The roar of the dragon suddenly erupted, shredding the tranquil night sky of Hogwarts.
"Hagrid!"
Harry shouted, immediately mounting his broom and flying out.
"Gryffindor..."
Vid sighed helplessly.
Hagrid had just entered the Forbidden Forest, at least a mile away from the place where the fire appeared. No matter what, it couldn't be dangerous.
Vid also mounted his broom and dove into the Forbidden Forest. He ascended, navigating with his excellent vision between the tops of the black trees.
Ahead, Hagrid was holding a barrel, shouting Norbert's name and charging through the Forbidden Forest toward the source of the fire, his hound closely following behind. Harry, seeing that Hagrid was unharmed, had already flown ahead towards the dragon.
They were all very fast, and before long, they reached a spot beside a cave. Vid saw Harry standing pale-faced to the side, while Norbert, as big as a house, lay on the ground with massive, hideous wounds on his eyes and chest, crimson blood gushing out.
"Norbert—"
Hagrid cried out in anguish and rushed to embrace his dragon baby, trembling as he checked for signs of breathing.
Norbert's nostrils emitted a few dying sparks.
"Don't be afraid, sweetheart... Mommy's going to heal you right away—"
Hagrid's hand shook as he rummaged through his pockets for healing potions.
Vid was still in the air, scanning the surroundings with vigilance. The black forest was silent, the roar of the dragon had erased all subtle noises, and now there was only the sound of the wind, Hagrid's wailing, and the crackling of branches burning in the fire.
Vid shot two red sparks into the sky and cast detection spells around before landing.
Hagrid was pouring Dittany Essence over Norbert's wounds, but the blood flowed like an opened faucet, quickly washing all the potion away.
"These are wounds caused by Dark Magic. Ordinary Healing Potions won't work."
Vid said, pointing his magic wand at Norbert's wounds and chanting an anti-curse—fortunately, he had just learned it from Remus a few days ago—after half a minute, the bleeding finally stopped.
Hagrid watched eagerly and only then dared to ask, "Is he okay now?"
"No," Vid said. "This is as much as I can do. The rest requires someone more professional. But at least... his life should be saved."
"Thank you, Vid... Thank you so much!" Hagrid sobbed with tears streaming down: "If Norbert had died, it would have been like a piece of my heart was ripped out."
He held the head of the Norwegian Ridgeback tightly, the dragon weakly opening its eyes, looking at the bawling Hagrid, its nostrils breathing out hot air.
"What happened here?" a cold, seemingly very angry voice sounded nearby, turning Harry's dazed face even paler.
Snape, wearing a black robe, emerged from the darkness, his gaze at each person as if he wanted to drain their blood dry. His black robe billowed behind him like a dark cloud, as if he hadn't run over, but flown.
Next, a tabby cat leapt down from a branch turning into Professor McGonagall in her pajamas upon landing. She took in the scene and let out a shriek: "An injured dragon! What happened here?"
Before Harry could answer, more people appeared—Professor Quirrell stumbled through the woods, clutching a scarf, and Dumbledore suddenly appearing accompanied by a flash of fire.
Vaguely, this scene was very similar to what happened during Halloween, except Flitwick was replaced by Dumbledore.
But...
Harry trembled slightly, instinctively taking two steps towards Hagrid.
"Someone hurt Norbert, Dumbledore!" Hagrid sobbed into a large handkerchief: "Please save him, the boy is gravely injured!"
Dumbledore bent down to look at Norbert; the characteristics of the Dark Magic-inflicted wounds were apparent, but the wounds seemed to be contracting. Dumbledore only seemed slightly surprised then quickly understood which of the three on site was capable enough to do so.
"A beautifully executed Dark Magic anti-curse, Mr. Gray." Dumbledore praised.
Vid bowed slightly, saying nothing.
"Don't worry, Hagrid." Dumbledore said warmly: "Madam Pomfrey will heal him. Minerva, could you help find a more suitable place for this child?"
"—Okay."
Professor McGonagall was sternly watching the two students but turned her gaze away at Dumbledore's instruction, using Levioso to take Norbert away.
"Take it easy, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid couldn't help but urge: "He's still a baby! It's my fault for not taking good care of him..."
"Private dragon keeping is forbidden." Snape said sinisterly from the side: "Hagrid, I thought you knew that."
Hagrid bit his lip, his massive body appearing pitiful.
"We'll discuss this later." Dumbledore said calmly: "Harry, Vid, why are you here? Going out of the castle at night into the dangerous Forbidden Forest isn't a wise decision."
"I couldn't sleep; in the dormitory... just looking at the stars or something." Harry suddenly stammered: "I accidentally saw Hagrid entering the Forbidden Forest... Then I heard the dragon's roar and saw the fire... I was worried something might have happened to Hagrid, so I flew over... and Vid came too..."
He skipped over the fact that they both broke curfew, flying around the school.
"Did you see what hurt the dragon?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry shivered slightly, still appearing afraid. Vid said, "No. By the time we arrived, the scene was already like this."
Dumbledore nodded, looking at the pool of blood on the scene, pondering something while the others held their breaths, waiting.
Inside the cave, suddenly there were clip-clopping footsteps; a pure white, sacred creature emerged, its entire body glowing faintly, each elegant leg limping, silver blood dripping from its body.
"Merlin!" Hagrid exclaimed: "That person dared to harm a unicorn!"
The unicorn kneeled slightly towards Dumbledore, then leaned against Hagrid, seemingly asking for his help.
Dumbledore used a spell to heal the unicorn's wound and said to Hagrid: "You should also take it to Madam Pomfrey. Bring Vid and Harry—I think they need a calming potion."
Hagrid nodded, without hesitation, picking up the unicorn and calling: "Come along now, children—thank you for worrying about my safety. But I must say—this was very dangerous, really very dangerous. Don't wander around next time."
Harry mumbled an agreement, and as he looked back, he saw Snape frowning, seemingly wanting to oppose how Dumbledore brushed off their offense, but Dumbledore said, "Severus, Quirinus, could I ask you to patrol around the Forbidden Forest tonight? Perhaps the creature that hurt the dragon is still lurking nearby... Of course, for safety's sake, it would be best if you didn't split up..."
The dense forest obstructed Harry's view.