Chapter 58: The Mars of Tonight

Hagrid strongly disliked Filch, especially his habit of threatening and intimidating students, let alone when those students were Harry and Silven.

So when Hagrid walked over, he immediately waved his hand impatiently, "Your task is done; from now on, I'm in charge."

"I'll come back at dawn to clean up their remains," Filch threw out a harsh remark, then turned and walked toward the castle.

As soon as he left, Malfoy began complaining, saying he didn't want to enter the forest at all.

But Hagrid paid him no mind—even invoking his father, a school governor, was useless.

"You can go back now," Hagrid said. "If you think your father would rather see you expelled, then go pack your bags!"

Malfoy didn't move. He glared at Hagrid, then lowered his gaze, reluctantly following Hagrid and a black hound into the forest.

"A unicorn has been attacked," Hagrid said heavily. "This is the second time. I found one dead last Wednesday—we must find it quickly…"

"No, I don't want to go!" Malfoy started backing out again, his voice trembling with uncontrollable fear. "What if the thing that hurt the unicorn is still out there?"

"As long as you stay with me or Fang, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will harm you," Hagrid said, then went on to instruct them on what to do next.

Malfoy stared at the dark path behind him, finally abandoned the idea of turning back, and muttered as he followed.

"Relax, think of it as camping," Silven thought for a moment, then offered him some reassurance.

There was no need to fear—even in the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore wouldn't let students die, especially not with Harry among them.

Maybe the headmaster was even now watching from his office.

Silven turned his head, his gaze piercing through the swaying tree shadows toward the distant castle.

Where were the headmaster's windows again?

Silven couldn't immediately locate them, but he was certain that several windows at the castle's highest point still glowed with light.

"Silven, were you even listening to me just now?"

Hagrid's voice snapped Silven back to attention. He nodded. "Of course—stay safe, don't go off alone, don't stray beyond you or Fang, and if you're in danger, shoot red sparks into the sky immediately."

Hagrid fell silent for a moment… Had he really just said all that in detail?

"That's right," he nodded. "We'll split into two teams soon…"

"I want Fang!" This time Malfoy didn't zone out—he blurted it out eagerly.

His expression was resolute, as if he weren't choosing a hound but a fire dragon.

Silven stared at Malfoy, utterly baffled—what part of his brain had convinced him that staying beside a two-foot-tall hound was safer than beside an eleven-foot-tall half-giant?

Naturally, Hagrid didn't refuse his request.

When they reached the fork ahead, the group split into two.

Silven, Harry, and Hagrid took one path; Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the other.

The Forbidden Forest at night was utterly silent—not even insects chirped; the only sound was the rustle of leaves beneath their steps.

The air carried a strange scent—like dew-drenched grass, or perhaps fallen leaves drifting in a deep pool.

Silven didn't know why he could distinguish the scent of dew from that of leaves, but that was his first instinct.

"These are all unicorn blood," Hagrid said, staring at the silver-blue stains on the leaves, his face growing more anxious.

"Could it be a werewolf that killed the unicorn?" Harry asked.

"Not so quickly," Hagrid said. "Unicorns possess strong magic; werewolves can't easily harm them."

Hagrid quickened his pace, forcing Harry to jog to keep up—and neither of them noticed that one member of their group was missing.

Silven had been walking with Hagrid, but when he passed a patch of silver-blue blood, he suddenly stopped and pulled out the Beater's wand core from his pocket.

The wand core's crafting was already complete; its split surfaces were engraved with intricate magical runes.

But now, one of those runes was flickering with a silver-blue glow, mirroring the unicorn blood on the ground.

"Wand-core rune—Contract and Protection," Silven murmured. "The unicorn is calling for help…"

It was an ancient rune, the only one designed to protect the wand core.

According to legend, this rune records every wand core it has ever "seen," and under specific conditions, it resonates magically with them.

As Garrick Ollivander said, those conditions occur when a wand is broken, destroyed, or its core is nearing death.

That's why most broken wands can still function for a while if wrapped in magical tape.

But there's no core inside this one.

Only one possibility remains: the unicorn that left this silver-blue blood once had its tail hair used as a wand core, and the rune recorded it.

Now, as Silven passed here, the rune on the wand core detected the same-source magic in the unicorn blood and triggered a magical resonance.

Once he understood this, Silven immediately laid the wand core flat in his palm and brought it close to the unicorn blood.

Instantly, the rune glowed brighter—and under a subtle magical pull, the wand core slowly rotated in a new direction.

Without hesitation, Silven stood and ran.

Ten minutes later, he caught up with Hagrid and Harry, who were speaking with two centaurs.

"Ronan, have you seen a student? He's lost—I have to go back and find him."

The centaur tilted his head, staring fixedly at the sky. "Mars tonight…"

"Silven!" he shouted, interrupting their conversation.

"Silven?" Hagrid turned, relief flooding his voice. "Thank goodness—where on earth have you been? I've been searching…"

"I know where the wounded unicorn is," Silven gasped as he reached Hagrid's side.

"What?"

"No time to explain…" Silven glanced at the wand core—the silver-blue glow was fading. He took a deep breath and sprinted in one direction.

"It's dying—we must hurry!"

Before he finished speaking, Silven was already far ahead.

"Stop, Silven! Don't run so fast in the Forbidden Forest—it's dangerous!" Without thinking, Hagrid bolted after him.

Harry, catching on a moment later, followed right behind.

In the blink of an eye, only two centaurs remained here.

The brownish-red centaur named Ronan stood frozen in place, staring blankly in the direction they had departed. Long after, he opened his mouth slightly, as if waking from a dream, and forced out a few stubborn, resolute words.

"... very bright"

(End of Chapter)