Chapter 25: Punishment and Forbidden Forest

Ron recently experienced a difficult situation, but he was unable to do anything about it because he was can't keep relying on the help of others.

Suddenly, he now understands the meaning of something someone told him during that time.

Ron had been bitten by a dragon. His hand was swollen twice its normal size and had turned a nauseating green color, a clear indication that the dragon's teeth were poisonous.

"I won't be able to hold a pen for a week," Ron said with fear.

"This is the most terrifying creature I've ever encountered."

Hermione was worried.

"What are we going to do? Madam Pomfrey will find out for sure."

Ron reassured her.

"We'll just say I was bitten by a dog. No problem."

Harry pulled out a letter.

"Malfoy sent this."

"What does it say?" Ron asked.

"He wants us to bring Norbert, the dragon, to the highest tower at midnight on Saturday. Someone will meet us there."

Ron exclaimed, "Midnight! This is a trap! He wants to get us in trouble and get Gryffindor deducted points. We'll be caught by Mrs. Lorris if we go there!"

Harry replied seriously, "Ron, we have to trust him. If he wanted to turn us in, he could have done it already. And we have an advantage – the invisibility cloak. It'll cover all three of us and Norbert."

The next few days were filled with anxiety as they tried to figure out what to do with Noble. But Saturday finally arrived, and it was a dark, overcast night. They stopped by Hagrid's hut to pick up the supplies he had packed for Norbert snacks – mice, brandy, and even a teddy bear – and covered the crate with the invisibility cloak.

The journey to the tower was filled with surprises. The steep spiral staircase leading to the tower was the most relaxing part of the trip. Finally, they reached the top and took off the cloak, breathing in the cold night air. Hermione even danced a little jig.

"Calm down, Hermione," Harry reminded her.

"We're not safe yet."

After waiting for about ten minutes, a few brooms appeared out of nowhere.

"He didn't betray us," Harry said with relief.

"Are you two friends of Master Draco?" the tallest person asked, clearly the leader.

Harry nodded, even though he didn't want to admit it. "Yes."

"Leave it to us now." The group tied Noble up in a net of ropes and flew off into the night sky on their brooms.

Harry and Hermione walked down the spiral staircase quietly, finally free of the burden of caring for Noble. As they were returning to their dormitory, they were caught by Filch, the caretaker.

"It's over," Harry thought as he saw Filch's annoying face. But to his surprise, Filch didn't seem to see them. They realized that they were still invisible thanks to the cloak.

They breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to their dormitory, grateful for the invisibility cloak and their luck

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The students of Gryffindor were shocked when they saw the score in the huge hourglass that recorded the standings for the College Cup competition. They were suddenly 100 points behind the previous day. Word quickly spread that Harry Potter, the famous hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost those points along with another first-year student.

Harry, who had previously been one of the most popular and admired students in the school, was now a target of ridicule.

Even students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff treated him poorly, as everyone wanted to see Slytherin lose the College Cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed at him and whispered insults. On the other hand, whenever he passed by the Slytherins, they cheered, whistled, and applauded. "Thank you, Potter, you've been a great help!"

Only Ron stood by Harry's side.

"In a few weeks, everyone will forget about this," Ron comforted him.

"Fred and George have been losing points since they started school, and people still like them."

"But they've never lost 100 points at once, have they?" Harry pointed out.

Ron had no response.

They were grateful for the upcoming exams, which would allow them to temporarily forget their mistakes. Harry also went to see Wood, the Quidditch coach, to resign from the team, but Wood wouldn't accept his resignation.

Determined to focus on his studies, Harry tried his best to memorize complex potion recipes and magic spells, as well as the dates of important magical inventions and goblin rebellions. It was as if he hoped that the memory of the lost points would fade away.

He made a resolution to stay out of trouble, but this resolution was soon broken. He overheard Snape threatening Quirrell again and knew he had to do something about it.

