Hogwarts: Bourne Returns from Warhammer

Chapter 87 Another kind of power

Hagrid had collected some fallen leaves, spread them out into a mattress, and placed the unicorn who was about to give birth on it.

She was as white as pearls, her eyes were half-open and half-closed, and the horn on her head was shining brightly.

Even though unicorns are about the same size as a mare, they are actually very strong. A herd consisting of dozens of unicorns has almost no natural enemies in the Forbidden Forest.

"Taylor Swift has been unable to eat since the day," Hagrid liked to name the magical animals he knew. "Even her companions only ate a few berries picked by her companions."

Although unicorns cannot speak, they are actually highly intelligent magical creatures with moral values.

Whether mating or giving birth, they will avoid other members of the group. The latter situation is often the most vulnerable moment for unicorns as adults, and they are easily attacked by other animals and poachers.

Fortunately, these unicorns living in the Forbidden Forest are protected by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: not only Hagrid, the Forbidden Forest Warden, but also the centaurs who also live on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest will help expel some. A ferocious beast.

But the problem is, neither Hagrid nor the centaurs have any experience in helping unicorns give birth.

Moreover, this unicorn named "Tiffany" has just grown up, and this birth is her first child, and she also has little experience.

In previous years, if he encountered this kind of situation, Hagrid would seek help from Professor Kettleburn. Now, because the old wizard was on leave due to illness, Hagrid turned to Scamander, who was teaching Kettleburn.

"Hello, Swift, my name is Newt," Scamander said softly as he walked up to the unicorn and knelt down to stroke her mane.

Before coming over, he specifically let Swift see him tidying up his appearance, and also performed a 'Clean Up' technique.

Unicorns have a slight mysophobia, and Scamander's purpose in doing this is to make "pregnant" Swift feel more comfortable and reduce her nervousness.

He had a suitcase in his hands, set it down on the grass, fiddled with the knobs and opened it. There were branches of many kinds of magical plants with flowers on them - several plants did not even bloom in this season - it was obvious that the old wizard had cast a spell on them.

Scamander first took out a red oak branch and put the flowers in front of the unicorn's nose for it to sniff, but Swift had no reaction.

Then, he took out another acacia branch and performed the same operation as before, except this time Swift sneezed slightly, and her bulging abdomen also trembled slightly.

"I probably know what's going on. It's not a big problem," Scamander stroked Swift's mane and wiped the sweat-stained hair very thoughtfully.

The words of the old expert made Hagrid finally feel relieved. "Merlin's beard," he said, "As long as it's alright, it's alright."

"Bourne, George, Fred, since you want to take the qualification assessment of the 'Forbidden Forest Assistant', the first question is: explain the inspection I just did for Swift. How did it work? Is something going on?"

He nodded to Hagrid, signaling to the Forbidden Forest guard that there was no need to worry. After all, unicorn "expectant mother" Swift's current situation is not serious, and her problems cannot be solved in a hurry.

George and Fred looked at each other.

Although they, the third graders, had taken the Care of Magical Creatures course and had read the textbook written by Professor Scamander, they were sure that they had never done anything like the old wizard just now in the class or in the textbook. Matter-related content.

"Why don't you think about it again? Let me give you a hint: the protection of magical animals is also a kind of magic. Magic requires intuition and some bypassing..."

Scamander looked at the three little wizards with a smile. When he saw Bourne looking at the wand in his hand, he knew that his problem had been solved.

"Professor Scamander, I got the inspiration from the material of the wand.

Red oak, because wizards who use this wand material are usually considered to be grumpy people who are easily angered, so I guess the first time you check the red oak branch is to confirm whether Swift is angry or not. There is something dissatisfying about.

Acacia wood, in wandology, is a magical material suitable for sensitive and delicate wizards. You used it to conduct inspections and produced results. I guess that may mean that the surrounding environment made Swift feel a little nervous, and then As a result, she was unable to give birth to cubs successfully. "

"That's a perfect answer. I definitely wouldn't have been able to answer it at your age. Ten points for Gryffindor." Professor Scamander nodded with satisfaction.

