Hagrid and Fang were frequent visitors to the Forbidden Forest and were very familiar with the forest. After walking for about ten minutes, the two of them and the dog found the place where the unicorn bloodstains were found.
“It’s already solidified.”
Albert picked up a branch, poked the blood that had already solidified on the ground and said to Hagrid, "It shouldn't be here. What we need to look for should be fresh blood."
Hagrid was a little confused and didn't understand what this meant, but he nodded anyway. It turned out that it was right for him to bring Albert here.
"Hagrid, is this place far from the nest of those giant eight-eyed spiders?" Albert asked out of caution.
After all, he did have a grudge against those giant eight-eyed spiders, and he was not as lucky as Potter, so he should be careful to avoid being attacked for no reason.
"Don't worry, I'm here, you're safe." Hagrid patted his chest and assured, "Besides, the Acromantula rarely comes out to hunt during the day."
"Hagrid, you seem to believe that those big spiders won't hurt you?" Albert said to Hagrid as he looked at Fang sniffing everywhere.
"I trust Aragog," said Hagrid.
"Aragog, the giant eight-eyed spider you raised?" Albert suddenly asked, "How old is it?"
"How old?" Hagrid stopped and looked at Albert who was checking the bloodstains. He thought for a moment and answered, "About fifty!"
"How long can a giant spider live?" Albert asked again.
"That... I'm not too sure." Hagrid shook his head. Although he had raised giant eight-eyed spiders before, his understanding of them was very limited.
"It's been fifty years. The lifespan of that eight-eyed giant spider should be reaching its limit." Albert stopped and looked around. He found that the two had lost the blood trail.
It's really hard to find during the day.
"Maybe you should wait until night time to come over. It will be easier that way." Albert muttered.
"Do you think Aragog is dying?" Hagrid heard Albert's words and his mind was no longer on looking for the unicorn.
"Fifty years is a very long lifespan for a spider." Albert looked at the lost Hagrid and kicked his boots. "But don't worry, Aragog should be able to live for a few more years."
"You won't understand that feeling, hatching it from an egg and slowly raising it to adulthood." Hagrid said disappointedly. Albert's words made him realize that Aragog was indeed very old.
"Hagrid, I know you like those dangerous creatures, but I still have to remind you again that this is the Forbidden Forest and you should cheer up." Albert reminded.
"I know this is the Forbidden Forest. I've been here countless times when I was a game keeper. To be honest, there are no dangerous creatures outside the Forbidden Forest." Hagrid said to himself as if to vent his inner dissatisfaction, "Let alone werewolves, there are not even forest trolls. The headmaster forbids students from entering the Forbidden Forest because he is more worried that they will get lost in the Forbidden Forest."
"Are you sure?" Albert's mouth trembled slightly. He raised his wand and pointed it in a certain direction. He could feel that there was something there.
"That's a Thestral." Hagrid quickly stopped Albert from using magic. "There are a bunch of Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest. They are responsible for pulling the carriages that students ride to school. You should know what a Thestral is, right?"
"Yes, it's the Thestrals that can only be seen by people who have seen death." Albert lowered his wand but did not completely relax his vigilance.
"Yes, that's it. The Thestrals just have a bad reputation." Hagrid asked with a smile, "Do you want to try riding one?"
"May I?"
"sure!"
Hagrid let Albert experience the feeling of riding a Thestral.
The backs of the Night Riders are soft and smooth, and it doesn't feel uncomfortable to sit on them. They are also gentler than you might think.
"What do they eat?"
"Blood and raw meat." Hagrid scratched his head, not understanding why Albert asked this.
"Maybe we can really ask them to help find the unicorn. I think there shouldn't be many injured animals in the forest!" Albert put forward his idea to Hagrid after getting off the Thestral.
"Well... the Thestrals are very smart, but I'm not sure if this method will work." Hagrid thought about it and decided that this method was worth a try.
After all, the Thestrals are not human and cannot communicate well. Even though Hagrid tried hard, he failed in the end.
Albert was not surprised. This was within his expectations. He asked Hagrid to try it just to see if there was any risk of losing out.
The two had no choice but to continue looking for the unicorn.
"I heard that after a period of time after a unicorn dies, its blood will become highly poisonous. Is that true?" Albert asked.
"Not sure." Hagrid shook his head. He really didn't know: "Very few wizards would cruelly kill such pure lives."
"That's because the profit is not big enough. If a unicorn is worth a thousand Galleons, or even more, believe it or not, it will soon become an endangered species." Albert couldn't help but laugh at himself and said, "Don't forget, there are a lot of dragon livers, dragon blood, dragon skins, dragon meat, dragon claws... These transactions are all legal."
"Maybe you are right."
Hagrid thought Albert's words made sense. There were indeed no unicorn organs for sale on the market. What were more common were unicorn tail hair and horns, which were extremely expensive.
Even if a unicorn's horn is cut off, it can grow back again.
Otherwise, for every unicorn horn, a unicorn would be killed, and these creatures would have become extinct long ago.
After wandering in the forbidden forest for more than an hour, the two men and the dog still found nothing. Yaya no longer had the initial energy and was panting with his tongue hanging down.
During this time, Albert also tried many methods, but to no avail. Perhaps the unicorn was not dead yet, or perhaps the unicorn's fur directly resisted the summoning of the Flying Spell.
Many magical creatures with powerful magical powers can do this.
"I wonder how careless Dumbledore is to let Potter come into the Forbidden Forest to look for unicorns." Albert complained in his heart and continued to follow Hagrid along the blood trail they found.
They had begun to venture deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
"It's closer, the blood hasn't completely coagulated yet!" Hagrid rubbed the blood on the tip of his tongue, as if he wanted to put it in his mouth to taste it, but seemed to have thought of something and gave up.
As they went deeper and deeper into the forest, the trees became extremely dense and the animal path could no longer be passed, but the bloodstains around them became more and more obvious.
In the end, they really found it, a unicorn lying in a pool of silver blood.
"It's dead, and it should have been dead for some time." Albert looked at the sad and beautiful unicorn in front of him and sighed softly.
Hagrid walked up quickly and checked the wound on the unicorn. It was not a scratch or bite wound, but something pierced through the abdomen.
"It must be magic, right? Maybe you are right, there are dark wizards hunting unicorns." Hagrid's face looked very ugly.
"Should there be other people around?" Albert explained, "I mean, did the dark wizard succeed?"
"Probably not. I didn't find any traces of other people around." Hagrid shook his head.
"What are you going to do now?" Albert asked again, "Bury it directly? Or let Dumbledore come and check it out to find out what kind of dark magic killed this unicorn."
"Bury it!" said Hagrid, clenching his fist.
"Um, Hagrid?"
"What's up?"
Hagrid asked in confusion when he saw the pit Albert had made with magic.
"Can I take the horn?" Albert pointed to the horn on the unicorn's head.
Most of the unicorn horns on the market have been processed, just like dragon claws. They are basically ground into powder and sold in bottles.
"What do you want this for?"
"The unicorn's horn has a strong detoxifying effect, and it is basically impossible to buy a complete unicorn horn on the market." Albert made up an excuse casually. He couldn't say that this was the reward for his mission!
"Well, take it if you want!" Hagrid did not refuse.
After all, the unicorn is dead.
"Thanks."
Albert used the cutting spell to carefully cut off the unicorn's horn and put it into his own transformed lizard skin bag.
"I should be the one thanking you."
After burying the unicorn, the two began their return journey.
The return journey was much faster than the coming journey. Hagrid first went back to the hut, packed up the crossbow and arrows, and then went to the headmaster's office alone to report the matter to Dumbledore.