Time accelerated, and the week before exams arrived. Harry Potter's resolute commitment to silence was abruptly tested when, leaving the library, he heard Professor Quirrell sobbing in the adjacent classroom. The soft whimpering suggested he had been threatened again, but this time, he seemed to have finally cracked.
The Gryffindor trio immediately huddled to discuss strategy. Harry and Hermione eventually managed to convince Ron to postpone his plan to resume night-time explorations, instead forcing him to pull out a dusty astronomical map of Jupiter to review the names of its moons.
Later, sitting at the Gryffindor table, the three received five identical notes: "Your detention begins at 11:00 P.M. tonight. Report to Mr. Filch in the Entrance Hall." Harry and his friends didn't complain. The guilt and anxiety stemming from the massive point loss had been festering, and the delayed punishment actually offered a strange sense of relief; they felt they fully deserved whatever came next.
Even Hermione, who was meticulously reviewing every spare moment, accepted the notice without a fuss. In her strict moral code, mistakes necessitated punishment; it was a natural and equitable system. Ron just hoped that after serving their time, the harsh glares from their Housemates would subside.
Meanwhile, Allen was luxuriating in a rare French delicacy, a rich cream of mushroom soup. The exquisite flavour was hitting all the right notes for his palate. Suddenly, a familiar system voice echoed only in his mind:
Limited-time Quest: Rescue the Evil-Covered Unicorn and Earn its Gratitude.
Time Limit: 24 Hours.
Mission Success Reward: Random Draw.
Allen instantly suppressed his excitement, setting down his spoon. He glanced over at the Gryffindor Five, who were loudly debating the merits of their imminent detention. While he didn't know what the specific reward entailed, the mission clearly meant he had to follow the group—who were secretly breaking yet another school rule—into the Forbidden Forest.
With this firm intention, Allen quickly stood up and headed back to his dormitory to prepare. He pulled out a scarf and quickly began charming its colour. He also gathered several of the specialized tools he used to refine his advanced potions skills and packed an array of expensive, life-saving draughts he had commissioned for the operation.
At 11:00 P.M., Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fleg, and Neville crept down to the Entrance Hall, where the Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch, was waiting, along with Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy, who had rashly tried to threaten Filch with his father Lucius Malfoy's position on the School Board, had earned his detention by reporting the Gryffindor students' actions to Professor McGonagall. However, neither Filch nor his cat, Mrs. Norris, was swayed by Malfoy's posturing.
"Come with me," Filch commanded, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. "I expect you'll think twice before you ever break rules again, won't you?" He looked them over, his face gleaming nastily.
"Ah, yes… if you ask me, hard work and pain are the best teachers… It's a pity they got rid of the old-fashioned punishments… Hanging you up by your wrists, leaving you suspended from the ceiling for days. I still keep those chains oiled in my office; maybe they'll come in handy one day… Now, off we go. And don't even think about running off. You'll be in even worse trouble if you do."
They endured Filch's non-stop, macabre chatter as they made their way across the darkened grounds. Neville continued to sniffle, haunted by the terrifying legends of the Forbidden Forest, while the bewildered Fleg tried to comfort him.
Ron and Hermione were also visibly stressed. Harry, who still didn't know the exact nature of their punishment, suspected that something genuinely awful was about to happen, otherwise Filch's tone wouldn't have been so gleeful.
It wasn't until Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys, intervened that the young wizards were released from Filch's control. Hagrid angrily argued with the caretaker, demanding he leave and telling him the detention was now his responsibility.
Filch managed a final, spiteful comment about returning at dawn to clean up the young wizards' remains before disappearing into the darkness, his oil lamp bobbing away.
After Filch departed, Draco Malfoy immediately tried to leverage his father's status as a School Governor to intimidate Hagrid and avoid being sent into the terrifying Forbidden Forest. Hagrid, who harbored a strong dislike for all things Slytherin, bluntly told Malfoy to either accept the punishment and be useful, or clear off. Malfoy backed down instantly.
While Hagrid was irresponsibly planning to divide the group of five into smaller, separate teams to facilitate the search and confront the perpetrator attacking the unicorn, Allen had already slipped out of the Ravenclaw Common Room and was sprinting toward the Forbidden Forest entrance under a Disillusionment Charm.
While invisible, he had subtly altered the colour scheme of his uniform to resemble Gryffindor robes and wrapped a thick scarf around his lower face and head.
The cold moonlight illuminated the path leading into the Forbidden Forest, whose dark depths seemed to gape like a massive mouth, ready to swallow anyone who dared enter. The narrow track before Allen gradually vanished into the gloom.
A faint breeze rustled his hair. From the entrance, the forest was hazy and indistinct; strangely contorted branches looked like menacing demons waiting for prey. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, creating patches of light on the ground, but instead of offering comfort, it only enhanced the unsettling, dizzying atmosphere.
As Allen entered the Forbidden Forest, he followed the system's guidance: he placed his wand vertically on the ground, handle down. Then, using the direction the wand tip pointed—an ancient form of divination—he selected his initial path.