"Hagrid," he then said to the guard of the Forbidden Forest: "Unicorns are very sensitive magical animals, and expectant unicorn mothers are even more so. If there is anything 'unclean' nearby, They can sense it even if they are several miles away. However, judging from Swift's current situation, she did not make a big fuss and did not take the initiative to ask her companions in the group to wait nearby. Those 'dirty' things are probably not dangerous. Dark magical creatures, I guess they are mostly ghosts wandering around in the forest."

"Then what should we do next?" Hagrid was impatient and asked immediately: "How about I go around and look for those ghosts and let them wander somewhere else?"

"No need to bother, just find a way to ease the tension. With the strength of a unicorn, Swift will definitely be able to give birth to the baby smoothly."

Scamander was certain.

He asked Hagrid and several little wizards to weave a large net out of dry tree vines, then lifted Swift up onto it and dragged her all the way to a small river near the clearing.

They lifted Swift up and led the unicorn mother step by step into the quietly flowing river until the water covered her chest.

"The buoyancy of the river water will reduce her weight burden, the flowing water can also massage her muscles, and the river water can also block our line of sight - these will make Swift feel relaxed." Scamander explained briefly, and then He took out a pocket watch from his pocket.

"Based on the normal delivery conditions of unicorns, plus the examination of her physical condition, Swift should be able to successfully give birth to the cub in 5 minutes at most," he adjusted the button of the pocket watch, which also has a timing function. , "We have to prepare for a new little life."

It can only be said that Professor Scamander is worthy of being the most famous magical animal protection expert today. His understanding of magical animals is so accurate that it makes people feel numb!

The count hand on the pocket watch rotated three and a half times. About three and a half minutes later, a cry similar to a baby's cry came from the water.

According to Professor Scamander's arrangement, Hagrid immediately waded over and hugged Swift's weakened body, helping her out of the river little by little. The old wizard quickly walked to the bottom of the water, plunged into the water, and then emerged from the water with his hands wrapped around a big "bubble" stained with some silver-blue blood.

With the support of Bourne and the Weasley twins, Professor Scamander walked to the shore on the soft mud of the river. Without taking a breath, he quickly turned his wand into a scalpel and gently made a gap in the "bubble".

"啾啾~~"

A unicorn cub with a small horn on its head emerged from the gap. It was wet, so the old professor used the clean cotton cloth that had been prepared to dry the liquid in the fetal sac, and then wrapped the newborn unicorn properly with a brand new blanket.

"It's done." After doing all this, Professor Scamander immediately picked it up and placed the little life next to Swift, who was being wiped by Hagrid with a cotton cloth.

"Unicorns are born with horns on their heads, so they have this kind of fetal sac to protect the mother and child from harm. It is precisely because of this characteristic of them that I dared to let Swift give birth naturally while standing in the river."

Scamander cast another 'Clean Up' and 'Quick Drying' spells on himself, Hagrid and several young wizards, but he did not cast even a single spell on the unicorn and its cubs.

This is the protection of their mother and child.

Because unicorns and newborn cubs will be a little weak after childbirth, abuse of magic spells may have some bad effects on them.

"You have to pay attention. Pegasus such as Talisman, Iseron, and Thestral cannot use this method to relieve the mother's emotions during childbirth, because it may cause the newborn to drown."

It was so professional to draw inferences from one case to another. Even the Weasley twins recognized that the old wizard's performance at this time was really cool.

But what they don’t know is that something even cooler is yet to come——

"Xilulu!!!"

She was eating some fruits that Hagrid fed her to replenish the energy consumed by childbirth. She suddenly spat out the food in her mouth and let out an impatient neigh.

In order to protect themselves and their young, postpartum female unicorns will become more sensitive than usual, especially to dark magic and evil creatures.

The reason why Swift neighed was because she felt a dangerous aura approaching her and her baby.

Moreover, this dangerous aura was far stronger and more direct than the evil aura she felt a few days before giving birth.

It's as if... the other party is coming for her!
Due to the effect of magic, everyone present heard the panic and urgency in the unicorn mother's cry, and probably understood what she wanted to express.

"Professor Scamander! Take Swifty, mother and son, and these little wizards away first."

Hagrid stood up and took out a huge slingshot from his coat pocket. Although he did not bring his own crossbow today, he still planned to help everyone.

