Chapter 64: Unicorn’s Blessing
The unicorn’s eyes widened, its pupils staring at the wand tip. That wand was extremely light and fast; the closer it got, the brighter the icy blue chill light became, the sharp magic power stinging its eyes.
The wand tip stabbed down fiercely.
This auspicious beast, symbolizing purity, smelled the aura of death…
“Hiss—squeak—”
A sharp, piercing metallic screech broke the silent night.
A transparent bubble film appeared out of thin air, silver-white light flashing and vanishing, like some metallic luster or reflected bright moonlight, covering the unicorn’s body surface. The dark wizard’s wand tip, cutting into flesh and bones, hovered a few inches from the carotid artery, unable to penetrate further.
The magic power gathered at the wand tip shattered.
The cutting curse, capable of easily breaking through dragon scales and steel shields, was blocked outside by magic power beyond the norm. The levitation charm cast on the unicorn was also rapidly dissipating.
A sense of despair enveloped Quirinus Quirrell, who was under siege. His figure froze for a moment, his eyes hidden in the hood’s shadow showing a faint crimson glow. His entire body seemed to shed some invisible heavy burden, becoming light and agile.
The black cloak billowed, and the figure instantly crouched under the unicorn’s belly, dodging the stunning spell coming from the side and rear, while manipulating the dissipating levitation charm magic to push the unicorn toward the centaurs.
Three venomous thorn arrows hit the transparent bubble film, making crisp clanging sounds.
The centaurs were both shocked and angry. Seeing the unicorn smashing toward them, they hurriedly swung their hooves to dodge.
In the instant the unicorn crashed toward the centaurs, creating a gap, the mysterious wizard immediately leaped up, avoiding the surging snow waves about to hit him, and poured simple, quick spells like repelling charm and stunning spell toward Professor McGonagall chasing from behind.
Not expecting these elementary spells to work, the dark wizard cast the levitation charm on his cloak, dragging himself to sprint hard into the gap opened by the unicorn’s body.
The black cloak fluttered, drifting away lightly like snowflakes.
The centaurs and the observing half-giant quickly drew their bows, shooting arrows together in pursuit. Continuous shooting made their hands ache, but they still refused to give up, gritting their teeth to empty their quivers.
But the dark wizard had already broken out of the encirclement. These attacks could only chase his receding back, landing in the shrubbery and snow.
Melvin put away his wand, casually ruffled the little witch’s hair, and slowly walked toward the open space, his gaze falling on a series of footprints left in the snow, his eyes distant.
First using Voldemort’s magic power in the Hog’s Head Inn during the Christmas holiday, then fully surrendering his body to Voldemort’s control under siege—the wraith’s aura of death flowed through his entire body with the magic power. Unless he got the Philosopher’s Stone in the next two days to remake his body, he should quickly find a suitable graveyard.
The three centaurs were still annoyed at not keeping the dark wizard completely. Hagrid had already staggered to the unicorn, cradling its head in his arms, anxiously checking its injuries.
Unicorns usually only interacted with pure girls. It lifted its front hoof and pushed twice, unable to push away, so it could only let the half-giant check, its eyes somewhat helpless.
“Hoof sprained, Achilles tendon strained, no wonder it didn’t run directly…” Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll make you a splint when we get back; rest two weeks and you’ll be fine.”
From behind an oak tree not far away, a red-haired head poked out, shouting loudly: “Something’s wrong here! Harry’s hurt!”
Harry leaned against the tree trunk, hissing and gasping, one hand tightly clutching his head, his face pale without a trace of blood, looking in great pain.
“Harry!”
Hagrid immediately dropped the unicorn and rushed over, frantically checking the injury, tears welling in his eyes: “No dislocation, no fracture, no blood…”
“It’s fine, hiss… just a bit of a headache… much better now.” Harry gasped in small breaths, slowly recovering.
“Was it the Cruciatus Curse?” Neville muttered softly.
Daphne and Pansy nearby exclaimed in shock. Hermione silently recited it several times in her mind, memorizing the spell. She’d heard it a few times tonight; she’d go to the library to look up information when she got back.
Draco felt strange inside. If it were the old him, he’d probably yell about reporting tonight’s events to his father, holding Dumbledore accountable for negligence, and showing other students the Malfoy family’s power.
But now, no such thoughts came to him.
Professor McGonagall called the students to gather together. The centaurs named Firenze and Ronan also came over, surrounding Harry. Only Bane stayed by the unicorn, bending his front hooves to squat down and check on it.
