I don't own Harry Potter. All rights belong to J. K. Rowling. The only thing I own is Ami.

Chapter Nine

The Forbidden Forest and Ami's Fire

The following night the Golden Quartet and Malfoy were escorted out of the castle by Filch, who was telling them about his favourite method of detention before it was no longer allowed, hanging them by their thumbs in the dungeons with chains. He took them up to Hagrid's Hut; Ami glanced out into the Forbidden Forest, and could have sworn she saw someone moving around in the darkness. Her distraction insured that she didn't hear what Filch and Hagrid were talking about until the caretaker mentioned Norberta.

"Good God, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?" he deadpanned.

"Norbert...sorry, Norberta's gone." Hagrid said softly, sorting out his crossbow. "Dumbledore sent her off to Romania, to live with a colony."

"That's good, isn't it?" asked Hermione. "She'll be with her own kind."

"But what if she don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to her? She's only a baby!" he protested.

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together man! You're going into the forest after all!" Filch snapped. "Got to have your wits about you."

Draco made some obvious protests, including a comment about there being werewolves. Ami had to laugh at that.

"You seem to be forgetting that werewolves are human most of the time, and only transform once a month with the full moon, and not willingly in some cases I might add. And it's obviously not a full moon tonight. Don't be such a coward!"

"There are other things in the Forest, even if there aren't any werewolves." Filch said ominously before walking away.

Hagrid then told them it was time to go.

They walked through the darkened forest, Hagrid leading the way with his lantern and crossbow. Hermione and Ami gripped each other's hands as they followed behind him; Fang was lapping at their heels. When they came across on old tree that was leaning towards them like a jagged claw Hagrid knelt down and dunked two of his fingers into a silver pool sitting at the base. The liquid stuck to his fingers, barely dribbling off onto the forest floor. Ami's eyes widened at the sight.

"See that?" Hagrid said. "That's unicorn blood, that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. This one has been hurt bad by somethin'. So, it's our job to find the poor beast."

He got to his feet.

"Ron, Hermione, you'll come with me. Harry, Ami, you go with Malfoy."

"Fine, then I get Fang." Malfoy sneered, clearly thinking that he would get the upper hand.

Those thoughts were dampened however when Hagrid responded.

"Fine, but just so you know, he's a bloody coward."

The Elemental sniggered at those words.

Harry, Ami and Malfoy set off, Draco with a lantern in hand and complaining all the way; Harry had just about had enough of his complaints.

"If I didn't know any better Draco, I'd say that you were scared," he said calmly.

Draco made to protest, but the sounds of the forest caused him to jump out of his skin. Ami raised an eyebrow and led on until the young Slytherin ran ahead of her, muttering his annoyance along the way.

"Come on, let's make sure he doesn't do something stupid," she whispered softly.

They continued on until they reached a clearing. Fang was soon growling at something in the distance. Ami slowly took a step back; her eyes flashed silvery grey as she waved her hand slightly to move the mist that surrounded them. A gasp caught in her throat, because before them a black hooded man was crouched over a dead unicorn, sucking the blood like a vampire from its victim. She vaguely heard Harry hiss in pain, he clutched his scar out of the corner of her eye. The hooded man lifted his head slightly, revealing the silver trails of blood dangling from his teeth. Draco ran off screaming, swiftly followed by Fang.

Coward. Ami thought irritably.

The man slowly moved towards them, floating like a shroud as he made his way towards Harry. Ami felt like she couldn't move, almost completely paralysed. Harry began to back away, but ended up tripping back on a root, so he desperately tried to scramble away when the figure continued to approach him. He was trapped within the mess of roots, backed into a corner. It was then that the Elemental found her courage.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she bellowed.