Born in Gryffindor, Hagrid was always a very brave person. Moreover, even if he encounters any danger in the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid feels that he can go further into the depths. Once he reaches the territory of his old friend Aragog, he will be safe.

And just as he finished speaking, the bushes next to the forest clearing not far away also began to rustle, and two centaurs holding short spears and bows and arrows emerged from the woods. .

"Ronan, Bain, why are you here?"

Because of his own bloodline, Hagrid could clearly see the appearance of the two centaurs through the moonlight: Ronan's hair was somewhat maroon, while Bain's naked upper body had many scars like earthworms.

"Hagrid!"

Seeing his friend, Ronan moved his hooves and ran over quickly.

"Bain and I are chasing a poacher. The guy has been poaching a group of moon-crazed beasts during this period, and he also faked the traces of the horned beasts' predation. However, the elders of our tribe discovered the poacher's tricks through the Mars warning. .

Bain and I seemed to bump into that guy when we were patrolling the forest, and we chased him all the way. We heard the neighing of the unicorn here and stopped by to take a look. "

This centaur spoke human language very fluently. He obviously chatted with Hagrid frequently, unlike his teammate Bain, who only said hello to Hagrid in centaur after meeting.

The Moon-Crazy Beast and the Divine-Horned Beast he mentioned are two magical animals.

The lunar beast is a very shy herbivore that only comes out of its burrow at night when the moon is full. Their skin is smooth and light gray, with four slender legs, four flat feet underneath, and a pair of bulging eyes on the top of their heads.

As soon as the moon-crazy beast comes into the moonlight, it will stand on its two hind legs and begin to dance a very complicated dance. It's thought to be part of a mating ritual, but the intricate geometric patterns they leave in wheat fields can be confusing to Muggles.

If the Moon Crazy Beast excrement can be collected before sunrise, it can be used as fertilizer, allowing magic plants to grow quickly and robustly.

The God-horned Beast is the natural enemy of the Moon-Child Beast, and it mainly feeds on the Moon-Child Beast.

The head of the horned beast is like a frog, with a single horn and bright red eyes. It has curved fangs in its mouth and is similar in size to a large dog.

The magic of the horned beast mainly exists in its horns. Their horns can be ground into powder and taken directly to prevent people from being affected by alcohol, and they can stay awake for seven days and seven nights. After being concocted, it becomes a must for brewing energy potions. One of the materials.

Both of these magical animals are native to the Americas, but are also found in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.

At the same time, they are also two economic species that the centaurs are responsible for managing. The harvested materials can be traded with the magic school in exchange for food and other items needed by the tribe.

It can be said that secretly hunting the Moon-Crazy Beast definitely violates the core interests of the centaurs tribe, and it is no wonder that they are hunted down.

After a brief chat, Centaur Ronan and Bain were ready to continue hunting the poacher, but the old wizard Scamander stopped them.

"You'd better not leave." Scamander said in a very serious tone: "The unicorn Swift has now stood up from the ground, and she is calling her tribe."

Although Swift did not continue to neigh, her silver-white tail kept waving, making a "swish" sound.

This is a unique way of communication among unicorns. You must know that their tail hairs can be used to make magic materials for the core of wands. After being waved, the friction and collision will produce a special magic effect.

Even dozens of miles away, if a unicorn waves its tail at a specific frequency, other unicorns can detect it. Many times, this method is far more efficient than screaming loudly to communicate with each other.

However, Scamander may not have expressed it clearly, but Bain, who has many scars on his body, actually felt offended.

"Wizard, do you want to look down on the centaur warriors? Besides, the elders of the tribe have already observed the starry sky. We are not in danger tonight."

Seeing that the introverted old professor wanted to say something, but didn't know how to speak because he was not good at expressing himself, Bourne immediately "stepped forward".

"Is there a possibility-"

He analyzed carefully.

"——The reason why you are safe and secure today is because you listened to the advice and did not wander around?"

"What are you talking about?!" Bain raised his two front hooves angrily, standing upright, and the short spear in his hand was chopping the air as a demonstration.

Seeing this, his companion Ronan quickly grabbed him. "Bane, what are you doing, don't scare a foal!"

