Chapter 25: Punishment and the Forbidden Forest

The roof leak happened to rain overnight, and the ship was late and had a head wind, which can be used to describe Ron at present. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Not long ago, I was severely taught a lesson by someone, but I can't retaliate when I ask for help. Of course, he couldn't retaliate either.

And now he finally understood the meaning of the last words he had heard that day.

He was bitten by a dragon.

After only one night, his hand was twice as swollen as it had been, and the wound had turned an unsightly green color, and it was clear that the dragon's teeth were poisonous.

"It looks like I can't hold a pen in this hand for a week. Ron said, "I kind of understand what that guy meant by his last words, it's the scariest creature I've ever met." He said with a sigh of relief.

"What to do, Madam Pomfrey will surely find out. Hermione was a little anxious.

"I'm sure it was a dog bite, so don't worry. Ron was relieved, as if he wasn't the one who had been bitten.

Malfoy wrote. Harry pulled out a letter and said solemnly.

"What does the letter say?" asked Ron.

"He told us to take the dragon to the highest tower at midnight on Saturday, and someone would come and meet us. Harry said slowly.

"Midnight!" Ron shouted, "It's a conspiracy! He wants us to be deducted points, maybe we go there and no one will have them, and then we will be found out by Lady Loris! ”

"Ron. Harry said solemnly. "Now we can only trust him, think about it carefully, if he wanted to report it, we would have been punished a long time ago, and we also have a follow-up move, right? Harry laughed as well.

"Cloak of Invisibility!" Hermione said excitedly.

"The Cloak of Invisibility is enough to cover the two of us and Noble. Harry nodded.

They've had a few anxious days, and Noble is now like a hot potato, and they just feel like they've never looked forward to Saturday so much.

It was a dark, cloudy night, and they were a little late when they arrived at Hagrid's cabin, because Peeves was playing tennis against the wall in the foyer, and they had to wait until he left.

Hagrid had prepared a lot of rats, some brandy, and even a teddy bear for his little dragon. He packed them all into a large crate.

"Goodbye, Noble!" Hagrid sobbed and said, "Mommy won't forget you!" Harry and Hermione covered the crate with their cloaks of invisibility and burrowed under their robes themselves.

The ensuing journey was thrilling.

The steep spiral staircase leading to the tower seems to be the easiest stretch in the world. They didn't come to the cold night sky until they took off their cloaks. It's nice to finally be able to breathe freely again. Hermione also did a kind of quick-step dance.

"Calm down, Hermione. Harry reminded. "We haven't succeeded yet. ”

After waiting for about ten minutes, several brooms suddenly fell from the sky.

"He didn't cheat us. Harry was reassured.

"Are you two friends with Master Draco?" asked one of the tallest men. Apparently he is in the lead.

"Hmm. Harry nodded though he didn't want to admit it.

"Alright, leave it to us now. Then the men tied a few ropes to Nobor's body, as if to weave a net, so that it could be carried away securely.

"It was a pleasure to work with. The man in the lead said.

"Thank you very much. Harry nodded vigorously. After that, the men mounted their broomsticks and flew into the silent night sky.

Harry and Hermione quietly walked down the spiral staircase, finally freed from the heavy burden of Nobel, their hearts as light as their hands. The dragon was gone, and they finally had to worry about it anymore.

When you are closest to success, the most people fall. As soon as the two of them stepped into the hallway, they saw Filch's nasty face.

"It's over. Harry wondered why Filch could see Hermione and himself, but he touched his body and found that the cloak had been forgotten upstairs.

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The next morning, the Gryffindor students thought something had gone wrong as they passed the huge hourglass that recorded the House Cup score. How could they suddenly be a hundred points less than they were yesterday?, and then the news slowly spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, the hero of two Quidditch matches, had caused them to lose so many points, and he and another stupid first year.

Harry, who had been one of the most popular and admired figures in the school, was now the target of public criticism. Even the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students didn't give him a good look, as they had always wanted to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed fingers at him, and he didn't keep his voice down when he said insulting things. On the other hand, whenever he walked past the Slytherins, they always applauded, whistled, and cheered. "Thank you, Potter, for doing us a great favor!"

Only Ron was on his side.

"After a few weeks, they'll forget about it completely. Fred and George have been losing points since they started school, and people still love them. Ron reassured.

"But they've never dropped a hundred points at once, have they?" said Harry.

Ron stopped talking.

They now felt how wonderful it was to take the exam, so that they could forget about their mistakes for a while, and he went to Wood to find a place for the player, but he didn't agree.

