Sol is currently observing Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco whilst under the effects of the Disillusionment Charm. A few minutes earlier, Professor McGonagall told them to go to sleep for now. Tomorrow night, they will follow Mr. Filch, who will hand out their punishment. As the four left the classroom, Sol quickly went ahead of them and entered the common room to not raise any suspicion. He went to sleep after he was absolutely sure that those three went to bed.

The Next Day

The atmosphere in the common room is certainly awkward as the students of Gryffindor are sulking from having 150 points deducted from them. And most of all many of them are blaming and glaring at Harry and the other two which Sol found a bit amusing.

He didn’t care for the points as it did absolutely nothing. Winning the house cup had no merits. They mentioned it to only be an honor. It didn’t grant any special privileges. Hell, Slytherin won last year and there were no changes. It would at least be acceptable if winning the house cup would give you rewards such as better facilities or canceling exams but there was nothing. So, all Sol did was just look at the students sulking with a bemused expression on his face.

“Next time they try to walk around after hours- I’ll stop them.” Neville who was beside Sol muttered resolutely.

“You will?” Sol asked him.

“Absolutely.”

“How?”

“That’s...”

“Yeah, go on,” Sol looked at him with a mocking smile on his face.

“I'll use magic on them,” Neville replied after a lot of thinking.

Sol rested his chin on his hand, “Oh? You’re going to use magic on Hermione who on top of being a girl, also knows way more spells than you?”

“But...” Neville massaged his temples and closed his eyes as if thinking of a solution. He suddenly opened his eyes, “Sol, teach me.”

Sol had a surprised expression on his face, “T-Teach you? What? How to use violence against a girl?”

“Oh come on, don’t put it like that. I just want to stop them from getting our points deducted.”

Sol let out a sigh, then he stood up and motioned Neville to follow him. Neville was confused but still did as he was asked to. Sol led him to a mirror and made him stand in front of it.

He pointed at Neville's reflection, “What do you see?”

“Me?”

“You're not sure?” Sol said with a bit of force

“N-No, it’s me.”

“That’s right. Look at yourself, do you think you need magic to stop a girl?”

Neville looked at himself, he was a bit chubby. It added a bit of childish charm to his character.

“Yes...wait-” Sol narrowed his eyes at him, “No...”

“That’s a good chap.” He pointed at his arms, “See those muscles, just show her your fighting stance and she’ll back off. You have the muscles to make her scared.”

Neville looked at Sol and then back to his reflection. He then poked his biceps to feel his muscles which there were none of. He then looked at Sol again who had an encouraging look. He closed his eyes and thought about it. After a while, he opened his eyes with a resolute look on his face. “You’re right. I don’t need magic. I’ll just fight her.”

He decided to believe Sol. He never lied to him before. He even cured his parents, which Neville was ever grateful for. So if Sol tells him that he doesn’t need magic to beat a girl, then he doesn’t.

“That's a good chap.” Sol patted his back, “Now go, train your punches.”

“Alright!” having said that, Neville left to god knows where.

Seeing him leave, Sol had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud.

Shit, that actually worked! Haha!

Katie who was nearby had witnessed the entire thing yet hadn’t heard a thing as the two were talking in a low voice. She walked up to Sol who was still shaking and covering his mouth, “What did you say to Neville?”

Sol having been too amused said, “Oh, nothing. Just taught him how to fight...girls...” Sol swiveled his head to turn around to see Katie looking at him with a scary smile on her face. His expression immediately turned pale.

“What are you teaching your junior?!” Thwack!

“Ow!”

At Night

Harry, Ron, and Hermione alongside Draco followed Filch out of the castle and towards Hagrid's with Sol following closely behind. Sol was a bit confused as to why Filch would lead four first-year students out of the castle this late at night. But what he heard next completely stunned him.

“You’ll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He’s got a job to do, inside the Dark Forest.” Filch said with his low, gravelly voice.

No! There is no way in hell you are letting four first years inside the Forbidden Forest. This is lunacy. Utter lunacy. At least let one of the professors go with them. What kind of protection do you think a squib and a gatekeeper can provide?

