Previously on What If
"Hnn," replied Ashi thoughtfully. Blaise's pranks always amused him, especially when he wasn't playing them on Ashi. of course, he had nothing on the Weasley twins, but in Ashi's opinion, they tended to take their pranks a bit far; they were almost bullies.
So Blaise's pranks, such as a frog in someone's ink bottle or book that ran away from their owners, were just the right balance of chaos and fun for Ashi.
"Alright," he said. "I'll teach you. Here's your first lesson: silence."
"Silence?" asked Blaise. "Like light-on-my-feet silence, or being-aware-of-my-surroundings silence, or-"
"Like keeping-your-mouth-shut silence. The others will come later."
"Oh. So I should-"
"Stop talking, yes."
Ashi went straight back to the dorms while Blaise went to dinner. Most of the students were in the Great Hall, so Ashi made it to the dungeons without trouble. He whispered the password to the wall and slipped inside as soon as there was enough room.
The common room was empty but for the crackling fire. Ashi ignored the impulse to curl up in front of the warmth and sleep his worries away and skipped up the steps to his room.
He pushed the door open slowly, quietly, just in case Draco was already there simmering.
Nothing.
The door swung open the rest of the way and Ashi hurried to his trunk to pull out his mortar and pestle, throwing his robe and book bag onto his bed. He dumped the herbs in the mortar and added a few drops of water, grinding until there was a paste.
He wrinkled his nose; he could smell the foul-smelling mixture without even trying, could almost taste it even. He hopped over to his trunk and pulled out some spices from his potions supplies to balance out the scents. Soon, the tangy smell of cinnamon wafted throughout the room.
Ashi scooped the paste into a small jar and stuck it in his pocket.
There were still several hours before their detention, but Ashi needed to find Draco soon. He wouldn't have had a whole lot of time to cool off but if they applied the paste soon, they would be able to go to detention without embarrassing themselves by having a black eyes and swollen cheeks; they would just have the black eyes. And the sooner Ashi started looking for Draco, the more time he would have to catch him alone.
Ashi slipped out the door and down the stairs.
A couple of third-years were chatting amiably as they sat together in the common room. They glanced at Ashi when he came down the stairs, but tried to make it inconspicuous. They were not successful.
Still, Ashi ignored them and disappeared from the common room. He glided through the hallways, avoiding people where he could and marched up to the Great Hall.
The early diners were beginning to disperse through the doors but most of the student body was still munching.
Ashi stayed to one side of the doors so as not to be noticed and searched the Hall for Draco. He was sitting a few seats down from their normal spot, looking sourly at his plate and ignoring the chatter from his "friends."
Ashi's eyes flicked further up the table. Blaise sat where he usually did. There was a full plate in front of him but he wasn't working on it. Instead, he was trying to strike up a conversation with the people around him but wasn't having much luck.
By Ashi's estimation, they had already been there a half-hour and would soon be returning to the common room, or the library, or wherever else they went before bed.
He turned on his heel and climbed up the stairs to sit and wait at the top.
The minutes ticked by.
One by one and group by group, the Great Hall was emptied of students. Several passed him on their way up the stairs and more than a few gave him strange looks, but Ashi continued his vigil for Draco.
Fifteen minutes after Ashi sat down, Draco appeared, surrounded by his friends. They were laughing and sneering at everyone around them, but Draco still had a scowl on his face. He ignored them all, staring at his feet unless someone bumped into him.
Ashi stood up, startling a group of Ravenclaws climbing the stairs, and slinked through the crowd to follow Draco. It looked like they were heading to the common room, but he needed to make sure before he took his shortcut to get ahead of them.
He followed until there was no other path for them to take, then Ashi slipped off down a separate hall and zigzagged through classrooms.
His nighttime ventures had allowed him ample opportunity to explore Hogwarts's lower rooms, even though most of them weren't in use anymore. He probably knew the dungeons better than any other student by now. He even knew of a couple secret passages.
He used one of them now to practically teleport himself in front of Draco.
Draco had been in the middle of the group when they left the Great Hall, but now he was starting to lag behind, making his kidnapping that much easier. In the blink of an eye, Ashi had reached out from his hiding place and snatched the collar of Draco's robes.
Draco let out a small, indignant yelp when he was suddenly yanked off his feet and the light disappeared from his vision. He landed hard on his butt and simply sat there for a few seconds, stunned.
"Lumos," said Ashi, holding up his wand to light the hidden corridor enough for them to see each other's faces.
Draco stared up at him in astonishment. "Ashi?!" he screeched.
