This was Sherlock's second time entering the Forbidden Forest.
Last time, since he had followed Hagrid all the way and was interrupted by centaurs who didn't speak human language, plus being eager to investigate the unicorn attack incident, Sherlock hadn't had time to properly explore this forbidden area.
This time was different.
Voldemort had already fled as black smoke.
Thus, the only danger remaining in the Forbidden Forest was itself.
A not-too-cold piece of trivia: the Forbidden Forest is also called the Dark Forest, located on the west side of Hogwarts School grounds.
As the name suggests, due to the dense trees blocking sunlight, even during the day, the Forbidden Forest remains quite dark, let alone at night.
The Forbidden Forest has a special ecosystem with streams running through it.
According to Hagrid's introduction last time, it grows abundant Devil's Snare, yew, oak, and bubotuber, along with many magical creatures.
According to the Ministry of Magic's classification of magical creatures, many animals here have high danger levels.
This is why Hogwarts forbids students from entering it.
Since magic couldn't be used during the summer vacation, Sherlock had devoted a lot of time to improving his theoretical knowledge, thereby achieving the purpose of arming his mind.
Now was the perfect opportunity to use theory to guide practice.
Under the Invisibility Cloak, Sherlock's sharp gray eyes like a hawk's shone brightly, his gaze full of excitement, his cheeks slightly flushed.
The adventure began.
The outermost part of the Forbidden Forest was Hagrid's golden hut.
After escorting the first-year students across the lake by boat today, he had long since returned to his home.
Although it was already late at night, the hut was still lit.
Hagrid's massive silhouette on the window was constantly moving back and forth.
Sherlock walked lightly around to the side, coming to the pasture on the other side.
Then he saw an old friend. The three-headed dog, Fluffy.
After the Philosopher's Stone was transferred, Fluffy was brought back to the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid.
Fluffy was very fierce to everyone except Hagrid, having once caused significant damage to Professor Snape.
But its weakness was equally obvious - it would become drowsy upon hearing music.
However, at this moment, despite having no one to play music, Fluffy was still in a sleeping state.
Seeing this giant hound, Sherlock inevitably thought of its former owner.
The Greek translator, Baskerville.
Then he thought of the bizarre case he had been involved in due to his translator profession.
To this day, the murderer who used the alias John Smith had still not been caught.
This made Sherlock increasingly feel the incompetence of the Ministry of Magic.
Not catching the person was understandable, but under the cooperation of two countries' magical ministries, having no clues at all by now was somewhat inexcusable.
There was also the case of Hannah Abbott's father last time.
If it weren't for the Malfoy family's house-elf Dobby attempting to prevent Harry from coming to school, which brought that Ministry lady.
Sherlock wouldn't even have known that Black Light, who was confirmed to be tried, could leave openly through the front door.
It could only be said that this organization was truly a makeshift team.
From a certain perspective, it was even inferior to Scotland Yard.
Sherlock shook his head, dismissing these superfluous thoughts from his mind, then bid farewell to Fluffy and officially entered the Forbidden Forest.
Once he stepped into the Forbidden Forest, Sherlock immediately felt a different sensation.
With his current strength, acting alone was indeed somewhat risky.
But precisely because of this, he found it more thrilling and interesting.
In just one night, he certainly couldn't tour the entire Forbidden Forest, not even just the outer areas.
Sherlock's purpose was clear: familiarize himself with the environment and draw a complete map of the Forbidden Forest in his mind.
This sounded like a pipe dream, but for Sherlock, who possessed a Mind Palace, he only needed time.
First, use one to two weeks to explore one or two routes that could safely enter the depths of the Forbidden Forest and return safely.
Then gradually expand the search range with the remaining time.
Finally, incorporate the entire Forbidden Forest into his Mind Palace.
No rush, there was plenty of time.
With this mindset, Sherlock's adventure that night went very smoothly.
During the process of blazing trails, he also saw magical creatures that he had only seen in textbooks before.
Puffskein, Bowtruckle, Fairy.
All three were classified as XX level by the Ministry of Magic, virtually harmless.
Puffskeins were spherical animals covered in soft, cream-colored fur, gentle in nature, and showed no particular reaction to being hugged or thrown.
At the same time, they were scavengers, somewhat similar to the ghoul in Ron's attic, capable of eating leftovers, spiders, and anything else as food.
