Chapter 86: Journey into the Forbidden Forest

Harry brought back bad news: he had seen Snape threatening Professor Quirrell in a classroom, and Professor Quirrell had ultimately yielded to Snape. Harry believed that Professor Quirrell had revealed to Snape the means to bypass the protections he had set up.

Hermione and Ron joined the discussion, both expressing their concerns about the safety of the Philosopher's Stone...

While listening expressionlessly to their discussion about the "poor" Professor Quirrell, Allen carefully soothed the chill in his heart; he still had not found a way to break the constraints of the Unbreakable Vow.

He had once thought that transfiguring a dragon's heart might resist the power of the vow, but life is lived only once, and he dared not gamble on those odds; after all, he was not yet at his wit's end. Besides, how many fire dragons had been killed by wizard spells? Therefore, even though a fire dragon is a high-tier creature, it might not necessarily withstand the power of the vow.

With a heart full of bitterness, Allen watched as the trio of Harry drifted further astray, yet strangely, he began to feel an inexplicable fondness for Professor Snape, simply because Professor Snape had been able to detect Professor Quirrell's abnormalities.

Allen felt he should grow closer to Professor Snape, but in Professor Snape's eyes, he was probably still just that young wizard with a sick mind! The more Allen thought about it, the more bitter he felt.

The trio also asked for Allen's opinion, and Allen could only express cautious support for their viewpoint.

In the end, they reached no conclusion from their discussion.

Finally, the pressure of the upcoming exams forced them to put the matter aside for now.

The next morning, which happened to be Friday, Harry, Hermione, and Neville all received notes at the breakfast table. The three notes were identical: Your detention begins at eleven o'clock tonight; meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

They silently put away the notes, feeling that they deserved punishment.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said goodbye to Ron in the common room. Allen had not yet returned from his part-time work at Hagrid's; he usually returned by this time, but they had no time to worry about Allen.

Then they went downstairs together to the entrance hall. Mr. Filch was already waiting there—and so was Malfoy.

Seeing everyone present, Mr. Filch led the four of them out of the castle, and they strode across the pitch-black grounds.

The moonlight was bright, but clouds kept drifting over to obscure the moon, plunging them into darkness.

At that moment, they heard a shout from a distance: "Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I'm ready to set off!"

That was Hagrid's voice.

Harry and Hermione's hearts began to leap with joy; they suddenly felt that working for Hagrid was quite good, after all, Allen came every week, and they were very familiar with the situation there.

Then they were told they had to enter the Forbidden Forest late at night.

Malfoy instantly lost his composure: "The Forbidden Forest? We can't go in at midnight—there's everything in there—I've heard there are werewolves."

"Coward!" a familiar voice suddenly came from beside Hagrid. It was Allen; he had been scheduled to work at Hagrid's that night when he transfigured the fire dragon's eyes, but he had taken leave to treat his hand injury, so this time he had to work overtime late into the night to offset his previous leave.

Malfoy turned sharply toward Allen; he hadn't expected to encounter the person he hated most in such a situation, and he glared at Allen in anger.

"Didn't expect you to be so cowardly; it seems all those things you say every day are just boasting!" Allen said, approaching them while holding a huge lantern.

The lantern light illuminated Allen's face; today, Allen had randomly obtained a dog's nose, and under the flickering light, it gave a somewhat terrifying impression. He wore a stern expression, looking as if he had something on his mind.

Ignoring Allen's mockery, Malfoy still refused to enter the Forbidden Forest, but after a scolding from Hagrid, he reluctantly accepted his fate.

After gaining control of the situation, Hagrid finally began to announce today's mission.

"Look over there," Hagrid said, "do you see that shiny thing on the ground? Silver-white? That is unicorn blood."

"A unicorn in the Forbidden Forest has been injured by something, and it is badly hurt. This is the second time this week. On Wednesday, I found one dead. We must try to find that poor unicorn and put it out of its misery."

"What if the thing that hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked, his voice filled with uncontrollable fear.

"As long as you are with me or Fang, no creature in the Forbidden Forest will harm you," Hagrid said. "Do not leave the path. Now, we will split into two groups and follow the blood trail separately. There are blood trails everywhere; clearly, it has been stumbling around since at least last night."

Finally, they split into two teams: Hagrid led Harry and Hermione, while Allen led Malfoy, Neville, and Fang.

Although unwilling, Malfoy reluctantly agreed, if only for the sake of Fang's fangs.

Allen did not take the opportunity to mock Malfoy; instead, he squatted down, looking at the bloodstains on the ground with a solemn expression, for he had already vaguely realized who the one injuring the unicorns was.

He lowered himself, dipped his fingers into some unicorn blood, and gently sniffed it at the tip of his nose; he detected no fishy smell, but rather a scent of sunlight.

Fang wagged his tail uneasily at Allen's feet. Allen gently soothed Fang; the nose he had transfigured from his talent today was beginning to work. He was not distracted by the messy bloodstains on the ground and immediately determined which direction carried the strongest scent of unicorn blood...

"This way!" Allen shouted, pointing in a direction toward Malfoy and Neville.

Malfoy looked at the pitch-black Forbidden Forest and said unwillingly, "Why should I listen to you?"

"You don't have to listen to me, but Fang will listen to me and follow me!" With that, he took Fang's leash and walked in that direction, with Neville following closely behind.

Watching them walk away, Malfoy finally let go of his last resistance, tightened his robe, and followed.

Allen moved quickly through the Forbidden Forest; he was still quite familiar with the outskirts. Fang bravely charged ahead, while Neville and Malfoy ran behind, panting heavily.

Suddenly, Allen stopped, drew his wand, and released green sparks; the green sparks were particularly conspicuous in the night sky.

Neville and Malfoy sat down on the ground, unwilling to get up again.

Hagrid, accompanied by Harry and Hermione, soon appeared.

"Allen, have you found the unicorn?" That was Harry's voice.

"No! But my nose tells me it is nearby!" Allen said firmly, his expression becoming even more solemn, for he had also smelled another familiar scent.

"Then Allen, you lead the way! We must find the unicorn quickly!" Hagrid trusted Allen completely; after speaking, he nocked an arrow onto his giant crossbow...