The Injured Unicorn

Anthony spent several days processing the adoption intentions collected from students, carefully organizing and binding them into a book. He opened his planner and made a note to remind himself to find time to visit a less magical place to call the rescue center. Whether at Hogwarts or the nearby village of Hogsmeade, most Muggle devices malfunction due to the high levels of ambient magic—including, of course, the crucial telephone.

In fact, Anthony always found it a bit ironic that the entrance to the Ministry of Magic was a phone box.

When he opened a cabinet to put the folder away, he noticed a bottle of brandy inside. Anthony suddenly remembered that Tom had asked him to deliver it to Hagrid when he passed through the Leaky Cauldron on his way back. However, Anthony had been so busy tidying up his room and then caught up with other tasks that he completely forgot about it.

He glanced out the window. The days were growing longer, and it was still bright outside—perfect for visiting friends. So he tucked the bottle into his bag—it wouldn't do for the students to see it—and quickly set off. He hoped he'd have better luck today and catch Hagrid at home.

As he walked, thinking about the greetings Tom had asked him to convey to Hagrid, Anthony turned a corner and ran into Professor Quirrell. It was the first time he'd seen Quirrell since Snape had taken over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

"Professor Quirrell, I'm so glad to see you're okay," Anthony greeted him, noting Quirrell's appearance. "I suppose you already know how much the students have missed you, right?"

Quirrell looked pale, almost as if he were seriously ill, though the injuries on his body seemed to have healed. His eyes bulged nervously from their sockets, glancing around as if he expected danger at any moment. The large scarf wrapped around his neck made his face appear even thinner, and Anthony couldn't help but worry that the scarf might crush his frail neck.

"Ah." Quirrell flinched at Anthony's voice, shrinking against the wall. "Pr-Professor Anthony, I'm glad to see you too."

His stutter seemed worse than ever. Anthony looked at him closely, frowning. "Are you...?"

"Yes, I-I'm just heading back to my office. Goodbye." Quirrell hurried away as if fleeing from some unseen monster, nearly tripping over the threshold as he opened his office door.

Anthony shook his head and continued on his way to Hagrid's hut. He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. Professor Quirrell seemed to have encountered some magical creature related to undead magic. Even though Anthony had consciously suppressed his necromantic magic, he couldn't ignore the sensation that tugged at him the moment he saw Quirrell, as if his magic were whispering "necromancy" or "curse."

...

Like every time Anthony visited, Hagrid wasn't in his hut.

But this time, he had taken Fang with him. Anthony stood in front of the quiet wooden house, debating whether to leave the bottle of brandy on the steps or take it back and send Hagrid a note to arrange another time. In some ways, Hagrid seemed as elusive as Dumbledore to him.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of dogs barking behind him, followed by a deep, booming voice: "Henry!"

Hagrid emerged from the Forbidden Forest with Fang in tow, a bow slung over his back, a quiver at his waist, and a knife in his hand. He waved his free hand and strode over. Fang leaped forward excitedly, pulling at the rope, but Hagrid easily held him back.

"Why are yeh here?" Hagrid asked gruffly, looking at Anthony with concern. "It's not safe 'round here lately..."

Anthony was startled. "Your cabin? Not safe? What happened, Hagrid?"

"Not me cabin," Hagrid shook his messy head. "It's the Forbidden Forest. Somethin' hurt a unicorn a few days ago."

Anthony handed the brandy from the Leaky Cauldron to Hagrid and asked, "Is it badly injured?"

"Very badly," Hagrid said seriously. "It lost a lot o' blood. There's blood all over the Forbidden Forest. I'm not sure if it'll make it... They don't let me get too close, so I don't even know its current condition... Oh, brandy, great, I need this right now." He unscrewed the cap and took a swig straight from the bottle.

Anthony's heart sank. He remembered the beautiful, pure creatures he had seen before and felt a sudden sense of dread at hearing about the possible death of a wounded unicorn.

"Do you know how it was hurt?" he asked as he followed Hagrid into the hut.

Hagrid plopped down into his large armchair and began unloading his weapons with a series of clanking noises. Fang threw himself onto his mat and dug out a piece of ham that had been stored there for who knows how long. Anthony took his usual chair and sat beside Hagrid.

"I don't know," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "I asked around, but no one saw what happened. Of course, the centaurs were just talkin' about the stars and the moon, as usual. The wolves swore it wasn't them—Merlin's beard, their reaction was somethin' fierce. I think I hurt their pride a bit." He rolled up his trousers to inspect his calf in the light, revealing two faint rows of tooth marks.

After a quick look, Hagrid let his trousers fall back down. "I even asked Aragog, and he said he didn't see who did it. But whoever it was, it must've been a right coward."

Anthony asked, "Why do you say that?" From what he knew, unicorns possessed powerful magic and were difficult to injure. He had imagined some kind of dangerous and powerful magical creature, so Hagrid's choice of the word "coward" surprised him.

Hagrid replied angrily, "Because it chose the weakest unicorn and didn't have the guts to face it head-on. Henry, d'yeh remember the day we went into the Forbidden Forest to find Aragog, and on our way back, we ran into the Weasley twins chasin' a unicorn deep into the woods?"

Anthony nodded. "I remember."

Hagrid continued, "There was a unicorn givin' birth that day, so all the unicorns were gatherin' 'round. They have this habit. Unicorns are at their weakest when they're givin' birth—relatively speakin', of course."

He fetched two cups, poured one for Anthony, filled the other for himself, and took a long drink. "But in any case, Professor Kettleburn told me that unicorns gather together at times like this to protect their companions and witness the arrival of new life. Even though childbirth is the most dangerous time for them, the unicorn that's just given birth is still weaker than usual..."

"Do you mean—?"

"That's right," Hagrid rumbled, his voice loud enough to make Anthony's ears ache. "The injured unicorn is the mother."