"So, you two are kind of very fucked now," Sara said.

"Because, I was an idiot, and didn't remember the Cloak," Harry said.

"Well, I should have too," Hermione said. "So, I guess we both dropped the ball."

"And you wouldn't have been up there in the first place if the Hogwarts Gamekeeper didn't have a dragon," John said.

"That part still burns me," Astra said.

"So, we're dealing with the consequences," Kara said.

McGonagall responded with a long heaving sigh. Hindsight, especially thirty years worth, left her with a lot of regrets.

"Let's get on with it then," McGonagall said.

"Fine," Ava said. "Gideon?"

"Chapter Fifteen," Gideon read before pausing for a second. "The Forbidden Forest."

Astra placed a hand on her head and sighed deeply.

"Oh, no," Astra breathed. "I really hope this doesn't mean what I think it means."

"Likely, Ms. Logue, it's much worse than whatever you could be thinking," McGonagall said. "But, let's have the story play out."

"Let's," Harry agreed.

Harry believes things could not get any worse. And he knew there would be no excuse that would work.

"Well, you could have thrown Hagrid under the bus," Zari suggested. "Not saying you should, but you could have."

"I wasn't going to," Harry said.

"I didn't find out until after the school year was over," McGonagall said. "When Hagrid finally came clean with myself and Dumbledore. He sent you a heartfelt letter of apology, and was upset when you never answered back."

Harry just sighed. Other circumstances mandated he never saw Hagrid's apology letter.

"That's not like Harry at all," Kara said.

"No, because there were circumstances that summer which prevented me from getting any of my mail," Harry said.

"What did the Dursleys do?" Astra asked.

"It wasn't them," Harry said.

Now, Astra was curious, if not the Dursleys, then who could be tampering with Harry's mail.

"We're getting way ahead of things," Harry said.

"Yes," Sara agreed. "Let's continue.

McGonagall shows up, with Neville in tow.

"And now things go from bad to worse," Lena groaned.

"Poor Neville, he always has the worst luck," Nora said.

"No shit," Ron murmured darkly.

"Professor McGonagall's in the worst mood I've ever seen her in," Harry said.

"Because, someone else was tampering with something on the Hogwarts Grounds that night," McGonagall said.

Sara, Ava, and Zari groaned and shifted guiltily.

"Yeah, that was kind of us," Sara said. "You know time travel."

"No, it was mostly me and Tonks," Harry said. "And Nanites courtesy of Ray Palmer. Not as clean as I thought it was, if I alerted the Hogwarts staff when I was down in the lake."

"What could you be hoping to find down there, if you don't mind me for asking?" McGonagall asked.

"Not, what, whom," Harry said evasively.

McGonagall's eyes widened as she understood. And understood Harry was not going to share any more than necessary.

Given all of the times adults only did likewise to him, Minerva McGonagall could not help and think that karma was biting her in the arse, in the most uncomfortable way.

"I'll tell you everything later," Harry said. "And yes, I'm aware of the risk."

"And yet it paid off," Astra responded. "But, let's continue with that."

Neville tries to warn Hermione and Harry about what Malfoy said about the dragon, and McGonagall is not too pleased. And is likely to breathe fire. She asks why they were up in the Tower at One O'Clock

"Well, you could have said you were snogging," Malfoy said.

"Ugh, that's repulsive!" Hermione groaned. "We're eleven."

"He's eleven, you're twelve," Lena reminded her. "So the two of you…."

"Never, ever ,ever," Hermione said.

"No," Harry said curtly.

"Yeah, but no," Kara said.

"That wouldn't work," George remarked.

"Agreed," Sara said.

"Well, damn, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of disappointed people that you two never hooked up," Lita said. "I wasn't one of them. Even back before I found out that Harry Potter actually existed, I thought you two didn't really match up that well."

"Besides, it's too predictable," Mick said. "If it was a fictional story. Putting the main hero together with the main female lead, just doesn't seem too inventive."

"Bit cliche," Zari said.

"I really detest that word," Mick said. "Tropes can work, but I don't think it could work under these circumstances. Given that your personalities would clash heavily."

"Exactly," Harry said. "Thank you."

