"What evidence do you have that I attacked you, and therefore I killed the unicorn?" Dylan asked, squinting at Orelle. "Or, rather, I just attacked you to drive you away. Did I kill you?"
Orelle paused, his hooves scuffing the slightly frosty grass, making soft, rustling sounds. He looked hesitant, gently touching the back of his head. Moonlight, struggling to pierce through the dense canopy of leaves, illuminated his face. Orelle opened his mouth. "What you said... it kind of makes sense."
*Confirmed. This one's a dim-witted centaur.*
Dylan shook his head and turned back to Luna. "Just take me to the unicorn bloodstains. I want to see if it's from a dead unicorn or a living one."
Luna glanced at Orelle, then nodded gently. "Alright." She continued to walk forward, leading Dylan.
Orelle saw them about to leave and immediately blocked their path. "Wait! Where are you going now?" Orelle glared at Dylan. "Even if you didn't kill that unicorn—I mean, it might not be dead, but either way, it definitely faced danger! Aren't you two humans afraid of running into whatever harmed the unicorn?"
Dylan looked at Orelle in surprise. *This fellow is actually quite considerate.* Except for a few individual centaurs, most centaurs weren't exactly friendly towards humans, were they? Just like Orelle, when they first met, he'd been ready to fight at the slightest disagreement. He'd only been thwarted because Dylan was simply too powerful, sending him sprawling. The only reason he wasn't attacking now was because Luna and Orelle had met before and she'd even healed him, and, of course, because Orelle couldn't possibly win against them.
It was unexpected that this fellow would actually be concerned about them running into danger. Truly odd. Dylan could only conclude that intelligent beings, especially those with higher intelligence, were truly remarkable.
"You don't need to worry about that. We know what we're doing."
Orelle: "..."
He widened his eyes, a bit unsure how to retort to Dylan. In terms of brute force, he couldn't win. In terms of verbal sparring, he was also outmatched. Finally, he could only let out a long sigh.
Dylan looked at him disdainfully. "Don't give me that mournful look, like I've done something terrible to you."
Orelle's mouth twitched, and the fur on his body ruffled. He took a deep breath and spoke in a muffled voice. "If you want to see the unicorn blood, I can lead the way, but I must warn you, don't even think about collecting it. That blood carries strong curses, and the stars don't favor it!"
Dylan blinked. As a member of the centaur tribe, Orelle would undoubtedly know more about the unicorn's blood, even if its appearance was recent, than Luna did. So, if they could find a breakthrough through Orelle, whatever they discovered would clearly be easier to understand. Moreover, if he could just find the centaurs' gathering place... Perhaps he could gain another valuable insight. Dylan was very keen to learn about the centaurs' study of astrology.
"Since you're willing to lead the way, please do?"
Two streams of white mist puffed from Orelle's nostrils, then he pursed his lips. "This way." Orelle turned and started walking in a certain direction.
Luna paused. Dylan saw her expression and knew what she meant. Clearly, the location Orelle was leading them to wasn't the same place she knew about. But that was alright; Luna had only found one unicorn bloodstain. Now, with Orelle leading them to another spot, they might discover even more.
What puzzled Dylan, however, was that although the Forbidden Forest was vast, Hagrid also patrolled regularly. If a unicorn had been harmed, wouldn't Hagrid have noticed anything? Thinking of this, Dylan shook his head again. The last time a unicorn was attacked by Quirrell, Hagrid hadn't seemed to notice anything either. If Dylan hadn't been quick and used Quirrell to gain some system achievements, Harry would have had to discover the problem first and then tell Hagrid. And now Hagrid was a professor at a magical school. He was busy with his classes and figuring out schedules. Before the Christmas holidays, Hagrid was still embroiled in a lawsuit, and Dylan wasn't sure how that had turned out.
However, after the holidays, Dylan heard that Hagrid had apparently won a lawsuit concerning himself. Lucius Malfoy had accused Hagrid of not managing the Hippogriff properly, which resulted in his son being injured. It seemed the Ministry of Magic had not ruled against Hagrid on that point. It looked like Malfoy's kick from Buckbeak would simply have to be taken for naught. Of course, Buckbeak, who kicked Malfoy, would eventually be rescued anyway. So, Malfoy really was kicked for nothing. Dylan couldn't be bothered with these matters anymore; as long as he could benefit in the end, that was all that mattered.
