A Web Of Magic

Magnus observed the wound on the unicorn for a moment. 'Now what kind of a beast would do that?' he wondered but he didn't give voice to any of his opinions. There'd be enough time for that later. He cast a quick diagnostic spell first. He quickly found traces of dark magic all over the wounds of the unicorn. He cast a Purify to cleanse the dark magic in the wounds first. Without removing the remnant traces, no healing spell would work effectively.

Moments later, thick black plumes rose up from the wounds. This was the most concentrated amount of dark magic Magnus had ever seen. Usually, the remnant traces are in the form of a grey smoke. The deeper the color, the stronger the dark magic cast. The painful m.o.a.ning of the unicorn eased a little once the traces were removed. The whole purifying process lasted a good minute.

Then Magnus got to cast a simple Tergeo on the wounds to clear away any contaminants inside them. The unicorn lost a lot of blood so a simple healing spell will not do the trick. He also cannot use Blood Replenishing potion with the recipient being in such a weak state. Blood replenishing takes energy from the body to replenish the lost blood after all. Not something one should use unless they are sure the patient can handle the extra stress.

Magnus cast multiple healing spells in succession. He tapped different parts of the unicorn's body each time he uttered an incantation. Some were to ease pain; others were to make the blood flow smoothly while some were to mend the flesh underneath. As he continued his work, silvery blood slowly started flowing back from the forest floor and crawled back into the wounds of the unicorn. Hagrid and the others awkwardly stepped back to avoid stepping on any of the unicorn's blood. Once he was sure all of the blood was back in, Magnus closed the wounds. The unicorn looked no worse for wear in the end, except for some loss of fur on its silvery white coat. While Magnus could make the fur grow, he didn't think it was worth wasting magic on simple aesthetics. It'll grow back soon anyway.

"Brilliant work Magnus. It always amazes me no matter how many times I see it," Hagrid patted him on the back which almost sent him reeling on to the forest floor.

"Hagrid!" Magnus said exasperated as he controlled himself from falling over. The half-giant forgets that not everyone is as resilient as him whenever he's excited. The first time it happened, Magnus went rolling a few feet before he could stop. His focus crystal didn't show anything in advance because it wasn't done out of malice and so he couldn't dodge it. He cannot even get mad at the man when he looked at his guilty face. He can only tell him to keep his strength in control in the future.

"Er, sorry Magnus," Hagrid smiled sheepishly. What else can Magnus say after that?

"You truly are the Gifted One," Firenze complimented from the side. Bane too looked impressed though he didn't voice it out.

"This is the third attack so far. This creature is proving more elusive than we thought. Not to mention vicious. What would attack noble and pure creatures like the unicorns?" Firenze voiced out his doubts. Hagrid and Bane shared his opinions as they too had solemn faces.

"It's not what but who," Magnus suddenly said.

"You mean?" Firenze said doubtfully.

"Yes, it's probably a wizard. This kind of dark magic is only possible for a wizard to cast. Unless it's a creature of the wizard killer level. But then, there should be nothing remaining of the unicorn in that case. Then again, I doubt a creature of that level would be bold enough to reside this close to Hogwarts," Magnus theorized.

He then continued, "Whoever it was, they were after its blood. There are teeth marks around the wound, but no flesh is missing. At first, I thought it was a vampire but the bite marks don't match. So, it's probably a dark wizard," Magnus concluded. But then even this puzzled Magnus. Typical dark wizards shy away from Hogwarts surroundings while doing any of their dirty deeds. There is a certain amount of deterrence from the professors, not to mention Headmaster Dumbledore.

Unless they have a great backing, not many dark wizards are willing to draw the attention of the Headmaster. His legendary fight against the dark wizard Grindlewald is still spoken about after all. News like this is certain to reach the ears of the Headmaster. If someone of Dumbledore's capabilities casually swept through the forest, they can easily find the culprit. At least that's what Magnus assumed.

"A wizard? It must be a bloody desperate one to drink a unicorn's blood then. It's not right killing a pure creature like a unicorn. They will be cursed for life. I better tell the herd to stay away from this place in the future and keep an eye out for trouble. I will also inform Headmaster Dumbledore," Hagrid decided.

"It's always the wizards. Can't even let other creatures live in peace," Bane mumbled.

"There's always good and bad among everything Bane. It'd not do well to blind ourselves with prejudice," Firenze chided him.

Magnus had nothing else to add. He guessed that it must be some old dark wizard on his death bed who's hurting the unicorns. As per what he read, while unicorn blood can help in extending life, it's only temporary. It also had some terrifying side effects. The recipient's body will be in a half-functioning state. They will slowly lose their senses little by little and will eventually be in a half-living state with only bouts of soberness once in a while. The unicorn soon woke up and nuzzled itself against Magnus's hands in gratitude. It then quickly ran back into the depths of the forest to join its herd. Magnus just smiled in return.

As he walked back with Hagrid, Magnus slightly patted his pocket. In it was a vial of unicorn blood. Well that was his unofficial price for the treatment. It wasn't very difficult getting some while he was healing the unicorn. He's sure the unicorn wouldn't mind. Unicorns are said to be resistant to some type of dark curses. This one was only hurt because whoever hurt it must be a strong and vicious dark wizard. Regular wizards would think twice before casting dark magic. Even then their spells lack the potency of this one. Thus, Magnus was sure it must be an expert who spent years on their craft. Magnus paid attention to his focus crystal all the while till he walked out of the forest. If there was any dark wizard watching him with malice, he would have some indication. Fortunately, there was none. Whoever the culprit was, they had long left the vicinity.

Magnus wanted to see if he could make anything useful out of the unicorn's blood. Slytherin's notes mentioned in passing some interesting ways in which unicorn's blood would be useful. There's no harm in testing it out. Few days later, Magnus was sought out in the library by a distraught Hermione. She had red eyes as if she spent all of her recent time crying. Apparently, she got detention for the first time from Prof. McGonagall along with Harry, Neville and Draco.