Being a passerby in HP female protagonist fanfiction

Harry was somewhat lost in thought.

He found Claire very strange.

It wasn't that Claire was bad; on the contrary, he thought Claire was really good, which made it seem even stranger.

Harry even felt like Claire wanted to pat his head.

His eyes were like a lake, a black lake filled with jewels, without impurities, only eternal stillness and inclusiveness... When Claire and Harry looked into each other's eyes, he couldn't control his heartbeat.

Speaking in that tone, with the mature thoughts of an adult, Claire was different from Hermione; her maturity was shown in her every word and action, as well as a strange touch of sadness.

Why do I feel sad when I look into his eyes?

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help but say something strange," Claire said apologetically. "Having ulterior motives is not something that should be done in a conversation."

She always liked to use honorifics and was polite to everyone. Even when facing someone as unreasonable as Malfoy, she could maintain her composure. Harry had seen her joking with her friends, and her lively and spirited demeanor was captivating.

But Claire never joked with Harry.

“It’s okay,” Harry said.

“That’s good. As for that question…” Claire tilted her head slightly, no longer looking at Harry, “only someone who has truly experienced it can answer it.”

“If I only treat it as a hypothesis, I can only offer empty words.” Claire looked back, exchanged a brief glance with Harry, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"However, this assumption has a very important flaw from the very beginning."

“What?” Harry exclaimed in surprise.

“From the very beginning, this is not a problem that children should be facing,” Claire said. “It’s the adults who have to stop bad things from happening.”

“We’re not little kids,” Harry retorted, but then realized his words were a bit off, his face turning slightly red. “Uh… I…”

"Aren't first graders little kids?"

Claire pretended to be thinking, making a somewhat incomplete circle with her finger in the air.

"At this age, children should just think about how to live happily. Problems and bad things are things that adults should face. Even if we have to take part in them, it is definitely not our fault, and the responsibility should not be ours."

“But we can’t just watch bad things happen…” Harry was a little at a loss.

“Doesn’t that mean we’ve already made our choice?” Claire laughed, a rare occurrence for her. She followed up on Harry’s question, making him realize that her words had been somewhat suggestive.

Harry seemed to understand something Claire was trying to say; his heart was confused, yet he also found himself in a strange sense of peace.

“But then again, this is actually a lazy logic.” Claire said with a sly look. “Although I don’t know why you asked this question, I’ve taught you my usual slacking-off techniques. Make good use of them and relax a bit.”

Claire's eyes were curved in a smile.

Eh?

Slacking off? Why would you slack off? What kind of fish?

Harry had no time to think further; the road had come to an end, and Claire and he were about to part ways.

“See you tomorrow,” Claire said.

“Oh, see you tomorrow,” Harry replied, a beat late.

"..."

"That's really strange," Harry thought.

Later, when he reflected on the conversation, he realized that Claire might have been joking with him at the end to ease the tension.

I don't quite understand, but my wish for him to relax is genuine.

When he was alone, Harry began to realize things too late.

Ugh, thinking about what he just did, even if Claire is very kind, it's not a reason to bother her like that. Hmm, his behavior just now must have been very outrageous.

Harry blushed.

However, could it also be considered a good thing?

Harry's heavy mood turned cheerful. He suppressed the urge to jump up and went back to his dormitory, pretending nothing had happened.

It was a small thing, but he didn't really want to share it with others.

Even small things can be kept secret.

Harry thought.

This inexplicable good mood lasted until the next morning, when he and his friends received the notes to be put in solitary confinement.

"..."

The three children were dejected. When they met Claire again in the library, Harry and Hermione were both inexplicably filled with self-blame and told the surprised Claire that they would be locked up that night.

"It might be tough, but that's what we have to do," Hermione sighed.

Claire was worried about them and walked with them for a while.

"She's such a nice person," Harry thought, stealing a glance at her.

They should be considered friends now.

That evening, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Draco, who had a grumpy face, followed behind Filch like little quails.

Upon hearing that they were going to the Forbidden Forest, Malfoy turned deathly pale. He clearly wanted to object immediately, but Filch just chuckled and ignored the flustered Malfoy.

"You bunch of brats... I'll be collecting your corpses first thing tomorrow morning," Filch said viciously, then swaggered away. Malfoy and Harry, for once, reached a consensus that this man was utterly despicable.

Hagrid seemed powerless about the confinement, proceeding with a purely businesslike manner. He divided the four people into two groups, including Tooth, and planned to enter the Forbidden Forest just like that.

"Remember to keep your wands safe." Hagrid wanted to teach everyone how to fire red sparks, but at that moment, Neville couldn't help but sob, his body trembling.

"I...I can't find my wand..."

This was a bit of a problem. Hagrid was in a dilemma, but he couldn't just cancel today's detention. It would be even more dangerous to leave Neville alone. He scratched his head and finally decided to send Malfoy and Harry with Axe, while he himself would take Hermione and Neville with him.

Malfoy's face darkened further. He didn't want to travel with a burden who hadn't brought his wand, but Harry was still a much worse match for Neville. Neville, with a tearful face, followed closely behind Hagrid.

The two groups of people gradually disappeared into the distance, and everything in the Forbidden Forest seemed so dark, as if terrifying creatures were hiding in every corner, and the birdsong came out without warning.

Harry and Malfoy followed Bass and saw bloodstains left along the way, perhaps indicating a murder or tragedy. In this environment, neither of them was in the mood to argue with the other.

The deeper you go, the denser the trees and bloodstains become.

Suddenly, a fleeting shadow swept past them in the distance, startling them so much that they nearly unleashed a burst of red sparks.

Hagrid said someone was hunting unicorns... Could they have just stumbled upon them?!

Malfoy seemed to want to turn back, and Harry wasn't doing well either, but they still took another step forward. Without Hagrid and Tooth, they couldn't get out of the Forbidden Forest, and Tooth clearly had no intention of doing so.

Finally, the two discovered the beautiful, dying creature. Before they could react, a terrifying black shadow crawled over and pounced on the unicorn's neck to drink its blood.

The unicorn's blood dripped down with the sound of its sucking, and the beautiful creature wailed silently.

Harry couldn't describe how he felt at that moment, and Malfoy was screaming. Although their minds were terribly blank, they both knew what they needed to do.

One word—run.

Harry tried to turn around, but the scar on his head inexplicably began to burn, and a huge headache prevented him from moving. Harry didn't even have the strength to stand up and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The man in black robes spotted them. He seemed to be seriously injured and on the verge of a mental breakdown. Being discovered by others clearly triggered his nerves. He raised his wand and, without even uttering a spell, cast an extremely fast spell in the direction of Malfoy and Harry.

"Go to hell!"

Harry couldn't move; he stood there, stunned. For a split second, Malfoy clearly couldn't care less about Harry. He didn't even dare to turn around to look until he heard the sound of something cutting through the air. Only then did he hurriedly turn his head, his eyes filled with terror.

"Protego!" (Protego armor!)

A familiar, furious female voice rang out, and a fragile barrier stood between them, dismantling the attack.

This sound is...

Harry's mind went blank.

Claire rushed forward, grabbed Harry, and helped him back, her wand never leaving his hand. Her face was as pale as Malfoy's.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with a calm blend of extreme anger and fear.

"Follow me!"