"Come with me," said Ashi. He turned and started back down the secret pathway.
Draco sneered at his back then stood up and, instead of following Ashi, lit up his own wand and started searching the wall behind him for an exit.
Ashi stopped when he noticed the extra light and turned back to Draco. He watched silently for a few seconds before he said, "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting out of here. There's no way I'm going to just follow you like an idiot, you psychopath."
"Draco, if I wanted to hurt you, you would be hurt."
Draco didn't reply and kept sliding his hand over the stones.
"You're not going to find it," commented Ashi. "It took me three days to find it."
Draco's hand dropped to his side and clenched in a fist. "Then why don't you show me and I'll only have you suspended and not expelled."
"No."
"No?! Do you remember who I am?!"
"Of course. You're Draco Malfoy, pureblood wizard, first-year at Hogwarts, and my and Blaise's friend."
"Then you remember who my father is."
"Yes. What does he have to do with this?"
"I just have to say a few words to my father and he can have you expelled from Hogwarts and banned from the English wizarding community."
"So?"
"So?! You don't care that you'll be expelled?"
"Not really. I can just enroll in one of the other schools. I only came to this one because the Potters had already enrolled me."
"Then I'll just have him send a letter to them explaining what a psycho you are."
"But that would be his power. Show me what you can do with your own."
"His power is my own! I have power over him and he has power over you!"
"But you still rely on him to exert that power. You can't go up to the Headmaster and request my expulsion yourself."
"Then what do you want me to do?" growled Draco.
"Follow me," replied Ashi as he started down the hall again.
Draco stared at his friend's retreating back for a few seconds. He crossed his arms and huffed a few times before he finally scampered after Ashi.
They walked in silence for a few yards before Draco asked, "What are you doing?"
Ashi tilted his head to look over his shoulder at his friend. "Saving you from yourself."
Draco lifted his lip in a sneer. "And how do you expect to do that? How do you know that I need saving, anyway?"
"I'll put it this way: are you happy with the life you had before now, with the friends you had before you met me and Blaise?"
"I knew Blaise long before I knew anyone else," snorted Draco.
"But not familiarly."
"…No."
They arrived at another wall and Ashi pressed his hand against one of the bricks. The wall swung open completely silently, flooding the hall with dim light. They stepped into an empty classroom and a suit of armor closed the hole they had come through.
Ashi pointed to one of the desks nearby. "Sit."
Draco gave him an odd look but did as he was told.
Ashi reached into his robes and pulled out the jar full of healing paste and unscrewed the lid.
Draco crinkled his nose as the smell reached him. "What is that?"
"It will help with the bruising."
"Why does it smell like something a girl would wear?"
Ashi sniffed it a bit. True, it was a bit strong, but his sense of smell had always been different from the humans' so he had thought this was an acceptable strength of fragrance. Apparently not. "No one will notice."
"Sure, they will. I'll smell like a girl. I could probably smell that from across the room."
"No one of consequence will notice."
"I still have to maintain some semblance of respectability here otherwise Father would kill me."
"I will not allow him to kill you."
Draco looked startled. "What? No. He wouldn't kill me, but I'd be in a lot of trouble."
Ashi blinked. "Then why would you say he'd kill you?"
"It's an expression, Ashi. What, you thought my father would really kill me?"
Ashi blinked again. "No?"
In reality, it wasn't that uncommon for wolves to kill or drive off members of the pack that weren't pulling their weight. He hadn't had that problem with his pack because they were hardwired to preserve their species, hence why they had put up with Ashi's (and Toboe's) inability to hunt or contribute to the pack's wellbeing for so long.
The boys stared at each other in shocked silence for a few seconds before Ashi finally cleared his throat and dipped his fingers into the jar. He gathered a sizeable hunk and reached toward Draco's face.
Draco leaned back and scrunched his face. "Uh-uh. You aren't getting that stuff anywhere near me."
Ashi scowled. "It won't bite. It'll help with the bruising."
"Yeah. You said that. But it still smells like something a girl would wear."
"Would you prefer I added some horse dung to it instead? I'll be wearing it too."
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
Ashi retracted his fingers. "Fine. You can be stuck with a swollen face for the next week, then."
He turned to look at his reflection in the suit of armor and reached up to apply the paste to his own face. When he was done, one side of his cheek had a dark green tint. He started to screw the lid back on the jar when Draco pipped up.
"Wait," he said, rather mournfully.
Ashi turned back around and waited.
Draco mumbled something.
Ashi was able to understand him perfectly, but he felt like teasing his friend a bit. "Sorry. What was that?" he asked innocently.
