Another miserable class with Professor Snape. Scarlet stood out as the only exception - not because the Professor treated her well, but because she simply didn’t care about his scathing remarks. Despite his toxic language, he was an excellent Potion Master and delivered solid lectures.

The Hufflepuffs finally relaxed when then reached Herbology, tending to plants in small groups while chatting about rumours or grumbling about their Potions professor.

“I wonder how the Slytherins fare in Potions class. He’s their Head of House, after all. Do you think he favours them?” Maya asked as she carefully mixed sand and soil in a large pot.

Amelia chimed in, “One of the Slytherin girls I know is terrified of him. But he does seem to be favour Malfoy.”

“Maybe because Malfoy’s good at Potions?” Scarlet suggested, placing the root of a plant into the port Maya had prepared.

“But Granger’s good at Potions too, and she never gets any praise,” Amelia pointed out.

“He dislikes Gryffindor as a whole, especially Harry.” Scarlet replied. “It’s a personal bias, I guess. As long as he teaches well, I won’t complain. I’d rather have him than the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.”

“You’re the only who’d prefer that,” Amelia said with a shrug.

“Hey, I heard Harry Potter’s going to play in the Quidditch match!” Maya suddenly exclaimed. “Just like you predicted, Scarlet! But he’s not a reserve player - he’s actually their Seeker!”

Amelia impressed, “You must be talented in Divination.”

“Nah, I’m not one for peeking into the future,” Scarlet dismissed the idea and continued her work.

“What electives are you girls thinking of choosing?” Amelia asked.

“Definitely not Divination, and not Muggle Studies either.” Scarlet immediately ruled out two options.

“I’m not sure yet...” Maya said thoughtfully. “But Muggle Studies seems like an easy subject to score high in...”

Later that day, Hermione met Scarlet in the library. After venting about the cluelessness of Harry and Ron, and expressing sympathy for Ron’s trauma of having Peter Pettigrew lurking in his house, which had been causing nightmares to his little sister, Hermione shared some news.

“Sirius Black? Harry’s Godfather?” Scarlet repeated, recalling the summaries she had read about pureblood family histories. “Not what I expected, but I’m not entirely surprised either.”

Hermione looked puzzled, “Why not? Ron and I were shocked. But Harry really seems to like his godfather. Since they met in Professor Dumbledore’s office, they’ve been exchanging letters regularly. We’re happy for him too. He’ll have somewhere to go for the holidays now instead of staying at Hogwarts.”

“Well, Sirius Black seems to be the black sheep of the Black family,” Scarlet explained, handling Hermione a summary she’d compiled. “He was sorted into Gryffindor, unlike his brother, who ended up in Slytherin.”

Hermione took the notes with an amazed expression, clearly impressed. She had never considered studying the family trees of renowned wizarding families. Later that day, Ron and Harry noticed Hermione working even harder than usual, which pushed them to study too, not wanting to fall behind.

After her training session, Scarlet glanced at her schedule. She had plans for the Christmas break, one of which was to pay her respects to the Queen in the Isle of Skye...The library hadn’t offered much useful information on werewolves, aside from emphasizing how dangerous they were. There was nothing about how to treat, defeat, or control one. Fortunately, even though she didn’t have a solution, the Queen, who had mastered the principles of magic, might know what to do. Still, Scarlet wasn’t sure if she should bring this unknown werewolf to the Queen – that was a secret even Professor Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the age, didn’t know.

Well, that’s something I’ll decide when I meet him face to face, she mused. For now, I need some sleep.

The events of the day - her discovery about the werewolf guest, the conversation with Draco, the news of Harry’s godfather, and his new role as Seeker – had weighed on her.

However, just as she was about to call it a night, her peace was interrupted – something more urgent had caught her attention: the mark she had placed on Quirrell’s turban had shifted, moving to an unusual place and triggering her alarm.

Rubbing her eyes, she conjured some water onto a handkerchief and wiped her face, trying to wake up and think clearly. Focusing her senses on the mark, she realised it had left the castle and was heading toward the Forbidden Forest...hunting for something?

She had once trusted Quirrell, at least to a limited degree. However, after the troll incident, she had completely lost faith in him. Not only was he a poor teacher, but the vile soul fragment on his head had always unsettled her. Now, she placed him on her list of dangers; a teacher who would willingly endanger students was nothing short of despicable, and no excuse could justify it.

Now that Quirrell was off on some kind of hunt, Scarlet resolved to stop him from achieving his goal – whatever it was.

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She rumpled her bed, making it appear as though she was still asleep, then silently slipped out of the dormitory. She headed toward a nearby balcony.

Each floor had a few balconies, just big enough for two students to stand side by side and enjoy the breeze. Scarlet had memorized their locations, knowing she might need them for this very purpose: jumping off.

It was only one storey high, and she easily handles a fall from five stories if necessary.

Dressed in her dark battle attire, she wrapped her face and hair in another piece of dark fabric before leaping into the air. Thanks to the wind enchantment on her feet, she bounced swiftly towards the Forbidden Forest, gliding gracefully in the shadows. The trees there were massive, with branches as thick as Hagrid, the gamekeeper’s waist.

Landing on one of the sturdy branches, she crouched low, focusing her sense. She moved from tree to tree, quick and silent like a squirrel, so smoothly that no creature in the forest noticed her presence. Before long, she spotted Quirrell deep within the forest. Cloaked in darkness, he had his wand at the ready, searching for something.

What’s he looking for? Scarlet wondered, noticing that Quirrell wasn’t searching the ground or the trees. It seemed like he was hunting a large creature.

