One evening, Adrian wandered through the Forbidden Forest, hoping to collect some unicorn tail hair.
Unicorn tail hair was a very versatile magical material. It could not only be used for brewing potions but also for crafting various magical items, such as wands.
The core of Adrian's wand was unicorn tail hair.
The only drawback was that wands made with unicorn tail hair had difficulty using dark magic, which meant Adrian had to use different wands whenever he cast dark magic.
Adrian's unicorn tail hair supplies were running low. Although unicorn tail hair was sold in Diagon Alley shops, since there were unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, why should Adrian spend extra galleons?
Getting things for free was human nature.
The Forbidden Forest was very quiet at night. Adrian walked on the soft ground toward the depths, his wand tip glowing with a small light to illuminate his path.
Last term, Hagrid had taken him to the unicorns' habitat once. Following his memory, Adrian quickly found his destination.
It was still that familiar forest lake.
The lake surface was calm, reflecting the starry sky and a silver moon.
About a dozen unicorns were gathered in small groups by the lakeside. Adult unicorns were pure white, while the foals had coats of pale gold.
Adrian was surprised to discover that there were three foals among them—recently born.
Unicorns were particularly wary of adult males, making it very difficult for ordinary male wizards to approach them. But Adrian was different—he had once received a unicorn's blessing.
These sensitive creatures showed no wariness toward Adrian's arrival. Therefore, Adrian walked openly to the lakeside.
Sure enough, those vigilant unicorns merely glanced up at him before continuing to drink, as if he were just a harmless passerby.
Adrian's boots made soft sounds on the damp grass.
The three golden unicorn foals looked up curiously, blinking as they stared at him. One particularly bold foal even bounced a few steps closer, its nostrils twitching as if sniffing his scent.
"Hello there, little one." Adrian spoke softly, slowly crouching down and reaching out to pet the small unicorn's head.
'Hmm... the texture was smooth and delicate.'
Adrian couldn't help but pet it a few more times.
He remembered that in the original story, after Hagrid became the Care of Magical Creatures professor, he had given students practical lessons about unicorns.
Perhaps he could arrange something similar for his students, letting them interact with these magical animals.
Just then, a robust adult female unicorn approached gracefully.
Adrian recognized it immediately—it was the one that had blessed him last term.
It elegantly lowered its head and voluntarily touched Adrian's shoulder with its spiral horn.
Adrian knew this was a gesture of goodwill.
When Adrian left the unicorn area, he carried a bulging small pouch.
Those unicorns hadn't been stingy with their tail hair, allowing Adrian to collect quite a bit.
On his way back to the castle, Adrian suddenly spotted an orange glow in the pitch-black environment.
The light was particularly conspicuous in the dark forest. As he drew closer, he could also hear familiar humming.
Who else could it be but Hagrid?
Adrian extinguished his wand and quietly approached Hagrid.
When he reached Hagrid's vicinity:
"Good evening, Hagrid." Adrian suddenly spoke.
"!"
Hagrid nearly jumped in fright, his lantern swaying violently.
After recognizing the newcomer, he patted his chest and sighed in relief: "It's you, Professor Westeros. What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest so late?"
Adrian noticed that Hagrid's bushy beard had several leaves stuck to it, and his face bore fresh scratches.
"Collecting some unicorn tail hair," Adrian shook the pouch in his hand. "What about you? Routine patrol? How did you get those injuries on your face?"
Hagrid sighed, the lantern light reflecting his helpless expression: "I don't want to talk about it. When Lockhart approached me this morning, he angered a group of bowtruckles."
"Hmm..." Adrian couldn't help but be curious. "How did he manage that?"
In his impression, bowtruckles were mostly gentle in nature.
"Who knows?" Hagrid shrugged. "That fellow is truly annoying. In fact, all the professors seem quite dissatisfied with him. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout mentioned to me that he..."
Adrian listened to Hagrid's complaints, feeling somewhat impressed by Lockhart.
Earning the dislike of so many professors wasn't a simple feat.
Lockhart was truly a genius at being detestable.
"Most of Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professors haven't been good," Hagrid said with pursed lips. "Last term's Quirrell, this term's Lockhart... Oh, I'm not talking about you, Adrian. You're much better than Lockhart..."
As he spoke, Hagrid laughingly patted Adrian's back.
With Hagrid's pat, Adrian stumbled forward several steps and nearly fell into the nearby bushes.
"Sorry."
Seeing this, Hagrid scratched his head embarrassedly.
"It's fine," Adrian shook his head helplessly. "Ah, it's getting late. I need to hurry back— Ray is still waiting for me to feed him."
"Wait!" Hagrid suddenly said. "Would you like to come for tea tomorrow?"
Adrian stopped and asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"
He saw Hagrid wearing a strange expression, as if he had something difficult to say.
Hagrid rubbed his large hands together, his face showing rare embarrassment: "Well... Lockhart said he wants to visit me tomorrow. You know, I really can't handle him. Help me out, Adrian."
"You should have refused him," Adrian said seriously.
'Having too much contact with Lockhart wasn't good—who knew when a Memory Charm might come flying your way?'
Lockhart, who was skilled in Memory Charms, was very dangerous. One Memory Charm and you wouldn't even know you'd been attacked.
This was also why Lockhart had stolen so many people's adventure stories without being discovered.
"I think so too," Hagrid scratched the back of his head. "But I already agreed."
He really wasn't good at refusing people.
"I understand," Adrian finally said. "I'll come tomorrow."
Hagrid immediately showed a relieved smile, his face full of gratitude: "Wonderful! Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, I'll prepare some special treats..."
"Wait!" Adrian quickly waved his hands. "No need for treats!"
He didn't want his teeth tortured by those impossibly sticky sweets and frighteningly hard biscuits.
"Don't be modest!" Hagrid said with a smile. "Just wait, Adrian, I'll make plenty of rock cakes..."
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