The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

Liria's face was ashen, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Maintaining this level of natural magic was a fatal burden on an eleven-year-old's body.

But she did not let go; a kind of ancient, almost savage persistence burned in her icy blue eyes.

"Hmph!" A plume of black smoke rose around the shadowy figure, resisting the advance of the ice crystals. Wherever the smoke passed, vegetation sizzled, clearly having a corrosive effect. "Let's see how long you can last!"

"Julien," Liria whispered through gritted teeth, "I can't hold on much longer..."

This scale of magic was clearly still too much for Liria to handle at her current level. The black smoke visibly pushed back the ice crystals and quickly approached the two young wizards.

Julien stepped forward, blocking Liria's path. His wand was already in his hand, its silver linden wood smooth and warm as jade, yet at this moment it trembled strangely—not from fear, but from some deep-seated resonance within his blood.

With a flick of his wrist, his wand traced a perfect crescent shape as he clearly uttered the incantation: "Obscurum Flecto!"

Under the hazy moonlight, a pale black halo appeared at the tip of the staff.

The black smoke emitted by the opponent surged like a living thing, but instead of moving forward, it formed a semi-transparent energy barrier in front of Lian and Liria.

The barrier was covered with black, spiderweb-like patterns that shimmered slightly in the moonlight.

The dark figure opposite paused, clearly taken aback.

"Shadow Deflection Spell!" His voice held a hint of incredulous amusement.

"The Black family's secret techniques?!... I thought they had been lost with the old man's death. Interesting. This is getting more and more interesting."

"Blake," a pair of crimson vertical pupils gleamed from the shadows, "an ancient surname. Could there be descendants?"

"I understand now, descendant of the disgraced traitor, coward, and Squib. Ha, I know your family history better than you do. You think you can stop me?"

"No," Julien said calmly, "but I want to try; perhaps Dumbledore is nearby."

The pupils on the other side suddenly contracted, increasing the output of the black smoke.

Julien couldn't speak anymore; he felt his magic power rapidly dwindling—the Shadow Deflection Charm had a special resistance to dark magic, but against someone of Voldemort's caliber, the barrier was collapsing at a visible speed.

"Obscurum Flectooooo!!!" Julien waved his wand again, drawing out the spell.

This time, it wasn't a defensive move, but rather the condensation of the power of the Shadow Deflection Charm into a sharp spike, aimed directly at the opponent.

The shadowy figure snorted angrily, but twisted at an impossible angle to avoid the attack. However, it seemed that the thorns had still grazed its armpit, leaving a dark gash. There was no blood, only some kind of smoke-like substance seeping out.

"Enough!" Voldemort's voice suddenly turned cold. "Trying to play dark magic in front of me! Game over. Avada Kedavra!"

Green light gathered before them, and the chill of death arrived before the incantation itself.

Julien felt his blood congealing; the barrier of the Shadow Deflection Curse was clearly no match for the Killing Curse itself.

Liria lunged at him, trying to shield him with her body.

Julien was panicked, but he wasn't without a trump card. He reached inside his robe with his left hand and grasped the last talisman his grandfather had given him.

"Purr!"

At the critical moment, Julien seemed to see a warhorse galloping towards him, its two powerful forelegs kicking out at the dark figure in front of him.

The force was so great that the black shadow was kicked more than ten meters away, and the condensed green light immediately dissipated.

"Don't be so presumptuous! The Unforgivable Curse cannot be used in the Forbidden Forest!" With a deep and authoritative voice, the dark figure fled in panic.

Julien finally breathed a sigh of relief, secretly putting away the amulet, and looked closely. It was indeed a horse—no, a person. Oh right, a centaur.

The centaur's upper body was bare, his broad chest exposed, his bronze skin gleaming like oil in the snow. Every muscle looked like a meticulously sculpted granite, rising and falling slightly with his breath.

His hair was thick, dark brown, braided into thin plaits, interspersed with eagle feathers and animal teeth. He had a square jaw, and his gaze was like two drawn swords; just a sweep of his eyes could send chills down one's spine.

And his lower body—tsk tsk—was that of a chestnut-red giant horse, its leg muscles bulging, each tendon like a taut bowstring.

"Fos," the centaur's voice was stern, "you shouldn't be here. The Forbidden Forest is no longer safe."

"Thank you, you saved us." Julien looked up at the centaur, then pulled Lyria and bowed deeply together.

The centaur lowered his longbow and nodded slightly. "I thought I would see the legendary foal. But..."

The centaur's dark green eyes looked at Liria. "I sense a familiar natural power within you." As he spoke, he gently tapped the ground with his forehooves, and a circle of warm silver light spread from the point of contact, instantly relieving her exhaustion from overusing magic.

"Thank you." Liria nodded with difficulty, tears and sweat mingling in her icy blue eyes as she learned the truth about her grandmother's death.

"Where's this unicorn? Can you save her?" Liria pointed to the unicorn lying on the ground.

Only then did Julien see the creatures on the ground clearly.

It has silvery-white hair, fine and smooth, like brocade woven from moonlight. It is more slender and elegant than ordinary horses, with a long neck, straight legs, and pure gold hooves. On its forehead is a spiral horn, like a sacred object crafted by the most exquisite artisan over a lifetime.

However, at this moment its eyes were closed, and there was a glaring bloodstain on its neck.

"The unicorn is dead. The demon needs its blood to maintain this...parasitic state. This may only be the beginning..."

"Julien! Are you there? Liria!"

From afar came the anxious calls of Hagrid, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Ference, is that you?" Hagrid ran up and, seeing that Julien and Lyria were alright, breathed a long sigh of relief and greeted the centaur.

"Hello, Hagrid," the centaur's voice was flat.

"Thank goodness, thank the centaurs." Hagrid wiped the sweat from his brow and asked the centaur Frenzer, "What exactly happened in the Forbidden Forest?"

Ferenczek didn't answer Hagrid's question, but instead slowly looked up at the starry sky. "Mars is so bright tonight."

"Huh?" Hagrid clearly didn't understand the riddle man's words.

"But strangely, the previously dim Sculptor's Constellation is now brighter." The centaur shook his head in confusion, ignored the crowd, and turned to run away, just as he had come.

(Note: In fact, in the UK, the Sculpture constellation rarely rises above the horizon. This is just to clarify.)

"Julien, Julien, are you alright?" Harry and the others ran over, panting.

"It was a near-death experience, brother." Julien shook Harry's hand with emotion, after all, the centaur was originally there to save Harry Potter or "kind Liria".

Just as Harry was about to ask for details, Malfoy's scream came from afar.

"Help!"

"Woof woof!"

Even through the dense shadows of the trees, one could easily imagine the disheveled state of the man and his dog.

Deep within the Forbidden Forest, Ferenczek stood beneath the oldest oak tree, gazing at the starry sky, and softly chanted a language only centaurs could understand, a language perhaps even the centaurs themselves couldn't comprehend:

"When the Guardians awaken, when the three nodes resonate, the Stargate will open, and destiny will crumble. And the weight of choice will fall on the youngest shoulders."

The night wind whistles through the treetops, carrying the prophecy to distant lands.