DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and its universe belong to JK Rowling or whichever company really has its legal rights. I just fool around with its universe and characters.

DISCLAIMER: Angela and its universe (Inheritance Cycle) belong to Christopher Paolini or whichever company really has its legal rights. I just make a minor use of it for fooling around.

DISCLAIMER: Lorcan, Rowan and its universe (Throne of Glass series) belong to Sarah J. Maas or whichever company really has its rights. I just make a minor use of it for fooling around.

A/N 00: I hope you all remember my warnings over explicit content.

I wanna thank my awesome brother for acting as my Alpha and my Batata for proofreading part of my writing.

## I also wanna thank my mum for going as far as to follow me into the depths of hell- I mean fanfiction- and post extremely motherly-embarrassing comments as if we were on facebook. She's even going as far as to read this story from google translate, so I can only imagine what kind of trash she is actually reading. Thank you mother.

And I also want to thank every reader who takes that little extra time to review my fic. I really appreciate the feedback you provide.

.%%%

The wandering path of a Battlemage

############

CHAPTER 010

############

05 Dec - Sa

A month had gone by and she had yet to come back. It's not that he didn't see her, but she wouldn't hang out with him anymore. Classes, studying, meals… it didn't matter what it was, she would simply hang out with the raven girls instead and occasionally with Neville. She had even started to arrive earlier to their meetings with Minerva and would excuse herself as soon as she had covered the very essentials; likely making little progress on her Occlumency. By the third Saturday he had decided to arrive half an hour late so she could have some proper time under Minerva's tutelage. Today she had finally realized that his delay was intentional and had thanked him for it, before leaving once again with her gaze down.

That had been the worst part for Harry. She didn't snide him, she didn't antagonize him and she didn't even ignore him. All she ever did was look down and walk away, almost as if it was her who was suffering. She had even kept both of his secrets; despite clearly getting along with the other girls.

So Harry could never find it in himself to hate her. He got angry sometimes; frustrated and even sad over the fact, but he knew he had no reason for hate. He couldn't hate her. He wanted her friendship back instead, as he actually missed her. But she never came back to him; she would only stay close as much as it was strictly necessary. And he never did really understand why it all happened.

All he knew was that the he didn't enjoy life at Hogwarts as much as he used to.

Yes, there were still the raven guys and he never felt uncomfortable hanging out with Oliver and Roger. But it wasn't the same, not even when he and Neville were alone and there was no need for secrets. It was as if that lustre on the daily life at Hogwarts had vanished. His classes were still interesting and his meetings with Tonks and Minerva were not at all boring. But she wasn't there really with him anymore.

He had realized that the WCC training helped him clear his mind. So he had taken to wander off anywhere in the school whenever he felt he had too much free time. Even if walking around was far from being any kind of strenuous exercise for him, staying on the move helped his mind and his troubled heart. It was during one of this strolls that he had ended up back on the south wing third floor before that very door.

He closed his eyes and listened. He could hear the wind blowing across the doorway, but this time he already knew it was actually the Cerberus breathing- "How did they get that beast inside? It's just a regular door and that dog is at least three times too big to fit through" -He muttered to himself- "But that means that as long as it cannot change its size, I could open and look without running any real danger"

He had bothered to learn the Alohomora properly after the last time, so he unlocked the door and gently opened it. This time the beast was soundly asleep directly across the doorway, so he simply chose to sit on the floor and watch.

He realized that once he got over the fear factor, the Cerberus didn't look that scary. It was just a gigantic three headed dog peacefully asleep. It almost looked tame- 'Ok, maybe Hagrid has been rubbing off on me' -He thought shaking his head.

After a couple of minutes of just looking at the Cerberus breathing, he remembered about the so called trial and decided to look around. He searched the room only to find it was decidedly empty except for the dog. But when he turned to look back at it, he finally noticed there was a trap door in the middle of the floor, right under one of the Cerberus paws.- "Huh… so it could really be a trial after all… I wonder what's at the end of it."

Feeling slightly better and starting to get bored, Harry was considering it might be time to get back to the ravens tower when he heard someone clearing his throat behind him. He started at the sound and stood up as he turned around in a single motion. Flitwick had caught him- "Professor, I-" -He stopped talking as soon as he realized Flitwick had his hand raised asking for silence.

Flitwick pulled out his wand and silently closed and locked the door to the trials with a flick of it. He then turned his attention to Harry- "Mr. Potter, I do believe the Headmaster was clear enough at the Opening Feast in regards that this section of the castle was strictly off limits. Am I correct?" -He asked sternly.

"Yes professor" -Despite he was in good terms with Flitwick, he knew was still in trouble.

"And what were you doing in here?"

"I… I got here while roaming the castle and then I just sat and decided to contemplate the Cerberus"

Flitwick narrowed his eyes at him- "So you were not in here in search of the rumored trials?"

"Absolutely not" -He answered- 'At least not this time'

Flitwick slightly relaxed and sighed- "Good. Although I wish some of my lions shared your common sense" -Flitwick paused for a moment deep in thought- "Did you find Fluffy interesting?"

"Fluffy?"

"Yes, Fluffy. That Cerberus is actually one of Hagrid's many pets" -He answered while shaking his head- "Are you interested in magical creatures?"

Harry wasn't really thrilled about them, but he thought this might be his way out of trouble- "I don't know if they would form a part of my career of choice, but I do find most of them intriguing and some even amazing"

"Good" -He said as he gave it another thought- "I certainly cannot let you walk out of this without a proper punishment. But you seem to have been in here simply to observe Fluffy and not chasing any wild rumours I'll let you serve detention with Hagrid tomorrow night. I'm sure he will gladly show you around some of his most… interesting creatures and perhaps even allow you to feed some of them."

