Hagrid
Hagrid was doing his daily rounds in the forest while the students were gone for the holidays. There were barely any students left in the castle after multiple students were attacked by an unknown monster on school grounds. The only students remaining were the ones with nowhere else to go. It made for a very glum atmosphere for the holidays.
For that reason, Hagrid was happy to get some fresh air outside and spend time with the animals. Professor Grumbyplank had gone to visit her grandson in Germany for the holidays, and he was feeling right proud to be trusted to take care of everything in her absence. He was doing a good job of it if he did say so himself. The Bowtruckles were happily fed, the Thestrals were groomed, he had dropped off a Yule basket of dried meat and fruit to the Centaurs and had even had time to visit Aragog for a nice long chat. The only stop he had left was to check on the herd of Unicorns.
Yule was the breeding season for the Unicorns, and the stallions could be right vicious as they fought over the mares. It was the only time of year when you could collect unicorn blood “freely given,” as inevitably, the weaker males would get skewered by a rival and bleed all over the place. Not that that was much of a concern, as their horns had magical healing properties, so the wounds would be gone without a scare in a matter of hours. Still, he had a bottomless bag filled with crystal vials to collect the rare potion ingredient for the school. Hogwarts was one of the only suppliers of unicorn blood and hair in Britain, as most of their habitats had been taken over by muggles everywhere else. They made quite a tidy prophet on the stuff as a result.
He couldn’t wait until spring when the little golden foals would be prancing around the forest in a few month's time. The thought had him smiling as he whistled as he walked through the forest. His rendition of Jingle Bells was a little slower than normal and very off-key, but no one was around besides Fang to hear it anyway.
It was getting dark when he reached the clearing the herd liked to frequent and as expected the snow was dotted in red. He quickly got about calming the rearing stallions down and checking them over for damage. He had known most of the heard since they were foals at this point and they were well used to his presence by now. One by one, he collected the blood by holding the flasks under the dripping wounds before coating them in a home made paste to keep out infection for the short amount of time it would take for the cuts to heal. He was patching up Cletus, one of the older stronger stallions, who had been practically run through by one of the younger challengers, but he still was better off than his opponent and king of the herd for another year at least.
He was just finishing up spreading the greenish salve over the red and white flank when the stallion froze. Looking around Hagrid realized the entire herd had frozen, harkening like startled deer before a hunter. The entire forest had in fact gone still as death and silent as the grave and Hagrid didn't even try to suppress the shiver of unease that raced up his spine and settled into his bones deeper that icy breeze rattling through the leafless branches of the empty trees above.
After a moment that felt like it lasted hours. The stallion beside him let out a huff of fright and darted into the trees, the entire herd following in his wake and leaving Hagrid suddenly alone in a clearing with only Fang trembling beside him. Hagrid watched the crop of trees on the opposite side of the clearing that the herd had fled from. Not a single branch twitched. But he felt eyes on him all the same.
He had just turned his back on the spot in preparation to leave himself when from that direction something let out an ear-piercing scream that sounded somewhere between a wild cat’s yowl and the scratch of a hawk. Heart hammering in his throat and hand firm around Fang’s collar, Hagrid made his way back to the path as calmly as he could. Knowing you never run from a predator.
He walked quickly but quietly down the path, keeping his head facing directly forward as Fang whimpered by his hip. Their footsteps echoed loudly into the silence of the forest, every hair on his body rising in dread at the complete lack of sound. Not even the wind dared to breathe as if waiting for something to strike.
He could feel an ominous presence emanating from the trees to his right, but his Magizoologist training was kicking in. He refused to look in that direction, pointedly keeping his eyes ahead as he continued to try to walk at a steady pace. Even Fang had fallen silent in fear.
That's when he started to hear the whistling.
Distantly at first, but slowly getting louder as it made terror fill his lungs. It wasn’t the sound exactly that filled him with fear. No. It was the tune that was filling the trees as they walked. The sound just getting closer and closer until it began to feel like it was emanating from the air around him.
Jingle bells… Jingle bells… Jingle all the way….
The whistling was an exact replica of his cheerful tune he and made on his way into the clearing. The same off-key notes were hauntingly eerie as it felt like they were being whispered directly into his ear as he walked. Coming just from behind him.
Fang turned and growled at something behind him his hackles rising and his fury side pressed firmly against Hagrids leg. He didn’t dare look as he picked up the pace knowing the tree line was just up ahead now.
That horrifying scream came again. This time, so close he could feel the beast's putrid breath on the nape of his neck.
He couldn’t help it. Hagrid bolted. He could feel the creature hot on his trail as Fang quickly outpaced him and ran on ahead, whimpering in panic as he fled out of sight through the trees. Hagrid cried out as claws raked across his back just as he reached the tree line himself, but he managed to get into his hut and slam the door shut with Fang and him inside.
Something slammed against the door. Shrieking in anger.
In a panic he shuttered the windows and stoked the flamed in the fireplace. Even at full strength, the fire seemed dim in the darkness as he heard long claws scraping against his wooden hut as the beast circled his home, looking for a way inside.
The windows rattled and at one point he heard footsteps on his roof, but eventually, the sun rose and all was silent again.