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Disclaimer: I have not read any of the Harry Potter books.

In the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, during the scene when the centaur is explaining the nature of drinking unicorn blood to Harry, the movie pans across the dead unicorn. One can see the unicorn's horn and, laying beyond the horn and head, a sword.

Is there significance to the sword in the story/canon, or is it merely a prop, the means of killing the unicorn?

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I believe what you've mistaken as a 'sword' is merely the reflection off of some of the unicorn's blood.

enter image description here

The blood is shiny and metallic.

‘Look there,’ said Hagrid, ‘see that stuff shinin’ on the ground? Silvery stuff? That’s unicorn blood. There’s a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We’re gonna try an’ find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery.

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    We thought that might be the case, but we reviewed the video a couple of times. We can clearly see pommel, grip, cross-guard, and blade separate from the horn of the unicorn. Even in the image you post you can see the pommel, grip, and guard. A few frames later as the camera pans and rotates, the cross-guard becomes obvious. I guess it's just a prop to rationalize how the unicorn died. (It's also a very odd place for blood to be, as the attacker was between sword and unicorn... and uphill.)
    – JBH
    Feb 12 at 15:19
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    @JBH - I think you're seeing things, I'm afraid.
    – Valorum
    Feb 12 at 22:23

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