Night of the Unicorn
Your detention will take place at eleven o’ clock tonight.
Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.
Professor M. McGonagall
-
That was all the note had said, and yet Harry felt like he was about to march to his death.
He, Draco, and Daphne had to serve their detention with Mr. Filch. The man who wistfully talked about hanging students up by their toenails, who reminisced about whipping students, and who literally looked like he wanted to murder the entire student body every single time one of them looked at him.
Their only solace was the fact that Hermione, Weasley, and Finnegan were receiving the same punishment, judging by their reactions to the note they had gotten at breakfast, so they weren’t suffering through Filch entirely by themselves.
Blaise and Theo had fussed over the three of them like worried parents, triple checking that they had snuck supplies into Harry’s bag before they even let them out the door.
“I still can’t believe they’re making you go out this late.” Theo muttered angrily, hugging Harry like it was the last time he was going to see him alive. “You’re going to be exhausted.”
“I’ll be fine, Theo.”
“I don’t care. If anything happens, I’m going to feed Filch to his stupid cat.”
Harry snickered, pulling away and watching as Theo just pat Draco and Daphne’s shoulders, wishing them good luck. The indignant expression on the former’s face made him laugh even harder.
“Really? Harry gets a declaration of vengeance, and I get a shoulder pat?” He asked.
“Yep.”
“You suck.”
“I do.” Theo grinned. “Now go. And come right back here if you see even a hint of a whip.”
“Seriously.” Blaise added. “I can have Mamma here before the sun has even risen.”
“We’ll be fine.” Daphne reassured them as she grabbed the two boys’ arms, leading them out the exit. “See you when we come back!”
“You better!”
Draco huffed, but there was no obvious anger in his eyes as they followed Daphne up to the entrance hall, all of them trying to hide their anxiety over what their detention would consist of. The soft sounds of their shoes padding against the floor was all that bounced off the walls as they walked, reaching the entrance hall ten minutes before they were set to leave.
Filch looked at them with his typical sneer, but at least seemed pleased that his time wouldn’t be wasted. No one said a word, but when they heard the pounding footfalls of the Gryffindor students who would be joining them that night, Draco let out a soft groan.
“They’re late.” Daphne mumbled. “It’s five after.”
“Gits.” Draco agreed softly, causing Harry to chuckle, covering his face with his sleeve. Hermione, Weasley, and Finnegan were all breathing hard as they skidded to a stop in front of Filch, who shot them a nasty look.
“Follow me,” said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.
“I bet you’ll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won’t you, eh?” he 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, and he could hear Hermione sniffling as they walked. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn’t be sounding so delighted.
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. Then they heard a distant shout.
“Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started.”
Harry’s heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn’t be so bad. At least, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as dealing with Filch. His relief must have shown in his face, because Filch said, “I suppose you think you’ll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy – it’s into the forest you’re going and I’m much mistaken if you’ll all come out in one piece.”
At this, Weasley let out a little moan, and Draco stopped dead in his tracks, his face going pale. Daphne made a small, choked noise, and instinctively reached out to grab hold of something. Harry stuck his hand in hers, giving her a firm, reassuring nod as he squeezed her hand.
“The forest?” Wealey repeated, and he didn’t sound quite as cool as usual. “We can’t go in there at night – there’s all sorts of things in there – I heard there were werewolves!”
“If there were werewolves in the forest, they would just be regular wixen.” Hermione shot back, her voice stronger despite the obvious fear in it. “It’s a half moon. Not a full moon.”
Filch looked a bit upset at the realization that he couldn’t use werewolves as a scare tactic for the children in front of him, but his distress was pulled away as Hagrid appeared from out of the darkness, his dog, Fang, following behind him.
“Abou’ time,” he said. “I bin waitin’ fer half an hour already. Okay, you three?”
Hagrid turned his attention to the three Gryffindors, who all gave soft nods.
“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?” said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. “Bin lecturin’ them, eh? ‘Snot your place ter do that. Yeh’ve done yer bit, I’ll take over from here.”
“I’ll be back at dawn,” said Filch, “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.
