Hogwarts White Knight

This is the first time in a long time that Gawain has returned to the Forbidden Forest.

At the lakeside before, Firenze had told him that the situation among the centaurs tribe was not very good. But Gawain believed that the centaurs would never be in this kind of situation at that time.

"Follow me and don't look around."

Margery was half a body ahead of Gawain and walked towards the settlement at the lead.

Many torches were lit.

Gawain saw many familiar faces, including Ronan, who always looked melancholy, holding his roughly bandaged right arm, the unruly Baine, and several other centaurs whom he only had a rough impression of. At this time, they were no better than Margery, with many dripping wounds exposed on their bare upper bodies.

Many wounds showed an unhealthy yellow-green color with light pus.

"It seems...he was attacked by some kind of claws or fangs?"

Gawain guessed carefully, but the light was too dim and he was too far away, making it difficult to make a judgment for the moment.

The centaurs also noticed Gawain, but they only glanced at him indifferently.

Only the platinum-haired Firenze was as gentle as ever. Even though the corners of his mouth twitched in pain, he still raised his hands and waved to greet him.

"Those filthy bastards, spit!"

Margery cursed in a low voice and led Gawain closer to the outside of the tent where "Ronan" once stayed. At the door of the tent, there is still that very simple stone brazier.

The fairy fire of Gubulai was burning vigorously.

Even to this day, Gawain has never forgotten that terrible night. That was the closest he came to death, and it was also the first time he truly realized the cruel nature of this magical world.

"Wait here."

Margery approached the fire, stretched out her left hand, and picked up the rough obsidian dagger with her right hand. A flash of fierceness flashed across his face, and he slashed open his left wrist.

Blood dripped onto the fire.

Compared with the weirdness during the last sacrifice, the flames this time were much quieter. Magaret did not last long before retreating to Gawain, and another centaur took his place.

One by one, the centaurs silently stepped forward, bled, and left.

Gawain discovered that they were all male centaurs, and they were very tall and strong.

This process lasted for a long time, and it was not until the th centaur stepped down that no more new centaurs came up to bleed. And with the pouring of blood, the flames also changed dramatically.

——It was originally white and pure without any color, and was dyed bright red little by little, and then in the core, there were little golden sparkles.

In the center of the flame is a human figure that is gradually forming.

It is a woman, with her head slightly raised, and a pair of feather-structured wings on her back. She lazily straightened her upper body, looking toned and elegant, as if she were wandering down from the sky. Her loose plain robe was decent and graceful.

The white skin is as delicate as ivory.

She had a wreath on her head and a seven-stringed lire in her hand. She seemed to notice Gawain's gaze, and turned around, smiling softly. Although he didn't hear the sound, he felt as if his heart was suddenly lit up by light.

"Nikki..."

Gawain unconsciously called out her name.

This is not only because her image is too obvious, but also because when she appeared in the flames, the name had entered Gawain's mind in an extremely mysterious form.

"Are you the one he chose?"

The gentle female voice sounded directly in Gawain's mind.

"Him?" Gawain was stunned for a moment, "Cedric Gryffindor?"

An inexplicable sour feeling arose spontaneously, as if she was regretting that "she" was not paying attention to herself.

"Yes, that big fool... pulled an existence like me that was destined to disappear... out of the abyss of endless darkness, but because of this, he cut off the way forward and even almost died."

She answered gently, and after stroking Lira a few times, a beautiful melody played out.

"You are already injured like that, but you still smile and say 'because there is a girl crying in front of you'. What else is he to be a fool?"

As she spoke, the fire spread little by little and enveloped Gawain.

But he felt no pain, or even heat. It was like being surrounded by warm hot water, and the gurgling warmth surged through his body, making him want to moan in comfort. In his invisible body, many hidden wounds were being healed bit by bit.

The acceleration of time, even if it is only inherent, is an extremely huge burden. Even with the power of magic, it is not a joke that can be used casually.

"Since you are his chosen heir, I grant you the courage to defeat your enemies. Call the Lady's name and she will protect you."

Nikki said seriously.

Her voice was like thunder.

It sounded in Gawain's ears!

At this moment, the flame had completely turned into gold, illuminating the entire centaur camp.

This golden light seems to have magic power.

Soaked in the light, the yellow-green wounds on the centaur's body that were originally difficult to remove through medicine suddenly seemed to disappear.

