"I've been teaching for many years, and I've never been so disappointed in my House."
Professor McGonagall's voice was frighteningly calm. That calm cut deeper than any shout.
Her sharp eyes swept over the three of them, making them shrink their necks without thinking.
"Gryffindor, for Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's reckless behavior, loses fifty points!"
Fifty points!
Harry and Hermione's hearts lurched as if an invisible hand had clenched them hard.
They could almost hear the precious rubies in Gryffindor's House hourglass tumbling down with a clatter. Hermione's eyes instantly reddened.
"Slytherin, for Mr. Malfoy's nighttime wandering, also loses fifty points!"
Malfoy's face turned deathly pale.
"As for your punishment..." Professor McGonagall's gaze grew sterner. "Every one of you will serve detention. A punishment you'll remember for the rest of your lives."
Just then, someone gently knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and someone stepped inside. When they saw who it was, Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy all froze, disbelief on their faces.
It was Lin Yuan.
He wore the same unshakably calm expression as ever, as if he'd merely dropped by to say hello.
He walked over to the three of them and gave Professor McGonagall a slight nod. He looked neither flustered nor guilty.
"Ryan?" Harry exclaimed under his breath, utterly confused. What was he doing here too?
Professor McGonagall looked at Lin Yuan, her brow furrowing even deeper, her disappointment almost spilling over.
"Mr. Ryan Lin, I was just about to look for you. I think you'd better explain why Mr. Filch's patrol records, along with the magical replay from the 'Night Patrol Mirror' in my office, both clearly show you strolling alone in the corridor between the library and the Astronomy Tower at midnight."
The entire office fell silent.
Hermione's mouth formed an O.
"Another Gryffindor!" Malfoy could barely contain his laughter, but with Professor McGonagall present, he could only mouth dramatically at Harry and the others, "You're finished!"
"I... just wanted to look up some information on Ancient Runes. I got so absorbed that I lost track of time." Lin Yuan's explanation sounded flawless, his tone as flat as if he were reciting a lesson.
"So absorbed that you lost your way near the Astronomy Tower?" Professor McGonagall's voice held a hint of sarcasm.
Lin Yuan was silent for a moment, then lowered his head slightly.
"I'm sorry, Professor. It was my fault."
His apology was so brisk and straightforward, with no excuses or emotion, that Professor McGonagall—who had been ready with a whole string of reprimands—found herself at a loss for what to say.
She studied this student, who always left her unable to see through him.
Other students, when caught, were either frightened, ashamed, or openly defiant.
Lin Yuan simply accepted it calmly.
"Very well," Professor McGonagall sighed, apparently unwilling to press the matter further. "It seems Gryffindor is about to make 'history' tonight. Mr. Lin Yuan, for your 'excessive' thirst for knowledge, Gryffindor loses... another twenty points!"
Hermione let out a faint groan and nearly fainted.
A total of one hundred and twenty points!
Overnight, Gryffindor had gone from a serious contender for the House Cup straight down into the dungeons.
"Right, that makes four of you now." Professor McGonagall's voice turned cold again. "Your punishment is to meet in the castle Entrance Hall at eleven tonight. You'll accompany Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest."
"The Forbidden Forest?!" If Malfoy had been deathly pale before, now he looked as if a Dementor had kissed him. He shrieked, "You can't do that! There are... all sorts of monsters in there! If my father finds out—"
"If your father finds out you were caught after failing to get anyone else into trouble, he'll be even more disappointed, Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall cut him off coldly. "And you three Gryffindors, I hope you'll spend some time in the Forbidden Forest reflecting on the meaning of House pride!"
The four of them trudged out of the office.
Malfoy cursed viciously the whole way, saying he'd have his father get every one of them expelled.
Harry and Hermione were consumed by guilt and couldn't even lift their heads as they walked.
Lin Yuan brought up the rear.
His face remained as unfathomably calm as ever.
Caught out after sneaking around at night?
For a quasi-cultivator whose Spiritual Sense could easily cover the entire castle and who could sense every patrol and monitoring mirror in advance, getting caught was less likely than being hit by a falling pie.
He had done it on purpose.
Some pivotal events were about to unfold in that forest.
Rather than observe them passively from outside, hidden behind a veil of uncertainty, he'd decided to buy himself a front-row VIP ticket and see everything up close.
He had indeed followed Harry and Hermione's trail and gone near the Astronomy Tower.
But he hadn't been "caught." It was more as if he'd calculated the time and place and deliberately "walked" into the view of Filch and the magical mirror.
As for the twenty points he'd lost...
For someone whose state of mind had long surpassed worldly honor and disgrace, this childish game of points was incapable of stirring even the faintest ripple in his heart.
He simply needed a suitable "identity," a "ticket" that would let him enter that dark forest.
"Gryffindor student punished for wandering at night"—it couldn't have been more perfect.
At eleven that night, the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts was like a vast, forgotten cavern. Moonlight streamed through the lofty stained-glass windows, casting mottled shadows across the cold flagstones and stretching the waiting children's shadows long and thin.
Hagrid emerged from the darkness, carrying a lantern bigger than a person's head and a crossbow over his shoulder that looked powerful enough to pierce a castle wall. His heavy steps matched the unmistakable "I'm not happy about this" written across his face. Having students he liked punished by entering the Forbidden Forest he guarded clearly didn't sit well with him.
"Right, cheer up," he said gruffly, though a hint of concern still crept into his voice. "We've got some proper work to do tonight. Don't think you're here for a stroll in the park."