Allen grimly thought that any student who attempted this without the "halo" of magical protection, as mentioned by Professor Sybil Trelawney in the Divination elective since their third year, might end up directly in the nest of the giant, eight-eyed spiders deeper in the woods.
Allen, who had zero experience in navigating dark forests at night, followed the direction the tip of his wand indicated. As he pressed deeper, he couldn't help but feel a chill of fear from the eerie surroundings. He wasn't afraid of the various magical beasts and monsters lurking in the Forbidden Forest; it was simply the primal human instinct to fear the dark and the unknown.
He mentally conjured scenes from Muggle films like The Blair Witch Project and combined them with the scene before him, until he convinced himself that the individual ahead was the antagonist and he was the heroic wizard, which offered some psychological comfort.
Soon, a trail of broken branches and scattered footprints caught Allen's attention.
Following the direction of the tracks, a shimmery, silver-white trail appeared before Allen's eyes. Allen was certain this wasn't an illusion caused by the moonlight; coincidentally, unicorn blood was silver-white.
Allen pressed on along the path. Occasionally, a shaft of moonlight penetrated the branches above, illuminating a stain of silver-blue blood on a fallen leaf. Allen hoped to reach the unicorn in time; its injuries looked severe.
As Allen passed a moss-covered tree stump, the distinct sound of rushing water reached his ears. There was clearly a stream nearby. The winding path was increasingly stained with unicorn blood, a horrifying spectacle.
The bloodstains grew denser as Allen ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Alarmed, he almost quickened his pace, but the forest was incredibly dense, and the massive, tangled roots made tripping highly likely. Thus, despite his agility, Allen proceeded cautiously, wary of using his Lumos charm.
Soon, a loud sound echoed in the distance. Allen followed the noise, and through the intertwined branches of an ancient oak, he saw a small clearing ahead. In the clearing, a unicorn with pristine silver-white fur and a spiral horn on its forehead was locked in a desperate battle with a masked wizard draped in a black cloak.
Instead of making a hasty move, Allen waited in the shadows for the perfect moment. The mysterious figure needed to ensure the unicorn was alive before drinking its blood to gain power, and Allen wasn't willing to risk his life for an optional quest reward.
The unicorn was slowly being worn down, using its long horn to poke and twist defensively. Its movements were no longer agile, but it fiercely resisted the wizard's attack. Contrary to its gentle appearance, its nature was ferocious; it was capable of fighting creatures as large as dragons or as magically potent as an elephant.
Yet, facing Quirrell, who was possessed by the mysterious entity, it was quickly overpowered. However, the black-cloaked, masked wizard seemed much weaker than before, having tried to conserve his magic.
The mysterious entity was forcing the unicorn's blood curse primarily onto Quirrell, using it to sustain his fragmented, disembodied existence, which was less than a ghost.
As the unicorn collapsed, immobilized by the wizard's Petrificus Totalus spell, and the figure gathered his wand to seize the creature and prepare to feed, Allen drew his wand. From a distance, satisfied with his timing, he recited the counter-curse: "Expulso!" His voice was slightly muffled by the red scarf wrapped around his face.
However, the dark-robed, masked wizard, experienced in combat and highly adept in Dark Arts, was not fooled by Allen's attack as expected. Hearing the sudden incantation from behind, he was horrified but had no time to turn around with the unicorn now within reach. He quickly raised his staff and cast a powerful Shield Charm behind him. Still unsure of his safety, he then rolled violently to the side to evade the incoming, savage magic.
Allen was prepared for his opponent to dodge his first spell. Following up instantly, the light from a Stunning Spell and a Petrifying Spell shot out from Allen's wand, one after the other. This time, Allen's spells struck the target, but they merely caused the figure to stagger violently, failing to deliver the intended effect.
Only then did the mysterious masked wizard realize that the person ambushing him from afar was a young Gryffindor student, and that the wizard was now raising his wand high into the air, clearly attempting to signal for help.
Having just fought the unicorn, the figure was extremely weak and dared not reveal his true identity. So, instead of engaging Allen in a prolonged fight, he instantly transformed into a black shadow and fled rapidly.
"Agh—!"
A scream echoed from another part of the forest. It turned out that Harry, who was part of the search party, and Malfoy, who was in the same group, had stumbled directly into the path of the fleeing Quirrell. The scream came from Draco Malfoy.
After a brief stunned silence, he realized what he saw and let out a terrifying shriek before staggering away, his lamp waving wildly.
Hagrid's pet dog, Fang, also ran for his life, actually overtaking Malfoy, who had started ahead of him. In this moment of crisis, the foolish dog's instincts took over; he reasoned that as long as he outran Malfoy, he would be safe.
The fleeing masked wizard looked up and spotted Harry. He swept toward Harry with a greedy intensity, but as he drew closer, Harry felt a sudden, agonizing pain in his head. It was a sensation he had never experienced, as if his scar had suddenly burst into flames… His vision blurred, he stumbled, and then fell to his knees with a thud.
