Norbert landed with a ground-shaking thud, wings folded as Adrian slid down from the dragon's back. After a quick worried glance at Hagrid, he raised his wand and looked around for enemies.
"Hagrid, where did they go?" Adrian looked around, confused by the empty clearing.
"It... it just seemed to fly away into the trees..." Hagrid still had tears streaming down his face as he pointed shakily toward the thick forest to their right.
'Flew away?' Adrian remembered feeling some resistance when Norbert had made his diving attack, like hitting something solid.
A wave of regret washed over him. Judging by the force of that collision, Quirrell had probably managed a defensive spell in time. The chances of a direct kill were slim.
So Quirrell was likely still alive.
"Incendio Maxima!" Panic driving him, Adrian immediately raised his wand and fired several powerful flame spells in the direction Hagrid had pointed.
Red fire erupted skyward, spreading in all directions through the underbrush.
Even that didn't feel like enough. Adrian turned to Norbert and gestured urgently. "More fire! Everything in that direction needs to burn!"
When facing Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, Adrian couldn't afford to take any chances.
Norbert perked up at the command. He loved breathing fire more than anything else. Several torrents of dragon flame later, a big portion of the forest was swallowed up in roaring flames.
Hagrid watched the inferno with growing alarm.
"Isn't this... a bit much?" Adrian found himself questioning his decision as he stared into the blazing forest. What if the fire spread out of control?
'Would setting the Forbidden Forest on fire land him in Azkaban? Surely Professor Dumbledore could handle it... right?'
The thought made Adrian annoyed with Norbert. He'd planned a perfect sneak attack to get rid of Quirrell in one strike, but the dragon's enthusiastic roar had ruined the element of surprise.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed this scorched-earth follow-up.
Adrian gave Norbert's side a light kick. The dragon whimpered pitifully, he'd been so excited to finally fly again. What was wrong with a little celebratory roaring?
Ignoring Norbert's hurt feelings, Adrian gestured for him to stay alert, then jumped down and rushed to Hagrid's side.
Fang had already reached the half-giant, tongue lolling as he licked Hagrid's face with slobbering enthusiasm.
"Are you okay, Hagrid? I sent Harry to get the professors, they should be here soon." Adrian knelt beside him, carefully looking at the wounds on Hagrid's body and legs.
The injuries looked bad, blood seeping from gashes that seemed to pulse with dark energy, but Adrian breathed a sigh of relief. None were fatal. Unfortunately, he didn't know any healing spells powerful enough to help.
"Never mind me, I'm fine. Go check on Cecilia, she took that Killing Curse meant for me." Hagrid pushed Adrian toward the fallen unicorn, voice thick with emotion.
"Cecilia?"
"That's what I'm calling her. If not for Cecilia, I'd be dead." Hagrid wiped his dusty hands across his tear-streaked face.
After making sure Hagrid was stable, Adrian nodded and approached the dying unicorn.
Up close, the creature's beauty was breathtaking. Even in the firelight, Cecilia seemed to glow with an inner light, her spiral horn catching the flames like a prism. But dark wounds marred her perfect coat, and silver blood pooled beneath her.
Adrian understood the terrible truth, Quirrell's Killing Curse was doing its work. Even with a unicorn's tremendous life force, death was inevitable.
Cecilia's bright blue eyes were dimming, filled with pain and an almost human sadness.
Adrian gently stroked her mane, marveling at its silk-like texture. All he could offer now was comfort.
The Killing Curse was irreversible, that's why it was Unforgivable. Even Dumbledore couldn't undo its effects.
As Cecilia's breathing grew shallow under Adrian's gentle touch, her life force finally faded. Adrian sighed, then practically pulled out a test tube and collected some of the silver blood that continued to flow from her wounds.
He sealed the vial and held up the dreamlike silver liquid, addressing the still form:
"Your killer won't live much longer anyway. Rest in peace."
For a moment, Adrian thought he saw Cecilia's body shimmer slightly, but it might have been a trick of the firelight.
His words weren't empty comfort either. With Quirrell's identity now exposed, even if he'd somehow survived the flames, Voldemort would likely drain what remained of his host's life force to heal their injuries.
Adrian pocketed the unicorn blood, vaguely hearing what sounded like a system notification, but before he could check it, movement in the forest caught his attention.
A tabby cat was racing through the trees at inhuman speed, faster than any person could run. Adrian blinked, wondering if he was seeing things. How could a cat move that fast?
Norbert immediately went on high alert, baring his fangs and growling at the approaching feline, though he held back from attacking.