#258 - Mars's Prediction

Hagrid neglected his duties as the Forbidden Forest keeper in order to take care of the baby dragon.

Not only were some rare plants destroyed, but recently the animals in the Forbidden Forest have also begun to become restless.

There were even unicorns injured. Yesterday, Norbert took the baby dragon into the Forbidden Forest to play and discovered unicorn blood.

In order to investigate the cause of this series of events, Professor McGonagall announced the detention method during dinner time on Friday afternoon:

Patrol the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh, no way, there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest!"

Ron had just torn off a piece of lamb chop and hadn't had time to chew it when the meat fell out of his mouth.

"That's just a legend, Ron, don't take it seriously."

Hermione had been very quiet these past few days because she felt guilty that her actions had cost Gryffindor so many points.

Now that the real punishment method was announced, Hermione felt a little better.

"Don't worry, I don't think the professors would allow young wizards to walk into the Forbidden Forest alone."

"Oh, that's good. I'm much braver than before."

Hearing Neville say this, Ron originally wanted to complain, but he consciously closed his mouth.

Harry had always been very interested in exploring new things.

Especially these past few days, after feeling the students' alienation towards him, Harry also wanted to make amends.

Although he hadn't figured out how to make amends, the detention punishment could at least make him feel a little more at ease.

Malfoy, sitting at the Slytherin table, also received this notice.

Seeing the surrounding students indifferent, Malfoy's face became even paler.

After dinner, Filch was already waiting outside the Great Hall.

Seeing the young wizards come out, he shouted for them to keep up and not fall behind, and then walked towards the outside of the castle.

Mrs. Norris kept following Filch. After not finding Crookshanks's figure on Moon, she anxiously circled around Moon non-stop.

"Don't worry, Crookshanks will be back next week. I'll have her find you then."

Moon said, hugging Mrs. Norris, and then cast a [Fur Smoothing] spell on her.

The Gryffindor young wizards were already used to this scene.

They all knew that Moon had a special skill, which was that he was very popular with all kinds of small animals.

It was also because of this that Mrs. Norris would stay far away when they were wandering around the castle at night, and even personally lead Moon.

Malfoy, who was always at the back of the group, hated this skinny, gray-haired Maine Coon cat.

Especially seeing Moon actually pick it up, Malfoy curled his lips and moved a little further away.

Hagrid was already waiting outside the Forbidden Forest hut.

Seeing Moon and the others come over, he winked behind him and then greeted everyone.

Except for Malfoy.

After Filch said something to Hagrid, he smiled and took Mrs. Norris from Moon's arms and returned to the school. "Alright, hurry up and follow, our work today is not easy."

Hagrid led Fang, holding a small red umbrella to clear the way in front.

Ron ran to the front with some worry, but Hagrid reached out and stopped him, avoiding a gap.

"Be careful, you can't run like this in the Forbidden Forest, it's easy for something to happen!"

"Oh, I know."

Ron clearly felt that he had touched an object. He glanced at the empty grass before realizing what it was.

"I was going to say, why didn't you bring that giant crossbow? The small red umbrella can't do anything, right?"

Ron was still very worried, but he didn't know the secrets of the small red umbrella.

"Don't worry, it's more useful than the giant crossbow."

Harry had seen Hagrid use the small red umbrella to make his cousin Dudley grow a pig's tail, so he guessed that there must be a wand hidden in the umbrella handle.

"Ron, I think Hagrid is right, trust him, after all, he is the school's Forbidden Forest keeper."

"Are you guys crazy? The Forbidden Forest is so dangerous, the giant crossbow is definitely more useful than the small red umbrella!"

Malfoy didn't understand very much, but no one responded to his words.

Following Hagrid and continuing forward, the sky was getting later and later, and the Forbidden Forest was darker than outside.

When the sky was not enough to see the road clearly, Hagrid lit a huge oil lamp, and the young wizards used [Luminos].

"The Forbidden Forest has been very dangerous recently, and there is even a monster harming unicorns."

Hagrid explained today's task to everyone as he walked.

"Do you see those silvery-white things on the ground? That's unicorn blood. We have to try to find this poor little guy and get him out of his pain."

"But... but, what if the thing that hurt the unicorn finds us first?"

Malfoy's voice contained an uncontrollable fear.

"Don't worry, as long as you are with me or Fang, no animal in the Forbidden Forest will hurt you."

When they came to a fork in the road, Hagrid divided the people into two teams.

