Born From Madness (Harry Potter Fanfic)

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They walked silently through the forest, which was consumed in darkness except for a few beams of moonlight that flickered through the tree's branches. Soon they found a small puddle of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. 

"Could a werewolf be kill the unicorns?" Harry asked. 

"No way. Last Wednesday wasn't a full moon and neither was last night when the unicorns were attack," Hermione explained to him, "plus it's not easy to catch a unicorn. They're really powerful magic creatures. It's even rare to have one hurt." 

They continued walking through the forest when suddenly Hagrid stiffened and demanded for them to get behind a tree. He motioned for them behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it in his crossbow. They listened and heard the sound of something slithering around the dead leaves. The sound finally faded after a few seconds. 

"I knew it. Something's out there that shouldn't be." Hagrid mumbled. 

"A werewolf?" Harry whispered. 

"No!" Hermione shot at him before roughly punching him in the arm since she literally just told him why it couldn't be one. Hagrid motioned for them to come from the tree and they proceeded, more slowly than usual. Suddenly a loud thudding noise caught there ears. 

"Who's there?" Hagrid called out, "Show yourself--I'm armed!" 

Soon from the clearing ahead of them, a man with the waist down the body of a horse galloped towards them. Hermione's eyes widened as her mouth dropped. 

"Oh, it's you Ronan. Beg your pardon, how are you?" Hagrid said. 

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," Ronan told them, "Were you going to shoot me?" 

"Can't be too careful, Ronan. Something that doesn't belong here, has been lurking in this forest. Oh! This is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. And this is Ronan, you two. He's a Centaur." 

Hermione nodded that she knew what he was. Ronan's eyes widened as he took a few steps towards Hermione. 

"Bless my soul, it's Hermione Granger? Granddaughter of the Ancient One," Ronan mumbled before bowing his head, "It's an honor to be in your presence." 

Hermione tilted her head. Granddaughter of the Ancient One, Hermione thought wondering what he could have meant. Soon Ronan lifted his head till he was looking up at the stars. 

"Mars is bright tonight, unusually bright." Ronan pointed out. Hermione gazed up where she found Mars beaming overhead. 

"yeah, I'm actually glad to run into you. There's a unicorn that's been hurt badly. Have you seen anything?" Hagrid asked. Before Ronan could speak, there was another rustle of leaves as another centaur walked into the clearing.

"Hello Bane," Said Hagrid, "All right?" 

"Good evening, Hagrid. I hope you are well?" 

"Well enough. I've been asking Ronan if you seen anything odd in here lately? There's a unicorn that's injured. Would you know anything about it?" Hagrid asked them. However, Bane didn't answer him. Hagrid then cleared his throat, "Well if either of you do see anything, let me know, won't you? We'll be off then." 

Hagrid motioned for them to go ahead of him as they left the Centaurs alone to themselves. They walked through the dense, dark tress. Hermione kept glancing over her shoulder. She couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. Soon her nervousness shifted to panic when her eyes saw red sparks. 

"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble." Hermione warned him. 

"You two stay here! Stay on the path! I'll come back for you." Hagrid claimed before vanishing off into the undergrowth. Hermione and Harry shared looks of concern. They didn't care if Malfoy was hurt, but if anything happened to Neville than it would be on them. As they stood there and waited, Hermione jolted when she heard something walking right behind them. From the corner of her eye, she saw something running pass them.