"Maybe we should have said we were unloading an illegal dragon for Hagrid," Hermione said.

"I don't think she would have believed us," Harry said.

"I'm not certain it would have done you any favors," McGonagall said. "It might not have hurt you any more."

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Sara said.

McGonagall suggests that they fed Malfoy a story about a dragon. And Neville is upset about it.

"Bullshit!" Ron snapped.

"In hindsight yes," McGonagall said.

"You believed that this was some kind of elaborate prank," Lena said. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they go to the trouble of being out of bed if they wanted to set Malfoy up? Seems pretty stupid."

"Seems like you're grasping at straws," Astra said.

"You should know what kind of people Harry and Hermione were, especially Hermione," Ron said. "She would have never done anything like that. Did she give you any reason to think that she would partake in this thing? Did Harry?"

"I had no other explanation," McGonagall said. "Months later, far too late, it made sense. And I…I regret what happened."

"Yes, you regret it now," Ron said. "You are brilliant, Professor, but I swear as Deputy Headmistress and Head of the Gryffindor House, you failed at both! And you would rather assume that this was some stupid prank, then actually investigate the matter yourself. But, it wouldn't be the last time you wouldn't lift a finger to help out Gryffindor, or bother to actually do your jobs!"

"Well said," Kara said. "Did you honestly think that Harry would do something like that?"

"It's…it's something his father would have found amusing," McGonagall said.

"So, it appears that Snape was not the only one who has the problem of not seeing past James Potter," Astra said.

McGonagall flinched. Harry did warn her that this was not going to be pleasant to relieve. And having her past mistakes smack her in the face was not going to be pleasant.

McGonagall lectures them and takes fifty points off and gives them Detention as well. Fifty points each.

"In situations like this, it's best to not question the authority figure," Lita said.

"Oh, I don't know, I would have questioned it a lot more," Ron said. "Given what the detention ended up being."

Astra realized something, flashing back to what the chapter title is.

"You didn't," Astra said.

"One hundred and fifty points," Malfoy said.

"Bet the Slytherins were partying for the next week, weren't they?" Zari asked.

"Well, yes," Malfoy said. "I lost twenty and got the most traumatic detention of my life."

Hermione did not see what Harry and Malfoy directly saw.

"We'll get there in a minute!" Sara yelled when she could see Astra on the cusp of a rant.

"Calm down," Ava said.

"I AM CALM!" Astra yelled.

Funnily enough, that did not sway anyone.

"Oooh, Minnie, I would suggest you scoot that chair back about a good three feet, at least," John said.

"Rule 3," Ava tersely replied.

Harry grabbed Astra's hand. Astra calmed down for a second.

"You're not saying everything is fine," Kara whispered to Harry.

"Because, looking back, I'm really pissed off about this detention," Harry whispered back to her. "I'll let her explain later."

"Oh, and you've never seen four students out of bed in one night?" John asked. "We know that's a load of bollocks."

"I wanted to impress upon them how upset I was," McGonagall said.

"Oh, I think that the hundred and fifty points did that just nicely," Lena said.

"And you only took twenty from Malfoy," Ron said.

"She was pissed that Harry questioned her," Lita said.

"She's right," McGonagall said.

"Always compensating for Snape favoring his own house with being way too harsh with yours," Ron said.

Harry did not sleep at night over the one hundred and fifty house points being lost. And then everyone finds out about it. Who lost it.

Fred and George shifted for a second and looked extremely guilty.

"We kind of got swept up in that as well," George said.

"I don't understand why," Fred said. "We don't normally care about house points."

"To be fair, Harry blew them all in one go, and we didn't find out why until when…the end of the year," George said, almost tripping over his words when his tongue got spoiler locked.

"So, you're part of the hate mob," Kara said coolly.

"Yeah, but not as bad as others," Fred said.

"Oh, I don't know, we should have known better," George said. "If anything, I would say we were worse than the others."

"And it wasn't just Harry," Hermione said.

The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turn on Harry as well, and the Slytherins all mock him.

"Bunch of idiots," Mick growled.