Meeting Hagrid's interesting creatures gave him a slightly cold sweat, but it would certainly be more entertaining than most other detentions he could have instead- "Thank you professor, and I promise I'll try not to wander in here ever again"

Flitwick narrowed his eyes at him and snorted- "I assure you Harry that you don't want to meet what awaits to whoever manages to get past Fluffy. Now off you go, and I hope I don't catch down here ever again"

Harry knew he had been busted be he was thankful he would get away with only a warning. He bowed in respect to Flitwick despite he had told him it was only for show before heading back to the ravens' tower.

**********************(Tonks)**********************

06 Dec - Su

BOOM!

"Ok, that shouldn't have happened dear brother"

"I certainly agree. I told you it should have been anticlockwise stirring"

Tonks looked dumbfounded at their results. The Twins had approached her with a new potion. They claimed it could make a suit of armour tap dance. Instead, they had poured it and when they performed the activation spell everything blew up. The armour had miraculously survived, but one of the tapestries was in tatters, a window shattered and a whole section of the hallway was charred.

"Oh yeah? When did you become the brains?"

"Right at the moment I told you to stir it clockwise!"

Tonks was beginning to get confused, as it usually happened no matter how long she spent with the two of them- "Guys, I think we should get out of here before someone comes to check on the blast"

"What's going on over there?! You kids better not have dirtied my floors!" -They heard Filch screaming from around the corner

"Run!" -Both twins exclaimed in unison.

They were turning the opposite side of the hallway when Filch finally arrived to their mess- "Wha- YOU THREE! Get back over here!"

The Twins along with Tonks made the sensible thing and kept running away. They could hear Filch chasing after them.

They had turned into another hallway when they reached a crossroad- "Split up! We go up and you take the hallway to the right."

Tonks grudgingly turned right- 'Filch is so gonna come after me instead of taking the stairs'

Tonks proved to be right, so she was forced to keep running. She rushed down the next flight of stairs that she came across. But instead of losing Filch, she crashed into someone and ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Ah Professor, thank you for catching her" -Said Filch.

Tonks sat on the floor as she rubbed her head, having landed on it. Minerva was dusting off her robes while Filch loomed over her with creepy eyes.

"Did I?" -Said Minerva while turning to look at Tonks. Her eye seemed to twitch slightly over been rammed- "Very well Argus, I'll let you go and attend to whatever happened as I see to Ms. Tonks punishment"

It took a moment for Filch to comprehend and his face to turn into one of dismay- "Professor she and her accomplices wrecked a hallway in the fourth floor. An armour was dented at the very least and a there was a broken window scattered all over the floor"

"Indeed… then you better hurry Argus as we don't want any other accidents" -She said giving him a pointed look that would brook no arguments.

Once he realized he wouldn't be winning this, Filch left cursing through gritted teeth.

Minerva turned back to look at Tonks. Tonks squirmed in her place before she slowly standing up- "Thank you Minnie, you are the best!" -Said Tonks with the brightest smile she could muster. Minerva simply cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow- "Ok, I guess I'm not getting out of this one after all"

"Most certainly not. First of all, I would like to know what you were doing" -Tonks only response was to keep her lips tightly shut- "I see… someone else got away. Fine, I promise I won't hold them accountable so you can put your badgers pride to rest."

Tonks thought about the offer for a moment. She knew that Minerva was someone she could trust. And she had proven to be true to her word ever since she met her. Tonks finally decided to explain how the Twins prank had gone wrong.

Minerva took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose- "But no one got hurt, right?"

"Not at all. We were the only ones on that corridor"

Minerva nodded deep in thought and Tonks was still unsure whether she was getting out of this one- "I'll do as I promised and I won't go after the Weasleys" -Tonks couldn't help but smile in victory. Perhaps a little too soon- "But you are having detention regardless"

"What?! Why?" -Exclaimed Tonks in dismay.

"Because even if you didn't brew the potion or used it, you were part of it. And you did make me promise not to punish the Twins" -Said Minerva with a smirk- "Not to say that you did ran into me"

Tonks drew breath to protest, hesitated and narrowed her eyes instead- "And what would I be doing in my detention?"

"I don't know" -Minerva replied with an easy smile- "But you can accompany Harry and find out. Both of you will be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He will most likely seize your help for feeding some of the creatures he keeps for class"

Tonks wasn't thrilled over meeting some of Hagrid's creatures, which would most certainly consist of the very dangerous type. But she would be sharing the task with Harry so it couldn't be that bad after all. It was certainly better than writing an essay for her. Or heaven forbid, she could have ended up been Filch's prey. And she certainly didn't want to find out if the stories were true. Tonks sighed and allowed her shoulders to drop limp- "Fine, I guess it's not bad after all. And thanks, Filch kind of creeps me out"

%%%

It was shortly after dinner and Tonks was arriving late for her detention. She could see Hagrid's hut glowing with its lanterns light under the cover of the night.

'I wonder if Minnie isn't losing her mind… why would she send me to feed creatures in the middle of the night otherwise. Unless she did so I could keep an eye on Harry… everybody knows that Hagrid's idea of dangerous is quite insane after all. I'll try and keep him out of trouble anyway. I'd rather do that than let Hagrid convince him that salamanders aren't really dangerous' -She thought shaking her head.

