As the three of them ran to Hagrid's during morning break, Ron was slightly put out to find Ella following.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to see a dragon hatching. You?"

Ron scowled.

"How do you know about it?" Harry asked her.

"Hagrid told me. I think he noticed my interest in all things apparently dangerous."

"When?"

"This is my eighth year at Hogwarts." Ella told him condescendingly "Pretty poor show if he hadn't noticed by now."

At the cabin door Hagrid greeted them, "It's nearly out." he gestured them in.

The egg was on the table, when they drew up their chairs it split open with a grating noise.

The dragon wasn't very pretty but Ella and Hagrid both reacted as if it were the most beautiful creature in the world.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured, stroking the dragon.

"Yup." Ella agreed.

"Bless him, he knows his mummy!" Hagrid exclaimed after Norbert snapped at him.

"Hagrid? How fast exactly do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow?" asked Hermione.

Ella was about to answer when something behind Harry caught her attention "Draco!" was followed by a number of sentences under her breath, none of which Harry believed complimentary.

"What is it?" Hagrid asked.

"Stupid, horrid Malfoy. He saw Norbert." More swearing.

"Now Ella," Hagrid cautioned "Don't kill the kid."

"I'm nineteen, they can't put me in detention. And I'm being paid by one of them, they can't get rid of me."

"Some might try."

"Yeah I know, no killings."

Ella carefully stayed out of the way though Norbert's escape and following happenings. Every time she passed Malfoy she looked at if she wanted to strangle him.

At eleven o'clock she followed them to detention.

"What are you doing here?" Filch asked.

"Nice to see you too Argus. You haven't changed a bit." Ella grinned. Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the first years she explained "I was constantly put in Argus' records for bad behaviour."

"First week of term." Filch commented grumpily.

"I know you love me really. Forest is it?"

"Come on." Filch started walking to the door. "Follow me. I'll bet you'll think twice about breaking any rules now."

"Really?"

"Hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me."

"No one did."

"It's a pity the old punishments died out. Hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days."

"Done that."

"I've still got the chains in my office. Well-oiled in case I need them."

"I know, I've used them recently."

"Don't think about running off now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

"I run quite fast."

Ella's commentary was apparently more irritating than amusing. Harry and Hermione were smiling slightly, but Malfoy was telling her to shut up.

"That you Filch? I want to get started, hurry up."

Harry's relief at Hagrid being there must have showed because Filch told him "Think you'll be allright with him? It's the Forest for you and you mightn't come out in one piece."

"Nonsense. I'm fine." Ella told him.

Neville moaned at the mention of the Forest and Malfoy stopped. "The Forest? We can't go in there, there's werewolves!"

The look Ella gave him might have incinerated him. "Tough Malfoy aren't you Draco? Scared of a few wolves?"

Neville was now decidedly scared and was hanging onto Harry.

Filch was laughing "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got into trouble. Shouldn't you?"

"Never met a werewolf." Ella murmured wistfully "That would be a fun fight."

Everyone looked at her in astonishment. Before they could say anything, Hagrid arrived. "Finally. Been waiting here half an hour. You allright, Harry, Hermione?"

They both nodded, "What about me?" Ella asked.

"You will be allright 'til the day Cassy kills you." Hagrid told her.

"Never."

"My point exactly."

"Don't be too nice to them Hagrid." Filch interrupted "They're here to be punished. Although what Miss. Riddle is doing here I don't know."

"Is that why you're late? Been lecturing them? Not your place."

"I'll be back at dawn. For what's left." Filch added nastily as he left.

"I'm not going in there." Malfoy told Hagrid, panic in his voice.

"Show a little spine would you? I didn't think my opinion of your family could get lower but now it's worse. Traitors to cowards." Ella sounded disgusted.

"You're here to be punished." Hagrid told the boy "You've done wrong so take your punishment or be expelled."

"But this is servant stuff! I thought we'd be writing lines or something!"

"The reason why I never attended detention. Writing lines! Exactly what the point is, Draco, I would appreciate it if you'd tell me." Ella was getting frostier.

"I'll write to my father…"

"And he'll tell you that's how it is at Hogwarts." Hagrid completed.

"And I'll tell him his son needs a good whack and a stint in a jungle or the army. Toughen him up loads." Ella added spitefully.

"You'd do that?" Harry asked.

"I know Lucius. Could have been my dad. I can pull in a few favours to get Draco sent to army school in the middle of nowhere." Ella grinned.

"Anyway," Hagrid interrupted "Ella stop being horrible. The rest of you, listen carefully, what we're doing tonight's dangerous and I don't want any injuries. Understood? Ella?"

Ella looked slightly miffed "Shoot someone in the back? Not my style. If I'm killing someone for my own sake then they'll be facing me and be armed."