The unicorn, which had lain for a few minutes, regained some strength and propped up its hooves to move away from the smelly centaur.
Melvin looked toward Harry, who was clutching his forehead and leaning behind the oak tree. The assistant teacher that Dumbledore had painstakingly and meticulously cultivated was in place; the Dark Lord’s enlightenment lesson for the savior star was in the next couple of days.
Amid the sound of hooves stepping on snow, the unicorn slowly approached the young professor, stared at him for a long time with timid eyes, then slowly lowered its head, avoiding the horn on its forehead, and rubbed against his sleeve.
Bane, the centaur not far away, was expressionless. Whatever pure unicorn symbolizing purity, whatever only willing to let innocent girls touch it—it was just rhetoric the elders used to fool the tribe’s foals.
Melvin rubbed its head a few times and felt something off with the magic power. The winter night forest was extremely cold; his exposed hand should have felt the biting cold wind, but he felt no chill. Instead, a warm, hot flow came from the unicorn, faint but distinct.
It was a magic power unlike any he’d seen before, different from a wizard’s magic power.
……
In a cast-iron round pot, smoked meat and radish were simmering. On the iron plate nearby were steaming rock skin cakes.
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in the yard of Hagrid’s Hut, a vigorous bonfire blazed. A group of teachers and students sat on wooden stools around the bonfire. The professors were discussing matters, while the Gryffindor first years held bowls of hot soup in both hands, ears perked, eyes bright.
Staying at Hagrid’s Hut for midnight tea was something they earned through their own efforts. Harry even pretended his head still hurt for this. Ron, Neville, and Hermione stayed to accompany their friend, unlike those Slytherin idiots who obediently let Professor McGonagall take them back to the castle without any resistance.
The little wizards silently drank their soup.
Hagrid and Fang focused on gnawing rock skin cakes.
“The centaur tribe’s night patrol has all been mobilized to search and capture. Minerva has notified the Ministry of Magic; Aurors will join the investigation tomorrow morning.” Dumbledore also held a bowl of smoked meat hot soup. “The unicorns will migrate deeper into the Forbidden Forest. Acromantulas and other intelligent creatures have agreed to help; they won’t encounter danger again.”
Melvin picked up the porcelain bowl and took a sip. The salty, fragrant radish soup warmed his body. The headmaster had rushed to the Forbidden Forest upon receiving the news. He was the only one in the school who could enter the centaur tribe’s camp to negotiate; even the gamekeeper couldn’t.
The negotiations went very quickly, taking less than ten minutes total, making Melvin suspect Dumbledore had actually been there the whole time, just hiding to observe secretly—perhaps along with Professor Snape, who couldn’t leave his potion brewing.
“Will the unicorns come back?”
Melvin cared more about this question. The unicorn’s magic power was very peculiar; he still hadn’t figured out its specific effects.
“Of course.” Dumbledore nodded. “Unicorns are nostalgic creatures. This is their habitat chosen hundreds of years ago. The migration is temporary; they’ll return once the danger is gone.”
Harry thought for a moment and raised his head: “Headmaster, can I ask when the danger will be lifted?”
“I won’t make them wait too long.”
“…”
Harry had many questions he wanted to ask but didn’t know where to start. After thinking for a long time, he buried his head again, letting the rising steam soothe his cheeks. His head still had some dull pain, but it didn’t hinder him from sorting through tonight’s events.
Before encountering the mysterious wizard, they heard some strange sounds. At first, he thought they were the mysterious wizard chasing the unicorn, but on careful recall, by the time they reached the open space, the mysterious dark wizard had already been confronting the unicorn for a while.
In the intervals when his scar’s pain flared, Harry vaguely saw the nearby shrubbery shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination from the headache or if there was another wizard hiding in the shrubbery—a wizard leading them.
Finally, it was the centaur escorting them out of the Forbidden Forest. Firenze hinted that the desperado hunting unicorns and seeking the Philosopher’s Stone was the murderer of his parents—Voldemort.
Nicolas Flamel on the Chocolate Frog Card, the Philosopher’s Stone in the fourth-floor corridor room, Snape trying to murder him during the Quidditch match, the Mirror of Erised and the Invisibility Cloak…
Harry vaguely felt all the matters could be pieced together, yet missing some clue linking them.
The meat soup in the iron pot bubbled with heat. Seeing them sitting around the bonfire, Hermione looked around. The layout and furnishings of Hagrid’s Hut were the same as before, but there were many things that shouldn’t be here, like the thick books by the bedside, or the tin plate shielding in front of the fireplace.