She finally arrived to Hagrid's hut and she could already hear the both of them talking inside. She knocked on the door. A moment later Hagrid welcomed her inside.

Harry had a look of surprise when he realized it was her- "Tonks? You got detention too? What did you do?" -He finally asked with mirthful grin.

"Yeah, laugh it up all you want but it wasn't really my fault. The Twins screwed up on one of their projects and I ended up taking the fall. That and I knocked Minnie over" -Harry bursted out laughing once she told the specifics of the potion- "Damn it… Hagrid, would you please keep it a secret?"

The half-giant simply laughed as he nodded- "Aye. Don't worry, I don't mind the Twins now that they know better than messing with ma' creatures. They ended up smoking last time they went for some salamanders"

"Hagrid, please tell me you won't make us feed them" -Tonks pleaded.

"Feed? Oh no, I took care o' that before dinner. Dumbledore asked me to check on something inside the forest tonight. So ya two will be helping me track it down"

"What? Flitwick said you would be showing me your pets tonight. And isn't the forest supposed to be forbidden?" -Asked Harry. Tonks already was in a cold sweat imagining where Hagrid might lead them.

"Oh y'ah. I would do that 'round this time. But I gotta check on what's feeding on the unicorns"

A dreadful feeling set on Tonks as she shook her head- "Hagrid you can't seriously be taking us hunting for something vile enough to kill a unicorn!"

Hagrid gave chuckle dismissing it- "Oh no worries there Nym'adora. We won't be hunting for it, just track it down. We find out and we get back. I have to report with the Headmaster before taking care o' it"

Tonks eye twitched with annoyance over the use of her name. But she was way more concerned about their impromptu expedition.

"Ok, I don't mind helping you to track it as long as we don't have to face whatever it is" -Said Harry before she could argue their way out.

"O' course not! We just find out what it is and get back. And there's nothing to worry as we are taking Fang" -Enthusiastically claimed Hagrid, failing entirely to reassure Tonks in any kind of way- "He has a knack to feel danger and run from it" -He added with a booming laugh.

"Now let's go so you two can be back before curfew" -Added Hagrid and left the hut with his crossbow over one shoulder and Fang following right behind.

Tonks smacked Harry on the back of his head on the way out- "You dumbass'! Why did you agree so easily to this? We don't know what could possibly be hunting unicorns but whatever it is, it's certainly evil."

Harry frowned at her as he rubbed his head- "Don't worry, it's just scouting. We get out of there as soon as we know what it is" -Harry said nonchalantly.

Tonks snorted- "You say that only because you've only had the introductory class with Hagrid" -Tonks pulled him by the hem of his robes so that he would look at her in the eye- "Harry, listen to me. You know I like to fool around but this is no joke. I've heard stories that make Hagrid's skrewts sound like cockroaches; nasty things but quite harmless. So if we see something dangerous or whatever the hell is hunting unicorns out there, we stick together but get the hell out of there. Are we clear?"

Harry tried to pull away but Tonks was determined not to let go until acknowledged her words- "Yes Tonks, don't worry and stop making a fuss about it. I get it, we are going into a forest in the middle of the night and you are slightly scared" -Tonks narrowed her eyes menacingly- "But I'll still do as you said, I promise. But I don't believe they keep XXXXX rated creatures in a forest within the school grounds."

She let go of him and shook her head while looking down- "Harry, believe me you'll regret having said that. But as long as you promise to do as I said… I guess I can let you get caught unawares for once. That should teach you"

Harry snorted and bumped her shoulder playfully- "See? No need to be afraid of the dark."

"Oy! Let's go the two o' ya" -Hagrid called for them from outside. Tonks followed Harry out the hut- "Now listen the two of ya. I'll take the lead and ya two will follow right behind. Harry, ya take Fang's leash. Beware of him 'cause he has a nasty pull when scared" -Both of them were nodding in acknowledgement- "Once I believe we are close, ya stay slightly behind while I take a peak. Ya got it?"

"Yes Hagrid" -Said the two of them in unison.

"Good. T'is way"

Hagrid lead them into the forest. Unlike she had been expecting, there were no haunted trees or moving shadows. Instead the forest felt alive under the moonlight. Branches didn't claw to her hair, but their leaves from the evergreens rustled in the midnight breeze. There were no glowing eyes staring their every move from within the shadows. And there were no screeching sounds coming from the depths of the forest. Instead the forest was alive with night critters and their predators, but not ones dangerous to them. At one moment Hedwig had swooped by and perched on Harry's shoulder looking for a few scratches, before taking off into the darkness looking for her breakfast.

"Huh… I thought it would have been scarier to be within the forest after sundown" -commented Tonks.

"Me too" -said Harry.

"There's nothing to worry about while being this close to the castle. This forest stretches for miles, far beyond the mountains" -Hagrid said with mirth in his voice- "The colony of Centaurs steer most of the dangerous creatures away from the castle borders. In exchange, the school's headmaster is compelled to provide assistance whenever it's required. Although they rarely ever ask for anything, as they prefer to keep much to themselves."

"So… there's no real danger close to the school?" -asked Harry

"I wouldn't say any danger at all" -Hagrid laughed- "Centaurs ain't as perfect as they like to believe and they cannot keep everything from passing through. Every once in a while I do get something more interesting to deal with and send back on its way"

Tonks shuddered to Hagrid's interesting designation- "I'm almost afraid to ask but… what kind of interesting?"

