Chapter 21: A Beautiful Moonlit Night

Harry and Ron used the rest of the night to finish homework that was due the next day, while Hermione started working on an assignment that wouldn't be due until another three weeks. Ellie spent the time glancing through the text books that Hermione wasn't using. Her favorite book was Intermediate Transfigurations where she watched a picture of a horse change into a saddle and back again.

As the night went on Ellie was beginning to sense that Harry was acting unusually tense. He kept glancing at his watch every five minutes as he worked on his potions homework. After an hour Ellie discovered that she wasn't the only one who noticed Harry's odd behavior.

"Something wrong mate?" Ron asked Harry, who was looking down at his watch again.

"No....everything's fine." Harry replied quickly, and continued with his homework.

It was very plain to both Ron and Ellie that Harry was lying, but neither one decided to press the matter any further.

It was exactly eleven o'clock when Harry suddenly packed up all his books and ran up stairs to the boy's dormitory.

"What is with him tonight?" Hermione asked in bewilderment.

Ellie and Ron both shrugged their shoulders.

A few seconds later Harry came running back down the stairs, concealing something underneath his arm.

"Ellie, could you come with me for a moment?" He asked without pausing to catch his breath.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked with a bit of uncertainty.

"You'll see." Harry simply replied.

Ellie quickly glanced back at Hermione and Ron who were both looking just as puzzled as she was.

"Alright." She replied, and slowly stood from her chair.

"Harry, exactly what are you up to?" Hermione blatantly asked.

"I'll tell you all about it later." Harry answered as he walked out the portrait door.

"I'll try my best to keep him out of trouble." Ellie said with a slightly uneasy tone, just before leaving the Gryffindor common room.

Out in the corridor, Ellie had expected to see Harry waiting for her, but he was no where in sight.

"Harry?" Ellie spoke in a panicked whisper.

"I'm right here."

Ellie jumped at the sound of a voice that was right next to her. She turned to see Harry emerging out of thin air.

"It's my dad's invisibility cloak." Harry explained the strange material he was holding.

"Next time, warn me when you're going to appear out of nowhere like that?" Ellie said sternly.

"Sorry." Harry apologized.

He then wrapped the cloak around Ellie and himself, and they began to walk through the empty hallway.

"Now can you tell me where we're going?" Ellie asked.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a surprise." Harry replied with a smirk.

Ellie shot him a suspicious glare, but continued to follow his lead. It was when they stepped outside that Ellie became even more perplexed on where Harry was taking her.

It was a clear and beautiful night. There was a soft, crisp breeze that cause the cloak to press gently against Ellie's body. The brilliant moon and stars provided just enough light for Ellie and Harry to see their way across the field.

"Are we going to visit Hagrid again?" Ellie ventured a guess, but Harry remained silent.

They continued to walk towards Hagrid's hut, and Ellie was starting to believe that her suspicion was correct, but she was caught by surprise again when Harry led her right passed it.

The two of them were now walking just ten feet away from the edge of the forbidden forest, nether speaking a word. Finally, Ellie could make out Hagrid's enormous outline in the distance. He was standing next to a large fenced off area near the forest, staring into their direction, as if he was awaiting their arrival.

Ellie's eyes were drawn past Hagrid, towards the far end of the paddock, and her jaw dropped.

"Hagrid, we're here." Harry announced as he removed the invisibility cloak.

"I was startin' teh think that yeh weren't gonna show." Hagrid said.

With her mouth still gapping, Ellie approached the edge of the paddock in a state of awe.

"It's beautiful." Ellie whispered in astonishment.

"Yeh can go pet her if yeh like." Hagrid offered, smiling.

Ellie couldn't believe her ears, and stared at the half giant in disbelief.

"Go on." Harry encouraged her.

