At this moment in the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore stood quietly on a piece of ruins, his face showing no expression, eerily calm.
"Dumbledore..." Snape walked over and said, "The students have all returned to the castle, and no one was hurt."
"Thank you for your hard work, Severus," Dumbledore said.
"What on earth happened here!"
"Obviously, someone wanted to use Unicorn blood to prolong life..."
Dumbledore bent down, looking at the dying Unicorn at his feet, and said, "If Hagrid hadn't discovered them in time, it would probably be dead."
"Yes, but now it's that big oaf who almost died," Snape scoffed with disdain, "Is it worth it... for just an animal?"
"Everyone has their own persistence, Severus, and this persistence is hard to measure in terms of worth," Dumbledore said. "Just like when you... for Lily..."
"Dumbledore!" Snape shouted angrily, "Don't mention that name again!"
He panted heavily, and after a long pause, continued, "So, do you know who attacked Hagrid?"
"I think, yes."
Dumbledore stepped forward, came to a place covered with black ashes, and bent down to touch the ground.
"Fiendfyre... truly troublesome Dark Magic, if left unchecked, I fear the entire Forbidden Forest would be gone."
He then stood up and moved to the other side.
On the ground, two Centaurs lay motionless, surrounded by a mess of footprints.
"Killing Curse..." Dumbledore said softly, "Their quivers are half-empty, they weren't killed by the Killing Curse on sight.
It seems he is very weak; the Unicorn blood can only prolong his life, but it cannot restore his strength."
With every word Dumbledore spoke, Snape's face grew darker.
"You said before... he's afraid to kill now!"
"Being afraid and being unable are two different things," Dumbledore stated calmly. "No matter how many Centaurs die, it won't affect Hogwarts, nor Hagrid.
Because he knows, neither parents nor the board will care about them; as long as no students die, Hogwarts won't close, and he still has a chance to get the Philosopher's Stone."
"That's just your guess," Snape said coldly.
"You're right," Dumbledore nodded and said, "None of us know his true intentions, which is why I requested the Quidditch matches to be suspended."
After a brief silence.
Harboring a glimmer of hope, Snape suddenly asked, "Is it possible that Oren is back? He can also use Fiendfyre and the Killing Curse."
"As far as I know, he's hiding from the Aurors in the north at the moment, and can't come back anytime soon.
Moreover, if it were him, Hagrid probably wouldn't have been able to leave the Forbidden Forest alive."
The scene fell silent again until a distant rumble of hooves was heard.
"Can you watch him for me? You know who it belongs to..." Dumbledore said softly.
Snape didn't respond, silently leaving.
The sound of hooves grew nearer, and soon, a group of strong Centaurs wielding bows appeared around them.
"Don't move!"
"... Mr. Dumbledore?" The Centaur leader, seeing the man in front of him, quickly ordered the others to lower their weapons.
He stepped forward and asked, "Why are you here, and what on earth happened around here..."
"As you can see, Magorian," Dumbledore said: "Someone tried to kill a Unicorn, and Hagrid and two Centaurs were affected in the process."
Only then did Magorian notice the two dead Centaurs nearby.
A sound of stomping front hooves suddenly filled the air around them.
Magorian stepped forward and said, a bit choking up, "Druj... Lula... they were brave warriors!"
"Ronan, Firenze, take them back to the tribe; I think they'd prefer to be in a place where the Irises bloom."
Two Centaurs came out...
When Magorian looked back at Dumbledore, his expression was much calmer.
"Dumbledore, the Mars lately is very bright, extremely bright... be prepared, this is only the beginning. It's far from over yet."
Dumbledore slightly bowed and said, "Thank you for the warning, Magorian."
"I just don't want to see more Centaurs die miserably."
"Good luck to you, Mr. Dumbledore, and... Mr. Scamander."
With that, he led the other Centaurs away.
Dumbledore stood unmoving, slightly tilting his head to look in the direction of the Unicorn.
An old figure appeared out of nowhere, his head bent down, gently caressing the Unicorn's scarred body.
Moreover, on his shoulder stood a Phoenix.
"How is it," Dumbledore inquired.
"Not good, it's lost a lot of blood, and there are many traces of Dark Magic on it, leaving her very weak," Newt raised his head and said, "But luckily it was discovered in time, there's no life-threatening danger yet."
"That's really good news," Dumbledore said, "It protected Hagrid from two potentially deadly curses; if it had died, I really wouldn't know how to face Hagrid."
"It won't," Newt said softly. He took out a bottle of Magic Potion and fed it to the Unicorn, then took out another and applied it to its wounds.
The Unicorn, initially terrified, became much calmer and fell asleep under Newt's soothing.
Only then did Newt take out a box and carefully put the Unicorn inside.
After leaving the Forbidden Forest, the two of them went to the Headmaster's Office once more.
"I'm sorry to have called you all the way here."
Dumbledore poured Newt a cup of tea and said half-jokingly, "But I really don't trust letting Professor Kettleburn take care of the Unicorn anymore, or else Hogwarts might be hiring two professors next year."
Newt recalled the incident last year when Professor Kettleburn got impaled by a Unicorn and chuckled without replying.
That professor could indeed sometimes be reckless.
"Oh right, one more thing."
Dumbledore glanced at the box by Newt's side and pondered, asking, "Did you also give one like this to Kael."
"Pfft..."
Newt spat out the mouthful of tea directly.
No wonder Dumbledore was the strongest White Wizard; his reactions were quick. With a body sidestep, he dodged, without even a drop of water landing on his long beard.
But Fawkes behind him wasn't so lucky.
The mouthful of tea was unwasted, spraying all over it.
"Don't get excited, I was just asking,"
Dumbledore blinked and said, "I had this thought after Halloween; it's just that none of us professors have seen him with any box."
"Well... maybe... he didn't bring it..." Newt mumbled vaguely.
Fortunately, at this moment, someone—or rather, some bird came to his rescue.
After a brief moment of confusion, Fawkes snapped back and started angrily pecking at Dumbledore's beard.
"Hey, Fawkes, it was Newt who sprayed the tea..." Dumbledore explained, clearly not wanting to take the blame.
But Fawkes turned a deaf ear; it only saw Dumbledore not blocking the water for him.
And Fawkes truly didn't hold back; every peck snapped off a tuft of silver-white beard.
Dumbledore hastily covered his beard, his voice changing with heartache.
Taking this opportunity, Newt picked up his box and quietly slipped out of the Headmaster's Office.