Hagrid was in a fantastic mood today. The new first-year, Rey Faest, had cooked him a pot of absolutely delicious beef stew.
The soup was so savory and rich that Hagrid decided to bring some deeper into the Forbidden Forest to share with his giant half-brother, Grawp.
However, after he reached the deeper parts of the forest and delivered the food, he heard Fang barking frantically. The sound wasn't loud, but only because it was coming from very far away.
"Something's happened! Little Rey!"
Hagrid gasped, muttered a quick apology to his brother, grabbed his massive crossbow, and sprinted in the direction of the barking.
That area wasn't supposed to be dangerous. It was a spot frequented by unicorns. Because of their presence, even the predators of the Forbidden Forest tended to steer clear of that specific zone.
Hagrid had deliberately chosen the safest spot in the entire forest for Rey to wait.
"Oh, blimey!"
Hagrid's massive strides covered ground quickly, but to him, it felt agonizingly slow.
In the silence of the Forbidden Forest, Fang's barking was sharp and piercing. But the sound was distant; Hagrid couldn't teleport there instantly.
Fang was a coward, yes, but Hagrid had left him with Rey for a reason. The boarhound had a set of lungs on him. His bark carried for miles—a perfect alarm system.
Hagrid barreled through the trees like a runaway train, sending birds scattering into the night sky. Every footfall seemed to shake the earth.
Before long, he met Fang running toward him, barking his head off. With a wave of his hand, Hagrid signaled the dog to turn around and lead the way.
When they reached the spot where Rey was supposed to be waiting, it was empty. The boy must have fled toward the lake.
Fang had another use besides being an alarm: tracking. And Hagrid was an expert tracker. Man and dog picked up the trail and plunged deeper into the woods.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the small lake in the Forbidden Forest, Rey was dangling in the air, held up by Dorry's iron grip around his throat.
With his windpipe crushed, the incantation for the Killing Curse died in his throat. The feeling of suffocation was agonizing.
"I see it."
Dorry felt a surge of delight. He could practically see the blood rushing from Rey's heart, fighting to reach his brain.
It was a normal physiological response. The heart pumps blood to the brain; if the flow is cut off, the brain starves of oxygen, and death follows quickly.
"Such vibrant blood. Absolutely exquisite."
To Dorry, the blood in Rey's veins was like raw energy. He could perceive it through Rey's skin, almost like thermal imaging.
"Ah... ah..."
A faint, strangled rasp escaped Rey's open mouth.
Even dangling in the air, Rey fought back. He clawed at Dorry's fingers with his hands and kicked violently with his legs.
Rey stared into Dorry's eyes. They were face-to-face, inches apart. Yet for all his struggling, Rey couldn't even muster a proper roar of defiance.
I won't accept this!
I was reborn. I can't die like this. I have to go back to my old world. I have to find out if I still exist there. If I do, I have to change my fate. I love them. I can't die!
Rey screamed internally. Since his rebirth, this had been his driving force. Because he loved his family, he couldn't let go. Because he couldn't let go, he fought with everything he had, even in the face of certain death.
Love gives you the resolve to endure. Rage gives you the power to explode.
Staring at the monster about to drain him dry, Rey, in his delirium, wanted to tear Dorry apart.
But wanting to and being able to were two different things.
Unless Rey suddenly transformed into Superman, there was no escaping Dorry's grasp.
Dorry's hand was like a steel clamp. No matter how Rey writhed, it didn't budge a millimeter.
"ARGH..."
With a silent scream, Rey poured every ounce of his remaining strength into one last desperate struggle.
Dorry's hand didn't move. As a vampire, he viewed Rey's struggles with contempt.
But then, as Rey screamed silently, Dorry flinched. His head jerked back involuntarily.
Because in that moment, he felt fear.
Rey's eyes had suddenly turned a dark, burnished gold. Within that strange, dark gold iris, something like magical runes seemed to swirl. The gaze was soul-piercing, carrying an aura of irresistible authority.
For a second, Dorry was terrified. It felt like he wasn't staring at a child, but at an ancient dragon—one with dark golden eyes and pupils as black as the void.
"Hahahaha..."
After the initial shock passed, Dorry burst into maniacal laughter. "Ancient dragon blood! So that's it! I don't know why you have the blood of an ancient dragon flowing through your veins, but if I drain you dry... perhaps I will become the first vampire in history to wield true magic!"
Suppressing his fear, Dorry threw his head back and then lunged forward, sinking his fangs into the side of Rey's neck.
Pain shot through Rey as the fangs pierced his skin. His vibrant blood rushed into Dorry's mouth. Dorry's eyes lit up. He felt the power instantly. He trembled with ecstasy.
---
It was blood beyond price. As it entered his system, his cold, dead body felt a faint, impossible warmth.
But just as he prepared to gorge himself, Dorry was sent flying as if he'd been hit by a truck.
The impact was massive. The force tore Rey from his grasp.
Dorry wasn't just hit; he was impaled. A sharp pain pierced his chest, and some of the precious blood he had just swallowed spilled out from the wound.
The attacker was a pure black horse. No—it was the black unicorn from the lake.
Aside from the horn, a unicorn isn't physically much different from a horse. But a full-speed charge from a magical beast isn't something even a vampire can shrug off. Especially when a spiraled horn is driven through his chest.
Dorry lost his grip, and Rey fell, landing perfectly on the unicorn's back. With a loud whinny, the black unicorn turned and galloped away into the trees.
Seeing his prize escape, Dorry scrambled to his feet, ignoring his injuries. He had to stop them.
Vampires are fast, but a black unicorn is faster. Rey, on the verge of unconsciousness, clung to the unicorn's neck. The trees around them blurred into streaks of light as they sped away. Behind them, Dorry fell further and further behind.
Unicorns are the purest creatures in the world. But purity doesn't just mean looking pretty.
It means innocence. A pure heart. Like a child. Unicorns are intelligent. Rey had tried to save it earlier, telling it to run.
You were good to me, so I will be good to you. That is the purity of a child. And unicorns possess a unique ability to distinguish good from evil.
Unicorns saving humans isn't common, but it has happened in magical history.
Dorry cursed and accelerated again. He couldn't let the unicorn disappear from his sight.
At this speed, once they were out of visual range, tracking them would be impossible. He knew in his gut that he would never get another chance like this. If he lost Rey's blood now, he would regret it for eternity.
But just as Dorry started to gain speed, a sharp thwack echoed through the air.
His body jerked violently to the right, pinned by an immense force.
A heavy crossbow bolt had slammed into his shoulder, nailing him to a tree.
At the same moment, Hagrid's roar thundered through the Forbidden Forest.
"YEH FILTHY BEAST! HOGWARTS IS NO PLACE FER THE LIKES O' YOU!"
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