'How could this happen?!' Hagrid knelt on the bank of the stream, wailing in grief. 'Who could be so cruel as to slaughter such a pure, weak, and helpless life? Are they not afraid of being cursed by life?!'
Dracula helplessly covered his ears. He stepped forward into the clear stream, approaching the unicorn's half-submerged body. The stream water automatically parted around his legs, not even wetting the hem of his lowered robe.
He frowned slightly as he looked at the unicorn's shrivelled body, identical to those of the previous animals.
Hagrid was still sobbing, constantly blowing his nose with his dirty handkerchief. Dracula, finding his crying too loud and unhygienic, lightly patted his stooped shoulder.
Instantly, a biting coldness seeped into Hagrid's entire body from the point of contact, like a bucket of Black Lake water in December being mercilessly poured over him. He calmed down immediately, the majority of his sorrowful emotions extinguished. This sudden emotional shift left Hagrid with a peculiar, stifled feeling.
'Be quiet and listen to me,' Dracula's indifferent voice rang out.
Hagrid could not help but shiver. He turned his head to look at the figure standing beside the unicorn, unconsciously holding his breath.
'This dark magic that drains blood is most likely a kind of sacrificial magic. Its function is to plunder the life force of other creatures by absorbing their blood,' Dracula said faintly, his gaze fixed on the unicorn's body. 'It is possible that ordinary animals were not enough to provide sufficient life force, so the dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest set his sights on the unicorn, with its powerful life force, plundering the power within its blood.'
'But… using unicorn blood brings a terrible curse!' Hagrid, thinking of the tragically dead unicorn, could not help but start sobbing softly again. 'Who would want to possess a half-dead, cursed life?'
Dracula pondered for a moment. Suddenly, recalling the forbidden dark magic Dumbledore had mentioned in that abandoned classroom, a trace of cold understanding appeared in his eyes. If it was Voldemort, clinging to life through his Horcruxes, then he naturally would not care about the mere curse of unicorn blood.
'Perhaps… that dark wizard already has a half-dead life,' he said softly.
Suddenly, the taut sound of a bowstring rang out from deep within the trees, followed by the sharp whistle of an arrow piercing the air.
Dracula abruptly raised his hand, catching the sharp crossbow bolt neatly between two fingers.
'Hagrid, get away from that evil creature immediately!' a deep voice called out from the depths of the trees.
Then, a man—or rather, a centaur—galloped out of the dense jungle. He had red hair and a beard, but from the waist down, he had a glossy reddish-brown horse's body, with a long red tail trailing behind him.
Running quickly to the side of the stream, he raised his front hooves, stopping his forward momentum. Then he raised a large bow, pointing it at Dracula from a distance, his expression tense.
'You, the one wearing black and red clothes, do not move! I can feel the darkness hidden within you!' the centaur stared intently at Dracula, his voice a low growl.
'Wait, Ronan, is there some misunderstanding here?' Hagrid, looking at the suddenly appearing centaur, was a little confused. 'This is Professor Dracula, Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. We came to the Forbidden Forest this time to investigate the bizarre deaths of the animals.'
'Do not be fooled by this dark creature, Hagrid!' the centaur, Ronan, said in a low voice. 'Listen, the unicorn was attacked, and then he appeared in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe he is the one who killed the unicorn!'
Subsequently, another centaur emerged from behind the bushes. He had black hair and dark skin and looked a bit more rugged and fierce than Ronan.
'Bane, you are here too?' Hagrid, seeing the newcomer, was about to greet him, but his expression suddenly became extremely surprised. 'Wait, what are you trying to do?'
What followed was even more centaurs; they surrounded Hagrid and Dracula on the bank of the stream, all while raising the bows in their hands, the arrowheads glinting in the dim light.
'Wait a minute!' Hagrid, watching more and more centaurs arrive, felt things were getting out of hand. 'Everyone, do not do anything! There must be a misunderstanding here!'
'Ronan, Bane! Control your people! Do not let them move rashly!' he looked at Ronan and Bane, shouting angrily.
However, the centaurs had no intention of stopping their actions. Instead, accompanied by the sound of bowstrings tightening, the bows in their hands were poised to fire.
'Hagrid, you are a friend of our centaur tribe. We will not allow you to be deceived by this dark creature!' Ronan said, his voice firm.
Then, he waved his arm at the surrounding centaurs.
Countless arrows shot out from all directions, filling Hagrid and Dracula's vision, even obscuring the starlight in the sky for a brief, terrifying moment. The centaurs were skilled archers; each arrow deliberately avoided Hagrid's large frame, determined to kill Dracula beside him.
'Damn it! These centaurs never communicate properly!'
Hagrid cursed inwardly, then stood in front of Dracula, trying to use his thick, massive body to block some of the sharp arrows for him.
Seeing this, Dracula, who had been smiling calmly, raised his eyebrows.
'Take care of yourself first,' he said softly. 'I do not need you to block arrows for me, Hagrid.'
Whether it was an illusion or not, Hagrid felt that Professor Dracula's voice seemed to have become a little gentler compared to his previous cool indifference.
While speaking, Dracula raised one hand. All the arrows abruptly froze in mid-air.
'Centaurs, is it?' A mocking smile crossed his lips. 'Just right. I still have a debt to settle with you.'
In the next moment, the arrows lost all momentum, falling limply to the ground between the white snowflakes. They landed in the clear stream and on the pebble shore, creating faint, weak splashes.
At the same time, Dracula's figure vanished from beside Hagrid.
'How could this be? Where did he go?' Ronan looked at the stream bank with a grim expression, then turned to the opposite side of the centaur encirclement. 'Bane, can you see where he is over there? Do not let him leave the Forbidden Forest!'
However, he suddenly noticed that the centaurs opposite all had horrified expressions, staring at him in utter astonishment.
Ronan seemed to realise something. He turned his head stiffly, seeing a silver-haired figure standing right beside him with a playful, almost predatory expression.
Surrounding him, a group of centaurs had fainted, lying still in the snow.
'No need to look. I am right beside you.'
Dracula's voice was clear and mellow, very pleasant to hear. However, in Ronan's ears, it was no less terrifying than the murmur of the Grim Reaper, sending chills down his spine.
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