Even though this shocked him, he was a bit glad that he kept empty vials inside his robes at all times. Now that he knew he was going inside the Dark Forest, he was going to use this opportunity to gather some herbs.

They came in front of Hagrid's hut. Hagrid opened the door with a crossbow on his back. He came in front of a campfire that was burning in front of his hut and tended to it.

“Sorry a lot for this Hagrid,” Filch greeted him.

Hagrid was sniffling as he tended to the campfire. It seemed he had been crying before.

“Good God man, you’re not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?” Filch rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.

Hagrid said with a shaky voice, “Norbert's gone... Dumbledore sent him off to Romania. To live in a colony.”

Huh? That quick? I mean it makes sense, you can’t let a dragon be raised on school grounds under any circumstances.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? He’ll be with his own kind.” Hermione consoled.

“But what if he don’t like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He’s only a baby after all.”

That’s a good concern. Dragons do have a hierarchy based on strength. If you’re weak, then you’ll absolutely get pummeled. Especially outsiders. Though, I’m not sure if dragons here are the same as well.

“Oh for God's sake man, pull yourself together. You’re going into the forest after all...” Finch said then in a quiet, nasally voice, “Got to keep your wits about you.”

“The forest? I thought that was a joke! We can’t go there! Students aren’t allowed. And there are...-“ Draco's voice got smaller and smaller as Filch turned to look at him. At this point, a howl could be heard as if it was trying to drive his point home, “-werewolves.”

“There are a lot more than werewolves in those forests, lad. You can be sure of that,” Filch didn’t even try to ease their worries. So all four of the first year’s had a distressed look on their faces as they glanced at the dark, sinister forest behind Hagrid's hut.

“Nighty night,” Filch looked around before leaving them with Hagrid.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

O-Oi! You're leaving like that? You’re leaving four first years in Hagrid's hand? Are you mental?! I was fussing about it being the two of you and now you’ll just leave like a dad who said he’ll go out to buy some milk? You fucking with me?!

Hagrid looked at the four and loaded his crossbow, “Right. Let's go.” Having said that, he led the four into the dark forest with Fang, his dog. Sol also followed them from behind, invisibly.

Haah~ something bad's going to happen, isn’t it?

The four are led by Hagrid through the forest as he illuminates the way with a lamp. Sol following closely behind. He doesn’t need light as Mana Eyes takes care of his vision during the night to a certain extent. It doesn’t help that there’s mana inside the forest. But the mana doesn’t feel as evil as one would think. Sol can’t help but wonder why it’s called the Dark Forest. The atmosphere is certainly eerie and there were some weird sounds but it’s not that bad. He hasn’t even been attacked yet.

After a bit of walking, the group comes to a halt as Hagrid notices something on the ground. Hagrid kneels down to inspect it. Sol didn’t have a good view from where he stood so he changed his spot. He looked at where Hagrid was kneeling only to see a puddle of silvery substance which was emanating mana. Sol gasped inaudibly.

T-That's Unicorn blood! Hallelujah! That’s too valuable not to take. But how?

Hagrid dips his finger in the puddle and rubs it, seemingly inspecting it.

“Hagrid, what’s that?” Harry asked with a concerned look.

“What we’re here for. See this? This is Unicorn Blood, this is. I found one dead, a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been hurt bad by something.” Hagrid spoke with a serious expression.

Suddenly the wind howled and Harry swiveled his head to the left as if there was something nearby. Sol had seen it too. However, unlike Harry, he knew what it was or rather who it was and he wasn’t particularly surprised by it either.

Right...it's Quirrell. Had I not used Mana Eyes I might not have known.

“So it’s our job to find the poor beast,” Hagrid continued, “Ron, Hermione, you'll come with me-“

“Okay,” Ron replied with fear in his voice.

“-And Harry...you'll go with Malfoy.”

Harry nodded. Malfoy clearly scared, told Hagrid, “Okay, then I get Fang.”

“Fine, just so you should know- he’s a bloody coward.” Hagrid agreed. Fang whimpered either in protest or fear.

Sol looked at Hagrid with a shocked expression.

W-W-What the fuck are you doing?! You’re letting two eleven-year-olds roam around the Forbidden fucking Forest alone?! Why? No, seriously, why? This wouldn’t be called the Forbidden Forest if two first years could stumble around in it by their lonesome.

