"Notice how these silvery-white liquids show an irregular shape close to oval, here, here, and here."
Sherlock crouched on the ground, pointing these out to Harry one by one.
"They all show obvious drag marks and splatter traces.
This indicates the unicorn had accelerated running, jumping, and other intense movements in this area.
Obviously, these were left when it was frightened or stimulated and fled."
Sherlock raised his head, his gray eyes sparkling.
"Although Hagrid didn't provide much information, fortunately the unicorn left us important clues.
I think—we'll be able to meet 'him' soon."
Hearing Sherlock's words, Harry immediately became nervous: "If we really encounter him—"
Sherlock directly gave the standard answer: "Signal with your wand immediately, then act decisively!"
"Understood!"
Hearing their leader say this, Harry immediately became determined.
Hadn't Sherlock brought him to the Forbidden Forest precisely for this?
That ancient curse...
As the group of two humans and one dog gradually went deeper into the forest, the trees became extremely dense, and even the path became almost impassable.
Correspondingly, the blood traces on the ground became denser.
Sherlock even found a tree root that had been almost entirely dyed silver.
Sherlock crouched down to examine the blood traces, then frowned in thought.
Fang also became increasingly agitated.
He even began trying to bite Sherlock's robes, wanting to lead him back the way they came.
"Shh..."
Sherlock naturally wouldn't turn back halfway.
After calming Fang, he stood up again. "Harry, stay hidden."
After crossing the tree root and walking a few more steps, Sherlock stopped.
The silvery-white blood traces crossed over an ancient oak tree at this point, and ahead was a clearing.
Painful, miserable sounds came from there, and something white was glittering on the ground.
It was the unicorn Hagrid had been desperately seeking.
Only its current condition was very poor.
Its four legs still maintained the position from when it fell, its pure white mane spread across the black fallen leaves, and its somewhat dim eyes still faintly showed a pleading look.
Obviously, although this unicorn was still alive, it was already dying.
Sherlock didn't act rashly and also signaled Harry and Fang to stay in place and observe quietly.
As he had predicted, the bushes at the edge of the clearing began to shake.
Sherlock perked up immediately and turned his attention there.
A hooded figure emerged from the shadows and began crawling toward the unicorn lying on the ground.
Clearly human, but this crawling posture was like a dark beast at this moment, making one's blood run cold.
Both Harry and Fang were stunned by the scene before them.
The human and dog froze in place as if they had lost the ability to move.
Sherlock, who had been mentally prepared, certainly wouldn't be like them.
He slowly raised his wand, aiming at the cloaked figure.
Although fists were very useful, Sherlock hadn't forgotten that he was now a wizard.
The figure that emerged from the shadows finally crawled to the unicorn's side and slowly lowered his head.
Shockingly, he actually began drinking the unicorn's blood from its wound.
The unicorn, whose eyes had originally been dim, seemed to sense the passing of its own life and let out a tragic neigh.
Even though its legs had been broken, it still struggled unwillingly, and the horn on its forehead burst forth with brilliant white light.
It seemed to hope this light could drive away the shadow of death enveloping it.
Unfortunately, even the strongest light couldn't stop what was happening before its eyes.
At this moment, Sherlock hesitated no longer. The spell he had prepared long ago shot directly at that figure.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
With the element of surprise, the crawling person who was harming the unicorn completely hadn't expected to be ambushed.
He was hit by Sherlock's Full Body-Bind Curse and fell backward into the bushes.
Seeing his spell hit the target, Sherlock didn't let his guard down.
At this moment, Harry and Fang finally regained their ability to move.
Fang yelped and ran away.
Just as Hagrid had said, he really was a coward.
Harry overcame his fear and was about to send up fireworks as Sherlock had said.
However, at this crucial moment, severe pain pierced through his head, as if his scar had suddenly caught fire.
This was a feeling he'd never had before.
Even last time when facing Snape—oh, it should have been Quirrell—it hadn't hurt this much!
Harry's vision blurred as he staggered backward.
Sherlock only glanced once, then immediately cast another spell toward where the dark figure had fallen without hesitation:
"Confringo!"
The formed Blasting Curse was very powerful, equivalent to dozens of kilograms of TNT explosives.
However, after touching an object, it would bounce around aimlessly.
If the caster was very close, there was a high possibility of injuring oneself.
Fortunately, Sherlock only had a general target at this moment, and the distance was far enough—it was the perfect opportunity to cast the Blasting Curse.
However, Sherlock didn't think his second spell would be effective.
Sure enough, there was only a cold snort, and a magical barrier appeared out of nowhere, directly deflecting Sherlock's spell.
At the same time, a sinister voice roared: "Ruining my good work—die!"
After the opponent used the Shield Charm to deflect the Blasting Curse, he flicked his wrist and shouted fiercely:
"Reducto!"