“So… We’re actually going into the forest?” Harry asked softly, turning Hagrid’s attention towards him. The large man nodded a bit.
“Yep. Follow me.”
Daphne squeezed his hand again, and he felt Draco slip his hand into his free one. He gave them both a reassuring squeeze, before he led the charge forward, following behind Hagrid as he led them down towards the edge of the forest. He held his lamp up high, illuminating the dark path they were going to walk down, and Harry grimaced.
Then, his eyes caught the sight of something silvery on the dirt, and his heart clenched. He could feel the magic ebbing off of the fluid, and it was fading quickly. Daphne let out a soft gasp of horror, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
“Unicorn blood..?” She whispered, to which Hagrid nodded solemnly.
“Second time in a week. Found one dead last Wednesday.” He said, causing them all to suck in a horrified breath. “We’re gonna try an’ find the poor thing. Put it out of its misery if we need to.”
“What if whatever attacked the unicorns finds us before we find them?” Finnegan asked, his voice rising in a panic.
“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 three parties an’ follow the trail in diff’rent directions. There’s blood all over the place, it must’ve bin staggerin’ around since last night at least.”
“I want Fang.” Draco quickly declared, looking at Fang’s long teeth. Harry felt his friend sink down, fear coursing through him.
“All right, but I warn yeh, he’s a coward,” said Hagrid. “So. Hermione, Seamus, you’ll be goin’ with me. Ron, Malfoy, you’ll be with Fang.”
“So… Daphne and I are on our own?” Harry asked.
“Do yeh want t’be?”
Daphne looked at him, nodding imperceptibly, and Harry nodded as well.
“Yeah. We’ll be alright.”
Hagrid grimaced a bit, but nodded. Draco hesitantly let go of his friend’s hand, giving him a weak smile and heading over to stand next to Weasley and Fang.
“Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we’ll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an’ practice now – that’s it – an’ if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an’ we’ll all come an’ find yeh – so, be careful – let’s go.” Hagrid hummed a bit, leading the groups into the dark forest.
Harry squeezed Daphne’s hand again, trying to calm his racing pulse.
He really, really hoped that they weren’t going to die tonight.
—
Like Hagrid had said, they eventually made it to a crossroads. He, Hermione, and Finnegan went left. Draco, Weasley, and Fang went right, and he and Daphne kept going forward. The whole time, their hands were clenched together, refusing to let go for even a moment.
The dark woods were overbearing at best, and suffocating at worst. Every small noise made them jump, and they were walking in mostly darkness for a solid fifteen minutes before Harry paused.
“H-hang on.” He mumbled, putting his wand between his teeth as he pulled his hand away from Daphne’s, holding out his hands and closing his eyes.
Lights. I need lights.
He let out a slow, shaky breath as he felt his magic curl into a few small spheres, his Ice Lights lifting out of his hands and beginning to float around himself and Daphne, who stared at them in shock.
“...You can do wandless magic?” She asked quietly.
“Yeah.” Harry nodded, slipping his wand back into his hand. “I figured that having these would be a little easier than a Lumos… Can you see okay?”
He looked around, spotting six of the glowing spheres slowly rotating around them- three for himself, three for Daphne- and illuminating the forest. He smiled when he saw her breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah. I can see properly now. Thank you, Harry.”
“No problem.” He shrugged. “C’mon… We need to find that poor unicorn.”
“Right.” Daphne nodded, determination rising in her eyes as she continued walking forward, Harry right next to her.
As they continued forward, Harry continued to take slow, deep breaths, allowing his magic to reach out around him, searching for the feeling of the unicorn’s magic. It felt warm, like a candle’s flame, and he knew he could track it if he just…
If he just could find a trace-
A sudden rush of pain came over him, causing him to let out a yelp. It felt like he’d been punched in the stomach when the sensation hit him, the overwhelming sense of fear, of agony, of complete and utter panic as they found a large pool of silvery blood. Daphne looked at him, her eyes wide in a complete panic as he staggered.
“I’m fine.” He grit out, grabbing his stomach as he looked in the direction of the silvery blood. “She’s this way. She’s in pain, but, she’s alive.”
