wasn't it for today?
But he stopped after only a few steps, turning to look at the motionless Hermione, "Hurry up and run, what are you waiting for?"
"My legs are weak." Hermione said, on the verge of tears.
She also wanted to quickly escape this eerie and terrifying place, but after the Black-robed Man with silver blood on his lips appeared, her body stopped obeying her, and her legs felt as heavy as if filled with lead.
She had seen many ghosts, but the fear this Black-robed Man brought her was far beyond what those ghosts could compare to.
Aaron: … "Holy crab! Your legs are weak at the perfect time."
"I don't want them to be!" Hermione choked out, "Why don't you just run first, don't worry about me."
"Don't cry, no matter what, I can't leave a girl like you here.
Two unlucky nights in a row, it's unbelievable." Aaron said, taking a few steps forward, facing the standing Black-robed Man, a few more guesses forming in his mind.
At this stage at Hogwarts, there was probably only one person who needed to consume Unicorn blood to sustain his life. It seemed the Dark Lord was indeed at the end of his rope.
However, even in that state, he wasn't confident he could defeat the opponent, so he could only react as circumstances dictated.
"As expected, I'm still too weak. If I were strong enough, I wouldn't have to put my hope in others." Aaron whispered, his desire for strength reaching its peak.
"Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling red light flashed, hitting the hooded figure.
However, the effect was not obvious; the opponent only retreated two steps, then continued forward as if nothing had happened.
"I knew it would be like this." Aaron gave a bitter smile, his right hand holding the wand even trembling slightly, then he roared, "Expelliarmus."
The Black-robed Man scoffed, not even bothering to dodge, but just as the red light was about to hit him, he seemed to sense some danger, his body strangely leaning back, narrowly avoiding the spell.
"Bang!"
The spell hit a birch tree, and the impact point was covered in cracks, extending outwards from the center, becoming very fragile, as if it could be pushed over with a slight touch.
"Diffindo!" A very hoarse voice came from inside the black robe.
"Too bad it missed."
"Even if it hit, it would be useless." The Black-robed Mansneered, "You are too weak, the power of the spell you cast poses no threat to me."
"I know." Aaron said indifferently, "Someone who can hunt and kill a Unicorn wouldn't be defeated by such a spell. I just wanted to buy a little time to escape.
But it seems I failed, though it doesn't matter."