The forbidden forest; Unicorns in peril
Harry felt sick. Filch had brought him and Hermione and Padma to McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they had to wait for her patiently and quietly, though Padma didn't do either. She was positively enraged-- she refused to sit still in her seat, and wouldn't keep quiet no matter how many times Filch told her to. When he left the room to let McGonagall in, Harry suspected she would've screamed and pulled the invisibility cloak over her head if he hadn't been holding it. Things had only gotten worse when McGonagall appeared, seeing as she was leading Neville right behind her.
"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o' clock in the morning. Explain yourselves!"
"Well... we... uh.." Padma stammered, her face flustered and her rage had suddenly disappeared.
"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said McGonagall. "You've made up some story and gotten caught in the act! I will not have first-year students of my house-- if any-- wandering the halls in the dead of night! I've already caught Draco Malfoy, and now Longbottom-- I suppose you think it's funny? You've gotten other students in trouble just for a joke!"
She took a moment to look at their faces-- decide if they felt bad enough, which Harry certainly think they did, and seeing Neville looking very hurt definitely didn't help his guilty conscience, but apparently McGonagall didn't, because she then said--
"Fifty points! From Gryffindor and Ravenclaw! Now get to bed, all of you. I'm disappointed that any of you would think you'd get away with this. I expect so much better from you all-- some of my best students, of anyone! I'd have thought- you're all far better than this-- weak tricks!"
Fifty points hadn't been too much for either house to lose... at first. Gryffindor, in third place, hadn't moved, but Ravenclaw, in first place, had fallen second to Slytherin. Slytherin, too, had happened to lose points, but thirty is less than fifty, isn't it? Nobody in Ravenclaw would talk to Harry or Padma except for their closer friends; And it wasn't as if he really cared, but he did not miss the feeling of being ignored day in and day out. It gave him a terrible sense of dread at the back of his mind-- if he had to stand it for the rest of the year, he wouldn't survive the whole summer with the Dursleys. Atleast he was fed here, he supposed.
"It'll be alright, I'm sure," said Luna, and Ron nodded.
"Yeah, Fred and George have lost points tons of times-- no one 'll even remember in a few weeks."
"Yeah, but I doubt they've ever had the whole school angry at them, have they?" Harry asked miserably. Even the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs had turned their backs on him-- apparently, they valued Slytherin losing more than they did winning.
"Er- well, no, but..."
"I don't think they'll be forgetting any time soon, then."
Padma sighed, sounding as despaired as she looked and muttered, "We're doomed. Our heads will be mounted on the walls and we'll be shamed for the rest of the year."
She was much more dramatic than he would've made it seem, Harry understood her point and nodded.
"Well, Harry, you could get the points back in Quidditch, couldn't you? You're, like, the Seeker of the century! I- I mean, like, literally." Lisa insisted.
Yet, even Quidditch had lost its fun. The team wasn't at mad as him as the rest of the House, but they certainly didn't try to hide their annoyance. Whenever they spoke of him, they only referred to him as "the Seeker." He had a name, and they could atleast call him "Potter." It'd hurt less. He was done with it all, really- but he wasn't allowed to resign. He hadn't ever seen Etta so shocked.
"You can't!" she shrieked, and her face was turning red. "We-- we all make mistakes sometimes! And Harry, you're the Seeker! We can't find a new Seeker in time-- especially one that's as good as you! You're a natural talent, you can't just--"
He'd tuned her out at that point. If he wasn't off the team, he didn't really need to hear anything past that.
Hermione and Neville weren't having an easy time either. Hermione kept her head down in class, and- according to Ron, as Neville was one of his roommates- Neville was being bullied whenever he wasn't getting ignored. Harry tried to apologise to Neville-- he did, he supposed, but it didn't seem Neville understood his stammered apology. Either that or he was too angry with him to listen-- which was just as plausible.
Harry, like Hermione, kept quiet and didn't do much of anything in class. He didn't lose house points for not participating; The teachers just ignored him-- not counting Snape. But Snape really never did count. But Harry didn't want to get involved in anything else this year. He was glad exams were growing closer. It gave him even more a reason to be away from prying eyes, he felt. Padma didn't care if people didn't speak to her, though she did keep to herself when she wasn't with Harry or Luna or Lisa-- and even then, she tried to stay away from Lisa, it seemed, because they both had a very bad habit of disagreeing on just about nearly everything.
One evening, a week before exams started, he had been walking to the Library to meet his friends, and he could've sworn he heard somebody whimpering and crying from a classroom up ahead. He had more sense than to see what it was, but the Library had been past the class. He had to atleast walk past. As he walked, he heard Quirrell's voice.
"No-- no- not again, please--"
It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer, trying to ignore it.
"Alright-- alright--" Quirrell sobbed.
Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight-- Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. When he got to the library, he told his friends everything he heard.
"You don't think Snape was threatening him, do you?" Ron asked.
"Ron, you're the only one who still thinks it's Professor Snape who's trying to steal the stone," Padma said.
"Well Snape's a jerk," Ron muttered, his ears pink.
"That, he is. A massive jerk, at that. But- I mean, it can't be him, right? He'd just grab it, since he's a professor, wouldn't he? Anyhow, it was probably Peeves messing with Professor Quirrell's reflection and tricked him into thinking it was himself speaking."
"That does sound like Peeves." Lisa added, laying on the table and looking half-asleep. "We shouldn't get into this anyway. Even if it could be Professor Snape, there's still Fluffy. I doubt anyone's made it past a three-headed dog and lived to write a book about it."
She yawned, and then shuffled around a bit to fall asleep.
"If we did a little poking around though--"
"Ron, no. That is a horrible plan. How are we going to explain how we know about Fluffy, Nicolas Flamel, and the you-know-what?" Hermione reminded, looking up from her book.
"Well, all you've been doing since Norbert's been gone is read, get mad at me, and sleep in class," Ron scoffed, and though his tone was low, Hermione had heard.
"Really? Well, maybe, if you had been more considerate and acted smarter, I wouldn't get angry at you! And I don't sleep in class, I'm just quiet! But you only ever notice me when you think I'm being annoying!"
"What a lie‐- I don't notice you all the time," Ron mocked.
"Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you? You're always talking, and always eating-- blah, blah, blah, I'm impatient and ridiculous but I'm Ron Weasley so I get to be!" Hermione snapped, making a hand gesture as if it had been Ron speaking.
"La-la-la, I'm Hermione Granger and I'm a total know-it-all! I read books, and books, and books!" Ron mimicked her.
"That is it!" Hermione shrieked, as she closed all her books and stomped away.
"Wait, what in the world just happened?" Harry asked. He was listening, and paying attention, mostly, but a map of Jupiter on the table was more important.
"She's the one that got hostile first, even if I did make it worse!" said Ron.
"She wasn't being hostile," said Luna. "I don't think. I mean- if she was, you both were. But I don't think we should be messing around with the stone either."
"But what if- what if someone does steal it and the teachers don't catch them?"
"Ron, we're first years. Honestly, that's not our problem." said Padma. "If anyone steals the stone, it's because it wasn't protected good enough. And even if it's not-- which I doubt, because you have to get past a three-headed dog to even get to it-- it's still not our problem."
"Agreed. And, also, you need to fix your temper, Ron," Luna patted his shoulder sympathetically. It didn't really help, because Ron dropped his head on the table, looking miserable.
The morning after, Hermione sat with the Ravenclaws at breakfast, though she didn't say anything, and Ron was very pink as he ate at the Gryffindor table. Notes were delivered to her, Harry, Padma, and Neville, all identical--
Your detention will take place at eleven o' clock tonight. Meet Mr Filch in the entrance hall.
Professor M. McGonagall
Hermione looked like she felt furious, though at herself, and Padma had just tossed her note aside. Harry didn't care; He knew it was fair. What they did was ridiculous, getting caught at the Astronomy tower at one in the morning on a day that wasn't Wednesday-- but Filch? They were in for a night of nothing worthwhile.
Five minutes to eleven, Harry and Padma left the common room, bidding Luna and Lisa goodbye, meeting up with Hermione and Neville and made way for the Entrance hall. Filch was already there, of course, but Harry nearly ran back up the stairs when he saw Draco. Draco had noticed him too, and he couldn't tell if it had become some sort of stare-off or just shock.
"Follow me," Filch said, disrupting whatever Harry and Draco had been doing, as he lit a lamp and lead them all outside.
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" Filch said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me.... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed.... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."
They marched across the dark grounds. The only noise breaking the silence was the sound of outside animals. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so amused.
The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. He felt whatever bad feeling had been brewing inside his stomach suddenly drain- Hagrid may not have been the safest, but potentially dangerous was preferable to Filch.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started." Hagrid called from inside.
Filch must've caught sight of one of them relieved, because he said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again-- it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."
At this, Neville choked. Draco had stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that.
"The forest?" He repeated, and he didn't sound quite as calm as usual. "We can't go in there at night! There's all sorts of things in there! Like wolves, and- and--"
Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a sobbing noise.
"That's your problem, is it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them wolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"
Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. Alright there, y' lot?"
"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."
"That's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid asked, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'S'not your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."
"I'll be back at dawn," Filch said, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.
Draco turned to Hagrid. "I'm not going into that forest," He said.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts. Yeh've done summat wrong, and yeh gotta make up fer it." Hagrid told him.
"But-- it- it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something-"
"Well, that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh'd rather not go in, then get back off ter the castle an' pack."