"These people, they really turn on a dime," Zari said. "Fickle. One wrong move, and no matter how much good you do, you're sunk. I'm really sorry you have to put up with this."

"They hated you," Astra said. "Over house points."

'Astra…"

"They hated you," Astra said. "OVER HOUSE POINTS!"

"The entire house point system is kind of stupid, when you think about it," Kara said.

"Kind of?" Astra asked.

"Okay, extremely stupid," Kara said. "Actually, the Hogwarts house system encourages a very tribalistic mindset. Eleven year olds branded because of their houses."

"It's supposed to place students where they belong," Hermione said. "It's supposed to have a sense of community. And of family."

"You call that family?" Sara asked. "Shunning a bunch of first years over house points?"

"It might just be a reflection of their Head of House," Ron practically spat. "Not that she's done a lot to curb any of the bullying going on. But, I'm sure she'll just blame her inaction on something Dumbledore did. Because for a Gryffindor, she's spineless."

"Ron," Hermione said.

"Don't Ron me, Hermione," Ron said.

McGonagall watched the hate flow and understood what Harry must have been feeling.

"Harry, I'm truly sorry," McGonagall said.

"Thank you," Harry said. "Too late to matter, but thank you."

Harry's cold voice reminded McGonagall a lot of Lily when someone upset her so much. When Lily screamed, she was loud. When Lily was really mad, her tone could freeze a volcano.

"Better late than never, I guess," Astra murmured. "Damage already done."

"And suddenly, the world of whimsy and magic shows its darkside," Lita said.

Ron tries to cheer up Harry by mentioning that Fred and George lost a lot of house points and are still popular. Only not that many.

"I could have done better," Ron said.

"It was the thought that counts," Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron said.

"It was reminding me a lot of what I remembered from my childhood," Harry explained. "Everyone hated me because of the lies the Dursleys spread. And now everyone hated me because I lost then a hundred and fifty house points because they thought I pulled a practical joke. And it was hurtful. And I wondered if I could ever escape being hated by everyone."

"Damn," Zari said.

"I had no idea," Hermione said.

"We didn't either," George said.

"Oh, this next bit coming up is going to suck," Fred said. "And we're sorry about it."

George nodded in agreement.

Sara waved her hand and Harry time-snapped so they could talk

"You weren't feeling suicidal during that time?" Sara asked.

"Depressed, yes, suicidal, not quite," Harry said. "Hopeless. I really don't like people seeing me like this."

"You're strong because of what you overcome," Sara said as she wrapped her arms around Harry. "And you're relieving all of this for Astra's benefit."

Sara hugged Harry for a good long minute.

"She deserves to know," Harry said. "All of the highs and the lows. And the lows could be very low. Fifth year was the worst."

Sara knew what Harry was talking about and understood. She kissed Harry softly on the lips and pulled away from him.

Harry resnapped time. And was about to relieve a conversation he had with Oliver Wood.

"Oliver, do you have a moment?" Harry asked.

"Oh, of course," Wood said. "Is there something wrong?"

"I've been thinking, and I feel like I should resign from the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

Wood looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"Resign? Why would you want to resign?"

"Because, I…I just don't feel like the rest of the team wants me here," Harry said. "Because of the entire house point thing. The fact I lost one hundred and fifty house points."

"You weren't trying to pull a prank on Malfoy that backfired, were you?" Wood asked.

"It's complicated," Harry said. "But, if the team doesn't want me here, I shouldn't be a part of the team."

"I'm not sure why you would think that…"

"Because, the rest of the team refers to me as the Seeker, and won't even look me in the eye. They can barely stand me because of what I did! I had a lot of fun on this team, but I don't think I can be here if my teammates don't want me here."

Wood looked furious.

"If you're mad about me resigning…."

"No, I'm not mad at you resigning," Wood said. "They shouldn't have treated you like that. I expected better of them, and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way as well."

Wood patted Harry on the shoulder for a second.

"I'm going to talk to them…"

"It will only make the matter worse," Harry said. "I don't want them to like me because you made them."

"As Captain, I have to make sure the team is on the same page," Wood said. "And I can't do that if one of my team members feels uncomfortable around the others. I want everyone to be able to communicate with each other."

