Disclaimer: Not mine, I only own the plot of this fanfic and Carya, some parts are copied from the book, you might notice that some people got into different houses than in the books by JKR; this has only minor reasons, but I need them to be where they are now ^_^
Author's Notes: I'm actually back to normal by now. Writers block lessened a bit but I'm sad about getting no responses at all. This chapter is about 4000 words. Unfortunately I couldn't really come up with a good forest scene yet. Once I absolutely run out of ideas for the other books (whenever that will be) I'm going to rewrite this book and take out all copied parts..
Although no one's reviewed until now for Chapter 08 and 09 I'll continue. I know online-time is expensive but please hit the little review button at the bottom and leave me a few words! It doesn't hurt you know? I do it too sometimes.
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Chapter 10 - The Forbidden Forest
The holidays were over. Hermione was disappointed that they hadn't found anything but pleased that her friends had already done their homework. Soon they continued searching. Harry didn't have much time though. Flint had decided that it would be better to have Harry as constant seeker and he had to go to every single practise. Draco joined him most times.
It was upon the girls to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. Slytherin had won the next game too. It had been against Hufflepuff. Harry had caught the snitch when they were two hundred points ahead and Slytherin won three hundred and fifty to ten.
It was while doing homework in the library that Carya found out about Flamel. Draco had just offered them chocolate frogs when Harry got Dumbledore's Wizard Card.
"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever-"
Suddenly Carya gasped. And then looked at the others.
"I've found him!" she whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here -- listen to this," she said and grabbed the card from Harry's hand, " Here is it, listen, 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"
Hermione got wide eyes and ordered them to stay where they were. She soon returned with a heavy looking book and began skipping through it.
"Here, I've found it. Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"
At this Carya and Draco gasped while Ginny and Harry only looked confused. Shaking her head Hermione continued.
"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).' That's it. The dog is guarding the Philosopher's Stone!"
"I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!" whispered Ginny.
"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Draco, "No wonder someone is after it! Anyone would want it."
"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Carya, "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"
They soon had their last Quidditch game of the season. It would be against Ravenclaw. This would be more difficult than the other two because the Ravenclaws had a decent team. Flint was pushing them even harder in practise and Harry was so tired that he hardly did anything besides Quidditch, homework, eating and sleeping.
But in the end they hadn't needed to worry. Harry caught the snitch after only a few minutes. This was a new record. The Slytherins were ecstatic and the Gryffindors could be found sulking. They had no chance on winning the cup this year. They would have to beat Hufflepuff by at least three hundred and sixty points to get it. That was nearly impossible.
The next two weeks were really quiet. Too quiet to be exact. Soon it happened. It was short after curfew and Carya, Harry and Draco had just brought Hermione to the Ravenclaw common room when they were caught by Professor McGonagall. Behind their teacher stood a smirking Ron Weasley. She was really upset and deducted fifty points from each of them. They all got detention and to their surprise Ron got detention too because he too had been out after curfew.
The next morning everyone in Slytherin was mad at them for loosing so much points in one night. The Gryffindors were cheering. Their chance to the Quidditch Cup was back. Two hundred and ten points were much but manageable they said. Snape was extremely disappointed and angry with both groups. The three Slytherin students and McGonagall. He was unnaturally unfair towards Gryffindor that day.
At lunch the Slytherins got a note that told them where and how they had to serve detention. It would be that evening. The note said:
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch
in the entrance hall.
Professor McGonagall
At eleven o'clock that night, Harry, Carya and Draco said good-bye to Ginny in the common room and went down to the entrance hall. Filch was already there -- and so was Ron Weasley. They had forgotten that Weasley had gotten a detention, too.
"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "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."
They marched off across the dark grounds. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, they could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have showed in his -face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? 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."
At this, Draco let out a little moan, and Weasley stopped dead in his tracks.
"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."
"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"
Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, you lot?"
"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, they're here to be punished, after all."
"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."
"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.
Ron now turned to Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear
the note of panic in his voice.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yehve got ter pay fer it. Yeh'll do summat useful or Yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer parents'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"
Weasley didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.
"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have
ter put it out of its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Draco, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent
directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least. So me, Ron, an' Draco'll go one way an' Harry, Carya, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now -- that's it -- an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh -- so, be careful -- let's go."