When foraging, they would extend very long, thin pink tongues from their bodies, searching the room like snakes.
Additionally, their favorite activity was using their long tongues to eat wizards' dried nasal mucus while they slept.
For this reason, they became one of the most popular pets among wizards.
Of course, they were also much more expensive than ordinary pets.
Bowtruckles were tree-guarding creatures with two small, faded eyes, their appearance composed of bark and small twigs.
Like Puffskeins, they were also peaceful magical creatures, normally feeding on insects.
These creatures were extremely shy in their normal state, often hiding when humans appeared.
Only when their dwelling trees were threatened would they leap down from the trees and use their long, sharp fingers to gouge out the eyes of those who would harm them.
Since Bowtruckles wouldn't choose trees without magical properties for their homes, the trees they guarded could usually be used for wand-making.
Sherlock currently had no such need, so naturally wouldn't provoke them.
Fairies were the most special. Although less than five inches tall, they had human bodies, heads, and limbs, with two large wings on their backs.
Despite having human-like appearances, these magical creatures not only couldn't speak human language but also had low intelligence, only able to make shrill buzzing sounds to communicate with their kind.
These magical creatures also had some connection with Bowtruckles.
When wand-makers needed wood for wand-making, they would often provide fairy eggs to Bowtruckles.
This would calm the Bowtruckles for a long time, allowing them to obtain the needed wood smoothly.
After witnessing three magical creatures, Sherlock's curiosity was satisfied.
Seeing that it was about time, Sherlock prepared to return.
However, just as he turned around, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Sherlock's stealth skills were very high. This was beyond doubt.
Last year when he took Harry on night tours of Hogwarts, even though Harry was the one wearing the Invisibility Cloak, Harry had nearly lost track of Sherlock more than once.
In contrast, Sherlock could always accurately find the invisible Harry.
This made Harry doubt more than once who was actually wearing the Invisibility Cloak.
Now, Sherlock was truly wearing the Invisibility Cloak.
Under such circumstances, except for professors with advanced magical skills, it would be almost impossible for anyone to discover his tracks.
But even in this state, Sherlock now felt a chill on his back.
His innate keen senses and rich experience made him quickly realize that he was being watched by something.
Just from the pressure the other party brought to Sherlock, this thing was at least XXX level in the Ministry of Magic classification, possibly even XXXX level.
Sherlock immediately began thinking about what magical creatures of this level existed in the Forbidden Forest and how to deal with them.
However, to his surprise, just as he was selecting information about these creatures from his Mind Palace and beginning to filter them, the other party took the initiative to show itself.
Accompanied by a series of whinnying sounds, a four-legged creature slowly walked out from the bushes.
Just looking at its appearance, it was like a horse with snow-white fur all over its body, very beautiful in appearance.
However, its head had a silver horn.
A unicorn.
According to "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," unicorns were classified as XXXX level by the British Ministry of Magic, generally distributed in Northern European forests.
They were classified as XXXX level because their temperament was very different from their gentle appearance, possessing the strength to fight large animals.
Unicorns were treasures throughout their bodies - their horns, blood, and hair all had strong magical effects.
The horn had detoxifying effects. Rumors claimed that knives with handles made from unicorn horns could detect poison in food when cutting, though this rumor had yet to be confirmed.
Tail hair could be used to make wands, which was well-known. Unicorn core wands had always sold well at Ollivanders.
Their silvery-white blood could extend life, but improper use would bring terrible curses.
Last year, Voldemort had instructed the possessed Quirrell to hunt unicorns in the Forbidden Forest to obtain their blood in order to regain a body.
When he attacked the second unicorn, he was stopped by Sherlock and Harry.
Unexpectedly, after more than half a year, Sherlock encountered this magical creature again.
Seeing the unicorn appear, Sherlock stood still.
Supposedly, he was still in an invisible state and shouldn't be discovered by the unicorn.
Even if a XXXX-level magical creature had keen perception abilities and really discovered him hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, given unicorns' nature, they shouldn't have shown themselves voluntarily.
Because they generally avoided contact with humans and were more willing to let witches rather than wizards approach them.
What surprised Sherlock was that the next moment, the unicorn actually walked over to him voluntarily.
It circled around in place, seeming to hesitate for a moment, then lowered its head and leaned toward him.
After confirming contact with Sherlock's body, it even started nuzzling him.
