A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“Ron, that’s definitely not going to work.” Aaron glanced at him with some disdain, then turned his gaze to Harry Potter. “Too much trouble. I have a feeling that teaming up with you will be a real hassle.”

“Then there’s no other choice,” Draco laughed. “Slytherin is still the most trustworthy.”

"No, don't overthink it. There are other options." Aaron poured cold water on his idea. "Hagrid, why don't you switch places with Tooth?"

“Me?” Hagrid paused for a moment, then immediately waved his hand and said, “That won’t do, absolutely not.”

With their abilities, the danger level would increase significantly if they were separated from me.

I'd recommend Malfoy! He'd be a better fit for your team.

"This... is fine too, it's better than the other two."

Draco's eye twitched slightly; he inexplicably felt as if he was being disliked.

"Okay, next, we'll split into two groups."

If someone finds the unicorn, they fire a green spark; if they encounter trouble, they fire a red spark.

We'll be there to meet you right away. Okay, be careful!

After Hagrid finished speaking, he led Harry and Ron to the path on the left, leaving the path on the right to Aaron, Hermione, and Draco.

"Phew!" Aaron took a deep breath, placed Abe on his head, and then looked at Hermione and Draco. "You two have no objections to following my lead tonight!"

"No, I'll definitely listen to you," Draco said, patting his chest. Aaron was better than him in every way, so he had no reason to disagree.

“I will listen to you too,” Hermione said immediately.

"You?" Draco looked at her suspiciously. "It's already good enough that you didn't abandon us and run away alone when you were in danger."

"I won't, I definitely won't."

"Who knows?"

"That's enough, that's why I don't want to be divided into groups, it's too much trouble."

"You two, if you have something to say, go back and talk about it. We're in the Forbidden Forest now, can you both keep a low profile?"

Hermione and Draco exchanged a glance and simultaneously fell silent.

"now it's right.

"Now listen to me, check your shoes, and tie them if they have laces." Aaron said, squatting down to tie his shoelaces tightly.

Hermione didn't waste any words and did as she was told.

Draco, however, was somewhat puzzled. "Tying shoelaces? Can you tell me why?"

"It'll make it easier to escape. You don't really think that having this dog, Tooth, here will solve everything, do you?"

Chapter 63 Running away quietly is impossible.

Aaron, carrying a lantern, led Draco and Hermione through the woods.

Yaya and Abe followed on either side of the group, keeping a certain distance between the two pets and not interfering with each other.

"Hopefully, that unicorn isn't on this road, or we'll be in big trouble." Aaron looked at the scattered silver bloodstains on the road, his expression slightly grim. "But it's very likely that things won't go as planned."

"It looks badly injured, and it's still running at top speed despite its injuries," Draco analyzed. "Could it really be a werewolf?"

"No, Hagrid is just kidding you."

Werewolves may not be as fast as unicorns. I have paid some attention to this forest, but I have never heard of any unicorns being injured or even killed.

Therefore, be prepared, that unicorn is probably in grave danger.

If we happen to be lucky enough to encounter a creature that harms it, then... that's when our physical strength will be tested.

Hermione and Draco both glanced down at their shoes to make sure they wouldn't break during their escape.

“Aaron, I…” Hermione glanced at Draco beside her, paused awkwardly for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. “I apologize to you.”

I'm so sorry about what happened last night; I shouldn't have done that.

Aaron nodded and continued walking forward, carrying the lantern.

"At least say something!" Hermione said, feeling wronged. She would rather be scolded than have Aaron treat her like this.

It was too bland; it was as if they were treating her like a complete stranger.

What do you want me to say?

You knew you shouldn't have done it, but you did it anyway.

Do you know how much effort I put into hiding Abe's identity?

I carried it with me every day, completely concealing it from head to toe. Even the professors and Dumbledore couldn't detect anything amiss, but you exposed it in just one night.

"I'm sorry." Hermione bowed her head sincerely in apology, her voice filled with grievance, and her eyes slightly red.