Draco huffed. "I said I'll have some of that. I'd rather a few people notice I smell funny than everybody noticing that I got hurt."
Ashi smiled and held the jar out. Draco dipped his finger in the mixture and smeared it on his face until he also had a green tinge.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Ashi's smile broadened. "Let's go back to the dorm. We have detention in a few hours and I, for one, would like to have a nap before we spend the entire night doing who-knows-what."
Draco nodded. He stood up and led the way to the door. His hand was on the doorknob when Ashi spoke again.
"Draco, why do you hate Muggles and Muggleborn?"
Draco paused and was silent for a few moments. He kept the one hand on the handle, but the other clenched at his side. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he turned and answered Ashi.
"Cause they're murderers."
Ashi tilted his head in question and waited for his friend to continue.
Draco sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "When the Muggles were paranoid about witches in the 1700s…they started killing off anyone they even thought had magic. A lot of families just moved out of the country if they could afford it. The Malfoys couldn't, not then.
"One of the neighbors caught a Malfoy lighting a brush fire with magic one night and the Malfoy clan was nearly wiped out. The only reason we still exist is that a distant cousin got overlooked in the carnage."
Draco clenched his fists again and looked Ashi straight in the eye. "It's their own fault that we hate them and their offspring. And if we don't control them, they won't hesitate to do something like that again if they ever find out magic is real."
Ashi nodded, beginning to empathize with Draco's feelings on the matter, then stopped as he realized what exactly Draco had been implying. "But if you attack them as you have been, you're just doing to them what they've done to you."
"Yeah, so?"
"So if you really succeed in suppressing the Muggles, they'll just start attacking you again once your guard is down and you'll just switch roles over and over forever."
"So? I don't care. I want them to know what it feels like to be hunted for being different."
"Why, though? The witch hunts happened hundreds of years ago. Why do you care so much about that?"
"Because a lot of wizards and witches died and I almost didn't exist and there were so few living wizarding families that we had to start marrying Muggles to keep the magic in our bloodline without inbreeding!"
"That may be so, but do you really want to shove that experience off onto them?"
"Yes!"
Ashi sighed. How was he supposed to make Draco see sense in this? "Then what about your kids or your grandkids? Do you want them to experience that?"
Draco shifted his weight. "…No, but if we're careful, they won't have to. We'll keep the Muggles in line."
Ashi shook his head. "Maybe for a long time, even hundreds of years, but eventually, the Muggles will start a coup and overthrow wizarding rule and persecute you in turn."
Draco was silent and Ashi continued, "And then when their rule comes to an end the wizards with overthrow them and the cycle will start again. Under your plans, there will always be someone suffering discrimination for being different and it will never end. It would be better to end it now before it even begins. The Muggles started it, but the wizards have a chance to end it…What about Muggle-born, then? Why do you hate them? They have magic, just like you."
Draco scowled. "They're still not full wizards, though."
"Why not? They have magic; they just don't have pedigree papers to prove an ancient bloodline. You have to have new blood, new ideas, to make progress, in any society."
"Yeah, but when all the wizards were being slaughtered, they just sat back and watched. They hid like the cowards they are."
"What's wrong with wanting to live?"
"Nothing! But they could have helped us somehow!"
"How? Why help a bunch of strangers when they could have been caught and punished themselves?"
"How about something called human compassion?!"
Ashi smiled. "Exactly, Draco: compassion. I'm sure there were people who helped wizards back then. They just didn't get to the Malfoys—and hundreds of other people—in time. There were only so many who were brave enough to help. The rest were cowards, but why judge the entire population by the actions of a few? If we continue to use that method, why aren't we praising them instead?"
Draco pouted silently by the door, too stubborn to admit Ashi was right.
Ashi sighed. "Just think about it for a bit. You don't have to start handing them roses tomorrow, just try not to antagonize them as much. People might start liking you more."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let's just go." Draco turned and yanked open the door, storming out and down the hall toward the dorms.
Ashi smiled wryly after him. Baby steps. He had planted the seed, now he just had to wait for it to grow…or die.
At 10:50 that night, Ashi and Draco walked from their dorm to the entrance hall for their detention. Once Draco had finished grumbling about why they needed to get there so early for the first three staircases, they had finished the rest of the trip in companionable silence, barring the four times Draco had yawned rather loudly.
When they reached the entrance hall, no one was there and Draco started a fresh round of grumbling. They stood around for a little bit before Draco finally huffed and plopped on the floor.
"Wake me up when somebody gets here," he mumbled and dropped his head onto his upraised knees.