“Okay.” She whispered, grabbing Harry’s hand again and pulling him along, the two of them running off the trail and following the glimpses of silver blood. The closer they got, the more blood they found, and the more of the unicorn’s pain he could feel.
Eventually, they reached a small clearing, and Harry nearly collapsed at the sight in front of him.
The unicorn, her white coat stained by her silvery blood, was still alive. She was alive, and fighting against the man in the dark cloak who was bent over her.
The man who made Harry’s scar feel like someone was pressing a hot poker into it.
He let out a pained cry, clutching his head and stumbling back, falling onto the ground. Daphne stumbled back as well, whimpering as the cloaked man looked up at them, although she managed to stay upright. He seemed as though he was going to rush towards the two of them, but decided against it, turning and running in the opposite direction. When he was finally out of sight, Harry gasped, the rush of pain finally fading and letting his mind clear up.
“Oh god.” He whispered, shoving himself back up to his feet as he rushed forward, kneeling by the injured unicorn’s side and looking over her. Her eyes were wild and afraid, and his heart sunk as he saw the wound in the side of her neck. He pressed his hands against it, trying to hold pressure and stop the bleeding. “D-daphne! Daphne come here!!”
His sudden voice seemed to snap her out of her panicked stupor, and she came rushing over.
“Oh Merlin- Oh no-” She sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she knelt down, running a hand through her hair.
“Daphne. Send up green sparks.” Harry said firmly, looking at her with what he hoped was a stern gaze.
“What-?”
“Green sparks. As high up as you can.”
“O-okay-” Daphne nodded, fumbling her wand out of her pocket and holding it high in the air, brilliant green sparks shooting up above the trees and exploding a bit like fireworks. He offered her a shaky smile, before he looked back at the unicorn, hesitating for only a moment before he pushed his magic down towards her.
He wanted to tell her that she was going to be okay, that she wasn’t going to die, that they were going to help her.
That was when he felt it.
As their magics wrapped around each other, Harry sucked in a breath.
She wasn’t the only one in danger.
“Daphne. Daphne, she's pregnant.” He gasped out. “She’s… She’s in labor. That’s why she got caught. She needs help.”
“What do we do?” Daphne asked him, her eyes wide. Harry looked down at the unicorn again, at the fear in her eyes, the utter desperation.
And he knew exactly what she wanted them to do.
“I’m… I’m going to keep feeding her my magic.” He explained softly, tears filling his eyes again. “It’s what’s keeping her going right now. You need to be down by her hind to get the foal. It’s gonna be really weak, which is why she needs our help. She’s… She’s not strong enough on her own.”
He could see the pain in Daphne’s eyes as he said that. She knew what he meant.
“Okay. Okay. We can do this.” She whispered, looking at the unicorn and leaning down a bit, pressing her forehead against the unicorn’s stomach. “We can help your baby. Your baby is gonna be okay. I promise.”
She moved further down the unicorn’s body, wiping her eyes on the clean part of her sleeve as she moved into position. Harry removed his hands from the unicorn’s neck for all of a few seconds to give her his robes to wrap the foal in once it was born, before they were right back against the gaping wound, forcing his magic to continue flowing through her body.
He breathed slowly, calmly, and as he did so, he could feel the unicorn’s breathing calm as well.
“That’s it… It’s okay…” Harry whispered. “We’ve got you. We’ve got you.”
She jolted under his hands, and he grit his teeth, feeling a rush of pain go up through his body.
“Merlin- Harry this is disgusting-” Daphne said, gagging a bit as she turned her head to the side.
“I-it’s natural.” He laughed a bit, closing his eyes tightly as he fought off the pain. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire, and he could hardly breathe, but he knew it was only a fraction of the unicorn’s pain.
They just had to keep going, just a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer, and everything would be okay.
Distantly, Harry could still hear Daphne’s gagging, and the pained cries escaping the unicorn.
It felt like they had been there for hours, and yet like they had been there no time at all.
Then, like the drop of a hat, it all stopped.