Snapped!

Aaron sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead. "Alright, alright, I forgive you, okay?"

"Really?" Hermione burst into tears of joy, and the tears she had been holding back finally overflowed, streaming down her face.

She felt much lighter, and the heavy feeling of being deducted fifty points disappeared.

"Aaron, you just forgave her like that?" Draco asked, puzzled. "Isn't that too soft-hearted?"

"Forgiveness is to forgive mistakes without blaming or punishing them."

But forgiving doesn't mean I'll forget about it, do you understand?

"I think I understand." Draco nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. "Granger, did you understand?"

“Of course I understood,” Hermione chuckled.

She understood the principle very well: forgiving is one thing, but letting go is another.

However, this outcome was within her expectations. Forgiveness is the prerequisite for repairing the relationship, which is much better than always treating people coldly.

The group continued their journey through the dark, dense forest.

Following the scent, Ya Ya somehow ended up at the front of the group. The increasing amount of blood on the ground added to the gloom in the hearts of the three, making them even more nervous.

"Roar!"

Abe suddenly let out a low growl, and the entire dragon became alert, its eyes constantly looking around.

“What’s wrong with it?” Draco asked.

Aaron picked up Abe, pressed the lantern down, and whispered a reminder: "Be careful, everyone, crouch down."

There is an evil aura, and it's all around us.

"Gulu!"

Hermione swallowed hard. "You mean, he's around us?"

Are you sure there's no mistake?

"No, my Abe has a very keen sense of darkness."

At the same time, Ya Ya stopped and stared straight ahead with a low growl.

Thick vines were intertwined on the ground, and a large patch of silvery-white bloodstain was particularly conspicuous under the moonlight. In addition, there were obvious drag marks in front of it.

It's easy to see that the poor unicorn struggled violently here, but the result didn't seem to be good.

There was a low-lying clearing in front of the vines, and strange sounds came from the clearing, as if something was being sucked up, which made the group's scalps tingle.

"It's just ahead, should we go check it out?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Are you crazy?" Draco said in a low voice, his voice tense. "Let's take a detour, or just turn around and pretend we didn't see anything."

"Send the signal!"

“Here?

Aaron, calm down, you must calm down.

We're here to put people in solitary confinement; there's no need to risk our lives. We absolutely mustn't act impulsively.

"But there's a unicorn inside, its fate unknown!"

If we die, that's fine, we'll turn around and run. But what if we survive?

"If it's still alive, and we just leave quietly like this, then it will really have no choice but to wait for death in despair." Aaron said, taking out his wand, a ball of green light flashing on it.

"But this is very dangerous, not just ordinary danger."

I never imagined we'd encounter something like this at Hogwarts.

"I know, you guys run as far away as possible first, I'll stay here and give signals."

If he were far away, he might not be a threat at all, as he could easily leave with the unicorn.

In short, once you see the fire start, retreat without hesitation.

“We can’t leave you here alone,” Hermione said seriously.

"Your awareness is good, but you'll only be a burden if you stay."

And, to say something you might not like to hear, you might not be as fast as me.

Draco and Hermione exchanged a glance, nodded, and prepared to quietly back away, trying not to make a sound.

However, after taking only a few steps back, Ya Ya suddenly sneezed and let out a deep, thunderous bark.

The two men froze instantly, and Aaron stared in astonishment at the Neapolitan Mastiff.

It may not have sneezed on purpose, but at this point no one cares whether it was intentional or not.

All they knew was that a quiet retreat was no longer possible.

The bark had already attracted the attention of the creatures in the clearing. The chilling sucking sound suddenly stopped, replaced by a rustling sliding sound.

A hooded black figure slowly crawled out of the open space, gradually approaching the three like a ghost.

"Run!" Aaron roared, and a green flame shot into the sky, followed by a red spark.

Two sparks appeared almost simultaneously in the sky above the Forbidden Forest, which meant that the unicorn had been spotted, as well as the creature that had harmed it.

"But..."