《Breeds of Fire Dragons in Britain and Ireland》
《Raising Fire Dragons: From Hatching to Hell》
“…”
It probably wasn’t what she thought, right?
Hermione’s lips pursed tightly.
……
It was already midnight by the time they returned to the castle.
Melvin saw from afar that the Care of Magical Creatures professor’s office was still lit. After a slight hesitation, worried about not being able to sleep upon returning, he still knocked on Professor Kettleburn’s door.
Although he had taken Care of Magical Creatures as a student, there were no unicorns on Mount Greylock. Textbook knowledge was only enough for exams; for more detailed content, he still needed to consult a professional.
This Magical Creatures professor was elderly, suffered from insomnia with little sleep, and had a good temper. He didn’t get angry even at a midnight knock. Upon learning Melvin needed unicorn-related materials, he enthusiastically recommended many books, made a reading list, and still wasn’t reassured. He even pulled out his own organized notes, telling Melvin to come ask anytime he had questions.
Melvin expressed deep gratitude.
Back in the Muggle Studies professor’s office, Melvin eagerly flipped through Professor Kettleburn’s notes. The first dozen pages had neat handwriting, the middle dozen were quite messy, like written by someone else, then gradually became neat again.
Melvin thought for a moment before realizing: the front was written when Professor Kettleburn still had his right hand; midway he lost his right hand, the left-hand writing was crooked; later he adapted.
“…”
Melvin continued reading with some respect.
Unicorns are believed to be pure creatures born from raging ocean white waves, with very special magic power in their bodies, full of pure life force yet harboring stubborn curses.
Unicorn blood can prolong life but also corrode the soul. Hair is mainly used to make several beauty potions; tail hair makes excellent wand cores—stable, powerful, absolutely loyal, able to resist various dark magics.
Ron’s wand, inherited from his brother, has a unicorn hair core. Unfortunately, that wand was loyal only to Charlie Weasley and ignored Ron, often backfiring.
In Hogwarts Potions class, students use unicorn horn powder to make a universal antidote. This “unicorn horn” isn’t a real horn but from a unicorn bovine, conventionally called unicorn horn. Available in ordinary apothecaries, 21 Galleons each.
Real unicorn horns have unique magic power, suppressing various dark magics, with restraining effects on Hedwig, Dementors, and other dark creatures.
In 1979, Newt Scamander received the Order of Merlin, Second Class. The Wizengamot promptly issued a new Magical Creatures Protection Law, prohibiting any harming, poaching, or private breeding of unicorns. Ordinary wizards revere law and curses, so naturally don’t provoke unicorns.
But under the relentless efforts of poaching wizards, the number of injured and disabled wizards each year is no less than two hundred. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures still classifies unicorns as 4X level dangerous creatures, same as Banshees and Murtlap, moderately dangerous.
Finishing all the notes was already 2 a.m., but Melvin felt no fatigue or drowsiness. He reached for his wand, feeling the magic power flowing through his body, bones and flesh soaked in the warm current, refreshed.
Melvin could clearly perceive this influence. The strand of magic power gifted by the unicorn wasn’t strong, but its quality was very distinct. This pure power continuously affected the rhythm of his native magic power, quietly causing some indescribable changes in his body.
There were no similar cases in Kettleburn’s notes.
Melvin analyzed that this change involved not only the unicorn but also the gift from the Horned Serpent. When the auspicious beast expressed gratitude to him, that strand of emotion was similarly converted into magic power, different from a wizard’s magic power.
As the first wizard to discover this phenomenon, Melvin named it 「Unicorn’s Blessing」.
“Splash…”
Melvin closed the notes and began studying this strand of magic power.
Magic power is the product of soul and body interacting, distinguished by intensity and quality. Intensity is easy to understand; aside from rare special cases, generally adult wizards have stronger magic power than underage ones, senior Aurors stronger than ordinary wizards, Master Duelists stronger than ordinary Aurors… growth speed and final intensity relate to talent.
Magic power’s quality is influenced by a wizard’s past experiences and emotions. Distinct quality makes wizards more attuned to certain spells, like Voldemort’s evil magic power suiting the Killing Curse particularly well, or Mr. Finnegan of Gryffindor suiting explosive spells.
Melvin tried various categories of magic, focusing on spells like the Patronus Charm given the unicorn’s purity symbolism.
But he was wrong.
The unicorn magic power corresponded to dark magic!