"I'm going to stop him," Harry said in the library.

"Harry, I think we should focus on ourselves now," Ron suggested.

"I agree," Hermione added weakly.

"Even if I get expelled, I won't let him succeed," Harry declared, clenching his fists.

Upon hearing Harry's determination, Ron said, "So what if we get expelled? The worst that can happen is we have to leave school. I'll help you. That's what friends are for."

Hermione hesitated before finally saying nothing.

The next morning, Harry and Hermione found notes on their breakfast table summoning them to confinement with Filch at 11 PM. They were anxious as they didn't know what their punishment would be. As they approached Filch's office, they were surprised to see Malfoy there as well.

"Come with me," Filch said, lighting a lamp and leading them out.

"I hope this will make you think twice before breaking school rules again."

"Why is he here?" Harry asked aloud. Hermione was also surprised and fiddled with her fingers, not knowing how to face Malfoy.

Filch explained in his somber voice, "Professor McGonagall is concerned for your safety. I've been assigned as your bodyguard. It's a strange arrangement, but I suppose even those who are punished can still have a bodyguard." Filch seemed a bit puzzled by the arrangement.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either," Malfoy said with a shrug.

"But I need to get my wand back, don't I?" He held up his hands to show that he was also paying a price to get his wand returned.

Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy walked through the dark forest. Hermione whispered to Harry, "Where are we going?"

Harry whispered softly, "I don't know."

"Don't guess. We're going to the Forbidden Forest," Malfoy said.

The night was dark and the moon was bright, but clouds continued to cover the moon, causing them to fall into darkness. The night wind was cold and moist, causing Harry and Hermione to shiver.

The Forbidden Forest is a forbidden place for many ordinary students, symbolizing danger and fear.

"It's said that there are werewolves in there," Harry whispered.

"Oh, there's more than that," Malfoy said sarcastically.

"We might also meet the eight-eyed giant spider, the half giant, the unicorn, and the horseman. It all depends on luck."

As Malfoy spoke, Hermione's face looked pale and she looked at Malfoy, trying to find fear on his face but finding none.

She couldn't help but think, "Is he not afraid at all?"

"I have good news to tell you," he said suddenly.

"Mr. Draco, are you talking too much?" Filch interrupted him.

"Oh, that's good," Malfoy stopped talking.

Of course, Harry and Hermione soon learned the good news. They saw Hagrid striding towards them from the darkness, with a huge stone bow and a fully loaded arrow on his shoulder. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but smile when they saw him.

"Oh, are you here to play? you guys happy now?" Filch seemed to see no one happy.

His twisted mind made him say fiercely, "You're in the Forbidden Forest. Be careful."

He left this curse-like sentence and wobbled the lantern back to the castle, leaving the place.

"Now listen carefully. What we're doing tonight is very dangerous. I don't want anyone to be in danger. Follow me first," Hagrid led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and raised the light high, pointing to a small path that led deep into the black jungle. They looked into the Forbidden Forest and a breeze blew their hair.

"Look over there," Hagrid said.

"Do you see that glittering thing on the ground? That silvery-white color? That's the blood of a unicorn. A unicorn in the Forbidden Forest was injured and it's very badly hurt. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're going to try to find the poor unicorn and relieve its suffering."

"Now we're going to split into two groups and follow the bloodstains to search for it. As long as you follow me and my fang, you won't be hurt by the creatures of the forest," Hagrid said proudly.

"I'm afraid there are more than just the usual creatures in the Forbidden Forest," Malfoy's voice came from behind Hagrid.

Hagrid couldn't help but tremble when he heard this voice. He had tried to ignore Malfoy as much as possible, but he still said roughly, "So we have to be more careful. Just follow my fang."

Hagrid's black hound licked its paw, not sure if it was happy or unhappy with the decision.

"Yes, it's a bit cowardly dog. You still have to be careful," Hagrid reminded, even though he had a negative impression of Malfoy.