---
## A Glimpse of the Stars
The two humans and one centaur walked through the snowy Forbidden Forest. The air around them was cold, but more so damp. However, Orelle had a thick coat of fur. Dylan's wizard robes had warmth enchantments he'd activated with Galleons. Luna... well, she didn't seem to feel the cold at all. Even with chilly winds, she continued walking forward without batting an eye.
"It's here," Orelle's voice was much softer. He pointed forward with his bow, his expression tense and alert as he looked around. Dylan didn't feel any strong magical presence here, but he did detect the scent of unicorn blood. After all, he'd been extracting unicorn blood quite frequently in the past, so he was very familiar with the scent of this pure creature's blood.
The snow in the depths of the Forbidden Forest just reached their ankles. Snowflakes clinging to pine needles drifted down with the slightest breeze, sparkling like tiny silver shards in the moonlight. Orelle stopped, a few snowflakes clinging to his mane. He turned his head, his eyes fixed on a thicket of bushes ahead, and lightly pawed the snow with his front hoof. There was a stone beneath. "Yes, this is it."
Luna's radish earrings swayed in the night wind — her earrings actually matched her radish-patterned sweater quite well. Following Orelle's gaze, Luna stepped forward. Dylan followed closely, his boots crunching softly on the thin snow. They pushed aside low-hanging branches. Sure enough, there was an unnatural depression in the snow. The thin snow was compacted, its edges rimmed with dark red ice crystals, like spilled berry juice hastily covered with a layer of snow.
Orelle stood aside, white frost on his long eyelashes, saying nothing more. Luna crouched down, her fingertip lightly touching the snow, then quickly recoiled. "A curse. It's unicorn blood." Her voice was soft and faint, and her expression was incredibly calm, as if the curse held no fear for her.
Dylan also crouched down. He wasn't wearing gloves; he plunged his fingers directly into the thin snow, pushing aside the layer of fresh snow covering the bloodstain. "What are you doing! Are you mad? This is unicorn blood with a curse! Be careful you don't get it on you; it's very bad luck!" Orelle exclaimed from the side.
Dylan scoffed. "You centaurs observe the stars, you're not fortune-tellers. What's 'good luck' or 'bad luck'? Even I, a Diviner, wouldn't say that." He moved his hand, and the dark red bloodstain was immediately revealed. In the moonlight, it gleamed with an almost transparent sheen, its edges thick with partially congealed strands.
Orelle was stunned. "A Diviner? You... you're a Diviner?" He quickly scrutinized Dylan up and down, seemingly shocked by this news. Centaurs were natural interpreters of nature and the stars. Even so, they needed constant learning and effort to truly comprehend the mysteries of the stars, to feel the cosmic order, and to glimpse a sliver of the future. He was currently trying very hard to learn from his elder brother, Bane. However, he wasn't sure if he lacked talent, but he hadn't made any significant progress.
*Alright! It's one thing if I'm slow.* But how dare this human little wizard claim to be a Diviner? Even human Diviners, though perhaps not as skilled as centaurs, could occasionally, with good luck, glimpse the future. In his understanding, this was something only very powerful wizards could achieve. *Why this human little wizard?*
Dylan looked back. "What, are you surprised? Do you need me to divine your future life path for you?"
The cold night in the Forbidden Forest carried snowflakes. Dylan crouched beside the bloodstain half-covered by thin snow, his breath condensing into white mist that dissipated as soon as it reached his nose. He gently tapped the frozen ground with his fingertip. There was a soft *click*. It was as if an invisible string had been plucked, and the air around them suddenly glowed faintly.