"Oh nothing to worry about as Nundus don't like the weather and dragons are much too regulated for this part of the island" -said Hagrid- "Usually it's one of Araggog's children who got lost. But I've come to face with a few Letifolds and Manticores. There was this one time I found a funny Sphinx strolling towards the castle; it had some of the funniest questions I've ever heard"

"A bloody Sphinx? Uhh… Hagrid, how often do you encounter these stray creatures?"

"Usually one shows up every fortnight or so, but there hasn't been a single one since the start of this term and I cannot tell why"

"Maybe whatever feeds on the unicorns is scaring them away" -said Harry in a voice filled with dread.

"Aye… maybe they know better than to mess with whatever it is"

"And yet here we are hunting for it…" -muttered Tonks. The forest didn't look so friendly after that conversation.

Harry and Tonks spent the next hour small talking in an attempt to ease their nerves. That was until Hagrid stopped to crouch, picking up something from the ground. They went around taking a look to what he had found. Pooling on the ground seemed to be water reflecting the silver moonlight. But upon closer inspection she realized the silvery colour was of its own accord and it was actually too thick to be anything like water. Hagrid scooped some of it with his fingers before allowing it to slip back to the ground.

"What is that?" -asked Harry

"That's wha we been looking for. It's unicorn's fresh blood, so one must be wounded and close by. Stay down and follow me quietly"

"Hagrid, you said we wouldn't get close to whatever it is" -Tonks hissed.

"Aye… ya may stay here if ya like, I won't go far. Whistle if anything interesting comes by" -He said too cheerfully for her tastes. Soon enough they lost sight of him in between the trees up ahead.

"He seems to be expecting something friendly to show up" -commented Harry

Tonks sighed in frustration- "Yes, he does. But I can't say I share his optimism"

Harry hummed in agreement- "Wouldn't it have been safer to stick with him?"

Tonks turned to look at Harry in disbelief- "He's hunting for whatever is feeding on unicorns. I don't care if he says it's only a recon, I don't wanna come across whatever it is" -She paused for a moment before adding- "Besides he wouldn't be going too far away from us and he said Fang has a good nose for danger"

No sooner had she said that they heard some branches being broken to their left, followed by a thump of something falling to the ground.

"Bugger me" -cursed Tonks

"Don't you worry; Fang is still calm so it shouldn't be anything dangerous. Let's check it out" -said Harry with a teasing smile as he lead to the dog to the source.

Tonks reluctantly followed right behind, unwilling to remain alone even if she dreaded the idea of checking what was it. Harry had just cleared underbrush up ahead when he halted.

"Oh fuck me" -He cursed.

Tonks' regret over following him was escalating by the second- "What is it? ... Oh shit!" -She said upon pushing besides him.

There on a clearing up ahead of them laid a unicorn on the ground. It was severely wounded on one of its flanks and its breathing was ragged.

Tonks grabbed one of Harry's arms with crushing force- "Harry we need to get out of here. It must be the one Hagrid was tracking and whatever has attacked it can't be far behind"

"What? Tonks we can't do that! It's a unicorn so we gotta help it. We need to either heal its wound or mercy-kill it!"

"What?! Are you fucking nuts?! You would get cursed for killing a unicorn, so don't even think about it!" -She all but shouted into his ear- "Harry let's go before we get in trouble"

"Alright! No killing it… or you'll end up making me deaf. But we still need to help it!" -Argued Harry- "Look, Hagrid must be on his way back or about to catch up with the unicorn so he won't be long. Besides Fang is still calm so according to Hagrid that means there is no danger nearby"

To Tonks deepest regret, Harry decided now was the perfect time to pull his newly learned puppy eyes. Seeing the logic and compassion behind Harry's words- "Fine! But we still don't know how or what to do to help it"

"Didn't you learn any spell with Poppy to close wounds?"

"Yes but those are meant for people Harry, we don't know how it could react to the unicorn's magic"

"I know, I know" -Harry seemed to pause and think about it for a moment- "But unless you want to start looking for any kind of medicinal herbs lying around, we don't have much of a choice. We should try the spell you know at the very least, what's the worst that could happen?"

Tonks was gobsmacked staring at Harry with unbelieving eyes- "You truly want to get us in some kind of trouble, don't you?"

"What? No! Why would you say that?" -Harry exclaimed appalled

"Because that was the ultimate attempt to jinx this situation without casting a bloody spell! Argh!" -Tonks sighed in exasperation- "Okay, I'll give it a try. But stop asking for something bad to happen and stay alert! I have to focus on this if we want any chance of it working" -Harry was about to respond when Tonks raised a menacing finger- "Shush! Or you'll definitely jinx us. Now look around and see if anything approaches"

Harry nodded in acknowledgement with mild irritation before he began scrutinizing their surroundings.

In the meantime, Tonks carefully and steadily approached the wounded creature. She knew that despite them being majestic creatures, they could also be frightening whenever they felt threatened or insulted. Doing her best to look friendly towards the creature, she was finally able to reach it before caressing its back in an attempt to show she was no threat to the unicorn and she was actually there to help. After staring at her with intent for a few moments, the unicorn finally accepted that it had little choice and with a snort it allowed its head to fall back to the ground to save its strengths.

"There, see? I'm here only to help" -Tonks murmured smiling to herself- "Now let's see if I can actually help you in any way"

Tonks was amidst overpowering the only healing charm she knew want Fang started to growl- "Harry, what's happening? I'm almost done with this"

"Argh!"

