Chapter 52: Little Annie's Forbidden Forest Adventure (Part I)

In the Forbidden Forest outside Hogwarts at dusk, after finishing dinner and leaving a notice regarding her specific class schedule at the exit of the Great Hall, the restless little Annie could not stay still! Driven by extreme boredom, she had come to this place alone to wander and play aimlessly.

Having been at the castle for three days, Annie had noticed more than once that there seemed to be many strange magical fluctuations in this small forest outside Hogwarts. Driven by curiosity, she had first consulted the Hogwarts history and school annals in the library, learning that many magical creatures inhabited this Forbidden Forest. Thus, after dinner, she had hurried here alone, eager to see exactly what made these magical creatures so "magical."

It was now evening, and because the trees in the Forbidden Forest were so dense, the light was insufficient, making the area appear somewhat dim.

Annie wandered along, grumbling and complaining to herself! However, she felt no fear despite the darkness; in her view, this place was far inferior to the Voodoo lands! She was merely annoyed by the difficult forest paths; the thorns, weeds, and prickly vines by the roadside were truly hateful! These plants kept snagging the hem of her skirt, making her so angry she wanted to set them all on fire!

After an unknown amount of time, just as Annie turned a corner past a dense thicket along a path swallowed by weeds where the trail was almost invisible, she noticed something strange ahead, emitting a faint, silvery-white glow. Suddenly, something seemed to trigger a memory; her spirits lifted, and she immediately broke into a quick jog.

"Wow! There really are unicorns here!!" Once she saw clearly what the glowing object was, Annie's eyes filled with excitement. It seemed the school history wasn't just made-up boasting; they really did let unicorns roam free here.

Indeed! The situation was exactly as Annie had imagined. In the dim Forbidden Forest, the only thing capable of emitting such a silvery-white light could indeed be a unicorn.

During her time idling in the school library over the past two days, Annie had skimmed through a section of Hogwarts' history. The books recorded quite clearly that the school kept a significant number of magical animals roaming the Forbidden Forest, including unicorns, and today she had indeed stumbled upon one.

"Sweetie! Don't be afraid! What are you doing here? Do you want to come play with me?" Annie spoke as she walked forward, attempting to soothe the unicorn before her.

The unicorn had seen Annie long ago, but it had not reacted too violently. It was precisely because it hadn't reacted intensely that Annie was trying to soothe it with words. Otherwise, if it had made a move to flee, Annie would have immediately cast a couple of spells to bind it.

Seeing Annie slowly approaching, the beautiful silvery-white unicorn did not rush to escape. It did not believe this human little girl posed a great threat to it; unicorn perception is very sensitive, and it could sense that although the little girl carried a terrifying aura, she seemed to harbor no hostility toward it. Therefore, it had not left immediately, but merely tensed its muscles and tilted its head, watching the approaching girl with a wary gaze.

It was a female unicorn nearing adulthood, with a long, silvery-white horn tinged with a hint of gold on its forehead. Its four hooves were sturdy and powerful, and the mane on its neck and its tail flowed like two streams of silvery light, shimmering and crystalline. Its entire body was covered in fur that emitted a faint silvery-white glow, making it look breathtakingly beautiful in the dim forest.

Annie nodded inwardly; the books were right! This truly was a pure magical creature, the most beautiful elf of nature. It was just a pity that it was far too weak; aside from its remarkable magical resistance and strength, nothing else was particularly impressive—and more importantly, it couldn't fly! Otherwise, Annie really would have considered catching one to use as a mount.

Unicorns generally possess remarkable intelligence. As Annie continued to approach, the creature finally confirmed that this human little girl had no malice toward it; she was merely curious, nothing more.

Thus, it did not hurry away. After slowly relaxing its body, it began to tilt its head, observing the human girl as she drew closer. It did not know why a human child would come into the Forbidden Forest alone at such a late hour. The forest at night is very dangerous for humans, as it is home to many ferocious monsters.

"Wow! So beautiful!" Seeing that the unicorn was not too resistant, Annie carefully walked to its side and reached out her small hand to touch its silvery-white back. It was so tall that even with Annie standing on her tiptoes, she could not reach its long, beautifully maned neck. The silvery-white, flowing mane was so exquisite that Annie couldn't wait to touch it.

"Neigh~!" Sensing Annie's touch and goodwill, the unicorn let out a soft neigh and lowered its head to affectionately nuzzle Annie's cheek.

It was starting to like this little girl. The aura surrounding her no longer felt like the terrifying illusion she had sensed at first; instead, it had become peaceful and natural, making the unicorn feel a sense of kinship, freshness, and comfort.

It was nearly time for the unicorn to return, but thinking of the dangers in the forest at this hour, it felt uneasy leaving the little girl alone. Thus, it made a temporary decision to accompany her for a while. If possible, perhaps it could lead her to where the foresters patrol to prevent her from being harmed by other carnivores.

"My name is Annie, it's nice to meet you. Ahaha! That tickles, stop it!" The unicorn's thick mane tickled Annie's cheek, making her laugh happily.

