Before Filius had the chance to start the chapter, the trio quickly pulled out a calming draught for everyone in their group and passed them out.

"Now, without telling details, we want you to know that this chapter is one of the three most stressful chapters of the book," Hermione said.

"The next two chapters are the other two most stressful," Ron added helpfully. Hermione glared at Ron for interrupting before she continued.

"Yes, anyway. You all get a calming draught for this chapter to take when you need it."

"Most of the stress should be in the second half of the chapter though," Harry added, guessing that it would go over their punishment and the school's reaction before actually going into their detention. Many people throughout the hall heard the conversation and pulled their own calming draught closer, especially those in the DA and the teachers.

The Forbidden Forest

"What?" Mrs Weasley yelled, the silencer on her having apparently been removed, causing the trio to wince. If that was how she reacted to just the mention of the place, how would she react when they had to go in there at night?

Things couldn't have been worse.

"So naïve," Harry sighed.

How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?

"You were eleven and excited about having gotten rid of a dragon?" Neville suggested.

There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed

When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"What? Why were you there?" Ginny asked. Neville just gestured at the book, assuming that it would explain.

"I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—"

"Glad to know he hadn't been making it up," Neville muttered.

I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

"Why would you even think that? After everything you'd seen that year, did you honestly think that Harry and Hermione would be like that? Harry, who was so painfully shy and only ever said a bad word against Malfoy when Malfoy started it, and Hermione, who was always trying to follow the rules and help people? Do you even know them?" Ron exclaimed; Hermione and Harry had told him that they had gotten in trouble but hadn't told him what she had actually said. Now he knew why they hadn't wanted to repeat what she had said.

Minerva lowered her head, not even bothering to scold him for yelling at her, knowing that he was right.

Poor, blundering Neville—Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"Sorry Nev," Harry said.

"Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!

"Minnie, I am insulted," Remus said. "Don't tell me you forgot about us already."

"I wasn't going to tell him that his father and friends were caught out of bed multiple times a month."

As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this.

"Low blow," Fred and George said, knowing how much being part of Gryffindor meant to Harry, especially since it was meant to be like a family, which he didn't have outside of school.

All three of you will receive detentions—yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothinggives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous

"Don't you just love it when adults tell you that things are dangerous but don't tell you why?" Harry asked sarcastically, even as many students grumbled their agreement.

—and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"That's a little harsh, isn't it? You only took 20 from Malfoy," Tonks said.

"Being out past curfew, even if they are out of bounds, is definitely only 20 points, pushing 30 if there are multiple students in one group or they are caught doing inappropriate things," Bill said; he had to learn the official rules around the point system from the Charter when he became Head Boy.

"Fifty points each,"

"Ok, that is extremely harsh. Way too harsh for curfew and out-of-bounds, especially since they got detention as well," Amelia said.

A hundred and fifty points lost.

All of Gryffindor fifth year and up, as well as most of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw 5th, 6th, and 7th years winced at the reminder, since they were also sure that the book was going to cover their actions towards the first years after that point loss. Actions that all the students had carefully hidden from the Professors.

How could they ever make up for this?

"Quidditch, answering questions in class, volunteering to help Professors, helping Madame Pomphrey in the hospital wing," Remus suggested; the Marauders had had to regain points quite often after a large prank.

"And it's not just up to you three, Gryffindor is made up of more than just three students. You should still have at least a month, maybe two, before the end of the term. If each student in Gryffindor got two or three points without losing any, 150 points would be easy to regain. Even with others losing points, each student could probably get at least 20 points in a week just by answering questions in class," Bill added. That just made those who had been at school that year shift in their seats, remembering how things had actually gone.

What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?

"They shouldn't do much, they are meant to be your family, after all. Ask what happened or leave it be and work harder to regain points," Minerva said. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes, while Ron and Neville scoffed; not much, yeah, totally.

How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday?

"If Fred and George had been caught setting up an extremely large prank?" Charlie suggested.

"Many Gryffindor couples being caught in broom closets?" Bill added.

"A mix of both?" Remus said.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated.

"Excuse me?" Minerva asked, wondering how she had missed that.

Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup.

"That should have just made those houses work harder, since it meant there was one less house above them in the leader board," Kinglsey said.

Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him.

Minerva, Filius, and Pomona were all scowling, appalled at the behaviour demonstrated by their houses, and all wondering how they had missed something so obvious.

Only Ron stood by him.

"Excuse me?" Mrs Weasley demanded, rounding on the twins, who both shifted and looked down, not bothering to try and defend themselves.

"Well—no," Ron admitted.

"Alicia and Angelina lost 200 points when they blew up a classroom while practising charms in our second year though," Lee said quietly. Alicia and Angelina shifted more, having forgotten about that; they both knew that they hadn't been treated anywhere near as badly as the house had treated Harry; everyone knew that most of the hate had gone to Harry, as if he had lost the 150 himself, rather than only 50 of it being his.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.