Upon hearing him in pain, she urged her magic to act faster before turning towards Harry. He was kneeling on the ground while holding his forehead with both of his hands. He seemed to be under extreme pain for reasons she couldn't understand.

"Harry! What's wrong?!" -She kneeled beside him and tried to pry his hands open. What she found shocked her to her core. His lightning scar seemed to have forced itself to surface and it was currently oozing some sort of black blood- "Harry, your… scar. What's happening?"

Harry looked up at her with pain written all over his face as the black blood trickled over the corner of his left eye. His whole body twitched as he did his best to fight off whatever was affecting him- "I-I don't know. Th- This has never happened before"

Fang was no longer growling as he had started barking a few moments ago. Tonks was already under a lot of stress, so it was quickly getting on her nerves- "Fang! Quiet!" -It took a moment for Tonks to realize that it had actually worked. Fang had ceased his barking despite she hadn't held much hope over it.

Turning back her concentration towards Harry, she realized that his face was no longer showing pain. His body still trembled with whatever troubled him, but his was a mix of shock and fear. It was only then that she realized that the only reason Fang was no longer being an annoyance was because he had fled as Hagrid predicted.

Tonks turned towards the direction of the unicorn, where Harry was seemingly looking at. Slowly descending from amongst the tree-tops was a hooded figure. It was effortlessly floating down with a trail of black smoke following right behind of it. It was clearly a humanoid figure despite being obscured by its dark robes, which seemed to meld into the darkness of the forest.

Tonks struggled to get on her feet as she fought against her crippling fear and hauling Harry to his feet. Whatever was hindering him didn't seem ready to let go.

Harry stood on shaky legs as he leaned on Tonks and pulled out his wand. He tried to cast a minor stunner but his aim proved to be off. His hands were shaking so badly that his wand movements were wrong enough to provoke the trunk of a tree he actually hit to turn into stone.

"Harry, not now. We need to escape" -Said Tonks quietly, unsure of where the creature's attention really was.

For a moment she feared Harry wouldn't budge, but thankfully he started to slowly walk away still holding tight to her for support. They were about to get through the undergrowth when the creature waved an arm in their direction. Tonks closed her eyes bracing herself for the worst but nothing seemed to happen. They took another step back before she realized what the creature had done. It had used magic in order to transfigure the underbrush behind them into razor wire, cutting off their retreat. Having them cornered, the creature descended to ground level without really walking. It just kept approaching them as it floated over its dark smoke. Despite its attention been definitely on them, Tonks had the weird sensation that it was actually focusing on Harry and completely disregarding her.

Harry tried to fire another spell, but he missed again and this time it got lost in the forest. Tonks tried to cast one of her own, but the creature effortlessly deflected it away. The robed figure raised an arm, slowly reaching for Harry's face.

Tonks was stunned in fear. It was clear for her that they were no match towards the creature. And for some unforeseeable reason its attention was fixed on them. Harry didn't seem to be faring any better, as she had her doubts whether he was trembling out of fear or whatever had been paining him. A clop of hoofs made her wonder why the creature held no more interest in the unicorn it had been hunting. That was before chaos broke loose.

The unicorn had managed to regain some its strength after being healed. But unlike Tonks had first thought of, it didn't flee. Instead of that, the unicorn decided to ram his horn into the back of the unsuspecting hooded figure. Unluckily for all of them, the creature had noticed the assault on the last moment and attempted to move away; but not being fast enough to escape unharmed. The unicorn had managed to at the very least pierce the creature's shoulder all the way through and shred the hole open.

The robed figure wailed in pain. Tonks thought for a moment she could recognize a human voice within the scream. Nonetheless it was clear that whatever it was, it wasn't human as there seemed to be two different set of screams coming from the same figure. Its shoulder had been torn open. The unicorn had apparently pierced through the joint between the humerus and scapula, severing the connection between the two of them. Bone peeked from both sides of the wound and all that was holding it together was the skin and muscle of the armpit. Dark blood spluttered from the wound, it leaked from its hanging arm as well as it squirted from the main body in an apparent rhythm with its pulsing heart.

The unicorn took a stance in between them and the creature, stomping the ground with one of its forelegs as it snorted in defiance. Its horn no longer shone in its pure bone white colour, as it was now smeared in the creatures black blood. The unicorn held its stance for a few moments, doing its best to appear as menacing as it could towards the robed figure. Slowly it paced backwards until it had its flank towards them, still shielding them from the creature as well as blocking their sight from it. After a few moments of nothing really happening, the unicorn bumped one of its hind legs against Tonks' shoulder as if it were trying to urge her to do something. Tonks didn't get the meaning of the unicorn's prodding, but it was quickly followed by the urging from Harry.

"Let's go Tonks" -He grumbled still in pain.

"Yeah, but how? That things still got us pinned down" -She hissed back.

"Goddamn it woman, hop on the unicorn" -Harry nudged her forward- "It wants to take us away from here"

Tonks was flabbergasted. It was widely known that attempting to ride a unicorn could very much be the last thing you tried in your life. But before she could object to it, Harry was already leaning against it offering a hand in help towards her. The unicorn didn't even flinch to his touch and they were in dire need of a way out. She ultimately decided that if they were going to die she would rather go at the hands of a unicorn rather than whatever that creepy creature would do to them. Noticing the Harry was still rather weak to make the jump and mount the unicorn, she motioned Harry- "Ok, but you mount first so I can help you up. Whatever has gotten to you, still has you weak"

Harry seemed to be on the verge of refuting her words, whether it was because of a male thing or stubbornness she couldn't know. But he held his tongue and acknowledged the truth of her words by offering a nod. Once he was already securely mounted, he hauled her up so she could sit behind him.

