Leaving the Forbidden Forest

"Jeez, Oren, that was way too brutal."

After cleaning up the pile of rat slushies, Oren said, "I didn't even use Dark magic. Those were all common spells."

"Huh? Common spells can be that brutal?"

Oren rolled his eyes. "There are no bad spells, only bad wizards. Hermione, at your level, you'd better go back and train some more."

Hermione...

"You often say you duel Professor Snape. He taught you that, didn't he?"

Oren looked curiously at the young witch. "You actually haven't developed Snape PTSD like Harry? You can even say his name without prejudice instead of calling him 'that old bat'?"

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Hmph. I've always thought Quirrell was the one trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh... something's off here. Why do you suspect Quirrell? What's the motive? What's the evidence?"

Oren was confused. Oren pondered. Oren grew suspicious.

Hermione pursed her lips. "That's because I believe..."

"Believe what?"

"Nothing! So what if I suspect Quirrell!"

Oren put on an expression that said she could not fool him. "Something's definitely off with you! Fine if you don't want to say it, but why are you getting so worked up?"

"Hmph."

"Fine, Hermione, don't tell me."

For a while, neither of them spoke. Only the wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.

Oren grumbled, "Hagrid's got some nerve. We're already deep in the Forbidden Forest. How could he just leave a little witch like you here without worrying?"

"W-will we run into werewolves?" Hermione's voice trembled.

"Don't say it. Seriously, don't say it. There's a chance."

"Then what do we do?!" The terrified young witch was practically squeaking in a dolphin pitch.

"Don't panic. Take this." Oren handed the Yanling saber to Hermione. "Wield this great sword, and werewolves are toast."

"Oren, you seem to really like that sword. Is there anything special about it?"

"Of course. This sword is especially hard."

Sometimes, Oren suspected that the system had secretly chipped its material off the structural steel of some planetary engine.

"No, Oren. You should keep it yourself."

"Tch, you don't know quality either. This blade isn't great at breaking magic, but it's absolutely a weapon for piercing armor."

Hermione...

Armor-piercing? They were wizards. What armor were they supposed to pierce?

"Oren, what do you think happened tonight?"

"I don't know, but you're about to find out." Oren pointed at Hagrid, who emerged from behind a tree.

"Good, everyone's here. Let's get going," Hagrid said urgently, grabbing Oren and Hermione.

On the way back, Harry said nothing and wore a solemn expression. One look was enough to tell that he had inherited three parts of Professor McGonagall's demeanor.

In the Gryffindor Tower common room, only Ron was waiting for them.

Harry said seriously, "I met a centaur named Firenze. He told me some things, and I think you should all know."

Oren shooed him away. "Neville, go back and sleep first."

"O-okay."

Watching Neville leave, Ron said, "He looks really frightened."

"Who knows? Let's hope he has a good dream tonight," Oren said. "Though it might be a nightmare."

Harry lowered his voice. "I saw a strange thing in a cloak drinking unicorn blood."

The dim room was lit only by the faint glow of the fireplace reflecting on their faces. The atmosphere was perfect for telling ghost stories.

"Are they insane? Drinking unicorn blood! Aren't they afraid of the curse? You'd need twenty years of brain thrombosis to come up with something like that." Oren exchanged a glance with Harry.

"Unless..." ×2

"He doesn't have much time left." ×2

Harry continued, "That centaur Firenze told me that thing was very likely Voldemort."

"Stop!" Oren hurriedly interrupted. "Don't say that name. The reason nobody says it seems to be because it's cursed."

"Harry, you don't want him to know everything while we're discussing how to deal with him, do you?"

"Uh..." Harry choked on his words. After staring blankly for a moment, he said, "Fine. Firenze told me that drinking unicorn blood can prolong life, but it also curses you and turns you into a half-dead monster."

Hermione said in surprise, "Ignoring the curse to extend one's life with unicorn blood... then that fugitive is after the Philosopher's Stone too! But how did the centaur know that was You-Know-Who?"

"I don't know," Harry said gloomily. "Something about star signs and other weird stuff. I didn't understand it."

Hermione comforted him. "So there may be two people eyeing the Philosopher's Stone now. But Harry, you don't need to worry too much. Professor McGonagall told me that divination magic isn't very accurate."

Harry sighed. "Then what should we do? There might be two people after the Philosopher's Stone now. I feel so much pressure."

Oren analyzed, "What if—just what if—it's actually been the same person all along?"

"What? Could Voldemort... could You-Know-Who be inside Hogwarts?!" Ron's voice shot up in shock.

"It's only a possibility, right?" Hermione's face went pale at the thought as well.

Oren shrugged. "Make bold assumptions and verify them carefully. If you don't even dare think about it, how will you become detectives in the future?"

"But what if it's true? What do we do then?!" Harry was panicking now. Completely panicking.

"There you go panicking again. What do you mean, what do we do? Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink."

Hermione glared at Oren. "Harry, don't listen to Oren's nonsense. You-Know-Who has always feared Dumbledore. As long as he's here, everything will be fine."

"Enough, don't worry about that stuff. If the sky falls, Dumbledore will hold it up. The nighttime tea party is over. Go back and sleep," Oren urged.

They got up, said goodbye, and headed toward their respective dormitories.

"Wait." Hermione quietly stopped Oren. Once the two entered the dormitory, she said, "Oren, were you serious about that analysis just now?"

Oren said nothing. He only curled his lips into a teasing smile.

"You tell me?"

"You were definitely just trying to scare us for fun," Hermione said.

"Guess again."

Hermione...

Taking advantage of the dim surroundings, Oren slowly backed away until he vanished into the darkness.

Seeing the young witch's expression—seven parts terror, three parts dazed—he knew someone would not be sleeping tonight.

Oren: amused.

Inside the Forbidden Forest.

"Firenze, you actually let a young wizard ride on your back. Are you a mule?"

"Bane, that was the Potter boy. He had to leave the Forbidden Forest as quickly as possible."

"You believe those wizards' prophecies? Do you really think that boy can deal with that person?"

"I don't know, Bane. But I have to resist that person!"

"Firenze, you'd be better off counting on Oren than that boy."

"Why, Bane? Did the stars reveal a prophecy?"

"Quite the opposite, Firenze. Quite the opposite."

They had returned very late, then held their tea party for quite a while. By the time they had barely lain down, dawn had arrived.

The two little ones and Neville had barely slept at all. Oren, who had not slept well either, was merely a little tired in the common room, but the moment he saw Hermione with her limited-edition panda dark circles, he perked right up. It was as though a huge character for "amused" hovered over his head.

Hermione was so angry that she wanted to use the textbook in her hand to crack Oren's skull open and broaden his horizons.

"Oh, right, the Invisibility Cloak still seems to be on the rooftop!" Harry instantly woke up.

"It's on your bedside table. I saw it." Oren knocked Harry on the head. "There's a note on it too. You'd better go read it."

After glancing at Harry as he rushed frantically back to the dormitory, Oren communicated with the system in his mind.

System, sign in!

Congratulations! You have obtained one enamel mug.

Oren shook his head. What was I even expecting?

On the way to class, Hermione dragged Oren to the back of the group and whispered, "Oren, were you serious about what you said last night?"

"Pfft!"

Hermione's jumpiness at every little sound truly made Oren laugh.

"So you really were just having fun at my expense. You made me worry all night," Hermione said angrily, repeatedly smacking him with the textbook in her hand.

Oren: amused.