There was a vile, wet noise, and he heard his friend let out a shocked gasp, quickly bundling the bloody, newborn unicorn up in his robes.
“Is it breathing?” Harry asked, looking at her with wide eyes, unsure if the panic he felt was his own or the mother’s. He couldn’t quite differentiate between the two of them at that moment, whether he was truly in pain or if it was the unicorn, if he was afraid or if she was. He didn’t know, but he didn’t care at the same time.
“He’s breathing.” Daphne nodded, and the two of them let out relieved sobs. They couldn’t help it, not after what they had just done.
She scooted up towards the unicorn’s head, tears streaming down her cheeks as she showed her the little golden foal.
“Your baby’s okay.” She whispered. “He’s okay. We’ll take care of him. I promise.”
The unicorn let out a deep sigh, a sense of relief washing over Harry as she did so. He slowly pulled his hands away from her neck, trembling as he did, and as the connection between them severed, he could only register one thought in his mind.
Thank you, little wixen. Thank you.
“...You’re welcome.” He murmured, gently stroking the unicorn’s mane as her breaths slowed to a stop.
The only noise that filled the air now was the soft grunts of the foal, and the occasional sniffs and sobs escaping the two of them.
“Harry! Daphne!” He heard Draco call distantly, his ears pricking up when he heard the familiar voice. “Where are you?!”
“We’re here!” Harry shouted, his voice hoarse from crying. “We’re here!”
They could hear the lumbering footsteps of Hagrid before they saw him, the giant man rushing into the clearing ahead of the rest of the students. His eyes went wide when he saw the sight of them, a gasp escaping him.
“What happened?!” He asked, looking at the bloody mess that surrounded Harry and Daphne. The two of them looked around in mild confusion, before their gazes landed on each other. They were both soaked in unicorn blood, their clothes silvery and wet from the thick layer they had on them.
“...A lot.” Daphne said after a moment, her voice heavy with exhaustion. “A lot happened.”
—
Drying blood was sticky, uncomfortable, and had a terrible smell attached to it. Drying blood was even worse when it was so full of ambient magic from the creature it had been spilled from, and one’s arms were absolutely covered in the stuff.
So, needless to say, Harry was uncomfortable.
He and Daphne were sitting in the hospital wing, teachers surrounding them and chattering worriedly while Madam Pomfrey checked them over for injuries, and watching the baby unicorn toddle around the middle of the room. He was still incredibly unsteady on his little legs, but he was so full of enthusiasm that it was hard not to laugh as he explored, chewing on bedsheets and the end of Dumbledore’s robes.
Not that the headmaster seemed to mind, but still.
“So, Poppy, how are they?” He asked softly, his gaze flicking over to the two unicorn blood-soaked children.
Madam Pomfrey sighed, waving her wand over Harry one more time. “Well, Miss Greengrass will be alright after a Calming Draught and a good night’s rest, but Mr. Hartford is suffering from severe magical exhaustion, and intense strain on his body. I’ve never seen anything like it in a boy his age before. I’m… Amazed that he’s still conscious right now.”
“I see…” Dumbledore hummed, looking at the boy in question. “How do you feel, Harry?”
“I feel fine, sir.”
“Are you sure?”
“I mean, I’m really sore.” Harry shrugged, kicking his feet a bit and tilting to the side to look around Professor Sprout. “And tired, but that’s because it’s one in the morning and in about four hours, I’ll have been up for a full 24.”
“I don’t think I can sleep.” Daphne added with a soft laugh. “That was… Utterly mad. We helped a unicorn give birth! How many people can say they’ve done that?”
“Very few, Miss Greengrass. Very few.” Dumbledore chuckled a bit. “The two of you did an amazing thing tonight. While you may not have been able to save the life of his mother, through your efforts, he was saved.”
Harry nodded, holding his hand out and smiling when the baby unicorn trotted over, sniffing and nuzzling his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Madam Pomfrey giving Daphne a few potions, before sending her over to the bathroom in the corner of the hospital wing to shower.
