65: Chapter 65 Spatial Teleportation into the Forbidden Forest

The night wind blew in through the side door. Allen stood behind the door, hearing Hagrid's booming voice from afar.

"Fang, come back, don't get the rope tangled around the tree."

Ron's voice drifted over.

"I knew it, detention definitely wouldn't be just polishing trophies in the trophy room."

Hermione replied to him.

"Shut up, Ron, Hagrid is already nervous enough."

Harry asked.

"Hagrid, what exactly happened in the Forbidden Forest?"

Hagrid held up his lantern, his shadow swaying on the grass.

"A Unicorn is injured, children, we have to find it."

Neville's voice sounded weak.

"Will an injured Unicorn attack people?"

"No, Neville, Unicorns are very gentle."

Hagrid paused, then added.

"But as for the thing that hurt it, that's hard to say."

Ron immediately chimed in.

"That sentence is not reassuring at all."

Hermione suppressed her anger.

"Can you say a little less?"

"I'm just reasonably worried."

Harry glanced into the forest.

"Malfoy didn't come, lucky for him."

Ron snorted.

"He's definitely hiding under his covers, laughing to himself."

Hagrid looked back at them.

"Alright, stop talking about Malfoy. Stick close to me, no one is allowed to leave the group."

Allen leaned in the shadows behind the door, listening to them walk away.

Inside the Portable Space, the Void coiled beside the ebony box, its snake tail sweeping across the ground repeatedly.

Allen placed his hand on his wand.

"Don't rush me."

The Void raised its head, its silver slit pupils fixed in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

Allen whispered.

"I know which side the blood is on."

Footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and Allen retreated into the darkness by the wall.

Filch came from the other side carrying a lamp, with Madam Norris walking along the base of the wall.

"I'd better not catch any students tonight."

Filch muttered.

"Professor McGonagall has deducted so many points, yet there are still people daring to run around. I'll hang them in the trophy room to polish the silverware."

Madam Norris stopped near the side door, her nose twitching.

Allen raised his wand, and a knut near his feet slid into a crack in the wall, rolling to the other side.

The metal hit the stone steps, making a soft sound.

Filch immediately turned his head.

"Over there."

Madam Norris ran off after it.

Allen pushed the door open and went out. The wind made the door gap rattle, but he lifted his hand to steady the door panel and closed it back into place.

At the edge of the grass, Hagrid's lantern had already entered the forest.

Harry's voice could still be heard intermittently.

"Hagrid, are you sure the Professor knows we're coming in?"

"Of course she knows."

Hagrid said.

"This is detention, Harry, not me taking you out for a stroll."

Ron muttered.

"I'd rather polish trophies."

Hermione said.

"It's too late to say that now."

Neville asked in a low voice.

"How far do we have to go?"

Hagrid answered.

"Depends on where the blood leads."

Allen did not follow their path.

He bypassed the gamekeeper's hut and stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, pointing his wand at his feet.

The Void in the Portable Space pressed its head against the wall of the space.

Allen said.

"First anchor point, stone root at the forest edge."

The blackthorn wand gave a light twist, and the blades of grass at his feet parted by half an inch.

The light from the distant lantern was blocked by tree trunks.

Allen lifted his foot, his figure fading from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already standing between two old trees.

The bark was damp and cold, and the ground was covered with old leaves.

In the distance, Hagrid's voice came.

"Look, silver traces."

Hermione gasped.

"Is this the Unicorn's blood?"

Hagrid said.

"Yes, don't touch it."

Ron asked.

"Why?"

"Because it shouldn't be touched by anyone."

Hagrid's tone was unusually stern.

"The Unicorn is the purest creature in the forest. Hurting it is bad enough; using its blood to prolong one's life is just inviting a curse upon oneself."

Harry asked in a low voice.

"Is someone dying?"

Hagrid didn't answer immediately.

After a moment, he said.

"Perhaps."

Neville's voice trembled even more.

"We should go back and tell the Professor."

Hermione said.

"Hagrid, if someone is really killing Unicorns, this has gone beyond detention."

Hagrid raised the lantern high.

"I know, but we have to find it first."

Ron became anxious.

"And then what after we find it? We bandage it? It's a Unicorn, not Ron's finger."

Hermione corrected.

"Your finger was bitten by Scabbers last time."

Ron immediately retorted.

"He's been much better lately, don't bring him up."

Harry interrupted them.

"Listen."

The forest went quiet.

Allen stood deeper in the forest, raising his hand to press down on a hanging branch.

Inside the Portable Space, the Void let out a low hiss.

Allen whispered.

"Second anchor point, broken branch."

The tip of his wand touched the air.

