"As Hogwarts students, we naturally obey the headmaster's orders," Roger said, lifting one hand to silence Malfoy before the boy could start shouting about his father again. His tone was calm, but his eyes remained fixed on Hagrid and Filch.
"However, I would like to offer a friendly reminder. If we are attacked tonight, especially by creatures that do not naturally belong in the Forbidden Forest, I guarantee on the honour of the Travis family that the Ministry of Magic will conduct a full investigation."
Roger looked at Hagrid with a half-smile. The half-giant's face was mostly hidden beneath his thick beard, but the anger in his eyes was obvious.
"And the Malfoy family…" Malfoy began eagerly, only for Neville to suddenly step forward.
"I'm standing with Roger too," Neville said, his voice trembling but firm.
Malfoy turned and glared at him. Even if Neville was taking their side, he had no right to interrupt a Malfoy.
"Ahem." Roger chuckled and gently pulled Neville behind him. "Trust me, gentlemen. If something happens tonight that none of us wants to see, those creatures will be wiped out completely, and their best friend will be thrown into Azkaban."
His smile cooled. "I suppose that if such a kind soul can handle those creatures, then the Dementor's Kiss should be no problem either, right?"
The words struck Hagrid hard. He glared at Roger as if he wanted to knock the little wizard into the dirt with one swing of his massive arm. In Hagrid's eyes, this Slytherin boy was full of malice, and the thought of Harry facing people like him every day made Hagrid both worried and furious.
Hagrid knew the children in the Forbidden Forest were kind. They had promised him they would never hurt a wizard.
"The Dementor's Kiss?" Harry asked quietly, turning toward Hermione. "What is that?"
"The monsters guarding Azkaban can suck out a wizard's soul," Hermione whispered.
She looked at Roger with concern. Whenever he mentioned Dementors, his eyes turned cold and murderous in a way that frightened her more than any spell.
"You… hmph!" Hagrid roared roughly. "Slytherin wizards are always like this. As long as you behave yourselves, I guarantee you won't be in any danger."
"Oh, is that so? Wonderful." Roger remained noncommittal and finally lowered his wand.
"Come with me," Hagrid said, raising his lantern high.
He led them toward a narrow path hidden beneath the dense forest canopy. The trees swallowed the moonlight almost immediately, and the air grew colder with every step they took.
"See these silvery marks?" Hagrid pointed toward the ground. "That's unicorn blood. A unicorn in the Forbidden Forest has been wounded by something, and it's badly hurt."
He crouched slightly, his expression turning heavy. "Last Wednesday, I found one dead. We've got to find this injured one and relieve the poor thing's pain."
"Hermione, what's a unicorn?" Harry asked out of habit as he followed behind Hagrid.
"I read about it in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Hermione began.
"A XXXX-rated magical creature," Roger said helpfully before she could continue. "It has the body of a horse and a horn on its forehead. The horn has antidote properties, and the tail hair can be used as wand core material."
He looked at Harry with a polite smile. "Mr. Potter, you really should learn to look things up. Or at least learn to read."
Harry's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He disliked Roger's tone, but he could not find a proper way to refute him.
Roger's attitude had become aggressive because the moment they entered the Forbidden Forest, he had simulated the situation again. In the new result, Hagrid paired him with Malfoy, with Fang leading them to search for the unicorn. Then they encountered the centaur Bane, who warned them not to trespass and brought them back to Hagrid.
After that, Hagrid and Bane communicated, and the groups were changed. A centaur ended up leading Harry and Roger through the Forbidden Forest. They unexpectedly encountered Quirrell, and the centaur intervened in time to drive away the unicorn's killer.
"Huh. It changed?" Roger thought, a faint playful smile touching his lips.
The simulation result had not been like that before they set out. Something had shifted after his confrontation with Hagrid and Filch.
"Acting in time, are you?" Roger thought as he glanced around warily. "Afraid I'll report you to the Ministry?"
From time to time, he crouched down and collected the fallen unicorn blood in small test tubes. He had gone to great trouble preparing for tonight's detention, and he was not willing to let the matter end so abruptly. Professor Quirrell—or rather, Voldemort—was still something he was genuinely looking forward to meeting.