Stay away from him!
Fleg, who was a few steps behind Harry and Draco, instantly raised his wand and stood defensively in front of the unconscious Harry. He wasn't sure that his admittedly poor magical ability would be enough to cast any damaging spell, but he held his ground.
Under his cloak, Quirrell and the dark presence realized they were outnumbered by the Gryffindors and had no time to continue the fight. They changed direction and fled without a backward glance.
Allen, who had come running when he heard the initial scream, merely shook his head when he saw the scene from the distant bushes. Then he immediately turned and ran back. Fleg was indeed a true Gryffindor, and that little coward Draco had, after successfully abandoning Harry Potter, immediately brought Hagrid and the others back to rescue his famous schoolmate.
Despite his moral compass, Allen prioritized the unicorn mission over intervening in his classmates' plotline. He first confirmed his classmates were safe from further interference due to the plot twist. Upon his return, Allen began lifting the charms on his disguise, making himself look like a Ravenclaw again. It would be difficult to explain if he ran into any Gryffindors who noticed his school robes were their own House's colours.
When Allen returned to the unicorn, he found it in a terrible state, groaning softly on the ground.
"Episkey."
When Allen learned a spell, he could cast it effortlessly and it usually worked perfectly. However, this time, the basic healing charm did almost nothing to the unicorn, proving to be less effective than a drop in the ocean. Coming from a family where his mother and sister were both Healers at St. Mungo's, Allen should have known that he had a unique family gift for healing magic.
This surprised Allen, but there was no time to dwell on it. Allen tried the spell again, with the same weak result. He surmised that the mysterious person's curse was likely imbued with powerful Dark Magic, and that the higher-level healing charm, Vulnera Sanentur, which required complex chanting, might work on cursed wounds. However, as a first-year, he hadn't mastered it. He quickly decided to resort to physical methods.
He pulled out the pre-prepared healing and anti-venom potions and poured them into the unicorn's mouth as if they were free water. Then he applied haemostatic ointment to the unicorn's wounds, and the silver-white blood finally stopped flowing.
Still feeling uneasy, he administered a few more tonics. In fact, he wouldn't have stopped if he hadn't known that administering multiple potions simultaneously in such a short period would lead to disastrous side effects.
But this somewhat extravagant treatment seemed to stabilize the unicorn. Just then, the sound of hooves echoed from behind Allen.
"You have saved this unicorn's life." A powerful voice resonated in Allen's ears. Allen turned his head and saw a Centaur with shimmering platinum blonde hair. His upper body was that of a handsome man, and his lower body was that of a cream-coloured horse.
Allen recognized the person by the colour of his coat. He feigned surprise and asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Firenze. Mars shines brightly tonight. The stars have guided my fate, and I must be here this night. Something important to our destiny is here," Firenze stated very seriously.
Allen, thinking he was referring to Harry, nodded. He gave a polite bow and said, "Excellent. Could you carry one of my classmates out of the Forbidden Forest for me? They're over there; I believe that's the one you're looking for… the famous Boy Who Lived…"
Although Firenze knew the young wizard before him was likely mistaken, he was friendly towards humans and happy to oblige. He gave a long, horse-like whinny toward the unicorn, which was still gasping on the ground: "Gaia, this human wizard must be trusted. Fate tells me you can trust him. I will return to you later."
With that, Firenze turned and galloped away. He quickly reached the now-conscious Harry, said a few cryptic words, and without waiting for a reaction, bent his front legs, lowered his body, and gently lifted the two small children onto his back with his human hands. He then started running again.
A moment later, the sound of other hooves came from the opposite side of the clearing.
Ronan and Bane burst out of the bushes, their coats slick with sweat.
"Firenze!" Bane roared. "What are you doing? You have two humans on your back! Have you no shame? Are you becoming some kind of common donkey?"
"Did you see who this is?" Firenze paused just long enough for his friends to see the figures on his back. "This is the Potter child. We must get him out of this forest immediately."
"Not the other one!" Bane snarled angrily, referring to Fleg. "Remember, Firenze, we swore we would never interfere with fate. Did we not see the signs pointed out by the planetary movements?"
"I believe Firenze intended this with the best of intentions," Ronan said sadly, stamping his hooves anxiously on the ground.
"Good intentions! What do they matter to us? We Centaurs are concerned with astrological prophecies! We do not chase after lost humans through our forest like common pack animals!" Bane roared at Firenze.
Enraged, Firenze suddenly reared up on his hind legs. Fleg instinctively clung tightly to Harry, and Harry had to hold onto Firenze's shoulders to keep from falling.
"Go and see for yourselves. Gaia has been saved. Destiny has charted a new course. We Centaurs will receive clearer guidance and move closer to our fate." With that, Firenze made a slight turn and galloped deeper into the forest with Harry and Fleg, leaving Ronan and Bane behind.