Annie chatted with the unicorn for a while. When she realized the unicorn wasn't responding to her words, she finally snapped out of it and immediately waved her hand, casting a spell for mental communication with animals.

Magic: Animal Communication!

Seeing the bright light suddenly enter its body, the unicorn nearly jumped in fright. Seeing the spell, it thought the little girl was attacking it. However, after feeling carefully, it realized its body had not been harmed by the light. This left it somewhat confused, unsure of what the girl had just done, so it cautiously backed away a few steps and watched her warily again.

"Don't worry, it's just a small spell! It's a spell that allows us to communicate smoothly!" Seeing the unicorn's tension, Annie explained hurriedly. She had finally encountered such a fun unicorn; she couldn't let it run away! Annie truly had no intention of using any offensive spells to hurt it.

"A spell? Communication? Huh! Wait, how can I understand what you're saying?" The unicorn became even more panicked and retreated several more steps! It had actually understood the girl's words perfectly—how could this be? Generally, they could only perceive the goodwill or malice of other creatures.

"It's just a mental communication spell to make talking easier! Don't be afraid, it's fine!" Annie continued to soothe it. She was truly afraid the unicorn would bolt, which would end the fun.

"Mental communication? A spell? I remember now... are you a wizard? A student from that human school outside the Forbidden Forest?" Understanding the reason, the unicorn finally stopped being afraid and slowly trotted back toward Annie.

"Hmph! I'm not a student! I'm a professor at the school; they all call me Professor Annie Haster!" Annie lifted her head proudly, looking very smug! Then, unable to resist, she stepped forward to touch the unicorn's mane again. The hair felt so smooth and shiny; it was incredibly pleasant to touch.

"By the way! What is your name?" Annie realized she didn't know its name yet.

"A name? We don't have names..." The unicorn seemed puzzled. It had never really thought about this problem. Was a name truly necessary?

Generally, within unicorn herds, they only had the simplest concepts, such as "you," "me," "him," "leader," "parents," and "siblings." They didn't communicate much; everyone lived carefree lives in the forest. A name shouldn't be that important, right?

"How can you not have a name! How about I give you one? Let me think, hmm..." Annie happily walked in front of the unicorn, meeting its eyes.

"Then, how about Anna? My name is Annie, and yours will be Anna. I used to have a very, very good friend named Anna, too." Annie suddenly thought of Angelina from the Julia School in New York—that crybaby little Angelina. She wondered if she was doing well now. She must have learned to play the piano by herself by now, right? She suddenly missed her quite a bit.

Annie still held the specific coordinates of the New York world. If the Space Stone were fully charged, it wouldn't be impossible to go back to that New York. It was just... Annie was a bit worried that if she went back, that uncle with the hammer certainly wouldn't let her go easily. If things turned sour and a fight broke out, the Asgardians had the numbers.

And there was only Annie and Tibbles. No matter how she counted on her fingers, the odds were in the opponent's favor! So... forget it, she wouldn't go back for now. Mainly because that hammer-wielding uncle was too much trouble—it wasn't that Annie was afraid of him!

"Anna? My name? It feels a bit strange, but I'll be Anna from now on!" The unicorn blinked at Annie, tilted its head in thought for a moment, snorted, and nodded in agreement.

It found itself liking this human girl named Annie more and more. Not only could she speak to its mind, but she had even given it a name. It felt the name was quite pleasant; it brought a strange, novel feeling it had never experienced before.

"Great! Anna! Then, can I ride on your back? Can you take me to play in the forest?" Annie looked at it expectantly. She had wanted to do this for a long time! Now that they were considered friends, her request shouldn't be too much to ask, right?

"Alright! Come up then." The unicorn Anna quickly agreed, kneeling its front hooves to make it easy for Annie to climb onto its back.

"I'm settled! Let's go, forward! Charge!" Annie nimbly flipped onto the unicorn's back, gripping its beautiful mane with her left hand and pointing toward the forest path with her right, shouting joyfully.

Seeing that Annie was secure, the unicorn Anna spread its powerful hooves and began to gallop through the Forbidden Forest.

They were like a streak of silvery light, weaving through the somewhat dark forest at high speed—sometimes smoothly bypassing a large tree, sometimes gracefully leaping over a small stream, and sometimes jumping onto rugged rock faces. Accompanied by the native magical creature, Anna, Annie quickly toured a good portion of the Forbidden Forest, seeing many beautiful sights and magical animals. This experience was far superior to wandering around alone!

"Ahaha~! I am so happy today! Anna! How about you?" Annie waved her toy bear, Tibbles, laughing heartily on the unicorn's back, humming some nonsensical tunes. Her clear, childish voice drifted through the Forbidden Forest like countless little elves singing among the trees...

"Neigh~! Neigh~!" The unicorn Anna did not answer her directly, but instead let out two neighs and continued its high-speed run. It was also very happy today, because it had made a wonderful human friend in Annie.

(End of Chapter)