Are Unicorns Friendly? Pt 2

  “Ufff… uff…” Fleur breathed with clear exhaustion, bringing a hand to her shoulder for a moment. Once again, her arm had been pierced by the unicorn’s horn. The wound began to close quickly, just like the other marks still visible across her body.

  Now, unlike how she had started, her clothes were full of cuts and stains of blood. And yet her skin remained intact, clean beneath the torn fabric; clear proof that every injury Destructora inflicted on her healed almost instantly.

  The unicorn watched her with pride, standing beside the chest, looking at her directly. Every time Fleur was wounded… she stood back up.

  “This is not what we expected from a battle with such a gentle animal to become so… ruthless,” Ludo said, unable to hide his tension, as the audience slowly began to calm from their initial excitement and watch what was happening in the arena with growing seriousness.

  Each time Destructora struck Fleur, more than one person could not help but let out a small, choked gasp. Fortunately, the creature did not seem focused on killing her, only on hurting her just enough; and the champion’s strange ability continued to heal her. Something no one truly understood.

  The only one who seemed to understand what was happening was Newt, who kept a calm gaze, almost one of quiet understanding, as if he were watching something perfectly logical unfold.

  Then everyone saw Destructora reposition herself again, lowering her head with her horn aimed straight at Fleur, and she began to run once more. Her body was covered in the blue light radiating from the horn, her speed increasing until, in a matter of seconds, she was already in front of Fleur, threatening to pierce her again.

  For a brief instant, Fleur showed fear. Just one second.

  Then her expression changed; she gripped her wand tightly and leapt to the side to evade. Even so, her arm was cut again by the horn. The pain showed clearly on her face; it was deep, real. Yet she still lifted the injured arm and managed to grab onto the creature’s coat.

  And she embraced it with both arms, holding on.

  Destructora made an annoyed sound before beginning to shake herself violently. She reared up on her hind legs, and Fleur fell heavily to the ground.

  Many could not help but look away at that moment. Others were confused by the desperate attempt.

  Destructora looked at Fleur before returning to stand beside the chest again, passing by a champion covered in dirt and pain. And yet Fleur stood up once more, breathing with difficulty, and looked straight at the animal.

  The unicorn watched her closely. It let out a low, deep neigh without breaking eye contact. And Fleur did not look away either; her gaze was firm, serious, without fear. She was exhausted. In pain. But not defeated.

  “This is truly impressive; the champion of Beauxbatons does not seem willing to give up even when she is completely drained. Is this really alright? She has not used a single offensive spell, she has stayed within the rules of not harming the creatures, but this…” Ludo said with clear concern.

  “No,” Newt replied with a small smile. “Because if she had used offensive magic, she would have failed the trial.”

  “What?” Ludo asked, completely confused.

  In the arena, the creature did something unexpected.

  This time, it did not run.

  It walked.

  With calm, steady steps, until it stopped right in front of Fleur. It looked at her directly, with that same pride… perhaps even a hint of vanity. Its horn glowed softly, and a blue light descended over Fleur, sealing her wounds completely. Their gazes met.

  “As we said, this task was never a test of battle, nor of how well you can confront a creature, but of how well you can understand it… and be accepted by it,” Newt explained, without taking his eyes off the scene.

  The audience remained in absolute silence.

  The unicorn snorted in front of Fleur; the air pushed her hair back. Then it shook its white mane elegantly. A small key slipped free from within its mane and fell gently to the ground, right at the champion’s feet.

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  After that, without looking back, it turned around and began to walk toward the arena gates with the same proud bearing it had shown at the very beginning.

  The confusion in the stands was obvious.

  Even Ludo Bagman and the judges looked unsettled.

  “Uh… could you explain that, please, Mr. Scamander?” Ludo asked quickly.

  “It is said that unicorns can see the pure heart within a person, and that is why they sometimes choose who may touch them and who may not. But that is not entirely accurate,” Newt replied calmly. “It is about their pride. Unicorns are extremely proud creatures. Normally, that pride is tied to their beauty and their delicacy.”

  “Then are you saying the unicorn was bothered by Fleur’s beauty?” Ludo asked, amused.

  “Let me finish,” Newt said with a serious look that made Ludo shut his mouth immediately.

  “The difference lies in the fact that Fleur was not facing a common unicorn, but a matriarch; the one who defeated her own kind to be crowned. At that point, it is no longer about beauty… but about strength. In this case, strength of will.

  Fleur only used protective spells. She never attacked. She never tried to impose herself. And the unicorn never aimed for lethal points either. It always returned to its position. It always left her space. It was pride against pride.

