The Second Obstacle
James opened his eyes groggily on Christmas morning. Sirius was in a particularly good mood.
"Look James! Remus! Presents!" he shouted, tipping out the contents of his stocking. James peered over the end of his bed and saw a small pile of presents. Sirius had given him a book about Quidditch, and Remus' brightly wrapped package contained an enormous box of chocolate frogs. Peter had given them all socks, which made the three boys laugh heartily. They spent most of the morning admiring each others' presents, especially the new broomstick that James had received from his parents.
"Look at the handle and the tail… Built for perfection…" said Sirius admirably, gazing at the broom with an expression of pure happiness on his face. He took another chocolate frog from his own box and checked his watch.
"Excellent, time for the feast!" he said, clapping his hands together. As they opened the common room, they were joined by Lily and Star. James was glad to see Lily looking happy for a change. She chattered about her presents all the way down to the Great Hall, where a long table was set up, filled to the brim with delicacies like stuffed turkey, cranberry pie and mounds of roasted vegetables.
"Hello there, boys!" said Dumbledore, cheerfully, gesturing for them to sit down. Looking around, they could only see a handful of students at the table. Most students had gone home for the holidays.
"Sirius, I suppose you've been practising for the next obstacle?" said Dumbledore brightly, loading his plate with turkey. Sirius nodded, before realising that he still hadn't watered the flower yet, and the second obstacle was fast approaching… In fact, it was in a matter of weeks…
After lunch, the boys lazed around in the common room, discussing the next Quidditch match – Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. In the evening, they headed into the snowy grounds for a snowball fight, and they returned to the castle soaking wet and exhausted.
Sirius tipped the watering can over the flower and water cascaded over it. Remus and James watched intently as the flower closed up, and became a bud once again.
"It didn't work!" cried Sirius, slamming his fist down on the desk. "Damn!"
"No… Sirius, James, look!" said Remus breathlessly, pointing at the flower. The bud began to open and the golden petals glittered. James was sure that they had not been this bright beforehand. In fact, they were almost blinding… At that moment, a stream of water burst out of the flower, carrying a note along with it. Sirius seized it and the flower stopped shimmering.
"Go on, what does it say?" asked James, his eyes wide. Sirius gazed down at the parchment, which, despite being carried along by water, wasn't the least bit soggy. He cleared his throat and began to read…
"Deep in the forest, dark and green
Is the only place we're ever seen
Blinding white, and always pure
Only catch one of us when you're sure…
We'll only befriend you if you're kind
So don't act rashly and us you'll find
And don't tie us up, be careful, you see
But bring us back somehow and happy you'll be."
James and Remus sat in stunned silence. In truth, the poem hadn't been much help.
"Deep in the forest… Well, obviously that's the Forbidden Forest," said Sirius pointedly, breaking the silence. James nodded, and looked over at the tiny piece of parchment again.
"There's something you have to find, and it lives in the Forest…" he said thoughtfully.
"But what could it be? Blinding white and always pure," quoted Remus, and suddenly he realised.
"Sirius, you have to catch a unicorn!" he said quickly. James and Sirius were startled.
"What? But unicorns don't even trust boys!" said Sirius exasperatedly. James nodded indignantly.
"No… the poem says that they'll befriend you if you're kind," said Remus, comprehension dawning on his face. James and Sirius shared a glance that clearly said, "This is mad!" James read the poem to himself yet again.
"You can't act rashly… Big surprise there… but wait… And don't tie us up, be careful, you see, but bring us back somehow and happy you'll be…" James paused for a moment to consider the poem.
"You can't tie it up…" he said, the words going round and round his brain.
"But if I can't tie it up, how am I supposed to catch it? It's impossible!" Sirius fumed.