Finally able to see the hooded creature again, she noticed that the shoulder from its robe had fixed itself. Luckily for them, the wound underneath seemed to be still in place as there was black blood dripping and pooling under its arm. The shrouded being seemed to be looking at them with intent; its body at the ready for whatever may come next, whether it would have to defend itself from the unicorn or be the attacker itself.

But before Tonks could brace herself for anything, the unicorn was off in a gallop. She had barely been able to sit on its bare back when it did. Doing her best to avoid falling to the ground and possibly be left behind, she clutched as hard as she could to Harry from behind. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his. She was thankful that Harry had managed to hold on to the unicorn's mane in time. Without a saddle or anything else to hold on to than the grips of their thighs, she was convinced they would have fallen to the ground.

They galloped through the forest for a while, completely clueless on where they might be heading to.

"Harry!" -called Tonks

"What?" -He answered

"Where are we heading?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Maybe because you are up front dumbass" -She grumbled

"Oh… well I still have no fucking idea"

"Great!" -Tonks protested- "Do you think we should-?"

But before she could finish her line of thought, they cleared the last remnants of the forest. It took a moment for Tonks to realize they were at the back of Hagrid's hut.

"Huh… do you think the unicorn is friends with Hagrid?" -wondered Harry.

"I don't know, but we should get down and give it some space" -replied Tonks as she dismounted the unicorn with haste.

Once dismounted she scurried away from it; fearful from a first-hand experience of a unicorn's pride. She was getting restless over Harry's inability to comprehend that they weren't completely clear of all danger yet. She actually wanted to tackle him once she saw him dismount before he began petting the animal. It had been a long day for her nerves after all.

"Harry!" -She hissed- "Get back before it takes offense! Unicorns are extremely proud creatures and they tend to maul people who dare get too close"

Harry looked at her over his shoulder. If she had to guess, he was thinking she was acting crazy- "That might be true, but he is different. We saved each other after all" -He casually explained- "Come here, I can assure you he won't harm us"

"What?! Are you fucking nuts?" -She shouted, which seemed to startle the unicorn. Unwilling to anger it, she lowered her voice to a hiss- "Harry, get away from it this instant. I've had enough of dangerous situations for a month and I don't want to add escaping an angry unicorn to that list"

Harry sighed as he stopped petting the animal. He walked her way as he looked down shaking his head. He caught her completely unaware when he grabbed her arm and dragged her back towards the unicorn.

"Harry! No! Wait!" -Tonks struggled against his grip. The unicorn finally turned their way and she closed her eyes- 'This is it. We escaped every danger tonight just to end up impaled by a unicorn'

She braced herself for the worst. But instead of getting pierced by its horn or the pain of its hooves as it trampled them over, she only felt soft warm fur under her palm. Tonks pried one eye open still in the lookout for danger. Instead she found Harry's hand holding hers as the unicorn pressed its snout against it.

Her fear slowly ebbed away as she came to terms with the situation. Instead of the angry beast she had expected from all the stories she had heard, she found a majestic animal in front of her.

"He does seem grateful towards you. You did save him after all" -commented Harry as he slowly moved to one side to continue rubbing its flank.

"Yeah… I guess I did" -murmured Tonks in amazement- "But it was only thanks to you Harry. I'm sure I would have turned tails if it hadn't been for your refusal to leave"

Harry simply hummed in acknowledgement. Both of them continued to pet and rub the unicorn in silence, marveling at the sense of raw power mixed with a feeling of pure light that seemed to come from the unicorn.

After a while, Tonks felt emboldened by their closeness with the creature- "I wonder if he would let us ride him again. Only that this time it would be for fun and not for running for our lives"

Harry simply smiled and nodded at her to go on ahead, as he took a few steps back. She placed one hand on its back, trying to find a handhold in its back bone. With the other she took hold of its mane, hauling herself up. She was lying flat on its back when she saw Harry's smile turn into a devilish grin as she realized of her mistake.

In just a few seconds, the unicorn deemed its debt paid and its pride tainted. It reared up causing Tonks to be catapulted a few meters back. She landed with a loud thump as the animal proceeded to gallop back into the forest.

Tonks rolled into her back as Harry laughed as he approached her. He offered her a hand to help her up as he said with a grin- "Didn't they teach you about a unicorn's pride?"

She slapped his hand away and stayed lying on her back staring daggers at him- "You bloody arse, you were expecting that to happen!"

"Well yeah…" -He casually said as he laid flat on his back on the ground beside her- "I mean, he did owe us for saving his life, but he had also repaid us by taking us away from that thing and out of the forest. His good graces were bound to meet an end at some point"

"Bastard, you could have warned me" -muttered Tonks as she looked up to the stars. She couldn't believe how calmed she felt despite what they had just survived.

"Thanks by the way" -Said Harry out of the blue, breaking the silence. She turned his way to find him staring at the stars- "You didn't only save the unicorn back there, but you saved me as well"

"Yeah… what was happening to you back there? You were twisting in pain before that thing even showed up"

Harry frowned deep in thought- "I don't really know as it's never really happened before. But my scar was burning and it seemed to get worst as the creature approached. Didn't you feel anything of the sorts?"

"No, no pain at all… all I could feel was fear and the dark aura of power it emanated. I wonder if that was one of those wretched dementors. Although they are supposedly constricted to Azkaban so I don't know what one of those could be doing in the area"

Harry hummed as he thought about it- "I don't know what dementors might be, but maybe it was one gone rogue?"