Ashi just nodded and kept guard. He had been anticipating this all day, wondering what they could possibly have them do for punishment. Although he would never admit it out loud, he was nervous. Punishments in a pack were usually taking over the midnight shift or eating the scraps after the pack had eaten their fill. Since his pack was so small, those punishments were never very effective. His punishments had been lectures or harder training.
Five minutes after Draco had fallen asleep, Ashi started fidgeting. He tapped his fingers against his arms and shuffled his feet. He had been on the verge of pacing when the Gryffindors finally came into sight.
Ashi suppressed a smile as he recognized Ron. He didn't know the second boy, but he had seen him around, mostly with Ron and a third boy.
Ashi stepped over to Draco and tapped him with his foot. Draco's head jerked up and he looked blearily around.
"Huh?" he said, blinking away sleep.
"They're here," replied Ashi quietly.
Draco groaned. "Already?" He didn't wait for Ashi's answer as he stood up and stretched. He crossed his arms as he watched the Gryffindors.
"Well, well, if it isn't Weasley," he sneered as soon as they were within earshot.
"Well, well, if it isn't Malfoy," snarked Ron right back.
"What'd you do to get detention?" asked the unknown boy.
"What, you didn't hear?" asked Ron. "He got into a fist-fight with Potter there."
The boy barked out a laugh. "Him? No way. Not prissy-boy Malfoy."
"Would you like a demonstration, Finnigan?" growled Draco.
"Draco," said Ashi warningly.
Draco gave one last sneer, then huffed and turned away. "You aren't worth the time anyway."
"Got a new master to tell you what to do?" asked Finnigan.
Draco opened his mouth to retort, but Filtch decided to show up right then, carrying a lit lantern high in one hand.
"I see you're all here," he smiled. "Follow me."
Draco shot a glare at the Gryffindors a glare before he turned to follow Ashi and Filtch out to the grounds, heading toward the small cabin at the edge of the wood Ashi knew belonged to Hagrid.
They trudged along silently for a few seconds before Ashi leaned over to Draco and whispered, "Draco, who is the other boy?"
"Seamus Finnigan," answered Draco. "A half-blood that tends to get in trouble a lot. Does some pranks and stuff. Got a nasty personality but everyone from his House seems to like him."
"They probably think you're the one with the nasty personality."
Draco snorted. "I could care less what those blood-traitors think about me."
Ashi tilted his head in confusion. "What makes them blood-traitors?"
"They choose to live with and help Muggles instead of their fellow wizards."
"So? Maybe they're just better at doing things the Muggles need doing instead of magical stuff."
"It's still weird. It's unnatural. Hey, Filtch! Where are we going anyway?"
Ahead of them, Filtch cackled creepily. "Hagrid will be giving your detention tonight. Should have some fun in the Forbidden Forest tonight."
Draco stumbled in shock. "The Forbidden Forest?! But there's a reason it's forbidden! Students aren't allowed to go in there!"
"'eadmas'er Dumbl'dor gave us special permiss'n to go ternight. Ah need some help in thar," said Hagrid as he stepped out of the cabin with his own lantern upraised. He waved to Filtch and the grouchy old man slinked back to the castle. "Somethin's been hurtin' the unicorns and Ah'm hopin' to catch it."
"Wait a minute," said Seamus. "If something's so dangerous as to hurt the unicorns, you want students to hunt it for you?"
"Well, no," admitted Hagrid. "Ah were jus' hopin ter find the 'erd and get it closer ter the castle tonight."
"But we're still going to the Forbidden Forest, right?" demanded Ron. "It's dangerous in there! And Dean said he's been hearing howls for the last month."
"Oh, there ain't nothin' brave enough to attack yah where we're goin'," assured Hagrid. "Eh, yeh all know how ter shoot sparks from your wands, yeah?"
They all nodded.
"Jes shoot some red sparks out when yah get in trouble, then."
"Wait, we're not going to be with you?" asked Ron.
"Scared, Weasley," teased Draco, even though what little color he had had already drained from his face."
Ron scowled, but Hagrid spoke up before another argument to break out. "We got ter find th' 'erd ternight. We can split up inter groups to cover more ground tha' way. Erm, le's see. We could go in threes."
"But there's only five of us, Hagrid," said Seamus.
Hagrid grinned and opened his cabin door again. "Fang!" he called.
A huge hound dog bounded out the door and ran around the students a few times in excitement before he stopped next to Hagrid. He spotted Ashi and immediately started barking.
"Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!" it said. "Intruder! Intruder!"
