Restless Stirrings

In the silent, shadowy Forbidden Forest, the shrill whistle of a Whistling Arrow suddenly cut through the air, startling a herd of beasts.

Hagrid held a bow in one hand and shaded his eyes with the other as he looked into the distance. After a while, he turned and spread his hands at Sean. "That lot hasn't shown themselves much lately. We're familiar enough, but whether they come after hearing the Whistling Arrow depends entirely on their mood."

"It's fine. I have another way," Sean said with a smile.

They had followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest to call out the Centaurs. According to Hagrid, Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest covered an enormous area, and Unicorns usually only moved about in its deepest reaches. Other than the Centaurs, creatures most closely connected to nature and strong enough in their own right, no other Magical Creatures would know where the Unicorns lived.

They had originally wanted Hagrid to summon the Centaurs to save time. Now that the Centaurs had not appeared, Sean could only find them himself.

Fortunately, he knew where to find them.

After bidding Hagrid farewell, Sean, Hermione, and Daisy hurried toward Hogsmeade. Their destination was, naturally, the Hog's Head Inn.

At the mouth of the alley, the Hog's Head Inn stood at the end of the road.

"Did Aberforth renovate the place?" Hermione, dressed in a Black Hood, raised her hood slightly in surprise. The people here came from all walks of life, so it was better to conceal their identities.

Hearing that, Sean and Daisy, both dressed in black as well, looked up at the Hog's Head Inn's sign.

Just as Hermione had said, the Hog's Head Inn looked completely different after they had been away for some time.

Before, a battered wooden sign had hung from a rusted