"You don't have to worry about it," Malfoy said lightly, and then turned to the fork on the right.

"Harry, Hermione, let's go this way," Hagrid led the two of them through the dense forest, almost blocking out all the faint moonlight, making it dark around them.

They walked in silence, staring at the ground. From time to time, moonlight would spill through the branches above, illuminating a silver-blue bloodstain on the fallen leaves.

Harry noticed that Hagrid was very anxious.

"Will the werewolf kill the unicorn?" Harry asked.

"It wouldn't be this fast," Hagrid said.

"It's not easy to catch a unicorn. They have strong magic. I've never heard of unicorns being hurt before."

They walked past a mossy stump. Harry could hear the sound of gurgling water, indicating that there was a stream nearby. The winding path had scattered spots of unicorn blood on it.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Hagrid asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, since it's so badly wounded, it won't be able to go far. We'll find it soon – no, hide behind that tree!"

There was a subtle sound from a distance. A centaur approached, with a human upper body and red hair and beard, but with a brownish-red shiny horse body below the waist. It had a long, red tail behind it.

Hermione and Harry were stunned by the creature in front of them.

As for Malfoy, he was surrounded by dense bushes and Hagrid's dog fang only dared to follow him from a distance, but he didn't dare to get close. It seemed that there was something dangerous in front of him.

"Obviously, this came with me to be a bodyguard, but now situation change the dog is being protected," Malfoy thought to himself, but he didn't dare to let his guard down. The danger ahead was unpredictable and terrifying. He might face the most powerful dark wizard in the world alone today.

The woods became denser and denser as they kept walking through them. They had to be careful to avoid sharp, protruding branches, lest they be scratched. They went deeper and deeper until Malfoy's eyes passed through an ancient tree with tangled branches. He saw an empty space in front of it, and the ground emitted a white light.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but tense up. Suddenly, a bush shook at the edge of the open space. Then, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows, crawling slowly on the ground like a beast approaching gradually.

Fang and Malfoy tried to keep their nerves under control, but they were now scared and stunned. The figure in the cloak came to the unicorn, lowered its head, and began to drink its blood from the wound on its side.

"Who is it?" The black figure seemed to be aware of someone nearby. It looked around and, surprisingly, found the direction, drifting towards Malfoy's position like a ghost.

"What terrible perception," Malfoy froze.

"Hissss..." The figure came towards Malfoy slowly, making a snake-like sound that gave people goosebumps. Malfoy's teeth were already scared to the ground, trembling with fear. The face under the cloak was tightly wrapped, making it difficult to see the true face.

"My father is right, I've finally found you, Master Dark Lord!" Malfoy suddenly had a fanatical expression on his face, with joy in his voice.

"Oh? Young wizard, let me think about who your father is," the original Voldemort was ready to start, but this sentence stopped him.

"Platinum blond hair, uh, you're Lucius' child," the shadow under the cloak made a cold, harsh voice, with some surprise in its emotion.

In the night, Voldemort's vision was not affected.

"What's your name?" he asked, trying to be as kind as possible, but this feeling didn't match his hoarse voice.

"My name is Draco, Draco Malfoy. Master Dark Lord," Malfoy tried to make himself appear full of enthusiasm. He mobilized the muscles in his face to show a fanatical look, making himself appear devout.

"Oh, it's unbelievable," the Dark Lord under the cloak looked a little surprised.

"I didn't expect that the most loyal Death Eater was actually Lucius. It's ironic," perhaps he thought of his men before, Tom Marvolo Riddle, who was loyal to him until death.

"You, very good," Voldemort said.

"My father never gave up looking for you!" Malfoy began to criticize his father.

"He firmly believes that you will come back someday."

"Master Dark Lord, Harry Potter and they are now around here, we can..."

Voldemort interrupted Malfoy's words. "Your loyalty is enough to shame most Death Eaters," he said in a hushed voice, "but I still have more important things to do now. " he chuckled.

