Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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The Forbidden Forest was dark and silent. Moonlight poured down from the branches above, like shattered crystal, scattering silvery fragments across the fallen leaves.
They hadn't walked far when Kyle suddenly realized the surroundings were familiar.
Not far away, a group of Moonbeasts stared wide-eyed at them curiously through the bushes.
At that moment, Hagrid suddenly spoke up, "Besides the unicorn cubs, there are far fewer Moonbeasts here."
Kyle felt a pang of panic, but outwardly remained calm, asking, "Should we look for them today?"
"No, not necessary," Hagrid shook his head. "Because the other Moonbeasts here haven't shown any unusual behavior, I think they probably went to the southern woodlands, where there's a larger Moonbeast herd."
"I see…that's good."
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief and followed Hagrid deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Before leaving, he tossed a large handful of white flowers nearby, as a treat for the Moonbeasts.
Hagrid noticed Kyle's actions, but his mind was preoccupied with the stolen unicorn cub, so he didn't pay much attention, assuming the white flowers were simply Kyle's own creation.
The further they walked, the more anxious Hagrid became.
Kyle, observing him, thought for a moment and said, "Could some other animal have stolen the unicorn cub?"
"Impossible," Hagrid said. "Unicorns are extremely protective of their young, and these animals possess powerful magic. Even a dragon couldn't easily approach and take away their cubs without resorting to trickery."
They walked through a forest covered in moss and mushrooms, arriving at a winding stream.
"Awooo..." Fang Fang suddenly howled.
In the silent Forbidden Forest, this sharp bark was particularly jarring.
"Fang Fang, have you found something?"
Hagrid rushed over, simultaneously drawing an arrow and nocking it on his crossbow, ready to fire.
Fang sat there, patting a branch beside him with its front paws; a palm-sized piece of black cloth hung from it.
"Well done, Fang, well done!"
Hagrid took the scrap of cloth, rubbed it gently in his hands, and then smelled it.
"Rough to the touch... and this peculiar smell." Hagrid murmured, "I know, someone from outside the Forbidden Forest must have been here."
"Isn't this just an ordinary scrap of cloth?" Kyle asked.
"No," Hagrid said definitively, "This cloth is made of a special kind of vine. It's rough, and clothes made from it are extremely uncomfortable. Its only advantage is its toughness and durability.
So only Aurors who need to be on long missions outdoors, and those who raise dragons, would wear it."
This scrap of cloth was their first clue.
Hagrid wanted Fang to find the person by the scent, but Fang only circled the area once before returning to the same spot.
Hagrid looked somewhat disappointed.
The two continued along the stream, carefully searching the surrounding area.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past them.
"Who's there!" Hagrid raised his giant crossbow and stood in front of Kyle, shouting, "Come out, I see you."
"Clatter..."
Accompanied by the sound of hooves, a centaur entered the clearing.
The upper body was human, with red hair and a beard, but the lower body was that of a reddish-brown horse, with a long red tail trailing behind.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan." Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and said, "How are you?"
He stepped forward and shook hands with the centaur.
"Good evening, Hagrid." Ronan's voice was low and melancholic. "You wanted to shoot me with an arrow?"
"Just in case, Ronan." Hagrid patted his quiver. "There's a young wizard with us this time, and I have to protect him.
Oh, by the way, this is Kyle Chopper, a student at Hogwarts."
Then he said to Kyle, "This is Ronan, a centaur."
Upon seeing that it was a male centaur, Kyle's interest instantly waned, but out of politeness, he nodded and said, "Hello."
Ronan looked Kyle carefully, then placed his arm on his shoulder and slightly bent his foreleg, saying, "Good evening, it's nice to meet you."
Kyle was somewhat puzzled; he felt something was off about this centaur, that the man was behaving too formally.
Centaurs are proud; normally, they'd at most nod when facing strangers, not bow and bend their knees like they did just now.
That was a privilege reserved for Dumbledore.
"Ronan, it's good to see you here," Hagrid said, putting away his giant crossbow. "A unicorn cub has been stolen. Did you see anything?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately, his eyes fixed on the sky.
"Don't worry," he said. "Mars is perfectly normal tonight."
"Yes, just like any other time," Hagrid said dismissively, glancing up. "But did you see anything, Ronan? Anything unusual, or any strangers?"
"You're acting strange," Ronan said, puzzled.
"I'm perfectly fine!" Hagrid said impatiently. "I mean, did you see anything unusual?"
"Come with me." Ronan glanced at them and turned to walk into a low thicket.
Hagrid and Kyle quickly followed.
They passed through the thicket and stopped before a large, thick tree. From there, Ronan disappeared.
"This is really strange, he actually led the way." Hagrid looked around and whispered, "These centaurs know a lot, but they always keep their mouths shut. I always thought they weren't interested in anything except things around the moon."
Just then, Fang suddenly darted out and lay down under the tree, howling incessantly.
"Found something so quickly?"
Hagrid and Kyle quickly followed.
Where Fang was, there was a piece missing from the tree trunk, looking like a piece of bread that had been bitten, with very obvious signs of corrosion along the edges.
Hagrid leaned closer, stroking his chin, and said, "This must be some kind of dark magic."
Kyle, being too short to see the gap, circled around.
This tree was truly enormous, about five meters in diameter. Even in the Forbidden Forest, trees of this size were extremely rare.
Compared to it, the surrounding plants seemed malnourished, small and short. Kyle didn't even need to walk over; a quick glance was enough to see most of it.
[End of the chapter]