The shadow of a scarlet crown appeared high up, with invisible rays of light crisscrossing it. It seemed to be provoked and angrily wanted to suppress the golden flame.

"In the name of Athena!"

Nikki shouted loudly, and plucked the seven-stringed Laila with her right hand, making a loud "clang" sound.

The golden light suddenly rose, dispersing all the spiderweb-like scarlet light, and even made the phantom of the crown shake!

"Humph!"

With a muffled groan full of malice and unwillingness, Gawain saw that the crown finally disappeared into the air.

"Go, my champion. Even if Olympus has fallen, the stars will be with you."

After forcing away the bloody crown, the originally shining golden flame suddenly began to flicker, and even Nikki's shadow began to shake, as if it could no longer maintain its shape.

Her weak but proud voice sounded in Gawain's mind.

A name, like the former Horkes, was deeply engraved in his mind.

"Victoria."

This blessing allowed him to translate his belief in victory into reality. When mortals' desire for victory reaches its limit, even the aloof gods will enthusiastically praise their bravery.

And this is one of the reasons why Gryffindor possessed almost incredible physical strength thousands of years ago and could even fight dangerous magical creatures head-on.

"Because in the mind of that red-haired guy, I'm afraid he doesn't even know what fear is..."

Gawain sighed feebly. For the first time, he felt that being a fool was not useless. He felt closer to the former Big Four, and his admiration for them deepened.

"Wizard Pony... No, White. It's time for you to leave."

Margery looked at Gawain with a complicated expression, his burly body like a stone statue. His brows that had been frowning now became somewhat relaxed, as if he was finally freed from some difficult responsibility.

"Thank you, Mr. Margery."

Gawain was somewhat surprised to notice that Margaery's name for him had changed subtly.

With her lips moving, Margery seemed to want to say something, but she still didn't say anything. She just walked in front quietly, taking Gawain with her to the outside of the settlement just like when she came.

"Go out from here, follow the centaur's footprints, and you will find the exit of the forest."

At the entrance of the settlement, Margery pointed stiffly in one direction. He no longer looked at Gawain, but simply turned around and left.

"Mr. Margery, please wait."

Gawain hurriedly called him and took out from the dragon skin pocket on his waist all the medicines he had left that could be used to treat the injury, such as fresh herbs, wormwood, and alcohol.

He stuffed them all into Margery's arms and explained one by one how they should be used. The horse people wanted to refuse, but when they heard that these things could help with treatment and disinfection, they couldn't resist.

This awkward look made Gawain suddenly want to laugh.

Although there are not many of these things, and I don't know if they will work, Gawain, after experiencing the scene just now, always feels that he should do more.

"Good night."

Feeling inexplicably relieved, Gawain took out his invisibility cloak, put it on his body, and prepared to leave the Forbidden Forest and return to the castle.

"and many more."

Margery suddenly took off the long bow from behind and gently threw it to Gawain. Seeing him catching it with somewhat embarrassed hands, the centaur laughed in a low voice in disgust. Then he put away those things and walked back to the village without saying a word.

"Okay...it's almost time to go back to the castle."

Gawain put away the long bow that was half as tall as him, put on his invisibility cloak, and walked toward the castle.

At this time, the night in the Forbidden Forest seemed even quieter. Apart from the "rustling" sound of the branches and leaves blown by the cold evening wind, there was only the sound of Gawain's footsteps on the fallen leaves.

Even his footsteps had stopped.

Gawain stopped, quietly took out his wand, and held it in his hand. He seemed to catch a whiff. To be more precise, it was a smell, rather like vomit that had been exposed to the sun for a long time.

He looked around cautiously.

Tall black trees, dense branches and leaves, a few scattered bird's nests, and one or two little guys lying among the branches. They looked like human figures made of thin wooden strips, with leaves and branches forming their facial features.

"The Bowtruckle."

Gawain remembers that in the textbooks they were called a harmless magical creature. Even though they have very sharp nails, it's not enough for Gawain's intuition to warn him...

But Gawain's feeling is unmistakable.

Something strange was hiding near him, and it was extremely dangerous...

What's worse is that it may have discovered Gawain, because even though he was wearing an invisibility cloak at this moment, he still felt as if cold eyes were staring at him, as if searching or testing.

"We must think of a way to find it, or ask Professor Dumbledore for help."

Gawain recalled the books he had read, trying to find some clues that could help him, and raised his wand forward.