"Ugh, Henry, ugh—" Draco stuck his head out from the ditch, shouting Henry's name.
"Go! Find Hagrid!"
Hoare noticed Quirrell's attention shifting to Draco and shouted urgently.
Hearing this, Draco scrambled to his feet and dashed towards the only point of light in the distance.
Quirrell raised his wand, intending to stop him.
Hoare pointed his wand directly at Quirrell, and a golden beam grazed Quirrell's shiny forehead, striking the tree behind him.
With a loud bang, the tree exploded.
Quirrell glanced at the shattered tree in surprise, feeling the powerful magic.
This student before him not only mastered wandless, silent magic, but his magical power was also comparable to that of an adult wizard.
This was certainly not something a first-year student should possess.
Could it be, Quirrell thought, Polyjuice Potion.
That was the only explanation for his prowess.
"Your opponent is me!" Hoare raised his wand, wiping the sweat from his face.
"Heh." Quirrell let out a sinister laugh, "Since you wish to die so badly, I'll grant your wish."
Hoare held his wand in his right hand and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus."
In his mind, he focused on Quirrell and silently cast "Lumos!"
Quirrell rubbed his wand between his thumb and forefinger, chanting in a strange tone, "Avada Kedavra!" His magic emitted a green light.
Just as he uttered the words, a blinding light suddenly burst forth, causing Quirrell's eyes to sting.
As Quirrell's incantation was halfway through, Hoare took a quick step back, diving into the cave where Draco had just hidden.
He estimated that Draco should have reached Hagrid's hut by now.
He didn't have much time left.
Before Draco returned with help, he needed to deal with Number 2 and earn the gratitude and reward of the unicorn.
Hoare pulled a dagger from his pocket.
The dagger was small but extremely sharp.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
It had just helped Hoare dig up countless herbs.
The green light hit precisely where Hoare had been standing, shattering the ground.
Even though the Forbidden Forest was as bright as day, the glaring green light couldn't be ignored.
Once the green light passed.
Hoare gathered all his magic and aimed at the faint silhouette in the light, "Quirinus Quirrell, come here."
Voldemort's intimidation only existed in others' tales; Hoare could only occasionally glimpse a sliver of past darkness.
But as for how powerful the man with a snake face was now, Hoare wasn't sure.
His soul had been split into pieces, so naturally, his magic couldn't be intact.
For example, the previous Number 1 Voldemort, Hoare remembered clearly, was very weak, unable to use particularly powerful magic.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up vanishing without a trace.
He wasn't sure about this one, let's call him Number 2 for now.
If his magic was stronger than Number 2's, he could forcibly summon him.
If not, it meant Number 2's magic was stronger, and he'd have to use other tricks, like Dumbledore's grand summoning.
Time ticked by, and Hoare felt the air around him was unusually quiet.
Just when he thought he had failed.
He heard, "Bang!" "Bang!" "Ah!" "Bang!" "Ah!" sounds.
It was like... someone was crashing into trees?
Just as Hoare was curious about what was happening outside.
"Bang!"
A figure fell in front of Hoare.
Hoare raised the dagger and stabbed without hesitation.
The dagger sliced through Number 2's abdomen as easily as cutting through tofu.
He stabbed and withdrew, stabbed and withdrew, repeating this seven or eight times.
Only then did Hoare stop.
He could ensure he wounded Quirrell but not fatally.
After all, he still needed Quirrell to prove his innocence.
Good, Hoare thought to himself.
It seemed Number 2 was nothing special after all.
Hoare tossed the bewildered Number 2, who hadn't reacted at all, to the ground and kicked away the wand he was feebly holding.
Number 2 looked down at his abdomen in disbelief, then looked up at Hoare, speaking in a surprised tone, his voice pleasant but with a disturbingly strange intonation.
"Henry William, how can you use a dagger!"
At this moment, Number 2's abdomen had a large hole, revealing his decaying insides, emitting a nauseating stench.
Hoare glanced at it briefly, and everything suddenly became clear.
No wonder the sensation when he stabbed was so strange.
No wonder Number 2, having taken over the body, still needed to severely wound the unicorn and drink the cursed blood.
Because his body was no different from a scarecrow.
Despite such a miserable state, Hoare felt no sympathy.
He forcefully broke Number 2's limbs, and amidst Number 2's screams, dragged him by the foot and threw him in front of the dying unicorn.
Hoare crouched in front of the unicorn, and it tried to nuzzle Hoare's hand with its horn.
"It says, you can take its blood, flesh, and organs as a token of gratitude."
Hoare was startled and quickly looked up at the speaker.
It wasn't a person; it had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse—a centaur.
"Hello, please don't be alarmed, my name is Firenze." Firenze placed a hand on his chest and bowed.
Centaurs are naturally temperamental and wary of humans.
But the human before him was a youngling, and centaurs do not harm younglings, regardless of species.
Moreover, Firenze could see that this youngling had a pure soul.
He continued, "Unicorns are very pure creatures, and it sensed your goodwill."
Hoare silently turned his gaze back to the unicorn lying in his arms, its beautiful eyes gradually losing focus.
Firenze urged from the side, "Unicorn blood can only be taken while it's alive."
Hoare glanced at Firenze, then took out a bottle and dagger, collecting what he needed.
After finishing everything, the unicorn nuzzled Hoare's hand with its horn one last time, letting out its final call.
Hoare originally intended to bury the remaining unicorn, but Firenze refused, saying its kin would come to take it home.
Unicorns wouldn't be buried elsewhere; they only wanted to return home.
"Come on, child, I'll take you out." Firenze urged, looking at Hoare.
Hoare took off his robe and covered the unicorn with it.
Firenze lifted him onto his back, and Hoare used a Levitation Charm to carry Number 2.
The three of them headed towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hoare wasn't in the best of moods.
He hadn't expected the unicorn to be aware of his ulterior motives all along, yet it was still willing to sacrifice itself.
The unicorn believed he had a kind soul, but in truth, he just wanted to quickly develop the Squib potion to sell.
If he succeeded this time, perhaps he could sell it cheaper.
Consider it a good deed.
Hoare mentally conducted experiments with the unicorn materials he had just obtained, along with the previously confirmed ingredients.
In his mind, it was like a large Potions room.
Dozens of cauldrons started simultaneously, with time sped up tenfold.
Each cauldron had a slightly different formula, producing different reactions.
If it didn't work, he'd start over.
After hundreds of experiments.
Finally, in Hoare's mind, he calculated an almost perfect formula.
And outside, only a few minutes had passed.
Hoare opened his eyes, a glint of gold flashing through them.
Outside the Forbidden Forest, people were rushing over.
Hoare shouted, "Headmaster! Headmaster! I've got it!"
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