The Eccentric Centaur

Two hours earlier, Sagreles had waited at the edge of the Forbidden Forest for a long time without seeing anyone. Just as he thought something might have happened to them, a surge of magic suddenly came from deep within the forest.

He rose from the rock, frowned at the Forbidden Forest, then transformed into a massive black shadow and swiftly flew toward the source of the explosion.

A few minutes later, Sagreles found everyone in a clearing.

"Can someone tell me what happened here?"

He landed on the ground, narrowed his eyes at the dead Unicorn in the distance, and asked.

"Good evening, Sagreles..."

"Professor?"

"Professor Greengrass?"

"Oh! Thank goodness..."

"Finally..."

Sagreles frowned, trying to pick out anything useful from the jumble of voices, but soon gave up.

"Quiet!"

A Silencio was cast instantly, and everyone immediately shut their mouths.

Sagreles pointed at Nightingale. "Villis, you tell me."

Only then did everyone realize that they knew each other.

"Alright, Sagreles..." Nightingale said with a smile. "I accepted the commission. I should have met you at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, but while I was waiting for you, I noticed something unusual. Hmm, perhaps a dark wizard? I'm not sure. Then I followed him quietly and saved your students from him..."

As she spoke, she pointed at Hagrid. "And this big guy too, of course..."

Sagreles nodded, then turned to Harry's group and Malfoy, unable to stop himself from thinking, These young wizards really are trouble. Sneaking around the castle at night was one thing, but they actually dared to sneak into the Forbidden Forest?

He had already decided to deduct a huge number of points from all four of them and give them a full month of detention! No, three months! They would report to their Heads of House every day after class!

But before that, he still needed to get the facts straight.

"So, you four—" He pointed at the four young wizards. "Who wants to tell me why you're here?"

With a stern, expressionless face, he said, "If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, all of your free time from now on may be spent in detention."

Looking at the four students wildly gesturing and trying to speak, he finally pointed a finger through the air at Hermione. "Miss Granger, you tell me!"

"Er, Professor, we weren't breaking school rules this time..." Hermione hurriedly explained once she found she could speak again. "This was our detention assignment. Professor McGonagall sent us."

Sagreles raised an eyebrow. So the punishment for breaking one school rule was breaking another?

He was somewhat speechless. After grumbling inwardly for a moment, he decided not to dwell on it.

Hermione continued, "We were assigned to search for an injured Unicorn with Hagrid, but we ran into the thing that killed the Unicorns here. It wanted to attack us, and Hagrid told us to run, but for some reason Harry couldn't move..."

"You can take your time, Miss Granger." Sagreles cast a Cheering Charm on her, and Hermione visibly calmed down at once.

She also realized that she had been a little too worked up. She glanced at Nightingale, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then this lady appeared. Um, she saved us."

Sagreles narrowed his eyes. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he said nothing and turned back to Hagrid. "Hagrid—"

"Professor, Hermione's right..." Hagrid was equally agitated. "That thing was attacking the Unicorns, and it was drinking their blood too. I found one dead last Wednesday. This is already the second one."

After hearing Hagrid's words, he felt he was one step closer to the truth. But to avoid missing any crucial details, he continued questioning them.

"Hagrid, you know the Forbidden Forest well. What do you think that thing was?"

"I don't know, Professor, but I don't think it was human. It seemed more like some kind of animal..."

"An animal?"

"I don't know. Maybe a vampire?" he said uncertainly. "It was wearing a cloak, so we couldn't see it clearly..."

Sagreles nodded without speaking, then looked at the Centaur.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"Ah, if you ask me, Mars is very bright tonight..." the Centaur said out of nowhere.

Sagreles gave him a look, thinking that these Centaurs really were as eccentric as the rumors claimed. It was a common flaw among seers—they surely knew something, but since they had chosen to protect themselves, he couldn't force them to talk.

Walking over to the body, he crouched down and carefully examined the Unicorn's torn throat.

The Silencio had been lifted, but the young wizards had nothing to say now.

"I don't think it was a vampire!" Nightingale suddenly said. "Holy Light Exorcism couldn't harm it, so it definitely wasn't a dark creature..."

"I think I know..." Sagreles said without looking back.

"Alas, it is always the innocent who suffer first," the Centaur said sadly. "It was so three hundred years ago, and it is so again today, three hundred years later."

Sagreles hated this riddle-speaking manner of his most of all. He didn't mind Centaurs keeping secrets, but why did they always have to make themselves known at critical moments?

It was like they were reminding everyone: Come ask me! I know a secret!

"Leon, you know what that thing was, don't you?"

Sure enough, after hearing that, Hagrid immediately asked, "Tell us, Leon."

"I'm sorry, Hagrid. This is the guidance of the stars, a secret that belongs to the forest, so I cannot tell you..." Leon said dreamily as he gazed at the sky.

"But didn't you see that Unicorn?" Hagrid pointed incredulously at the corpse in the distance. "It's dead, killed by something lurking in the forest, and you're still keeping the killer's secret."

"I'm truly sorry, Hagrid..." Leon apologized again. "We have sworn an oath. We must never defy fate or reveal the omens shown by the stars."

"Why can't you take your eyes off those distant stars?" Harry couldn't help asking. "You'd rather look at those illusory stars than spare a glance for the innocent dead lying right in front of you?"

Clearly, he couldn't understand why the Centaurs insisted on keeping silent.

"Enough." Sagreles interrupted their conversation and said calmly, "Centaurs are skilled in astrology and herbology. They can predict the future and interpret celestial signs. But rather than interfere, they prefer to observe the world as spectators."

He raised a hand to stop Hagrid from speaking again, then told everyone, "I know you're all eager to learn the truth, but we can't expect others to help us while risking retaliation."

The Centaur gave him a grateful look, but Sagreles ignored it.