Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest
I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter
Over the next week, things were miserable for Daisuke, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Everyone had found out about the four being out after dark, and how many points they had cost Gryffindor house. Everyone looked away from them as they sat to eat at meals, nobody spoke to them, and even if they had to it was only a few words before they walked off.
Malfoy however, had the gall to saunter up to them one morning at breakfast and proudly thank them for giving Slytherin the House Cup on a silver platter. His smirk made them all glare at him, and he would have kept it up had Daisuke not reminded him that he too would have detention with them for also being out of bed after hours. A few Gryffindors laughed and this was enough to send the blonde brat back to his table to sulk.
That same afternoon, Daisuke was walking to the library alone, her hair currently shimmering light neon blue, a cruel prank by someone from Slytherin probably as revenge for embarrassing Malfoy at breakfast. She sniffled and rubbed her nose before, unknown to her, her eyes flashed light gold and a nearby classroom door swung open a crack, just enough for her to hear someone whimpering.
She blinked and carefully walked to the door and listened. "No….no more please…" she heard Professor Quirrell begging someone, he was sobbing and sounded terrified. "I…I can't keep doing it…"
"You have no choice; we made a deal Quirrell. I expect you to honour it." A hideous, raspy voice hissed to the man.
"Alright…alright. I…I'll do it." Quirrell relented. Daisuke ducked behind a statue just in time to see the professor rushing out, adjusting his turban. Once he was gone, she crept towards the open door and looked inside to see nobody there, but another door in the room was open.
"Did Snape do it? Did he finally break Quirrell?" She thought in worry. She quickly rushed off to the library to find the others and to tell them what she just heard.
She found them at a table in the corner of the library, Ron was being quizzed by Hermione while Harry was reading another textbook. "Hey Ainsworth, nice hair!" a Slytherin mockingly called out to her as she walked past, they and the others at the student's table all laughing until Madam Pince stormed over to scold them.
Daisuke ignored the laughs and mocking as she sat down beside her friends. "Are you alright?" Ron asked her softly.
"Fine. Listen, I just found something out." She whispered and began telling them what she overheard with Quirrell.
"So, Snape's done it then. He's found out how to get past Quirrell's spell." Ron muttered.
"There's still Fluffy though." Hermione reminded them.
"And how long do you think that'll be for? There are other ways to get past a three headed dog without asking Hagrid." Harry told her, looking around with a wave of his hand, gesturing to the stacks of library books. "I bet you twelve Philosopher's Stones that there's a way to get past a three headed dog in a book somewhere here."
"So, what do we do Harry?" Ron asked, the spark of adventure appearing in his eyes once again, but Hermione cut them off before they could continue.
"We go to Dumbledore. We should have done so earlier. If we try anything ourselves, we'll be thrown out for sure." She spoke.
"With what proof?" Daisuke asked her friend. "Professor Quirrell is too scared to stand up for himself, Snape has only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got into the castle on Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third-floor corridor. Who do you think he'd believe? Him or us?"
"Dumbledore will think we made it up just to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape as it is. Any student gets thrown out, he'd probably throw himself a party." Ron continued, agreeing with Daisuke.
"We've done enough." Harry said flatly. "We should just stay out of trouble." He pulled a map of Jupiter towards him and began to learn the names of its moons.
The next morning, the four of them had all received the same note from Professor McGonagall, informing them that their detention would be served at eleven o'clock that night and to meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall. In the constant revision for their exams, they had almost forgotten about their detention, but they supposed the sooner it was over, the sooner they could return to keeping their heads down.
That night, the four headed down to the Entrance Hall and saw Filch waiting for them with Malfoy, the blonde boy looking a bit paler than usual. "Follow me." Filch said with a sickly-sweet smile, lighting a lantern and leading them out to the Castle Grounds. "Oh, back in my day, they used to hang you twerps by their thumbs in the dungeons for an entire week. God how I miss hearing the screams." He said with a chuckle.
The five all shivered at his tone as he led them down to Hagrid's hut. The gamekeeper standing by a campfire, a crossbow in hand and a large quiver on his hip. "Evening Hagrid." Filch said to the man.
Hagrid nodded with a small sniffle. "Oh, for God's sake man, you're not still upset about the blasted lizard, are you?" Filch asked him.
Hagrid gave Filch a look before turning to the kids. "Your brother took Norbert away." He said to Ron. "Off to Romania to live in a colony."
"But isn't that good? He'd be with his own kind then." Hermione said.
"And what if he doesn't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him, he's only a baby after all." Hagrid said.
Filch rolled his eyes and groaned. "Pull yourself together man. You're going into the Dark Forest after all. Best be on your guard; we don't want you to lose one of the brats now do we?"
"The Forest!?" Malfoy shouted. "Bu…but we're not allowed in there." Filch looked down at the boy, leering at him. "Students aren't allowed…th…there are…Werewolves in there…" the howl of a wolf made him jump in his shoes.
"Oh, there's more than Werewolves in the forest. Best stick close to Hagrid, the last student who wandered off, they found him skinned head to toe, his eyes hanging by a thread and his tongue ripped out." Filch said softly, smirking when the five kids all gulped. "Nighty night."
