"Wow!" Ron exclaimed.
"This trip today was definitely worth it!"
It wasn't a wasted trip, none of it was a wasted trip!
They had just seen Dragon, and now they had seen Unicorn. It had to be said that this trip to the Forbidden Forest was definitely worth the price of admission.
"I remember reading in * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Find Them* that Unicorn cubs are pure gold, turn silver around the age of two, grow horns at four, and become fully grown and snow-white at seven." Hermione recalled the book she had read. "This Unicorn in front of us should be an adult, right?"
"Something's not right with it," Silan said, frowning. "It seems to be injured."
Hagrid squinted at the Unicorn and noticed a scar on its side and back.
"Stay here and don't move," Hagrid instructed them, pressing down on Harry and Ron's heads. "Don't let its docile appearance fool you."
"An injured Unicorn is extremely dangerous. Professor Kettleburn was gored in the stomach by a Unicorn last summer and spent half a month in St. Mungo's Hospital."
Perhaps because of Hagrid's serious expression, or perhaps because they were frightened by Professor Kettleburn's experience of being injured, Harry and Ron both quieted down.
"What's wrong, little one?"
Hagrid bent low and slowly walked toward the Unicorn, making soothing "shush" sounds all the while.
Whenever the Unicorn reared up in agitation, Hagrid would immediately stop and wait for Unicorn to calm down before continuing on his way.
"Don't get agitated." Hagrid held out a hand. "Look, there's nothing there, no danger. Let me see your wound, poor little thing."
The Unicorn hissed as Hagrid approached, leaping twice in the stream and splashing water everywhere.
"Don't be afraid... hey... don't run!"
Perhaps the movement had aggravated its wound, for the Unicorn let out a painful neigh and charged past Hagrid on all fours.
The Unicorn was very fast; Hagrid couldn't catch it at all.
To make matters worse, the Unicorn ran towards Silan and the others.
Unicorn are far from being as docile as they appear, especially when injured, at which point they become even more volatile.
"Run! Run, you all run!"
Hagrid shouted at Silan and the others as he chased after the Unicorn, sweating profusely with anxiety.
Harry and Ron were stunned by the sudden turn of events and stood frozen for a moment. After they came to their senses, they quickly called for Silan and Hermione and prepared to run away.
But Silan didn't move.
The paths in the Forbidden Forest were rugged, and the thick foliage resembled a layer of snow, making it difficult to walk and impossible to run.
Moreover, Unicorn are extremely fast.
There's no way you could outrun it on just two legs.
"Hurry up, Silan!"
Hermione urged him anxiously.
Silan reached out and pulled her behind him, then pulled out his wand and held it at the front.
"Don't be foolish, Silan!" Hagrid came charging towards them, his beard whipped about by the wind. "Your Spells won't work on it!"
It's all my fault!
It's all my fault!
Why didn't you have a good eye for them!
With each step Hagrid took, he felt his heart skip a beat, and regret and fear instantly overwhelmed him.
He never expected things to turn out this way.
If Harry and his friends were injured in the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid knew that he would be better off being locked up in Azkaban than a Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.
Hermione was also extremely anxious, but she refused to abandon Silan and run away alone, so she gritted her teeth and took out her wand as well.
Seeing their posture, Hagrid felt even more desperate.
Unicorn have very high magic resistance; the young wizard's Spells skills are simply insufficient to affect them.
If Unicorn...
Hagrid dared not think any further and began to run for his life.
We must save them!
We must save them!
Hagrid roared inwardly.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Colloportus!"
Hermione cast three Spells in a row: the Leg-Locker Curse missed, and the Petrification Charm and Colloportus had no effect on the Unicorn.
"Silan ..." Hermione's face turned pale, her lips trembling as she tried to pull Silan behind her. "You go, I... I'll hold it off!"
Hermione had no other choice, but this way, Silan could escape.
But Silan only turned back to give her a smile, standing still. "Don't worry."