"It won't matter, because I'm resigning," Harry said.

"Don't do anything rash," Wood said. "We can't find another Seeker as good as you soon enough and you are a valued member of this team. And I've never seen anything like that catch you made against Hufflepuff. I'm sure if we all sat down and talked about this, we could make it work."

"I'll play against Ravenclaw, because you can't find a Seeker in time," Harry said. "But, I don't want you confronting the other team members about this. If you do, I'm gone."

"Fine," Wood said. "But, they shouldn't be treating you like this."

'No, they shouldn't," Harry agreed. "But I'm used to it."

Harry walked off and left Wood to ponder what he meant.

Astra and Kara turned their attention to Fred and George, but Ron was the one that jumped in.

"You wankers!"

Ron slapped both Fred and George across the face. They had been so shocked by this sudden action that none of them responded.

"Isn't there supposed to be a rule against wanton acts of violence?" Zari asked.

"Huh?" Sara asked. "Oh, sorry, I had something in my eye. Don't do it again, though."

George rubbed his ear.

"Oh, I need that for hearing," George said.

"What's the deal?" Fred asked. "We said we were sorry."

"The two of you, I can't believe you two sometimes," Ron said. "Everyone thinks Fred and George are the harmless jokesters. But, they can be petty and vindictive. And I can be jealous sometimes. Maybe too jealous. But, don't think you two are any better!"

"Calling him the Seeker was pretty dehumanizing," Zari said.

"Very dehumanizing," Kara said.

"You two, people think you're funny and witty, and you can be," Ron said. "But, you two knew Harry. And you knew he would never pull something like that. Not even on Malfoy."

"It wasn't a good look for us, you're right," George said.

"And we went too far,' Fred said. "Damn, Ron, and we thought Mum hit hard."

"To be fair, Wood set us down and had a nice little chat with us," George said. "All of us, at the end of the year."

"Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were just as miffed about the points thing," Fred said. "But, Wood sat us down at the end of the year."

"And we all felt guilty," George said.

"Especially when we found out that Harry and Hermione had a good reason out that night, "Fred said.

"Better than any reason we ever had," George said.

"So, can you forgive us?" Fred asked.

"Later," Astra said. "Later. You're reminding me a bit too much of Dudley and his idiot gang to make me forgive you right now."

Fred and George swallowed. Fair enough.

"Harry?" Fred asked.

"You've apologized to past-me and present-me," Harry said. "I'm not too happy with what you did at the time, but you made up for it over the years."

Fred and George answered with a nod. They had been so quick to help Ron fetch Harry that summer because they were still feeling guilty about the Quidditch thing. And when they saw Harry's living conditions, they felt even more guilty.

"Ron?" George asked.

"Harry forgives you," Ron said coolly. "That's good for him."

The miserable time at Hogwarts continues. They pass the time by studying for exams.

"Something to keep you occupied at least," Lena said.

"You vowed to not interfere," Kara said. "Oh, that's cute."

"It kind of was," Harry said.

"And yet you were tested soon enough," Zari said.

"Mmm,' Nora agreed.

Harry uncovers Quirrell having a breakdown. And his gamble that he would bet twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape was not in the room.

"Harry, you have a problem," Sara said.

"Come again?" Harry asked.

"We really need to talk to you about that gambling problem you have," Ava said. "First, you bet your broomstick and you bet twelve Philosopher's Stones."

"Betting something you don't have, signs of a chronic problem," Lita agreed.

Given how tense the room was, Harry was glad for some levity. Ron chuckled.

"You do have a bit of a problem," Ron said.

Harry tells Hermione and Ron, and Hermione suggests they go to Dumbledore.

"As much as I loathe to admit it, likely the best suggestion," Astra said.

"I know," Hermione said.

"If nothing else, it might inspire him to act," Sara said.

"The only problem is, back then, Dumbledore seemed like this intimidating figure who was distant," Harry said.. "Even if I talked to him once with the Mirror, I didn't really know how to go about actually seeking him out."

Harry frantically says why it would be hard to convince Dumbledore. Ron suggests they do a little bit more poking around, but Harry shuts that down hard.