Its movements were very affectionate, completely lacking the aloof attitude of keeping people at a distance described in textbooks.
By this point, the Invisibility Cloak on Sherlock was almost useless.
After all, the Invisibility Cloak only made people invisible, not make them disappear.
"I see."
At the same time, looking at the unicorn so close, Sherlock understood why it had this attitude toward him.
Because this was clearly the unicorn that he and Harry had rescued from Voldemort's clutches.
This unusually affectionate attitude was probably because he was its savior.
In a sense, it could be considered gratitude.
"It's quite surprising. It seems you recognized me too."
Sherlock reached out to stroke the unicorn, then crouched down to examine it for a moment before saying with certainty.
"In a little while, your wounds will heal completely."
Although unicorns couldn't speak, they could understand human speech.
Hearing Sherlock say this, the unicorn nuzzled against Sherlock again.
The silvery-white horn on its forehead emitted a faint glow, indicating it was happy.
"I don't have time to catch up with you tonight. I have to leave soon."
Hearing Sherlock say this, the unicorn voluntarily bent down.
"You want me to ride you?"
Seeing the unicorn nod, Sherlock didn't hesitate and directly leaped onto its back.
The unicorn raised its head and called out, then carried Sherlock toward the outer part of the Forbidden Forest.
As everyone knows, once unicorns start running, their speed reaches a very fast pace within just a few seconds.
This was an important skill that allowed them to survive in the wild without being caught by predators.
For this reason, Sherlock returned to the outer area of the Forbidden Forest in much less time than it took to arrive.
Sherlock truly hadn't expected to have such an unexpected gain on this trip.
Not only did he encounter the unicorn he had once saved, but the other party was so friendly toward him, and finally even carried him out of the Forbidden Forest.
However, for magical creatures like unicorns who possessed a certain level of intelligence, showing gratitude wasn't particularly rare.
On the contrary, among humans, repaying kindness with enmity was common.
In any case, having the help of a unicorn with considerable goodwill toward him would be an asset for future explorations of the Forbidden Forest.
"Thank you, my friend!"
After bidding farewell to the reluctant unicorn, Sherlock returned to his dormitory.
By this time, all four people including Harry had already entered sleep.
Ron in his dreams kept smacking his lips as if tasting some delicious food.
After wandering around the Forbidden Forest all night, even Sherlock was tired.
Once he lay down on the bed, waves of drowsiness hit him, and Sherlock soon fell asleep.
However, the next morning, Sherlock had regained his energetic state.
Harry, who had been woken up, looked at his friend with admiration.
Going to bed later than himself, waking up earlier than himself - truly vigorous energy!
Remembering that Ron had told him during the summer vacation to call him when they went for morning exercises this year, Harry began shaking Ron.
"What... what's wrong?"
Ron said drowsily while sleeping.
"Going for morning exercises!"
Harry said, "Ron, get up quickly!"
Ron rubbed his eyes and looked outside. The pink-gold sky was shrouded in a thin layer of mist.
"My bloody hell!"
Ron complained, "Harry, it's just dawn!"
"You're right," Harry's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Didn't you say this during the summer vacation - if Sherlock and I were going for morning exercises, you wanted to be called?"
"To-tomorrow, I'll go with you tomorrow! I'm really too tired today, let me sleep a bit more!"
"Hey, hey!"
Seeing Ron lying back down to sleep, Harry couldn't help but sigh.
He knew this would be the result.
In the end, on the first day of school, only Sherlock and Harry went for morning exercises.
When they came to the Black Lake and began jogging, Harry couldn't help but ask:
"Sherlock, how did last night go?"
"I simply surveyed the activity ranges of some creatures. To get complete information, it will still take some time."
Harry nodded. This was also within expectation.
As one of the few students who had been to the depths of the Forbidden Forest, he was well aware of how vast this area was.
However, it was somewhat regrettable that since Sherlock would be venturing into the Forbidden Forest alone at night during this period, his nighttime lessons would have to be temporarily suspended.
After all, with his current strength, he wasn't confident about night touring Hogwarts alone without the Invisibility Cloak.
Correspondingly, Sherlock would have to increase the intensity of his morning exercises.
After the jogging ended, it was the second phase of morning exercises.
Sherlock first had Harry practice a set of boxing.
"Not bad, it seems you practiced during the summer vacation."