They followed Hagrid across the empty grounds, wet with night dew, step by step toward the Forbidden Forest, which crouched in the darkness like a prehistoric beast. As soon as they approached, cold, damp air washed over them, carrying the stench of rotting leaves and unknown creatures. The trees at the forest's edge swayed in the night wind, their twisted branches like ghostly claws reaching skyward, casting grotesque, dancing shadows on the ground.
"Hagrid..." Malfoy's voice shook like a leaf in an autumn wind. "I... I think my asthma's acting up... I can't go in... My father said—"
"If your father knew you were acting like a terrified kitten, he'd really strike you off the family tree!" Hagrid impatiently cut off the old refrain. "If you want to be a man, keep up!"
Hagrid lit the lantern. Its dim yellow light reached only a few feet around them; beyond that lay a bottomless, unnerving darkness. In a grave tone, he explained their task for the night: something in the Forbidden Forest had been attacking unicorns. They had already found one dead, and that afternoon they'd discovered some silvery blood as well. That meant another unicorn had been badly wounded and was being hunted.
Their task was to find the poor creature and discover what had been so cruel.
At the words "blood" and "being hunted," Malfoy's face turned as pale as his platinum-blond hair. Hermione also clutched Harry's arm nervously.
To cover more ground, Hagrid decided to split into two groups.
"Harry, Hermione, you two come with me this way." Hagrid pointed to a slightly wider path on the left. "You two—Malfoy and Lin Yuan—take the path on the right, with Fang. If you see anything, send up red sparks immediately."
"What?! Why do I have to be paired with him?" Malfoy shrieked, his voice especially piercing in the silent forest. He pointed at Lin Yuan, who remained utterly composed. "He's... he's a weirdo! A bookworm! And this stupid dog!" He kicked Fang, the hunting dog cowering beside him.
Hagrid glared at him. "It's the most sensible arrangement. Lin Yuan may not say much, but he looks a lot calmer than you. He can keep an eye on you, you cowardly little blabbermouth. Got a problem with that? If you do, you can take the other path alone."
Malfoy glanced at the darker path on the right, so deep it seemed to swallow all light, then at Lin Yuan, who was silent but at least looked human. In the end, he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
And so the two groups set off in different directions, one lantern between them, each vanishing into the pitch-black forest.
Malfoy carried the lantern and walked in front, with Fang close at his heels, tail tucked between his legs. Lin Yuan followed unhurriedly at the rear. He didn't even bother looking at the path, simply walking by feel.
The sounds of the forest seemed magnified beyond measure. The wind moaning through the treetops sounded like a woman crying; the snap of dry twigs beneath their feet sounded like the crunch of some creature's bones; and the cry of an unknown nocturnal bird in the distance tightened Malfoy's nerves to their limit again and again.
"Hey! You, the silent one! Aren't you scared at all?" After about fifteen minutes, Malfoy could no longer stand the dead, oppressive silence. He turned and snarled at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan's footsteps didn't falter. His gaze seemed to pierce the darkness ahead, seeing something deeper within it.
"Why should I be afraid?" he replied. His voice rang strangely clear through the silent forest. "These trees, these vines, these creatures sleeping in the earth—they're all breathing, all growing. They're the masters of this forest. We're only visitors. As long as you show respect, they won't hurt you." He paused, then added, "You're the one who should be careful. Your fear and shouting are like a stone thrown into a still lake. You'll disturb everything."
Malfoy was so taken aback by Lin Yuan's mystical-sounding theory that he couldn't find a reply. Yet, for some reason, once Lin Yuan said it, the frightening sounds around them seemed less sinister. They no longer sounded like monsters whispering, but more like... the breathing of the forest.
Just then, Lin Yuan stopped. He raised his head, fixing his gaze on the shadow of a huge old oak tree ahead, its trunk so wide that four or five people would have been needed to encircle it.
"Come out," he said calmly, as if calling to a friend playing hide-and-seek. "Your presence is as obvious as a bonfire beneath the moonlight."
Malfoy was scared out of his wits. The lantern nearly slipped from his hand as he shrieked under his breath, "Who's there? Who's there? Is it a Werewolf?"
With the heavy, rhythmic beat of hooves, two imposing figures emerged from behind the oak's shadow. Moonlight fell over them, outlining their awe-inspiring forms.
Their upper bodies were human, powerfully built and clearly muscled, their faces stern and ancient. Below the waist, they had sleek, gleaming horse bodies, with strong hooves and an elegant yet wary stance. They were the true guardians of the forest—the centaurs.
The first had black hair and a black beard, and his gloomy, haughty eyes radiated an unmistakable "keep your distance" air. The other behind him could hardly have been more different. His smooth golden hair flowed as if woven from moonlight, and his deep blue eyes seemed to hold an entire starry sky.
"Wizards," said the black-haired centaur, Bane, his voice low as thunder, brimming with wariness and pride. "You've trespassed where you should not. Tonight's Stars foretell ill fortune, and the forest is hostile to intruders like you."
Seeing that they weren't the monsters he'd imagined, Malfoy immediately regained some courage. He puffed out his chest and spoke in his usual tone. "We're students from Hogwarts, here on official business! Hagrid sent us! Have you... horses seen an injured unicorn?"
Bane gave a disdainful snort, as if saying one more word to Malfoy would be an insult to himself.
But the golden-haired centaur, Firenze, didn't look at the blustering Malfoy at all. His gaze seemed drawn by an enormous magnet, passing over Malfoy to settle firmly on the Gryffindor boy behind him, who had remained as still and silent as a statue from beginning to end.
A storm surged through Firenze's blue eyes.
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