The idea of a dementor going rogue deeply disturbed Tonks, but she considered it to be a much better option than that creature being an unknown. Because whatever it was, its aura was dark enough to chill her bones- "I'm not really sure if we should wish for that thing to be a rogue dementor or something else"

After that they remained silently lying on the ground gazing the stars. They were quietly enjoying the night when Tonks noticed something amiss- "Harry, don't you find this a little bit weird?"

Harry snorted before asking- "Which part?"

"That we almost died and yet we are lying here on the grass without any care in the world. My mind finds it unsettling yet I can't help to feel at ease"

Harry turned his head to look at her with a smile- "I think it's thanks to the unicorn" -Tonks only stared at him funnily and raised an eyebrow prompting him to elaborate- "You see… as soon as the unicorn stood between the creature and us, my scar ceased to burn. So my guess is that the natural magic from the unicorn was able to repel or at the very least shield us from the creature. If that's so, I'd say that it also helped us to relax and feel at ease; we're probably still under its influence"

Tonks turned back to gaze the stars as she thought about it- "It's the first time I hear about anything like that, but I guess it does make sense" -She turned back to look at him and punched his shoulder playfully- "I guess there actually is a reason for you to have been sorted with the ravens after all. I had been wondering whether the hat had made a mistake after seeing how lazy you can be sometimes"

Harry chuckled- "Yeah, I guess you could have your doubts about me… especially when compared to Hermione" -He trailed off with as a sad smile as he turned back to look at the stars.

Tonks bit her lip as she stared at Harry gazing at the stars beside her, his arms folded under the back of his head. It had been only natural for her to become good friends with the two of them. But now it pained her to be caught in the middle of it.

Tonks had been slightly shocked when she first learned about their kiss, but she had to admit that the feeling of surprise hadn't entirely been of the good kind. She had certainly understood Hermione's doubts and troubles when the girl had confided in her. But she had also believed she would come to terms with it within the week and everything would be fine. But it has been well over a month right now and the girl seemed to still be avoiding Harry. And Harry… she certainly didn't like seeing him in pain.

'Next weekend is the winter break. I wonder if he would like to come home with me. I'm certain that meeting mum would cheer him up or be enough of a distraction at the very least. And there are lots of other things that we could do to cheer him up' -She thought as a slight pink blush rose to her cheeks- 'Should I owl home before actually inviting him? I'm sure mum wouldn't mind'

But before Tonks was able to make up her mind, they heard barks coming from the forest. A moment later, Fang emerged from within the trees and tackled Harry over who had been sitting. Pining Harry to the ground, Fang proceeded to show his affection and worry by licking his face and completely washing Harry in slobber. Harry was cursing and doing his best trying to fend off the hound as Tonks rolled in laughter beside them. It was only a few moments later that Hagrid finally came out of the woods.

"Oi! What do ya' think ya'r doin?!" -Hagrid scream, shocking both of them by his sudden outburst of anger- "I've been worried sick tryin to find ya'r asses and I come to find ya back here by the hut! Tonks! Ya were arguing 'bout the dangers of the forest but ya go back on ya'r own?! What kind of games are ya two playing? I feared the worst when Fang came running for me"

Both teens were stunned. None of them would have ever expected to face an angry Hagrid. Moreover, it was a terrifying sight to have an angry half-giant looming over you. Harry was the first one to overcome his shock- "Hagrid, we didn't mean to. We actually found the wounded unicorn and as Tonks was healing it, the creature showed up" -At that moment, Hagrid's face did a complete 180 turn going from anger to a mixture of dismay and terror- "We don't know what it was, but it had us completely cornered. We only managed to escape thanks to the unicorn that managed to recover enough to ram the thing before taking us out of the forest"

Hagrid was completely at a loss for words so Tonks decided to add her own two knuts- "It looked like a dementor but I can't be sure as I've never faced one before. And now that I think about it, it was able to perform some magic and deflect one of my spells"

The slightest mention of a dementor on the loose seemed to drain all the remaining blood from Hagrid's face, leaving him completely pale. He nodded a few times without uttering a word before he was able to find his voice- "Aye, I'm sorry 'bout all that screaming. We need to inform the Headmaster what the two of ya found. Now follow me, t'is better not wait"

Tonks and Harry were forced to run after Hagrid as his longs strides were too fast for them to keep his pace. Hagrid lead them through the castle into the Headmaster's Office, where they thankfully found Dumbledore alone with his phoenix. Hagrid gave his quick report before prompting both of them to give their tale of the events. After carefully listening to both of them, Dumbledore asked if they could let him have a copy of their memories. Once they were taught the proper spell, Tonks and Harry placed a copy of their memories in a basin called pensieve.

Tonks was starting to get itchy for being there without really being told anything about the whole situation when Dumbledore returned from his dive into the second memory.

The Headmaster hummed deep in thought before speaking- "This is most interesting. Harry my child, are you certain that this has been the first time you ever experienced such a pain?"

"Yes professor"

"And you Miss Tonks didn't feel any amount of pain, am I right?"

Tonks nodded before she added- "I only felt this oppressing dark aura"

"I see" -Said Dumbledore before he lapsed into his thoughts as he absentmindedly stroked his beard.

"Umm, professor?" -asked Tonks. Upon gaining the headmaster's attention she asked- "Do you think it could have possibly been a dementor?"