“Mr. Hartford, once Miss Greengrass is cleaned up, you need to clean yourself off as well.” She said firmly. “The two of you will be staying in the Hospital Wing tonight, that way I can make sure you’re alright.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Harry replied, running his fingers through the foal’s mane and watching as it pulled away, trotting around the room again before it stood in front of the bathroom door to wait for Daphne.
Snape sat down next to his bed, giving him a mildly worried look as the other professors said their goodnights and began to filter out of the room. Dumbledore was the last of them to leave, smiling at Harry with a strangely knowing expression before he did so. Eventually, it was just himself, Snape, and the unicorn, as Madam Pomfrey had to go and search for the necessary potions to help his magical exhaustion.
“...What happened out there, Mr. Hartford?” The potions master asked quietly. “You didn’t tell the whole story.”
“Because it’s hard to explain.” Harry shrugged. “But… What do you want to know about it?”
“You were able to locate the injured unicorn before Hagrid, who knows the Forbidden Forest better than anyone else in this castle, and Fang, a hunting dog. I don’t understand how, but I know it wasn’t due to some sort of superb tracking skills.”
Harry snickered, letting his eyes fall closed. Now that the adrenaline was washing away, he was absolutely exhausted, and was about to fall asleep sitting up.
“I can, uh… I can feel magic.” He said softly. “If I can focus on something’s magic, and connect it with my own, I can feel it. I can communicate with it too, if it understands speech.”
“You can… Feel magic?”
“Yeah. It’s all… It’s all sentient, y’know? So when Hagrid showed us the unicorn blood, I had my magic feel the magic in the blood, so then I knew what to look for. When I found it, Daphne and I just, followed the magic trail to the clearing.”
Snape’s frown was evident in his voice. “And when you connect your magic to things, can you feel what they feel?”
Harry nodded a bit. “Yeah. I felt all of the unicorn’s emotions, and all the pain. Giving birth really freaking hurts, sir.”
“I see… Thank you for clearing that up, Mr. Hartford.”
“You’re welcome. Can I go to sleep now?”
“You still need your potions. And to be cleaned, although I can help with that second task.” Snape muttered, and flicked his wand towards the boy. Harry smiled as he felt the disgusting, sticky feeling get washed off of his body.
“Thank you, Professor.” Harry mumbled, taking his glasses off and setting them to the side, watching the blurry, dark form of his head of house stand up as Madam Pomfrey made her way back into the room, three potion vials in her hands.
“Heading out, Severus?” She asked.
“Yes. I’ve cleaned the blood off of the boy, so he’ll be able to go to sleep once his potions are in his system, Poppy.”
“Perfect. Have a good night, dear.” Madam Pomfrey smiled as she walked over to Harry, handing him the first bottle, which he tipped back without any hesitation.
“You as well. Goodnight, Mr. Hartford.”
“Goodnight, Professor Snape.” Harry called after him before he took the second potion the medi-witch gave him. Then, he downed the third one, gagging as he did so. “Sorry- they didn’t taste good.”
“It’s alright, Mr. Hartford. It’s medicine.” She laughed a bit. “It’s not supposed to taste good.”
“Blech.” He stuck his tongue out, which was when Madam Pomfrey pressed a glass of water into his hands, and he used it to wash the taste down. Once he handed the glass back to her, he yawned, flopping back against the bed with a groan. “Mm… Goodnight, Madam Pomfrey. Thank you for letting the unicorn stay up here with us.”
“Goodnight, dear, and it’s no trouble. He’s very polite.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Harry chuckled a bit, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes, a soft sigh escaped him as his body relaxed the rest of the way.
He was completely drained, and honestly shocked he had been awake as long as he was.
A soft snuffling sound came from the side of his bed, and before he could open his eyes to investigate, he felt the bed dip down as the unicorn clamored up onto the bed, snuggling up to his side and resting his head on Harry’s pillow. He snickered a bit, throwing an arm around the little guy’s back and stroking the soft hair on his side.
“I’m sorry about your Mum, but… Everyone at Hogwarts will take good care of you, I promise.”
The unicorn huffed a bit, settling down into the bed beside Harry, who pulled the blanket up over them both as he felt his own consciousness slipping away.
“Goodnight, buddy.”