The tree shadows shifted, and the muddy ground beneath his feet changed to a deeper forest path.

The sounds from Hagrid's side were left behind.

Fang barked twice but was hushed by Hagrid.

"Don't bark."

Harry asked.

"What did he smell?"

Hagrid said.

"Blood, and fresh at that."

Ron stammered.

"Fresh?"

Hermione immediately asked.

"That means, that thing isn't far from us?"

Hagrid stopped walking.

"Harry, Hermione, you two come with me to the left."

Ron said anxiously.

"What? We're splitting up?"

"Ron, you and Neville go to the right with Fang."

Neville almost screamed.

"Me and Ron?"

Fang whined.

Ron looked at the big dog.

"He looks like he wants to return to the Castle even more than I do."

Hagrid handed over the lantern.

"If you see silver blood on the road, call me. Don't try to be brave."

Hermione disapproved.

"Hagrid, splitting up like this isn't safe."

"The Forbidden Forest is so big, we won't find it if we don't split up."

Hagrid looked at Harry.

"Harry, stick close to me."

Harry nodded.

"Okay."

Ron grabbed the lantern.

"If I see the thing that killed the Unicorn, I'll definitely shout."

Hermione looked at him.

"You'd better run first."

"Thanks for the reminder."

Allen heard them split up, his fingers pausing on his wand.

The Void bumped against the outer wall of the cage in the space.

Peter in the cage shrank into a corner, unable to make a sound.

Allen said.

"Ignore them."

The Void flicked its tongue.

Allen continued moving forward.

"Harry has Hagrid, Ron has Fang, nothing big will happen."

The tree canopy blocked the moonlight, and the path in the forest became narrower and narrower.

Allen didn't step on the wet mud; with every step he took, his soles shifted by half an inch, landing in a clean Spatial Folding.

The sound of hooves trampling on leaves came from ahead.

A deep voice came from the forest.

"Hagrid, you shouldn't have brought the cubs in tonight."

Hagrid responded from afar.

"Firenze? Have you seen the injured Unicorn?"

Another Centaur's voice was colder.

"The stars are in disarray, Hagrid. Do not bring human affairs into the forest."

Ron shouted from the other side.

"Hagrid, is it a Centaur?"

Hagrid replied to him.

"Don't shout, Ron, keep looking at the road."

Harry asked Firenze.

"What do you mean by human affairs?"

Firenze didn't answer immediately.

Allen stopped behind a tree, hearing the hoofbeats approaching Hagrid's side.

The Void's snake head, however, turned in the opposite direction.

Allen frowned.

"Not on their side?"

The Void's tail tip tapped on the wall of the space.

Allen looked to the front right.

There was no lantern, no human voice, only leaves being turned by the wind.

He whispered.

"Third anchor point, edge of the clearing."

His wand gave a light stroke, and the air in front of him folded into a narrow opening.

Allen stepped in, and the trees receded behind him.

The next breath, he appeared behind a low slope.

The smell of blood came from ahead.

It wasn't the smell of ordinary blood; it was cold and clean, but ruined by another chaotic, messy magic.

Inside the Portable Space, the ebony box vibrated slightly.

The blue light of the cracked pocket watch leaked from the gap in the box, then retracted.

Allen held his wand horizontally in his sleeve.

"Quiet."

The Void didn't bump the box again, but raised its head higher.

In the distance, Ron's voice came.

"Neville, stop stepping on my feet."

Neville was about to cry.

"I didn't see."

Fang whined in a low voice.

Ron immediately said.

"Don't you make a sound either, you make me even more scared when you do."

On the other side, Hagrid was still talking to the Centaur.

"I just want to find the Unicorn."

The Centaur answered.

"You should take them and leave."

Hermione asked.

"Do you know what the thing that killed it is?"

Firenze said.

"The one who drinks Unicorn blood is using a curse to prolong their life."

Harry pressed.

"Who would do such a thing?"

The Centaur was silent.

Hagrid interrupted.

"Enough, Harry, don't ask."

Hearing this, Allen stopped his steps behind the low slope.

The clearing was right ahead.

On the ground, there were silver bloodstains, flowing intermittently into the deeper parts.

Allen crouched down, looking at it from half a foot away.

"Fresh."

The Void flicked its tongue.

Allen asked.

"Can you lock onto the source?"

The Void's tail tip tapped twice on the wall of the space.

Allen stood up.

"One step faster than the Centaurs."

The wind blew across the clearing, bringing a heavier smell of blood.

Allen raised his hand, pointing the tip of his wand ahead.

"Let's go."

He crossed the low slope and entered the heart of the Forbidden Forest silently.