---
## The Stars in the Cards
The next second, seventy-eight **Tarot cards** floated into existence around him, their faces rotating in different directions, like **celestial bodies** enchanted with a Hover Charm. The edges of each card glowed with a faint **purple aura**. The card faces weren't the usual Chariot or Fool. Instead, they depicted **flowing nebulae**. A **spinning galaxy** hung on the "Magician" card. A **translucent silver wolf** slumbered within the "Moon" card. In the airflow caused by the flipping cards, a faint hum, like the friction of **stardust**, could be heard. It was **pure magic**, so abundant it almost overflowed, more intense than any astrological prophecy Orelle had ever witnessed.
His normally drooping mane suddenly tensed. His eyes widened dramatically in the night, pupils shrinking into slits, and his front hooves instinctively retreated half a step. Centaurs had an innate sensitivity to the magic of the stars. But the power in these cards was extraordinary. They were like **tamed stellar cores**, carrying both the vastness of the cosmos and a managed, controlled regularity. This completely shattered his understanding that "stars cannot be interfered with."
He watched Dylan's fingertips lightly turn. The **"Temperance" card**, adorned with a unicorn, slowly paused above the bloodstain. When the card's **silver glow** touched the dark red blood, it even stirred a layer of fine **magical ripples**.
"This is..." Orelle's voice was strained. In his understanding, no one could interfere with the stars. No one! Not him, not even his wise tribesmen, or even the chief! They had probably never seen anyone condense the power of the stars into a piece of paper. And with such... **effortless control**!
Luna also watched the floating **celestial cards** with interest. The magic within these cards was so dense that it almost liquefied in her eyes.
Dylan's fingertips lifted slightly. The **celestial Tarot cards** orbiting him suddenly accelerated their rotation. The faint **purple glow** cast shifting light patterns on the snow. His gaze fell on Orelle, and he softly chanted an arcane spell. The three cards at the very front abruptly stopped. The **stardust** on the "Fool" card was falling towards an unknown nebula, the **silver serpent** in the "World" card bit its own tail, and the **horn** on the "Judgment" card poured forth a **river of golden light**.
The three cards trembled slightly in the air, and the **star maps** on their faces suddenly came alive. Countless **points of light** moved along their trajectories, finally converging at Orelle's feet into a small **star formation**. Dylan looked at the flickering light, then raised his eyes to the centaur's tense profile, and suddenly chuckled softly. "Your future is not confined to the narrow bounds of this Forbidden Forest." He tapped the "World" card with his fingertip. "You will see **more distant stars** in a **broader world**."
Orelle's eyes narrowed again, his hoof unconsciously grinding the thin snow on the ground. The points of light from the star formation flickered on his fur. He swallowed, saying nothing. He didn't know how to react to Dylan's prophecy. Believe it? Would that mean this human little wizard's divination abilities were truly superior to his own, a centaur's? Disbelieve it? But he was genuinely looking forward to the future the other party spoke of.
In fact, he was a little different from the rest of his tribe. He believed so, anyway. Even Bane, who wasn't exactly known for his good temper, believed centaurs should adhere to tradition. He wasn't saying adhering to tradition was wrong, nor did he think centaurs should have too much contact with humans. It was just... if tradition confined their centaur tribe to this forest, why could they comprehend the vast starry sky but not journey to a larger, more expansive territory? He wanted to run freely. He didn't want to stay only within this forest! He just wondered... if what this human little wizard said was true, if he really possessed the ability to prophesy, where would this "more boundless world" he spoke of be?
"Sounds like a very good future," Luna's voice chimed in. She tilted her head, looking at the cards, her radish earrings swaying in the starlight. "Much more interesting than always staring at the same patch of sky, wouldn't you say?"
Dylan turned to look at her, a subtle smile playing on his lips, and said nothing more. He drew in his fingertips. The Tarot cards dissipated into the air like stardust, leaving behind only a few wisps of faint **purple mist** that hadn't fully vanished on the snow. It was like a secret that didn't need to be spoken aloud.
Orelle remained silent, lost in thought. Dylan lowered his head again, his fingertips rubbing the bloodstains in the snow, his brow almost imperceptibly furrowing. The sensation was all too familiar—the slickness when warm, the slight astringency when cold, and even that sweet, coppery scent mixed with the freshness of plants, all exactly like the blood he had previously collected from a unicorn's jugular vein.
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