The forest was dim, moonlight filtering through its thick leafy canopy and dappling the black ground below with muted green. Heavy footsteps echoed through the trees, crunching hard soil and snapping twigs below them. The sound sent squirrels scurrying back to their holes, tails twitching, and birds soaring into the sky. A large dog snapped at some of them, but never managed to catch anything. Disturbed chitters and chirps rang through the air as the boots tromped through the forest and the dog growled and snarled at all in its path...
...but all fell eerily silent after a moment. The footsteps stopped short. The birds ceased their calling. The rodents hesitated, and the dog paused in its torment of them.
Then, a thud and an anguished cry filled with grief resounded through the gloomy woods.
A giant of a man with a thick black tangle of a beard rested upon his knees before the corpse of a unicorn. Silvery blood stained the ground around it, shining faintly where the moonlight touched it. He reached out to stroke its silken mane almost reverently, brushing his massive knuckles over its head. The dog sat by his side, staring at him with apparent concern.
Rubeus Hagrid watched sadly as a dimly glowing light flickered and faded from the unicorn's white horn, and tears began to creep steadily down his round cheeks. Fang, nothing if not helpful, licked them gently off his face. It was to no avail, though. His eyes crinkled at the corners as they welled up with yet more tears.
"Yeh- yeh're so beau'iful," he bellowed, unable to contain it anymore. The little animals that had been still made alarmed sounds and scattered as he filled the air with ground-shaking sobs, caressing the unicorn's delicate head tenderly in one enormous hand. His thick Scottish brogue was slurred and nigh-incomprehensible as tears dripped into his mouth and beard. "How could anyone do this t'- t'-?"
He dissolved into wordless tears, salty drops splashing onto the ground and beginning to form a small puddle.
Hagrid cried noisily for what could have been anything between a minute and an hour. The forest was always dark and quiet, and time could slip away from you if you weren't careful.
Carefulness was the last thing on Hagrid's mind as he mourned the unicorn's death, though. He touched its long mane and its slender neck clumsily, but gently. His hands shook slightly as he pulled out a handkerchief the size of a dishcloth and blew his nose loudly into it. He sniffled as he stuffed it back into one of his many pockets.
At last, the huge man turned away from the unicorn and started back to Hogwarts, shoulders slumped and heart heavy. "I need t'talk ter Dumbledore," he told Fang. The bloodhound looked up at his master as he trotted alongside him.
The two made their way out of the Forest and into the twilight outside after what seemed like an eternity to Hagrid. Fang slipped back into their small hut at the huge man's command, but his master entered the castle.
Hagrid plodded through the brightly-lit halls, tracking mud on the pristine floor and ignoring the paintings' concerned questions and odd looks. He stomped miserably up the long, steep staircases, paying no attention to their switching and moving. In a few minutes, he reached the gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office. He hadn't run into anyone in the way (except for portraits, of course); he suspected that the castle had sensed his distress and manipulated his path to get him quickly to Dumbledore.
He spoke the password to the hideous stone gargoyles. They came to life for an instant to leap aside, then froze again. Hagrid wiped his eyes as a section of wall opened before him. He stepped past the hole in the wall and heard the stone behind him grating loudly on the floor and meeting the rest of the wall with an echoing thud. Another thud came moments later as the gargoyles hopped back into their usual places.
Hagrid turned back to look at the massive spiralling staircase in front of him. He stepped onto it and waited as it rotated slowly around. Finally, the oaken double doors that were so familiar to Hagrid came into sight. He stepped off the staircase a moment later and pushed the heavy doors open.
The office was as bright and noisy as ever as small devices clicked and spun. Most of the portraits were snoring on the walls, Hagrid noticed.
Fawkes, standing on the Headmaster's desk, looked up at Hagrid as he entered. His neck curved elegantly as he gazed at the groundskeeper with intelligent brown eyes.
The phoenix spread his magnificent fiery wings and let out a soft cry. Albus looked up. His blue eyes were warm and welcoming as they peered over his spectacles.
"Ah, Hagrid," he greeted cheerfully. "What brings you to my office?"
Hagrid opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed. "Is…" He cleared his throat. "Is something the matter?"
The half-giant looked like he could burst into another fit of tears at any moment, but he recounted his discovery with a trembling lip.
Dumbledore regarded him solemnly when he was done, as did a few portraits who had deigned to listen. The nearly ever-present twinkle had vanished from his pale blue eyes. "I see," he said slowly. "This... is a grave matter indeed. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Rubeus."
Then he turned to one of the whirring silver devices on his desk, one that looked rather like a goblet filled the the brim with a clear, viscous liquid, and began to tap its base in a rapid, complicated sequence. Hagrid watched curiously and Dumbledore watched intently as the liquid solidified into a glassy sphere and vibrant colours bloomed within it.
Hagrid wished he could stay in the warm, familiar office, but he knew it was time for him to go. Fawkes watched him as he left the office, cawing after him in farewell. He walked through Hogwarts aimlessly, not sure where he was going, but it took him to the immense front doors. He was soon through them and walking to his hut. His foot was over the doorstep just as the moon drifted behind a cloud, and he closed his door just as it emerged, glowing upon Hogwarts Castle, only to fade again behind a yet darker cloud.