"That's not going to be the end," Lena said.

"You really were broken," Nora said. "You were paranoid that if you breathed wrong, they would kick you out."

"Pretty much," Harry said.

Astra tensed, but said nothing. She could not help and think that was by design. Harry's greatest fear would be going back there.

McGonagall sends a note to Harry about his detention at eleven o'clock at night.

McGonagall shivered for a second.

"So, we're punishing someone for being out late at night by making them stay out late for a detention," Zari said.

'Seems legit," Lita said.

"You did not deserve what you got," Kara said.

"Hagrid should have spoken up for you," Astra said. "Considering it's his fault you were out there in the first place."

Harry and Hermione meet with Malfoy, Neville, and Filch. Filch gives a little spiel about his ideal punishments.

"That old bastard still had it out for me for the entire trophy room fiasco," Malfoy grumbled.

"Oooh, you poor thing," Astra cooed mockingly. "If anyone deserves to be fed to something dangerous in the forest…"

"Okay, Astra, that's a bit too far," John warned her.

"You really should have gone to Snape," Harry sang.

"Yes, thank you, Potter, I know that!" Malfoy snapped.

Malfoy was not looking forward to relieving what was coming up.

Hagrid meets them and they find out they were going to the Forbidden Forest.

"We knew," Kara said. "And yet, it's still as shocking."

"Going to the Forest," Astra said.

"Professor McGonagall, the floor is yours," Sara said. "Explain yourself."

"Because, I'm dying to hear why you sent a bunch of kids into a place which was Forbidden," Mick said.

"Dumbledore advised me he needed some students to help Hagrid with a task on the grounds," McGonagall said. "I had no idea it was the Forbidden Forest until I heard Filch crowing about how those nasty little troublemakers were going to be scared straight. I was furious when I heard you were sent out there, and even more so when I found out what you ran into."

"So, you just told us to meet Filch," Harry said. "Without finding out what Hagrid wanted us for in the first place."

"I made numerous mistakes," McGonagall said. "And I feel like I failed you as the head of Gryffindor House. I went to Dumbledore that night with my resignation in place."

"And he talked you out of it," Kara said.

"Dumbledore has a way of convincing people of what they need to do," McGonagall said.

"Well, at least we agree about that," Ron said. "Especially when it's not in their best interests."

"And I'm sorry, Harry, Hermione, and you as well, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said. "And Ron is right. If I had done a better job as Deputy Headmistress and the head of the Gryffindor House, none of this would have happened."

"Three eleven year olds and one twelve year old go into the forest," Nora said. "Everyone who signed off and agreed to this is highly negligent. And should have been fired."

When Nora's father read her the books as a child, he actually stopped during this chapter and said that every adult involved should have been fired, from Hagrid to Filch to McGonagall to Dumbledore, and never should have been near a child ever again.

Several of the people in the room nodded in agreement.

"I don't disagree," McGonagall murmured.

"Good," Astra said.

Malfoy complains about going into the Forest, and how Hagrid shuts him down when trying to invoke his father.

"I'm totally on board with Malfoy here, shitty attitude aside," Astra said. "Students should not be going into the forest. Which is forbidden. For a reason."

"He was right," Hermione said.

"I know, I'm scared too," Harry said.

"Funny, Potter," Malfoy said.

"So, what did Daddy dearest have to say about this?" Harry asked. "Because, I know the moment you went back to the school, you wrote to him."

"He told me that I was careless and reckless," Malfoy said.

"I don't believe it," Harry said.

"Believe it or not, that's what Father said," Malfoy said. "Mother, on the other hand, I'm sure she gave an earful to Father about me being out in the Forest."

"You father did meet with us after the school year let out," McGonagall said. "And he was adamant that something should be done, and everyone involved should involved should be fired."

"Damn it, don't make me agree with Lucius Malfoy," Sara groaned.

"Very narrowly, Dumbledore appeased everyone involved, but we were all walking on thin ice," McGonagall said. "It set the stage for next year."

Harry wondered. Surely, that detention did not push Malfoy into releasing the diary in an attempt to get rid of Dumbledore? Or maybe, allowed Malfoy to justify it being worth the risk because of that detention. The fact it would discredit Arthur Wesley would be a bonus.

