What Should Not Be Harmed
The two groups split up and began to walk, though not very far from one another. Even so, just far enough to make them feel a little nervous about moving away from Hagrid.
In one group were Hermione, Harry, and Percy, accompanied by Fang. In the other were Hagrid, Neville, and Draco.
Even if they were not happy about leaving Neville near Draco, none of the three of them could tolerate him for too long anyway. At least they thought that, with Hagrid nearby, Draco would not dare to bother Neville.
"So, are you going to tell me now what you are planning?" Harry said immediately, turning to Percy with a slightly accusing tone.
"What are you talking about?" Percy replied, playing dumb. But that obviously would not work on his brother, the one he had grown up with. Hermione, meanwhile, walked behind them without saying a word, watching them carefully. Even so, she glanced to the sides of the forest from time to time, nervous, afraid that something might suddenly jump out.
"Do not play dumb, Perseus. Do you really think I do not notice when you are planning something stupid? That excited face when you heard we were going into the forest, then that serious expression when you heard about the unicorns," Harry said, looking at him seriously.
Hermione immediately seemed to focus all her attention on them. She had never heard Percy's full name before. "Perseus?" she asked. But the brothers did not seem to hear her, immersed in a silent war of stares.
One that, incidentally, Percy lost almost immediately, because he obviously felt guilty. His face shifted into an annoyed expression, something Harry could read easily, before he finally answered.
"It is about my father," he said almost in a whisper.
"Your father?" Harry repeated in surprise. "What does your father have to do with the forest?" he added.
"Grover said something about a person who might know about my father. And he is in this forest right now. I want to find him and ask him," Percy said with a serious look. He was telling the truth. After all, if he could not trust his brother, then who could he trust?
"Mum said your father went to the sea and never came back. Why are you looking for him now?" Harry asked, his expression serious but careful. After all, for both of them, the topic of their parents was a sensitive one.
"At first I wanted to know why they always hide things from us, Aunt Mor, Mum, Grover. But when Grover said something about my father… I just cannot help it," Percy said firmly. "Harry, you grew up hearing stories about your father and your mother thanks to Grandpa Euphemia and Fleamont in the portrait. Even Sirius. And in this place it seems like all the professors knew them, even Hagrid. But me… I know nothing about my father. And from the way Grover spoke, it seems he is still alive. I want to hear about him too. I want to know so many things. Now it is not just the secret they always kept from us that matters to me, I also want to know who my father really is."
Harry looked at his brother in silence for a few seconds, straight into his eyes. Harry's green eyes and Percy's seemed to shine in a small moment of synchrony. Hermione, who sometimes could not keep quiet, this time simply watched them, feeling that maybe, as their friend, she did not know as much about them as she thought.
"Alright," Harry finally said, breaking the silence. "Then I will help you," he added, confidently, as if he did not expect a no as an answer.
Percy could not help letting out a small, amused smile. He obviously knew that would happen. There was a reason why the two of them were always the ones getting into trouble. "But first we have to find the bastard who is hurting the unicorns," Percy said, his tone clearly irritated.
"No," Hermione intervened immediately. "We have to find the injured unicorn to help it and warn Hagrid," she said firmly.
"Well, it is basically the same," Percy replied with some enthusiasm, as the three of them kept moving forward, following Fang, who was sniffing along the trail.
Harry and Hermione carried their wands in hand, ready to send a red light into the sky if they ran into something, which would make Hagrid come running at full speed. Or to defend themselves, if necessary. Percy, on the other hand, held a wooden sword. It was the sword that could deflect spells if he managed to strike them. He carried it in case they ran into whoever had hurt the unicorns and it turned out to be a wizard. That way, he could protect Hermione and Harry in case of a magical attack.
As they walked through the darkness, from time to time the moonlight filtered through the branches of the trees, illuminating patches of bright, silvery blue blood.
Every drop they saw seemed to make Percy angrier and angrier.
"What is wrong?" Harry asked when he noticed how his expression was becoming harder by the second.
"I do not know, but I feel like it should not be harmed. And an anger just keeps rising from my chest," Percy replied, not fully understanding the origin of those emotions.
Harry watched him for a moment.
"Maybe it is because you can talk to horses," he said suddenly, trying to find an explanation.
"That is what I thought the other time I went into the forest too," Percy replied.
"You can talk to horses?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"You went into the forest before?" Harry asked at the same time, looking at him seriously.
To change the subject quickly, Percy turned his head toward Hermione. "That is right, Hermione. I can talk to horses and turtles, for some reason. And Harry talks to snakes. Great, right? Now let us keep moving," he said, cutting the topic short as he moved ahead alongside Fang.
Hermione opened her mouth, stunned, and looked at Harry. He, in turn, looked at his brother with a somewhat flat and annoyed expression, but decided it would be better to scold him later. "I will explain later," he told Hermione calmly, before following Percy.