Unicorn have high magic resistance, so applying Spells directly to them has little effect.
But Silan had read the autobiography of the dueling master and knew that Spells didn't necessarily require a direct attack on the opponent to achieve the best effect.
He waved his wand and cast a Softening Charm on the ground in front of him.
The Spells light shot out and landed on the ground in front of him, instantly rippling like water.
The Unicorn felt as if it were sinking into quicksand as it stepped onto it; its four hooves were firmly gripped, and its body came to an abrupt halt.
"You villain! Let me go!"
The Unicorn cried out in alarm and struggled violently with all four hooves.
Silan did not let his guard down and used two more Softening Charm to soften the surrounding land into soft sand.
"Calm down, friend, we're not bad people." Silan gripped her wand tightly, carefully keeping her distance. "Nobody wants to hurt you."
Unable to break free, the Unicorn hissed for a while before gradually quieting down.
Hagrid arrived just then. Seeing that Silan and Hermione were alright, he knelt down and suddenly reached out to hug them both tightly.
"Thank goodness! That really scared me to death." Hagrid was almost in tears.
"Hagrid." Silan shifted her body slightly. "If you use any more force, you're going to hurt me."
It would be quite a joke if you didn't get hurt by Unicorn but instead broke your bones from Hagrid's hug.
"Oh, sorry, I got too excited."
Hagrid quickly put them both back on the ground and wiped his eyes.
Silan straightened his clothes and looked at the Unicorn trapped in the sand.
Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you.
"Can you understand me?"
"Obviously. You're injured, let me treat you first, okay?"
The Unicorn nodded and bent its legs to lie down on the sand.
There's nothing we can do even if it doesn't agree; its hooves are still stuck in the sand and we can't pull them out.
When Silan saw the wound, she frowned deeply.
The wound was deep, and the outer layer was purplish-black, clearly not caused by an accident.
Dittany extract probably wouldn't be enough for this kind of wound, but luckily he still had a small bottle of Dittany Essence on him. It was still a Christmas present from Snape.
With a wave of her wand, Silan cleaned the wound and then applied some more potent Dittany Essence to it.
"These are Dittany leaves; they can heal wounds." Silan took out a few Dittany leaves and fed them to the Unicorn.
The Unicorn first poked at the Dittany leaves with its horn before sticking out its tongue to roll them into its mouth.
"Quite cautious," Silan thought to herself.
The Unicorn Horn can neutralize poison; it was afraid the leaves were poisonous.
The Unicorn swallowed the leaf and snorted.
It found that its pain had lessened considerably.
So comfortable! So comfortable!
The Unicorn flicked its tail with delight; if its hooves hadn't been stuck in the sand, it would have excitedly leaped up.
"I apologize, great wizard."
The Unicorn humbly bent its knees, almost kneeling on the ground, and bowed its head to Silan.
Although the pain that had tormented it for many days had not completely subsided, the effects of the Dittany Essence on its body had greatly alleviated the pain.
This filled it with gratitude towards Silan.
"What... what's wrong with it?" Hagrid asked, his eyes wide.
Strangeness.
That's so strange.
As far as he knew, Unicorn were proud and stubborn, and had always been closer to witches than to wizards, even little boys.
Now it's actually bowing down to Silan?
This is incredible!
Ron and Harry noticed what was happening and quickly ran back.
"If you ask me..." Ron panted, "Why is it always the two of us who get chased?"
"I've been thinking about this problem for a whole semester..." Harry said.
"Are you alright, Silan?" Hermione snapped out of her daze, jumped up and ran to Silan's side, touching him up and down.
"It's alright," Silan said with a smile. "Thank you, Hermione. I'm so glad you bought me some time."
Hermione's face flushed; she was a little embarrassed.
None of her three Spells worked.
Silan looked at the Unicorn: "How did you get injured?"
The Unicorn snorted angrily, "It's a dark wizard! He came into the Forbidden Forest to capture me!"
Quirrell?