Inside the Hufflepuff basement, the fireplace burned all day and all night.
The round common room stayed very warm.
Edward waited until long past midnight.
His dorm room was completely dark.
Justin, Ernie, Wayne, and Zacharias were sound asleep.
They snored quietly under their thick yellow blankets.
Edward got out of bed.
He wore dark trousers and dark shirt.
He strapped his training weights to his wrists and ankles.
He walked to the window.
He opened the glass, pulled himself up, and slipped outside.
He closed the window behind him.
The night air was freezing.
The wind bit his face.
Edward liked the cold.
It kept him awake.
He walked away from the warm castle.
His boots crunched softly in the deep snow.
He walked across the wide lawns and headed straight for the dark tree line of the Forbidden Forest.
The forest was quiet.
The tall trees blocked the wind.
Snow rested heavily on the thick branches.
Edward walked deep into the woods.
He liked training here.
The rough ground and the dark shadows made a perfect playground.
He started his workout.
He did pushups in the snow until his arms burned.
He did situps.
He jumped and grabbed a high branch, doing pull-ups until the wood groaned.
He strapped his weights tighter.
He started running.
He dodged around tree trunks.
He leaped over massive, snow-covered roots.
He pushed his body hard, letting the sweat warm him up in the freezing air.
Suddenly, he stopped.
He stood perfectly still in the snow.
He listened.
A sound echoed through the dark trees.
It did not sound like a normal forest animal.
It sounded like a cry of pain.
It was a very pure, very sad sound.
Edward turned his head.
He looked toward the noise.
He walked quietly through the bushes.
He did not make a single sound.
His feet stepped lightly on top of the snow.
He reached a small clearing.
He hid behind a large, thick oak tree.
He looked into the open space.
A unicorn lay on the ground.
Its coat was bright, shining white, standing out against the dark dirt.
It breathed heavily.
A pool of thick, glowing silver blood stained the snow around its legs.
Someone was walking toward the injured animal.
It was a tall person.
They wore a long black cloak.
A dark hood covered their head and their face.
The person crawled across the snow like a stalking beast, moving closer to the unicorn.
Edward watched from behind the tree.
He knew exactly who that was.
It was Professor Quirrell, and he knew Voldemort lived on the back of Quirrell’s head.
They wanted to drink the unicorn blood.
Edward did not want to show his face.
He reached into his hidden space.
He pulled out the plain white Anbu mask with the red painted lines.
He placed the porcelain mask over his face.
He tied the string tightly behind his head.
He looked at the hooded figure again.
He needed a weapon.
He reached into his hidden space.
He found an empty glass soda bottle he got from the bronze gacha rewards weeks ago.
He pulled the thick glass bottle out.
Edward stepped out from behind the oak tree.
He pulled his arm back.
He aimed carefully.
He threw the glass bottle as hard as he could.
The bottle flew through the air.
It hit the back of the hooded figure’s head with a loud, heavy smash.
The glass shattered into a dozen pieces.
“ARGH!” “ARGH!” Two completely different voices screamed at the exact same time.
One voice sounded high and pained.
The second voice sounded deep, raspy, and furious.
The hooded figure stumbled forward into the snow, holding the back of their head.
Quirrell spun around quickly.
He pulled his wand from his robes.
He pointed it at the trees, panting heavily.
He looked for the attacker.
He saw nothing.
The clearing was empty.
Edward already moved.
The second he threw the bottle, he used his silent step.
He dashed through the shadows.
He moved faster than Quirrell could see.
Edward appeared right behind Quirrell.
He jumped into the air.
He brought his heavy boot down and kicked Quirrell right on top of his head.
Quirrell yelled again.
The kick sent him flying forward.
He sailed through the air and crashed hard against the trunk of a large pine tree.
He landed in the snow, far away from the bleeding unicorn.
Edward landed lightly on his feet.
He glanced at the unicorn.
The animal’s chest still moved up and down.
It was still breathing.
Quirrell scrambled to his feet.
He held his head.
He looked at the boy wearing the strange white cat mask.
Quirrell raised his wand.
He shouted a spell.
A flash of bright green light shot from the wood.
Edward did not panic.
He simply stepped to the side.
The green light flew past him and hit a bush, blasting it into splinters.
Edward started running.
He moved in a zigzag pattern across the snow.
Quirrell fired another spell.
A red light shot forward.
Edward ducked under it.
He pulled his own ash wand from his pocket.
He did not know many fighting spells, but he knew the basics.
“Expelliarmus!” Edward shouted.
A flash of red light hit Quirrell in the chest.
Quirrell stumbled backward, but he held onto his wand tightly.
Quirrell looked furious.
He started throwing dark, nasty curses.
Purple and black sparks tore up the ground around Edward’s feet.
Edward easily dodged them all.
His speed was too much for the teacher.
Quirrell grew desperate.
He pointed his wand at the snow.
Thick, frozen tree roots burst out of the dirt.
They whipped through the air like angry snakes, trying to grab Edward’s legs.
Edward did not stop running.
He jumped.
He stepped lightly on a moving root.
He pushed off the hard wood and flipped high into the air, completely avoiding the trap.
Quirrell tracked him in the air.
He shouted another spell.
A massive wave of orange fire roared from his wand.
The heat melted the snow instantly.
Edward spun.
He reached out and grabbed a thick pine branch above his head.
He swung his body forward and let go, launching himself out of the fire’s path.
He landed safely behind a wide oak tree.
The fire scorched the wood, turning the bark black.
Quirrell snarled.
He slashed his wand in a wide, fast arc.
An invisible blade cut through the cold air.
It missed Edward, but it sliced cleanly through a heavy tree branch hanging right above him.