Roger touched the expanded pouch at his waist. If he killed Quirrell tonight, what would happen?
Hagrid stared at him and warned, "Young wizard, unicorn blood is very dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Roger lifted the test tube toward the moonlight. "Magic itself is dangerous. If you are afraid of danger, what kind of wizard are you?"
He examined the blood carefully, then regrettably sealed the stopper. "What a pity. The magic inside it is already gone."
Perhaps because too much time had passed, the blood looked like thick silver paint, beautiful and pure but utterly useless. Roger put it away anyway, unwilling to waste even dead residue from such a rare creature.
"All right," Hagrid said loudly, as if he had not noticed the danger in his own words. "You all know that anything able to hurt a unicorn is extremely dangerous. But we have to catch it."
"Us?" Malfoy shrieked. "What if that thing finds us?"
"As long as Fang and I are here, no creature in the Forbidden Forest can hurt you," Hagrid said.
He pointed toward the silver bloodstains scattered across the ground. "Looks like the poor little thing has been wandering around here since last night. We need to split up and search."
"Roger, I'm going with you." Malfoy grabbed Roger's arm at once, clearly trusting him far more than Hagrid.
"In that case, Fang will go with your group," Hagrid said. "Harry, Hermione, and Neville will stay with me. If—"
"Wait a moment," Roger interrupted.
Since he and Harry were likely to encounter Quirrell anyway, they might as well be placed together from the beginning. Dragging Malfoy along would only complicate things.
"Malfoy, you go with Hagrid," Roger said.
"Why?" Malfoy looked horrified.
"How brave do you think Fang is?" Roger asked coldly.
His gaze landed on the black dog, which had been baring its teeth at him. Fang immediately shrank back to Hagrid's side, proving Roger's point without a word.
"Hmph. Be polite to Fang," Hagrid said irritably. "He can sense danger. Harry, you take Fang with you, and that little Slytherin wizard goes with you too."
Hagrid patted Harry heavily on the back, nearly making him stumble.
"Don't worry, Harry," Hagrid encouraged loudly. "You're a brave Gryffindor. We Gryffindors never fear danger or challenges, and we never lose to anyone."
His words ignited a burst of courage in Harry's chest, driving away much of his unease. Yes, he was a brave Gryffindor, and with Fang beside him, he would surely find the wounded unicorn.
Harry lifted his head and looked at Roger. He was certain he would not lose to him.
"The rest of you follow me," Hagrid said. "If you find the unicorn, send up green sparks with your wand. If you're in danger, send up red sparks."
"If magical creatures attack us, may I kill them?" Roger asked.
"Impossible," Hagrid bellowed. "The creatures in the Forbidden Forest would never hurt you."
He had a terrible impression of Roger already, and when he heard that the young wizard might kill his friends, he shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice rolled through the trees, startling birds from the branches overhead.
"Oh?" Roger rubbed his ears, then suddenly laughed. "So any creature that came from outside the Forbidden Forest, or any non-magical creature, is fine?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Then where did the thing that killed the unicorn come from?"
"You…" Hagrid wheezed in anger.
He knew it would be dangerous to keep arguing. He hated dealing with Slytherin wizards, especially clever ones who smiled while setting traps with every sentence, so he sullenly led Hermione, Neville, and Malfoy in another direction.
Hermione turned back and looked at Roger with concern. The clever girl had realised the truth hidden inside his question: the thing hurting the unicorns was probably not a beast at all.
"Fang, let's go," Harry said.
He found Roger even more annoying than Malfoy and did not want to say a single extra word to him. Fang led the way with his tail low, Harry followed with forced courage, and Roger walked at the back with quiet steps.
They travelled for nearly half an hour through the dark, oppressive, and dangerous Forbidden Forest. Yet they did not encounter a spider, a wolf, a snake, or even a rustle from the undergrowth.
"Heh. Looks like it has been cleared out." Roger sneered inwardly, feeling even more sorry for Quirrell's intelligence.