Ellie's heart was beating rapidly, as she climbed over the paddock fence. She tried to walk very stealth like, but her nerves were making her very clumsy, as a twig snapped loudly under her foot. The sound startled the unicorn who frantically tried to run towards the forest, but couldn't take more than a few steps since it was tethered to a thick tree branch. Ellie remained perfectly still until the unicorn had calmed down which only took a few seconds. The unicorn was so white it looked like it was glowing in the moon light. The golden horn and hooves shone against the dark surroundings. Ellie felt like she was walking in a dream. As a child, she had often imagined seeing a real unicorn, but that dream faded years ago. Now she was standing just one foot away from her favorite animal in the entire universe. For what seemed like an eternity, Ellie finally raised her hand to touch the magical creature. The hair was so soft and smooth; nothing like anything Ellie had ever felt before. For the first time Ellie didn't feel like she was dreaming any more. It was all real. The unicorn tilted its head in acknowledgment of Ellie's presence, as Ellie continued to gently stroke the unicorn down its neck line.

"Aren't you going to come?" Ellie asked as she glanced back at Harry and Hagrid.

"No." Harry replied. "Unicorns prefer a woman's touch."

Ellie suddenly realized that this night had been specifically planned for her.

It was difficult to say good bye to the unicorn, but Ellie knew that it was getting late. She said a very grateful thank you to Hagrid before walking with Harry back to the school. Harry carried the invisibility cloak underneath his arm since he didn't think it was necessary for them to wear it until they were back inside the castle.

"Harry, I really want to thank you for tonight. I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Ellie could feel her cheeks begin to blush.

"It wasn't any trouble. I just remember you saying how much you liked unicorns, so I figured it'd be nice for you to see a real one." Harry said modestly.

"Well, I certainly won't be able to look at my unicorn collection the same way again." Ellie commented.

Harry abruptly stopped and stared at Ellie.

"What is it?" Ellie asked in slight alarm.

"I still owe you a broomstick ride." Harry smiled.

"What? Now?!"

"Why not? You probably won't have time to do it tomorrow."

"But isn't your broomstick back in your dorm room?"

"Yeah, but that can be easily fixed." Harry replied with a cunning grin.

He took out his wand, pointed it towards the castle and said "Accio Firebolt!".

At first nothing happened. Ellie was beginning to wonder if the spell had worked at all, but before she could say anything she could hear a faint zooming sound growing louder. The Firebolt came to an abrupt halt directly next to Harry.

"So?" Harry asked Ellie, casually putting his wand back into his pocket.

Ellie approached the broomstick with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

But suddenly the tiny voice in the back of her head told her, "You can't even get a magic wand to work, what makes you think that you can fly a broomstick?". The image of herself mounting the broom and then falling flat on her face was far too embarrassing to even attempt.

Harry seemed to recognize Ellie's hesitation immediately and asked, "Would you feel more comfortable if I fly the broom and you just sit behind me?".

"Can you do that?" Ellie asked with a bit of relief.

"Sure, there's plenty of room for the two of us."

Harry mounted the Firebolt first, keeping it steady as Ellie climbed behind him.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked.

Ellie's stomach turned with anticipation.

"Ready!" She replied, wrapping her arms around Harry's chest.

Their feet left the ground, a bit faster than Ellie had expected. She held on tightly to Harry as they picked up more speed. The crisp night breeze rustled through Ellie's hair, as Harry zigzagged by the castle turrets. Harry suddenly made a sharp dive towards the lake, which caused Ellie to squeeze even tighter. She could just barely make out Harry's voice over the wind rushing over her ears to loosen her grip.

Their toes just barely skimmed across the lake, causing ripples to form in its mirror like surface. They then proceeded to the quiddich pitch where they weaved in and out of the goal hoops and completed several laps around the stands.

Ellie had never felt such freedom before, and she now fully understood why Harry loved flying so much. It was freedom from school, freedom from family, freedom from the entire world, both magic and muggle.

She gently rested her head against Harry's back and prayed that the night would never end.