After the Dawn: The Philosopher's Stone
Chapter Twenty Six: The Forbidden Forest
Harry and Neville stood shivering in the entrance hall, waiting for Filch to arrive. Harry looked around, keeping an eye out for Malfoy. He spotted the blonde haired Slytherin boy arriving a little while after they did, and marked his position for later reference.
Just before eleven thirty, Filch arrived. "Well, come on," the caretaker said, heading for the doors.
"We aren't going onto the grounds, are we?" Harry asked, knowing perfectly well that they would be.
"You are indeed," Filch replied, glancing at Harry, then turning his full attention to the task of opening the doors. This was Harry's opportunity. Reaching into a pocket, he took out a small stone which he had found earlier that day with this purpose in mind.
When Filch wasn't looking, Harry hurled the stone straight at Malfoy, it hit him on the thy, and he squawked in pain. Filch spun around, and a delighted look crept over his face when he saw Malfoy hopping on one leg in some pain.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" he smiled coldly, "Another student out of bed, when he's no reason to be anywhere but there?"
"It's not what you think!" Malfoy said hastily.
"Oh, I rather think it is ... you'd best come along with us, Mr. Malfoy ... this'll teach you to sneak around after lights out."
"What!" Malfoy yelped.
"You've got detention too, come along, Mr. Malfoy," Filch spat.
"This is all your fault, Protectium!" Malfoy hissed as they walked onto the grounds.
Harry glanced at Malfoy and smiled faintly, "Whatever are you talking about, Malfoy?" he demanded innocently, "You started it by blowing up my potion ... so it's really your fault."
Neville, beside Harry, gave a smile that was almost impossible to see in the darkness – Filch's lamp was quite strong enough for them all to be seen properly.
"Hurry along there," Filch said nastily.
"What are we doing on the grounds?" Malfoy demanded.
"You'll be going into the forest, that's what you're doing out here," Filch smirked. Neville gave a whimpering moan of terror and Malfoy paled. Harry thought back to his conversation with Sirius, and realised that there had been a reason why he had refused to promise not to enter the forest – he had known, somehow, that in the future he would have to.
He didn't give any reaction to Filch's comment, though the caretaker was looking at him as if he wanted to see something on Harry's face.
Harry ignored the look completely, kept his face blank. If they were going into the Forest, so be it. He was now very glad that he hadn't promised Sirius that he wouldn't go into the forest.
Suddenly the door of Hagrid's hut, not all that far away from them now, opened, and warm, golden light spilt out onto the grounds. "That you Filch?" Hagrid's voice boomed out.
"Hagrid's going to be with us?" Neville asked, unable to mask the hope in his voice.
"The grounds are his business, not mine," Filch growled in reply. "And he's welcome to them."
"What's taken yeh so long?" Hagrid demanded, coming out of his house with a large crossbow his hands. "An' I thought there was on'y gonna be two."
"Found another one sneaking around," Filch smirked nastily, "I'm sure he'll learn to behave better if he went with you. Teach him to sneak, it will."
"I'm sure. Well, you clear off," Hagrid said irritably. He didn't like Filch, and made no secret of it.
"I'll be back in the morning ... for what's left of them," Filch replied, then slouched off into the darkness, chuckling nastily.
Hagrid looked after the caretaker with a cold look in his eyes, then he sighed, "Well, we may as well get this over with," he muttered.
"We aren't really going into the forest are we?" Malfoy piped up.
"Sure y'are," Hagrid replied, "Why?"
"My father would have a fit if he knew that I had to go into the forest. Detentions should only be writing lines and stuff like that."
"What good'll writing lines do yeh, huh?" Hagrid demanded, "Nah, ye'll do something useful, of ye'll get out. If you think your daddy would rather you were expelled, then you can get back to the castle and inform Professor Dumbledore of it immediately."
Malfoy gritted his teeth, but didn't leave. Hagrid nodded, "Thought as much," he remarked, then led them over to the edge of the forest. Harry looked about himself with interest; he'd never been this close to the forest at night.
"Now, in all the time I've been in Hogwarts, and I've been here over fifty years now, I've never seen a unicorn hurt ... and only ever seen one of them dead," Hagrid said, "But in the last week I've found tracings of one of them, bleeding, an' later I found it dead, with no blood in it at all ... an' now there's another one, injured."
"How do you know?" Harry asked, interested despite the morbid topic.
"Look," Hagrid replied, raising his lantern and pointed to a patch of something on the ground. Harry looked closely, and saw a shining silver substance pooled there. "Unicorn blood," Hagrid said, confirming Harry's fears. "Pretty badly hurt too, I'd imagine."
