The unicorn—bowed.
Not the hesitant dip of curiosity.
A full bow: knee folding, head lowering until the spiraled horn touched the silver grass between them.
Cassius had been living as if in a dreamworld since he'd grown old enough to visit the magical world and remind himself that he was in a parellel earth one filled with wonders beyond imagining.
He'd become the heir of Draconis, and by proxy the heir to Griffindor, and Ravenclaw as well aside from feeling the oddity within the school and human circles this was the first time he truly felt like a magical heir.
To receive a sign of respect such as this, from a beast as pure as a unicorn whose hair is used in wands to suit those whose wands will be loyal to them.
Luna made a sound so small and astonished it barely existed.
"Oh… Cassius… he's bowing to you."
The forest vibrated with quiet resonance, as though the unicorn's action had awakened every root and leaf.
Cassius remained perfectly still, hands hovering above the creature's mane.
The unicorn lifted its head again—not fully—just enough that the spiraled tip of its horn aligned with Cassius's palms.
A pulse of pale light ran down the horn.
Then another.
Cassius felt the magic before he understood it.
A warmth, soft and shimmering, tingled through his fingertips.
Almost like it was delivering a very very mild electric shock that was not shocking to say the least.
His open outstretched palm hung there where it had been brushing the unicorns mane before, to stunned to move.
When it's head shifted again, such that the horn was now resting in his open palm.
The unicorn exhaled, a deep, resonant breath that stirred his robes.
A soft crackling sound filled the clearing—gentle, like ice fracturing in slow motion.
Cassius blinked.
The unicorn's horn glowed brighter… then split.
The horn seperated from its head, leaving behind a simple stump, while the horn itself was left in his outstretched hand.
Luna trembled.
"That's impossible," she breathed.
She wasnt wrong, but at the same time she also was not right.
If you dug deep enough into Unicorn lore, you could find that if a unicorn horn is poached the horn will never regrow, however what is lesser known nowadays is that in the past those with pure hearts, and minds could be gifted with the horns of unicorns, and their magical potency were easily 50% stronger than those that were poached, better still a gifted horn could be regrown.
Cassius stared at the horn currently in his hands.
Power coiled inside it like a living heartbeat, pulsing faintly against his skin.
The unicorn stepped forward and nudged his shoulder again, urging him to accept.
Not that he could really refuse, the horn was already removed after all.
Cassius reached up and brushed the creature's mane with his free hand, a gesture of gratitude—quiet, sincere, and reverent in a way he showed no one else.
The unicorn flicked its tail and bent its neck toward Luna.
She gasped as a single strand of shimmering hair drifted loose into her hands.
"A blessing…" she whispered. "He likes me too."
Cassius almost smiled.
"Then he has good taste."
Luna beamed.
But the unicorn wasn't finished.
It pressed its muzzle directly against Cassius's chest one more time—a deliberate, ceremonial touch—before stepping back into the glowing grass.
The clearing brightened.
Magic pulsed outward like a breath.
And with a final soft huff, the unicorn turned and vanished between the trees, slipping into the veil of magic as quietly as it had appeared.
Luna stood in stunned silence for several heartbeats.
Then she turned, eyes wide with realization—and defeat.
"I… suppose I lost, then."
Cassius held the sliver of horn between his fingers, its silver core reflecting in his eyes.
"Yes," he said calmly. "You did."
Luna didn't sulk. She didn't pout.
She smiled—soft, delighted, almost luminous.
"Good," she said simply. "It means I get to join House Draconis now."
Cassius tilted his head, amused.
"You're pleased?"
"Oh yes." Her voice warmed. "I like being in Ravenclaw, but... well it feels like the others wish i wasn't so i shant be anymore."
Cassius slipped the unicorn horn into his robe.
"Then welcome, Luna."
The forest seemed to exhale around them—closing the chapter, sealing the moment.
But far beyond the trees, at Hogwarts…
Trouble had begun to stir.
~
The castle felt louder after the forest.
Too loud.
Too crowded.
Every step down the stone corridor rang sharper than it should, bouncing off the walls in restless echoes.
Cassius walked with Luna at his side, her new unicorn hair tucked carefully into her pocket like a precious relic.
She hummed under her breath—a faint, airy tune that matched her unhurried steps.
As they rounded a corner, voices drifted toward them.
Urgent.
Whispered.
Clumsy with panic.
Cassius slowed.
Harry.
Ron.
"…I'm telling you, it has to be something ancient," Harry hissed. "Something that's been here since the Founders."
"And kills people!" Ron added in a strangled whisper. "Or—or almost kills."
Cassius stepped silently behind a marble pillar, Luna drifting beside him like mist.
She looked mildly curious, but she said nothing.
Harry's voice sharpened. "What creature lives for thousands of years? Hagrid said that giant spiders don't live that long. So the thing in the castle didn't come from Aragog."
"Right," Ron muttered, pacing in a frantic, jerky line. "So… it has to be something Slytherin could've controlled. Something that fits the legend."
"Something that killed a girl in a bathroom," Harry said grimly.
Ron froze.
His eyes widened.
"Myrtle," he breathed.
Harry nodded, face pale. "She's been in that bathroom since she died. She would've been the last to see—well—anything."
Ron swallowed. "And… if it killed her, then the Chamber's entrance must be there."
Harry exhaled shakily. "And whatever's inside it… is going to kill again."
Cassius's eyebrow lifted ever so slightly.
So.
They had almost put it all together.
Just on time—perhaps a little too close for comfort—what with the mandrake draught almost being completed, and the end of term fast approaching.
Luna leaned in toward Cassius, whispering without looking away from the boys:
"They're worried."
Cassius hummed. "Understandably."
Harry ran a hand through his hair, exhausted and determined.
"We have to act now," he said. "Before someone—anyone else—is taken."
Cassius's expression didn't change.
But inside, a decision slid into place with a quiet, cold click.
The time was ripe.
He straightened, stepping out from behind the pillar with the silent precision of a shadow.
Harry and Ron jolted.
Cassius offered them a polite, unreadable smile.
"Discussing monsters?" he said lightly.
Ron stiffened, clearly hiding guilt badly. "W-what's it to you?"
"Nothing," Cassius said. "Yet."
Cassius had already heard most of their conversation and while they had some idea where to find the entrance they still had not managed to sus out the beast said to be lurking within, but honestly to be expected of the pair without Hermione to guide them to every answer.
Instead he brushed past them with Luna at his heel, cloak trailing behind him like a shadow with purpose.
The diary was close.
The girl was vulnerable.
And the protocol he'd embedded deep within the enchanted pages was ready to be awakened.
By the time Harry and Ron figured out the last piece of the puzzle…
Ginny Weasley would already be gone.