"Fang!" chided Hagrid. "You stop tha'. It's jus' Ashi."
Fang stopped barking and settled for growling at him.
"I'm a student here," explained Ashi quietly.
Fang stopped growling and looked at him suspiciously, then glanced at Hagrid. "Hagrid trusts. I trust," he said shortly.
"Good dog," said Hagrid when he noticed Fang had stopped growling. "Now then, two of yeh can come with me and two of yeh can go with Fang."
"We'll go with Hagrid!" shouted Ron before Hagrid had even finished getting the words out.
Hagrid looked at Ashi and Draco. "That alright with yeh, boys?"
Draco curled his lip. "Sure, I guess. Ickle Ronnikins obviously needs the protection."
Ron growled at him.
"Righ', then. Le's get goin'," said Hagrid. He picked up another lantern that had been sitting on the ground by the cabin door, lit it, and handed it to Draco. He turned and led the way into the dark forest, following an almost-invisible trail.
After glancing at each other in apprehension, they all followed him.
Fang stared at Ashi for another few seconds before trotting ahead to Hagrid's side.
Hagrid stopped a few yards into the forest and directed Ashi and Draco down the trail's right fork while he, Ron, and Seamus went left.
The boys crept through the forest. Well, Ashi crept and Draco stumbled along in the dark, rubbing against branches and stepping on twigs.
"Shh," hissed Ashi. "You'll scare away the unicorns before we even get close."
"Well, excuse me for not being able to see a damn thing," said Draco.
"Not being able to see doesn't mean you are totally helpless, young one," said a soft voice from the shadows. "Simply look with senses other than your eyes."
Ashi and Draco whirled to face the prowler.
Fang whined, then stepped forward, barked once, and panted happily.
A shadow separated itself from the rest of the forest and a centaur with red hair and a chestnut body stepped into the ring of light cast by the lantern in Draco's hand.
Ashi and Draco gaped at their visitor.
The centaur stared at them just as hard, then stamped one of his back legs.
"Well, aren't you rude," he said, crossing his arms. He looked at Ashi. "Hrm. You must be the last new resident in our forest. I've already met the rest of your family."
Ashi squinted. "They haven't said anything about it to me."
"And no wonder. We hear you have not been very talkative as of late."
"We?" asked Draco.
"Yes, we. You didn't think I'd be able to live in here all by myself, did you? Bane, come out here."
A branch cracked behind the centaur and the boys stiffened in surprise.
A black-haired and -bodied centaur stepped from behind a tree and bowed his head. He looked to the sky and said somberly, "Mars is bright tonight."
Ronan also looked heavenward at Bane's proclamation.
"Indeed," he said. "A mixed omen when coupled with Jupiter's size at this time of year."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Draco.
Both centaurs fixe him with their calm gazes.
After a few seconds, Ronan looked at Ashi and said, "Tread with care, young Ashi. The world may depend on it."
The centaurs turned around and disappeared back into the forest without another sound.
Ashi's mouth dropped open a few inches. "Wait a minute!" he shouted, but it was too late. He growled in frustration. What was that supposed to mean?
Draco pointed to where the centaurs had vanished. "What was that?" he asked. "And how did they know you? What did they mean they've met the rest of your family; the Potters are dead."
"They mean my other family. They…tend to…keep company with centaurs." Ashi spoke slowly as his mind raced to find a valid reason—other than his family was living in the Forbidden Forest—as to why the centaurs knew about him.
"'Keep company with centaurs,'" repeated Draco incredulously. "Centaurs barely talk to each other, let alone humans. Why are you so special?"
"I don't know, Draco," snapped Ashi. "We just are and they must have heard about me from another herd. Let's just find the unicorns, alright?"
He stomped off into the forest.
Fang glanced at each of the two boys, then trotted off after Ashi.
Draco stared after him, dumbfounded, before he followed. He caught up after a few minutes, then ventured a question after another few minutes.
"Hey. What did they mean when they said the world would depend on you being careful?"
Ashi had to take a deep breath to calm himself before he could answer Draco without snapping. It didn't work, not really. He managed to keep from shuffling his anger off on Draco, but he still ended up speed-talking as he vented his irritation.
"I don't know. Everyone just keeps saying stuff like that and then leaving without explaining. What's my oh-so-great destiny supposed to be? How am I supposed to prepare for it when no one will tell me what to prepare for? And where am I supposed to tread carefully? I—"
Ashi stopped so suddenly Draco bumped into him with an "oomph."
"Hey, what was that for?" asked Draco. He stepped around Ashi to see what was wrong.