"No, there has to be a way. Maybe if you befriend it somehow, it'll let you lead it back?" suggested Remus, but the idea sounded silly, and he knew that it wasn't the answer. In the end, the trio retreated to the Great Hall for dinner, each of them thinking of the strange little four-lined poem…
In no time at all, the holidays ended, and the students at Hogwarts were once again up to their eyeballs in homework. Sirius, James and Remus still hadn't thought of a way to catch a unicorn, even though they had looked in countless books. On the night before the second obstacle, they, along with Peter and Star, sat in the Library glumly, desperately searching for a solution.
"Oh, look!" cried Star, "It says here that you can use a bridle… but, oh…" she looked crestfallen. "The unicorn will only come with you if the bridle is made out of pure gold," she finished sheepishly.
"This book says that even though unicorns will let girls pat them, they would never allow anyone to ride on their backs, let alone a boy," said Peter, hastily putting the book down on a pile with the ones that he had already read. At last, James picked up a book that seemed useful. Excitedly, he read the paragraph out to them, quietly so no one else could hear…
"Unicorns are not domestic animals, and cannot be kept as pets. However, you can befriend a unicorn by offering it a plate of only the finest forest berries. Once you have found perfectly ripe strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and boysenberries picked at precisely the right time of day (that time being from eleven o'clock to midday), the unicorn will accept the gift and begin to trust you. From there, you must be very careful. The slightest wrong move will scare off the unicorn. You must remain silent and still while it eats the berries, then reach out to pat its head. Stroke it carefully, then place a bridle of pure gold…" he threw the book down disgustedly.
"What we need is a bridle of pure gold. That's plain to see," said Star, sighing heavily. James was desperately trying to think of a way to fashion a bridle out of pure gold. He watched the Library clock strike 8:00…
"We have to be quick. Everyone, look for books on pure gold," he said frantically, in a last, desperate attempt to help Sirius. Even though they knew in their hearts that there could not possibly be a way to make pure gold, they obeyed James and set to work searching. By midnight, Madam Hertford had chased them out of the Library, and they borrowed out a pile of books to keep researching in the common room. They sat by candlelight, wearily going through all the books. James was so tired that he hadn't realised that he had been reading the unicorn book he had read out earlier.
Stroke it carefully then place a bridle of pure gold or decorated silver… He would never find pure gold or decorated silver… on the unicorn's head. If you do not have access to pure gold or decorated silver… Honestly, how many people did have access to pure gold or decorated silver? You will simply have to wait patiently by the unicorn and hope that it will trust you. If you are female, pat it softly and coo in its ear. This has proved to be… but James didn't read on.
"Sirius, I've found it!" he said excitedly. "Well, not really, but it's your best hope…"
Severus woke up with a start and realised that today was the day of the second obstacle. He was very confident about it, as he had been melting some of his golden Galleons in order to make a pure gold bridle. In truth, it wasn't really pure gold, but it was close, and it had taken him almost a month to make… Surely the unicorn would have to accept it… After an early breakfast, he walked onto the grounds and waited by the Forbidden Forest for everyone to arrive. The prefects had done their job wonderfully. Dumbledore had conjured up some stands at the edge of the Forest, and placed a tricky spell over the forest so that the students would be able to see the competitors. Clutching the golden bridle, which he had decorated with the golden flower, Severus watched the stands fill up. Meanwhile, James was wishing Sirius good luck.
"I couldn't have done it without you and everyone else," said Sirius, shaking his head, smiling.
"Look, it was nothing. Here, I thought you might need this," said James, handing Sirius the golden flower. Sirius took the flower and thanked James.
"This might come in useful," he said, with a grin. Even though Severus had a golden bridle and the other two competitors were girls, Sirius felt confident. James waved goodbye to Sirius and went to join Remus and Peter in the stands. Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Welcome, welcome! The second obstacle in the Hogwarts Best Young Witch or Wizard competition is about to begin! The competitors know what they have to do, so without further ado, they may begin the obstacle. On your marks, get set and GO!" The four competitors raced into the forest and Sirius checked his watch. It was only 11:00… He had to find a place in the forest where berries grew… He vaguely remembered passing a patch of strawberries when they had gone into the Forest for Care of Magical Creatures, so he stuck to the path, and within ten minutes, he had located the patch, and hurriedly began to pick a handful of the lush red berries. The minutes went by, and at last, as the hands on his watch both moved onto the twelve, he had a basketful of brightly coloured berries. Now all he had to do was find a unicorn…
"Do you think he'll find it?" asked Star, anxiously scanning the forest. James held up a pair of omnioculars and looked through them.