Draco didn't move. He glared at Hagrid threateningly, but then dropped his gaze to his shoes, his face pink and scrunched up. Even his ears had fallen. If Harry wasn't feeling so bad, he might've laughed.
"Right then," said Hagrid, "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a momen'."
He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze made them all shiver as they looked into the forest.
"Look there," Hagrid pointed, "See that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn 'n there that's 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."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us before we find it?" asked Draco.
"For once, I agree with him." Padma nodded. "What if whatever's killing the Unicorns finds us? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't mind killing us either."
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must'a bin staggerin' around since last night, at least."
"I want Fang," said Draco quickly, as Fang barked suddenly.
"Alright, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," Hagrid said. "So me, Harry, an' 'ermione 'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, Padma an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now-- yeh, that's it-- an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh. Make sure they're real bright so we see 'em. So, be careful-- let's go."
The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Draco, Padma, Neville, and Fang took the right.
They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then, a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. It didn't escape anyone's notice that Hagrid looked very worried.
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Hermione asked, staring up at the sky. "Er- wolf?"
"Not fast enough," Hagrid answered. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn. They're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."
They walked past a mossy tree stump Harry made a mental point to try and remember. He could hear running water-- there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path. The forest had been still, silent, and creepy.
"You two alrigh'?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter-- GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"
Hagrid seized them and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and quickly fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The four of them listened. Something was stepping over dead leaves nearby, it almost sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.
"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn't be."
"Is it a wolf?" Harry asked.
"Nah. That wasn' no wolf, an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."
They walked more slowly, listening out for even the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.
"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself! I'm armed!"
And into the clearing came-- huh. Was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid, relieved. "How are yeh?"
He walked forward and shook the thing's hand.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. Oh, right. This is Harry Potter, an' she's 'ermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you three. He's a centaur."
"We've... noticed." said Hermione quietly.
"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
"Well, we've certainly learned a good bit," said Hermione timidly.
"A good bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt-- you seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, than sighed again.
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."
"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin', y'know, unusual, a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange out here?"
Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."
A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid, almost tiredly. "Alright there, are yeh?"
"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured-- would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward.
"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.
"Yeh, so we've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of yeh do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? Right, we'll be off, then."
Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Vane until the trees blocked their view.
"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "An' I mean never, try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon. Yeh'd think half the planets are stars righ' in front of 'em."
"Are there many of them in the forest?" asked Hermione.
"Oh, a fair few... keep ter themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if I ever want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much. Ever, mind."
"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" Harry wondered.
"Did tha' sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, whatever that was what's bin killin' the unicorns-- never heard anythin' like it before."
They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the feeling they were being watched, and it was likely-- considering that they were in the Forbidden Forest. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just past a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.
"Hagrid! There-- there's red sparks! The others are-- they're in trouble!"
"You lot wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"
They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.
"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.
The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?
At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Draco, Neville, Padma, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Neville, apparently, had heard an unsettling noise, and was so incredibly scared he'd sent up the sparks.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were makin'! Right, we're changin' groups-- Neville, you stay with me an' 'ermione. Harry, you go with Fang an' these two."
Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "You'll have a harder time gettin' frightened, an' we've gotta get this done."
The first few minutes of wandering had been silent, before Draco suddenly spoke.
"Why have you been ignoring me?" He asked.
"What? I haven't been ignoring you. I mean, I was at first, but I've been wanting to talk to you since then. It's complicated,"
"It's true," Padma nodded. "All week, he's been annoying us about how he keeps forgetting, but every time he remembers, something gets in the way. It actually is complicated." She then froze, and started looking around as if something was there. "Did either of you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"I thought... uh, no-nothing, nothing. Nevermind it."
She said that, but she looked more tense than before. Her ears were nearly trying to make themselves pointier, and she wouldn't say a word. Harry wished she would-- Draco was downright lecturing him over the whole deal with Norbert. If he was being honest, it wasn't ever very entertaining when Draco lectured him. Lectures never really were entertaining, but somehow, they were even more boring when it was Draco.
Atleast half an hour later, the silvery blood begun to be getting thicker; enough to the point where it was impossible to not know. There were thick splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Wait," he whispered, holding out his arm to stop Padma and Draco from walking forward. He had the feeling they ought to be quiet.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer very slowly. It was the unicorn, and it was quite certainly dead. None of them had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and it's mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.
"We should go." said Padma quietly, taking careful steps backwards. As she said that, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Draco, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.
"Harry, Draco-- come on, we should go," Padma whispered, trying to pull either of them by their wrists, refusing to look at the clearing. Draco had finally come to his senses, but Harry couldn't bring his legs to move. The cloaked figure looked towards them and stood up. Suddenly, and a throbbing pain flashed through Harry's head.