However, Malfoy insisted on walking with the mighty-looking Fang, so the team changed again.

"Don't say I didn't remind you, it just looks fierce, but it's actually a coward."

Malfoy looked disbelieving. He was about to go over and take Fang, but the dog himself stuffed the rope into Moon's hand.

"Okay, well, I'm actually too lazy to lead you."

Malfoy said awkwardly and walked ahead.

Moon, Hermione, Neville, and a transparent and clumsy big guy followed behind.

Hagrid led Harry and Ron down another road.

"Moon, do you think a werewolf hurt the unicorn?"

Since separating from Hagrid, Neville had become increasingly worried.

He clung tightly to Moon, fearing that something would suddenly jump out of the nearby woods.

Malfoy, who had been walking in front at the beginning, slowed down unconsciously after hearing Neville's words.

"What, are you scared too?"

Hermione noticed Malfoy's small movements and reminded him.

"How is that possible? I'm not a young wizard who only shows off his family background."

Malfoy said stiffly, then gritted his teeth and continued walking forward.

"Don't tell me you hid the dragon in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe that monster will hurt it like it hurt the unicorn."

Malfoy had never forgotten about finding the baby dragon.

Of course, he kept talking non-stop, also to relieve the tension in his heart.

After walking for a while, Moon put Fang's rope buckle into Hermione's hand.

He took two steps back and stretched out his right hand behind him.

After a while, a Niffler suddenly appeared in mid-air, and the baby dragon also wanted to crawl out from under the Invisibility Cloak, but Moon stopped it.

"Squeak" (Norbert said it saw a big bat bite the unicorn.)

"A big bat? Could it be a Foe Bat again? It shouldn't be, this creature doesn't like the dark and humid environment of Britain."

Hermione, who was walking in front, looked back after hearing Moon's words.

"It's definitely not a Foe Bat. Unicorns have strong magic and run very fast. Foe Bats can't catch them at all."

Moon knew that Hermione was absolutely right.

He had subdued this creature in another world and knew very well that Foe Bats could not fly in this lush environment.

So the one who hurt the unicorn must be someone else.

Just as Moon and Hermione were guessing the culprit, Malfoy, who was walking in the front, let out a cry of surprise.

"Who! Who's there? I have a dog, I'm not afraid of you!"

Malfoy stood in a slightly more open space, surrounded by several thick trees.

He was currently facing a large tree, trembling as he held up his wand.

"Dog? Oh, it's just Fang."

A middle-aged man's voice came from behind the tree, and then a magical creature that was neither man nor horse emerged.

"Man... horse?"

Neville was also very frightened, and he stammered the question.

"A centaur, child."

The centaur who spoke took two steps forward and rubbed Neville's head.

Mune and Hermione were both very surprised. Although they had seen images of centaurs in books, this was the first time they had encountered one in reality.

The creature before them was human from the waist up, with red hair and a beard.

But from the waist down, it was a chestnut-red, shiny horse body, with a long, red-haired tail dragging behind it.

"By the way, how can you be wandering around in the Forbidden Forest at night? This is a very dangerous thing to do."

The centaur in front of them didn't show much hostility towards the young wizards. After greeting Fang, he looked at the blond wizard who seemed to be the leader.

"I... we are..."

Malfoy hadn't recovered yet, and his speech became stuttering.

"We're serving detention. We're here to find the culprit who hurt the unicorn."

Seeing Mune step forward to answer, the centaur walked towards him.

"Oh, it's you, that magical Niffler."

Before he had a chance to greet Mune, the centaur recognized Bouncy at a glance.

"So, you are the magical young wizard that Niffler speaks of, Mune Scarlett."

Hearing the other party call out his name, Mune was taken aback.

Hagrid had told Mune that Bouncy had been having a great time playing with the baby dragon in the Forbidden Forest this week.

But he didn't expect that he had even befriended a centaur, and even Mune's name had been spread.

"Yes, sir, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Indeed, you are very polite. I am also very happy to meet you. You can call me Firenze."

The centaur smiled and shook hands with Mune, then extended a finger and greeted Bouncy.

"As for the fellow you are looking for, I am also looking for it, but it is lurking very deep and difficult to catch."

"Do you know what it is?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I only know that it is very, very dangerous. If you see it, you must stay away. Also..."

Firenze was about to say something, but two more centaurs suddenly appeared in the Forbidden Forest, interrupting him.

"Firenze! What are you doing? We swore an oath to only observe the celestial phenomena and not participate in the struggles of wizards."

