After Poppy finished eating everything Harry had brought, the group settled down on the grass and began chatting.
Poppy lay comfortably on the ground and motioned for Harry to lean against her.
The other four, however...
Weren't nearly as fortunate.
They could only sit across from them, watching with obvious envy as the unicorn affectionately nuzzled Harry.
"If I weren't seeing it with my own eyes, I'd still believe that unicorns only approach girls with exceptionally pure hearts."
Hermione smiled, unable to hide a trace of envy.
"But I suppose it makes sense... after all, Harry saved Miss Poppy's life."
"Not exactly, Hermione."
Poppy gently shook her head.
"It's not because Harry saved me. It's because we've been friends for a very long time."
"What?!"
All four of them exclaimed in unison.
They all knew Harry had grown up with his aunt and uncle, far removed from the wizarding world.
How could he possibly have been friends with a unicorn?
Harry tilted his head.
"Are you sure you want to tell them, Poppy?"
"Of course."
She lightly brushed Harry's cheek with her tail.
"Harry and I have known each other for more than a hundred years."
She smiled brightly.
"To be precise... it's been one hundred and five years."
"One hundred and five years?!"
Hermione instinctively did the math.
1992 minus 105...
Her eyes widened.
"That's impossible! One hundred and five years ago was 1887!"
Disbelief was written all over her face.
"Harry is only twelve years old. And you..."
Poppy chuckled.
"Unicorns live for a very long time."
Hermione folded her arms.
"Even so, that still doesn't make sense. The only possibility would be if Harry traveled through time, went back over a century, and then returned."
She spoke with complete confidence.
"But that's impossible. Time travel only exists in science fiction. Things like that don't happen in the real world."
"Well..."
Poppy smiled with amusement.
"If you don't believe me, that's alright."
She had expected that reaction.
The truth was so unbelievable that hardly anyone would accept it.
Harry decided to smooth things over.
"I actually visited the Forbidden Forest before and met Poppy back then. That's how we became friends."
Naturally, he left out everything about traveling to the past.
His vague explanation was enough to satisfy everyone.
"So you must have mistaken Harry for the Harry from a hundred years ago, Miss Poppy."
Ron hugged his knees as he spoke.
Poppy smiled.
"That Harry?"
"I know him too."
"Huh?!"
The four children stared at her in complete astonishment.
They had never imagined that this unicorn knew the legendary Harry Potter from a century earlier.
"Of course."
Poppy smiled nostalgically.
"Back then, Harry was one of Hogwarts' greatest legends."
She glanced toward the Forbidden Forest behind them.
"Tell me... what do you all think of the Forbidden Forest?"
"It's terrifying!"
Seamus answered without hesitation.
"It's full of everything—werewolves, trolls... and they say there are spiders as big as cars!"
The moment Ron heard that, he shuddered.
His imagination was far too vivid.
Within seconds, he had already pictured the monstrous spider in perfect detail.
Poppy cast Harry a meaningful glance.
"Exactly..."
Then she smiled.
"But to Harry, entering the Forbidden Forest was like going home."
"Really?!"
All four of them asked at once.
"Absolutely."
Poppy nodded.
"It's completely different now from what it was a hundred years ago."
She lifted her head as memories filled her mind.
"In those days, you only had to step outside Hogwarts' gates to run into Dark Wizards."
"The Forbidden Forest was overrun with poachers."
"They even had their own organization and operated a black market where dragons were auctioned."
Her expression grew slightly melancholy.
"They were difficult times for Hogwarts students."
"The area surrounding the castle was incredibly dangerous."
"It wasn't uncommon to hear about students being attacked by Dark Wizards..."
"Some even lost their lives."
Hermione frowned.
"Then... why did they disappear?"
She looked genuinely puzzled.
"Poaching magical creatures must have been incredibly profitable."
"I can't believe such a large organization would simply vanish."
Poppy smiled.
"Because they all died."
She lifted her head, wearing an almost human smile.
"The most feared organization of that era—the Ashwinders—so dangerous that even the Ministry of Magic rarely dared confront them..."
She looked at Harry.
"Was utterly destroyed by Harry Potter and his companions."
Pride filled her voice.
"Every Dark Wizard who dared resist fell to their spells."
"From that day onward..."
"The name Ashwinders became nothing more than history."
"I see..."
The four children listened with expressions of complete admiration.
After all...
Poppy had witnessed those events herself.
Everything she said carried enormous weight.
And besides...
That Harry Potter from the past shared the exact same name as their Harry.
It was impossible not to feel an immediate connection to him.
Hermione, especially, was utterly fascinated.
As the group's scholar, this forgotten chapter of history was far more exciting than anything she had ever read in the library.
She looked eagerly at Poppy.
"Miss Poppy..."
"Could you tell us more about that Harry and his friends?"
Poppy adjusted herself into a more comfortable position before beginning.
"Certainly."
She smiled warmly.
"Harry had several close friends."
"There was Garreth Weasley from Gryffindor..."
She looked at Ron.
"Your ancestor."
Ron puffed out his chest proudly.
"That's right!"
"My great-grandfather!"
He looked absolutely delighted that one of his ancestors had been friends with the legendary Harry Potter.
Poppy continued.
"There was also Amit Thakkar from Ravenclaw..."
"Myself, Poppy Sweeting, from Hufflepuff..."
"And from Slytherin, Ominis Gaunt and Sebastian Sallow."
She paused briefly.
"Besides them..."
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"There were also two girls whose lives became deeply intertwined with Harry's."
"Cassandra Malfoy..."
"And Vilatia Grindelwald."
As she spoke, she discreetly glanced at Harry.
She expected some sort of reaction.
Instead, he remained completely composed.
"Grindelwald?!"
Seamus frowned.
"That surname..."
"I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
Ron answered immediately.
"On Chocolate Frog Cards."
"The Dark Wizard Dumbledore defeated in 1945 was named Grindelwald, wasn't he?"
"That's it!"
Seamus finally remembered.
Then he turned back to Poppy.
"Miss Poppy..."
"So what was the relationship between Miss Grindelwald and that Grindelwald?"
Poppy thought for a moment before answering.
"As far as I know..."
"Vilatia Grindelwald was Gellert Grindelwald's older sister."
Ron looked astonished.
"That's incredible, isn't it?"
He turned to the others.
"Two siblings raised by the same parents..."
"One devoted her life to fighting Dark Wizards..."
"And the other became one."
Then he added thoughtfully,
"I wonder how that missing older sister would have reacted when she found out her younger brother became a Dark Wizard."
Poppy gave him a sympathetic look.
"You'd better hope neither of the Grindelwalds ever hears you say that."
For some reason...
She had the strange feeling that Ron would end up in serious trouble if Gellert ever overheard a remark like that.
Hermione, however, had caught onto something entirely different.
She looked closely at Poppy.
"Miss Poppy..."
"You mentioned a Hufflepuff student named Poppy Sweeting."
She hesitated briefly.
"Is... your name connected to hers in some way?"
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