"No, it was not. It was most certainly a dark being, but from both of your memories alone I can't say exactly which kind. But I do believe it's not one native to our forest" -He said with twinkling eyes.

"And what about the pain in my scar? Can you imagine anything capable of such a thing?" -Inquired Harry- "I felt quite… helpless like that. The pain was enough to prevent me from doing anything"

"I can't tell for certain" -Answered Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling madly- "But I will research into the matter and provide you with any help given that I find any answers" -He said with a grandfatherly smile.

"Now I do believe it's time the two of you head to your respective quarters as you have classes in the morrow. I would ask you not to spread the tonight's events as there is no reason to frighten the students. This creature won't pose threat to anyone as it seems to dwell and hunt deep within the forest, which is already off limits as it is. Suffice to say that it would be unwise for the two of you to chase after it, am I right?" -Dumbledore said in a friendly voice despite piercing the two of them with eyes that said he would brook no arguments.

Harry and Tonks nodded in acknowledgement before retiring for the night. Harry escorted her to her common room despite being long past curfew. Luckily for them, they didn't come across any night patrol. After bidding her goodnight, she entered the badger's common room and headed for her dorm when she halted in her tracks.

"Fuck, I forgot to ask him about Christmas. Oh well, I guess I'll owl mum first in that case" -She mumbled to herself.

%%%

10 Dec - Th

Hermione was in trouble. She had at hand a task to perform that she wasn't thrilled about; she would very much avoid it if possible. The problem was that she had been ordered to do so; no less than by her parents. People could comfortably claim that she didn't enjoy going against the orders from people she admired and respected, usually figures of high authority. But suffice to say that she abhorred the very idea of going against her parents' wishes; they had raised her after all and she owed everything she was to them.

Lost in her thoughts, the source of her conundrum walked past her. She was forced to run half of the way back from the flying pitch in order to catch up.

"Harry, wait! Can I talk to you for a moment?" -She called for him.

Harry turned with surprise written all over his face. She had avoided him for over a month and a half, so she couldn't really blame him- "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

She waited for the rest of their classmates to walk past them. Only once she was certain that they were out of earshot did she talk- "I- umm… my…" -Hermione was having trouble how to phrase it, she was clearly out of her comfort zone right in that moment- "What are you doing for the winter break?"

Harry frowned and leaned his head over to one side, apparently confused by her question- "I've heard we are allowed to stay within the castle, so that's what I am planning to do" -He paused for a moment before adding in a lower tone- "I'd rather not return to the Dursleys. And I'm quite certain they would rather prefer it that way"

She had expected as much. She might have yet to discover the full spectrum of his past, but she knew enough to assume he would rather not ever go back to that place- "Good. I mean- no-" -She sighed in frustration, took a deep breath and explained- "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant"

Harry chuckled, her mock up seemed to lighten his mood- "It's fine, don't worry. I actually considered it great news when I found out I could stay"

"Yeah… about that. I sort of told my parents about the troll and the broom incident when they happened, so they would like you to come with me for the holidays. We have a guest room where you could stay, so it really wouldn't be a problem"

She bit her lip as she waited for his answer. He clearly hadn't expected such a thing, so he was at a loss for words and she couldn't quite figure out his expression. Hermione herself was uncertain whether she truly wished for him to come or not.

"I- umm… Hermione are you sure about this? I mean… we haven't really talked for a while. And it wasn't because of my choice" -He said in a low tone

Hermione closed her eyes as she let out a deep breath- "Yes, I'd like you to come. I'm still not quite sure about the thing I told you about but… you did save my life twice so I'd like to thank you for it as well as my parents do. Besides…" -she trailed off and Harry cocked his head expectantly- "I kind of miss the two of us being friends. It's fun to hang out with other girls but it's not quite the same"

Harry looked at her in deep contemplation for a minute or two, internally considering her words and probably if she truly meant them. Hermione was starting to get nervous when he finally broke into a broad goofy smile- "Okay, I'd love to go then. But I'll need to check with Minnie if I actually can"

Hermione couldn't help but to offer a small smile herself- "Great. Then I'll go right now and let my parents know as I'm sure we can get Minnie to come round. We'll have to barter with some extra tests on your ability if push comes to shove"

"Argh, why does she even need to run so many tests? She has already had Tonks for two years before me" -Harry complained despite his smile never left.

Hermione stifled a giggle before saying- "Alright, I'll meet you back at the common room then. I'm going to owl my parents and we can ambush Minnie this next Saturday"

Without further ado, she turned and left towards the owlery. She was still uncertain in regards of her feelings for Harry. But she missed his friendship at the very least; and this time apart hadn't helped in the slightest to clear her mind. Having reduced her options to cut all ties or deal with it as the problems surfaced, she had finally made her choice.

.%%%

A/N 01: Damn, this chapter took me way too long to write. I had my doubts about how to roll with it and where it would go next, so it took me about 4 weeks to write. But now I can say that I'm finally satisfied with it (or at least as much as I'll ever be).

A/N 02: I'm gonna make a simple request to everyone who does bother to review and criticize any of my chapters: do say why you didn't like it or how would you improve it or what would you have wanted to see included. It has no meaning for me or whatsoever if you simply say "I didn't like this"; as a matter of fact, that makes me want to troll with you but then it's your ass that gets offended. If you don't back up your opinion, I can only assume that you are a whiny little bitch.

A/N 03: Sorry I didn't post this last week as I usually do, but I wanted to work a little bit on ch11 to make sure I'd follow through with the last scene.