Ashi shushed him.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Shut up, Draco. Listen."
Draco listened…and listened and listened but didn't hear anything.
Then a blood-curdling scream echoed from all around them.
The color drained from Draco's face as he whirled around in circles.
"W-what was that?" he stammered.
The ground started to rumble beneath their feet.
Ashi's head whipped around, trying to find the threat. Whatever was causing the ground to shake was so close he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
The rumbling grew stronger and louder.
At the last possible second, Ashi grabbed Draco's arm and yanked him behind a tree. Draco yelped was he was pulled off his feet and dropped the lantern. It smashed to pieces on the ground and the boys were plunged into darkness in an instant.
"Get down!" shouted Ashi.
Draco knelt on the forest floor and covered his head with both arms. Ashi crouched next to him and peeked out around the tree.
Fang yelped once before he joined the boys in their hiding place, pressing himself against Draco in fear.
A huge, white body whipped past Ashi's face, its hooves barely missing his hand where he had pressed it against the dry forest floor.
He leaned back in surprise and watched another unicorn run by, then another and another. Fear radiated from their bodies and showed itself in their frantic breaths and pounding hooves.
Something had spooked them, badly.
Ashi tucked himself behind the tree further as the fifth and sixth unicorns darted past them on the other side, then another three passed on either side. He spent several seconds with his back pressed against the tree and his knee jammed up against Draco's side to make sure he wasn't dragged off with the rampant horses.
He saw nearly two dozen unicorns disappear into the forest before the thundering died away. He waited a bit before he chanced a glance around the tree again.
Nothing.
Draco slowly raised his head. "What was that?" he asked.
"I don't know," whispered Ashi. He got up slowly from his position. "Stay here." He motioned to Fang, who was still trembling a bit next to him. "Protect Draco," instructed Ashi.
Fang lowered his head and whined. "Scary. Something scary. Go now, please?" he said.
"What? Why?" demanded Draco. "Where are you going? Hey! Ashi! Don't you dare leave me out here! Ashi!"
Ashi didn't answer him. It was easy enough to disappear into the forest with Draco stumbling around in the dark behind him, covering his tracks. He followed the game trail where the unicorns had come from.
He crept slowly and silently through the trees, inching deeper and deeper into the forest. What he was searching for he didn't know, but he had a feeling he would know when he found it. Something that could spook and hurt unicorns had to be pretty big or pretty nasty.
Ashi soon found himself at the edge of a small clearing. The half-full moon shone enough light into the clearing to see something shimmering on the ground. When his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, he froze.
The body of the unicorn lay sprawled on the ground, its hooves spread out awkwardly where it fell and its silvery mane was spread out in a beautiful halo around its neck. But it wasn't the unicorn that had Ashi's blood run cold with fear.
A human figure was leaning over the body at the neck with its head flush with the flesh of the magical beast. Something glinted in the moonlight on the unicorn's neck.
Ashi felt an overwhelming urge to run while at the same time he wanted to mutilate the monster who dared hurt such a majestic creature. It was ridiculous that he was feeling such great terror of something as weak as a human.
The irrational fear was winning though.
He clenched his fists to keep them from shaking and took a small breath to gather his courage.
The figure looked up, straight into the forest at Ashi. Sparkling unicorn blood dripped from its mouth down its cloak and onto the ground. Slowly, as if savoring the moment, it got to its feet and stepped toward Ashi.
Ashi's head exploded in pain and he cried out, dropping to his knees and pressing his knuckles against his forehead. His vision blurred out for a few seconds. Once it had abated a bit, he lifted his head and clenched his teeth so he could properly see the monster coming toward him.
It came closer and closer and Ashi was powerless to stop it, to even get away from it. He screamed again as another flash of pain overcame his willpower. When his vision returned, he had lost his human disguise and was crouching in a pained position on all fours with his head bowed between his front paws.
He whined and rubbed his head against his leg and against the ground to try to dispel the blinding pain.
When he looked up again, the figure was scant inches away from him, reaching out with skinny fingers to touch him.
He tried to growl but it only lasted half a second before it turned into a high-pitched whine. He panted hard in fear and pain. He couldn't do anything but wait and watch the thing in front of him.
It stopped reaching for him when he growled, then continued extending just one of its hard, bony fingers toward Ashi's face. Slowly, cautiously, it touched his nose, using just enough pressure to tickle Ashi's skin.
Ashi howled.
It felt like someone was cracking his head open. He lurched to his feet and stumbled a few steps away, dimly aware the figure had done the same, then collapsed hard to the ground and blacked out.