Surging black waves poured from the front of the spell, rushing toward Sherlock with the momentum to destroy everything.
When did the Reducing Curse have such power?
How did a perfectly normal offensive spell become like dark magic in his hands?
Because Sherlock had already anticipated the opponent's counterattack before casting his spell, he had already dodged to the side before the opponent raised his hand.
Taking advantage of the gap while the opponent prepared his next attack, he cast another spell:
"Impedimenta!"
Sherlock's observation skills were very keen.
This was especially true after entering combat.
From the moment the opponent began drinking the unicorn's blood, he realized this guy's condition was wrong.
Especially after casting that Reducing Curse just now, he was breathing heavily and even his movements became somewhat sluggish.
Hagrid's description plus his own understanding of magical creatures made Sherlock's mind crystal clear.
For this guy who desperately needed to maintain his life force and magical power, nothing was more important than killing a unicorn and drinking its blood heartily.
Most importantly, he couldn't afford to drag this out!
Never mind Dumbledore—even if Hagrid, who was nearby, rushed over, it would be enough trouble for him.
So, after throwing an Impediment Jinx, Sherlock accelerated toward his opponent.
He was indeed a wizard.
But close combat was his advantage!
By the time the opponent reacted, Sherlock had already reached behind him.
Even hit by the Impediment Jinx, the black-robed wizard's reaction wasn't slow—a Shield Charm was cast silently.
However, he never expected that what attacked him wasn't a spell.
The sharp sword that had long been unsheathed stabbed into the opponent's soft ribs at a tricky angle.
The blade was cold and sharp, flickering with resolute light in the dim illumination, echoing with the wand in his right hand.
Blood was drawn!
Unfortunately, the magical barrier created by the Shield Charm could not only deflect spells but also act on physical objects.
So, this sword thrust was ultimately too shallow and didn't hit a vital spot.
At the same time, brilliant red flames soared into the sky.
Harry endured the severe pain in his forehead, covering his scar with one hand while pointing his wand toward the sky with the other, sending up the agreed signal.
"Damn it!"
The black-robed wizard let out an angry roar and prepared to leave first.
Once Dumbledore saw the signal and rushed over, he absolutely couldn't escape in his current state.
Unexpectedly, his waist suddenly felt intense pain again—
It was Sherlock pulling out his sword, preparing to strike again.
He was immediately shocked.
An 11-year-old young wizard actually wanted to go for a second strike when facing him?
Were Gryffindors this brave?
"How dare you!"
After surprise came extreme anger. "Impedimenta!"
Though it was the same Impediment Jinx, the black-robed wizard who had been hit still had enough strength to cast a Shield Charm to protect himself. Sherlock's second sword thrust could no longer be delivered.
At the same time, that figure retreated rapidly like an arrow released from a bow.
Sherlock regained normal movement but didn't let his guard down.
He put away his wand and took out a round shield he had prepared in advance.
"Crucio!"
A shrill shout came from the direction where the black-robed wizard had fled. The Cruciatus Curse's scarlet light even changed the color of the forest in the dark night.
Being cautious, Sherlock didn't raise his shield to block but directly threw the shield out while dodging to the side.
"Boom!"
The Cruciatus Curse hit the shield squarely, and the explosive aftershock from the collision between the two sides kicked up large amounts of earth.
But the spell was ultimately blocked by the shield.
Sherlock breathed a long sigh of relief.
This time he had really left.
If he didn't leave now, it would really be too late.
At this moment, Harry ran to Sherlock's side and helped him up.
"Sherlock, I'm sorry. Just now my scar—"
Sherlock stood up with Harry's help. Although he couldn't see the other person, he still patted his shoulder and said:
"Dear Harry, severe pain prevented you from concentrating. This isn't your fault."
"How do you know—"
Harry was stunned, then thought of Sherlock's special abilities and said regretfully:
"But I didn't help you at all—we came together, but in the end, you had to fight him alone—"
"If you hadn't successfully sent the signal, he wouldn't have left so quickly."
After saying this, Sherlock pointed to the ground nearby and said: "Harry, can you help me pick that up?"
Harry then picked up the shield that had just blocked the Cruciatus Curse.
But when Harry held it in his hands, he was shocked to discover that this wasn't a shield at all!
It was clearly the rock cake that Sherlock had once taken from Hagrid's hut!
However, these rock cakes had obviously been processed now, layered together with a handle added to one side.
Harry was stunned with amazement:
"Sherlock, you actually turned it into armor!"
This incident shocked Harry so much that he even forgot his guilt.
He couldn't help but remember what Sherlock had once said to him and Ron:
"If you don't treat it as food but as weapons and armor, it becomes very practical."
He had actually done it!
Sherlock seemed to see through Harry's thoughts and smiled:
"It is indeed very practical, isn't it?"
Harry: ○I|_
What else could he say?
He could only admire to the point of bowing down...
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