Trials and Detention - Part 2

A shout could be heard from near the cabin

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Alexander's smile when he heard the shout was evident from where I was sitting. He probably recognized the voice and was happy to hear it, or he might have been surprised by the sudden shout and smiled out of amusement.

Sadly, though, I wasn't the only one who noticed his happiness.

because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy -- it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Malfoy and I halted in our tracks when we heard this.

"The forest?" Draco repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

I could make out a man as we drew near; he was at least five times wider and nearly twice as tall as a typical man.

He appeared simply too big and wild to be permitted; his long, bushy black hair and beard covered most of his face; his hands were the size of trash can lids; and his feet, in their leather boots, resembled baby dolphins.

The first person I encountered here was the Hogwarts gatekeeper, whose name, if I remember correctly, was Hagrid. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to get to know him as well as Elias did; from what I've heard, the Half-Giant gets along well with Elias' Gryffindor friends. Hagrid smiled and nodded at me as I drew nearer to him, but he soon returned his focus to Flich. I wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with Hagrid and learn more about his experiences at Hogwarts, but I didn't want to interrupt his conversation with Flich. Maybe another time.

Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder. "Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Alexander?"

Alexander grinned, "Good to see you, Hagrid." "How have you been?" he asked, patting the half-giant on the back, or rather the leg...

The half-giant chuckled and replied, "I've been well, thank you. Just busy with my duties at Hogwarts."

He focused on Flitch once more.

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Draco now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest, he said, with a note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yehve got ter pay fer it." "But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or Yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on"'

Draco didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze. "Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. I notice this more and more frequently. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Draco quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth. "All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. " So me an' Alexander'll go one way an' Draco, Arthur, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now -- that's it -- an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh -- so, be careful -- let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth's path, and Alexander and Hagrid took the left path while I, Malfoy, and Fang took the right.

Without a second thought, I started to walk down the old, endless, grey path, scattered with leaves and long twigs. Every step I took led to a defining 'CRUNCH'…

The further I went into the forest the more frightened I got. The tall trees, which were masked by shadows, towered over me, almost like they were watching every step I took. All was silent. No birds chirp, no howl of the wind. The darkness of the forest was thickening. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of leaves underfoot as I made my way deeper into the woods. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was watching me from the shadows.

In this solitude, the only company I had was a dog that trembled and appeared to be afraid even by his shadow cast by the moon, and the other, a person I did not get along with. However, this must stop right away. I realized that being alone with my thoughts was not healthy, so I decided to take the first step.

But it seems I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"You put me in a pretty bad situation, Prince, if you hadn't acted the way you did, we wouldn't be in this situation," Draco said

"Malfoy, you started, and I just finished. If you ask me, we're both at fault." I replied.

"You think I didn't realize you couldn't stand me when we first met, Prince, based on the way you viewed me." Angry, Draco responded.

"See here, you're wrong, Malfoy. I don't hate you, I hate that mask you put on your face. the way you behave, it's all a lie. You know that too.

Do you think I didn't notice when I talked about things created by muggles, how you try to hear and understand more about them? You have no reason to hate them, but you try to be something that you are not, and I don't like that about you. It's important to be true to yourself and embrace who you are, rather than trying to fit into a mold that doesn't feel authentic. Remember that being different is what makes us unique and special." I said.

However, as he prepared to speak, I heard a sound close by, and Fang began to grunt. This can't be good, I thought. I turned to look and saw a creature approaching us. The creature had smooth, pale grey skin, and four spindly legs that ended in large flat webbed feet. It also had a very long neck and bulging blue eyes that sat on the top of its head

"Mooncalf" Said Malfoy, "Mooncalves are known to be shy creatures and avoid human contact, so it is strange to see one approaching us."The confusion on his face was evident as he continued to approach the creature.

I wondered if it was injured or lost.

When he saw us approaching, he fled. We then began to pursue him. He ran as fast as he could, but we were determined to catch him. After a few minutes of chasing, we finally caught up with him, and there, in the moonlight, I witnessed something I had never imagined seeing: a herd of Mooncalfs. dancing in the moonlight, If I had to sum up their dance in one word, I would choose "magical," as it was unlike anything I had previously seen. The Mooncalfs were graceful and their movements seemed to be in perfect harmony with the moon. I felt lucky to have witnessed such a rare and enchanting sight."

The creatures left after the dance, leaving only the geometric patterns in the wheat fields.

"I can't believe it," said Malfoy,

"I can't believe it either, it was beautiful," I replied"I don't think you understand, Prince, what we saw is very rare, not many have seen what we saw here..." Malfoy said"I didn't know you were so fascinated by creatures," I said,

"Not everything about me boils down to purity and nonsense..." Malfoy said,

"So you want to tell me that you agree with what I told you..." I said"You know... it wasn't always like that, from my father I got the love for creatures, you know... we have a farm of Abraxians, the way they behaved, attracted me more than any potion, than any other spell..." Malfoy said as if he remembered something..." tell me, Prince, do you think... do you think we can stop being enemies?... I'm fed up and tired..."

"If you think you can be yourself, I will offer you something even better."

Malfoy appeared to understand what I meant when I extended my hand for a handshake. He would have to be himself to shake my hand, which would be difficult given that he had been living a lie up until this point. I could see the hesitation in his eyes, but eventually, he reached out and shook my hand firmly. It was a small step toward reconciliation, but it was a start.

"Arthur Severus Belmont Prince, on Short Arthur, pleased to meet you," I said

"Draco Lucius Malfoy the pleasure is all mine, oh and feel free to call me Draco..."

That marked how I met the real Draco for the first time

However, the joy didn't last long because, after a short while, I could feel how every muscle in my body was telling me to do one thing—to run. It seems I wasn't the only one who felt this, as Fang began running in the same direction as me. Draco only realized what was happening after hearing various screams from forest creatures. We both knew that something dangerous was lurking in the forest and we needed to get out of there as soon as possible. The fear in our hearts only grew stronger as we heard the sound of twigs snapping behind us.

"Run," I said with all my might we tried our best to follow Fang as he was the only one of us who knew the forest but unfortunately we lost him but that didn't stop us we continued in- a straight road. We hoped that we would find a way out of the forest soon, but as time passed, we began to realize that we were lost and had no idea where we were going. Despite this, we kept running forward, hoping for a stroke of luck to guide us out of the woods.

I have to admit that running through a dark forest can be unpleasant, but it is much worse to run through a dark forest while being pursued by monsters who want to rip you apart. The fear and adrenaline rush that comes with being chased by monsters can be overwhelming, making it difficult to think straight and navigate through the forest. It's important to stay calm and focused to increase your chances of survival.

But amid the horror, I sensed a good, mystical presence behind me; sometimes I wonder why my powers only activate in situations like these. As I looked to see where this presence was coming from, I saw a unicorn; he appeared to be hurt, but the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know: he wanted to help us. As a result, I did the only thing that made sense at the time.

I mounted the unicorn and reached out to Draco. "Let's go for a ride," I said, as Draco looked at me not believing what he was seeing. Draco hesitated for a moment, but then he smiled and climbed onto the unicorn behind me.

"First the dance and now this... it seems I won't get bored with you..."I started to laugh

"I hope you will get used to it," I said

Draco began to cling to me more tightly so he wouldn't fall as the unicorn began galloping rapidly.

and in a short time, the threat was far behind.

When we got closer to Hagrid, he was taken aback when he saw Malfoy and me riding a unicorn.

After a lengthy explanation, we left the unicorn under his protection. He made me promise to come for a hot tea and to tell him about the dance I saw, as he seemed quite jealous. After lengthy detention, Draco and I went back to our bedrooms.