The Call of the Forest
In the end, Charlie had managed to contact the boys to tell them that, in a week, his friends would be coming to visit him and that, while they were at it, they could take Norbert with them. They only needed to find a way to hand him over, and his friends would take care of the rest.
The problem started when Ron woke up the next day with his hand completely swollen. By the afternoon, that same hand had turned a very striking shade of green, making it clear that, perhaps, Norbert's teeth carried venom.
Luckily, not a very strong one, since Ron still hesitated about going to the infirmary, hoping Madame Pomfrey would not notice what had happened. However, under the threat that, if it was venom, he could die, he had no choice but to give in and was taken there.
While all of that was happening, Percy had separated from his friends for a while, since Grover had been acting stranger than usual. His trips into the forest were becoming more and more frequent, and although Percy really wanted to help his brother carry a dragon through the castle under the Invisibility Cloak and hand it over to Charlie's friends, which honestly sounded like a very interesting mission, he had a mission of his own.
And he was not alone. Neville was with him.
Throughout the week, Neville and Percy followed Grover. However, at times, Grover seemed to sense where they were. His sense of smell was impressive; more than once, he sniffed the air before turning around and pointing straight at one of them, even when they were well hidden.
"He really has a very good sense of smell," Percy muttered with a slightly annoyed expression as they watched Grover from a distance, unable to get any closer without being noticed.
It was late at night, and curfew was about to begin. On top of that, it was the very same day his brother would be taking Norbert to Charlie's friends, which made the timing truly awful. Added to that was the strange feeling coming from the forest, the same one that had been bothering Percy almost all week.
For days now, Percy had felt as if someone were calling for help from within the forest. And the fact that Grover entered it on those same days only made him more and more uneasy.
"Are you sure it wouldn't be better to help Harry?" Neville asked with a nervous look. He had been following Grover with Percy all week, and Percy still had not explained exactly why or for what. Even so, Neville was there to support him.
"Harry will be fine. He has his Invisibility Cloak. I wish I could use it myself so I could get closer and really find out what Grover is getting into. But today, everything piled up at once," Percy replied, his voice clearly irritated.
At that moment, he saw Grover slip into the forest.
"Come on. Remember to use those things I asked Mom to send," Percy said as he pulled out a strange pendant. It had one of those small car air-freshener clips attached to it, and he hung it around his neck.
Neville looked at it for a moment, hesitating, but then did the same.
"Are you sure it will work?" he asked.
"I don't know. But as long as it works enough to let us get closer, it will be enough," Percy replied, motioning for him to follow. The two of them began running toward the forest.
As soon as they entered, Neville became visibly nervous, fear written all over his face, while Percy drew his sword as a precaution. After all, he knew many creatures hid in that place. It was not called the Forbidden Forest for nothing.
It was not forbidden because there was a gingerbread house they did not want students eating. Or was it?
Percy shook his head to push that stupid thought away, and they moved deeper between the trees. With every step, the darkness seemed to grow thicker. The trees were so dense that even the moonlight could barely filter through.
That also made it harder to follow Grover, who had already disappeared among the trees.
"I think we lost him," Neville said, looking around nervously.
Percy scanned the area and crouched down for a moment, trying to follow any tracks. But before he could, that feeling returned all at once, as if something had entered his mind directly, forcing him to stand up immediately.
Fear.
But it was not his fear.
It was as if he were feeling the fear of another being. And then, Percy heard a soft voice in the distance.
"A… da…"
"What's wrong?" Neville asked, but Percy raised his hand, signaling him to stay quiet.
"A… uda…"
"A… yuda…"
Percy's eyes widened as he finally understood the word.
Someone was asking for help.
"Neville, hurry!" Percy shouted as he began running in the direction the cry had come from, not realizing that, for a moment, he had left Neville behind.
"Help!"
Every time Percy heard that voice, he felt something deeply wrong, as if a heavy sadness were pressing down on his heart. He had the feeling that, if he did not hurry, that small voice would disappear forever. Without noticing it, his expression had turned desperate.
Percy ran at full speed until he suddenly burst into a small clearing. There, under the moonlight, he could see the green grass swaying softly. Percy was certain that this was where the voice had come from.
He walked slowly toward the center of the clearing, and suddenly stepped on something.
When he looked down, he saw a kind of milky white liquid, glowing faintly under the moonlight.
Percy stared at it, and his heart gave a heavy thud. He did not know why, but he felt that whatever that was, it should not have been there.
The sword he held in his hand tightened almost without him realizing it, until his knuckles turned white.
"Percy?" a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Percy turned around immediately, raising the sword quickly and pointing it straight at the throat of whoever had spoken.
It was Grover.
His face was filled with panic, frozen in place in front of the blade, while Percy's expression was clearly furious.
"Meh!" Grover let out, overwhelmed by fear.
That sound alone was enough to snap Percy back to his senses.
"Did you just… bleat?" Percy asked, confused. Then he frowned and shook his head.
"Wait, that's not important. Someone was asking for help," he said as he looked around, but he could see nothing. There were no traces, no signs, and he could no longer hear that voice.
"Help? Was it asking you for help, Percy?" Grover asked immediately.
"Yes, but I can't hear it anymore. We have to look for it," Percy replied seriously, not knowing which direction to run.
"Wait, Percy. Calm down. The centaurs of the forest found it… and took it away," Grover said quickly.
"The centaurs?" Percy asked. He did not know exactly what, or who, they had taken, but his chest relaxed slightly upon hearing it.
"But what was it?" he added, wanting to know the truth.
"It was a unicorn," Grover replied in a voice heavy with sadness.
"Really precious and sacred animals. Someone is attacking them. How could anyone hurt creatures like that?" he said, clearly pained, as if it affected him personally.
Percy did not respond right away. He felt the air grow heavy in his chest.
Then he understood.
Ever since he had discovered he could talk to the turtle at the zoo, and Harry to snakes, they had both tried to see if they could communicate with other animals. But Percy was the only one who could go beyond turtles.
With horses.
And unicorns… they were a kind of horse, right?
Even so, an uncomfortable feeling lingered in his chest, though he did not know exactly why.
"You… you've been helping the unicorns all week, haven't you?" Percy asked, watching Grover closely.
"Ah… well, yes," Grover admitted.
"I met a family of unicorns, and they were really precious. I grew attached to them. Then I found out someone was attacking them," he explained.
"How did you find out?" Percy asked.
Luckily for Grover, before he could answer, Neville came running up, completely out of breath.
"Percy… uff… ah… you left me behind," he said, struggling to catch his breath.
"Ah, sorry, Nev," Percy said immediately, moving closer to help him stay on his feet, since he looked like he was about to pass out. Grover hurried over to help as well.
"It would be better if we go back to the castle," Grover said right away.
"Yes. I also want to know how Harry's mission went, and the others'," Percy added.
He felt calmer now. Knowing that Grover's strange behavior was because he had been helping the unicorns made everything fall into place. It made sense why he had been entering the forest so often.
The three of them began walking out of the clearing.
At one point, Grover turned around without the others noticing. Between the trees, a centaur emerged slightly and watched him in silence before nodding with a serious, solemn expression.
Grover held his gaze for a moment, then turned his eyes back to Percy, his expression somewhere between surprised and grave.
Percy felt that look and turned around for a second, but Grover quickly looked back toward the path, focusing on helping Neville out of the forest.