"I will let lucky savior live a little longer."

Suddenly, the two felt the ground shaking and heard a roaring sound from afar. On the other side of the open space, Malfoy saw flying dust.

"This group of disgusting centaurs," Voldemort said in disgust.

"When I get rid of this ridiculous body, I must teach them well."

"You, very good," Voldemort repeated to Malfoy.

"I look forward to our next time," he said nervously. Then he disappeared into the void, leaving no trace.

"If you can, it will naturally make you never see the best, but it seems unlikely," Malfoy couldn't help thinking.

The speed of the centaurs was naturally very fast, and a small group rushed to his side in the blink of an eye, raising their weapons.

"Invader, tell your name and purpose," the leading centaur, with white blonde hair and blue eyes, said as he raised a spear.

"Ferrenze, wait, it's a misunderstanding!" Hagrid ran up to them, sweating, followed by Hermione, Harry, and several other centaurs.

"Oh my god, what's going on here?" Hagrid looked down to see a long-dead unicorn, its slender legs in the posture it fell in and unnaturally straight. Its mane was spread on the dark leaves, as white as pearls.

"Is this a student of your school? It seems that he killed a unicorn," the leading centaur said.

Most of the ethnic groups in the forest are friendly, let alone the pure and noble unicorns, which are the most popular species.

"No, no, no," Hagrid shook his head.

"He just broke up with us. You see, I was assigned to him. He just happened to touch its body," he said.

The leading centaur, Ferenze, nodded. "First-year students should not kill unicorns, but he invaded our territory and the sky is wrong today," he said, looking up at the stars.

"This is an ominous sign!"

"This is a misunderstanding," Hagrid said. Although he was frustrated with Malfoy's previous behavior, his loyal nature led him to defend him automatically.

"Let me see," Ferenze said, no longer wanting to talk about this topic.

He looked behind Hagrid and saw Harry, with the bright and prominent scar on his forehead.

"Hello, Potter boy," the centaur said in a friendly tone.

"Hello, do you know me?" Harry asked, a little afraid of this magical creature.

"Do you know what unicorn blood can do?"

"I don't know," Harry said, shocked by the weird question.

"We used only its horns and tail hair in potion class."

"This is because killing a unicorn is an extremely brutal thing," Ferenze said. "Only people who have nothing and want everything can commit such a heinous crime. The blood of a unicorn can extend your life, even if you are dying, but you must pay a heavy price for it. If you use the blood to extend your life, you will be cursed to live a half-dead, cursed life. But if you just use it to prolong your life, so you can drink something else that rejuvenates you and makes you feel alive again, then it's not worth it."

Harry said, voicing his doubts aloud. "If you have to be cursed for your entire life, you might as well just die, right?"

"True," Ferenze agreed.

Unless you use it to prolong your life, so that you can drink the Elixir of Life and become immortal. Mr. Porter, do you know what hidden in the school at the moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone!" Hermione exclaimed beside him.

"I should have thought of anyone else but him?" Harry said, holding his head in remorse.

"No one would think about it except Voldemort. He's not afraid of curses because he is a curse in himself. I actually thought Snape's plan to obtain the Philosopher's Stone was just to turn it into gold." He slammed his head fiercely, seeming to blame himself for his stupidity.

"After consulting the stars, I can only give you these hints," Ferenze said slowly, pausing before adding, "You can leave today. Humans are not welcome in the forest now." He dismissed them as guests.

"Okay, these kids should go back," Hagrid said, not fully understanding what was going on but knowing it was time to return to school. Harry and Hermione followed him, still unsure of what to think.

Suddenly, Harry, walking on the road, seemed to think of something and turned to ask Malfoy, who had been silent for a long time, "Are you going to report us?"

Malfoy replied with a smile, "Who knows."

No one saw Hermione's lips almost biting.