When Marcel spoke up to deny the existence of werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, Filch snorted.
"And who says there aren't? For a long time in the past, the howling of werewolves was a constant presence. It was the plague of all the students in the school back then," he said with a cold laugh.
As he was speaking, Hagrid strode towards them out of the darkness, with Fang at his heels. Hagrid was carrying his enormous crossbow, and a quiver full of arrows was slung over his shoulder.
"Bout time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Marcel, Harry, Hermione?"
"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly. "They're here to be punished, after all."
"That's why you're late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? That's not your place. You've done your bit. I'll take over from here."
"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them."
He said this viciously, then turned and headed back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.
At that moment, Malfoy suddenly turned to Hagrid.
"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.
"Yeh are if yeh want to stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got to pay for it."
"But this is servant's stuff, not for students. I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"
"—tell yeh that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid said gruffly. "Writin' lines! What good's that to anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If you think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off to the castle and pack. Go on!"
Seeing Malfoy glare at Hagrid for a moment before finally dropping his gaze, Hagrid continued.
"Right then," Hagrid said. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks."
"Follow me over here a moment."
He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick, black trees.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have to put it out of its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to hide the fear in his voice.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep to the path. Right, now, we're gonna split into two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place. It must've been staggerin' around since last night at least."
"I want Fang!" Malfoy said quickly, seemingly fooled by the huge hound's intimidating appearance.
"Fine, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So, Malfoy, Neville, and Fang'll go one way. Marcel, hmm... Marcel, how about you go with Fang's group too? I think you can help me keep an eye on Fang, in case he gets scared and runs back."
"No! Don't, I mean... Mr. Maclean, you go with them. Our group... will be... fine," Malfoy's aversion to Marcel was clearly no less than his fear of the forest.
"Well, all right then. Me, Marcel, Harry, and Hermione will go one way," Hagrid nodded.
"If any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out and practice now. Right, an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh. So, be careful, now. Let's go."
The dense canopy of the Forbidden Forest blocked out most of the moonlight, making the woods incredibly dark. Even with the lamp Hagrid was carrying, it could only illuminate a very small area around them.
"Lumos," Marcel said, drawing his wand and significantly improving their visibility.
"Thanks," said Hagrid. "That'll help us look more carefully."
They walked a short distance and came to a fork in the path, where the two groups split up.
They walked in silence, their eyes fixed on the ground. Every now and then, they would see a patch of silvery blood on the fallen leaves, shimmering with a faint blue light.
Marcel had already stopped thinking about the Scroll of Truth. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be encountering something interesting soon.
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.
"Not seen any werewolves in here," said Hagrid. "But even if there was one, it wouldn't be that fast. A unicorn's not easy to catch. They're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one to be hurt before."
They walked past a moss-covered tree stump. Here, they could faintly hear the sound of running water. Clearly, there was a stream somewhere nearby.
The winding path was still dotted with scattered unicorn blood.
"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don't worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able to—GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"
Even before Hagrid had spoken, Marcel had already pulled Hermione into the bushes beside them. Hagrid glanced over, his hands not stopping as he grabbed Harry and pulled him off the path, hiding him behind a towering oak tree.
He drew an arrow, nocked it in his crossbow, and raised it, ready to fire.
Then, Harry heard it too. Something was slithering over the dead leaves nearby, making a rustling sound. Hagrid squinted into the dark path. After a few seconds, the sound faded away.
"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn't be."
No one knew the Forbidden Forest better than Hagrid. Marcel wasn't at all surprised by his accurate judgment.
"A werewolf?" Harry asked.
"A werewolf generally has poor stamina, but strong speed and explosive power. It wouldn't move so sluggishly," Marcel said, leading Hermione out from the bushes and looking meaningfully into the dark depths of the forest.
"Marcel's right," Hagrid said with certainty. "All right, follow me, but be careful, now."
Just as they were cautiously moving forward at a slower pace, they suddenly saw something moving in a clearing up ahead.
"Who's there?" Hagrid shouted. "Show yerself! I'm armed!"
"Hagrid, it's a centaur," said Marcel.
At his words, the figure stepped into the clearing. It was a man from the waist up, with red hair and a beard, but from the waist down, it was the glossy, chestnut body of a horse with a long, reddish tail.
Harry and Hermione's mouths fell open in amazement.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"
He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his quiver. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. Oh, by the way, this is Marcel Maclean, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger—students up at the school. An' this is Ronan. He's a centaur."
"Hello, Ronan," Marcel said, also stepping forward to shake his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
He had always been interested in the centaurs' gift of prophecy, but it wasn't of much help to him personally. Prophecies were always vague and could be twisted by the choices one made. So most prophecies could only be used as a reference—at least, that's what Marcel believed.
"Hello," said Ronan. "You are students? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
"Knowledge is endless," said Marcel. "A systematic education can enlighten students."
"That is helpful for exploring the unknown," Ronan nodded.
At this, he raised his eyes and gazed at the sky above the clearing. "Mars is bright tonight."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, also looking up. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt—you seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't blink. He stared upward for a moment, then sighed.
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have you seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight... unusually bright."
The centaurs' words were always so ethereal and vague. Talking to them could easily make one anxious.
"Yeah, but I was meanin', anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid, clearly getting a little impatient. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"
"I think what Ronan means to say is that with Mars in opposition and being so bright, something rather bad is likely to happen," Marcel couldn't help but explain. "For example, riots, betrayal, oppression, deceit, or simply war."
Ronan turned to look at Marcel, as did Hermione and Harry. But Marcel just shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that. I read it in a book," he said. "To be honest, I'm not very good at Astronomy or Divination. I was just reciting it from memory."