AN: Here is an action-packed chapter that is a bit longer than usual. Enjoy.

After dinner and an exhaustingly long argument between Hermione and Ron, Holly retired to the Gryffindor bathrooms and took a hot shower. Holly was so tired that she doubted she would have much fun at the party in the Forbidden Forest. If she were to be honest with herself, she knew going into the Forest wasn't a good idea. Nonetheless, she had a difficult time coming up with a reason why they shouldn't go. Could they be caught by any number of professors? Yes. Could they lose House points and possibly receive detention? Sure. But it sounded entirely too fun to hunt imps and Redcaps while running through the Forest. If she didn't go, she would be the source of never-ending teasing. If she didn't go, Ron would never forgive her. If she didn't go, she would be stuck in her dormitory while doing homework.

That was how she found herself sitting in the common-room trying to convince Hermione to go to the Forest too. Holly sighed just as Hermione ended yet another rant about needlessly breaking school rules. She said, "Come on, Hermione. Ron really wants to go. Honestly, I think he has some sort of silent competition with Cormac. If you could see the way they fight and throw insults at each other during practice…"

Hermione huffed in annoyance, "A schoolboy argument is no reason for us to risk getting in trouble."

"Yes," Holly explained, "But Ron is already lacking in confidence about his first match. I know that you've noticed how nervous he has been. If this party helps ease his mind and give him a little fun, then why shouldn't we go with him?"

Hermione's brown eyes softened and Holly smirked. There was a moment of silence before Hermione nodded her head. She hesitantly replied, "We can go…"
Hermione quickly added, "But we can't stray too deeply into the forest. Also, there is no way any of us are going swimming in that lake. I will drag you and Ronald back by your ears if either of you even think of jumping into the water."
Holly laughed and said, "I hold you responsible for our actions."

Hermione stuck her nose up and asked, "Aren't I always?"

The two girls worked quietly on a Potions assignment for over an hour. It wasn't until Ron appeared from his dormitory and plopped down next to Holly that either girl stopped working. Holly groaned and slammed her textbook closed. She shoved it across the spacious table and stated, "I can't look at any formula for the rest of my life."

Ron nodded and said, "I told you that you were mad to take on Potions with that evil bat, Holly. Honestly, both of you are bonkers."

Hermione looked up from her textbook and glanced at Holly. Neither girl spoke as Ron ranted, "That old bat made our lives miserable. I know you fancy being an Auror, but even I would give up my wildest dreams if it meant I could get out of seeing that greasy git."

Anger welled up and bubbled over as Holly spat, "He isn't a greasy git!"

Ron stopped speaking and his jaw hung open. His expression was one of confusion as he slowly asked, "Are we talking about the same Potions Professor, Holly? The same one who lives in darkness and preys on the innocent children of the castle?"

She opened her mouth to shout at him, but Hermione cleared her throat loudly and said, "Both of you should think before you speak."

Holly glanced at her friends; one looked confused and the other looked speculative. She sighed heavily and asked, "Isn't it late enough to meet Cormac and Katie yet? Let's just go."

Holly did her best to calm the irritation at Ron's words, but she found it extremely difficult to do so. She was surprised that her chest ached at the simple, yet hurtful words Ron had thrown about. He was her best friend and he hadn't been insulting her directly, but she still felt as if he had personally insulted her. Defending Snape was automatic and completely natural. Mentally, she admitted to herself that she was too harsh with Ron. After all, he had no idea how she felt about Professor Snape.

Holly kept herself under her Invisibility Cloak with her trusted Marauders' map while Ron and Hermione crept around each corner after Holly had given the go-ahead. This plan worked as they made their way to the ground floor of the castle. It took nearly half an hour before they managed to make their way onto the grounds. All three ducked behind a large boulder that was angled facing Hagrid's hut. Ron and Hermione were both panting breathless from their sprint. Holly pulled the cloak off of her head just as Hermione panted, "Give…me…that…cloak."

"Why?" Holly questioned.

"You and I will manage to huddle under it and go passed Hagrid's hut. From there, you can come back and give the cloak to Ron. Let him use it to get passed the hut."

Holly stared at Hermione and replied, "Well, what will I do once you and Ron are safely at the edge of the forest? I will be left out in the open."

Hermione replied in exasperation, "You will have to make a run from this rock to the edge of the forest. If you get caught by Hagrid, you could easily talk your way out of trouble. Just say you needed to speak with him immediately."
Holly asked, "Why would I possibly need to sneak out here at half past ten o'clock to talk to him?"

Ron muttered, "Tell him you had a nightmare…"
Holly snorted and replied, "This plan is just brilliant. Let's get this over with."

Despite the flimsy situation, all three managed to make it past Hagrid's silent hut without being seen by the half-giant. Ron wordlessly handed Holly the cloak, which she tied to the back of her robe. They met up with Cormac and Katie just a few dozen feet passed the edge of the forest. Katie wore a standard black robe, but underneath it she was wearing a red sweater and black pants. Cormac was also wearing a standard black robe, but had denim jeans and a thick blue sweater underneath.