Hearing Sherlock say this, Harry couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
"Well... actually Dudley helped quite a bit too."
During his time on Privet Drive, Dudley had seen Harry practicing boxing.
So, he voluntarily offered to help, considering it repayment for the magical candy and diet pills.
But Harry suspected that Dudley actually just wanted to find a legitimate reason to beat him up.
However, one thing Dudley said also made him agree.
Boxing was something that required an opponent to improve quickly.
The results proved that Dudley was indeed right.
After taking quite a few punches from Dudley, Harry could be said to have made rapid progress.
Sherlock observed Harry thoughtfully for a moment, then spoke under Harry's delighted gaze:
"My dear Harry, I think you can now start learning swordsmanship from me."
"Really?"
Hearing Sherlock's words, Harry couldn't be happier.
He had wanted to learn swordsmanship from Sherlock for a long time!
To this day, Harry still brooded over not being able to help Sherlock in the Forbidden Forest and the Philosopher's Stone chamber last year.
Especially during the battle with Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest.
Apart from sending out a distress signal, he had done almost nothing.
It was only when facing Voldemort for the first time in the Philosopher's Stone chamber that he successfully used the boxing he learned from Sherlock and achieved great results.
But ultimately, that was because of the power his deceased mother had left him.
Without his mother's love protection, his fists alone probably couldn't have harmed Quirrell possessed by Voldemort.
After that, every time he recalled it, he still felt that fighting with a sword like Sherlock was superior.
Especially when most wizards were using wands to cast spells.
If he could unexpectedly draw a sword and strike an opponent in the waist like Sherlock, it would indeed be quite impressive.
"My friend, swordsmanship is more difficult than boxing. You need to be prepared for long-term learning."
"No problem!"
Harry nodded emphatically.
As long as I follow Sherlock, I'm not afraid of anything!
"Then, first we need two sticks."
Both Sherlock and Harry were the type with decent luck.
They casually walked around the Black Lake and found the kind of branches that any boy would like.
Two pure natural, unprocessed, straight wooden sticks.
Looking at the excited Harry, Sherlock began sharing his experience:
"My boy, your dominant hand is your right hand, so you need to use your left hand to hold the shield for defense."
"Left hand shield?"
"That's right, left hand shield mainly for defense, right hand sword mainly for attack."
Sherlock demonstrated the stance personally: "When necessary, the left-hand shield must also turn defense into offense - this is shield bash."
"Like what you did to Voldemort before? It sounds quite difficult."
"Actually, it's not difficult at all. You have talent. With diligent practice, you'll eventually be able to do the same as me."
"No problem!"
"By the way, remember to ask Hagrid for some rock cakes when you have time. I'm sure he'd be happy to give them."
"Uh... okay, but Sherlock, I think we'd better not tell him that they're for making shields."
"Why not tell him?"
"Uh... well..."
After morning exercises ended, Sherlock and Harry first put the two long, straight wooden sticks back in their dormitory before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast.
When the two appeared, both Hermione and Ron looked at them strangely.
Once they sat down, Ron couldn't help but lower his voice.
"Lion King and Savior, aren't you two being a bit too diligent? It's only the first day of school!"
He didn't know Sherlock had gone to the Forbidden Forest last night, but just the fact that the two could go for morning exercises so early was enough to surprise him.
How to put it?
The bed at this time was just too tempting!
If it weren't for having classes in the morning, he could sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
However, just because he couldn't do it didn't prevent him from admiring those who could.
Hermione wasn't as surprised as Ron, but still frowned and said,
"It's just the beginning of school. At least for these two days, you should rest well and adjust your schedule, right?"
In fact, Hermione didn't get up late.
It's just that outdoor morning exercises obviously consumed more calories than reading indoors.
Hearing Hermione's words, Ron nodded repeatedly:
"Sherlock, Hermione's right!"
Then Sherlock silenced both of them with one sentence:
"It's possible, but unnecessary."
"..."
As if he hadn't seen the two's speechless expressions, Sherlock said calmly.
"Ron, before you stuff that steak in your mouth, please give me that class schedule."
"Let... let Hermione give it to you, I'm busy right now..."
Ron's speed was faster than Sherlock had imagined.
When Sherlock spoke, his hand was reaching for the steak.
By the time Sherlock finished speaking, he was already battling with the steak.
So, he could only apologize to Sherlock at this moment.
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