149: The Unicorns and the Second Intrusion

149: The Unicorns and the Second Intrusion

There are many majestic unicorns in the Forbidden Forest.

The Forbidden Forest existed long before Hogwarts was established, and it's home to many magical creatures.

As certain centuries began, legends of magical creatures started spreading, attracting many who fancied themselves brave knights or those eager to please the king.

It was said that dragons hoarded treasures, so the king would send knights to slay them.

Elves and fairies had beautiful voices, and this would draw in a whole bunch of circus slave traders.

The unicorn's situation was a bit better because of their impressive appearance and holy aura.

Throughout history, people have sought unicorns, just to catch a glimpse of whether the legends were true.

Although it wasn't like in the legends where only a maiden could tame them, unicorns truly had a distaste for dark magic.

John had once used Fiendfyre in front of one, which theoretically made him not the most welcomed guest for unicorns.

Following Weiwei, he arrived at a place where trees and grass grew together. Large fruits hung from the tree trunks, and a clear stream flowed gently. Beautiful unicorns appeared in herds.

John even saw centaurs watching from a distance, which made him wonder.

'Do centaurs like humans or horses more?'

One unicorn had a thick horn, its body was pure white, and it looked a size larger than the others.

Seeing that unicorn, Weiwei happily went over, touching horns with it in a spiral motion, like a little girl playfully seeking affection from her father.

Don't ask how John could read so much emotion from a horse's face, because after that large unicorn came over, he heard a deep male voice.

"You're the student who saved Weiwei?"

The tall unicorn looked strong enough to break a tree with one charge. His voice was like a baritone in an orchestra. "I'm Clark. Thank you for saving my daughter."

With that, the tall unicorn lowered his head.

John was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening.

He understood that it wasn't the unicorn speaking, but some kind of magic.

In his vision, he saw golden markings on Clark's body—ancient magic.

Then again, it wasn't surprising that magical creatures knew magic.

John nodded, bowing gracefully, and with a polite smile, he said, "My name is John Wick. It's an honor to be invited to the unicorn's sanctuary."

Unicorns rarely appeared in groups, usually showing up alone, which made them symbols of beauty and purity, and also made them feel rare.

Here, however, there were easily over a hundred unicorns in view, and the place was extremely secluded, hidden behind a waterfall.

If Weiwei hadn't led him, John would never have found this place.

Clark inspected John for a moment and noticed something was wrong with his right hand, so he lowered his head.

His spiral horn emitted a silvery-white glow, like moonlight, and the light enveloped John's arm.

"This.."

John could feel the missing essence in his arm slowly restoring, though the process wasn't fast.

After finishing the treatment, Clark said with some difficulty, "Your soul has been wounded before. This is as much as I can do."

"T.. Thank you."

John sincerely appreciated it; his right hand was much steadier now.

This healing effect was several times stronger than drinking a soul-restoring potion. Truly, the ancient and sacred unicorns lived up to their reputation.

Seeing her father's friendliness toward John, Weiwei nudged him with her head.

After bidding farewell to Weiwei, John left the Forbidden Forest as night fell.

He noticed that the light was bright in Hagrid's hut.

When he looked closer, he saw Hagrid seriously reciting a stack of notes.

These were all materials Hermione had gathered for him from previous cases, and Hagrid was very grateful. If only Hermione, Harry and Ron weren't still in their cold war, it would be even better.

Fang seemed to sense something and lifted his head.

John motioned for him to stay quiet, and Fang lowered his head, wagging his tail.

Waving goodbye, John headed toward the castle.

The moment he stepped inside, John's eyes darkened.

The surveillance magic set up within the castle had been triggered—a spell that activated after curfew.

He reached into his pocket, and the Marauder's Map appeared in his hand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

Ink lines spread across the parchment, sketching out a map.

John saw a black dot with footsteps hurrying toward Gryffindor Tower.

The name above it read:

Sirius Black!

"So, he's still here!"

John rushed in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

He planned to take a shortcut, but Sirius Black was even more familiar with the castle, using every shortest path available.

Before John could arrive, he saw that Sirius Black had already entered the Gryffindor common room.

"How is that possible?!"

John was shocked. Did this guy somehow get past Sir Cadogan?

It didn't seem that way; it looked like he simply walked right in.

No time to think further, John dashed toward Gryffindor Tower without even using the Disillusionment Charm.

"Meaw~??"

Mrs. Norris spotted John on the staircase but just watched him run past without making a sound.

Filch, hearing hurried footsteps, rushed out and saw only John's figure disappearing down the corridor.

Thinking it was a student out after curfew, he hurriedly tried to follow.

But John was too fast, and Filch couldn't keep up.

Soon, as John neared Gryffindor Tower, Sir Cadogan's door swung open again.

A ragged man with black hair dashed out.

As he ran, his body began to change, transforming into a large, thick (referring to his girth) black... dog.

At the same time, in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Ron let out terrified screams.

"Black! Sirius Black! He has a knife!"

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