When Cormac caught Holly eyeing his clothing, he sent her a quick grin. He asked, "Are you thinking about swimming later, Holly?"

She shook her head and awkwardly replied, "Not really. Sorry, Cormac."
Hermione's arms were crossed over her chest and she had a guilty look on her face. She walked closely to Holly and kept watchful eyes on Ron. The tall redhead was occasionally answering Katie's questions, but he looked strangely annoyed for the most part. Holly felt the cross vibes coming from both her best friend, but the constant touching from Cormac wasn't helping the situation. Holly was starting to think that the party wasn't such a good idea.

She tried to discreetly move away from Cormac and managed to trip in the dark. Hermione tried to catch her, but Holly fell to her knees. She barely had time to grumble before two thick arms with strapping muscles wrapped around her waist. An overly spicy smell reached her nose. Cormac's deep voice teasingly said, "I know this face is dashing, but you should pay attention where you are walking next time."

"I doubt it was because of your spectacular face." Holly muttered as she struggled to her feet and brushed Cormac's big hands away from her waist. She wiped dirt from her knees and kept walking by Hermione's side. Ron dropped back and quietly asked, "Are you okay, Holiday?"

"Yes," Holly whispered, "I'm fine, Ron."
"I could rough him up for you," Ron replied darkly, "Stupid git."

"I can handle it." Holly snorted, "I don't need help."
Holly and Hermione both sighed with relief when Katie said, "We are nearly there."

"Yeah," Cormac laughed as they drew closer and stepped around a massive tree. It was gnarled and had boney fingers for branches. Hermione glanced at the tree and then jumped when the sounds of laughter and snarls met her ears. She asked, "Did either of you hear that?"

Ron nodded and shot a glance at Holly. She nodded too and all three of them pulled their wands out of their robes. Cormac was waving his own wand around as Katie laughed and took off through a thicket. Cormac grinned and gestured, "Come on, you three. The real fun is right over here."

Hermione gripped Ron's arm as he started to step forward. Playful laughter and muffled banging filled the air. Through the thick bushes, they could barely see a handful of students running about in a clearing. There were short grayish animals letting out hissing sounds as they jumped great lengths. Holly thought she caught the faint scent of smoke as well. Hermione urgently said, "Wait, Ron. We can still go back to the castle. Do you realize that this is cause for expulsion?"

"Hermione," Ron sighed, "You're being a bit over the top."

"I'm not!" She insisted as she shook her bushy brown hair about. "We are out after curfew. Not only are we outside of the castle, but we are in the Forbidden Forest. That's two rules broken. They are over there stupefying imps and Redcaps. Students using Defensive spells on living creatures without proper adult super vision? Another school rule broken."

Ron eyed Hermione before looking at Holly. Trying to arrange her face into a blank expression, Holly gripped her wand and shrugged. Moments more passed and all three of them could hear Cormac's booming laugh. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Take that you stupid imp!"

Hermione said, "Cormac and Katie aren't even being subtle while they break all of these rules."

"Yeah," Holly added irritably, "We will be lucky if we aren't caught now. Can they scream and laugh any louder?"

Ron sighed heavily and said, "Alright. Let's get back to the castle."

All three turned to leave. Holly wouldn't say so out loud, but she was relieved that Ron was willing to head back out of the forest. She was so tired and the thrill of the adventure was gone now. Cormac had certainly ruined any enthusiasm Holly had. They had only made it halfway out of the darkened forest when they heard a shrieking scream. Holly instantly froze. Her blood was icy and her heart began to pump harder and harder.

She knew that sound anywhere. It was the sound of terror. After the scream pierced the night sky a second time, Holly turned and darted back into the forest. She went deeper and deeper. She tripped, stumbled, and tumbled her way toward her fellow Gryffindors. She heard Ron half-whispering and half-yelling for Holly to slow down, but she only continued darting between branches and roots. She heard Hermione fall and Holly's stride faltered. She nearly turned back to aid her friend, but ultimately picked up her pace. As she came closer to the meadow, the smell of smoke became more pronounced. There was a deafening silence, which made Holly slow as she gripped her wand in her fist and ducked through the thick bushes.

When she entered the side of the meadow she whispered, "Oh, shit…"

She stayed frozen and watched as Katie and Cormac stayed in a defiant position diagonally across from Holly. There were five other Gryffindors surrounding Katie and Cormac. And standing directly between Holly and the older Gryffindors was a massive creature unlike any she had ever seen.

It had the body of a lion with a dark sandy red pelt. Its body was magnificently strong and roped with infinite muscles. The creature had a distorted head with a mouthful of teeth. Its claws were razor sharp and the length of standard dinner knives. Its dark tail was wickedly sharp and resembled that of a scorpion. A thick, shiny substance was dripping steadily from the tip of its sharp tail. It was quite preoccupied as it stalked slowly, so slowly, toward the other students.

Hermione and Ron came barreling through the meadow and slammed into Holly's back. Breathless, she stumbled forward and was swiftly yanked back to her feet by Hermione. She heard Ron whimper almost silently as Hermione whispered, "That's a Manticore. Its tail shoots poisoned quills and its mouth has jagged teeth."

