Chapter 99: The Forbidden Forest
Chapter 99: The Forbidden Forest
The roar of a Hungarian Horntail suddenly tore through the peaceful night sky over Hogwarts.
"Hagrid!"
Harry cried out and immediately jumped on his broom to fly towards the source of the disturbance.
"Gryffindor..."
Ved sighed helplessly.
Hagrid had just entered the Forbidden Forest, at least a mile away from where the fire was spotted, so he shouldn't be in any danger.
Ved hopped on his broom as well and soared into the dark canopy, his keen eyesight guiding him through the maze of black treetops.
Up ahead, Hagrid was crashing through the forest, cradling a barrel of mead and calling out for Norberta. His dog followed closely behind as Harry flew ahead, having already confirmed that Hagrid was safe.
They soon reached a mountainside cave, where Ved spotted Harry standing with a pale face next to the injured Norberta, who was lying on the ground. The giant dragon, as big as a house, had gruesome wounds on her eyes and chest, with blood flowing profusely.
"Norbert—"
Hagrid cried out in anguish and rushed to embrace his beloved dragon, trembling as he checked for any signs of breath.
Norberta's nostrils emitted a few faint sparks as if she were about to go extinct.
"Don't be scared, my baby... Momma's gonna heal you now—"
Hagrid's hands shook as he fumbled in his pockets for healing potions.
Ved remained airborne, cautiously scanning their surroundings. The Forbidden Forest was eerily quiet, with the dragon's roar having silenced all other sounds. Only the wind, Hagrid's sobs, and the crackling of burning branches broke the silence.
Ved shot two red sparks into the sky as a signal and cast detection spells in the area before finally descending.
Hagrid was pouring dittany onto Norberta's wounds, but the blood gushed forth like a flood, washing away the potion.
"These are dark magic wounds," Ved explained. "Regular healing potions won't work."
He pointed his wand at the injuries and recited a counter-curse—fortunately, he had learned it from Remus just the other day. After half a minute, the bleeding finally stopped.
Hagrid watched anxiously, only now daring to ask, "Is he going to be okay?"
"No," Ved replied. "I can only do so much. We'll need more specialized help for the rest. But at least... it... er, his life should be out of danger."
"Thank you, Ved... I'm so grateful!" Hagrid's tears flowed freely. "If Norberta had died, it would have felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out."
He hugged the Norwegian Ridgeback's hideous head tightly, and the dragon weakly opened its eyes, watching Hagrid as he sobbed uncontrollably, its nostrils emitting hot gas.
"What happened here?" A cold, angry voice pierced the silence, causing Harry, who had been lost in thought, to turn pale.
Snape, clad in his black robes, emerged from the darkness, his gaze fixing on each person as if he would drain them of their blood. His black robe billowed behind him like a cloud, giving the impression that he had flown rather than run to their location.
Then, a tabby cat leaped from the branches and transformed into Professor McGonagall in her pajamas upon landing. She took in the scene before her and exclaimed, "An injured dragon! What happened here?"
Before Harry could respond, more arrivals joined them—Professor Quirrell, stumbling through the forest while clutching his scarf, and Dumbledore, who appeared with a burst of fire.
For a moment, the scene resembled Halloween, except that Professor Flitwick was missing, replaced by Dumbledore.
Harry's body trembled slightly as he unconsciously took a couple of steps towards Hagrid.
"Someone hurt Norbert, Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid wiped his tears with his large handkerchief and sobbed, "Please save him, he's badly hurt!"
Dumbledore bent down to examine Norbert's wounds, which were distinctively caused by dark magic, but strangely, the wounds seemed to be closing up. Dumbledore was only mildly surprised and quickly realized among the three present, who possessed such capability.
"A beautiful counter-curse, Mr. Grey," Dumbledore praised.
Ved inclined his head slightly but remained silent.
"Don't worry, Hagrid," Dumbledore said gently. "Madame Pomfrey will take care of her. Minerva, please move her to a more suitable location."
"Of course."
Professor McGonagall, who had been sternly eyeing the two students, turned her gaze away at Dumbledore's instruction and levitated Norbert away with a Floating Charm.
"Take it slow, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid couldn't help but remind her. "He's still a baby! It's my fault for not taking good care of him..."
"Keeping a dragon as a pet is against school rules, Hagrid," Snape interjected coldly. "I thought you knew that."
Hagrid bit his lip, his large frame looking pitiful.
"We'll discuss that later," Dumbledore said calmly. "Harry, Ved, what are you two doing here? Going out of the castle at night and venturing into the dangerous Forbidden Forest is not a wise decision."
"I couldn't sleep, so I was stargazing from the dormitory..." Harry stammered, "I accidentally saw Hagrid entering the Forbidden Forest... Then I heard the dragon's roar and saw the fire... I was worried something happened to Hagrid, so I flew over to check... Then Ved arrived too..."
He conveniently skipped over the fact that they had both violated the curfew and flown around the school grounds.
"Did you see what hurt the dragon?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry shuddered, still seemingly scared. "No," Ved replied. "When we got here, the scene was already like this."
Dumbledore nodded, looking at the pool of blood on the ground, deep in thought. The others waited in silence.
Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats echoed from within the cave, and a pure white, ethereal creature emerged. It glowed softly, and its slender legs hobbled as silvery-white blood dripped from its body.
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Someone dared to hurt a unicorn!"
The unicorn bowed slightly to Dumbledore and then leaned against Hagrid, seemingly seeking his help.
Dumbledore cast a healing spell on the unicorn's wounds and instructed Hagrid, "Take it to Madame Pomfrey as well. Take Ved and Harry with you—I think they could use a Calming Draught."
Hagrid nodded and immediately picked up the unicorn without hesitation. "Follow me, kids—thank you for worrying about me. But I must say—this was too dangerous. It's truly very dangerous, so don't wander off like this again."
Harry mumbled in agreement and turned back to see Snape frowning, apparently intending to object to Dumbledore letting them off so easily. However, Dumbledore said, "Severus, Quirinus, would you mind patrolling around the Forbidden Forest tonight? The one who hurt the dragon might still be lurking nearby... For safety, it's best if you don't separate..."
The dense forest blocked Harry's view.
(End of Chapter)
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