From that day on, the young unicorn followed Regulus Black everywhere—eating and sleeping alongside him.
Twice a day, morning and evening, Regulus Black would take it for a stroll through the Forbidden Forest, just like walking a dog.
Heh. Life began to settle into a routine, and at the same time, there were a lot of things he could no longer do.
Sure enough, raising a pet wasn't suited for someone like him. As a transmigrator, Regulus Black needed to spend his time calculating the actions of key characters, squeezing every bit of benefit from them, and obtaining everything he desired before the Harry Potter series reached its end.
Otherwise, once the plot concluded and everything reverted to an unknown state, the advantages of transmigration would completely disappear.
He waited by the Forbidden Forest until the young unicorn had finished frolicking to its heart's content, and only then did Regulus Black lead it back to the school.
Now that he thought about it—do unicorns even eat?
Apparently not. During the days he spent living with the unicorn, Regulus Black hadn't seen it eat a single thing.
That was until one day, when the young unicorn ran into the Forbidden Forest and lingered beside the corpse of a dead animal.
Regulus Black didn't believe it was having a sudden burst of compassion and trying to revive the creature. When he approached, all that remained of the animal was a pile of decayed bones.
When it saw Regulus coming closer, the young unicorn shyly backed away a few steps, showing signs of guilt and unease.
Regulus examined the animal bones carefully. He was certain his eyes weren't mistaken—just moments earlier, it had been the fresh corpse of a recently dead animal. But after the unicorn had done something, it had turned into a pile of rotting bones.
"Can you tell me what that was about?"
Regulus Black had always spoken frankly with the unicorn that had come to him of its own accord. For such an intelligent yet pure creature, straightforward communication without hidden meanings was the most effective approach.
The young unicorn didn't hesitate—it gently touched its horn to Regulus Black's forehead.
Their consciousnesses connected, and the unicorn unilaterally shared information about its habits and lifestyle—details that weren't mentioned in any magical creature guidebooks.
What do unicorns eat?
Unicorns are beautiful creatures. Their horns possess healing abilities and can filter dust and poison to prevent illness or poisoning—and are even said to grant immortality. Due to legends about their ability to detect toxins, unicorn horns are considered precious antidotes in the Muggle world.
The horn, blood, and hair of a unicorn all have powerful magical properties.
The horn, in particular, has detoxifying effects. It's said that knives made with unicorn horn handles can detect poison in food when cutting it.
Unicorn tail hair can be used to craft wands, and their blood is silver-white, capable of prolonging life. However, it is best not to kill a unicorn for these things—you will regret it, as such actions will bring a curse upon you.
A unicorn's temperament is quite different from its gentle appearance. It can fight elephants and dragons. They generally avoid human contact and are more likely to allow a witch rather than a wizard to approach. They are incredibly swift when running, making them difficult to capture.
In other words, unicorns may actually feed on poison, or at the very least, they enjoy consuming poison.
The animal corpse, having died naturally, contained residual corpse poison—thus making it food for the unicorn.
When unicorns feed on poison, they don't use their mouths like regular animals. Instead, they are more like the Gandharvas from Buddhist mythology, who feed on scent. Unicorns, in this case, feed on poisonous vapors.
Once the corpse's toxic fumes are absorbed, it decays rapidly—this is why no one has ever witnessed a unicorn eating.
Regulus Black finally understood why the unicorn never ate in front of him, yet whenever he turned his back, the vegetables and fruits he left for it mysteriously vanished.
Additionally, adult unicorns are silver-white, while in their youth, they are golden in color.
"So, you've already reached adulthood, huh!"
Regulus Black let out a chuckle that sounded suspiciously like that of a shady old man, which startled the young unicorn. It immediately grew angry and bumped him with its head.
Of course, the unicorn knew Regulus Black was joking. He reached out and held its spiraled horn, and the two began to communicate.
"That night, I had just shed my golden fur—so I had only just become an adult when I died."
The unicorn speaking like a human felt a bit strange. It would probably take some time before it could communicate smoothly. Besides, unicorns were naturally telepathic—meaning they didn't require physical contact to communicate. As long as they were near someone, they could have a conversation through telepathy.
But this newly adult unicorn could only communicate through physical contact, a significant downgrade from its potential abilities.
"So basically, you're a freshly adult loli unicorn—stuck right between girlhood and childhood!"
Regulus Black couldn't help but make a jab, which nearly earned him a headbutt strong enough to knock him to the ground.
"Okay, okay! Let's talk about something else. Right now, you don't have many options. One of them is to continue as you are—stay in the Forbidden Forest, continue living under Hogwarts' protection. I believe Dumbledore, or any future headmaster, wouldn't drive you out or do anything to harm you."
As a unicorn that might have been resurrected, this secret wouldn't stay hidden forever. Even if people believed it was a "saved" unicorn, eventually someone would suspect it had actually been brought back from the dead. Then would come the hunters, the pursuit, dissection, and analysis—all to uncover the secret of resurrection.
However, as long as the unicorn continued to live quietly in the Forbidden Forest, and didn't cause any trouble, Hogwarts would be the best sanctuary. No matter the excuse, taking action against it would be considered an attack on the future of the wizarding world itself. The official wizarding world wouldn't tolerate that kind of threat. Even Voldemort's Death Eaters, after gaining control of Hogwarts later on, still treated it as a school, not a fortress. They never did anything to the magical creatures living in the Forbidden Forest.
"I don't want to! I don't want to keep living such a monotonous life. Life as a unicorn is dull and boring. If I hadn't met you, my life would've already ended. You gave me new life, and you opened my eyes to a brand-new world—I want to live with you."
The unicorn pawed at the ground with its hoof. Its girlish voice and tsundere attitude made it seem like a girlfriend stubbornly refusing to leave her boyfriend's home.
"If you're that determined, then as the current head of the Black family, I'll give you another path—get stronger. Become powerful. So powerful that no wizard or faction can harm you, unless you want to die."
Regulus Black wouldn't say something like that unless he had the means to back it up. Turning this unicorn into an almost invincible being—he could make that happen. Besides, they had time, didn't they? It was still only Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts.
"Theoretically, there's no such thing as an invincible existence in this world. Everything changes. Even the strongest people can have bad luck, make mistakes, or grow old."
The unicorn took on the tone of a lecturer, showing off its knowledge. It had been spending quite a bit of time in Ravenclaw lately, after all—surrounded by adorable girls and an endless supply of books to learn from. The young unicorn was quite fond of studying.
"So how much of your promise can you really keep? Can you truly make me strong enough that no hostile gaze ever falls on me? Or perhaps... disappearing altogether would be the simplest solution. If I could vanish in concept—yet still live together with you."
The unicorn's voice trembled with excitement. It had come up with what it thought was a great idea. As long as it could stay with the one it loved, disappearing from the eyes of the world meant nothing.
"No need to disappear. I'll make you the pride of the Black family—our signature symbol. Everyone will envy us for having you, yet no one will dare think of doing anything about it."
Could Regulus Black really do what he said? Of course. He wouldn't have made such a claim otherwise. Even if the one he was speaking to was just a unicorn—a young unicorn at that—Regulus Black disdained the idea of deceiving a child.
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09