"HARRY! COME ON!" Padma screamed, as the figure drew near. But it fell on deaf ears, and Harry fell to his knees. He felt weaker with every step the figure took.
"Harry-- Harry, come on, get up," Draco said, trying to pull him up.
Fang had already ran away. Hagrid wasn't lying when he said Fang was a coward.
"Immobul--" Padma raised her wand, but something jumped right over her head, charging at the figure. Draco seemed to have gotten knocked down. A minute or so later, Harry had enough energy to look up and see that a centaur was standing over him, but it wasn't Ronan or Bane; This one looked younger-- he had white-blond hair like Draco's, and a palomino body.
"Are you alright?" asked the centaur, as Padma had been pulling Harry to his feet.
He nodded. "Do you... er, know what that thing was?"
The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead. He wasn't sure he liked the staring-- at all. And he could say something atleast.
"You are the Potter boy," said the centaur. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time, especially for you of all humans. You all can walk fine, correct? My name is Firenze," he added, as he slowly started walking away, leading them.
There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweating.
"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have humans by your side, walking you! Have you no shame? Are you but a common mule?"
"Do you realize who this is?" Firenze snapped. "This is the Potter boy, and his little friends too! And Hagrid is nowhere in sight. But he... the quicker he leaves this forest, the better."
"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets? Have you dared to forget, the consequences of being so reckless? For the Potter boy, of all!"
Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.
Bane kicked his back legs in anger.
"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with only what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest! Not after children in peril to their own idiocy!"
Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, and the three actual people had to back up to not get hit.
"Did you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed?! Or have the planets not let you in on that secret, because they too know you're weak? Weak-willed, you are! Unlike you, I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, and if I must, I will work with humans alongside me! Yes, I dare, if I must!"
Harry suddenly remembered something, and sent off green sparks with his wand.
"What was that?" growled Bane.
"Hagrid told us to send off green sparks if we found the unicorn. And--" He used his wand to send red sparks. "-- to do that if we got in any trouble."
"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" Firenze suddenly asked.
"No," Harry answered. "I'm not exactly Newt Scamander, you'll notice. We don't use the blood in potions."
Behind him, Padma and Draco snorted in laughter.
"That is, because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn or use its blood. To even think of such," said Firenze, seeming to not have heard Harry's snarky comment. "Only one who has nothing in the world to lose, and everything to gain, would dare commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are but an inch from death, but it will do so at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will live but a half-life-- a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips, worsened the instant you ingest it."
Harry stared directly into Firenze's eyes. He felt a bit unsettled, honestly.
"That sounds like the equivalent of selling your soul to stay alive," Padma said. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, innit?"
"It is," Firenze turned to her and nodded, "Unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else- something that will bring you back to full strength and power-- something that will mean you can never die." He then turned back to Harry. "Mr Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"Of course I-- oh! The elixir! Some say he's died, but others think he's been waiting for a chance to... how did I not think of that?" Harry muttered. Voldemort. He should've thought of it already-- the whole reason it was hidden to begin with. Of course it was because of Voldemort.
Hermione came running down a nearby path. Hagrid and Neville had been lagging behind just a bit.
"Harry! Harry, oh, thank the heavens you're alright, Neville said he saw green and red sparks, and I got so worried for all three of you!" She rambled, pulling Harry into a hug.
"I'm alright, Hermione! Wait, Hagrid-- the unicorn's dead, back in the clearing over there!"
"Huh. Do we just not exist anymore?" Padma mumbled, watching from somewhat of a sideline. Draco had been standing beside her.
"Maybe you're just not a focal point for once," He shrugged, and her ears began twitching.
"You know you don't always have to respond, right?" She deadpanned. He rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"This is where I leave you. Do not return to the forest unprepared. Any of you." Firenze said, galloping away, as Hagrid hurried off in the direction of the unicorn's corpse. Bane and Ronan had already been gone.
"Tch. Centaurs," Hermione rolled her eyes, still clinging to Harry's arm.
Lisa had fallen asleep while waiting for Harry and Padma to return, a pale teal blanket draped over her. She mumbled something about photographs and burnt eggs. Whenever Padma or Harry shook her awake, she whined, "Five mo' minute... five mo' minute," pushing them away. Luna had left a small note with a brief goodnight.
"It's been a long night, we'll have to tell them tomorrow." Padma said, and she groaned. "I'll take her to the dorms. Goodnight, Harry." She said tiredly, heaving Lisa up onto her back.
"Goodnight, Padma." Harry responded, walking down the stairs, and to his bed-- where Hydrus had been curled up above the comforter, as per usual by now. But on his pillow, very neatly folded, laid the Invisibility cloak. He thought Filch had taken it? He eyed it almost suspiciously, taking off a note that had been pinned onto the side.
'Just in case.'