"How did that go?" Hermione asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I managed more than two weeks," Harry replied, rather proudly.

"That's better than I expected," Ron said, nudging Harry, who elbowed him in retaliation.

How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"

"Why did you want to resign? You love flying?" Remus asked.

The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Seeker."

"They did what?" Mrs Weasley asked, her stare now turning to a glare directed towards the twins.

"It's hard to enjoy Quidditch if your team is ignoring you," Harry muttered.

"And harder when they ignore you so much that they don't deal with the bludgers near you or bother making sure you're not nearby when passing the Quaffle," Hermione added quietly, having watched some of the practices. Oliver was the only one who hadn't changed how he treated Harry on the pitch, and the rest of the team didn't make their actions obvious to the Captain.

Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.

"Why? You could have earned the points back in a few weeks on your own," Remus said, surprised.

"Because the first time I raised my hand after we lost all the points, multiple people, from both our house and the house we shared the class with, yelled at me about being an 'irritating, insufferable, know-it-all who didn't care about anything other than flaunting my knowledge and making everyone else look bad'," Hermione said, deliberately keeping her eyes from straying to the students who had said such a thing.

"It was in Defence, and Quirrell just ignored it," Ron added; both he and Harry knew that Hermione was a know-it-all, and sometimes playfully called her that and all three of them knew they didn't mean it in a mean way, but she was their know-it-all.

"How did none of the teachers not notice her change in class? Did none of you question why she stopped raising her hand when a question was asked?" Tonks asked, causing the teachers to flush. They had all noticed it, but just assumed that it was the stress of approaching exams and not put much thought into it.

"No—no—not again, please—"

Harry flinched, having an idea about what Quirrell had been begging to not experience again.

He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry.

All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape had just left the room,

"It's a good thing we don't let you actually gamble then," Hermione said, even as her comment caused many people to wonder who had actually been in the room with Quirrell; none of them got close to the actual answer.

"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."

"Wow Harry," Fred said.

"Didn't think you had it in you," George said.

"Three weeks of insults, discrete hexes, especially stinging hexes, people pushing and shoving me when they passed me, and the Quidditch team ignoring me. More times visiting the hospital wing for numerous small injuries than the rest of the year," Harry replied evenly, crossing his arms and staring at the twins.

Many of the teachers heard his reply and were startled; they hadn't known anything about bullying, let alone that anything got so bad that Harry had gone to the hospital wing multiple times. Madame Pomphrey just sighed; she had some pretty accurate guesses about what had caused those injuries, but Harry would never say how he got injured, probably because he thought he deserved it.

Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.

"Wait, explain to me how a punishment for being out after curfew is after curfew," Bill said.

"Just wait, the contradictions get better," Harry said.

Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

"So, it's after curfew and you'll probably be going out onto the ground, which are out-of-bounds after dark," Charlie said.

"Yeah. Just wait. It gets even better," Hermione added dryly.

Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do

"Which just proves that there was no point having the detention. The detention should be within the same week of the offense, otherwise the student will forget what the punishment is for," Moody said. Harry heard the retired Auror and sighed; he wished he could forget why he had a detention, but the attitude of the rest of the school made that extremely difficult.

Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.

"No, you didn't deserve that. A detention and 20 points, you would have deserved. Not 150 points and a detention. Especially on top of how the rest of the school reacted," Remus said.

"Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

"Why is he allowed around students?" Mrs Weasley yelled; she had heard storied about Filch but had thought her children were exaggerating because they simply didn't like him.

"That's why he loves Umbridge," many of the DA said, thinking about how their methods of punishment were extremely similar, both being a version of torture.

Well, think again, boy—it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

"The forest. You went into the Forbidden Forest, for detention. At 11 o'clock at night. As first years?" Mrs Weasley yelled. Harry, Hermione, and Neville all nodded while Remus winced slightly at her volume; she was getting louder and louder every time.

"What were you thinking?" she yelled, turning her attention towards Minerva. Ron nudged her calming draught towards her, and she took it gratefully, even as she continued to glare at the teachers.

"I didn't realise they were going into the Forest. Hagrid requested their help, and I assumed they would just be out on the grounds helping him clean his equipment or something," Minerva said.

"So, after curfew, out-of-bounds, and in an area that is extremely out-of-bounds due to the dangers in there, as a punishment for being out-of-bounds, after curfew, especially because of the dangers," Tonks said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Harry agreed.

"We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I heard."

"Not since 1978," Remus said.

Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

"Yes, because we knew we would have to go into the forest, which is a forbidden area of the school, when we decided to get in trouble," Harry said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

That's unicorn blood.

Luna whimpered slightly, not liking the idea that such a pure, innocent creature had been hurt.

We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"You had first years going into the forest to find an injured unicorn. While the thing that was injuring the unicorns was probably still there. Do you know how dangerous something has to be to be able to catch and harm a unicorn?" Remus asked, doing his very best to keep his voice even, despite the urge to yell.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid.