It was an angle Harry did not consider. He would have to think about it more when they looked back at the events of Harry's second year.

"And we'll get there later," Ava said.

"I hate having to agree with Lucius Malfoy, but he does have a point," Ron said.

"Hagrid did his job and kept us safe," Hermione said.

Harry and Malfoy both snorted. They would disagree with what they ran into being safe.

"And yet, you wouldn't be out there if it wasn't for Hagrid's baby dragon," Zari remarked.

Unicorns were being slayed which is why they were in the Forest.

"That's repulsive," Astra groaned. "What harm could a unicorn do to someone?"

"Well, Gary might disagree about a unicorn being harmless," Sara said.

"Gary, that bloke that picked us up and brought us here?" George asked.

"Yes," Ava said.

"He had his nipple bitten off by a unicorn," John nonchalantly said.

"And now he has three," Nora said. "I was his fairy godmother for a time. And having an extra nipple was one of his wishes."

Fred and George looked at each other in shock and had no idea whether or not they were having the piss taken out of them.

"Hey, Mick, pass us some of that firewhiskey," George said.

"Help yourself," Mick grunted.

George and Fred squabbled over the firewhiskey.

"We do sound insane talking about some of these things," Sara admitted. "That the Legends get up to."

"Well, yeah," Harry said. "But, like my life is much better."

"Only a really vile person would slay a unicorn," Astra said.

"And desperate," John said. "Given that unicorn blood is not a substance to be trifled with. It can cure. But at a cost. And it's too steep for most to pay."

"Unless they have nothing left to lose," Harry concluded.

Hagrid tells them that nothing could harm them in the Forest with him and Fang. And then warns Malfoy that Fang's a coward.

"So, the dog is a coward, but yet nothing will harm you with him," Zari said. "Seems legit."

"Scooby Doo is a coward too," Nora said. "But, yet, when it comes time to kick some ass, then Scooby Doo will kick some ass."

"And they're splitting up," Sara said. "This is like every bad horror movie thing coming to life."

Astra looked tense. She had a very bad feeling about this. Worse the Mirror. And that was the worst she ever had.

Hagrid, Hermione, and Harry follow the trail. And then Hagrid shoves Harry and Hermione behind a tree when something approaches.

"Because, a tree is going to stop anything," Lena dryly said.

"Oh, the ten foot man with a crossbow might be a bit more of a deterrent," Kara said.

"My heart was pounding," Hermione said.

"I couldn't hear it over mine," Harry said.

"It better not be a werewolf," Astra said.

"It's not," Harry assured her.

A centaur named Ronan appears, and Harry, Hagrid, and Hermione have a chat with it. And another centaur known as Bane shows up. The two centaurs are not too helpful.

"Oh, those bloody star-gazers," John said. "I would rather stick my head inside a pit of vipers than try and get a straight answer out of a centaur."

"You and me, both," Harry said.

"Proud creatures, though," Sara said

"You met them?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Sara said. "A couple. It's a long story."

"Mostly males though, isn't it?" Lita asked.

"Oh, there are female centaurs," Nora said. "But, they're not supposed to ever approach humans. And especially men. They're rather fast."

"The number of humans who have seen a female centaur can be counted on one hand with fingers left over," Gideon supplied for them.

After a brief conversation, red sparks were up. Hagrid rushes over to see what the cause of trouble was between Malfoy and Neville and left Hermione and Harry on the path. Harry remarks that he doesn't care what happened to Malfoy, but he would feel bad if something happened to Neville.

"Thanks for caring, Potter," Malfoy said.

"And I was wrong," Harry said. "It's not my fault that Neville was out there."

"It was Hagrid's," Astra said.

"And Malfoy, for not going to Snape when he should have," Harry said. "Instead, he tried to catch us in the act, like a little idiot."

"You're not going to let that one go," Ava said.

"Well, I happen to agree with him," Malfoy said.

"Why are you so adamant that he should have told on you?" George asked.

"Wouldn't you go to Detention? "Fred asked.

"Some things are worse than Detention," Harry said.