Harry looked at the blood. If a unicorn in the forest was hurt, that meant ... "Hagrid, what hurt the unicorns?" he asked.
"Dunno," Hagrid replied, "Bit of a mystery, that is ... but there ain't nothing in that forest that'll hurt ye if ye're with me or Fang – most of the forest knows us."
"What about the thing that did the unicorns?" Harry asked, "Does it know you too?"
"Nah, it wouldn't," Hagrid replied. "Nothin' in this forest would harm a unicorn either ... but whatever it is tha's killin' the unicorns won' want our attention. It'll prob'ly avoid us."
"Probably?" Malfoy repeated, staring at Hagrid.
"If it does come near yeh, Fang or I'll try an' scare it away," Hagrid said calmly, though Malfoy didn't look in the least bit assured.
Harry felt a little nervous himself, knowing that there were plenty of dangerous creatures in the forest, but he trusted Hagrid, who was his friend, and he knew that since it wasn't full moon, it was unlikely that there would be any werewolves about.
"Now, if any o' you lot runs inta trouble while yer in the Forest, shoot up red sparks – yeh'd best practice, just to make sure," Hagrid said, watching as the three students did so. "Righ' an' if yeh find the unicorn, shoot up green sparks," once more they made sure that they could all perform the necessary spell.
"Not far into the forest there's a fork in the path," Hagrid continued, "At that time we'll need t' split inta two groups an' each take a path."
With the knowledge of this separation in mind, the group of four humans and a dog moved into the Forbidden Forest. All too soon they reached the fork. "OK, so we need ta split inta groups now," Hagrid said. "I'll go with one group, and Fang with the other."
"I want Fang," Malfoy said immediately.
"A'right, but I warn yeh now, he's a coward if ever their was one," Hagrid told Malfoy, "Neville, ye'd best go with them. Nemo, you come with me."
Harry nodded, thinking that the expression on Malfoy's face when Hagrid told him that Fang was a coward would have been hilarious in any other situation.
Hagrid led Harry down one path, and Neville, Malfoy and Fang moved down the other. Harry wondered why Hagrid had sent Neville with Malfoy, but it was soon revealed when Hagrid spoke to him again.
"Have yeh had any word of Norbert?" Hagrid asked, and Harry could hear the urgency in his voice.
"Yes," Harry replied, "My uncle dropped him off at a reserve and watched until he was found by the people there. He'll be taken care of."
"Thanks Nemo," Hagrid rumbled, "Ye've really taken a load off my mind."
Harry smiled up at his friend. He had heard back from Sirius only two days before, and hadn't yet had the chance to meet up with Hagrid and let him know what had happened.
"Quiet," Hagrid hissed suddenly, pushing Harry behind him and raising his crossbow. Harry listened intently and thought he heard a rustling of leaves not far away from them. Nothing approached them, however, and the sound was gone almost as quickly as it came.
"What was that?" Harry asked softly.
"What's hurtin' the unicorns," Hagrid replied grimly.
"But what is it?" Harry pressed.
"Dunno," Hagrid told him, "Never heard the like of it before now."
"It sounded like cloth," Harry informed his friend, "Could it be that it's a wizard hurting the unicorns?"
"If it is, it's an evil one, Nemo. A real evil one," Hagrid replied.
Harry shivered. He wished he was back in the castle. Creatures, perhaps, he could handle. To think that there would be a human who would kill a unicorn was ... unthinkable. Unicorns were pure, and no one who knew anything about them should want to hurt them. When Hagrid had said 'a real evil one', Harry's thoughts had jumped to Voldemort, and he didn't like thinking of the wizard who'd killed his parents.
"C'mon," Hagrid murmured quietly, and together the two of them pressed on. They'd gotten a little way onward when they reached a clearing of medium size. "Stay 'ere," Hagrid told him, and ventured into the clearing, cross bow at the ready.
There was a slight scuffing noise on the other side of the clearing and Hagrid whipped his bow up to point into the gloom, "I know yer there!" he called, "Come out! I warn yeh, I'm armed!"
There was a soft laugh and a figure walked into the clearing, "Would you really shoot me, Hagrid?" it asked, voice a little amused.
"Bane," Hagrid whispered in relief and dropped his bow to point at the ground, "Yeh can't be too careful these days."
"These nights," Bane corrected him, smiling faintly.
Harry, still in the gloom behind Hagrid, drank in the appearance of the new comer with delight. He had heard tales of the half human, half horse Centaurs before, but had never seen one in real life.
