Chapter Fifteen

Percy

Percy was waiting by the dark forest, for the first of his detentions. Harry had somehow gotten Snape to land him in detention too, and the twins were also present. Hagrid soon arrived, carrying a lantern. Aeto leaped from his usual spot on Percy's shoulder to greet Fang.

"We're gonna be lookin' for a wounded unicorn. You in groups a two, one wi' me an' the other wi' Fang. If ya find 'im, send up green sparks. If ya get intah some trouble, send up red. Stick to the trails, I mean it." Percy and Harry chose to be with Fang, so Aeto could play with the bigger dog. Percy smirked at the pale faces of his companions.

"First time going into a monster filled forest at night? Noobs." They looked confused at the last word, and he facepalmed. Right. 1991. They went into the Forest, and Percy drew Riptide. The bronze sword glowed, and Harry cast lumos.

As they went into the forest, Fang began to whine. Stopping in their tracks, Percy signaled to Harry and he put out his wand. Creeping forward, they looked at a gruesome sight. A hooded figure was bent over a shining silver lump in a small clearing. Silvery blood dribbled down it's front.

Percy leaped from his hiding place, and Harry let red sparks light up the Forest. Dashing forward, he sliced at the hooded figure. It whipped out a wand and fired green light at him, which he dodged. He was distracted by a faint voice coming from the unicorn, and the figure disappeared. Sheathing his sword, he crouched next to the poor creature's beautiful head. It was still breathing, very slightly.

He placed a comforting hand on it's shoulder, and it spoke to him again. Lord, you look like Man but feel like one of our own kind. What are you?

"I am something not from here," he whispered, so Harry wouldn't hear

"Please save your strength. Someone who can help is coming." Right on time, Hagrid burst into the clearing followed by the twins. The three stopped short at the sight of Percy crouching next to the unicorn, Harry standing uncertainty by the trail.

Hagrid came close, and shook his head at the sight. Percy gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do." He whispered, again. The unicorn looked up at him, a small head movement.

I know, Lord.

He rested his head again, and his breathing stilled. Percy was shaking with anger.

"When I find who did this, I'll make the Fields of Punishment look like a birthday party." Standing, he strode out of the clearing. Heading back to the school by himself, he stopped.

Whipping back into the forest, he ran to where Hagrid and the others were. He scooped up Aeto, and put him next to where the unicorn lay.

"Can you track him?" The small dog turned back to him, scarlet eyes shining. Aeto sat with a small thump.

Percy sighed, "Guess not huh?"

Hagrid led them back to the school, and Percy pulled Harry aside.

"Are you alright? You kinda look like crap." Harry did look like crap, pale and sweaty.

"For some reason, that thing made my head hurt. I don't know why it only affected me, though." Percy rummaged through his magically enlarged pocket, pulling out a bottle full of orange liquid. Uncapping it, he handed it to Harry.

"Drink. Trust me, it works wonders." That was true. Coach Hedge had used Gatorade as medicine to help them after Tartarus, and it tasted great. Harry looked more wary than Percy would have liked.

"It's not one of my potions. This, right here, is an incredible drink with healing properties. It's orange flavored. I promise you won't die, I've drank it plenty of times." Harry nervously took a sip, then brightened at the taste. Percy made sure he drank it all, and Harry looked much better when they entered the portrait hole

When they told Ron and Hermione about what happened during their detention, Hermione scowled.

"I read about unicorn blood in the Restricted Section. Some of the books in there are simply horrible. Apparently, it can keep you alive even on the brink of death. But all who sacrifice such an innocent creature are doomed to a half-life. It's revolting, and horrible." Percy empathetically agreed, still furious about the unicorn's death.

They sorted out what they knew. They knew where and what was being guarded, and they knew why the thief wanted it, and they had suspects. If they could prove Snape or Quirrell, or both, were after the Stone it would remain safe. Hermione asked about the mysterious health drink, and Percy laughed. He drew out a bottle, this one red, and showed it to her.

"It's Gatorade, Hermione. An American sports drink invented at Florida University in the 60's. The stuff works like a health potion, trust me. A medical professional from my camp uses it so often he's famous for it. That's actually why I know when it was invented, he's a total fruit loop about it. Not gonna lie, it probably saved one of my friend's lives. Nico overexerted himself, and Coach force-fed it to him until he recovered." Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked incredulous. Slipping it back into his pocket, he grimaced.

"Then again, he couldn't exactly say no. Coach is also famous for carrying around a megaphone and baseball bat. Trust me, he knows how to use it." Harry and Hermione laughed with Percy, and Ron asked what a "metabone" was. Hermione launched into an explanation, which confused him even further. Seeing the question before he asked.

"A baseball bat is the same thing as a Beater's bat." This, Ron understood.

Percy knew his roommate was slipping out at night, but didn't ask him about it. He decided Harry would either tell him, or he wouldn't. He wasn't so big of a hypocrite to pretend he wasn't keeping secrets from them. He was probably doing an awful job of keeping them, but still.

He had finished his detentions two weeks ago, and had yet to cause more trouble. They went about their daily lives, carefully watching for Quirrell or Snape to make a move. Harry stopped sneaking out, for reasons unknown, and returned to his former self.

Days became weeks, and soon it was the end of the year. Then, during lunch, a student ran to the staff table with alarming news. Three trolls ( seriously, come up with something new) had been wandering the dungeons. The group looked at each other, faces grim.

It seemed the thief was making his move. They made their way to the staff table, where Professor Mcgonagall remained watching the students follow the other Professors. She turned to them with a frown.

"Professor, we need to see Dumbledore. He wasn't at lunch, is he in his office?" Mcgonagall shook her head. "Whatever business you have with the Headmaster, it will have to wait. He left this morning on an errand and won't be back until dinner." They exchanged nervous looks, and Harry stepped forward.

"Professor, we know about the Philosopher's Stone, and someone is trying to steal it. Professor Dumbledore needs to know!" She blinked, the greatest show of shock Percy had ever seen her give, and crossed her arms.

"I don't know how you learned about that, but I can assure you the Stone is very well protected. Now follow the rest of your House to the Common Room, I am going to help Hagrid with the trolls." She turned and walked away, cloak fluttering.

Percy exchanged grim looks with the others, before they set off at a quick pace to the forbidden corridor. They entered the room to find Fluffy sleeping to the sound of a magical harp, and the trapdoor ajar.

"He's already in there!" Harry said, horrified. Percy drew Riptide and leaped into the hole, decidedly not thinking about Tartarus. He landed on a ropy mess, and saw what appeared to be vines.

"It's safe!" He called up, and his friends dropped down beside him.

"You idiot! Why'd you leap in like that?!" Hermione scolded, but her attention was grasped by the vines beginning to wrap around them.

"It's a Devil's Snare! Use lumos, everyone!" She lit her wand, as did the other three. The light was blinding, and the vines dropped them onto the floor below.