"Although, maybe not this Detention," Astra said.

Hagrid returns with Neville, Malfoy and Fang, and Neville goes with Hagrid, while Harry goes with Malfoy.

"Oh, that won't backfire, at all," Sara said.

"This entire detention," Kara groaned. "Never should have split them up."

"Never should have been out in the forest in the first place, "Lena said.

"That too," Kara agreed.

Harry and Malfoy search. They find the trail of unicorn blood and then keep moving in. And then they see a figure bent over and sucking the blood from the unicorn.

Everyone looked utterly horrified beyond words at the gruesome sight before them.

"Damn, that's a lot worse seeing it, then reading about it," Nora murmured.

"Oh, sweet merciful Rao, get out of there," Kara said.

McGonagall's eyes fell upon Malfoy and Harry.

"Apologies were long overdue," McGonagall said. "But, I'm saying it again…"

"Wait, didn't Snape sign off on this detention as well?" Sara asked.

"Yes, maybe," Malfoy agreed. "But, if Dumbledore suggested it, Professor Snape was not going to put up too much of a fuss.

Malfoy watched his younger self transfixed in horror. Both Malfoys were sick to their stomach.

"I didn't think I would sleep again," Malfoy said. "And when I…"

Malfoy's mouth clenched for a second to warn him about spoilers.

"Tell you about it, third book," Malfoy said.

"Right," Ava said.

"Can we move?" Astra asked.

The hideous thing moved towards Harry after Malfoy and Fang ran.

No one moved. No one spoke. No one blinked. Astra clutched Harry's arm so hard that Harry felt a loss of blood circulation.

Firenze the Centaur saves the day and drives that hideous thing. Firenze introduces himself and then offers Harry a ride.

"Good bloke, that Firenze," Ron said.

"I owe him my life," Harry said. "It's a shame what happened."

"Why is it a shame?" Astra asked. "He saved your life."

"Centaurs aren't supposed to interfere in human affairs," Nora said.

"Stupid, but it's true," Sara said.

"And it lets you ride?" Malfoy asked.

"You saw it," Harry said.

"Centaurs never do that, for anyone," Malfoy said. "How do you do that?"

"He's Harry," Fred remarked.

"Figured that out, didn't you?" Zari asked.

"Well, Harry didn't when we first met," George said. "Remember?"

Harry smiled and the mood lightened up a little bit.

Firenze gets yelled at by Bane for rescuing Harry, meddling in human affairs, and letting Harry ride him with a common pack mule.

"Something crawled up his ass and died," Lita said.

"That's Centaurs for you," Nora said.

"No kidding," John said. "They think they're above human prejudice, while being rather prejudiced themselves."

"Reminds me of a few politicians," Lita said.

"We should really remind you of rule four of Book Club," Ava said. "No, religion, no politics."

"And no arguments whether gif is pronounced with a G sound or a J sound," Sara said.

"Blood has been shed over that last one," Kara said seriously.

"Sorry, Aunt Ava," Lita said. "I wasn't going to name names."

"Besides, they're all crooks anyway," Mick said.

"I have to say, I agree with Rory," Malfoy said.

Firenze and Harry walk for a little bit and Firenze explains to Harry what Unicorn Blood is used for. Will save a person from death, but will live a cursed life. And also how it is useful as a way to prolong a life just enough for something else. And that something else was the Philosopher's Stone

"Damn," Astra murmured.

"It gets worse," Harry said.

"So, it's not fine, then?" Lena asked.

"Nothing about what's about to happen is fine."

Harry realizes who could be after the Philosopher's Stone.

"Of course," Astra groaned. "It would have to be him. He's hanging on by a thread, but he's still out there. But, I don't understand. None of this makes any sense."

"Someone is helping him," Harry said.

"And they signed their own death warrant by drinking unicorn blood," Nora said.

"It appears I'm not done apologizing," McGonagall said. "And you shouldn't have been the one to deal with that."

"And yet, I was," Harry said.

"Yes," McGonagall groaned. "You were."

"If only the adults had been a bit more on the ball," Ron said.

"They…they did the best they could," Hermione said.