Bane had black hair, pale-ish skin, deep eyes and black fur on his horse parts. "I've got one o' the students from the school 'ere," Hagrid said, gesturing for Harry to come out into the light of the moon.
Harry came out slowly. "This here is Nemo Protectium," Hagrid said, "Nemo, that's Bane."
"Nice to meet you," Harry said quietly, still a little awed at seeing one of the mystical creatures first hand.
"Nemo, you say?" Bane said, looking at Harry with those deep, far-seeing eyes, "Are you sure?"
"I'm Nemo," Harry said firmly, "That's my name, and I'm sure of it."
"Really? How interesting," Bane murmured, giving Harry another deep look, before throwing his head back and gazing up into the night sky.
Harry breathed an unheard sigh of relief. The Centaur wasn't going to pull his bluff. That was good – he'd almost forgotten, in his surprise at seeing one, that the Centaurs read the stars. They would know who he really was, and Harry certainly didn't want the Centaur telling Hagrid about that. He wasn't ready to be known for himself yet.
"Have you noticed anything odd, lately?" Hagrid asked the Centaur.
Bane stared at the sky for awhile, and Harry had almost despaired that he was going to answer when he spoke again. "Mars is bright tonight," Bane told them.
Hagrid glanced up at the sky, and Harry did too. "Yeah," Hagrid muttered, "But have you noticed anything unusual?"
Again, it took Bane a long time to answer. "Mars is bright tonight. Unusually bright."
Hagrid sighed. "Anything a little closer to home then? Something in the forest?"
Before Bane had much of a chance to answer, there was the sound of more footfalls, and another centaur came out of the gloomy forest and walked to the centre of the clearing.
"Ronan," Hagrid called in greeting.
"Greetings Hagrid," the Centaur replied, walking over to Bane and joining him in looking at the stars.
"Listen, I was just talkin' with Bane here, have you noticed anything strange lately?"
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan replied.
"So we heard," Hagrid grumbled, "C'mon Nemo, leave those two to their ruddy stargazing."
Harry followed Hagrid out of the clearing, gazing back at the Centaurs, unwilling to leave them behind. He had the idea that 'Mars is bright tonight' had more importance than Hagrid was awarding it.
"Never," Hagrid said when they were out of earshot, "Try to get a straight answer out of Centaur. They aren't interested in anything closer than the moon."
"Are there many Centaurs in the forest?" Harry asked.
"Oh, a fair few," Hagrid replied, "Wouldn't know exactly how many, but they're pretty good at turning up when I want a word with them."
They walked on in silence for a little longer, while Harry tried to think what significance Mars, and how bright it was, might have. He wished he'd had some more Divination lessons, but they didn't teach that at Hogwarts for a couple of years yet.
Suddenly, Harry, who'd been looking at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars in the hopes that they would yield up their secrets to him, noted something else, just as important.
"Hagrid! Red sparks!" he said, "Neville's in trouble!" he couldn't care less whether or not Malfoy was in the same situation, or even if it was him who'd sent up the sparks in the first place – it was Malfoy's fault they were all out here anyway ... but Neville was his friend.
"Stay here!" Hagrid said, pushing Harry into the shelter of a large-rooted tree, before crashing off into the darkness.
Harry settled down and shivered. He was alone in the night, in the Forbidden Forest, and there was something loose in the forest that was killing unicorns. He might not be easy to scare, but this was a scary situation.
He stayed close to the tree, trying not to move, trying not to breath, and if he had to breath, then not too loudly. The sounds of the forest were suddenly louder, every snapping twig was a creeping enemy, every rustling breeze was a destructive spell coming straight at him.
But nothing harmed him. Once an odd little creature crept passed his hiding place, then disappeared off into the night. A couple of times bats and owls swooped overhead on their nightly hunting trips, but nothing came near him.
Eventually the others returned and Hagrid was in a high bad temper. From his short, growled sentences, Harry picked up that Malfoy had jumped out of the dark at Neville for a joke and Neville had panicked, sending up the sparks.
Harry, Neville and Hagrid all glared at Malfoy, who looked untouched by their anger. He was back with the group now, and probably thought that he was out of danger.
"I've half a mind to send yeh back through the forest alone till yeh found that path again," Hagrid growled at Malfoy, who's arrogant look immediately changed to one of fear. "If yeh got left out there, well, one up for the world, if yeh asked me ... but we've a job to do tonight ... Nemo, I hate to ask it, but will yeh go back with Malfoy and Fang to find the path and make sure that the unicorn isn't down it."
