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The day after Ron was bitten by Norbert, his finger swelled to twice its original size. Even though Norbert had tried to be gentle, dragon teeth were venomous, and Ron still fell victim to it.
He tried to tough it out, but within half a day, Harry and Neville had to carry him to Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing.
"He deserved it! Who told him to approach Norbert using Hermione's name? Well done, Norbert!" Draco gleefully told Glenn about this incident. Glenn remained neutral - if Weasley did something he shouldn't have, he should be prepared to face the consequences. There was nothing more to say about it.
The dragon was growing incredibly fast. In just a few days, it had grown much taller than Glenn. It was time to move it to the cave Glenn had discovered in the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid seemed reluctant but wasn't too heartbroken. After all, it wasn't like he'd never see Norbert again. As the gamekeeper of the Forbidden Forest, he was happy enough that he could visit and play with Norbert from time to time.
Glenn obviously couldn't personally guide Hagrid and Norbert to the location he'd mentioned - the little girl was still watching closely. So instead, he had Hagrid bring out a map of the Forbidden Forest and marked an area on it.
"It should be somewhere in this region. According to Dumbledore, the cave is located at a higher elevation and should be quite noticeable," Glenn explained the location and surrounding features to Hagrid, making it possible for him to find the place.
"Alright then, I'll take Norbert there now. You two head back to Hogwarts, no need to wait for me," Hagrid waved to them, carrying a large bundle of food and toys he'd prepared for Norbert. Norbert followed beside him and, noticing Glenn and Hermione's gaze, flapped its wings as if saying goodbye.
The two watched as Hagrid and Norbert's figures disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. The little girl seemed somewhat downcast.
"We'll see Norbert again, and maybe it can even take us for a flight," Glenn consoled Hermione, who simply nodded obediently without saying much.
With Norbert gone, their lives returned to normal - though "normal" might not be the most appropriate word. The absence of caring for and playing with Norbert left Hermione feeling empty, but having Glenn by her side made it less difficult.
Draco was the most affected. Among the three, he had been the most attached to Norbert. During their time together, he had developed a strong bond with the little dragon, and now that it was gone, he felt like part of his heart had left too.
Worse still, he had no one to comfort him. His two dim-witted followers only knew how to laugh stupidly and eat, which made him even more depressed.
Seeing Hermione at the Gryffindor table, smiling brilliantly like a flower with Glenn by her side, all traces of her previous gloom gone, Draco secretly wondered if he should try dating someone too.
He scratched his head and decided against it. He still didn't understand this romance business, and besides, nothing was more fun than picking on Potter and Weasley.
With no other choice, he buried himself in his food, channeling his depression into appetite.
After dinner and studying with the little girl in the library until curfew, Glenn escorted Hermione back to the Gryffindor common room before returning to his dormitory. Since Draco knew about Glenn's nighttime visits to the Forbidden Forest, he had his two followers go to bed early and, having no training himself, went to sleep as well. This saved Goyle and Crabbe from Glenn's combination of Stupefy and Obliviate.
After putting on and double-checking his night patrol equipment, Glenn opened the dormitory door and headed for the Forbidden Forest.
Tonight was particularly dark, with heavy clouds blocking out the earth below. The pure moonlight couldn't penetrate the cloud cover, making the already dark Forbidden Forest even more shrouded in an atmosphere of unknown terror.
However, Glenn wasn't concerned - he couldn't see anyway, and under his supersensory vision, nothing could hide.
Following his planned route and beginning his patrol slowly, Glenn cast all enhancement spells on himself. His figure moved as nimbly as a cat, gracefully and lightly traversing between the high branches of the trees.
Listening in all directions with his supersenses working at full capacity, Glenn quickly analyzed and filtered useful information while moving silently. The burden wasn't heavy - he had long since grown accustomed to it all.
In the Forbidden Forest, which seemed just like any other day, a sudden sound reached Glenn - one he had heard before but was somehow different now.
The sound of a unicorn in flight.
During his previous explorations of various species groups in the forest, Glenn had fortunately discovered a unicorn herd. He hadn't approached to disturb these pure magical creatures, merely quietly observing and sensing their behavior patterns, storing the information in his mind. Now, this knowledge proved useful.
The information Glenn was receiving about the fleeing unicorn was different from what he had collected before.
The breathing sounds and heartbeat were far beyond what Glenn had previously recorded, and he even caught the sound of blood dripping to the ground as the unicorn ran.
He couldn't help but smile slightly - it seemed the person he had been waiting for finally couldn't resist the gradual decay of his life force and could no longer suppress his survival instincts, preparing to attack a unicorn again.