He was determined not to meddle anymore, he was going to numb himself with his studies, and he tried his best to memorize the complex potion recipes, the spells and spells, the dates of the great magic inventions and the goblin rebellion, as if those words and eyes would disappear from his mind.

He made up his mind never to meddle again, but that principle was soon broken again.

He heard Snape threaten Quirrell again, and this time Snape finally succeeded.

In the library.

"I'm going to stop him. Harry said.

"Harry, I think we should take care of ourselves now. Ron pondered his words.

"I think so too. Hermione picked it up weakly.

"Even if I'm fired, I can't let him get away with it. Harry clenched his fists.

Hearing Harry's determination, Ron said, "Death is death, the big deal is to drop out of school, I'll help you, who called us friends." ”

Hermione bit her lip, as if she was struggling with her heart, and finally didn't say anything.

The next morning, Harry and Hermione received notes at the breakfast table. The two notes are exactly the same: Your confinement begins at eleven o'clock tonight. Look for Mr. Filch, Professor McGonagall, in the foyer.

The endless stares and spitting made Harry almost forget that he was going to be punished by confinement, Harry had expected Hermione to complain that it was taking away her time to revise, but she didn't, she took it all for granted—she deserved to be punished for making mistakes.

At eleven o'clock that night, after saying goodbye to Ron in the common room, the two of them went to Filch's office to be punished, they were in a state of anxiety all the way, not knowing what kind of punishment they would receive, and when they slowly approached Filch's office, they also saw a person who would never be here in the dim light - Malfoy.

"Follow me. Filch said, lighting a lamp and leading them out, "I think you're going to have to think twice about breaking the school rules in the future, huh?"

"Why is he here?" asked Harry aloud. Hermione was also very surprised at the moment, and lowered her head and intertwined her fingers, not knowing how to face him.

Filch said in his gloomy voice, "Professor McGonagall is worried about you, and has found you a bodyguard, what a strange thing, even though you are being punished, you can still have a bodyguard." Filch looked incredulous.

"Actually, I'm not that happy either. Malfoy shrugged, "But I need to get my wand back, don't I?" he said as he spun his hand twice. It was clear that he would have to pay some price to get his wand back.

Then they strode through the pitch-black field. Hermione whispered to Harry, "Where are we going?"

Harry muttered, "I don't know. ”

"Don't guess, we're going to the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy seemed to hear their conversation and said lightly.

When night fell, the moonlight was very bright, but the clouds kept drifting over to cover the moon, plunging them into darkness, and the night breeze with some moisture and coldness caressed it, so that several people could not help but shiver. Harry and Hermione, in particular, were taken aback by the news, the Forbidden Forest was the equivalent of a forbidden place among many ordinary students, symbolizing danger and terror.

"It's said there are werewolves in there. Harry whispered.

"Huh. Malfoy laughed mockingly, "Not only that, but we may all meet the eight-eyed spiders, Thestrals, unicorns, and centaurs, depending on our luck." Malfoy mentally added, "I might run into Voldemort today." ”

Hermione's face turned pale with each noun Malfoy, and she looked at Malfoy with some confusion, as if trying to find some fear on his face, but to no avail. She couldn't help but think, "Isn't he scared at all?"

"I have good news for you. He said suddenly.

"Mr. Draco, are you talking too much?" Filch interrupted.

"Oh, that's good. Malfoy stopped talking.

Of course, Harry and Hermione soon learned what the good news was, and they saw Hagrid striding towards them from the darkness, Tooth following behind. Hagrid carried his massive stone bow and a well-stocked quiver on his shoulder, and Harry and Hermione couldn't help but smile when they saw him.

"Oh, are you here to play? and are you still so happy?" Filch seemed unhappy, his identity as a Squib distorted his mind, and he said viciously, "You are good to have you in the Forbidden Forest." He left a somewhat cursed word, and staggered towards the castle with the lantern in his hand, and left the place.

"Now listen carefully, what we are going to do tonight is very dangerous, and I don't want to put anyone in danger. Come with me first. Hagrid led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, held the lamp aloft in the air, and pointed to a path that was fading into the depths of the black forest. They looked into the Forbidden Forest, a breeze blowing in their hair.

"Look over there," said Hagrid, "see that glittering thing on the ground? Silvery? That's the blood of a unicorn." One of the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest was injured by something, and it was badly injured. This is the second time in a week. Last Wednesday I found one dead. We're going to try to find that poor unicorn and free it from its misery. ”

"Now we're going to split up and follow the bloodstains, and as long as we follow me and Fangya, you won't be harmed by the creatures of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid said with some pride.