"But……"

Before Bain could say anything else, Professor Scamander put his suitcase on the ground and lifted the lid with a click.

"Dougal."

The old wizard shouted a name into the air, and then took out a handful of bananas from the box and waved them, as if he had suddenly become dizzy.

However, when they witnessed with their own eyes the banana quickly turned into a pile of banana peels in a burst of "chirp", everyone present realized that Scamander was talking to a "friend" with the ability to become invisible.

Bourne guessed that it was probably an invisible beast (it could never be a hidden monster), and he also had some guesses as to why Professor Scamander wanted to "summon" this companion.

"Can you help me predict where the poacher is?" Scamander pulled the lid of the box that was about to close, stopping the invisible friend from eating a midnight snack and then turning back to go home to rest. .

An invisible beast that looked like a gorilla but had snow-white hair all over its body suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

It stared at its round eyes as big as eggs, scratched its scalp with one hand, and then hooked its fingers at Newt with the other hand.

In addition to the invisibility ability, another ability of the invisible beast is prophecy. Although their predictions cannot be made very far in advance, to be honest, their accuracy in predicting what is about to happen is actually quite high.

A man-eating creature with a short mouth, this invisible beast named Dougal ate Scamander's midnight snack and could only make a prophecy for his old friend.

And when it opened its eyes again, it ignored Scamander's obstruction at all, pointed in a direction of the Forbidden Forest, and jumped into the suitcase again.

"Dougal 'saw' that guy. It's in that direction, very far away from us..." Before Scamander could finish his words, a "sparking" thunderbolt explosion curse shot out from the bushes. .

And the target it aimed at - neither a unicorn, nor a centaur, nor Hagrid or Scamander - was actually the little wizard Bourne.

How much hatred is there?

"Be careful!" Professor Scamander shouted. Unlike a master of spells like Dumbledore, he could not quickly release the 'armor protection'.

However, if anyone underestimates this old man because of this, he is really wrong.

After all, Newt Scamander was the man who single-handedly dealt with the last "Dark Lord" Grindelwald.

He just opened the box, and he didn't just wake up the sleeping invisible beast Dougal, he also took out another magical animal he raised.

Just when the spell was about to explode in front of Bourne, something like a "Yo-Yo" suddenly appeared in Scamander's palm - the curled up pig brain dinner that Newt carefully prepared every day. Winged Demon - It grows in the wind and turns into a magical creature with a pair of blue-green wings. It looks like a reptile and a huge butterfly.

When the Thunderbolt Explosion Curse touched its prickly, dark green back, it was like sparks submerged in a puddle of clear water, and there was no sound in an instant.

"Attack, Freddy!"

Scamander summoned a breeze with his magic wand, providing another boost to the flying winged demon. It seemed to transform into a quiet god of death, and suddenly it pounced on the demon that had just been lifted due to the use of a spell sneak attack. A wizard in the state of Disillusionment.

Even though he was wearing a silver-white metal mask, Quirrell still didn't dare to use his face to greet such a magical animal that although he didn't recognize it, he knew it was dangerous just by looking at its appearance.

"Avada Kedavra!"

For the first time in his life, Quirrell cast the spell known as the "Unforgivable", and a bolt of green lightning shot out from the tip of his wand.

However, the first time was still the first time. Although he shot quickly, his aim was not very accurate.

The powerful life-killing curse missed a little, and the Winged Demon made a 370° spin in the air to avoid the curse.

Seeing this scene, everyone present was shocked - after all, the death curse is a bit too creepy.

However, for an Astartes warrior, danger will actually make him more fighting spirit most of the time.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Bane transformed into the "Primaris Astartes" form. When the centaur Bane had no chance to react, he snatched the short spear in his hand.

At the same time, Bourne also waved the wand, which followed the transformation of his Magus, and its appearance changed dramatically.

"All petrified!"

However, although what he roared out was the spell of "turn everything to stone", because he actively "selected" the mutation of the spell, what was released from the wand was a torrent of plasma that was so intense that it was impossible to look directly at it. .

Not only that, while the torrent of plasma surged out, he also very "insidiously" threw the short spear he grabbed as a javelin.

With a two-pronged approach, he must be determined and want to take the enemy's life with one blow.

(End of this chapter)