"Hmm." Hagrid looked slightly mollified "Come over here an' look at this."

When they stopped Ella gasped "Is that…But…"

Hagrid ignored her "See that on the ground? The silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood that is. Something's hurt one an' that's the second time in a week. We gotta find the poor thing an' put in outta its misery."

"And what happens if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" the fear was evident in Malfoy's voice.

"There's nothin' in here that'll hurt you if you're with any of the three of us." he gestured at himself, Fang and Ella. "Keep to the path though. That includes you Ella, if you know what a path is." Ella shook her head smiling.

"I want Fang." Malfoy decided, obviously wanting to stay away from Ella, Harry could see his point after what she'd threatened.

"Allright. He's an awful coward though. Me, Harry an' Hermione 'll go one way, Neville, Draco an' Fang the other. Ella could have waited a minute." he grumbled.

"Right here." Ella's voice came from above, she was sat in a nearby tree "Just getting some things. There's my gun!"

"Now if anyone finds the unicorn they'll send up green sparks right? Get out your wands an' practise. If anyone gets into trouble, red sparks an' we'll come an' find you. Allright? Let's go."

When they set off Ella promptly vanished, when Harry asked Hagrid he was told "Ella'll do what she wants, she doesn't have to help. Probably gone asking about what in here could hurt a unicorn."

After a while Neville sent up red sparks, Hagrid went and grabbed them then paired Harry with Malfoy instead. When they saw the unicorn and the black cloaked figure feeding off it, Draco and Fang immediately ran away. Harry's scar burned and he staggered backwards. He heard hooves behind him and ducked as something flew over his head.

The centaur crashed into the hooded person and trotted round and back for another charge.

"All of you freeze!" the shout came into the clearing. A masked person came into the clearing aiming a gun at the figure next to the unicorn. "Don't try to pretend it won't hurt. You're just as corporeal as me. What were you doing?" they paused as if listening then pulled down the fabric mask, "I'm Ella Riddle, and I'm very angry. Don't you dare lie to me." Another pause, "Sure, go ahead. Just don't kill any more unicorns, or you won't be answering to me, you'll be answering to this." She indicated the gun. "You might be able to take me but the body that you're inhabiting? Please."

She watched the cloaked figure leave until it was no longer in sight. Then she walked over to Harry. "You OK?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Firenze here knocked the guy down while I came in. Then I talked to him."

"But you didn't talk. Well, you did but he didn't."

"Telepathic don't you know." Ella tapped her head. "Actually, who I was talking to and who you saw…two different things. The one I was talking to, he was the one that needed the unicorn blood, the one you saw was doing the drinking. Two people, one body. The one in charge is more…spiritual, I guess you could say. I could hear him in here." she touched her head again.

"Who was it?"

"Don't rightly know. Familiar though, who do I know that's a spirit…" her voice trailed off. Her face paled, "Stupid idea." she told herself "It can't be."

"Ella?" the centaur, Firenze asked.

She shook her head "I'm fine. Come on you, back to Hagrid." she helped Harry up and then on to Firenze. "I'll check the other boy's OK." she told him then ran off.

Just as Firenze delivered Harry to Hagrid, Ella turned up with Draco. "There is a path for a reason you know." she told him "Follow it and you usually get somewhere. Go off it and there's worse than werewolves it this forest. Lucky I found you first." To Hagrid she said "One of Aragog's lot was almost on him, would you mind conveying my apologies?"

"Allright. What happened?"

"Someone was drinking off of a unicorn when these two stumbled on him, I told him to go away and not kill any more of them, this one," she shook Draco slightly "Ran off and almost got eaten."

"Come on." Hagrid told them "Back up to the castle."

In the Gryffindor common room Harry was not going to sleep. He was talking while I was trying to get to sleep.

"Snape wants the stone." Nonsense.

"And he wants it for Voldemort." Possibly.

"Voldemort's waiting in the Forest." Actually he's up at the castle, in a teacher, who isn't Snape.

"And all this time we just thought he wanted to get rich." He probably does, but he isn't after the stone.

"Stop saying the name!" Ron whispered.

"Firenze saved me when he shouldn't have." Nonsense again. Why shouldn't Firenze have saved him? Not very grateful that is.

"Bane was furious." He's always furious.

"Something about going against the stars." Even more nonsense.

"They must show that Voldemort's coming to kill me…Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me." Personally I don't think Bane was all that fussed about the Voldemort bit, he was probably just mad about the "Firenze saved a human" bit.

"So now all we've got to wait for now is for Snape to steal the stone. Then Voldemort will be able to come and kill me. I suppose Bane will be happy." Happy that a racist psychopath will be alive again? I doubt it.

The three kept talking until dawn. To block them out, I made myself a set of earmuffs, like I'd used for Mandrakes in Herbology, and managed to get some sleep.