The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Draco, Ron, and Hagrid took the left path while Harry and Carya, and Fang took the right.
They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. Draco saw that Hagrid looked very worried.
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Draco asked.
"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."
They walked past a mossy tree stump. Draco could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.
"You all right, boys?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter -- GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"
Hagrid seized Draco and Ron and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened.
Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.
"I knew it, " he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."
"A werewolf?" Ron suggested.
"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."
They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.
"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself -- I'm armed!"
And into the clearing came -- was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Draco's and Ron's jaws dropped.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?" He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Draco Malfoy an' Ron Weasley, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur.
"We'd noticed," said Draco faintly.
"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
"Erm --" "A bit," said Ron timidly.
"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt -- you seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again. "Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."
"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home, said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?" Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer.
At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."
A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"
"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured -- would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.
"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."
Draco and Ron followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.
"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."
"Are there many of them in here?" asked Draco.
"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."
"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Ron.
"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns -- never heard anythin' like it before."
They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Draco kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them.
Meanwhile Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Carya and Fang. 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.
Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look --" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop his sister.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer. It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood.
A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered.... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Carya, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Fang let out a terrible howl and bolted away. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at the twins -- unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry -- he couldn't move for fear.
Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced Harry's head and Carya's collarbone; it was as though their scars were on fire. Half blinded, they staggered backward. They heard hooves behind them, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.
The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, he had white-blond hair and a palomino body. Carya lay besides him panting heavily.
"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.
"Yes -- thank you -- what was that?" asked Harry and Carya slowly got up too. The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.
"You are the Potter twins," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -- especially for you. My name is Firenze," he added.
There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty. The Centaurs were currently fighting over what Firenze had done or said. The twins couldn't quite understand them. They still were too upset to notice anything. Then Bane and Ronan left and Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.
"Why're they so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved us from, anyway?" Firenze did not answer Harry's question.
But suddenly he suddenly asked "Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. 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."
Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.
"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, deaths better, isn't it?"
"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else -- something that will bring you back to full strength and power -- something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course -- the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who --" Carya interrupted.
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?" Firenze asked them. It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart.
"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"
At that moment Hagrid, Draco and Ron together with a frightened looking Fang came running into the clearing.
"Harry! Carya, are you all right?" Draco was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind him.
"I'm fine," said Harry and Carya in unison, hardly knowing what they were saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's here in the clearing."
"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now. Good luck, young Potters," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving the twins shivering behind him.
Ginny had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. She dreamt something about charms class when Draco gently shook her awake. In a matter of seconds, though, she was wide-eyed as Harry and Carya began to tell her and Draco what had happened in the forest. Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking while Carya was only sitting in an armchair. She was shivering slightly and looked rather pale.
"Someone wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and I bet it's Quirrell ... it all makes sense... him trying to kill me in that Quidditch game... his murderous look towards Carya.... Firenze saved us, but he shouldn't have done so.... the other centaurs were furious... they were talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen.... They must show that Voldemort's coming back.... they think Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me.... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."
Ginny and Draco were shivering every time Harry mentioned the Dark Lords name but they didn't say anything.
"So all we've got to wait for now is Quirrell to steal the Stone," Carya said feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me and Harry off... Well, I suppose the stars'll be happy then."
Ginny looked very frightened now, but she had a word of comfort. "Harry, Carya, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me,
and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."
The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over. When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:
Just in case.
Neither Harry nor Carya knew how they got through the exams. The had always been on top of class but the last weeks seemed more difficult than everything else. Both were in constant pain from their scars and expected the world to crumble around them every minute. The exams were written with Anti-Cheating spells on their quills. They had practical exams as well.
Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox -- points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers.
Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.
The twins did the best they could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains they had, which had been bothering them ever since their trip into the forest. Ginny and Draco thought Harry and Carya had a bad case of exam nerves because they couldn't sleep, but the truth was that they kept being woken by their old nightmares, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.
Draco and Ginny didn't seem as worried about the Stone as the twins. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Quirrell or anyone else might be up to.
Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, they couldn't help cheering with the rest.
The four Slytherins went out to sit by the lake and were soon joined by Hermione who also had finished her last exam of the year.
Please Read AND Review.
Thx ^_^,
Carya