"How do we kill it?" Holly asked in a hard voice.

"I'm not sure." Hermione faltered for a single second before suggesting, "We can all Stun it at once. If that fails, I think our next best bet would be fire spells."

Holly asked, "Do you think the Stunning will be powerful enough if we all three do it together?"

"It's possible." Hermione replied hesitantly.

Holly nodded and took a deep breath. She said, "Get yourselves ready."

Ron cursed shakily and then began to curse much louder when the Manticore roared and launched itself at the other students. Holly screamed, "Now!"

The three burst forward and slashed their wands like deadly swords. They each shouted, "STUPEFY!" Holly had barely taken a breath before she continued shouting, "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"

The Manticore stumbled and whirled around, shooting blackish-green needles from its towering tail. It opened its mouth with an ear-splitting roar and showed a mouthful of sickeningly sharp teeth. The beast faltered as it attempted to charge at the trio. Hermione shouted, "Confringo!"
Holly and Ron followed her lead as all three once again began to shout spells in combination. It took only another set of casting before the Manticore let out pitiful mewling sounds that echoed like that of a dying demon. Bright and brilliant orange flames greedily ate away at the Manticore's body. The creature crashed to the forest floor with a thundering sound and then all was deadly silent. The magical flames dissipated after a prolonged moment and then Katie came forward. She had a big grin on her face as she exclaimed, "That was wicked!"

Several others gave relieved chuckles as they chimed in.

"That was kind of interesting."

"Who knew you three were that good?"

"Well, we should have expected Holly to take care of the danger."

"What do we do now?"

Cormac shrugged and said, "I guess you three did pretty well."

Hermione gulped and turned to face Ron and Holly. She whispered, "We should leave soon. All of that noise was sure to attract- "

"MCGONAGALL!" A blonde girl shouted, "Spread out!"

"Oh, bloody hell." Ron grumbled as he grabbed each girl's hand and took off at a dead run. Hermione and Holly did their best to keep up as they ran in the opposite direction of all the other students. She could hear the terrifying sound of an outraged McGonagall. They let the shadows swallow them up as they made a dash for the edge of the forest. Ron panted, "We…need…to get…under…the cloak."

There were muffled voices coming from somewhere in front of them. It was too dark to see properly, so Hermione yanked on Ron's arm with all her might. She whispered frantically, "Wait! Get down!"

Both of them tripped and slid their way down a small embankment and slipped beneath the gnarled roots of a ginormous tree. Holly came sliding in behind them. On her way down the muddy drop, she caught her shoulder on the splintered edge of a root. Gasping, she held onto her injured arm and fell ungracefully into her friends' laps. They were frantically trying to rip the Invisibility Cloak away from Holly's robes when Holly heard a distinctly deep and quiet voice. She knew that voice; it was the one in all of her favorite dreams. Hermione got the cloak around the three of them. She hissed, "Curl your legs together, Ron."

Holly was laying atop her friend while Ron wrapped his long legs as closely together as possible. Hermione's head was tucked against the back of Ron's neck and Holly had her body in the shape of a ball. They were barely breathing as they watched through the sheer fabric of the cloak. Dumbledore and Snape appeared just at the edge of the embankment. Snape looked menacing and cantankerous as his black gaze swept over the darkened forest floor. Holly was positive that his eyes lingered near their hidden spot for a long moment before Dumbledore spoke.

"It seems the rest of them were prosperous enough to escape us, Severus."

Snape snarled, "These idiotic Gryffindors really have no idea how lucky they are."

Dumbledore chuckled and laid a hand on the dark-haired man's shoulder. He replied, "I'm sure they are perfectly aware of how lucky they are."

Professor McGonagall came forward with four sullen Gryffindors trailing after her. She stopped as she came to stand beside the two wizards. She asked, "Did you manage to find anyone else, Albus? Severus?"
"Obviously not, Minerva." Snape retorted. He turned toward the students and Holly felt great sympathy for them as Snape hissed, "I do believe these four should join me for detention for the next two months."
McGonagall firmly replied, "Two weeks' worth of detentions with Professor Snape will do. Every Saturday, you will report to my office and also participate in detentions with me. As I have already said, that will be fifteen points from Gryffindor…for each of you."

Ron groaned quietly and Hermione elbowed him painfully. Holly bit her lip as Snape slowly turned around and stared with his penetrating gaze. Dumbledore and McGonagall continued ranting at the students, but Holly was now certain that Snape had caught them. He didn't turn away or hardly blink as he kept staring in their direction.

Dumbledore placed a hand on Snape's shoulder again and said, "Let us retire to the castle and assure ourselves that those lucky Gryffindors managed to tuck it in for the night."

AN: Please, let me know what you think. Chapter 26 will be updated by the middle of this next week. 75th and 80th Reviewer will get a brief sneak peek of the upcoming chapter. For those who don't win, here is your own sneak peek: there is more action to come. Can anybody say Quidditch?:) Thank you for reading. Reviews are love.