  What it wanted was to make her doubt. To make her step back. To make her lower her gaze.

  But Fleur did not.

  And when someone stands firm before a creature like that… the creature acknowledges it.

  She earned its acceptance. She passed the trial.”

  In the arena, Fleur stared at the small key at her feet with obvious confusion… before bending down and picking it up slowly.

  “Wow… can an animal really think all that?” Ludo asked, still astonished.

  “Ha. Animals are far more intelligent than you think. Especially… the ones that belong to that particular little group,” Newt replied, though he did not clarify exactly which group he meant.

  “So Miss Delacour passed the unicorn’s trial?” Ludo insisted.

  “Barely. But yes,” Newt said simply.

  Everyone watched Fleur walk toward the chest, utterly drained. She was healed, yes; but that did not change the fact that she was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

  She simply inserted the key. The chest opened with a soft metallic click, revealing something golden and shining inside. She lifted it carefully; it was a large egg of some sort, exquisitely carved, ancient inscriptions running across its entire surface. She barely looked at it; she had no strength left to admire it. She only raised it above her head.

  The stadium exploded into cheers.

  Fleur did not stay to enjoy it. She left quickly, needing rest and a change of clothes, which were completely torn, while the echo of the applause still lingered in the air.

  In the teachers’ box, where part of the judges were also seated, Sirius smiled with apparent calm at seeing everything had gone well. Though for a moment, when Destructora had begun to wound Fleur, even he had been startled. To be precise, he had thought that would be the easiest trial of all. And it had only been the first. He had not even expected Destructora to test Fleur in that way.

  But in the end, it had worked.

  “See? I told you. The ones I brought are really good,” Sirius said with a shameless grin.

  Selene and Wanda, seated closer to him, exchanged a brief glance without saying a word.

  “Hmph. It is just a simple unicorn,” Karkaroff muttered from the far corner beside the other judges. Sirius did not sit near them; he preferred staying on the Hogwarts professors’ side.

  Madame Maxime, on the other hand, pressed a hand to her chest, which she had been clutching in tension since the first strike. Finally, she let out a breath and a small smile.

  “Thus, Fleur is fully recognized as a champion, not as someone chosen at random,” she said with pride.

  “Hmph. I hope the beasts given to my students are just as easy,” Karkaroff muttered, clearly irritated, his contempt toward Fleur’s performance obvious.

  Even from a distance, Sirius caught it. His smile turned faintly amused.

  Ludo, as always, recovered the crowd’s energy almost instantly.

  “Now I hope everyone is ready for the next challenge! This time, brought to you by Marton Kovác, champion of Durmstrang,” he announced as the young man entered through the gate with confident, determined steps.

  Many did not recognize his name. He had not been particularly flashy in the first task either. So only his fellow Durmstrang students and a few curious visitors cheered with real enthusiasm.

  “And the magical creature that will test his—!”

  Ludo did not get to finish.

  Suddenly, the gate from which the creature was meant to emerge burst open with a loud crash. A gray blur, feathers thrashing violently, shot across the arena at astonishing speed.

  Marton had no time to react or even draw his wand; he had been waiting for the formal introduction.

  Two enormous eagle talons seized him tightly and, within seconds, he was torn from the ground and lifted into the sky.

  The stadium fell silent.

  Everyone stared in shock as Marton rose higher and higher, clearly held by a hippogriff.

  “Eeeh… Mr. Scamander, what kind of trial do you think this creature is giving the Durmstrang champion?” Ludo asked, not taking his eyes off the scene while Marton screamed in panic.

  Newt tilted his head up, following the trajectory with complete calm.

  “Eh… perhaps how good he is at flying,” he said casually.

  Ludo turned toward him quickly.

  “But Mr. Scamander, unlike magical creatures, wizards do not fly. Except with brooms,” he replied.

  “Mmm. Yes. Then… how good he is at falling,” Newt added thoughtfully.

  At that exact moment, the hippogriff suddenly released Marton.

  “AAAAH!”

  The young man began to plummet at terrifying speed.

  The crowd screamed as one. Many covered their eyes. The staff stationed around the arena already had their wands raised, prepared to stop the fall at any second.

  But before they could intervene, the hippogriff dove with astonishing precision. Its wings cut through the air as it descended like an arrow and, at the very last second, caught Marton again, this time by the legs.

  “AAAAH!” the champion continued screaming, desperately trying to reach for his wand. But upside down, it slipped from his robes and fell spinning toward the ground.

  The hippogriff, Buckbeak, let out a cry that sounded almost… amused.

  And he dropped the Durmstrang student once more.