"Of course he will. There's one a couple of metres in front of him, through those trees. As long as he doesn't change direction, he'll be right in front of it," he said matter-of-factly.
"Look at Severus…" murmured Remus, pointing to a tree deep in the forest. Severus was leaning against it, fingering the golden bridle. A few feet in front of him stood a pure white unicorn, regarding him with curiosity.
"Oh, please, no…" moaned Star.
Sirius nervously held out the basket of berries. The unicorn watched him carefully for a few moments, before slowly walking towards him. Sirius placed the ripe fruit down on the grass, and stepped back, watching as the majestic creature lowered its head to eat. Sirius sat down nearby and waited for the unicorn to finish its meal. At last it devoured the very last blueberry and lifted its head, its spiralled horn glittering gold. Suddenly, Sirius remembered something…
Here, I thought you might need this… Instinctively, Sirius dipped his hand into the pocket of his robes and lightly fingered the golden flower. He pulled it out and sat admiring the way it glittered, even with such little sunlight. It seemed to radiate confidence and it gave him fresh hope. Even if the unicorn was taking its time, he still had a chance. He could still beat Severus… It was then that he looked up and was startled to find himself looking into the deep blue eyes of the unicorn. Slowly, Sirius reached out his hand and stroked the creature's muzzle. It seemed to enjoy this and whinnied softly. Sirius stood up and spoke to the unicorn.
"Come on… Just come with me for a while…" The unicorn eyed him, clearly wondering whether it should trust such a strange beast, but after what seemed like hours, it allowed Sirius to lead it out of the Forest.
"I can't believe you won it, mate!" said James happily, as they walked up to the Gryffindor tower, followed by a crowd of giggling fifth-year girls.
"Yeah, congratulations," said Star, flinging herself on Sirius, who laughed.
"No need to be emotional," he said with a grin. "Remember when Snivelly came out of the Forest ten minutes after me, leading the unicorn on its bridle? The look on his face was priceless," he continued. Obviously, Lily didn't think so, James thought angrily. She ran off to comfort him! She's supposed to support her own house! The three of them entered the Gryffindor common room.
"Hi Wormtail!" Sirius greeted Peter, who was uncorking a Butterbeer bottle. "Where's Moony?" Peter looked around nervously, checking to see that no one was watching.
"Well, I saw him get dragged off straight after the obstacle by some girl," said Peter nervously. James' jaw dropped open and Sirius just gaped. Star, however, clapped her hands together in delight.
"Who was it, Peter?" she asked breathlessly. Peter fiddled with his Gryffindor scarf, playing with the gold tassels on the end.
"Erm, well, I only saw the back of her," he admitted. Sirius grabbed the front of Peter's robes.
"Was she in Gryffindor?" he asked, shaking Peter, dead curious to find out who Remus' mystery girl was.
"No, she was in Slytherin," said Peter, struggling to remember the details. Sirius let go of Peter and his arms fell to his side limply. James almost choked, but Star just rounded on Peter.
"Peter, was it Bellatrix?" she asked, her eyes growing wide. Peter frowned with concentration.
"Surely he has more sense that to go out with my idiot cousin!" exclaimed Sirius, while Star just rolled her eyes. It was hard when your best friend and your boyfriend were cousins, especially cousins who loathed each other. Peter looked at his friends exasperatedly.
"Look, I don't know! It could have been anyone!" he said, but James, Sirius and Star weren't listening to him anymore, because at that moment, Remus climbed through the portrait hole.