Centaurs had always regarded human wizards with deep caution and distance.
In their eyes, most wizards were arrogant and selfish. The magic they wielded carried unstable power that disrupted the harmony of nature.
But this boy before them…
What was that energy radiating from him?
It wasn't any form of magic they recognized—nothing filled with elemental turbulence or twisted spiritual force.
Instead, it was something else.
Something incredibly pure.
Warm.
Like the first ray of sunlight in spring.
Like the first drop of rain when life awakens after winter.
Life energy.
They could clearly feel the surrounding plants rejoicing in the sacred aura lingering in the air.
They could breathe in the fragrance of renewal and hope—an essence capable of cleansing the soul itself.
What they saw was not a wizard flaunting magic.
They were witnessing someone who soothed nature itself—someone embodying the supreme power of life.
Firenze's deep blue eyes, which had watched the movement of stars and believed they already understood the laws of the world, filled with a shock beyond words for the first time.
Slowly, he lowered the great bow he never parted with and slung it across his back.
Then, under the watchful gaze of all the centaurs—eyes equally filled with awe—
He adopted a solemn posture that came from the depths of his soul.
And before the boy gently stroked the unicorn…
Firenze slowly lowered his proud head—a head that had never bowed to any wizard.
Behind him, the other centaur warriors followed.
Like a rising tide, they lowered their weapons in perfect unison and bowed their heads with solemn reverence.
This was the highest honor the centaur race could offer.
"Stranger… powerful one," Firenze said slowly, his deep voice echoing like the wind through the forest.
"Anyone who offers help to life… instead of bringing slaughter and desecration…"
"…shall forever be…"
"…a friend of this forest."
Harry Potter stared blankly at the scene before him.
It was harmonious.
Sacred.
And completely overturned everything he thought he knew.
The proud centaur tribe—legends said they never bowed to wizards—were now offering their highest respect to a human.
A unicorn—said to approach only maidens with pure hearts—was rubbing its silver-glowing head affectionately against the boy's hand like a gentle cat.
And the boy—Lucian Thornwick—
simply stood there calmly, accepting it all as though it were perfectly natural.
The fear Harry had felt after witnessing such evil earlier had already been replaced by a far stronger emotion.
Longing.
He remembered how helpless he had been against the troll.
He remembered how, just moments ago, he had lacked even the courage to move a finger in front of that terrifying shadow.
Then he looked at Lucian.
Lucian could judge evil with ease.
And yet gently redeem life itself.
That level of power…
That level of existence…
A thought began to wrap around Harry's mind like a rapidly growing vine:
If only I had power like Lucian's…
Lucian, however, paid no attention to Harry's complicated thoughts.
He gently patted the unicorn's smooth neck and sent a calm message through his will.
Go.
Return to where you belong.
He understood creatures as pure as unicorns could only truly thrive deep within forests—free from human disturbance.
The beautiful unicorn seemed to understand.
It raised its head and gazed deeply at Lucian with its black gemstone-like eyes, filled with gratitude and reluctance.
It rubbed against his hand once more.
Then it turned gracefully and walked away, looking back every few steps.
Accompanied by Firenze and the centaur tribe—who continued watching Lucian with respectful gazes—
The unicorn slowly disappeared into the deep darkness of the forest.
When silence finally returned to the woods, Lucian turned his head slightly and glanced toward the place where Quirrell had fallen.
The man had already escaped during the chaos.
Lucian didn't care.
Just a parasite hiding in Hogwarts.
As long as he remained here…
it would never escape forever.
Not long afterward, Lucian led a still-dazed Harry back to where Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione were anxiously searching with a lantern.
"Oh, thank goodness you're back!" Hagrid sighed in huge relief.
Lucian simply handed Harry back to them calmly before turning and leaving.
"Harry! Are you okay? You look awful! What happened?" Hermione asked anxiously, though she couldn't help glancing at Lucian's departing figure before rushing forward with Ron.
Harry took a deep breath.
The shock in his green eyes had not yet faded.
In a slightly trembling voice, he described everything he had just witnessed.
From the terrifying shadow drinking unicorn blood…
to Lucian appearing like a god and healing the dying creature with holy light…
to the proud centaur tribe bowing to him in reverence.
As Harry spoke, the expressions on Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione's faces shifted.
Concern.
Shock.
Then complete petrification.
By the time Harry finished, Hagrid's huge bearded face was frozen in disbelief.
"Y-you serious?" he stammered, his booming voice faltering.
"Lucian… he… he actually saved a unicorn that had been gravely wounded by dark magic?"
As Hogwarts' Keeper of Keys and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid understood better than anyone what that meant.
The life of a unicorn was sacred.
Once corrupted by pure evil, the damage was almost always irreversible.
Even Professor Dumbledore found such injuries extremely difficult to heal.
"And… he gained the friendship of the centaurs?"
Hagrid knew even more clearly how proud the centaurs were—and how deeply they distrusted, even disliked, wizards.
For them to bow their heads together…
In some ways, that was even more unbelievable than healing the unicorn.
It was a miracle—one worthy of being written into history.
Hagrid stood there with his mouth open, staring into the darkness where Lucian had disappeared.
His mind felt completely overloaded.
What exactly was going on with this Lucian Thornwick?
How could someone be this unbelievably extraordinary?
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