"I'm afraid that there are more than just the original creatures in the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy's voice came from behind Hagrid.

Hagrid shuddered when he heard this voice, he had tried his best to ignore Malfoy just now, the last time he had communicated with him was definitely not pleasant, but he still said in a rough voice: "So we have to be more careful, you just have teeth." ”

With that, the black hound behind Hagrid licked his paws, not knowing whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the decision.

"By the way, it's a coward, you still have to be careful. Hagrid had a bad opinion of him, but he cautioned.

"You don't have to worry about it. Malfoy said lightly, then turned and walked towards the fork in the road on the right.

"Harry, Hermione, let's go this way. Hagrid used his massive body to lead the way for the two of them, almost obscuring the already faint moonlight, and it was pitch black around them.

They walked silently, their eyes fixed on the ground. Every now and then, a ray of moonlight spilled down from between the branches above, illuminating a silvery-blue trail of blood on the fallen leaves.

Harry could see that Hagrid looked anxious.

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

"It's not going to be so fast," said Hagrid, "it's not easy to catch a unicorn, they're animals with great magic. I've never heard of unicorns being hurt before. ”

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear the murmuring of water, and it was clear that there was a stream somewhere nearby. On the winding path, there are still speckled unicorn blood stains.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Hagrid asked in a low voice. "Don't worry, since it's so badly wounded, it won't be able to go very far, and we'll be able soon- no, hide behind that tree!"

There was a faint sound in the distance, and it was a centaur approaching, with a man above the waist, red hair and beard, but below the waist was a shiny brownish-red body with a long red tail dragging behind it.

Hermione and Harry opened their mouths wide, stunned by the creature in front of them.

As for Malfoy, he was surrounded by dense bushes, and Fangya only dared to follow him from a distance, not daring to come closer, as if there was something dangerous in front of him.

"Obviously, I came to be a bodyguard, but now it's a dog that is protected. Malfoy thought to himself, but he didn't dare to slack off in his heart, the danger ahead was unpredictable and terrifying, and he was likely to face the most powerful dark wizard in the world today.

The woods grew thicker and thicker, and he kept walking through them, and he had to be careful not to scratch himself on some sharp protruding branches, and he went deeper and deeper, and suddenly his gaze saw through the tangled branches of an ancient oak tree, and he could see a clearing in front of him, and the ground was shining with a white light.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but tense his body, and suddenly, a bush at the edge of the clearing was shaking. Then, from the shadows, a hooded figure flickered, crawling slowly on the ground, like a approaching beast. Harry and Malfoy kept their cool on their own, and Tooth was now scared silly. The cloaked figure approached the unicorn, lowered his head, aimed at the wound on the side of the corpse, and began to drink its blood.

"Who is it?" the dark shadow seemed to sense the presence of someone around him, and he looked around, and actually found his way, and floated towards Malfoy's location, like a ghost, so that it was impossible to see his walking route.

"It's a terrible perception. Malfoy's heart was cold.

The figure slowly came to Malfoy's face, making a sound similar to a snake's cry, which made people have goosebumps, and his teeth had already been paralyzed to the ground with fright, shivering incessantly, and the face of the person under the cloak was wrapped so tightly that it was impossible to see the true face.

"Father-sama is right, I've finally found you, Dark Lord!" Malfoy's face suddenly showed a look of frenzy, and the joy in his tone overflowed.

"Oh, young wizard, let me think about whose child you are. The original Voldemort was ready to attack, but was dispelled by this sentence. "Blonde hair, well, you're Lucius's child. The dark shadow under the cloak made a cold and piercing sound, and there was a bit of surprise in the mood. In the darkness of night, Voldemort's vision was not affected. "What's your name?" he asked, trying to keep himself as kind as he could, but the emotion didn't match his hoarse voice.

"My name is Draco, Draco Malfoy. Dear Lord Dark Lord. Malfoy tried to make himself appear as enthusiastic as he could, mobilizing the muscles of his face and giving himself a frenzied look.

"Oh, it's unbelievable. The Dark Lord under the cloak looked a little surprised, and he continued, "It's ironic that the most loyal Death Eater was actually Lucius. Perhaps he thought of his men before, and Malfoy guessed that an ugly smile appeared under his cloak to show his sarcasm.

"You, very good. Voldemort said.

