Harry vs. Natalia

Harry walked alone along a dim path. The silence was so complete that he could hear only his own footsteps rustling over the soft fallen leaves.

Suddenly, he stopped. An inexplicable chill ran down his back.

He spun around, the light at the tip of his wand sweeping across the dark woods. Something seemed to flash between the shadows of the trees, and leaves rustled loudly.

"Who's there?"

Harry called out.

But the only answer was the rustle of the night wind through the treetops and the faint sound of beetles rubbing their wings together.

He recalled the shadow he had just seen... It had looked rather like an owl?

But he still felt as though someone was watching him. The feeling of being observed would not go away, like spider silk stuck to the back of his neck.

He took a deep breath and pulled a compass from his pocket. The red needle spun in his palm before abruptly stopping, pointing straight at an especially dense thicket.

Harry looked around. Narrow paths ran along both sides of the bushes, as though they had been trampled out by some animal. Faint hoofprints could be seen on the ground.

After watching for a moment, he chose the path on the left. It was slightly wider, and somehow felt safer.

He walked for around ten minutes. The way was completely empty; he encountered neither enemies nor obstacles.

He lowered his head to check the compass, confirming that he had not strayed from his direction.

Although an unobstructed path was nice, things going this smoothly instead made Harry uneasy. He muttered to himself, "How come I haven't run into anything? Shouldn't I have encountered something by now?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he heard a sound behind him—between the tree roots