Harry looked up at her and stared in awe. Her eyes were glowing red, a contrast to the normal violet; her hair was on fire, red, orange and yellow streaks in shaggy waves licking the tops of her shoulders, smouldering like fire. Her hand was extended, but that was not what caused him to stare. It was the flames that erupted from her palm, a brilliant stream of fire exploding out of her hand like a dragon breathing fire. He was surprised to say the least, but he was pleased to see the hooded man back away from them.

"The elements are mine, and I will use them to protect my friends! Leave! Now!" she roared.

More help came to their rescue in the form of a centaur, who did the final job of scaring the man away. Harry managed to get back to his feet and Ami's fiery rage had died down, returning her eyes and hair to normal. She jumped down from above and walked with the boy towards the majestic creature.

"Harry Potter, Ami Eterna, you both must leave. You are known to many creatures here, the Forest is not safe at this time, especially for you," the centaur explained.

"Was that who I think it was...?" Ami asked hesitantly, feeling slightly unnerved after her Elemental Outburst. She was a bit unsteady on her feet so Harry had to support her to keep her standing, since it looked like she was about to fall to her knees.

"Indeed, a monster. Drinking the blood of a unicorn can save someone even if they are an inch from death, but at a terrible price for slaying something so pure. The moment the blood touched your lips, you will lead a half life, a cursed life," he explained.

"There is only one person who would willingly choose such a life..." she whispered.

Harry touched her shoulder.

"You mean to say, that thing that killed the unicorn, drinking its blood? That was Voldemort?"

"And he's after what's in the school... The Philosopher's Stone." Ami concluded.

They were then joined by Hermione, Ron and Hagrid. The giant man smiled at the centaur.

"Hello Firenze, I see you've met our young Mr Potter and Miss Eterna."

Firenze nodded before turning back to the pair.

"This is where I leave you both. Good luck Mr Potter. And thank you for protecting him, Miss Eterna; I hope you continue to grow as the Elemental."

He then walked back into the trees, disappearing into the night.

When the Quartet returned to the Common Room, everyone sat around the fire, talking about what they had seen. They discussed Voldemort's activities in the Forest and what he needed to do. Harry once again brought up his suspicions about Snape.

"He wants to steal it for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life Voldemort will be strong again, he'll...he'll come back."

"And he'll be after you, for destroying him the first time. If he had the chance, he would have killed you tonight." Ami realised.

"No, there's one thing you're forgetting. Dumbledore is the only person Voldemort fears, so as long as he's around, Harry can't be touched."

They smiled at one another before the conversation turned towards Ami.

"What was that magic you used, Ami? It wasn't normal magic; you didn't use your wand." Harry asked.

Ami sighed heavily.

"It was purely Elemental magic, magic that has control over the four elements. It is the birthright of the Eterna family to possess it; my mother would have taught me if she hadn't died ten years ago. Even when they marry, the women keep the Eterna name. Our eyes change colour when we use the magic. And when our emotions run high, like they did tonight, we have what is called an Elemental Outburst; this is when our magic comes out not only in our eyes, but also in other parts of our appearance, like our hair," she explained. "It is important that people don't find out about this, the Elemental can be used as a weapon against others if they are manipulated, and I don't want to be used like that. So...can you keep this a secret? At least until I'm ready to be revealed?"

Hermione came over and hugged her.

"Of course we will," she smiled. "Plus you need to teach me about this, it sounds so fascinating!"

Ron laughed.

"Sounds bloody brilliant if you ask me!"

Harry nodded his head.

"And it saved both of us, so there's no way we're giving you up."

This is the first time I've put my own character into a fanfiction, so I hope I am able to make her as realistic as possible. Let me know what you think of her with your reviews. I am more than happy to receive constructive criticism about her and this story.

The poll is still ongoing and will be open until I reach the end of the third year. There are a number that are possible and I would like your opinion on them. Please give me feedback. The pairings shall be listed in the poll on my profile. There is also the option of an OC character if you'd rather I keep the pairings (canon or non-canon) between the canon characters. Your opinions are welcomed.

Please Read & Review