"I am not so sure about this guys..." Hannah Abbott's quivering voice said from the back of the large group of students.
"Shh Hannah, we don't want to disturb the creatures of the Forbidden Forest. Believe me, I know from experience" Hermione responded.
"Hermione is right, if the centaurs hear us we will be in a very unpleasant dilemma" Harry added. The members of the DA had been trudging through the Forbidden Forest for about an hour so far that night. Harry had woken up from a dream where he was Anna once more; he saw Draco and Ron. He also saw that they were in the Forbidden Forest; all extremely beaten and tired looking. So immediately he alerted the rest of the members and now they were off on a search and rescue mission of their own to save their friends.

"Are you sure about this dream Harry? I mean this could be- you know, another trap" Ginny said tentatively. She knew Harry hated when people brought up his mistake involving the Department of Mysteries, which in essence was the reason his godfather Sirius was killed.
"It is not a trap Ginny" Harry spat, "This time I was not in Voldemort's body, I was in Anna's. Why would she be trying to trick me?"
"Well you don't know, maybe they have her under some sort of spell or something" Ginny suggested.
"Anna is stronger than that Ginny" Luna snapped defensively getting fed up with her friend, "Harry's dream was real and Anna, your brother, and Draco are out in these woods all alone. We are going to save them and if you have a problem with that you can turn around and walk your little buttocks back to the castle got it?" she finished. Harry looked at his girlfriend in complete shock, as did everyone else who had heard; never had they heard Luna actually get angry and actually yell at someone; she didn't even do that to her enemies. Harry did have to admit he found her really attractive when she got worked up though.
Ginny nodded meekly, "Erm- yeah, sorry" she mumbled before retreating to the back to walk with Hannah.

"Hey mates, just go easy on her, she is just worried is all" Colin told Harry and Luna; he had been developing a crush on Ginny lately and was a little defensive of her.
"I know Colin" Harry said through gritted teeth, "I am worried too you know! My best friends are all alone in the Forbidden Forest!" he hissed.
"Well your other best friends are here too risking their lives alright" Colin hissed back.
"Look, just go back and walk with your precious Ginny alright?" Luna snapped and Harry looked at her in shock once again. Who was this new Luna who actually stood up to and told other people off? It was so unlike her.

"What is with you today?" Harry whispered in her ear resting his hand on her lower back.
"I am just a little edgy, I want to get my friends back" she said biting her bottom lip.
"Don't worry love, we will get them back" Harry said steadfastly.

"Are you sure that we are going the right way?" Seamus asked and Hermione gave him a hard look; she knew Harry did not want to be bothered.
"No, the Marauder's Map doesn't show this far off the grounds" Harry said simply.
"I don't mean to bug you mate" Blaise said quietly so as to not anger him, "But do you know what part of the forest they were in or what they were near? I might be able to help, I know these woods pretty well" Blaise told him, "I have served enough detentions in them".
"They were by a small lake in the middle of a clearing and that is all I really know... Draco was leaning over and getting some water and Anna- Anna was in a lot of pain" Harry whispered, "A lot of pain..."

"We should take a break" Draco spoke up as you reached a small clearing with a miniature lake in the center of it, "Anna you look absolutely terrible" he said running his fingers over your still bruised cheek.
"Yeah, too bad I can't do that damn Healing spell on myself huh?" you laughed, but immediately stopped when it felt like your abdomen was about to split open where Freddie's curse had hit you.
"Oh god, you really are hurt" he whispered with true concern dripping from every word. "Here let me take a look" he said lifting up your shirt, you shuttered a little at the touch of his hands against your bare skin. He gasped suddenly and you looked down to see a long, purple slash across your stomach that was identical to the one Raven had on his earlier.
"Bloody hell that is a nasty little curse they got there" you said ogling at the deformity on your stomach.
"Merlin, let me get you some water" he said rushing over to the lake. Ron just stared in shock.

"I am not letting you walk anymore" Draco stated firmly as he ladled some water into your mouth. You didn't protest, because at his point you highly doubted that you would be able to walk anyways. Your stomach was burning more and more with every passing second and your head had begun to spin; you weren't sure how much longer you could last without help of some sort.

"This is bad Draco" you heard Ron whisper to him down by the lake.
"I know it is, she is so pale. She looks like she's dead and that cut- Merlin that cut" he muttered.
"Now listen, this is a dangerous curse" Ron responded, "Dolohov cast it on Hermione in our fifth year and she was in St. Mungo's! She was bloody blacked out for days I think; I don't know how Anna is still even conscious. If we don't get her help soon, I don't even want to think about what could happen to her" Ron finished in a shaky voice.
"You don't mean she could-" Draco began, but he wasn't even able to finish his sentence.
Ron nodded, "She could die mate".

"Well I am not dead yet mates" you called over to them in the strongest voice that you could muster up, but it still came out strained and scratchy. Both the boys jumped in surprise at your words, they obviously had thought you couldn't hear their conversation.
"No you are not and I am not going to let you die my love" Draco said firmly picking you up tenderly into his strong arms, "I am not going to let you die, my love" he repeated this time more to himself than to you.
"I know you won't" you whispered back resting your head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

You awoke from your slumber in Draco's arms when you felt him stop all of a sudden. His body went stiff and rigid; you knew then that something was wrong. Reluctantly you opened your eyes to see what had stopped your progress and in front of you stood one of your favorites, but at the same time one of the most feared magical creatures there was. It was a centaur that stood probably around seven feet high. It was a midnight black color with long black hair tied in a ponytail and fierce stone gray eyes. He was an extremely intimidating beast with bulging muscles and a spear in his right hand.

"What are you foals doing in the forest?" he snarled not looking pleased with your presence. Ron and Draco just stood there with their mouths hanging open dumbstruck.
"We are just trying to get home, we didn't mean to disturb you" you said with a definite note of pleading in your voice, "We were captured and tortured, but we managed to escape. We are just trying to get back to Hogwarts".
"You are Hogwarts students then? Followers of Dumbledore?" he growled, "We are not fond of Dumbledore in this forest" he declared.
"I am sorry, but we just want to get home. We are not followers of Dumbledore; we- we are just students" you explained keeping your voice as calm as you possibly could.
He nodded slowly, "There are more of you in my forest" he stated, "They are looking for you. Keep going straight and you will bump into them very soon. Find them and get them out of our forest or there will be consequences, consider this a warning" he hissed glaring at you to show that he meant every single word that he said.
"Y-Yes, we will do that" you told him, "Thank you for your understanding..." you were barely able to mumble out before your head fell back down against Draco's chest too weak to hold itself up any longer.

You gasped a little when you felt a warm hand press up against your cheek. You forced your eyes open to see the centaur's gray eyes bearing down into yours. He lifted his other hand and cupped your other cheek in it; you could feel Draco's body tense up in fear, he wasn't really enjoying the fact the scary centaur was touching you. The centaur whispered something under his breath and brought his hands down to rest them upon the spot on your chest where your heart was located. "She is dying" he stated knowingly, "There is dark magic working its way through her that has yet to reach her heart, but it won't be much longer now. Find your friends quickly or you will lose her" he told Ron and Draco firmly before looking back down at you. "You have a pure heart young foal" he said to you; placing his hand upon your chest once more he whispered something under his breath before galloping off into the distance. At his words you felt a little of your strength return to you, but you still felt the darkness begin to close in around you... time was running out.