Until a Sword Pierced His Kidney

Even in History of Magic, Professor Binns had started bringing up material beyond the textbook more often.

The only class that hadn't changed was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Quirrell still droned through the textbook in that dry, monotonous voice of his. Even when he occasionally offered an opinion of his own, he expressed it so awkwardly that quite a few young wizards had actually started liking him more.

The only professor who didn't give them extra work!

What a nice man.

In the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry, like the other young wizards, was writing furiously.

"Harry, can I borrow your essay for reference? There's something I don't understand." Hermione leaned over, then let out a small gasp. "What's this...?"

"A map of the Forbidden Forest," Harry lowered his voice. "The areas I've explored so far."

He reached into the Sorting Hat and pulled out a stack of essays. "Which one do you want?"

"Thanks." Hermione took the whole stack without hesitation.

Ron tutted. "Miss Granger, you've fallen into depravity too, huh?"

"Shut up!" Hermione glared at him. "I'm not like you. I'm not copying it, just using it for reference to get some ideas."

Ron tutted even louder, dripping with sarcasm.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and waved her wand threateningly.

Ron immediately fell silent and held down the essay in front of him, which belonged to Hermione.

When night had fallen, Harry donned his Invisibility Cloak and headed back to the Forbidden Forest.

There was still a vast area he hadn't explored. He'd marked quite a few places as extremely dangerous—like the Acromantula territory. Unless he searched the entire forest and still couldn't find a Bicorn, he'd never risk going there.

He had only just ventured deeper into the forest when

a thick, bloody stench wafted into his nose, mixed with the sour, fragrant smell of fresh grass.

It was the scent of a Unicorn.

Was it injured?

Harry was a little surprised. Creatures like these... Though classified as "4X," that didn't mean they were as easy to deal with as Trolls. They were simply very gentle. Even with men, they usually only drove them away and rarely hurt them.

What kind of creature could do this?

A Bicorn?

These cursed creatures, which fed on goodness and justice, seemed like likely candidates—and certainly powerful enough to attack a Unicorn.

He pulled his Invisibility Cloak tighter around himself and soon found the first traces of blood.

Silver-white, as pure as moonlight, it was scattered haphazardly across the ground. Harry didn't dare reach out and touch the blood of such a sacred creature. A powerful malice emanated from it, making him instinctively recoil.

He followed the trail of blood.

A horse's shrill whinny rang out, followed by one pained cry after another.

Behind a thicket, a Unicorn with both legs broken struggled desperately. Holy, milky-white light swirled around its horn, dazzlingly bright, but its life force was fading fast.

In front of it, a black-robed wizard waved his wand. Vines slowly gathered around them, wrapped around the Unicorn's neck, and hoisted it up.

Harry furrowed his brow.

There were plenty of ways to kill a Unicorn. Why choose such a cruel method?

He raised his wand, aimed it at the black-robed wizard, and cast, "Full-Speed Knockback!"

The Knockback Jinx!

Invisible magic surged forward like an arrow.

The black-robed wizard reacted quickly. Almost instantly, he moved his left hand, and an iron shield enveloped him, deflecting the spell.

The vines suspending the Unicorn weren't affected at all. They lifted it higher and higher, while its life force grew weaker and weaker.

"Who's there?" The black-robed wizard turned around, his voice stern, but didn't cast a spell. He had to conserve his magic. In his mind, nothing mattered more than killing a Unicorn.

Harry raised his wand again, but this time he didn't aim at the wizard. He aimed at the vines instead. "Diffindo!"

The vines split apart.

The Unicorn crashed heavily to the ground.

It was barely breathing, letting out faint whimpers, but at least... it was still alive.

It hadn't died!

The black-robed wizard was furious. He waved his wand at the thicket from which the spell had come and shrieked, "Hellfire!"

The Fiendfyre Curse!

Black flames surged forth, devouring the thicket and spreading at terrifying speed, engulfing everything in a raging, tumultuous blaze.

Harry had already dodged to one side, but he still felt a shiver of dread.

What kind of fire was this?

The evil emanating from it almost made him vomit.

A powerful spell like this was a burden even for the black-robed wizard. His breathing grew heavier.

"He's not there, you idiot!" Suddenly, Harry heard another voice—hoarse, rough, and furious. "Stop looking for that student sneaking around at night!"

"Quickly, let me drink the blood."

The black-robed wizard's voice turned timid. "Master, it's not dead yet..."

"The curse isn't strong enough, but it'll do. If Dumbledore comes, I won't be able to escape right now!" The hoarse voice made Harry's scar throb faintly. "I just need to recover a little strength."

The black-robed wizard slowly bent down and lowered his mouth toward the Unicorn's neck. The sacred beast, which had just regained a little strength, could only whimper.

It could only let the man drink its blood.

The Fiendfyre gathered into a circle around him.

Harry raised his wand and shot two brilliant green sparks into the sky.

"It's over there!" The hoarse voice rang out, sounding a little stronger now. The black-robed wizard obediently raised his wand, and the Fiendfyre coalesced into a mass and lunged in that direction.

But it missed again.

"Idiot! Disillusionment Charm, a potion, or an Invisibility Cloak," the hoarse voice scolded. "If you can't see him, you're no match for him!"

