Forbidden Forest.
A mysterious and dangerous forest.
Under the moonlight, it was shrouded in layers of shadow. In the once-silent surroundings, there had only been the faint rustling of movement, but now that stillness was shattered by a thunderous roar.
It had to be said.
It was truly terrifying.
Hermione, Ron, and Neville stood in the clearing, catching their breath. The sudden roar made all three of them tense up at once, and Neville's wand clattered to the ground from fright.
"What! What was that?!"
Neville looked around nervously.
"Hm?"
Ian, too, looked toward where the disturbance had come from in confusion—the distance was too great, and too many trees blocked the view, so even he could not make out what was happening.
All he could see were countless startled birds fleeing in every direction.
As though they had encountered something terrifying.
Then, at that moment.
"Roar!!"
An even fiercer roar rang out.
The howl was like rolling thunder, echoing through the Forbidden Forest. It shook the leaves until they rustled, made the ground tremble, as though the entire forest was shuddering beneath it.
"AAAAAH!"
Hermione, Neville, and Ron all collapsed onto the ground upon hearing it.
Truly.
There was no concern for appearances at all.
Only a soul-rending terror filled all three of their minds—it had nothing to do with bravery. It was simply the instinctive response buried in a creature's genes.
"Th-this is..."
Hermione's voice trembled with uncertainty. She had nearly wet herself from fright. Even Hermione was this terrified, let alone Neville.
Neville had been scared unconscious.
Hermione hurriedly checked on him.
Ian sighed and took out a bottle of potion, handing it over. After Hermione fed it to Neville, his eyelids fluttered wildly before he suddenly woke up.
"Oh god! I had such a terrifying dream!