He was about to pop a vein. He let out a sigh as he tried to calm himself.

Chill out. Relax. Right, Harry should be the protagonist. He won’t die from this. Quirrell doing his thing in this exact night proves it. Actually, why is Quirrell here tonight? He should know about their punishment, right? Even if he is posing, he is still a professor. Couldn’t’ whatever he was doing waited lest he gets caught? Fuck, I’m falling behind!

He decided to follow Harry and Draco for two reasons. One was that he needn't worry about Hermione and Ron as Hagrid was with them and the other is because he wanted to see what would happen to Harry.

As he followed them closely, he would listen to Malfoy and Harry bickering. But he spared no thought to it as he was thinking of something much more important.

Hoo~ will I maybe see a dead Unicorn? Hehe! Oh the Unicorn's horn, oh it's blood! Mmh~... Shit! How will I get it though? Where can I sell the skin? Ah FUCK!!

As Sol was agonizing, Harry and Draco had found came across a small clearing. Rather it was Fang who came across it by sniffing the ground and leading them. There was a white unicorn lying on the ground with silvery blood trickling down its neck. There was a black creature(?) with its mouth on the Unicorn's neck. It seemed to be drinking its blood. Only when the creature lifted its head to look at them did Harry and Draco see what it was. The creature was humanoid with a black hood and robes adorning its body. Its face was shrouded in darkness and had silver blood trickling down its mouth. It’s not known whether the darkness of the night hid his face or whether it was magic.

“Argh!” Harry felt a pain in his scar as he looked at the creature.

“AHHHH!!!” Draco let out a scream and ran back with all his might, Fang following him like a scaredy-cat. Which was both contradictory and true to his nature.

Harry missed out on his chance to run and could only look as Draco left him behind. Draco's scream had also alerted Sol who was brought back to reality. He looked at the black creature only to roll his eyes.

Oh. It’s just Quirrell...

Quirrell started advancing towards Harry. He stuck close to the ground, slithering left and right like a ghost-snake? What the fuck? What hell was he doing? This was Sol's question as he tried his best not to roll on the ground and laugh as hard as he could. Harry took steps back, he was frightened as his breathing quickened. He tripped on a root as he walked backward, falling on his butt. He looked at Quirrell who was cosplaying as a ghost. He had a frightened expression on his face, his pupils dilating. Quirrell stood upright in front of him and advanced as Harry crawled back. His back hit a tree which meant that he had nowhere to escape. Quirrell came closer and closer about to kill(?) Harry. Just as Harry was about to resign himself to his fate, he heard the sound of hooves getting closer and closer.

Clop! Clop Clop Cloppity Clop!

Harry looked beside him as the sounds got closer and then with a jump, a centaur came into the fray. It got on its hind legs and waved its front legs at Quirrell, trying to shoo him away. And to Sol's surprise, he really did shoo himself away. Sol was almost reaching his breaking point by this time. What broke him was Quirrell ran away, slithering close to the ground before flying away with his arms stretched out. Sol quickly took out his wand and waved it around him, casting Regnum Ignotum.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! OH GOD PLEASE NO!!! HAHAHAHAHA!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!!! WHAT KIND OF GETAWAY WAS THAT??” Sol clutched his stomach as it was hurting from laughing so much. He laughed for a few more seconds before calming down. He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and said with a huge grin on his face, “Man, Harry sure is impressive! Had it been me I would have laughed...haha...at his...pfft...face.” He couldn’t talk well right now as he kept thinking back to what Quirrell was doing. He calmed himself down again and went to see what was happening with Harry and the Centaur.

“...It is a terrible crime to slay a Unicorn. Drinking the blood of a Unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure that from the moment the blood touches your lips, you will live a half-life- a cursed life.” the centaur was in the midst of explaining. However, this bit of information was unacceptable to Sol.