"But whatever was hurting the unicorns couldn't have lived in the forest. Otherwise, the unicorns would have been hurt before then," Cho said.

"Coulda werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"Not fast enough. Plus, only if it was a full moon, so you didn't have anything to worry about," Remus answered.

"It was a full moon though," Harry said quietly, causing Remus to groan; of course, it had been.

I never knew one ter be hurt before."

"That's because hurting a unicorn is a horrendous offence against magic. To harm something to pure and innocent," Charlie said.

The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground.

"He was so close," Hermione whimpered, now know what they had been hearing as the sound of the cloak slithering over the leaves sounded through the almost silent hall.

"A bit," said Hermione timidly.

"If you learn a bit, then what do the rest of us learn?" Neville asked.

"Hey, I was eleven, a Muggle-born, and shocked to be speaking to a centaur," Hermione said.

"Mars is bright tonight."

"Mars is the god of war," Luna said, even as her eyes were filled with tears for the unicorn that had been injured.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said.

"Cedric," Harry murmured, thinking of the young man who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, whose murder had marked the start of the second war against Voldemort.

Unusually bright."

"He was warning us," Hermione whispered, connecting what Luna and the centaurs had said to the events of the last few years. She didn't normally put any stock in Divination, but she now knew that centaurs had a much more reliable and accurate view than witches and wizards did.

He had the nasty feeling they were being watched.

"If his instincts said they were being watched, they probably were," Moody said gruffly.

"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"Were you ok?" Mrs Weasley asked Neville in fear, her reaction muted due to the calming draught she had already taken.

Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig.

"That was just you," Hermione said. "I could only hear my breathing."

They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick.

Many of their group had now taken their calming draught, especially the twins and Remus, since they had spent a lot of time in the forest and knew how dangerous going off the path could be.

were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by.

Luna choked out a sob and Ginny shifted her beanbag closer, wrapping her arms around the girl to try and comfort her.

Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood.

Almost everyone was on the edge of their seats, many of them worried for Harry and the situation he had found himself in.

The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.

"It did what?" Charlie yelled in both outrage and extreme fear. He knew that anyone or anything that drank a unicorn's blood was extremely dangerous, nowhere near humane and would have no morals what-so-ever, making them even more of a threat and even more dangerous. Luna's sobbing had changed to full on crying now, not wanting to think about such a terrible action being committed against a creature so pure and defenceless.

Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted—so did Fang.

Draco was paying careful attention to the book, wanting desperately to know what that hooded figure had been.

Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire.

Harry did his best to stifle the gasp and prevent his hand from flying to his forehead where his scar had burst into pain. While it wasn't as bad as it had been when Voldemort had regained his body and touched him, it was still extremely painful.

Sirius was showing his panic as best he could as a dog, whining and shaking, being one of the only ones in the hall who knew what Harry's scar hurting meant; Voldemort was nearby, and he didn't want to think about that at all.

Half blinded, he staggered backward.

Harry blinked and leant against Hermione as the pain in his head partially blinded him.

The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees.

Harry turned his face away from the hall and grimaced at the pain that was running through him. He was glad that he was already sitting down, not sure if he would have collapsed if he had been standing or not.

My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back.

"What?" many people throughout the hall exclaimed in shock, not believing what the centaur had offered. Harry turned to face the hall again and sat up straighter, the pain in his head retreating, grinning at their shock; they should honestly know by now that he didn't do things the normal way.

And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.

"He actually let you ride him," Charlie whispered, even as George took the list from Fred and put a tick next to Anthony's suggestion of riding a centaur.

"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," most of the hall said, the only ones who did know being the trio, Dumbledore, and Severus; even the great animal lovers like Charlie and Luna didn't know, only knowing that to spill unicorn blood was unforgivable.

"We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."

"For good reason" Severus said.

You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

"That's horrible," Lavender whispered into the silent hall.

"If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"

"It would be," Dumbledore agreed.

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"

"No," Remus breathed, being one of the first to put it together, and desperately hoping he was wrong.

"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"

"It was not. You-Know-Who is dead," Umbridge yelled, even as many students looked at each other fearfully, all of them remembering that the books had been proven to be completely truthful.

The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"He marked where she was and went back to give her a proper burial after making sure we got back to the castle," Harry added, having asked Hagrid what he was going to do. Luna sniffed and gave a watery smile at that, glad that the unicorn had at least been given proper respect and lain to rest.

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

"I don't know why I thought you'd stop," Ron sighed.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"I really wish you wouldn't talk about your death so casually," Hermione said. Harry shrugged.

With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you.

"But what about when Dumbledore's not around?" Ginny asked.

It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

"Not so much when it comes from centaurs," Minerva admitted.

Just in case

"Just in case? Just in case what?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Just in case we need it," Ron said.

"I honestly don't care why they gave it back, just that I got it back. It's one of the only things I have that was my dad's," Harry said.

"Please tell me you don't use the cloak to run into Voldemort," Remus said imploringly. The trio exchanged glances before turning to face him.

"You'll see."