Harry sighed. "I won't scare as easy as Neville would, sorry Nev, but it's true, so yeah, I guess I'd better go."
Hagrid nodded. "Thanks. Neville and me will continue this way. Fang can follow my scent back to the path, and you two continue from there."
Harry nodded and he and Malfoy set off into the darkness, following Fang in the weak light cast by their wands. Malfoy was subdued, obviously scared of the forest.
Harry didn't think he felt any better than Malfoy looked, but he kept his fear hidden, and tried to will it away, the way that Sensei had taught him. If you let your fear take root, it could control you, prevent you from fighting.
Harry was a fighter, and he was sure that he could do something if they were attacked, maybe keep of their attacker until Malfoy could do something magical, or at least send off sparks.
Eventually they reached the other path and set out along it. Fang snuffled along beside him, oddly comforting, despite the fact that Harry knew the dog was a coward.
Fang suddenly became nervous, and Harry had noticed that the spatters of unicorn blood were growing thicker. He had no doubt that soon enough they would find the unicorn, either dead or severely wounded.
As they turned a corner in the path, Harry lifted his hand, stopping Malfoy. There, glowing faintly silver, was the unicorn, legs splayed, only just alive. As they stood there, the last of its life fled from its body and it went limp.
Then, suddenly, Harry felt a stinging pain in the place where, had he been in his normal form, his scar would have been. He restrained from crying out, but fell to his knees in shocked pain. Malfoy looked at him, then suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream, just as Fang howled out in fear and warning, then took off back down the path.
Malfoy did not hesitate in following and fled as well, leaving Harry alone, kneeling on the ground, watching through a haze of pain as a figure crept out of the gloom and went to the unicorn, it's clothes whispering across the leaves. This was what had killed the unicorn then, Harry realised.
Slowly, the figure knelt and there was a glint of moonlight on steel as it pulled out a knife and made a large gash in the unicorns side, lowered its head and began to drink the blood of the slain creature.
Harry let out a soft sound of pain and disgust and the thing stopped what it was doing and looked up at him, then it got to its feet and started forward, raising a long, thin wand as it approached him.
Every step it took closer to him, the pain in Harry's scar increased, and he curled closer in upon himself, unable to do anything in his own defence.
The thing raised its wand and began to speak, and Harry was sure that he was done for. Then there was the sound of galloping hooves and something was flying over Harry's crouched form, rearing, thrashing at the figure that was so intent upon attacking him.
The figure let out a cry and fled, and the pain receded from Harry's head. He stood up to see what it was that had saved him and saw the third Centaur of his life. The horse parts were palomino and his hair was soft blonde.
"Harry Potter," the Centaur said, looking at Harry.
Harry blinked, "I go by Nemo Protectium here," he replied.
"Really? How intriguing," the Centaur remarked. "My name is Firenze, Nemo."
"What was that thing?" Harry asked the Centaur, who, he thought, was somewhat younger than the other Centaurs he had met.
Firenze did not answer him, instead looking up into the sky for a moment, searching out the stars. "You had better get back to the castle, Harry-who-calls-himself-Nemo," he said instead, after a moment. "The forest is not safe for any human at this time ... least of all you."
"No one knows who I am," Harry told Firenze. "They all believe that I am Nemo Protectium, a child from a family who hid away long ago."
"All the same, there are bound to be those who suspect. Do you ride? You must leave the forest, and riding will prove much faster."
"I can ride," Harry replied, as Firenze lowered himself onto his forelegs so Harry could swing up onto his back.
Suddenly there was the sound of more galloping hooves from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came into the clearing, slowing to a stop on the other side of the unicorn.
"Firenze!" Bane thundered, "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule, to ferry humans around at their leisure? Where is your pride?"
"Do you not realise who this is?" Firenze asked softly, his astonishingly blue eyes focused on Bane.
"Of course we do! How could we not?" Bane rumbled. "But it does not change a thing, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the heavens for ages beyond count?"
Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure that Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said gloomily. "He means no harm ... he is young, and does not know all there is to know, yet."
"His age is not what is at question! We do not concern ourselves with 'the best'," Bane snarled viciously, "Centaurs only concern themselves with the movements of the planets and what has been foretold. We do not interfere!"
"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze yelled suddenly, rearing so that Harry had to catch his shoulders to avoid falling. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret?"
"Blasphemy," breathed Bane.
"I set myself against what is lurking in the forest, Bane, with humans alongside me if I must. I will not let more innocent lives be taken by this menace!"
With that, Firenze spun around and galloped away, leaving Bane and Ronan behind. The last words Harry heard from Bane where, "We do not set ourselves against the heavens!"