What is that?! That’s real?! I mean, I know there was something like this bit that was a fairytale. It was made to stop the excessive hunting of Unicorns. Why would you set a condition like that? Now, how am I supposed to- wait, did he say ‘You have slain something so pure, that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will live a half-life- a cursed life’? Doesn't that mean as long as I don’t slay the Unicorn myself, it's okay to use? Then that means Unicorns can use curses upon death or voodoo magic, a branch of Shamanism. Why though? If it's pure then it shouldn’t be able to use curses. I read about Unicorns before but I thought that they were using this story as a deterrent. Now that a centaur is telling me this I have no choice but to believe it. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, aren’t Centaurs a reclusive race? So why is it here?

“But who would choose such a life?” Harry wondered.

“Can you think of no one?”

“Do you mean to say...that that thing that killed the Unicorn, that drank its blood...was Voldemort?” Harry's eyes got wider and wider at the revelation.

Even though Sol knew that Voldemort was alive, he still wasn’t very happy to have it confirmed.

Ah, fucking son of a bitch, why couldn’t you just stay dead?

“Do you know what is hidden inside the school this very moment?”

“The Philosopher's Stone!” Harry gasped.

Next, the sound of running was heard as well as barking. Hagrid had come with Ron, Draco, and Hermione. Fang was there too, guess he went to call Hagrid.

“Harry!” Hermione screamed.

Hagrid looked at the centaur, “Hello there, Firenze. See you’ve met our young Mr. Potter. You alright there, Harry?”

Hoo~ so this centaur's name is Firenze and it speaks human language. Do all centaurs speak human language? Wait, why does Hagrid know his name? This must be one of the outcasts of the race...figures.

Harry nodded to Hagrid.

“Harry Potter, this is where I leave you. You’re safe now. Good luck,” having said his piece, Firenze left.

“Come on, Harry. Let's go.” Hagrid beckoned.

“What about the Unicorn?” Hermione asked.

“I'll take it away once I’ve sent you back.” Hagrid took away the four. Sol stayed there. He waited until Hagrid was far enough. He looked around and saw that there were no centaurs either. He then stealthily approached the dead Unicorn and took out a few vials. He uncorked the vials and pointed his wand towards the dead Unicorn. He used a bit of magic and streams of blood flew out of the Unicorn and filled the vials. Having filled all the vials he had on him, he had a huge smile on his face. He corked the vials and ran back to the castle as fast as he could. Using Body Reinforcement, he was faster than Hagrid and his group who were walking slowly and carefully. Though he made a bit of noise, the ambiance of the creepy forest more than made up for it.

He quickly entered the common room and saw that everyone had gone to sleep. Katie wasn’t waiting for him either as he had told her beforehand not to do so.

He quickly sat down on the sofa and lit a fire in the fireplace. Since it was still a bit cold outside, it justified him doing so. It also lit up the room a bit. After waiting a bit, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had finally entered the common room.

The three of them were a bit stunned seeing Sol sitting there, waving at them.

“H-Hello...” Ron greeted awkwardly.

“Why are you up?” Hermione asked.

“I waited for you guys to finish up,” Sol replied with an amiable smile on his face.

“What? Are you also worried about us getting points deducted?” Hermione scoffed.

“Not really. I don’t really care about points since the house cup is meaningless anyway- don’t tell the others I said that.”

“Then why are you here?”

“As I said, I was waiting for you guys. Well, that’s not the whole truth of course. I was also thinking a bit.”

“Thinking about what?” Harry asked.

Sol stared at him for a bit, “Hmm~ I was thinking of getting you a girlfriend.”

“M-Me?!”

“G-Girlfriend?!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Why not me too?” Ron asked earnestly.

The other three turn to look at him with a strange gaze. Feeling pressured, Ron asks in a quiet voice, “W-What?”

“Haah~ enough jokes. Go back to your rooms.”

“What about you?” Ron asked.

“I’ll tidy up here. Now, go.” Sol shooed them away.

As the three of them were walking upstairs, Sol could hear them whispering and gasping. He could guess what they were talking about.

“Sol!” Harry called from upstairs.

“Yeah?” Sol turned to look at them.

“We have to tell you something.”

“Is that so? Do it tomorrow. You guys have had a long night. Sleep now, you might even find the answer to your questions.” He waved them off with a smile and began to snuff out the fire. He could hear them whispering for a while before heading into their respective dorms. Knowing they had left, he let out a sigh.

What a long night...