"Their best was never good enough," Ron said. "And you're trying to convince yourself, aren't you? You're not convincing us, you're fighting with yourself on this. You're hanging on to your hope that you can convince yourself that Dumbledore was in the right and you weren't wrong about everything."

That slapped Hermione in the face. She made mistakes, but she was right on some things. And this would be a big thing to be wrong on.

"I…we should keep reading and get all of the facts out."

Hermione realized though in hindsight, how this detention happened as bad. This book was forcing her to face truths she did not want to face.

But, surely, Dumbledore cared for them all and did everything he could to make sure Harry was safe. And he did defeat Voldemort. So it worked out in the end.

Hagrid meets up with Harry and Firenze leaves him in safe hands.

"Do you still trust Hagrid with your life?" Astra asked Harry.

"When the chips are down, I believe Hagrid would do everything he can to defend me," Harry said.

"I'm sensing, a but," Lena said.

"But, I can't deny he hasn't done a lot of things that put me in danger in the first place," Harry said.

"Oh, you're not kidding," Ron darkly said. "He would do everything to save us. Even if he did put us there in the first place."

"Well, it is kind of in the Legends spirit," Sara said. "We fix things for the better."

"Not sure we ever screwed up this badly, "Mick said. "With this entire dragon mess and this nightmare forest detention."

"Well, no," Sara said.

"Exactly," Mick said. "And we've been there through it all."

"Two of the OGs," Gideon chimed in fondly.

Harry returns and tells Ron about the Philosopher's Stone and the fact that Voldemort was planning on stealing it. Ron is uncomfortable, with Harry saying the name.

"It's just a stupid made-up name," Astra said.

"And a lot of people died thanks to the man behind the stupid made-up name," Ron said. "Including my uncles. Who used that name a lot."

"Wish we got to knew them," George said.

Fred agreed with his twin with a somber nod.

"And the fact he might return was terrifying enough without hearing the name," Ron said. "Even after all of these years, it's hard to hear it."

"Even after Harry won," Kara said.

"Even after all of that," Ron agreed.

Hermione tries to appease Harry by telling him that Dumbledore was the only man he was afraid of, and that McGonagall's opinion about fortune telling being a sketchy branch of magic.

"Centaurs do have a bit better grasp on it, then their human counterparts," McGonagall said. "But, time is a fluid concept."

"I didn't care about the fortune telling aspect," Harry said. "I cared about the creepy hooded figure drinking unicorn blood. That was very real and dangerous."

"You were lucky the one centaur who cared was passing by," Astra said.

"Damn lucky," Nora agreed.

"That happens a lot," Harry said.

Harry uncovers the Invisibility Cloak with the note pinned to it.

"Oh, Albus," McGonagall groaned.

Nothing she could say would do any good, given that this was thirty years in the future and Dumbledore was long dead.

"Mmm, sending you back the Cloak just after you find out that Voldemort was going after the Stone," Nora said. "That's not suspicious at all."

"I'm not liking where any of this is going," Astra said. "The good news is, the idiot drinking the unicorn blood is as good as dead. But, it can't be Snape."

"We know," Nora said.

"He made himself look like a very convincing suspect," Ava said. "But, when you look at the evidence, you realize that Snape's just a red herring."

"We're going to see how this all ties together," Lena said. "Only two more chapters left."

"Yes," Sara said.

"I'm not going to forget that scene in the forest for a long time," Zari said.

"Thirty years later, I still haven't," Malfoy said.

Draco Malfoy never quite forgot the time that he was forced into the Forbidden Forest to serve detention and ran into that blood sucking abomination.

"So, I've got things to say about this next chapter," Nora said.

"I have an idea where you're going with this one," Lita said.

"And I'm going to have to make another apology," McGonagall said.

"Save it for the end," Harry said. "I want you to see everything that we had to do."

"And it would have to be down to a trio of first years to save the day," Kara said. "Of course."

No one else wasted any more breath about how the adults failed Harry and his friends in every conceivable way. Harry wasted more than plenty over the years.

"Ready?" Sara asked.

"Gideon, I want to know what happens next," Astra said.

"Well, since you asked so nicely."

To Be Continued.