As he ventured deeper into the forest, Scarlet kept her breaths shallow, maintaining her concealment.

There were occasional clearings in the woods, causing his pace to vary between slow and fast. Finally, he came to a halt, and not far from him, a majestic figure stood bathed in moonlight. Its presence exuded a pure and holy atmosphere, the silver gleam of its coat almost binding in the dark. Its horn shone as it bowed its head to nibble on some plants.

It was a unicorn, and the hooded figure found his target.

He raised his wand, preparing to strike. The unicorn remained unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows. But before he could cast the spell, a spear flew out of nowhere and thudded into the ground before him. Startled, the unicorn bolted into the night.

Scarlet could feel his fury from her perch, and in the next instant, a beam of magic shot from his wand. She leapt to another branch just in time, narrowly dodging the dangerous blast.

His rages intensified, and several more spells shot in Scarlet’s direction. All missed, and she seized the opportunity to retrieve her spear. With a swift motion, the sharp tip of Gáe Scáil pierced straight into the shoulder of the hooded figure. It was then that she realized this wasn’t Quirrell. No, this aura was far too dark for him - it had to be the soul fragment.

Rather than pressing her attack, she leapt back into the shadows, her stealth enchantments aiding her retreat. A surprise attack might work once, but she doubted it would twice.

The hooded figure led out a faint cry as the spear struck, but his grip on the wand remained steady, pointed at her. Whether he couldn’t feel the pain, didn’t care, or was simply enduring it, he remained focused, ready to bring her down. His speed with non-verbal magic was alarming - she knew how dangerous a caster could be if they could cast silently. Confronting him head-on when he was so clearly aware of her wasn’t a wise option.

But Scarlet wasn’t relying solely on her spear for offense - she’s a priestess, and her spear also served as her staff.

She tranced runic symbols in the air with the tip of her spear. As the mighty weapon glided smoothly, a gust of wind formed into blades, circling and slashing at the hooded figure. But he was fast, throwing up a protective spell that dissipated her wind blades in an instant.

Undeterred, she swiftly switched to another rune. Roots and branches, driven by her magic, broke free from earth, whipping toward him in an attempt to ensnare his limbs. But with another spell, he shredded them to pieces.

Not a word passes between them during the entire exchange - both remained utterly silent.

Just as she prepared to cast another enchantment, the hooded figure suddenly retreated, crawling away with starling speed.

Scarlet, “...”

She honed her senses, realising the mark she’d placed on Quirrell was now heading back toward the castle. She waited several more minutes to ensure he wouldn’t return before emerging from the shadows and dispelling her stealth enchantment.

Standing at the spot where he had started crawling, she examined the traces. Why would anyone choose to crawl? She wondered. Surely, running or flying would have been faster...

Before she could dwell on it, the sound of muffled hoofbeats caught her attention. Turning, she found herself face to face with several creatures – half-human, half-horse. Centaurs.

Centaurs, the ancient inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest, typically avoided conflict with children but were notoriously hostile toward adult wizards. All of them staring at her now, and beside them stood the unicorn - perhaps it had led the centaurs to her.

Scarlet held her spear behind her back and pulled down the fabric that covered her face. “Greetings. I apologise for entering uninvited at night. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve cleaned up the mess.”

“A foal.” one of the centaurs murmured, followed by gasps and whispers, “A foal who fought off the creeper.”

Scarlet frowned, “It seems that being has been causing trouble for you?”

“It kills unicorns,” the leading centaur replied, his voice grave, “Your name, little foal.”

“Scarlet Smith Hong.” she introduced herself, “Priestess of Queen Scáthach.”

More gasps followed, and the tension among the centaurs visibly eased at the mention of her title. The leader, however, seemed puzzled. “A Druid?”

“Not yet.” Scarlet replied while kept away her spear, “I’m still studying. For now, I’m staying at Hogwarts, likely for seven years as a student.”

The centaurs exchanged disapproving glances, clearly unimpressed by the mention of wizards.

“I cannot see your path; your star is concealed,” The leader said, his tone concern. “But thank you, Priestess of the Queen of Shadowy Land, for protecting the pure creature.”

“You’re welcome.” Scarlet said after a brief pause. “I’ll work to resolve this problem as soon as I can, but I promise it will be dealt with within a year.” She was confident, knowing this was the protagonist’s challenge for his first year, and a new one would arise next year.

“In the meantime...” She glanced at the unicorn. “Would it be alright if I provided the unicorns with some protection? Something to alert me if they’re under attack?”

The leading centaur frowned. “We have nothing to offer you, Honourable Priestess, for you do not seem to value divination or astrology.”

“I’m not asking for anything,” Scarlet replied, meeting his gaze. “I just want to oppose that hooded figure. Do you accept my offer?”

The centaurs exchanged glances, then nodded in unison, “We are grateful, Honourable Priestess. You are welcome to our tribe as an esteemed guest.”

“I’ll visit one day, as for now,” Scarlet pulling out several jade pendants and handing them to the leader, “place these on the foals of the unicorns. I’ll bring more in a few days. Will a hundred be enough?”

“Fifty-five will suffice,” the centaur replied.

“A hundred it is,” Scarlet said with a smile, “These can also serve as protective talisman. You can give them to your young ones.”

She then leapt onto a nearby branch, tracing runic symbols in the air. The ruined area glowed green as roots returned to the earth, and broken branches sprouted new leaves. “I must leave now. I’ll see you again, perhaps during the night hours.”

And in the blink of an eye, the red-haired girl vanished from their sight.