The moonlight was like a ribbon of white silk.
Inside the nest, the mother unicorn lifted her head from her foals and looked straight ahead.
She sensed it.
Rustle, rustle—Rock emerged from the undergrowth with the injured unicorn. The mother's eyes widened instantly, and she tried to scramble to her feet in a panic.
"Easy, girl. It's okay. I used Essence of Dittany on him."
Rock tried to sound reassuring, but he wasn't feeling relaxed at all.
Whatever curse Quirrell—or rather, Voldemort—had used, it clearly wasn't an Unforgivable Curse, or the unicorn would already be dead.
However, even with the dittany, the wound was still bleeding, though it looked less horrific than before.
The mother unicorn let out a high, urgent whinny, craning her neck upward.
Rock gently lowered the injured male unicorn in front of her. Stumbling slightly, the mother rose and pressed her horn against his.
A brilliant light erupted from the point of contact.
Rock took a few steps back. He could feel the raw vitality surging within that stream of light.
This was...
"She is using her most primal magic to purify and heal."
Rock whipped his head around, pointing his wand toward the source of the voice. "Who's there!"
Through the layers of leaves and branches, Rock made out a tall silhouette in the moonlight. A centaur?
The centaur clearly had no intention of coming closer. He simply stood there. "I cannot enter. This is the domain of the unicorn."
Hearing this, Rock glanced sideways at the mother unicorn. She was clearly anxious.
An intruder had entered their territory, but the ritual she was performing could not be interrupted.
"Young wizard, could you come here?"
The centaur's voice rang out again. Rock hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He walked only to the edge of the clearing, stopping there to look up at the towering figure.
The centaur's silvery-white mane flowed like a moonlit waterfall, though the horse-like lower body still felt a bit jarring to Rock.
This was his first time seeing a centaur.
"I am Firenze. You are the one who drove away the scourge that invaded the forest."
His tone was flat, sounding like both a question and a statement of fact.
"I just used a few tricks." Rock shook his head. He didn't have the power to claim such a feat.
"For a young wizard, that is enough. By the time I arrived, you had already left." Firenze looked toward the mother unicorn.
"Having lost this opportunity, the scourge no longer has the strength to invade the forest again."
Rock had a realization. It seemed centaurs truly possessed the ability to read the stars, and with far greater accuracy than wizards. However, they all shared one trait.
They loved speaking in riddles.
Did he mean that Voldemort, possessing Quirrell, was too weak to enter the Forbidden Forest again?
Firenze's gaze shifted to Rock, landing on the mark on the back of his hand.
"One who can receive a mark from a unicorn is certainly not ordinary."
"Wait a minute. Since you can foresee things through the stars, why didn't you intervene?"
Rock raised a hand to interrupt Firenze, asking bluntly.
"Knowledge does not equate to the right to intervene." Firenze took a step back, his hooves sinking silently into the moss. "Centaurs cannot interfere with the fate of unicorns, just as we rarely interfere with the trajectories of humans."
"Their purity and their doom are contradictions written in the stars since birth." Firenze paused. "But tonight... or rather, since the night the unicorn left its mark on you, you became a variable."
"The light of Mars has become unstable within the constellation of the Unicorn, and the fog around Neptune seems to have lifted slightly."
Prophecies. Rock rubbed the bridge of his nose. Honestly, Astronomy was one of his weaker subjects.
"Will this unicorn survive? And what is this 'primal magic' you mentioned?"
"In the tides, there are always droplets that swim upstream to reach unexpected shores." Firenze looked up at the starry sky as if seeking permission to answer, then lowered his gaze back to Rock.
"A unicorn's primal magic is, in essence, its life force."
Rock froze. So the mother unicorn was transferring her own life to save him?
"This is their choice. A choice made the night they found you. You must understand, unicorns are more aligned with the stars than even centaurs. Though they cannot speak, they can find the most suitable path."
"Beware the path of Mars, young wizard." Firenze backed away a few more steps. "It always burns the comets that venture too close to the Unicorn nebula. Some wounds exist not only on the body."
With that, the half-man, half-horse stargazer turned and galloped away, disappearing from the unicorn's domain in a few bounds.
"The path of Mars..."
Rock murmured the phrase. He assumed it referred to Voldemort.
"Ah, young Rock."
Dumbledore's voice appeared. He was now standing exactly where Firenze had been, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles as he watched Rock.
"Uh, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Rock blinked. Good lord, one after another.
"It seems I've arrived at an inopportune moment." Dumbledore glanced at the unicorns, then beckoned to Rock. "Come here, child."
Rock obediently stepped forward, coming to stand beside Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, has the fire been extinguished?" Rock asked quietly.
Using the Fire-Making Spell had been a last resort. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble for the creatures of the Forbidden Forest.
Except for the Acromantulas.
"Of course, my boy." Dumbledore placed a hand on Rock's shoulder, speaking softly. "Excellent spellwork, and a clever little piece of alchemy."
"Thank you, but the firework was Fred and George's creation. I only provided some suggestions."
"Naturally, I am aware. Filch has been complaining to me frequently about strange noises coming from his office."
Dumbledore looked down and winked at Rock.
Rock was speechless. Alright, no point in pretending in front of this man. He knew everything.
"So, Headmaster, about the 'path of Mars' the centaur mentioned." Rock looked up at Dumbledore. If a centaur was giving a warning, it meant something serious.
Dumbledore nodded slightly, patting Rock's shoulder. "Mars... is always restless, eager to burn those who draw near."
"But do not worry too much, child." Dumbledore pointed to the pocket of Rock's robe. "Remember, keep that with you at all times."
"Within the walls of Hogwarts lies one of the few places in the world... capable of offering sanctuary to certain children. Provided that child is willing to trust this castle, and its occasionally unconventional Headmaster."
Rock blinked. He understood Dumbledore's implication.
"So, Headmaster, could you help cover for my actions tonight?"
Opportunity knocks but once. If he went back now, he'd definitely get caught.
"Of course. Hagrid is already waiting for you." Dumbledore gestured for Rock to look ahead, where Hagrid was pacing back and forth anxiously.
"Go on. Wait with Hagrid in his hut. Once he receives my signal, he will escort you back to the castle. May you have a good sleep tonight."