The Forbidden Forest was gloomy and terrifying, shrouded in silence.
A beam of moonlight spilled down through the branches, illuminating a patch of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.
"Look there, see that shining stuff on the ground? Silvery-white? That's unicorn blood," Hagrid said.
It appeared that a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest had been injured by something. Judging by the amount of blood, it was hurt badly.
"This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We need to try and find that poor unicorn and help put it out of its misery."
Put it out of its misery... Does he mean that kind of relief? Hermione felt a bit doubtful.
At a fork in the path, Hagrid split the four young wizards into two teams.
Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path.
Draco, Neville, and Fang took the right path.
"If anyone finds the unicorn, send up green sparks. If you're in trouble, send up red sparks. Got it?"
Moments later, a red signal flare rose from the direction Draco and Neville had taken.
When Hagrid and the others rushed over—accompanied by two centaurs they had met on the way, Ronan and Bane—they discovered it was a false alarm.
Draco had pulled a prank.
He had quietly sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him. Terrified, Neville had shot off the red sparks.
"You two made such a racket! Now, catching that thing will be entirely up to luck," Hagrid said angrily.
The centaurs, Ronan and Bane, were also extremely displeased. They agreed with Hagrid and left in a huff.
Hagrid made Draco and Harry swap teams. He wanted to keep an eye on that idiot Malfoy personally.
The two groups separated again. Hagrid took the two young wizards, Draco and Hermione, and headed toward the heart of the Forbidden Forest together.
They walked for nearly half an hour, venturing deeper and deeper into the forest. Eventually, the trees became extremely dense, making the path almost impassable.
The bloodstains on the ground were becoming more frequent.
Blood was splattered across the roots of a tree, suggesting the poor creature had thrashed about in pain nearby.
Through the tangled branches of an ancient oak tree, a clearing became visible ahead.
Hermione felt as if the blood in her veins had frozen solid.
She clearly saw a hooded figure crouching over the corpse of a unicorn like a beast, drinking its blood.
She covered her mouth tightly, terrified that making even the slightest sound would alert the figure.
But it was useless. Draco, like the terrible teammate he was, let out a horrific scream and turned to run.
This instantly exposed the presence of the trio.
Damn it! Hagrid cursed silently.
"Run!" Hagrid pulled out his pink umbrella. "Go find Professor Dumbledore!"
Hermione understood that staying behind would not help Hagrid at all; in fact, she would only be a burden.
She didn't hesitate to turn and run.
"What's that signal flare?"
Hearing Cedric's words, the other three, who were busy eating chicken, stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky in unison.
Kyle narrowed his eyes to gauge the position of the signal flare. It wasn't very deep in the forest; it was still in the outer perimeter.
If Hagrid was with them, it was impossible to encounter any real danger in the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Forest.
Could it be Hermione and the others?
Kyle recalled the content of the Weasley twins' detention from last year, which had been a night patrol in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.
Unfortunately, they had run into a "Professor Hiddleston" who was looking for revenge on Snape.
Considering the death flag Fred had set up in the Great Hall this morning, Kyle felt it was highly likely that something had happened to Hermione's group.
"Let's go. We need to check it out." Kyle put down the Beggar's Chicken in his hand.
The path in the Forbidden Forest was difficult to traverse, filled with vines and protruding roots that could trip anyone up. But what did that matter to Kyle and his friends?
Using Explosive Clay, Fred molded a strange-looking giant bird. Carrying the four of them, it flew directly into the sky and quickly arrived near the location where the red sparks had appeared.
The group landed.
By this time, however, Hagrid had already set off again with the two young wizards, so Kyle's group didn't run into them.
They spread out to search the surroundings for any suspicious tracks. suddenly, Fred let out a shout.
"Come here, quick! I found something!"
The other three quickly gathered around. Fred was holding his wand, the tip lit with Lumos, illuminating a pool of bright silver fluid next to a tree stump.
"Unicorn blood," Kyle recognized it at a glance. "Unicorns are powerful magical creatures. What exactly broke into the Forbidden Forest that could harm a unicorn?"
"Should we continue searching separately?" George asked.
Kyle shook his head. "No, we have to stick together. Whatever can hurt a unicorn isn't something one of us can face alone."
"Kyle's right," Cedric turned to look at George. "Bring out your Alchemy Puppet."
The second generation Alchemy Puppet George had been forging was completed just a few days ago. They had even tested its power at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and now was the perfect time to put it to use.
George opened the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist. Thanks to the Undetectable Extension Charm, they each had one of these pouches now—all gifts from Kyle.
A set of black and grey painted humanoid armor was pulled out by George.
Because magic could achieve many unscientific feats, Kyle had been able to design the exterior without any reservations.
Kyle had pushed the aesthetics of mechanical engineering to the extreme.
The armor's overall lines were fluid yet sharp, and the cold black-grey paint job was full of aggression.
The helmet wasn't a smooth, round head like the original Iron Man suit; instead, it was adorned with many wild and menacing protrusions.
The rapid-fire machine guns and cannons erected on both shoulders exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression.
The only issue was the armor's height. Since George was only thirteen, the size of the armor had to be adapted to fit his physique.
Blue lines of magical power extended from George's ten fingers, connecting to the various joints of the armor.
A series of click-clack sounds rang out as the armor instantly opened up, revealing the space inside.
George stepped in. The clicking sounds rang out again as the armor slowly closed around him. When the final faceplate locked into place, the eyes of the armor lit up with a pale red glow.
Even though he had seen it several times, Kyle's eyes were still filled with longing.
He would definitely have to rush George later to hurry up and build his armor to pay off his debts.
Compared to George's "Mini Gundam," the giant clay bird Fred had molded paled in comparison.
George's voice came from behind the faceplate, sounding slightly muffled. "We'll lead the way."
As soon as he finished speaking, the thrusters on the back and sides of the armor blasted out streams of scorching fire, propelling George's body into the sky.
The remaining three stepped back onto the giant clay bird and began searching from the skies above the Forbidden Forest.
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