Upon hearing Hoare's question, Draco and Harry exchanged glances and each made a gagging face.
"Who wants to go with him!" Draco said with disdain.
"Malfoy challenged me to a duel, but we got caught by Filch and were punished to help Hagrid with some work," Harry explained cheerfully, as he was already an old acquaintance of Hagrid's.
When he found out the punishment was to help Hagrid, he felt it wasn't a punishment at all, but rather a fun outing.
Draco, on the other hand, was disgruntled. "I'm going to write to my father! How dare Dumbledore make me work for that half-giant!"
"Malfoy, you shouldn't talk about Hagrid like that."
The two of them glared at each other angrily, as if they were about to start a fight at any moment.
Hoare's eyes lit up at the mention of the Forbidden Forest.
The Forbidden Forest!
It's a place teeming with countless rare herbs!
And the Forbidden Forest, especially at night, might just hold some unexpected encounters.
"I'll go with you," Hoare offered.
Harry and Draco were both taken aback, especially Draco, who nearly screamed, "Are you crazy? Why would you want to go to a place like that?"
Hoare shrugged, indicating that no matter what they said, he was going with them.
Naturally, Draco and Harry couldn't argue with Hoare.
So, when Hagrid, who was expecting Harry, opened the door and saw the people outside, he was filled with questions. Two Slytherins and Harry had come together!?
Hagrid, slightly bewildered, held onto Fang.
"We'll split into two groups now, Harry—"
Hagrid's shy and excited expression was obvious to anyone, and Hoare took the kerosene lamp from Hagrid's hand. "Draco and I will go that way, and Harry, you go with Hagrid over there."
"Take Fang with you. If there's any danger, she'll bark," Hagrid said, handing over Fang's leash.
Hoare shook his head in refusal, took the lamp, and led Draco in the other direction.
Behind them, Harry could be heard explaining to Hagrid, "Hagrid, Henry is my friend. He's really capable, don't worry..."
Hoare had his reasons for not taking Fang.
Fang was a hunting dog raised by Hagrid. If Hoare wanted to do something against the school rules, Fang would definitely bark and draw Hagrid's attention.
Hoare pulled out his sack, ready to "sweep" the area.
---
The Forbidden Forest, located on the edge of Hogwarts.
Hogwarts students were usually not allowed into the Forbidden Forest, but under special circumstances like detention or Care of Magical Creatures classes, students could enter the forest's edge under a teacher's supervision.
If Hoare hadn't encountered this opportunity, he wouldn't know when he'd be able to enter the Forbidden Forest.
The various herbs in the Forbidden Forest had long tempted Hoare.
Unfortunately, the headmaster had always strongly opposed taking him there, and every time he wanted to try new materials, it was Headmaster Snape who went to the Forbidden Forest to fetch them.
"Hoare, look, is there someone in that tree ahead?" Draco's voice trembled as he practically clung to Hoare's back.
Hoare dragged Draco along, feeling helpless. In a world with magic, wasn't it normal to have other things? Was there really a need to be so scared?
"That's just the branches swaying..." Hoare said with exasperation.
This was the Nth time he'd said this to Draco.
Draco was now jumpy, startled by any rustle or movement.
Hoare wished he could just leave him at Hagrid's hut, as Draco was completely delaying his herb-gathering mission!
Their progress was slow, and he hadn't even filled a small bag!
Hoare was very displeased.
Hoare held up the kerosene lamp to light the way, allowing him to carefully identify each herb.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use Lumos for light, but he was worried that using magic for illumination might scare away some timid animals or plants.
Like... unicorns.
"Hoare, is that a branch too?"
In front of them appeared a black mass of something unknown.
It was crouched over a severely injured unicorn, sucking its blood.
Draco's legs began to shake, and he had learned to comfort himself, though it was a pity...
"Oh, no, although I don't know what that is, it's definitely not a branch," Hoare said in a cold tone, shattering Draco's fantasy.
"Merlin... Merlin, I'll go get that half-giant..." Draco said with a quivering voice, releasing his grip on Hoare, nearly collapsing to the ground due to weak knees.
If Hoare hadn't been quick to catch him, the creature would have been alerted by their commotion.
In such an unknown situation, Hoare dared not act rashly.
Suddenly, in a flash of inspiration, a memory struck Hoare's mind, revealing a scene.
The person crouched over the unicorn, sucking its blood, lifted his head to reveal his face.
It was Quirrell, who was still lying in the infirmary, driven mad.
Hoare knew this was the original story's plot.
But to know that Quirrell had gone mad was something Dumbledore had certified.
To feign madness under Dumbledore's watchful eye was nearly impossible.
When you're just trying to make great content at .
Hoare wasn't sure if the "person" before him was still Quirrell.
If it was Quirrell, he could handle it.
But if it wasn't Quirrell, then who could it be?
Who would go mad and drink the forcibly offered unicorn blood?
This was cursed and could never be undone.
The only mad person Hoare knew of was Voldemort.
The sound of swallowing, accompanied by the metallic scent of blood, drifted over, sending shivers down his spine.
Hoare felt surrounded by the scent of blood, and he was now extremely nauseous, his uneaten dinner churning in his stomach.
"Ugh."
Hoare heard a retching sound and almost thought it was himself.
But his hand was still covering his mouth, so it couldn't be him.
Hoare turned around.
Draco was leaning against a tree, the sight was a bit unbearable.
The sound of something rustling on the grass behind them made it clear that Draco's retching had startled the creature.
Hoare couldn't worry about anything else, not even Draco's soiled robes, as he grabbed Draco and tossed him into a nearby ditch.
Once this big guy was stored away, he could let loose.
He had to strike first, defeating the creature before it could react.
Hoare estimated that the creature was 0.1 of a Voldemort, with an 80% probability.
Hoare could have chosen to run, but seeing the unicorn on the ground, he had other ideas.
Unicorn blood was known for its powerful healing and restorative properties.
And this was exactly what the Squib Potion needed!
But it had to be willingly given by the unicorn; otherwise, the blood would carry a malevolent curse, leaving the person's body in a half-dead state, with a dark and incomplete soul.
So Hoare planned to put on a good show and save the unicorn.
The sound of wind approached from behind, and Hoare calculated the distance, turning around to cast "Petrificus Totalus" with wandless magic.
The creature fell to the ground with a thud.
Its cloak fell away, revealing a familiar face from memory.
Old acquaintance Quirrell.
Quirrell's eyes were filled with surprise, astonished that someone so young could use wandless magic.
Then a vicious glint flashed in Quirrell's eyes, filled with murderous intent.
This eleven-year-old child had more talent than he ever did, and leaving him alive would be a disaster.
Yes, that's right.
This Quirrell was not Quirrell, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that his body was called Quirrell.
But the one controlling this body was named Tom Riddle.
He had another, more widely known name: Voldemort.