"Bane, haven't you seen the injured unicorn? I must catch the fellow who is destroying the Forbidden Forest. If necessary, I will choose to stand with the wizards."

After Firenze retorted to his companion, he nodded at Mune, and then quickly ran into the Forbidden Forest to find the culprit.

Mune hadn't figured out what was going on and looked curiously at the other two centaurs.

"Don't look at us like that, child. Centaurs will not participate in wizard affairs."

"That's right, what we can tell you is that Mars is very bright tonight."

After the two centaurs, who spoke with rather unfriendly tones, finished speaking, they also ran into the Forbidden Forest.

Mune could tell from their attitude that the relationship between centaurs and wizards was probably not very friendly.

However, he also obtained a piece of useful information.

Mars is very bright.

In Astronomy class, they had also learned relevant knowledge.

Professor Aurora Sinistra had said that Mars is usually regarded as a symbol of the god of war.

When Mars looks very bright, it is usually considered to herald the arrival of a period of war, conflict, or turmoil, while in ancient Egyptian mythology, Mars was regarded as a symbol of bringing the fire of life. When it is bright, it represents the power of life and the hope of rebirth.

"What did they say? Should we continue forward?"

Watching the centaurs disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Malfoy looked somewhat lost at the three people behind him.

"Of course, we have to go. We haven't found anything yet, and the detention hasn't ended."

Hermione was also thinking about the words left by the centaur. After replying to Malfoy, she raised her head and looked curiously at him.

"You're not scared, are you? Why don't you walk at the end?"

Hermione's reverse psychology was very effective. Even though Malfoy longed to walk at the end, he still gritted his teeth and chose to lead the way.

Mune understood Hermione's intention very well. With the baby dragon following at the end of the team, Malfoy couldn't be allowed to discover it.

So, they continued to walk towards the center of the Forbidden Forest.

After walking for half an hour, the trees became more and more dense, and the silvery-white blood on the ground became more and more concentrated.

When they reached the end of the path, the bloodstains suddenly stopped, and everyone stopped to observe their surroundings.

"There's no road here. Can we go back now?"

Automatically ignoring Malfoy's suggestion, Mune and Hermione each raised their wands and surveyed the surrounding environment.

"Is it here?"

"It should be. Bouncy and the baby dragon both said there's an evil aura here."

This open space wasn't very large. Mune quickly discovered a spot where a lot of bloodstains remained on a branch.

The injured unicorn should have struggled painfully nearby.

Pushing aside a tangled mass of branches, Mune found something white lying on the ground, shimmering.

"Look, over here!"

Just as Mune was about to remind everyone, he saw a cloak flying quickly towards him, close to the ground.

Before Mune could cast a spell, the cloak had already passed over the wand.

Bang!

A [Shield Charm] emitting a white light protected him, knocking away the black cloak.

This was the shield badge that Professor McGonagall had repaired last week, and Mune had been pinning it on his chest.

"Send up red sparks, notify Hagrid!"

Watching the cloak being knocked onto the grass and flying towards the dense forest next to it, Mune quickly blocked everyone behind him.

Hermione looked at Mune, who was standing in front of her, and without any hesitation fired a signal, then stood with Mune.

"Is it gone?"

"No, it's still nearby. Bouncy can sense it."

Hearing Mune's words, Malfoy and Neville both took out their wands, looking worriedly at the surrounding dense and dark forest.

"Chirp chirp~" (Over there!)

Hearing Bouncy's words, Mune quickly turned around and fired a [Petrification Charm].

This was the fastest spell he currently mastered that could balance damage and speed.

However, the speed of that black shadow was obviously faster than Mune's spell.

It turned nimbly in the air, dodged the spell, and continued to fly towards the young wizards.

Fang was obviously frightened. Seeing the black shadow, he immediately broke free from Neville's hand and ran into the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione also fired a spell, but the speed was obviously not as fast as Mune's, and it was also easily dodged by the black shadow.

Malfoy was so frightened that he kept backing away. A tree root tripped him, and he fell to the ground.

"Ahhh—!"

Watching the black shadow get closer and closer, Malfoy let out a terrible scream.

It was at this moment that the baby dragon, which had been staying safely in the Invisibility Cloak, rushed out.

As the black shadow was about to approach Malfoy, the baby dragon flapped its huge wings and once again knocked the black shadow away.

"What's wrong? What happened!"

Hagrid's voice sounded in the distance, and the black shadow instantly disappeared into the depths of the forest.