The thick branch snapped and fell.
Edward did not dodge it.
He reached up and caught the heavy, broken wood with his bare hands.
He spun around and threw the heavy branch like a spear.
The wood flew straight at Quirrell’s chest.
Quirrell yelled in panic.
He fired a blasting spell, shattering the flying branch into a cloud of harmless splinters.
Edward did not stop moving.
He ran past a pile of loose rocks.
He reached down and grabbed two heavy stones.
He threw them like baseballs.
The rocks flew through the air.
Quirrell had to stop casting spells and wave his wand to block the flying stones.
Edward saw a massive boulder sitting near the edge of the clearing.
It was the size of a large chair.
Edward ran right at the giant boulder.
He pulled his right fist back.
He put all of his strength into his arm.
He punched the solid stone.
The boulder exploded.
It broke into dozens of sharp, heavy pieces.
The force of the punch sent the rock fragments flying across the clearing straight toward Quirrell.
It looked like a blast from a shotgun.
Quirrell saw the rocks coming.
He slashed his wand through the air.
He used a transfiguration spell.
The flying rock fragments instantly turned into harmless, soft sand.
The sand washed over Quirrell like a dusty wave, blinding him for a second.
Edward smiled under his mask.
That was exactly what he wanted.
He used the cloud of falling sand as a distraction.
He dashed forward.
He moved silently.
He slipped behind Quirrell before the sand even hit the ground.
Edward planted his feet.
He pulled his fist back one more time.
He aimed right at Quirrell’s stomach.
He punched him with all his might.
His fist sank deep into Quirrell’s stomach.
All the air left Quirrell’s lungs in a violent rush.
Quirrell folded in half.
His feet lifted off the ground.
The punch sent Quirrell flying backward.
He crashed through a small tree, snapping the trunk in half.
He flew further and crashed through a second tree.
He hit a third tree and finally stopped, dropping into the deep snow like a broken doll.
Quirrell groaned in agony.
He could not stand up.
He knew he could not beat this masked person.
Quirrell waved his wand weakly.
With a loud crack, he turned into a cloud of thick black smoke and shot up into the dark sky, flying away toward the castle.
Edward lowered his fist.
He stood in the quiet clearing.
Edward clicked his tongue against his teeth.
“A good training material has escaped.” He turned around.
He walked back toward the middle of the clearing.
The unicorn lay in the snow.
It watched him with wide, frightened eyes.
“Do not worry,” Edward said softly.
He took off the Anbu mask and put it in his pocket, showing his normal face.
“I am not going to hurt you.” He walked closer.
He saw the deep cut on the unicorn’s side.
The silver blood continued to leak out.
Edward reached into his hidden space.
He pulled out the small burlap sack.
He opened it and pulled out one of the green Senzu beans.
He knelt in the snow next to the beautiful animal.
He held the small green bean in his flat palm.
“Eat this,” Edward said, pushing his hand near the unicorn’s mouth.
“It will fix the pain.” The unicorn sniffed his hand.
It looked at his face.
It trusted him.
The unicorn reached out and ate the green bean from his hand.
Edward stepped back.
It took only three seconds.
The unicorn let out a sharp breath.
The deep cut on its side closed up completely.
The skin stitched itself back together.
The silver blood stopped flowing.
The animal’s tired eyes brightened instantly.
The unicorn stood up.
It shook its mane.
It looked completely healthy and full of energy.
Its silver coat glowed brightly in the moonlight.
The unicorn took a step forward.
It lowered its large head.
It gently nuzzled its soft nose against Edward’s chest.
Edward chuckled.
He raised his hands and petted the unicorn’s neck.
The hair felt incredibly soft.
The unicorn nudged him harder, pushing him backward a step.
It gave a playful snort and hopped away.
It stopped a few feet away and looked back at him.
“You want to play?” Edward smiled.
He ran after it.
The unicorn trotted away, playing a game of tag.
Edward chased it around the clearing.
He hid behind the large oak tree.
The unicorn snuck around the other side and poked him in the back with its nose.
Edward laughed loudly.
They played in the snow for twenty minutes.
Eventually, Edward stopped.
He patted the unicorn’s side.
“I need to go back,” Edward told the animal.
He looked it right in the eye.
“You need to be careful.
Beware of that hooded figure.
If you see him again, do not fight.
Run away as fast as possible.
Understand?” The unicorn seemed to understand perfectly.
It gave a serious nod of its head.
Then, the unicorn turned around.
It raised its back leg and gently pulled three long, silver hairs from its own tail.
It picked the hairs up in its mouth.
It walked over and dropped the silver tail hairs directly into Edward’s open hand.
Edward looked at the hairs.
He knew unicorn hair was a very powerful and expensive magical material.
The unicorn gave it to him willingly.
“Thank you,” Edward said.
He put the silver hairs safely into his hidden space.
He patted the unicorn one last time.
“Farewell.
It is time for me to go to my room.” The unicorn let out a long, sad sound.
It nudged his hand, clearly not wanting him to leave.
“Do not worry,” Edward smiled, rubbing its nose.
“I will come visit you every now and then.” Hearing that, the unicorn made a happy, accepting gesture.
It tossed its head, turned around, and walked gracefully into the dark, thick trees.
Edward watched it go.
Once the glowing silver coat disappeared into the shadows, he turned around.
He walked out of the Forbidden Forest.
He crossed the snowy lawns.
He reached the castle wall.
He opened his basement window, climbed inside, and locked it behind him.
His dorm room was still warm.
The other boys were still asleep.
Edward took off his coat and his wet boots.
He climbed into his bed, feeling very happy with his night.
He closed his eyes and went to sleep.