When he came to, a palomino centaur had its legs curled under itself next to him, cautiously stroking Ashi's neck.
Startled, Ashi flailed his legs for a second, finally rolling on his back a bit to gain the momentum to rock to his stomach.
The centaur lurched to its feet, stamping around in a circle agitatedly before stopping back at Ashi's side.
Ashi moaned and huffed. He had never had a worse headache than he did now. He let out a quiet whine and rubbed his head against his foreleg.
"Are you alright?" asked the centaur.
Ashi glared up at him. He had nothing against the centaur, but his loud voice was just making his pounding headache worse.
With a herculean effort, he lifted his head and stretched his front legs forward, checking their mobility and looking for any wounds. He stood up and shook himself, then immediately groaned and dropped his head as his headache intensified.
"Fine," he said. He squinted up at the centaur. "Who're you?" He turned his head and squinted at the clearing. The thing was gone. "What was that?"
The centaur didn't answer, just stared at him with bright-blue eyes. Ashi stared back.
"You are the Potter boy," said the centaur finally.
Ashi bared his teeth. "I suppose. Though I prefer being called Ashi."
The centaur nodded. "Yes, of course. I suppose that makes sense."
"You know who I am. Who're you?"
"I am Firenze. Now, we must leave this place. It is not safe here, especially not now."
"Why? What was that thing?"
Leaves rustled in the forest and both wolf and centaur fixed their attention on the darkness. Soft thudding sounds echoed along the trees. Across the clearing, four bodies appeared out of the gloom.
"What happened?" growled Tsume as he and Kiba led their pack into the clearing.
Toboe trotted ahead of them when he caught sight of Ashi. "Ashi, Ashi, are you alright? We heard your howl."
"I'm fine," replied Ashi, turning his head away as Toboe's anxious nose navigated his body in its search for injuries.
"Then what happened?" asked Kiba.
Toboe had rushed to Ashi's side so quickly he had ignored the motionless unicorn in the center of the clearing. Now, the rest of the pack was sniffing around it curiously.
Firenze watched the intently, but silently.
Ashi shook himself again and cringed at the pain that bloomed again in his head. His headache was almost gone now, but any sudden movements brought it back with a vengeance.
"I don't know," he said. He looked over at the unicorn and lowered his ears sadly. He stepped carefully over to the body and sat down. "Something killed it…then came after me."
"Did it do anything to you?" asked Hige, sitting down next to Ashi and leaning against him comfortingly.
Ashi shook his head. "No. I don't think so. There was something weird about it. It looked like a human, but…" He hesitated, lowering his head in shame. "I was scared of it."
Tsume barked out a laugh. "Ha. But you're never scared of anything."
"Tsume," chided Toboe.
"This thing was different, though. It was powerful," said Ashi.
"Indeed," said Firenze. He stepped forward to join the wolves around the unicorn. "There has been something decidedly malicious in the forest these past few months."
Tsume bared his teeth. "And who are you?" he growled.
"I am Firenze." He looked at Tsume pointedly. "I live here."
"I know that. What are you doing here with him?"
"I happen to have ears. I came when I heard disturbances."
Hige sniggered. "I think you've met your match, Tsume."
Tsume huffed.
Firenze smiled at them, then looked at the unicorn, then Ashi. The smile melted off his face. "Do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
Ashi looked up at him. "No."
Firenze looked back at the unicorn. "It is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," he said. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
"What does that mean?" asked Toboe. "Cursed how?"
"The drinker will be forever linked to the unicorn's blood; he will not be able to survive without it. Great power comes from the blood, but if you ever stop, you will wither away and die."
"Who would be so desperate? I mean, you've got to know you're going to run out of unicorns eventually, right?" put in Hige.
"There is one thing that will cure the drinker of his addiction, however."
All the wolves stared up at him curiously.
"Do you know what is hidden in the castle at this moment, Ashi?"
"I'm sure there are lots of things—"
"It is an alchemic miracle," interrupted Firenze. "The Sorcerer's Stone will produce the Elixir of Life, which can be used as a substitute for the unicorn's blood."
"You want us to find this stone and cure whatever's killing the unicorns of its addiction?"
Firenze hummed. "That is one way you could do this, but no. It would be better for this monster to simply die than to be tethered to something so minimal for life and for power."
"So what exactly is it that you want us to do?" asked Kiba.
"Simply be on the lookout. If it knows the Stone is in the care of Hogwarts, it will try to get to it. It will become a force to be reckoned with if it does."
"Do you know where the Stone is?" asked Ashi. "It would be easier to keep an eye on it if I knew what to look for."