Maintaining a safe distance, Glenn silently followed Quirrell's figure as he pursued the unicorn. He needed to wait for the right moment - an opportunity that would guarantee a hit.
He would only get one chance; a mistake would waste all these nights of patrolling. Voldemort wouldn't be stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.
Quirrell, who was hunting down the fleeing unicorn, was in terrible condition. His body had already consumed too much life force due to Voldemort's possession, and the curse from the unicorn blood continued to erode his body. Quirrell could feel his thoughts becoming increasingly sluggish, his joints less responsive - he feared it wouldn't be long before he became nothing more than a walking corpse.
But having already boarded this ship of thieves and bound himself to Voldemort, he had no choice but to see it through to the end. He could only do his utmost to help Voldemort obtain the Philosopher's Stone and reconstruct his body, extending his life - only then could Quirrell survive.
Facing the unicorn ahead, which was wounded in multiple places but still able to flee quickly, he felt extremely uncomfortable. He couldn't use the Killing Curse, which would directly destroy the soul, as this would cause the life force in the unicorn's blood to dissipate along with its destroyed soul. He could only use other spells to immobilize the unicorn and drink its fresh blood while it was still alive to obtain its life force.
Gritting his teeth, he cast spell after spell at the unicorn ahead. Each hit caused the creature to cry out in pain and slow down considerably.
Finally, one spell struck the unicorn's hind leg, causing it to fall to the ground.
"Damn it, finally caught you! Why run so fast? I just want to drink your blood," Quirrell thought bitterly, his mind already deeply influenced by Voldemort.
He laughed sinisterly and said sycophantically to the air, "Master, I have captured the unicorn for you. Please partake."
His face under the hood began to twist, Quirrell's original face slowly rotating to the back of his head, while the face that had been at the back of Quirrell's head gradually turned to the front.
It was Voldemort, parasitically attached to the back of Quirrell's head.
His face was deathly pale, snake-like in appearance. The nose in the center of his face had disappeared, replaced by two thin slits, and he had no lips, his mouth just another slit. His eyes... well, they were also slits.
In total, five slits on his face.
Quirrell's voice disappeared, replaced by Voldemort's - hollow and hoarse.
"Well done, my most valued servant. Once I obtain the Philosopher's Stone, it will be time for your recovery." After casually making this empty promise, Voldemort - no longer Quirrell - twisted his body to crawl on the ground, truly like a snake.
The unicorn was about to die at Voldemort's hands.
But Glenn didn't care about the unicorn's fate - its life or death meant nothing to him. Only when Voldemort completely stopped in one position would it be time to launch his attack.
Eight hundred meters away from Voldemort and the injured unicorn, Glenn leaned against a large tree trunk, holding a sniper rifle longer and heavier than himself in his right hand.
Glenn had spent nearly more than a month modifying this anti-materiel sniper cannon that he currently couldn't safely use, successfully combining firearms and magic through alchemy until the rifle's original form was completely unrecognizable.
The bullet's propulsion relied not only on the thrust produced by gunpowder combustion and explosion but also on alchemical arrays inscribed in the barrel carrying the concepts of "propulsion" and "explosion." The bullets themselves had been modified by Glenn using alchemy to expand upon contact with objects and create explosions, causing damage beyond mere physical penetration and destruction, including magical penetration and explosion.
The cost of using this firearm with Glenn's current body was enormous, but Glenn was Glenn - he would use any means necessary to achieve his goals, especially when it came to ensuring Hermione's safe and undisturbed life at Hogwarts.
Glenn had already experienced the heart-wrenching pain of peaceful life suddenly being destroyed. He didn't want to feel that again.
So, he would eliminate any potential causes of such events in advance.
Activating a silencing charm, Glenn poured out the soil and other materials from his waist pack, transmuting them in mid-air using alchemy.
And reconstructing them.
A dim light flashed as the melted materials, under the effect of alchemy, enveloped the right half of Glenn's upper body, forming a half-exoskeleton armor that firmly braced against the tree trunk.
Glenn's custom-made magical anti-materiel sniper cannon was held in his right hand, the stock pressed against his right shoulder, his left hand steadily gripping the handle.
He removed the black silk, activating his supersenses to their limit.
Voldemort's crawling figure appeared in the scope's crosshairs. Information about the surrounding air humidity, wind speed, and other factors flowed into Glenn's mind through his supersenses, constantly connecting and recombining.
Glenn calculated the optimal shooting trajectory.
Everything was ready. Voldemort stopped moving, lowering his body, about to begin drinking the unicorn's blood.
The prey had entered the trap.
So...
Covering the sniper rifle with a layer of silencing charms and casting a light-suppressing spell at the muzzle, Glenn's finger rested on the trigger.
The hunter was about to pull the trigger.
...The moment had come.