He walked off back to the castle. Hagrid growled lowly and looked at them. "Don't listen to him. He's making that up." he assured them. "Now follow me." He whistled and out of his hut, came Fang the large dog running over and instantly knocking Daisuke down and licking her face.
"Oh ew, get off Fang." She whined, pushing him back and sitting up, her face covered in dog slobber. The dog barked at, nuzzling her cheek causing her to smile.
"Right, come on." Hagrid said, walking off to the Forbidden Forest, the five kids and Fang following him.
"I thought we'd be writing lines, wait until my father hears about this. This is servant's work." Malfoy grumbled as they walked past the first few trees of the forest.
"You lot did something wrong and now you're going to be punished for it." Hagrid told him. "Don't think your father's name will save you from everything, Malfoy." He warned. "If you would rather be expelled then go on back up to the castle and pack, go on. Go!"
Malfoy didn't move, he was glaring furiously at Hagrid who puffed his chest out and seemed to tower over the young boy who dropped his gaze. Hagrid nodded and held up his lantern, the light barely illuminating the darkness of the forest, there before them was a winding earth track that vanished into the thick undergrowth of the forest. "This is dangerous work. Stay close all of ye." He told them.
He led them further into the forest before he stopped, and they all saw him bend over and dip his fingers into a pool of silvery liquid. "Wh…what's that?" Harry asked.
"This…is unicorn blood. This is a second time in the week a unicorn has been attacked. I found one dead, savagely killed by something last Wednesday. We're going to find the poor thing, and if need be, put it out of its misery." Hagrid answered, wiping his fingers on his coat.
"And what if that thing attacking the unicorns finds us first?" Malfoy asked.
"Nothing will harm ye, not as long as you're with me and Fang." Hagrid told the boy. "Now we're going to split into two parties. Ron and Hermione will come with me, Daisuke, Harry, you'll be with Malfoy."
Daisuke and Harry nodded while Malfoy looked horrified. "Okay. Then I get Fang."
"Right. Just warning ya now, he's a coward." Hagrid told him, looking down at Fang who whimpered feebly and hid his head in his paws. Malfoy instantly began regretting his decision. "Now if ya find anything send up green sparks, if you're in danger send up red ones. Now, practice for a bit."
The five took out their wands and began to do so, Hagrid nodding as he observed. "Right. Let's find the poor thing." He handed Harry a spare lantern before he, Ron and Hermione headed off one way.
Daisuke tugged Harry's hand and they walked off with Malfoy and Fang following them down another part of the path. The forest was black and silent, they could hardly see in front of their noses. "Can't believe this…working with that oaf…" Malfoy grumbled to himself.
"Shut up Malfoy. The less you complain and the more you actually look for something, the sooner we'll be back at the castle." Daisuke told him. She spotted some unicorn blood on some leaves, and she narrowed her eyes, a faint whispering in her head before her eyes glowed light gold again.
Suddenly she could see far ahead of them, the hoofprints of the unicorn were distinct in the ground, droplets of blood shimmering in the moonlight. "This way."
"How do you know?" Malfoy asked her.
"I can see the path ahead." She answered with a shrug. "The moonlight makes it easier too." She walked ahead, her friend and Malfoy following her while Fang was walking by her side. The dog barking every so often, acting brave to make them feel at ease.
Meanwhile, Hagrid, Ron and Hermione continued through the forest going down their path. "Do…do you think a werewolf could have done it?" Ron asked.
"Not fast enough. Not many creatures can catch a unicorn, they're powerful, magic creatures. I've never known one to be hurt before." Hagrid answered.
There were still drops of unicorn blood here and there along the path, Hermione looked down sad that a beautiful creature was injured. Hagrid saw this and he tried to comfort her. "Don't worry Hermione, it can't have gone far if it's this badly hurt. If we find it, we'll be able to…Get behind that tree!" he suddenly hissed, grabbing Ron and Hermione with one hand and hoisting them off the path behind a tree.
He took out an arrow and placed it into his crossbow and took aim, the three listened as they could hear something moving in the darkness ahead. Hagrid narrowed his eyes as the sound faded away. "I knew it. Something's here that isn't supposed to be."
"A werewolf?" Ron asked.
"That was no werewolf nor a unicorn either." Hagrid answered. He motioned for them to follow, and they did so, keeping close, the three straining to hear any noise. They soon came upon a clearing, and they did see something move then.
Hermione squeaked and hid behind Ron, clutching at his sleeve. "Whose there? Show yourself, I'm armed!" Hagrid demanded.
A few tense moments passed before a half man; half horse stepped out of the bushes. Ron and Hermione's jaws dropped while Hagrid lowered his crossbow slightly and sighed in relief. "It's just you Ronan."
He stepped forward and shook the centaur's hand. "Good evening, Hagrid. Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful. There's something bad in these woods." Hagrid said. Ronan nodded and looked over Hagrid's shoulder at Ron and Hermione. "Those two are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, students up at the school."
"Students? Do they learn much up at the school?" Ronan queried.
