Dead Or Alive?
The clearing is foggy, and the trees look weird. Cmon, you big brute, look around, show me where you are. Ron, Blaise. Oh my god, we need to get them out right now. I see the crater! They're near the crater where we saved Hermione and Pansy! Okay, a bit to the west, closer to the dark blue lamps.
Harry opens his eyes, blinking rapidly as he takes in his surroundings.
"They're near the crater—the one where we fought the dragon. They have a disguised clearing next to some blue lamps, " he says, his voice cutting through the quiet atmosphere.
"Right, good job, Harry. Let's go, team. We need to save your friends. And my job." Professor Brindlemore says, continuing on the path.
The group follows her, everyone except Draco avoiding Harry's eye. Harry and Draco walk at the back of the group, holding hands and nervously looking around. They reach the crater in no time, pausing when they see the unconscious dragon. Professor Brindlemore whimpers before shaking her head to look at our group, who are all staring at her.
"He's my half-brother; it's normal. When dragons see family wounded, it's instinct to help. But we have a more pressing issue at hand. Harry, do you know where they are?" Brindlemore says, turning to face Harry.
Harry nods and points to a cluster of dark blue lamps, all circling a tree.
"Just as I feared. They've taken your friends to their world. It's not much different, but we can only use blood magic there. Which is why we must give them some of Harry's blood to get out. Right, let's go."
The group walks around the crater, reaching the blue lamps, which now look more purple than blue. Brindlemore steps forward and takes out a silver blade. Harry growls; the presence of the silver is itching at him. The group looks around. Only Draco and Brindlemore notice it comes from Harry, but they dont say anything. Brindlemore slashes the blade across her palm, causing blood to ooze out. She then presses her palm to the tree, painting it in a rune that no one recognises. Suddenly, the tree shakes, rumbling the ground. The tree splits in half, showing an old carved door. The group looks at each other nervously. Brindlemore grasps the knob,
"Better hold on to me." She whispers, "And keep your voice low. 98% of the population is blind." She then yanks the handle open, chanting in a language so old, Merlin wouldn't know it.
The group gets tugged forward, stumbling through the door. Harry first spots a Hidebehind, looming over them. He reaches for his wand, but then he remembers he can't use normal magic here. Professor Brindlemore steps forward, somehow making no noise on the forest floor. The Hidebehind seems to be blind, so she creeps past it, gesturing to the group to follow her. They tiptoe past multiple Hidebehind guards, finally reaching the main place. There is one large, redwood tree, standing so tall you can't even begin to see the lower branches. Strapped to that tree are Ron and Blaise. Ron was bleeding from his leg, torso, and head. His leg looks broken, and his head is bleeding out a lot. Blaise is tied up next to him, having similar injuries. His arm looks broken, and he is gasping a death rattle with every breath. The group soon sees why.
The Hidebehinds have been feeding off Blaise, tearing chunks of skin off. Hermione gags, Pansy looks away, Draco can't look at the pair, Theo stares at his feet, Dapheen scans the Hidebehinds around them, Terence hides behind Gregory, who is inspecting the sky, Dean is shuffling nervously, and Laveder is checking her nails. Harry, however, is staring at the pair, seeming not being able to take his eyes off them. Professor Brindlemore notices and roughly shakes Harry.
"Harry, listen. You are being affected by their magic they have handed to you. Stop looking, you do not need to." She whispers, urgently signalling the others to help her take the boys down.
Harry stays rooted to the spot. His vision is suddenly going blurry, despite him wearing his glasses.
"We must be quick. The Hidebehinds will soon notice their food is gone. And we need to get the blood and magic out of Harry; he is already being greatly affected. Soon, any half-creature he is, examples are Veela, Casa, etc, will be revealed. We need to hurry." Professor warns the group.
Hermione, Pansy, and Draco all share a terrified look. If they take too long, Harry will become a werewolf.
