Chapter 28
Within minutes, Albert descended the stairs, carrying a small wooden box in his hand.
He opened it. The interior was neatly divided into two sections—on the left were some medical tools, and on the right, tiny vials no larger than a thumb, filled with various colored liquids.
Albert had received this emergency kit from Kreacher, who had insisted he keep it with him in case of injury or unexpected danger.
Albert took out a syringe and carefully used it to extract a thin fang, no longer than a grain of rice, from Ron's wound.
"What's that?" several people asked, their voices tinged with surprise.
Albert placed the delicate fang into an empty vial and began explaining, "I read in a book that many young Fire-Dragons grow special venomous fangs when they're young. They use them for self-defense. These soft fangs slowly dissolve inside the wound of their target after a bite, releasing venom that makes healing far more difficult."
With a pair of tweezers, he dipped cotton into a mixture of alcohol, water, and soap, cleaning the wound thoroughly. Then, he applied a milky-white healing salve of his own design, enhanced with powdered sunflower root.
"There. That should do it. But whether it works or not depends on the situation. After all, the medical skills I've learned don't exactly cover dragon bites."
"It's alright, mate. Feels better already," Ron said, as Albert dressed the wound with gauze. "It doesn't hurt as much now."
By the time Albert had finished packing up the kit, a soft tapping came from the dark window. It was Hedwig, delivering a letter from Charlie.
In the note, Charlie wrote that he'd be happy to adopt the Norwegian Ridgeback, Norbert. However, he instructed Albert to bring the dragon to the top of the tallest tower by midnight on Saturday. A few trusted friends would be waiting there with broomsticks to fly the creature away under the cover of darkness—discretion was crucial.
Albert and the others exchanged wary looks. Smuggling a dragon through the castle late at night sounded dangerous, especially with teachers patrolling the halls.
But Harry had a solution: his Invisibility Cloak. It would be enough to hide both the handlers and Norbert during the journey.
And so, the plan was set.
By morning, Ron's finger was red and a little swollen, but the worst seemed to be over. A full day later, the wound looked nearly healed.
Ron couldn't stop praising Albert's medical skills, leaving Albert a little embarrassed. Truth be told, he could only heal bruises or superficial injuries with basic charms. More serious conditions—like venom or potentially fatal wounds—required trained magical healers like Madam Pomfrey.
During lunch, Albert found time to inform Hagrid about the plan. When they arrived at Hagrid's cabin, they saw Fang sitting outside, a bandage wrapped around his tail.
Hagrid opened the window and spoke through it. He was sweating and looking flustered. "Can't let yeh in. Norbert's not feeling too good. Nothin' I can do, poor lad."
Albert passed on Charlie's instructions. Tears welled in Hagrid's eyes—though it may have also been because Norbert had recently bitten him on the leg.
"Haha! It's nothin'. Only got my boot, really. He's just playin'. Still a baby, yeh know!" Hagrid laughed nervously.
Behind him, Norbert thrashed his tail against the wall, rattling the windows.
Albert bid Hagrid farewell with a sympathetic expression. On the way back to the castle, he found himself increasingly convinced they had made the right decision. The sooner the dragon was gone, the better.
Saturday night arrived cloaked in thick clouds and heavy shadows. Albert and the others gathered in silence, meeting up with Hagrid as planned.
Originally, Harry and Ron had insisted they could manage on their own, but Albert disagreed. If anything—or anyone—blocked their path, he'd be the one to distract them. The others would carry on with Norbert.
And so, all three of them went together under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak.
Sure enough, Peeves was playing a noisy game of wall-tennis in one of the corridors.
Albert slipped out from beneath the cloak and crept in the opposite direction, making enough noise to lure Peeves away.
After a short detour, he returned to the hall—only to find that Harry and the others had already gone.
Standing alone in the corridor, Albert hesitated. Heading back to the common room now felt... dull.
It had been ages since he'd set foot in a school forest. And with the term nearing its end, he might not get another chance.
He considered the powerful spells at his disposal—enough to keep him safe, so long as he didn't venture too deep into the heart of the forest.
Decision made, Albert turned and quietly slipped out of the corridor, heading toward the Forbidden Forest.
As he passed Hagrid's hut, he could still hear muffled sobbing from inside. Sending Norbert away was clearly breaking Hagrid's heart.
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At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a narrow path wound its way into the black woods. As Albert walked, the vegetation thickened. The sky above disappeared behind twisting branches, and only occasionally did a faint moonbeam filter through the clouds and trees to light the path.
But the moonlight offered no comfort—in fact, its hazy glow made the twisted branches look even more menacing.
Albert drew his wand and whispered, "Lumos." A bright light sparked from the tip, piercing the gloom around him.
He felt the weight of invisible eyes lift slightly. It seemed the light itself helped ward off whatever darkness lingered nearby.
He walked in silence for some time until he noticed a silvery-blue gleam on the ground. Kneeling down, he realized it wasn't a reflection of moonlight—but a shimmering liquid.
That's unicorn blood, Albert thought. But Voldemort shouldn't have attacked the unicorn yet. So why is there blood here?
His curiosity outweighed his caution, and he decided to follow the trail.
The glowing liquid glimmered beneath the light of his wand, reacting to the spell's magical energy in a faintly luminescent way.
As Albert passed a moss-covered tree, he heard the soft burbling of water nearby—likely a stream.
The blood trail continued, sparse but steady. Thankfully, it didn't seem like the unicorn had lost enough to be fatally wounded.
He pressed forward for over ten minutes, reaching the outer edge of the forest's core. Still, he had seen no sign of the creature.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard something—soft rustling behind the bushes.
Albert bent low and gently pushed the foliage aside.
What he saw made his breath catch in awe.
There, bathed in moonlight, was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
A small herd of unicorns stood together, nuzzling each other affectionately. The moonlight played across their sleek, silver coats, making them glow like living starlight.
For a long, silent moment, Albert stood frozen—overcome by the serene,
sacred beauty of the scene before him.