"Um a bit…" Hermione spoke up. The centaur nodded and looked up at the night sky.
"Mars is bright tonight." He said softly before looking back down at Hagrid.
"We're looking for a unicorn, it's been hurt badly by something. Have you seen anything?" Hagrid asked.
"Always the innocent…" Ronan sighed softly. "Mars is bright tonight." He then said again, looking up at the sky. Hagrid sighed and muttered to himself while Ron and Hermione watched the two quietly, both wondering how their friends were doing with Malfoy.
Speaking of the other three, they and Fang continued trudging through the forest. Malfoy glancing at the two Gryffindors often. "Um…your hair looks..." he trailed off when Daisuke turned to look at him.
"Yes? Going to make a joke, are you? One of your housemates did this." She said, pointing to her still neon blue hair. "I've not had the courage to ask my cousin or an older student to undo it yet." She added with a frown.
"I wasn't going to make a joke. I just wanted to say I didn't have anything to do with it." Malfoy said quickly.
Daisuke snorted. "Yeah right, I stand up to you at breakfast and not long after another Slytherin hits me with the spell, you expect me to believe your tripe?"
Harry shushed them both. "Stop it. Do you hear that?" he whispered. The three listened before slowly creeping ahead, past some more bushes and over a thick tree root.
Lying on the ground ahead of them, was the unicorn and it was dead. Puddles of its blood pooled around the corpse; its mane of hair was splayed out around its head. Never had the three seen anything so beautiful, yet sad at the same time.
Out of the bushes near the unicorn, a hooded figure crawled out towards the animal, when it reached the unicorn, it fell to its knees and began to drink the blood from the wound on the unicorn's side.
"Oh my…" Daisuke whispered in horror, transfixed as she, Harry and Malfoy watched the figure continue drinking the blood. The figure then noticed their presence and snarled lowly, unicorn blood dripping from its mouth.
Malfoy let out a scream and bolted, Fang following the boy, barking loudly. The figure stood up and began stalking over to Harry and Daisuke, both who began backing away from it. Harry hissed in pain when his scar began to feel like it was on fire, stumbling back, he tripped over a branch and fell, Daisuke ran over to her friend, kneeling beside him.
The figure growled and got closer and closer. Daisuke gasped in worry, staring at the figure before she threw out her hand. "Get back!" She shouted, unaware of her eyes glowing for a moment and suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew past the two students and knocked the figure back.
Suddenly, another centaur jumped clean over the duo, charging at the figure, it reared up and kicked its front legs and the figure backed off before seemingly flying off into the trees.
Once the danger was gone, the centaur turned and walked towards them. "Harry Potter, Lady Ainsworth. You shouldn't be here. The forest isn't safe at night. Especially for you." He told them. Daisuke pulled Harry to his feet, her friend rubbing his scar while wincing in pain.
"How do you know who we are?" she asked the centaur.
"The stars foretold of your coming. That you would need my help, I am glad I made it in time." He answered. "My name is Firenze." He bowed his head in greeting.
"What was that thing you saved us from?" Harry then asked, watching the centaur look at the dead unicorn sadly.
"A monstrous creature, it is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking its blood will keep you alive even if you are only an inch from death, but at a terrible price. For you have killed something so pure, the very moment its blood touches your lips, you will live a half-life. A cursed life."
"But who would want to live such a life?" Daisuke asked.
"Can you not think of anyone?" the centaur asked, and they looked at each other with wide eyes.
"You mean…that thing that killed the unicorn, that was drinking its blood…that was Voldemort?" Harry whispered.
"Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment Mr Potter, Lady Ainsworth?" Firenze asked them.
Both were silent before they gasped. "The Philosopher's Stone." Then they heard Fang barking as he ran back into the area, followed by Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy.
"Hello there Firenze. I see you've met our young Mr Potter and Ms Ainsworth." Hagrid greeted the centaur. "You alright there you two?"
They nodded and Firenze bowed his head to them again. "Harry Potter, Lady Ainsworth. This is where I leave you. You're safe now. Good luck." The centaur walked off into the forest leaving the group alone.
Later, Hagrid had taken them all back up to the castle. Once he did, Harry, Ron, Daisuke, and Hermione rushed up to Gryffindor Tower and were sitting by the fire, everyone else having gone to bed already. "You mean You-Know-Who is out there in the forest right now?" Hermione asked once Daisuke and Harry had finished explaining what Firenze had told them.
"But he's weak. He's living off the blood of the unicorns. With the Elixir of Life from the Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort will be whole again, he'd come back." Harry answered, pacing back and forth in front of the fire.
"When he comes back, you don't think he'd try to kill you do you?" Ron asked him.
Harry shrugged. "I'm surprised he didn't try to kill me tonight."
Ron gulped. "And to think, I've been worrying about my Potions final."
"We're forgetting something." Daisuke spoke up, sitting on the arm of the chair Hermione sat in. "Who is the one person Voldemort has always feared?" she asked the others who shared a look. "Dumbledore. As long as Dumbledore is around, you will be safe Harry. We all will be."
Harry nodded, though he and the others were unsure if that would remain true for long.
The end of the chapter
Read and review