Not long ago, during a dangerous raid, when there was a slew of undercover followers of the apparently late Dark Wizard. That was not entirely true. It was earlier in the year before his charge's time was closing in on him, he remembered the worry and the torment of soon having her set foot in that castle, which towered over the woodland like a king's crown before the silhouette of an unforgiving full moon, hidden away by some sort of charm.

A night like this was especially dangerous, even for him along with a former classmate of his. For as long as he could remember, he once had a fascination with the Dark Arts~ particularly based on such a mindset, at first meaning to defend himself with such curses only turned out to isolate him more. There was a side to his childhood friend that shocked him when she did not even consider honestly questioning him rather than outright cutting him off. It was one thing he could never find it in himself to hold against her though. He was blind to the cause at first; the cause the Slytherins he grew to know were obsessed over. It was when he fully knew when he chose to turn his back gradually. That was until one Gryffindor tried to trick him. It was nights just like this one when he would purposely flee off the grounds when James became so overbearing that being close to Hogwarts was impossible.

They called him a coward for that, simply because he wanted some peace for once.

He helped this former student on this night, but making sure the rough night was tolerable for the man. On this same night, he was tracking someone in the Dark Forest… who was outright hunting unicorns, illegally. It was far off from the barrier and this was an area teeming with dangerous creatures. In a masked guise, he flew through the trees after finally, he would be the one to catch them. He was on the trail and he whipped passed trees and brush, his silhouette only being a mass of a flowing curtain, as it were, to his enemy.

The Death Eater was malnourished, wide-eyed and fidgety, while his attacks were vicious, they were ill-timed. His Cruciatus curse only struck tree trunks and the air before that black mass struck him full in the chest! Blinded and breathless, he blinked at the one who struck him down only to find a bleak wand aimed directly at his throat.

"Well, well… Why isn't it Barty Crouch Jr.?" the Knight drawled on behind the silver mask he wore, resembling the face of a guarding lion. "…make one move, I assure you, you will rue the day you were born."

"I am not afraid of shadows, sir!" Barty cackled back, whipping his wand towards the one towering above him. "Crucio!"

A deep red light shot from the Death Eater's wand, seeming to aim directly into the Knight's chest. He merely made a prance backward, wielding his wand away as the bolt struck him in the shoulder. The snap of the curse radiating off the trees like the song of thunder, he expected pain of the worst kind, but none of it came to him. There was no agony in his soul and being, not a single trace of it touched him. He remembered a sudden shock though and it left them both puzzled until they both heard the trots of one pure white beast. Barty's eyes ran wild as he took one more shot at him, while his sights were set elsewhere, but it was of no use. A white flash lit up the forest when he swung his wand aside defensively and all of a sudden, the two were caught in an endless battle!

The unicorn happened to be near, on the edge of something terribly drawing to her. Someone had come to protect her, a wizard she sensed was locked in a fight right in front of her. One meant harm, while the other did not strike a single curse back. Something was preventing him from even trying, he couldn't explain it at all. It felt like a scream within an endless cave in the regions of his own heart,

Each defense led him to almost back up too far against one of the trees and had to fly off, swiftly behind Barty Jr, catching him off guard for only a second. One thing he knew was possible to do was to physically punch the blaggard. One hit to the side of his head sent the brute to the ground. At this one chance, the Knight seized the ingrate by the collar after kicking away his wand, pinning him right against one of the massive tree trunks, hissing deeply.

"Praytell, what has led you to this forest with such hunger? Note, if I sense one lie from you, you will meet the Basilisk on this night." he spoke with such soft control, but the man before him was shaken with fear.

"As if I would tell you, whoever the hell you are!" Barty spat. Even held still, he fought.

"Speak or I will force you." was the drawled out order, holding no qualms it seemed about doing the unforgivable. "A tiny slip of Veritaserum should do the trick—"

It when he saw a vial held in the Knight's hand when he was truly cowardly. He struggled more.

"All right, all right! Let's not get hasty, mate!"

"Speak briskly then." he spoke, stronger. "What have you done with the one horn you have claimed on this night?"

"I don't have it."

"Why do I not believe you…?"

With that, the Knight dropped the other loosely to the ground before backing towards the approaching unicorn. One that was grieving as well. Much to Barty Jr.'s shock, he witnessed such a pure creature come to his attacker as if she knew him well, like an old friend. Yet, due to him being so stunned, he did not expect to be seized again by another wizard. One without a mask, this time, but it was a mighty werewolf, even though he seemed frail… he was larger than life to the Death Eater. He panted, exhausted yet with one solid paw, he set it down on Barty Crouch Jr.'s chest. He had nowhere to go. A werewolf was not one to mess with, although his veins were pumped with wolfsbane potion.

The unicorn's ears flattened but she felt safe by the Knight's side, even when he stepped close to the caught man again.

"Evening, my friend. I do hope that you do not feel too dizzy tonight." he greeted the poor creature, who nodded to him in response. "Best to be ginger in this situation, sir," he then addressed the caught man. ", a werewolf's rage is nothing to sneeze at. Now, what was it you were saying, regarding that horn that you took?"

"I told you, I do not have it!"

That was an outright lie because as soon as he said that, the unicorn gave a pained cry and dug down at the earth addressing the Knight right away. He turned with an aching heart of the sight of her nuzzling her lifeless mate that laid cold on the chilled ground, with a sawn-off pearl horn from its head. Without letting a hand off of the man, the Knight unleashed one fair but an extreme Patronus that took the form of a sprinting Doe, that led the grieved Unicorn away to safety deeper in the reserve. For the slain one, it was all too late for him.

No matter though. The horn was retrieved~
Barty Crouch Jr. did not leave the forest that night.
Alive, that is…

It was on that night when there was a manner of Death Eaters who felt deeply threatened…