Draco shakes himself. They have time, and they're good. Draco stays with Harry, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid. The other all approach Brindlemore, helping her silently lower Ron and Blaise and patching up their wounds. When they finish, Professor Brindlemore levitates Ron and Blaise and makes for the exit. They walk all the way back, Harry getting more figity and his vision still dimming. They arrive at the tree that brought them in, and Professor Brindlemore gestures to the group to get down as close as possible to the ground. She beckons Harry forward, taking out her silver knife. Harry growls, louder than before. Hemione and Draco exchange glances of worry and caution. If this goes wrong, they're going to have a fully grown werewolf in a world where they can't use magic.
"Come here, Harry. I will now cut into your hand like I did before to mine. Then you will spread your palm on the tree, in the same rune I did before. Do yoo remember it?" Harry nods, "Good. Come here, we must hurry." She beckons Harry closer.
Harry moves stiffly to her, glancing around like he can't control his eyes. Professor Brindlemore frowns, waving a hand in front of Harry's face.
"Harry. Can you see me?" She whispers.
Harry shakes his head, very viciously. Professor Brindlemore narrows her eyes before grabbing Harry's hand and cutting a thin slice through his palm. Harry whimperes but moves towards the tree, carving the rune that Brindlemore did on their entrance. Draco hears gasps as Harry drags his hand down the tree, leaving a trail of black blood. He finishes tracing the rune and he steps back. Professor Brindlemore then moves forward, chanting the spells she said before to open the bridge. The tree doesn't spilt in half this time, it just appears with a portal. Professor Brindlemore levitates Ron and Blaise, through before following the boys. Slowly, everyone files out, Harry returning more to normal but getting weaker. Draco drags Harry through, arriving next to the crater in their world. Professor Brindlemore is waiting there, caring for Ron and Blaise, who have both woken up. She finishes bandaging up their bleeding wounds before grabbing a suitcase out of her pocket. She turns it to normal size before placing it on the ground. She puts her wand in the sky and begins to chant in that same old language. Suddenly, screeching and screaming can be heard from all around them. An array of creatures fly out of the shadows, whizzing into her suitcase. After there is only silence, she levitates the dragon up and into her case, it somehow fitting. She slams her suitcase closed, shrinking it and putting it back in her pocket.
"Newt Scamander is my uncle. He gifted me his case when he retired, making sure I would protect the magical creatures, good and bad." She says.
They wait for everyone to arrive before she seals the portal and made their way back to the lake. They walk back to the start, where the Professor made an announcement.
"You will have homework. It's due in our third lesson. You will have to write a scroll of parchment on each creature you encounter. How they eat, act, and behave, their powers, etc. Basically everything about them, a factfile. The only people who are exempt from this task are Ron Weasley and Blaise Zambini, who im assuming met the Hidebehind first thing. Now, collect youselfs. im dismissing you earlier so you can clean up for next period. Next class, have something prepared so you can breathe underwater, a spell, an ingredient; it doesn't matter. Just make sure it works. I'll see you guys on Wednesday." She finishes talking, moving Ron and Blaise up to the hospital wing.
Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Pansy all glance at each other worriedly. They all hope their friends are alright. They follow the eighth years up to the common room where everyone goes to get changes and get to their lesson. Draco walks up to his dorm, Harry following him like a shadow. When Draco closes the door to their dorm, he turns and collapses onto his bed. He hears Harry rustling around before coming to sit beside Draco. Harry pulls Draco up, hugging him tightly. Draco hugs Harry back, closing his eyes as he listens to Harry's heartbeat. They stay like that for a while before getting clean and ready for class. As Draco grabs his books, he looks over to Harry, who is waiting by the door for him. He has a new scar, a straight line splitting his eyebrow and eye in half. It's not as red as it was before, and it wasn't oozing purple liquid, so Draco is glad. He finds his textbook, grabbing it, and walking to Harry, who closes the door behind them. They meet Hermione and Pansy, and they all set off to their next class.