"My father never gave up looking for you!" Malfoy began to discredit his father, "he firmly believes that you will come back one day." ”

"Lord Dark Lord, Harry Potter and they're around here right now, we can..."

"Your loyalty is enough to put most Death Eaters to shame. Voldemort interrupted Malfoy's words, his voice a little ethereal, but he could tell he was satisfied now, "But I have more important things to do now." Voldemort sneered, "The lucky savior let him live a little longer." ”

"Who invaded our territory?" Suddenly, the two of them felt the earth shake, a roar came from afar, and a little further on the other side of the clearing, Malfoy saw flying dust stirred up.

"These disgusting centaurs. Voldemort said in disgust. "When I get rid of this ridiculous body, I must teach them a good lesson. "You, very good. Voldemort repeated the phrase to Malfoy, and then nervously said, "I look forward to seeing each other next time." Then the shadow vanished into the void, never to be traced again.

"If you could, it would never be the best, but it doesn't seem to be possible. Malfoy couldn't help but think.

The speed of the four-legged centaur was naturally very fast, and in the blink of an eye, a small group of centaurs rushed to his side and raised their weapons.

"Intruder, say your name and purpose. The lead centaur, with white-blond hair, surprisingly blue eyes, and a silver-maned horse's body, questioned Malfoy and raised his spear.

"Ferenze, wait, it's all a misunderstanding!" Hagrid ran from behind them, sweating profusely, followed by Hermione, Harry, and a few other centaurs.

"Oh my God, what's going on here?" Hagrid looked to the ground, only to see a long-dead unicorn, its slender legs unnaturally straightened in the position it had fallen, its mane spread out on the black leaves, white as pearls.

"Is this a student at your school? Looks like he killed a unicorn. "The leader centaur is not very good-spoken, and most of the tribes in the forest are friendly, not to mention the unicorn, which symbolizes purity and nobility, which is the most popular species.

"No, no, no,". Hagrid shook his massive head and quickly denied it. "He's just split up with us, you see, I sent him the tooth, and he just happened to come across its corpse. ”

The leading centaur thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "The first-year student shouldn't be able to kill a unicorn, but he invaded our territory, and today's celestial phenomena are also very wrong. As he spoke, the centaur looked up at the stars in the sky, "This is an ominous sign!" it added.

"It's all a misunderstanding. Hagrid said in an exaggerated tone. Although he was dissatisfied with Malfoy's previous actions, his loyal nature made him take such actions of his own accord.

"Let me see. The centaur named Ferenze didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore, and his eyes moved behind Hagrid, where he saw Harry and the stark, prominent lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

"Hello, Potter boy. The centaur said in a friendly tone.

"Hello, do you know me?" Harry nodded stiffly, a little intimidated by the magical creature.

"Do you know what unicorn blood can be used for?"

"I don't know," Harry said, startled at the strange question, "we only used its horns and tail fur in Potions class. ”

"This is because killing a unicorn is an extremely brutal thing. "Only people who have nothing and want everything can commit such a heinous crime." The blood of a unicorn can last you, even if you are dying, but you will have to pay a heavy price for it. You slaughtered a pure, weak and helpless life to save your own life, so from the moment its blood touches your lips, you will have a half-dead life, a cursed life. ”

Harry spoke out his doubts, "If you're going to be cursed for the rest of your life, you might as well die, right?"

"Yes," Ferenze agreed, "unless you just use it to delay your life so that you can drink something else—something that completely restores you to energy and spells—something that makes you immortal." Mr. Potter, do you know what East XC is at the school at the moment?"

"Philosopher's Stone!" exclaimed Hermione, who was nearby.

"I should have thought of who else but him?" Harry hugged his head in reproach, except for Voldemort, no one would be bent on making a comeback, holding on to life, he would not be afraid of a curse, because he was a curse in his own right. "I actually think Snape only had the idea of playing the Philosopher's Stone for the purpose of turning stones into gold. He hammered his head hard, as if blaming himself for his stupidity.

"With the guidance of the stars, I can only give you these tips. Ferenze said slowly, and then paused: "You can go back today, humans are not welcome in the forest now." "He gave the eviction order.

"Well, it's time for these kids to go back. Hagrid didn't seem to figure out what was going on, but he knew it was time to go back to school, and Harry and Hermione were following him in a daze, not knowing what they were thinking.

Suddenly, Harry, who was walking on the road, seemed to think of something, and turned to Malfoy, who had been silent for a long time, and asked, "Will you tell the news?"

Malfoy said with a smirk, "Who knows." ”

No one saw Hermione's lip that was about to burst at this point.