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," Harry offered, after they had been galloping for some time along the path.
"You did not," Firenze replied, "I have always chafed at Bane's codes, well, they are the whole herds, really ... but I never truly accepted them, and he has never forgiven me for it. He has always said my fascination with humans would lead to my downfall."
"You never answered before, what was that thing back there? The thing you rescued me from?"
"Do you know what unicorn blood is used for, Nemo?" Firenze enquired, evidently now happy to call Harry by his chosen name.
Harry blinked, Firenze was avoiding the question again. Harry decided to humour the Centaur anyway, "We've only used horns and tale fur in our potions this year, but I know it's a monstrous thing to take a unicorns life, and that it's even worse to take their blood ... no one ever told me why though."
Sirius had, in fact, told him that he would know when he was older, and that he would rather not speak of such things at the time. "You are right. It is a monstrous thing to kill a unicorn," Firenze agreed. "Unicorn blood has many properties, Nemo, not the least of which is that it has the ability to keep you alive, even if you are an instant from death ... but there is a catch, and a dreadful one. You have slain something beautiful and pure, simply to save yourself ... from the moment the blood passes your lips, for the rest of your waking hours, you will live a terrible half life ... a cursed life."
"Who would want to?" Harry demanded, "A cursed life doesn't sound like any fun. Who could be desperate enough to do that?"
"Can you think of no one who would gladly kill to save himself, someone who has been trying to become alive for many years?" Firenze asked him grimly.
"You mean ... Vol-"Harry began.
"He," Firenze agreed, interrupting Harry.
"Why does he want unicorn blood then?" Harry asked, "If he's been dead for so long-"
"He has not been dead," Firenze interrupted again, "But nor has he been alive."
"Fine, if he's been undead for so long, why change now?" Harry continued, rolling his eyes, despite the fact that Firenze couldn't see him. "He obviously hasn't been killing unicorns all along, someone would have noticed. Hagrid said that they've only turned up dead very recently."
"He just needs to stay alive a little longer, long enough to drink something else. Do you know what's hidden in the castle as we speak, Nemo?" Firenze asked.
"He's after the Stone," Harry breathed, and suddenly he had a new priority. "Do you know who's helping him? Any tips on how I could stop him?"
Before Firenze could answer, however, there was a cry of "Nemo!" from up ahead and Malfoy, Hagrid, Fang and Neville came into few, Malfoy sulking at the back of the group.
Hagrid lifted Harry down from Firenze's back. "You should not bring students into the forest Hagrid, especially not at night," Firenze told the man. "If you must enter the forest, come only in the daylight hours – the forest is not safe."
He turned and galloped away, off the path, and Hagrid didn't try to follow, turning instead to Harry to ask if he was OK and what had happened. Harry wasn't going to tell Hagrid what had occurred, he didn't want to say anything around Malfoy. "The unicorns back there," he said, pointing down the path he and Firenze had come along, "It's dead."
Hagrid sighed. "Well, always heed a Centaurs warning ... I'll take yew three up to the castle and cum back to take care of it in the morning," he said.
Harry nodded. With Voldemort creeping around the forest, he would hardly suggest that Hagrid return here any time after the sun had set, and right now all he wanted to do was to get out of this place.
Walk beside Neville, behind Malfoy and before Hagrid, Harry made his way back toward the castle, thinking of what had been occurring that night. He was feeling rather disgusted at Malfoy, for running away at the first sign of danger ... but then, he could hardly blame him. If he could have, Harry himself might have run.
But that was not particularly high on Harry's list of priorities. He was becoming convinced that Snape, who must be working for Voldemort, had sent him into the forest as a trap. Why else would he have waited until Hagrid had to go into the forest to send Harry on his detention? Had the dead unicorns been a trap to lead Harry into?
Harry shook his head slightly, in some ways it made a whole lot of sense, and in others it made none at all. Sure, Snape certainly seemed to want him dead, but why would Voldemort? Unless he thought that because the Protectiums' had fought against him before their son should die ...
Well, he'd run it by Neville and Hermione in the morning, see what they thought about it all. Right now he just wanted to sleep, though he had the idea that the figure dripping silver unicorn blood down its front would haunt his dreams for some time to come.
Well, look at that! Longest chapter in AGES! 4500 words, in fact! Next chapter will be talking, and the exams. Through the Trapdoor will come after that! The story is really coming to a conclusion now, huh? Once I finis this, I'm going to try and finish Shines A Light, then the next few After the Dawn stories!
WolfMoon