"No, I do not. But I would hope that Headmaster Dumbledore has placed it under heavy guard."
"But—" Ashi broke off as he pricked up his ears.
The animals all stilled as they listened. A short distance away, they could hear several voices.
"Harry!" shouted one voice.
"Ashi!" shouted two others at the same time.
"Where are ya, Potter?" screamed a fourth.
"The humans," said Tsume.
"We should go," added Toboe.
"See ya later, Brat," chirped Hige as he led the way back into the forest, away from the voices.
"We'll help you find the stone, Ashi," whispered Kiba as he walked past. "Keep an eye out for anything during your classes and we'll search the castle at night."
"Sure. Thanks. Watch out for Filtch and his cat, though."
Fang burst through the underbrush, barking madly. "Found him! Found him! Found him!" he announced.
Firenze bolted a few steps at Fang's sudden entrance, then walked back to Ashi's side. "You had better take on your other form if you wish to remain anonymous," he whispered.
Ashi looked down at his body, as if to make sure he really was still in wolf form, then quickly changed. He had lost his robe when he had met the creature, so he would have to greet Hagrid, Draco, Ron, and Seamus with only his Muggle attire.
"There ya are," said Hagrid as he stumbled over a bush. "'ello, Firenze."
"Hagrid," greeted Firenze.
Hagrid stopped dead when he saw the unicorn. "Wha' 'appened 'ere?"
Neither Ashi nor Firenze answered. They just watched as Hagrid slowly approached the body and knelt, almost reverently, down next to it.
"I must go now, Ashi. Be careful," warned Firenze. He looked up at the stars and sighed. "Sometimes the centaurs read the stars wrong. Let us hope this is one of those times."
Ashi whirled to stare at Firenze and opened his mouth to demand what he meant, but Firenze beat him to it by galloping into the forest. He was gone in less than a second. Ashi fumed silently.
Draco stumbled jumped over a bush with a grunt, then stood up straight and brushed his robes off. He glared at Ashi. "What was that for?" he demanded.
"What?" asked Ashi.
"You ran off into woods alone and left me with the dumb dog. It took off after something howled and I couldn't see anything."
"Did you shoot up the sparks like you were supposed to?" asked Ashi.
"No, duh. Didn't you see them? Shot off like six sets before they found me."
"Yeah. He was shaking in his boots when we found him," said Ron as he walked into the clearing.
Draco scowled. "I'd like to see you act normally after being in the middle of a bloody stampede."
Seamus appeared at Ron's side. "He's right, though. I was at summer camp once and the horses stampeded. That was terrifying and I was on the other side of the fence."
"Great!" said Draco. "Now that we've got that settled, can we go now? Whatever killed that unicorn is still out there somewhere and there's only one of us who has even the slightest idea of how to get back to the castle."
"Scared, Malfoy?" asked Ron teasingly.
Draco glared harder. "Yeah," he said. "And you should be, too. Ever seen a unicorn defend itself? I have. Whatever killed it could easily pick us off like we were nothing more than specks of dirt."
"'e's right, ya know," said Hagrid as he stood up and approached them. "We bes' be gettin' you lot back ter th' castle."
"Finally!" said Draco.
Hagrid held his lantern higher and pointed out the trail to them, ushering them towards it as quickly as he could.
Ashi took one last look at the fallen unicorn and silently vowed to stop the monster that had done something so horrible.
Tada! Longest chapter yet. This one was kinda hard, yet kinda fun to write.
Now, I've been looking around for writing tips and the most common one I've come across is not using "said" all the time, but to use vivid verbs. Then, I found an article that said use "said" as much as possible, then when you use vivid verbs, they'll have more of an impact. I've been using more of the first technique because I like to read vivid verbs. They tend to help me figure out what the characters' moods and attitudes. What do you guys think? Have you noticed at all?
I've also tried to improve my technique with breaking up my paragraphs. I noticed that when I started this story, they were very long, and even longer on mobile devices. So, I've examined a few books and tried to dissect how the choose when to start a new paragraph. What do you think? Are the shorter paragraphs easier to read or did I break them up too much?
I've got one recommendation for you all now. NCIS. Stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It's another show on Netflix. If you didn't figure it out already, it's a police/crime show. They deal with crimes done to or committed by officers of the Navy. You've got murders, extortion, terrorism, the whole shebang. I got hooked bad. And, thankfully, they've keep the characters alive and well (mostly) all this time, at least up to season 5 where I am (except for that one, but I won't spoil it for you).
Gotta go now. See you next month!
-GH
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