For almost half an hour, the three of them walked without stopping. Every so often, Hagrid called out to them from afar to make sure they were alright, before separating again. Without realizing it, they were going deeper and deeper into the forest. The blood seemed to grow more abundant, the wind colder, and the branches shifted slightly, causing a brief panic in Hermione, who clutched Harry's robe for a moment.
Meanwhile, Percy, his expression growing more and more serious, kept moving forward, as if he would not stop until he found that unicorn.
Especially when he saw the blood on the branches, clear marks of how the poor creature had passed through there, dragging itself in pain.
"Percy, we need to rest for a bit," Harry said, looking at him. Percy kept his guard up at all times, his gaze unchanged since they had begun following the unicorn's trail. He was clearly exhausted, even if he did not seem to realize it.
Percy looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding. But before he could do anything else, his face suddenly hardened and he looked around quickly.
"Did you hear that?" he said at once, his voice urgent.
In the silence, Harry tried to hear something, but shook his head.
"It is the unicorn," Percy said immediately. He was hearing a voice asking for help that only he could hear, a voice that was slowly fading. Without hesitating for even a second, he started running toward where it was coming from.
Harry followed him at once, but stopped briefly beside Hermione. "Hermione, send up the red light and wait for Hagrid here," he said seriously, before turning and chasing after his brother, making sure he did not disappear among the trees.
Percy ran at full speed, branches getting in his way and striking him as he went. He ignored the pain and the scratches, pressing on without stopping, listening as that voice grew weaker and weaker, as if it were losing strength.
"H… el… p…," the voice said, something only Percy could hear. The closer he got, the more intense the emotions became, sinking into every part of his body and forcing him into a tragic expression as he kept going.
When he pushed past the last branch, he realized he had reached a clearing. It was the same one he had reached before, when he had chased after Grover, although it seemed they had taken a much longer path this time. The moment he arrived, he did not stop to observe it. He searched frantically around until his gaze fixed on something white and gleaming at the center.
Percy ran toward it.
Yes, it was the unicorn.
It was lying on the ground. A large wound in its stomach was still spilling silvery blue blood that shone brightly. It looked beautiful and majestic, yet at the same time tragic and sad. Sensing Percy's footsteps, the unicorn opened its eyes with difficulty to look at him.
"Hey, hold on," Percy said as he let go of his wooden sword and knelt beside it. He pressed the wound with both hands, trying to stop the bleeding. "Help is on the way," he added, though he could not help the deep pain in his chest as he saw the creature in that state.
The unicorn was barely breathing. It had lost too much blood. Maybe it did not have much time left.
"S… ir…," the unicorn said slowly.
"No, no, no, do not talk. You have to save your strength. My friends, Hagrid…" Percy tried to reassure it, but tears were already streaming down his face, feeling in his own body the pain the animal seemed to be suffering.
"It is… an… honor to die… in your… hands. Thank you," the unicorn said. Its stomach stopped rising and falling, and with that, its last breath faded away.
Percy remained frozen, his hands covered in shining blood, his face completely in shock. "Hey… hey, no. No, wait. It is almost over. Hold on a little longer," he said, gently shaking it, trying to make it wake up. But the animal was already dead.
"Percy!"
Harry burst out of the trees at that moment and found him immediately. Percy was still kneeling in front of the body, his hands stained with blood and his face streaked with tears.
Harry stopped for a few seconds before approaching with slow steps. He had never seen him like this, and it hurt deeply. Then his gaze fell on the unicorn's body. It was obvious Percy had been completely involved.
"Are you okay?" he asked carefully.
Percy did not answer. He only shook his head, as if he needed a few moments to pull himself together.
Harry stepped a little closer and raised his hand to rest it on Percy's shoulder. But at that exact moment, a red light shot straight toward him.
Harry turned his head, but did not have time to react. The magic was literally right in front of his face.
In that same instant, Percy moved from the ground and struck the spell with his wooden sword, deflecting it. Then he lifted his gaze toward the attacker, his expression filled with fury.
Among the trees, a shadow moved, completely covered by what looked like a black cloak. It moved in an unnatural way, as if it were sliding or crawling, like a beast lying in wait.
"You," Percy said, hatred thick in his voice. "First you kill an innocent creature, and now you attack my brother." His anger seemed to grow with every word as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his wooden sword, pointing it at the attacker as if marking him as his enemy.
Harry, meanwhile, quickly reached into his bag and pulled out his magical tome along with his wand. But when he met the gaze of that thing, a deep pain flared in his forehead, as if his scar were burning. Even so, he endured it through sheer willpower, refusing to leave his brother alone in front of something unknown.
For a moment, he felt his necklace begin to warm slightly. Then the pain that seemed to consume him vanished, as if it had never been there. With a clearer mind, he adopted a serious expression.
Percy, now standing in front of him, was on guard with his wooden sword.
"Harry, we have to catch this bastard," Percy said without taking his eyes off the hooded figure, now standing only a short distance away. From the darkness, a mocking and contemptuous gaze could be made out, as if it were witnessing something unexpected, yet amusing all the same.