The black-robed wizard caught on and raised his wand high. "Finite Incantatem!"

A surge of powerful magic.

The rolling waves of black fire froze, then gradually died out. Wind howled around them, and leaves rustled as if time itself had stopped.

Yet no one appeared.

It wasn't the effect of magic.

Then it had to be... the Invisibility Cloak.

"Windblast!" He cast another spell. A powerful gust rose around him, blowing and battering everything in its path. After all, an Invisibility Cloak was still a cloak. This was the perfect spell to counter it.

But...

There was no one in sight.

"Behind you, you idiot!" the hoarse voice yelled.

Too late!

Harry flung off his cloak and aimed his wand at the black-robed wizard, but didn't cast a spell. Instead, he curled his middle finger around the wand and spread the other four.

The Aard Sign!

The black-robed wizard reacted incredibly quickly. A Shield Charm sprang up around him—but it was useless! This wasn't a spell. His body lurched as if struck by a raging bull, and he fell helplessly to the ground.

Harry drew his sword and stabbed down hard.

Thud—

The blade plunged straight into his abdomen, and blood poured out.

Harry immediately prepared to stab a second time, aiming for the head to finish him off.

The black-robed wizard wasn't some incompetent extra from a magical theatre troupe. He reacted quickly, waving his wand. His robes twisted, their edges stretching into a sharp, withered hand that shot out and seized Harry's wrist.

It clamped down hard.

Harry couldn't immediately drive in the second sword thrust.

And in that brief moment, the figure beneath the robes turned into a plume of smoke, floated away, and vanished into the pitch-black forest.

His magic faded, and the withered hand turned back into a robe, which fluttered to the ground.

He'd escaped.

Harry stayed alert, crouching with his sword ready in one hand as he waved his wand with the other and murmured a spell. The robe drifted around him, circling the ground scorched by the Fiendfyre again and again.

In the distance came heavy footsteps, barking, and the clatter of hooves, along with—powerful magic that should have vanished, but suddenly surged back into existence.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light flashed in the forest.

Harry's eyes saw nothing but that streak of green. All he could sense was death. But he'd been ready. He rolled aside, and the Killing Curse missed, hit the ground, and exploded, throwing up a clod of earth as big as a head.

He was that sore about getting stabbed?

The footsteps grew closer, and more chaotic.

Lantern light shone over them, accompanied by Hagrid's stern voice. "Who's there—Harry?"

"Harry, what are you doing here?"

"What happened?"

Harry tilted his head. "I'll explain in a moment. First, check if there's any hope for this Unicorn."

Hagrid crouched down to examine its injuries. One glance was enough to make him shout in fury. "Who could have done this to it?"

"Good heavens, look at its injuries—and its neck..."

His voice suddenly caught. Bite marks—marks that had pierced the skin.

"Someone's drinking Unicorn Blood?" he asked in horror.

Harry nodded, still on guard. "Yeah. I watched him—or them—drink it myself."

"Who?" Hagrid asked.

Harry shook his head without answering. "Come on. We need to see Dumbledore."

Hagrid hoisted the Unicorn onto his shoulders. The creature, already badly frightened that night, struggled desperately.

"Easy, little one. Don't be afraid." Hagrid patted its belly, soothing it. "I'm taking you back to get treated. Trust me, we've met before, haven't we?"

Harry couldn't help glancing at him. "You know it?"

"I've met the Unicorn herd in the Forbidden Forest a few times, and I've helped them take care of their newborn foals." Hagrid sounded very proud as he said this.

The Unicorn gradually calmed down.

Harry slowly moved closer to his Invisibility Cloak. "Let's go. He probably won't dare—"

He didn't finish speaking.

Another Killing Curse.

Green light shot toward Harry—

Hagrid's eyes widened. "No!"

Harry hadn't let his guard down. He rolled across the ground again and dodged it once more.

"An Unforgivable Curse!" Hagrid's voice trembled as he looked toward where the spell had come from. "Who was it?"

Harry waved a hand. "Go!"

He'd caught the man's scent—filthy, rotten, bloody, and reeking of sweat.

If he were twenty right now, he'd definitely take him down.

But he couldn't.

He was only eleven. Some things... had to be left to the "adults."

No more Killing Curses came. That had been the man's last attempt. They carefully left the Forbidden Forest, and Harry put his Invisibility Cloak back on. They didn't breathe easy until they were inside the castle.

They headed straight for the Headmaster's Office.

After the stone gargoyle at the entrance had announced them, they met Dumbledore, dressed in star-and-moon-patterned pajamas and holding a drink that was... practically syrup.

"Hagrid, and Harry." Dumbledore yawned. "Disturbing an old man's sleep like this isn't very nice."

"Especially you, Harry. Young wizards should be in bed at this hour."

Harry didn't hold back. "Old wizards shouldn't be sitting around with a cup of sugar water at this hour either."

Hagrid anxiously interrupted them. "Professor Dumbledore, you know there have been attacks on Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest lately. I was on patrol when I suddenly saw spells shooting into the sky, so I rushed over."

"And I saw Harry!"

"A Unicorn that was nearly dead."

"And a dark wizard casting the Killing Curse at Harry!"

The Killing Curse?!

Dumbledore's expression turned grave.