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BS - Chapter 43: Not An Animal
🕑 Added 2025-08-04 11:34:37 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 43: Not An Animal
“Very well, Hagrid. Tell me what happened here,” Dumbledore asked his old friend, seeing how perturbed he was.
The giant man took a moment to collect himself, as if he were trying to get an image out of his head. “It's best if I just take you there so you can see it for yourself. I wouldn't be able to...you have to see it.”
Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a glance.
“Very well.” Dumbledore would have wanted to make this a brief meeting, as he wanted to get back to the matter at hand of finding the murderer.
But he knew that he couldn’t brush this aside.
Hagrid guided them right into the Black Forest. His dog walked at the giant’s side for a bit; however, once they reached the first trees, the dog refused to take one more step forward and merely whimpered in place.
“What’s wrong with it?” McGonagall asked.
“Don’t mind Fang. He won’t go inside the forest… what happened here has left him terrified. And he is not the only one,” Hagrid said.
They ventured further, walking past trees and shrubbery. The deeper one goes into the Black Forest, the more difficult it becomes to walk, as plants and trees start to get in the way and the path becomes very narrow.
The sunlight also has more difficulty getting through all the tree leaves and branches, allowing the darkness to take over.
Only two minutes in, Dumbledore had already started to perceive something ominous in the air.
“The centaurs found it. Came to tell me this morning… I couldn’t believe it until I saw it myself. How can something like this happen?” Hagrid mumbled.
McGonagall glanced at the giant. “Hagrid, why don’t you tell us what in Merlin’s name happ—”
“It’s just right ahead,” Hagrid interrupted her. “You can probably smell it already.”
McGonagall covered her nose. She did detect a very disgusting smell in the air. “What is that?... is like rotten meat?”
“A dead animal?” Dumbledore didn’t think it was that simple. Hagrid wouldn’t have been so upset if it were simply that.
“Look. It’s over there.” Hagrid pointed to some bushes ahead.
The first thing that caught Dumbledore’s attention was the pool of blood that had been seeping from beneath the bush.
They had to walk around it to finally see what was on the other side.
“Oh no!” McGonagall gasped and covered her mouth.
Dumbledore’s eyes became sharp when he saw the dead creature. He now understood why Hagrid and the centaurs were alarmed by this.
This was not just any normal forest inhabitant, but probably the most important and beautiful one… a unicorn.
They were powerful, magical creatures who acted as the forest protectors. The centaurs revered them as sacred, and there were no natural predators in the Black Forest who would harm a unicorn.
The scene was extremely gruesome. The body of the unicorn lay on the ground, on top of a pool of its own blood, and its head was missing.
“This was not done by an animal.” Dumbledore was sure of that.
“No. Its head was cut cleanly. Maybe with a very sharp blade or spell,” McGonagall commented while trying to keep her breakfast inside.
“And where is the head? Did the killer take it?” Dumbledore was now wondering if this could have been the same person involved in Cho Chang’s death.
It seemed unlikely for this to be a coincidence. Killing a unicorn was considered an act of utmost evil, and whoever performed it would be cursed for life.
Hagrid grimaced. “No… the head is close by. There’s more you need to see. I’m afraid it gets worse.”
“Worse than this?!” McGonagall exclaimed.
“The rotting smell…” Dumbledore had just noticed it now that they were here. This unicorn had just been killed hours ago, so the smell did not come from it. Not to mention that magical creatures take a much longer time to decompose.
“The smell is not coming from the unicorn, then.” The Headmaster concluded that it must come from somewhere else instead.
Hagrid shook his head. “There is more. Follow me…”
McGonagall and Dumbledore weren’t sure what to expect, as they could not think of something worse than this.
Hagrid guided them further into the forest.
There were stains of blood all over the ground. Whoever had killed the unicorn had also taken the head and brought it somewhere else for some reason.
The smell of rot was also becoming more intense.
Hagrid stopped all of a sudden and turned to face them. He pointed to some trees. “Is right over there… I… rather not see it again. It makes me sick. So I will wait here, if you don’t mind, Professor.”
“Sure… of course, Hagrid. Wait here.” Dumbledore had never seen the giant like this. His eyes turned to McGonagall, and she understood what he meant to say.
“I will go.” McGonagall sighed. “I am the vice-Headmistress. It’s my responsibility to find out what happened here.”
Dumbledore simply nodded and walked ahead. His wand was firmly grasped in his hand. The foul sensation only intensified as he approached the trees that Hagrid had pointed to.
It was not the smell that bothered him the most, it was something else… something that he couldn’t quite describe.
“There are traces of dark magic here… very, very dark magic. Be on guard,” he warned the other professor.
McGonagall got ready as well.
They could already see another pool of blood ahead.
“Merlin!” McGonagall exclaimed. No matter how much she had been preparing herself mentally, she was still not ready for what she saw.
“No…” Dumbledore muttered under his breath.
The head of the unicorn was lying carelessly on the ground as if it had been tossed aside.
Next to the largest tree was a circle drawn on the dirt, although the lines were barely visible, as everything was covered in blood as well as chunks of flesh.
They have found the source of the rotting smell.
McGonagall had to cover her mouth as she looked in horror at the macabre scene. “Did they kill another animal here?”
“No… this was not an animal.” Dumbledore spotted a school robe nearby, hanging from a low tree branch. “This was a student.”
Comments
Kriogenix
They will be suspicious of him, but not enough to find out the truth just yet.
Darexor
So harry will be found out quickly?
